Café del Mundo (Putumayo World Music, 2014)
The concept behind Putmayo’s Café del Mundo compilation is to provide a set of relaxing songs featuring “exceptional singer-songwriters from around the globe.” The producers envision listeners resting in a charming café somewhere in the world (Rome, San Francisco, Granada, etc.) and talking with friends while drinking a cappuccino, café con leche or chocolate con churros as one of life’s simple pleasures.
The pieces on Café del Mundo are a collection of laid back songs in various languages and musical styles, ranging from pop to folk and new music based on traditional roots. Highlights include the opening piece ‘Metro – Boulot – Dodo’ by Senegalese group Les Frères Guissé (the Guissé brothers). Aliou, Cheikh Tidiane and Djiby Guissé present soft vocal harmonies accompanied by acoustic guitar and hand percussion. They sing in Peulh and Wolof with a little French. This song will appear in an upcoming album.
Track 2 also stands out. It’s ‘Ojos Negros’ by two of Cuba’s leading talents, Kelvis Ochoa and Descemer Bueno. ‘Ojos Negros’ is passionate love song with a tasty Cuban flavor, combining nueva trova, jazz and bolero. Singer-songwriter Kelvis Ochoa toured with Cuban singer-songwriters Gema y Pavel and formed the band Habana Abierta. He lived 14 years in Madrid, Spain’s creative musical hotspot, and returned to Havana in 2008. Descemer formed a jazz band called Estado de Animo in Cuba and later became well-known in the United States thanks to his New York-based Latin funk group Yerba Buena. Kelvis and Descemer released an album titled Amor y Música (Love and Music).
Another high point is the beautiful voice of Scottish singer Julie Fowlis that appears on “Lon-dubh (a Gaelic language version of Paul McCartney’s song Blackbird). Julie Fowlis worked on the popular Disney Pixar film Brave and has four studio albums plus a love recording: Gach Sgeul / Every Story, Mar a Tha Mo Chridhe, Cuilidh, Uam, and Live at Perthshire Amber.
Cameroonian Singer-songwriter Blick Bassy grabs your attention with ‘Hèmlè,’ a delicious song that blends Bassa traditional music, jazz and soul. Blick Bassy was born in Yaunde, the capital of Cameroon. “I started listening to Marvin Gaye, Gilberto Gil and Nat King Cole. I realized I wanted to blend the beauty of my Bassa culture and its musical traditions with other music that inspired me and create my own soulful sound,” says Blick Bassy.
The rest of the album features pleasant songs by various other artists: ‘Nuovo’ by Italian folk singer Gianmaria Testa; ‘Lluvia Sol’ by German mestizo Les Babacools; ‘Gran Intento’ by celebrated Colombian artist Mónica Giraldo; ‘Ny Alantsika’ by Malgasy singer-songwriter Razia Said; ‘Sinar’ by popular Indonesian vocalist Rita Lestariani; a bossa nova piece by Netherlands-based Portuguese singer Fernando Lameirinhas; ‘Beschäftigt mit dem Blues,’ German language Edith Piaf-influenced retro music by Katharine Mehrling; and ‘Les Lendemains Mélodieux’ French language folk-pop by Canadian singer-songwriter Pascal Lejeune.
I would have turned to Brazil for bossa nova and to southern Spain (the current hub for mestizo bands) for great mestizo music. But, overall, the compilation serves the relaxing purpose intended by the producers.
The Café del Mundo CD features a traditional Colombian recipe for chocolate con leche de coco, a hot chocolate made with coconut milk that is ideal to sip on while listening to the album.
Buy Café del Mundo
Author: Angel Romero
Angel Romero y Ruiz has dedicated his life to musical exploration. His efforts included the creation of two online portals, worldmusiccentral.org and musicasdelmundo.com. In addition, Angel is the co-founder of the Transglobal World Music Chart, a panel of world music DJs and writers that celebrates global sounds. Furthermore, he delved into the record business, producing world music studio albums and compilations. His works have appeared on Alula Records, Ellipsis Arts, Indígena Records and Music of the World.
