World Music Central

Let the Party Begin

Sun, 12 Oct 2008 03:30:22 -0400

In recent months, numerous world music compilations came out, many of which had party themes. Here is an overview of the latest anthologies.

The Rough Guide to Brazilian Street Party shows capoeira dancers at the beach, setting the context for the recording. The album opens with one of my favorite Brazilian bands, Funk'n'Lata, a group that brings together the spirit of James Brown, American funk and Brazilian grooves. The rest of the albums is a collection of upbeat tunes and remixes that will definitely liven your global celebration.

When it's time for quieter music, try Acoustic World-China. The CD contains pieces by some of the finest Chinese instrumentalists. Pipa diva Wu Man participated with 3 pieces. Other artists featured include qin master Lin Youren; Xuan Ke and the Dayan Ancient Music association, playing ritual music; and Li Jinwen, performing "sheng-guan" music for wind and percussion.

Six Degrees specializes in global electronica and other hybrid world music styles. Its Traveler '08 presents some of the most attractive artists in the catalog. Ranging from the internationally popular Ojos de Brujo and Brazil's Bebel Gilberto and CéU to global electronic explorations by Karsh Kale, Gaudí + Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, and several other artists.

This seems to be the year for street party CDs. The Rough Guide to Latin Street Party combines both mainstream acts and alternative Latin artists from Colombia, Puerto Rico, Mexico, the United States and even Africa (Ricardo Lemvo's salsa explorations).

Putumayo Presents Acoustic France includes French artists as well as international acts that sing in French, like US-based Rupa & the April Fishes. Sometimes the boundaries between world music and straight ahead pop are broken and someone like pop singer Carla Bruni (prime minister Nicolas Sarkozy's wife, France's first lady) sneaks in. There are definitely more interesting acoustic French acts, but I guess celebrity wins.

Think Global Acoustic Brazil in association with OXFAM, features renowned Brazilian artists, as well as lesser known acts, in unplugged versions. Styles include samba, MPB and bossa. Artist line-up: Maria Bethania, Garrafieira, Chico Buarque, Marcos Sacramento, Casuarina, Paula Santoro, Rosinha De Valença, Orquesta Imperial, Clara Moreno & Joyce, Nicolas Krassik with Beth Carvalho, Paulo Moura, Augusto Martins, Vitor Ramil & Marcos Suzano With Katia B, Mongol, Gabriel Moura and Armando Marcal.

Colombian Street Party is a portrait of what young Colombians are listening and dancing to. The vast array of sounds includes traditional and hybrid cumbia, salsa, champeta, reggaeton and even calypso. Some of the artists are well known acts in Colombia. Artists featured: Sixto Silgado, Paito y Los Gaiteros De Punta Brava, Grupo Retrovisor, Grupo Tumba Y Quema, Radio Cumbia, Mojarra Electrica, Dr Krapula, Creole, Calambuco, La Contundencia, Colombiafrica, Chocquibtown, Grupo Saboreo, LA-33, Joe Arroyo, Makina Del Karibe

Due to the tightening of the U.S. embargo against Cuba, fewer Cuban recordings have arrived to American ears. The Rough Guide to Cuban Street Party provides a look at the current Cuban music scene, although the compilation includes historical recordings such as a song by Celia Cruz. Cuba is still a musical powerhouse and most of the album focuses of the popular dance genres such as timba, son, salsa, reggaeton, and guajiro music.

The Rough Guide to Latin Lounge reveals hip artists influenced by the musics of Latin America and Spain with styles that include new bossa, samba jazz, mestizo sounds, Afro-Peruvian hybrids, Cuban ska, and global electronica mixes. Artist line-up: Ska Cubano, Los Amigos Invisible, Brownout, Madrid de los Austrias, Mo’Horizons, Alex Wilson, Bah Samba, Miguel ‘Anga’ Diaz, Novalima, The Quantic Soul Orchestra, Arthur Verocai, Malena, The JuJu Orchestra and Color Climax.

Ultimate Musical Adventures includes one of the hottest groups in the world music scene, Cambodian psychedelic surf rockers Dengue Fever. Other artists included: Corey Harris With Ali Farka Toure, Cuban Cowboys, Idan Raichel's Project, Ozomatli, Rhany, Jolly Mukherjee & Sridevi, Francis Bebey, Tribali, Ravi Bal & Daljit Mattu, Sami Ali and Geraldo Pino & The Heart Breaks

Buy the CDs:

In North America: Rough Guide to Brazilian Street Party, Acoustic World-China, Rough Guide to Latin Street Party, Putumayo Presents Acoustic France, The Rough Guide to Cuban Street Party, The Rough Guide to Latin Lounge, and Ultimate Musical Adventures

In Europe: The Rough Guide to Latin Street Party, Acoustic World China, Acoustic France, The Rough Guide to Cuban Street Party, The Rough Guide to Latin Lounge, and Ultimate Musical Adventures

When Africa Was Changing Its Tune

Sat, 11 Oct 2008 17:32:29 -0400

Highlife Time: Nigerian and Ghanaian Sounds from the ‘60s and Early ‘70s (Vampisoul VAMPI CD 101, 2008)

Fela Ransome Kuti - 1963-1969 Lagos Baby (Vampisoul VAMPI CD 097, 2008)

Nigeria 70: Lagos Jump - Original Heavyweight Afrobeat, High Life & Afro Funk (Strut Records STRUT035CD, 2008)

As influential as African music has been, keep in mind the degree of influence it’s absorbed as well, particularly in its most popular forms. Even as the rapidly developing nations of Nigeria and Ghana were asserting a newfound African identity in the early years after independence, their music still brimmed with ingredients from Europe, the Western Hemisphere and beyond.

Built on a foundation of church music, military brass, sea shanties, traditional rhythms and an acoustic precursor style called palm wine, highlife was the soundtrack to the prosperous post-colonial mood of Ghana and Nigeria. Guitars, horns and percussion were (and are) essential to its big-band sound, and the more innovative highlife artists incorporated Latin, Caribbean, Congolese, jazz, funk and even psychedelic flavors into the mix as the music moved with the times. It was dance music of the highest order, it’s rippling, rolling arrangements always leaving room for rhythms that were distinctly African at the core and lyrics (sometimes in English) that ranged from parabolic to simply celebratory.

The period covered on Vampisoul’s compilation Highlife Time: Nigerian and Ghanaian Sounds from the ‘60s and Early ‘70s is a fairly brief one considering the decades-long history of the genre, but it’s arguably when highlife was at its greatest creative peak. Included are many rare and obscure gems along with work by some of highlife’s biggest names (Rex Lawson, E.T. Mensah, Chief Stephen Osita Osadebe) and every track brims with raw energy that frequently spins off musical ideas borrowed from elsewhere and incorporated in typically innovative African style. Compiler John Armstrong has done an impressive job on this double CD pack, and in the liner notes hints at more to come. I hope so, since what we have here is easily the best highlife compilation since World Music Network’s similarly strong Rough Guide to Highlife in 2003.

Before he changed his name to FFela Anikulapo-Kuti (“Anikulapo” meaning “he who carries death in his pouch” in Yoruba) and created the Afrobeat style in his own controversial image, Nigeria’s Fela Ransome-Kuti was a young trumpeter and vocalist who headed a band called Koola Lobitos. After several years of studying music at London’s Trinity College, he returned to his homeland intent upon injecting the popular highlife style with some of the jazz, soul, rhythm n’ blues and Caribbean sounds he’d absorbed in London. His commercial success was spotty- and, quite frankly, so is the recording quality on a few of the tracks on Vampisoul’s new collection of his ‘60s works -but you can’t blame the music. Fela called it “highlife jazz” and the name fit the sound. The role of the guitar was more diminished than in mainstream highlife, bringing the horns front and center to ride and punctuate the groove.

Fela was a charismatically focused singer at the time and noticeably better on trumpet than on saxophone (his later instrument of choice), even scaling to some Miles Davis-like heights on a couple of pieces that sport a quintet lineup. As the tracks on the two generously lengthy CDs progress, you can hear the increased influence of soul creeping in along with the relentless rhythmic intensity (thanks in no small part to the phenomenal drumming of Tony Allen, who first hooked up with Fela in 1965) that marked the emerging style eventually dubbed Afrobeat. In 1969 (the cutoff point of this collection) Fela visited America for the first time, getting wise to the Black Power movement and further refining his sound. Soon he would become the radical, in-your-face Afrobeat rebel who achieved worldwide fame. But he made some truly landmark music prior to that, a fact that this set spotlights with long-overdue comprehensiveness. Highly recommended.

For a broader sampling of what was happening musically in Nigeria three decades ago, check out Strut Records’ Nigeria 70: Lagos Jump - Original Heavyweight Afrobeat, High Life & Afro Funk. It’s packed with tracks from a time when Nigerian music was not just influenced by homegrown heroes but by the likes of James Brown, Santana, Bob Marley and Sly Stone as well. Wah-wah guitars and psychedelic keyboards are propelled by African percussion, soul sentiments get shouted out in call-and-response style and indigenous rhythms get electrified like nobody’s business throughout this CD’s 77 minutes, a feast of extended jams and shorter knockouts. The whole thing’s a blast, ranging from the delirious (“Ezuku Buzo” by Bola Johnson and his Easy Life Top Beats) to the sublime (“Peter King’s “African Dialects,” Chief Checker’s “Africa Irie”). A fascinating, satisfying slice of Nigeria’s rich musical history. (www.strut-records.com)

Buy the CDs: Highlife Time, 1963-1969 Lagos Baby, and Nigeria 70: Lagos Jump

Jah Cure's New Album The Universal Cure Will Be Released on November 18th

Sat, 11 Oct 2008 01:19:36 -0400

Jah Cure’s new album, The Universal Cur,” his first recorded album since his release from prison, is scheduled to be shipped worldwide in November, 2008. The first single off that album, “Hot Long Time,” featuring Flo-Rida, Mavado and Jr. Reid, was recently released in the Caribbean. This collaboration is the first of many for Cure. The album contains collaborations with several artists, crossing the reggae, hip-hop, Latin, and R&B genres. Another single, “Mr. Jailer,” will be released from “The Universal Cure” album in the U.S. and Europe in September, 2008. Another track from the album, “Journey,” is also on the reggae compilation album, Jouney Riddims, now available worldwide on iTunes.

Cure was already on his way to becoming an international success when his life took a radical turn in 1998. He was stopped and arrested late one night in Montego Bay and charged with crimes, all of which he denied. He has maintained his innocence to this day all through his arrest, trial and incarceration. A non-jury trial was convened, where Cure’s defense lawyer based his case on “Identification vs. Recognition” case law. Unfortunately, based on one victim’s claim that he sounded like one of the perpetrators, Cure was sentenced in 1999 to 15 years in prison.

After serving eight years in jail, Cure was released from prison on July 28, 2007. His goal now is to spread love and to promote peace and healing, universally through his music. He believes his incarceration was Jah’s way of teaching him humility, kindness, forgiveness and love for his fellow man. Consequently, he has forgiven all those who have done him wrong, and all those who have judged him unjustly and unfairly.

Cure was born in Hanover, Jamaica on October 11, 1978. As a young man, he’d sneak out of his bedroom window late at night to visit local dance halls and stage shows. He also attended the annual Reggae Sunsplash in his community, where he saw the great Reggae icons performing: Bob Marley, Peter Tosh, Burning Spear, Beres Hammond, Marcia Griffith, Garnett Silk, Yami Bolo, Jacob Miller and Black Uhuru. By the age of 11, he made the decision to become a part of that elite group becoming a reggae star and an icon was his dream and his sole mission. Initially using the name “Little Melody,” Siccaturie began his musical onslaught on the public. He soon became the talk of Jamaica and was well on his way to success. His voice started to leave an indelible impression in the streets, and at the age of 15, he moved to Kingston, where he met Capleton, Sizzla and Jah Mason. Little Melody was about to fulfill his dream.

Capleton, the world renowned Jamaican artist, and the David House Crew later bestowed on Siccaturie the name “Jah Cure” primarily because of the vast amount of herb he smoked a daily custom of his Rastafarian religion. The symbolism was obvious the singer looked young and healthy and he was “well preserved,” as in “Well Cured,” using herb for medicinal purposes. It was at this time that Cure became enlightened spiritually and his belief in living naturally became heightened.

Jamaican music icon Beres Hammond took Cure under his wing and began mentoring him in the studio and producing him. In 1998 Cure performed on a European tour and visited several Caribbean Islands with Hammond and the Harmony House Family. Cure created several cranking melancholic, compelling melodies which brought tears to the eyes of his listeners, without many of them even understanding the words. Sadly, that musical education would be suddenly and unexpectedly interrupted by Cure’s arrest and in incarceration.

While in jail, Cure recorded and released several records, many of which topped the charts as # 1 singles. The two songs, “Jamaica,” produced by Danger Zone Productions and “Longing For,” produced by Don Carleon, both hit # 1 on the Jamaican charts and were international hits. His first album, Free Jah's Cure, was recorded in jail and later released in 2001, one year after his incarceration. It is a project that has been lyrically compared to Bob Marley’s Exodus. On the album, Cure gives thanks for life while spreading love through his music.

Eventually, in 2003, Hammond produced Cure’s second album, Ghetto Life, which featured the single “Divide and Rule,” a duet with Sizzla, voted the best song of that year. His international recognition was then and forever born.

Videos:

First Richmond Folk Festival This Weekend

Fri, 10 Oct 2008 07:49:06 -0400

The first Richmond Folk Festival is taking place this weekend, October 10-12, 2008, on downtown Richmond’s historic riverfront. The Richmond Folk Festival continues the three-year tradition established by the hugely successful National Folk Festival in Richmond, Virginia, celebrating the roots, richness and variety of American culture through music, dance, traditional craft and food.

The “National” has been held in 27 communities around the country and spent three years on downtown Richmond’s riverfront from 2005 through 2007. The National has moved to Butte, Montana, but Richmond is continuing the cultural celebration by presenting its own festival with the same commitment to quality and authenticity established by the National. Planting the seeds for continuing folk festivals across the country is part of the mission of the National Folk Festival; hence the reason for its three-year stay in selected cities.

In the exact likeness of the National Folk Festival, the Richmond Folk Festival features more than 30 performing groups on seven different stages throughout the festival, performing everything from go-go to gospel; polka to salsa. The inaugural festival also features the MWV Virginia Folklife Area, “New Neighbors: Common Ground in the Commonwealth,” which explores Virginia’s new immigrant cultures; the Genworth Foundation Family Area, offering performances and hands-on crafts and demonstrations geared toward families; a Crafts Marketplace offering a unique shopping experience; and an Ethnic Food Court selling foods from a variety of different cultures. The FREE three-day festival is expected to be one of the largest events in Virginia, and the largest festival in Richmond, drawing visitors from across the country.

The final line-up for the Richmond Folk Festival features: E.U., one of the best go-go groups on the East Coast; Larry Bland and the Volunteer Choir, African-American gospel group; Mark Halata and Texavia, Texas-Czech polka; Plena Libre, Puerto Rican salsa and bomba y plena; The Itals, Jamaican Reggae; Lee Sexton Band, Appalachian banjo; Sharde Thomas & The Rising Star Fife and Drum Band, African American pre-blues tradition of fife and drum; James Cheechoo; Cree fiddling; Vieux Farka Touré, Malian blues; Todd Hallawell & Robin Kessinger, Virginia finger-picked and flat-picked guitar; Grupo Cimarrón, Colombian joropo music. The Cellicion Zuni Traditional Dancers, Native dancing, drumming, singing and flute-playing; Tamara & The Shadow Theatre of Java, Javanese shadow puppetry; Drums No Guns, youth percussion ensemble; The Dan Tyminski Band, one of the top bluegrass bands in America.

BeauSoleil avec Michael Doucet, one of America’s premier Cajun bands and the leading ambassador of Cajun music, Líadan, six young music masters from across the pond in Galway, Limerick and Dublin, Ireland, performing traditional Irish music, Ledward Ka'apana & Mike Kaawa, two of Hawaii’s most respected players of the slack-key and 12-string guitar, Howard Tate, performing Soul and R&B, Dale Watson playing original honky-tonk country, Traditional Arabic music performed by the esteemed Nadeem Dlaikan & Friends, Eddie & Alonzo Pennington, from Princeton, Kentucky, performing thumb-picked guitar, Inuit throat singing performed by Nukariik, a sister duo from Ontario, Canada, Eastern European musical group, Harmonia, San Jose Taiko, performing Japanese drum and dance, and the highly anticipated Tezcatlipoca Voladores, performing the “Sundance” which involves jumping from the top of a 90-foot pole and swinging slowly to the ground in circles from the ropes tied to the flyers’ ankles.

The 2008 MWV Virginia Folklife Area is titled New Neighbors: Common Ground in the Commonwealth. It explores Virginia's immigrant culture through the artistry, creativity and community life of new immigrants, highlighting artistic achievement, deeply-held cultural expressions and cross-cultural communication. New Neighbors: Common Ground in the Commonwealth explores a range of traditions that extends from the religious traditions of Mexican, Mongolian, and Guatemalan artists to the social musics of Sudan and Indonesia and from the dance costumes of Cambodia and Bolivia to the food ways of Czech, Slovak and German immigrants.

The Richmond Folk Festival also features a Traditional Craft Marketplace with more than 20 artisans selling a variety of hand-crafted arts from quilting, lace making, pottery and basketry to furniture creation, instrument making and wood carving. The Ethnic Food Court offers festival goers foods from around the world such as West African, Greek, German, Indian, Thai, Caribbean, and Asian, along with traditional festival foods for those wary of unique tastes.

The Richmond Folk Festival is produced by Venture Richmond in continuing partnership with the National Council for the Traditional Arts (NCTA), the same organization that produces the National Folk Festival. Other producing partners include the City of Richmond, Virginia Foundation for the Humanities, the National Park Service, the Library of Virginia and the Children’s Museum of Richmond.

Stage Sponsors and Major Contributors to date include Comcast, Dominion, Genworth Foundation, NewMarket Corp., Philip Morris USA, Richmond Times-Dispatch, SunTrust, The Community Foundation, Ukrop’s/First Market Bank and Wachovia/Wachovia Securities.

For more information, please visit www.venturerichmond.com or call (804) 788-6466.

Plena Libre at Silk Hope, North Carolina. Photo by Angel Romero.

Plena Luminaries Touring East Coast in United States

Fri, 10 Oct 2008 07:37:58 -0400

Shortly after reviewing their outstanding live album, Plena Al Salsero, I had the opportunity of experiencing Puerto Rico's Plena Libre live at the Shakori Hills Festival in Silk Hope, North Carolina. The substantial group (I counted 10 musicians) is a percussion lover's feast. Plena Libre uses a timbalero, a conguero and three additional percussionists who play various forms of the pandero (frame drum). In addition, the group has a set of excellent singers backed by horns, bass and keyboards.

The panderos make a huge difference to the band's sound. What would normally sound like a great salsa band is transformed into a frenzied percussion orgy of Afro-Puerto Rican beats that blend bomba, plena, jazz and salsa.

Initially, the crowd listening to the concert was shy, but musicians encouraged dancing with their irresistible rhythms until the dance floor area was packed with young and old.

Yesterday's concert was at the Dance Stage, but today's concert will be at the main stage (Meadow Stage), right after Canadian folk innovators The Duhks. Don't miss this opportunity, if you can, to appreciate one of the finest bands in the Puerto Rican musical scene. In addition to today's concert at Shakori Hills, Plena Libre will be playing at the Richmond Folk Festival (Virginia) and a Hispanic heritage festival in Newark (New Jersey). After that, they are off to Morocco.

Shakori Hills GrassRoots Festival
Silk Hope,
North Carolina
Date: Fri Oct. 10
Time: 9:00 p.m.

Richmond Folk Festival
Richmond, Virginia
Dates: Sat. Oct. 11 / time: 5:15 & 7:30 p.m.
Sun, Oct. 12 / Time: 2:00 & 5:45 p.m.

"Dia Familiar" @ The Newark Museum
Newark, New Jersey
Date: Mon, Oct. 13 / time 2:00 - 5:00 p.m.

Buy the latest CD:

In North America: Plena Al Salsero. Other releases available: Evolución, ¡Estamos Gozando!
In Europe: (not available yet)

Photos by Angel Romero

Bombay Dub Orchestra Releases 3 Cities Album

Fri, 10 Oct 2008 03:57:45 -0400

The second installment in Bombay Dub Orchestra’s ongoing East-West fusion project, titled 3 Cities, takes the listener on a rollicking ride down the Ganges from the Himalayas to the Bay of Bengal with sounds both new and old. The duo says that they “didn’t set out to do anything that different on this album. We just continued doing exactly what we wanted to do without any borders, boundaries or restraints. We of course wanted to increase our palette of sounds further than the first one – but we had to let it grow organically so nothing was forced or contrived. We did however use a lot more acoustic instruments.”

Mumbai (formerly Bombay) is where the majority of 3 Cities was created and is central to the Bombay Dub Orchestra project. The people, the music, the colors, the buildings, the smells, the food and life in the heart of the city has been integral to the inspiration behind their work.

Both Hughes and Mackay have been traveling to Mumbai since the early 90’s and first worked together there in 1998. Mackay elaborates, “We have a great rapport with the musicians and technicians in Mumbai and have built strong relationships over the last ten years.” Mackay adds, “The soloists are amazing and there is a great selection of musicians, some veterans of the industry who have played on the biggest film scores and records in the last thirty years. Then there are the new breed of young players who are coming up and have great enthusiasm for music and have learned so much from the masters before them. 3 Cities proudly features both.”

The second city represented on the album is Chennai (Madras). Although both Hughes and Mackay had visited Chennai before, this was their first time recording there. They immediately made a real connection with the musicians, recording at the studios of revered composer and musician A R Rahman. This is where they worked with some of the most dedicated string players and soloists. As Hughes states, “The string players that we recorded with worked extraordinary hours - something you would never find in the UK or US. They were recording from 7am until 2pm with AR Rahman and then we would record with them from 3pm until 9pm. By this time as you can imagine they were pretty tired but it never showed. The players were amazing, especially considering we had never worked with the majority of them before.”

After extensive recording sessions in Mumbai and Chennai, Bombay Dub Orchestra returned back home from their apartment in Lokhandwala, Mumbai to the United Kingdom. They recorded in various parts of the UK including London where the vocals of singers Kartik and Meneka were recorded as well as some sitar and percussion.

The biggest UK sessions were recorded at Rockfield Studios, located on a farm near the hamlet of Rockfield on the Welsh border. A legendary music studio set up in the 1960s, the facility has the vibe left from five decades of recording with the likes of Queen, Black Sabbath, Simple Minds, Echo and the Bunnymen, Robert Plant and Oasis. Here BDO recorded live drums, percussion, tablas, Rhodes and piano. The Bosendorfer Grand piano that was used on 3 Cities is the very same one that Freddie Mercury recorded ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ on.

3 Cities opens with “Egypt by Air,” an imaginary journey from India to Egypt inspired by a 1930’s travel poster - an intriguing track layered with sweeping strings and built on a heavy dance beat fused with ouds, darabukas and the group’s synthesizer sequences. “Journey” is based on two Indian Raags (scales) featuring singer Kartik, along with Ashwin Srinivasan’s bansuri (flute), Sunil Das’ beautiful sitar, a santoor (a kind of hammered dulcimer) played by Ulhas Bapat, and a slow but heavy trip-hop groove. “Strange Constellations,” an immediate electro-pop melody driven ‘Love Song’ (according to Hughes - the only love song he has ever written) hits home from the first beat with an overwhelmingly beautiful and simplistic melody.

“Junoon,” featuring the vocals of Meneka could almost hail from a classic Indian film with its mix of Hindi/Urdu lyrics. Virtuosic bansuri, with cinematic strings mix with squelchy synths on a slow Indian percussion led beat. “Spiral ( 3 Cities)” is a collage of the sub-continent with its south Indian percussion, North Indian Vocals again by Kartik, dilruba and tarshennai by Chennai based musician Saroja, tough beats and electrically charged strings! “Map of Dusk,” is dreamy and atmospheric with ambient guitar and flute atop live drums and percussion. Shimmering strings rise from the ambience creating another exotic cinematic landscape.

“Fallen” features the vocals of Mumbai based singer Hamsika Iyer. Her haunting voice is supported by Abdullah Mufa’s brushed drums and Mackay’s jazz-inflected piano. Mysterious bansuri lines weave amongst the vocals and evocative strings. “Greenish Blue” is a vast and dynamic cinematic piece, which, according to Mackay “is a gentle nod to the soundtrack of the classic Indian film ‘Ram Teri Ganga Meli’ by blind composer Ravindra Jain.” “Monsoon Malabar’s” multiple male vocals build up layers of harmony leading into a strong electro-dance groove with washes of live Indian percussion. The result is one of the album’s most dynamic and energetic tracks.

“Feasting with Panthers” features bass clarinet clusters, dark melodies, chilled beats and restrained strings and is followed by album closer “Amina,” with an episodic arrangement that starts out quiet and contemplative, then gradually turns beat-heavy (courtesy of young UK based drummer Will Brown).

“We now have a core group of musicians who we have recorded with over the last two albums and who have played live with us over the last two years,” say Mackay. “We’ve been blessed to be working with some of the finest musicians in the world.”

Buy the Album:

In North America: 3 Cities. Also available: Bombay Dub Orchestra
In Europe: 3 Cities. Also available: Bombay Dub Orchestra.

Sauti za Busara Festival 2008 in Zanzibar Adds Samba Mapangala to Line-Up

Fri, 10 Oct 2008 02:13:37 -0400

The sixth edition of the Sauti za Busara music festival will take place in Zanzibar, 12-17 February 2009; admission is free to all each day before sunset. Samba Mapangala has just confirmed he will be performing with the legendary Orchestre Virunga. He is one of East Africa’s best-loved musicians, with a series of hits over the past 25 years, including Virunga, Ahmed Sabit, Vunja Mifupa, Sungura, Vidonge, Dunia Tuna Pita, and Nyama Choma.

Sauti za Busara (Sounds of Wisdom) is an international festival celebrating East African music taking place around the second weekend of February each year in Zanzibar. Featuring top-quality musical performances by more than 400 established and upcoming artists (40 groups in total), Sauti za Busara has already established itself as one of Africa’s leading music festivals. It’s an event that unites people in celebration.

Confirmed Artists (so far)

Samba Mapangala & Orchestre Virunga (DRC/Kenya/USA), Msondo Ngoma Band (Tanzania), Omar Pene & le Super Diamono (Senegal), Mangala Camara (Mali), Nawal (Comoros/France), King Ayisoba (Ghana), TY (UK), Meta and the Cornerstones (Senegal/USA), The Moreira Project (South Africa), Comrade Fatso and Chabvondoka (Zimbabwe), Jagwa Music (Tanzania), AY (Tanzania), Joh Makini (Tanzania), Elemotho (Namibia), Segere Original (Tanzania), Best of WaPi (Pan Africa), Culture Musical Club (Zanzibar), Mohamed Ilyas & Nyota Zameremeta (Zanzibar), Bi Kidude (Zanzibar), Iddi Achien'g (Kenya), Khethi with Kibo Sounds (South Africa/Tanzania), Rachel Magoola (Uganda), Wahapahapa Band (Tanzania), Omega Bugembe Okello (Uganda/USA), Aron Nitunga (Burundi/Canada), Safar (Zanzibar), Kiumbizi (Pemba), Zinduka Ngoma (Zanzibar), Dj Side (Zanzibar), and more to be announced

Itation Records Releases Riddim Album the World Go Round

Thu, 09 Oct 2008 07:59:11 -0400

San Francisco (California), USA - Itation Records has released the cultural riddim set, the World Go Round riddim, now available on I-Tunes and e-tailers everywhere. On this, its third riddim release, Itation brings together Pressure, Sizzla, Delly Ranx, Turbulence, rising stars Kali Blaxx and Niyorah, and many more.

Featuring the creativity and musicianship of renowned French riddim builders, Tune In Crew, World Go Round is a musically diverse riddim with solid, up to the time roots and kulcha credentials. "It was a worldwide collective effort with French musicians, artists from Jamaica, Bermuda, the Virgin Islands, and United States," says Itation's Dread Lion. "The riddim definitely reflects the fact reggae music makes our world go round."

The exclusive WGR mix will appear on the Riddim Magazine (Germany) covermount CD in the November/December issue (street date - October 16th) and there will also be a select track on Reggae Vibes Magazine (France) covermount CD, also out in November.

Set against Tune In Crew's driving bass line and wicked cultural grooves, Pressure leads the way with an international praise-song to the healing of the nation, "Ganja Makes The World Go Round". "Ah toke me tokin'/ ah smoke me smokin'/ Should ah know ganja mi deh promotin'/ no joke me jokin'/ A choke me chokin'/ A confidential me smokin' until the open". Jah Mason's "My Queen" raises the vibes while Niyorah brings an up-tempo mix of classic VI roots reggae vocals, a Jamaican deejay lyrical flow and hard hitting rhymes he spits with a passion reminiscent of a Brooklyn native on "No Pain No Gain".

Sizzla's "Goodness", "The Way You Live" from Chezidek, and Delly Ranx' "Wish Good" unequivocally confirm roots and kulcha is very much alive and well. And the young star on the rise, Kali Blaxx, energizes the youths with bold messages of hope and resilience on "Free Up Your Mind" while the hypnotic vocal flow of Meru Matu's "Truth Order And Unity" shows the promise of the next generation. Rocker T, Ras Matthew, Danjres, Gideon and Troy Anthony complete the World Go Round riddim set which provides 13 more reasons to love reggae music, its messages, its vibes and its ability to make the World Go Round.

Itation Records emerged on the scene in 2007 with The Higher Meditation riddim and quickly followed up with the widely acclaimed Show Love riddim in early 2008.

Latin Jazz legend, Eddie Palmieri Returns to S.O.B.'s in New York

Thu, 09 Oct 2008 06:41:26 -0400

On Thursday, October 30th, S.O.B.'s presents living Latin Jazz legend, Eddie Palmieri for a rare intimate live performance. S.O.B.'s has long been New York's premiere venue for salsa and Latin Jazz, having presented shows by the likes of Celia Cruz, Tito Puente, Marc Anthony and La India. After more than 25 years of bringing live Latin music to New York City, S.O.B.'s continues this tradition will the incomparable Eddie Palmieri.

Eddie Palmieri, known for his charismatic power and bold innovative drive, has a musical career that spans over 50 years as a bandleader of Salsa and Latin Jazz orchestras. With a discography that includes 36 titles, Mr. Palmieri has been awarded Nine Grammy Awards. He received his first Grammy Award in 1975 for his release The Sun of Latin Music, which is often considered the most historic, as it was the first time Latin Music was recognized by the National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences (NARAS).

He would win again the following year for Unfinished Masterpiece, Palo Pa Rumba, Bajo Con Tumbao in 1984, Solito in 1985 and La Verdad in 1987. He received a Latin Grammy and a traditional Grammy for his 2000 release with Tito Puente entitled Obra Maestra, Listen Here! in 2006 and Simpatico in 2007, a collaborative effort with trumpet master Brian Lynch, for Best Latin Jazz Album.

Where: S.O.B.'s, 204 Varick Street, New York, NY 10014

When: Thursday, October 30th at 8pm & 10pm (separate admission)

Ticket info: $25 Advance/$28 Day of Show; Available on Ticketmaster and the S.O.B.’s Box Office
212-243-4940.

Copenhagen New Location for WOMEX World Music Conference

Wed, 08 Oct 2008 18:36:37 -0400

WOMEX, the World Music Expo, announced today its next location - Copenhagen, Denmark - for a three-year residence from 2009 - 2011. After a total of four years in Sevilla, Spain (2003, 2006 - 2008), WOMEX heads north to this hospitable Nordic capital.

WOMEX is partnering with key Danish players from the fields of music, events and tourism, all with extensive experience in both culture and production. First and foremost, the partners comprise the Roskilde Festival, the Copenhagen Jazzfestival, and tourist organization Wonderful Copenhagen. Additional partners are events producersWelcome, the Danish Center for Culture and Development, Global CPH and World Music Denmark.

"Each year we seek enhancements and opportunities," says WOMEX General Director, Gerald Seligman, "and the chance to team up with Roskilde, who will be producing the showcases and lending their experience to local event management and community outreach, was a determining factor in the move. Add to that the expert teams Copenhagen has assembled, and we can look forward to some thrilling possibilities. As WOMEX matures and expands, these are the kinds of partners we need to help us bring an ever-greater service to our community."

The WOMEX 2009 Copenhagen presentation will take place during WOMEX 2008 on Saturday, 1 November, 17:30 - 18:15, in Mezquita Room (FIBES, 1st floor).

More at www.womex.com/realwomex/news/copenhagen.html

Photo: Gerald Seligman