[quote=scompton;2866971]I've just discovered this thread and I think it's great. I'll eventually have many suggestions. The first is a group I heard a few months ago on Afropop Worldwide (alas no longer aired in DC).
Welcome on board...I'll look forward to your recs...
Last Labor Day, we had the first annual Arlington World Music Festival with the following line up
Frank London's Klezmer Brass All-Stars
Los Mocosos
Niyaz
Eileen Ivers and Immigrant Soul
Oliver "Tutu" Mtukudzi and Black Spirits
Unfortunately, I missed the first act because of the people I went with. I had a broken foot so I couldn't get there myself. All of these bands are well worth listening to. Before the festival, I was familiar with the last three acts and pretty mush liked them in the order listed. Afterwards, the exact opposite. The show got better and better.
Another group from Galicia, but this time more traditional: Milladoiro. They are the grandfathers of Galician modern folk music. If you are into celtic music, you can not miss this group. It is one of the best in the world.
You can read a very interesting interview here.
I can't believe this: I just did a search for Lebrijano and didn't get a single result. No flamenco aficionados around here?
I'd like to recommend his classic album Encuentros, which is an awesome combination of flamenco and arabic music. El Lebrijano, one of the best flamenco singers of his generation, Paco Cepero, a flamenco guitarrist, and an orchestra from Morocco join forces in this wonderful title. Both musics blend so effortlessly, so harmoniously (indeed, they have a lot of history in common) that it is an enigma to me why this experience has not been repeated more often by other artists. Highly recommended!
Milladoiro is indeed one of a kind: a wonderful group where traditional pipes, fiddles and accordions are backed by an especially strong assemblage of woodwinds and harp, the effect is like a cross between folk and chamber music. Their live CD As Fadas De Estrano Nome contains equal parts jaunty dances and graceful set pieces, while more recent releases like Auga De Maio are more laid back.
Carlos Nunez is undoubtedly the poster boy of Galician music: with his ambitious musical vision, he always attract incredibly high-calibre collaborators -- and this has an unfortunate effect on his early albums: Brotherhood of Stars and Os Amores Libres are what I'd call "bad albums of good music": individual songs are stunning (who wouldn't want to hear Dulce Ponte wringing her heart out on a Colimbra fado, or Teresa Salgueiro sing about an old widow condemned as a witch?), but I wouldn't want to listen to either album in its entirety: they are like a pan-cultural jumble sale, completely incoherent. Nunez wished to prove his point about unity between musical traditions, turned out he extenuated the differences.
His later albums, Mayo Longo and Finisterres, are narrower in scope, but are more focused and thus make a more satisfying listen.
Also, the Live in Spain album by the Scottish group Skyedance is very much stepped in the Galician tradition, and the playing of fiddler Alasdair Fraser is enthalling as always.
ken36: why not post more info about what it is, rather than just listing it? it kinda looks like the 'what are you listening to thread' and somewhat spammish...just a thought
No flamenco aficionados around here? 
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