"World Music" recommendations, anyone? - Page 7

Hi antiant

I saw you mentioned Sezen Aksu, but I figured a second mention wouldnt hurt. Kudos to you for your broad scanning musical radar that includes turkish music. You might also enjoy Nilufer, who has had an equally long and succesful career. On the guys, Mustafa Sandal is really great, retaining more eastern sounds in his pop than Tarkan for my taste.

Yansimalar is one of my favourites so I cant say enough good things about them. They are studied musicians, and their instrumental albums show the refinement. The ney features a lot in their albums and the sound is truly unique to the music of Turkey.
http://www.neyzen.com/neymetodu_001.htm

For ud music there is Cinucen Tanrikorur, on of the masters in Turkey.
http://www.tulumba.com/storeItem.asp?ic=MU939490AK895

This is also a very good album
http://www.tulumba.com/storeItem.asp?ic=MU939682GM811

My favourite instrument from this area is the kanun, which is a harp style instrument played across the lap with thimble picks on the fingers. I highly recommend listening to this instrument, its like a middle eastern andreas vollenweider sound
http://www.tulumba.com/storeItem.asp?ic=MU939440BB823

Tarik Ocal's "Gitar Alaturka" series and Ethem Adnan Ergil's instrumental recordings are pretty good for the melodies played with gitar and keyboard, but they dont have the true middle eastern sounds because of the instruments they use. But a nice introduction nonetheless.
Fuat Saka is also very good but plays his own compositions.

There are many more instruments in Turkish classical/"art" music such as the ney, ud, tanbur, and saz, which have a unique sound. Particularly the unfretted instruments like the ud or violin achieve a sound unique to this region because the musicians play scale intervals which are not used in western-style music. Here is a nice site if you want to have a listen : http://www.turkishmusic.org/index5.html
Tulumba or others should have most of these available.

There is a nice documentary movie called "Crossing the Bridge" by Fatih Akin, which is a look at musicians of Istanbul.

Oliver Mtukudzi is really very popular in Southern Africa region, even where his lyrics arent understood. I am sure you will enjoy his melodic chimurenga style guitar with his singing.

Johnny Clegg has reached a lot since his first emergnce in the 80's with his two bands juluka and savuka. Even though he is a white man, he has always had a deep poassion for learning african culture and dance, even when it was illegal to do so in South Africa, and it shows in his music, where he blends elements of "western" pop music seamlessly with african motifs and tempos. I have heard him on radio in Germany, so he is more mainstream. Singing in English helps that too of course He has a nice greatest hits type album from mid90's which would be a nice intro to his stuff.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johnny_Clegg_(musician)

African Jazz also is quite different because of the different tempos and melodies. Hugh Masakela, Miriam Makeba and Abdullah Ibrahim are pretty well known. Jimmy Dludlu is newer guitarist who plays quite nicely.
Ray Phiri and Stimela, and also the LadySmith Black Mamabazo featured on Paul Simons Graceland are also good listens.

Enjoy

Hmm...Malay Music?

I'll put my 2 cents worth...

Malay:

1) Lagenda by Sheila Majid
2) Best of Sheila Majid
http://shopping.wanita.net/timenet_s...A&searchType=T

Cuban/Spanish:

1) Lagarimas Negras by Bebo & Cigala

thanks musicmind i'll keep those in mind

i just recently bought a few more "worldy" albums (and this thread needed another bump):




Natacha Atlas - Mish Ma'oul
listen to the album here: Mish Ma'oul
info:
One of the original global pop divas, Natacha Atlas has long combined Middle Eastern and Western musics. Her sixth solo album is very much a continuation of works past. She continues to maintain links with her old band (Transglobal Underground's Count Dubulah produces), and she continues to add traditional and modern influences as need be. One particular standout moment is Atlas's sensual performance as she rides a straight-up bossa nova groove on "Gnanwa Bossanova," but equally strong is the slightly cheesy "Bathaddak," which sounds like it could be piped out of a cassette stall in a North African casbah. Those looking for her cosmopolitan trip-hop vibe certain will be satisfied with opener "Oully" or the menacing-sounding "Hayati Inta." No matter the genre, however, the singer really sounds best in the stripped-down arrangements here where it's her voice that exudes nuance and mood instead of counting on the accompaniment to fill in those blanks. --Tad Hendrickson



Apollo Nove - Res Inexplicata Volans
listen to the album here: Res Inexplicata Volans
info:
Even though it's immensely likable, there's a demo-ish quality to hotshot Brazilian producer Apollo Nove's Res Inexplicata Volans. In 12 tracks that trickle through nostalgia-tipped tropicalia to a backward-reaching brand of electronica, he paints himself as something of a sound savant; trot out a hot beat or an expressive voice, he seems to be saying, and step aside--he'll do the rest. It's a ****-sure approach, but it mostly pays off. Though not radically new or groundbreaking, the sonic textures he dabbles in (vintage rock, bossa nova, disco, jazz) are nothing if not interesting, and they lend this disc a chilled-out moodiness that seems rightest in the pre-dawn hours. Singer Seu Jorge's two tracks, the all-out gorgeous "Ensaboar Voce (Soap You)" and "Capoeira," captivate most completely--if there's a love letter to Sao Paulo somewhere on this record, he's the one holding the pen--but overall the vibe is fluttery, uncemented. Put it on and plug in your headphones--as you get lost in late-night Apollo Nove land, you'll want to wander and ponder alone. --Tammy La Gorce

Product Description
How do you describe someone as eclectic as Apollo Nove? A modern-day pop Tropicalista, crooner, songwriter, pianist and collector of over sixty vintage synths, keyboards and effects from the ‘60s, ‘70s and ‘80s. Apollo Nove (noh-veh) is the prime contender for most innovative young producer in Brazil. Res Inexplicata Volans is his stellar solo effort of twelve melodious, deep, moody songs that hover somewhere between psychedelic rock, eerie electronica and spacey folk. Recorded in São Paulo and mixed in Paris by Air engineer Yann Arnaud. Guest vocalists include Cibelle and Seu Jorge.


Cibelle - The Shine of Dried Electric Leaves
listen to the album here: The Shine of Dried Electric Leaves
info:
Since her breakout performance on Suba's landmark Sao Paolo Confessions, singer Cibelle (pronounced see-Bell-ee) has enchanted Brazilian pop aficionados with her lovely musical purr. Here on her second album, the cool lounge production of her debut is pushed into a darker, more experimental realm without losing her music's sensual beauty. As ambitious as the production, the songwriting is challenging too with highlights like "Phoenix" and "Flying High" using a linear style rather than the back and forth of a verse, bridge and chorus arrangement. There's a couple of interesting covers as well--while her spare version of Tom Waits's "Green Grass" is a seemingly offbeat choice, her haunting, glitchy and near-unrecognizable cover of Jobim's "Por Toda A Minha Vida" is a different kind of surprise. With ultra-cool Apollo Nove and Tunng in the producers' chair, this subtle kind of sonic and music revision is to be expected, but it's a tribute to the singer that she keeps the challenging sound under the sway of her lovely voice. --Tad Hendrickson

Product Description
Like no one else, Brazilian born Cibelle makes use of a variety of elements to create unique, imaginative and enchanting peices of music. Her second album (the follow-up to 2003's inspired eponymous debut) is a genuine masterpiece. Moving into even more adventurous sonic terrain than its predecesor, the "Shine Of Dried Electric Leaves" combines rootsy acoustic instrumentation, electronic processing, noise guitars & children's toys, captivating textural soundscapes & pure melodies all anchored by Cibelle's unmistakable, moving voice. Cibelle produced this album over a period of 18 months, taking some of the tracks with her from London (where she now resides) to Sao Paulo (her home town) and back, gathering along the way contributions from various co-producers and performers, including Mike Lindsay (from UK Folktronica act Tunng);Apollo Nove (the innovative producer/artist from Sao Paulo, who produced most of her debut album); Parisian mixer, Yann Arnaud (Air, ! Sebastien Schuller), and guests such as Seu Jorge (of "City of God" and "The Life Aquatic' fame), freak folk pioneer, Devendra Banhart, and CocoRosie collaborator Spleen. While some of the album's ten original compositions and three covers are simple, limpid crytalline gems (her renditions of Tom Waits' "Green Grass" and of Jobim's "Por Toda Minha Vida" to name but a few).


Bombay Dub Orchestra - Bombay Dub Orchestra
listen to the album here: Bombay Dub Orchestra
info:
The Bombay Dub Orchestra delivers on the promise of its name. Here, London studio insiders Andrew T. MacKay and Garry Hughes have devised a dream-like new project where Lee Scratch Perry seemingly spent his time in India doing Bollywood film soundtracks instead of psychedelic Jamaican dub jams. With a world of experience between the two primaries (Bjork, ABC, Sly & Robbie, Vast), the duo's skillful integration of these seemingly divergent sources is seamless. A full orchestra, live soloist, and a rich production aesthetic are tastefully complemented by sexy trip-hop programming that recalls Zero 7 and other top-flight groups. The two-disc set includes a 12-song disc and an eight-song set of remixes on a second disc. The remixes are longer with slightly different assemblages of pieces, but aren't much weirder, just different. Highlights among the often pun-filled titles include the cinematic "Dust" and "The Berber Of Seville" as well as the atmospheric "Rare Earth: The Forest Of Thieves Mix." *-- Tad Hendrickson

Product Description
The Bombay Dub Orchestra is the brainchild of two English musicians, Andrew Mackay and Garry Hughes, who wanted to do something that hadn't been tried before: to make the ultimate chill-out album, using a real orchestra. It all began when Mackay and Hughes went to Bombay some seven years ago to record some of that city's top session players for a project by the LA group Spellbound. "I produced and Andy arranged," Hughes recalls. "It was a fantastic experinece recording these guys, and on the plane coming home we thought how great it would be to make an orchestral chill-out record with these players." Over a period of nearly a year, Mackay and Highes worked out the intricate, almost cinematic arrangements with digital samples. They ended up with a pretty fair approximation of what their Bombay Dub Orchestra would sound like. But there was no chance that the two producers would be satisfied with that. "I love samples and use them a lot" Highes says, "but some things you have to do with real players." In March 2005, Mackay and Hughes finally traveled to Bombay, India and began what must rank as one of the most unique orchestral recording sessions ever. "During that week, we recorded a 28 piece string section on 10 different tracks. We generally overdubbed the orchestra several times to achieve the multi-layored arrangements that we were aiming for." In addition to the orchestra, the pair also recorded the cream of Bombay's Indian classical musicians - including leading players of the sitar, tabla, bansuri and some memorable vocal performances. This specially priced double CD also includes a second disc of "dub remixes" which takes the music into even more exotic sonic territories.


Karsh Kale - Broken English
listen to the album here: Broken English
info:
Born in London, raised in New York City, and of Indian descent, Karsh Kale's life has always been a mix of cultures, so it should come as no surprise that his music reflects that. His debut, Realize, quickly proved that he could mix it up gracefully and organically with the best of them. Here, on his third proper studio album (there've also been countless remixes, collections and collective projects), Kale's self-proclaimed brand of "rocktronic-organica" brings together such guests as Ekova's Dierdre, Midival Punditz, Crystal Method, and rapper MC Napolean. Whereas electronica and hip-hop are commonly integrated into Indian music (or vice versa), Kale also offers up intriguing touches of indie rock on "Dancing At Sunset" and the ballad "City Lights"--the latter isn't as compelling as the former, but Kale still gets points for originality. Other highlights include the dreamy "Drive" and the hard-driving electronica of "Hole In The Sky." Truly music with a modern multi-culti reach, nothing on Broken English is lost in translation. --Tad Hendrickson

Product Description
On Broken English, Karsh balances his Indian heritage with rock and roll, hip-hop and atmospheric pop for this most diverse release to date. Kale works with a talented cast of collaborators including MC Napolean Solo, vocalists Trixie Reiss (the Crystal Method), Sophie Michalitsianos (Sparklehorse), Diedre (Ekova), Vishal Vaid and award winning Bollywood film composer Salim Merchant

check them out good stuff, but cibelle, natacha atlas are my favorites and i love karsh as well, he's also apart of Tabla Beat Science with Bill Laswell, Zakir Hussain etc

Too many suggestions, brain overload.. :)

Cool Thread!!
(actually a DP somehow, so am making something up here, sorry)

Try Dead Can Dance (anything by them)
specifically Towards the Within or Spiritual

Too many suggestions, brain overload.. :)

hey Fewtch...
yeah I do not want to bombard your thread, pm me me if you have some interest...I am a music LOVER...
check out the label Putumayo Music!!!
Dublin to Dakkar amazing cd to start off in this labels wide offering
World Music Anniversery (10th) Various artists...

Let me know, have many CD's, Artists, and Labels that relate to your thread directly


word

hey audiofiler who do you have? i'd love to do some PM'n

Most “World Music” recordings leave much to be desired from a sound quality perspective.

One of my very favorite recordings of any genre is Willie & Lobo’s “Between the Waters” Difficult to classify, but Flamenco is probably closest. Fantastic music, but also great sonics.

a couple i don't think i saw listed by anyone:


zouk obsession by gazoline (pier' rosier)

and

gumbay dance! by abdel kabirr and the koto soto band

This thread needs more input, not less. Just post (I guess somewhat brief) reviews/descriptions.

yeah i agree...i hope this thread just grows and grows, it's a 'rare' genre sometimes and to find people who actually have an interest too is hard, but 5 pages with a lot of good info, keep it coming, there's always new things to be exposed to

Time to bump this thread with a top recommendation.

Tri Yann is a long-standing Celtic folk-rock group from France, who plays music with a fun-loving enthuaism. In Marines, they doused off much of their rockish style and record a collection of sea chanties and other ocean-themed songs. The material puts their male-voice harmonies to the fore, while the musical arrangement keeps things fresh and interesting. I especially like the French rendition of "The Water is Wide", Divent a dour, which pays homage to the song's Scottish origin. Wonderful, wonderful: five stars.

bought some more albums (4 in all, 2 of which belong in this thread), so without further adieu...


Gigi - Gold & Wax



listen here: Gigi

Taking the world music scene by storm with her self-titled debut, Ethiopian singer Ejigayehu "Gigi" Shibabaw picks up right where she left off five years ago with Gold & Wax. Producer Bill Laswell is again behind the boards, and he's assembled another cosmopolitan cast of backing musicians, who range from Guns N' Roses guitarist Buckethead and Indian production team Midival Punditz to P-Funk keyboardist Bernie Worrell and jazz trumpeter Nils Petter Molvaer. Ever the master aural architect, Laswell finds a way fuse styles as well as the players' strong personalities into a seamless whole. Gigi herself soars siren-like over the top of ambient leaning tunes, or she digs in with her plaintive high-pitched voice on more rhythmically anchored pieces. Standouts include the English-language "Utopia," the rhythmically churning and horn-driven "Salam," and the anthemic "Gomelayeye." Not much of a departure from her debut, but there's no point in complaining about more of a very good thing. -- Tad Hendrickson

Product Description
Product Description The long-awaited follow-up to Gigi’s stellar debut has finally landed. On her second effort, Gold & Wax, Ejigayehu "Gigi" Shibabaw has again proven her ability to seamlessly work the songs of her Ethiopian ancestry into a contemporary vocal sound befitting the worlds of jazz, electronica and even dub-inspired African rhythms. Produced by Bill Laswell, Gold & Wax maintains an illustrious gleam; every instrument falls perfectly into place, centered on the singer’s near-angelic range.

The praise for Gigi was universal and unabashed. The Miami Herald rightfully called Gigi "Ethiopia’s gift to the world," while The NY Times described her sound as "full of unexpected angles and modal curves." Her vocals, according to XLR8R, "sounds sweeter than a cup of Ethiopian honey wine"; while the Village Voice agreed saying she has "not just a luxuriously rich voice but an unassumingly cosmopolitan presence." Gigi is an ambassador of ancient sound with modern sensibilities.
another review: Gigi - Gold & Wax


Azam Ali - Elysium for the Brave
(apparently the release date says july 25, 2006, but it looks like they released it earlier as i picked it up today, so i'm not sure when they officially released this album)



listen here: Azam Ali

inside the cd cover:
The process of making music for me is like an intangible philosophy - a philosophy which emphasizes the intuitive. It is only in this non-conceptual way that i am able to remain vulnerable, honest, and willing to evolve. It is in this way that the boundaries set by my corporeal existence are challenged.

My biggest fear creatively has always been that i would grow complacent with my art. Meaning that i would find a formula that worked and keep creating a different version of the same thing. My need to take risks may not always produce the desired result, but nevertheless it enables me to remain open to possibilities of growh i may otherwise overlook. i am greateful to all of you who have supported my need to expand artistically and blur the peripheries set by my past works.

Elysium for the Brave is an expression of the part of me which has lived in the Western world for over two decades, and so encompasses all aspects of my cultural influences. The title holds manifold meanings. Since the songs are either about war, or endeavoring to ocvercome personal and spiritual afflictions, i could not help but draw the parallel that in all internal and external struggles there is a promise of a heaven, or personal liberation if we are brave enough to be willing to fail.

Music has been my greatest teacher, and a home for my vagrant soul. it has also taught me about honesty and provided me in glimpses with that sense of unimpeded clarity wherein all things are absolute.



Azam Ali - Elysium for the Brave

Azam Ali's new solo album entitled Elysium for the Brave is set for release on July 25, 2006 on Six Degrees Records.

The incredible voice of Niyaz and Vas branches out with what is being described as her most ambitious solo release to date. The album entitled Elysium for the Brave weaves Ali's many influences into a haunting tapestry of atmospheric rock, electronic and global sounds. Singing predominantly in English for the first time, the songs are based on lyrics written by Azam herself and reveal a poetic lyricism heard only in glimpses in her previous works.

Helping to seamlessly bring all of these diverse sounds together is a talented cast of musicians which includes King Crimson's rhythm section of Trey Gunn and Pat Mastelotto, Persian classical violinist Kiavash Nourai, Loga Ramin Torkian and Carmen Rizzo, Azam's collaborators in Niyaz, and noted film composers Tyler Bates and Jeff Rona, the latter of whom is known for his collaborations with Dead Can Dance.

heh this thread will always get bumped and continue as long as i'm around

AMG 4 Stars

Mali's Amadou & Mariam sing in three African languages and French but more importantly are fluent in a musical language that often transcends ordinary speech. Polyrhythmic percussion, complex vocal harmonies, and fluid guitar, violin, and horn lines -- as well as the occasional harmonica -- are combined to create earthy songs that are more given the breath of life than performed. Each of the album's 15 songs beats with its own human, living pulse. "A Radio Mogo" hints at Caribbean reggae, while "Mon Amour, Ma Cherie" allows Amadou to stretch out a bit on guitar, over a rolling, throbbing beat. While not as blues-oriented as the more internationally known Malian guitarists, Ali Farka Toure and Boubacar Traore, Amadou plays guitar in an accomplished, heartfelt style that's accessible in any language. In Sou Ni Tile, Amadou & Mariam and their band have created mature, intelligent pop music that's accessible exactly because the musicians have chosen not to trade exuberance or passion for their maturity and intelligence.

Available on Emusic and Amazon.

From Uzbekistan - pop music, traditional music, and technology combine to form an impressive album.