The World Music Album of the Year nominees for the 2016 JUNO Awards were announced by The Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (CARAS) at a press conference at The Phoenix Concert Theatre in Toronto on February 2, 2016. Juno Award winners will be announced during Juno Week in Calgary, March 28 – April 3, 2016.
The nominees for World Music Album of the Year include Resistance by The Souljazz Orchestra; Moorka by Lemon Bucket Orkestra; Revuelta Danza Party by Gypsy Kumbia Orchestra; Neo-Reconquista by Boogat; and Healer by Alex Cuba.
The Souljazz Orchestra
The Souljazz Orchestra is a multicultural ensemble based in Ottawa, Ontario. The group combines soul, jazz, African, Latin American and Caribbean styles, using a brass section and a wide variety of percussion.
Resistance adds a French Caribbean and Francophone West African influences such as coupé-décalé, zouk, and ndombolo.
The Souljazz Orchestra’s discography includes Freedom No Go Die (2006) and Manifesto (2008) set the bar high. Rising Sun (2010), Solidarity (2012) and Inner Fire (2014).
The Lemon Bucket Orkestra
Toronto-based The Lemon Bucket Orkestra is described as Canada’s only Balkan-klezmer-gypsy-party-punk-superband. The group got started as a street busking band in 2010. The original quartet grew into a much larger ensemble that uses brass and bows. World tour followed.
Moorka was recorded in a friend’s barn in Waterloo right after their three month Canadian tour and was released in March 2015. It includes re-worked folk songs the band learned in Romania, Ukraine, Serbia and Macedonia from local musicians on their last European tour, each tune modified with a blend of funk, punk, psychedelia, blues and swing.
Gypsy Kumbia Orchestra
The Gypsy Kumbia Orchestra, from Montreal, fuses Afro-Colombian music and dance, with the brass and violin melodies of Eastern Europe. The group’s shows bring together live music, choreographed dance, circus, theatrical staging and dynamic audience interaction. Revuelta Danza Party is the Gypsy Kumbia Orchestra’s debut album.
Boogat
Boogat is based in Quebec City, Quebec. He’s a Latin American vocalist, who continually reinvents himself with his plentiful discography. His style is described as a mix of worldbeat and tropical-bass. Some of his songs have attracted Hollywood, including placements in the TV series Homeland, and the film, The Forger, with John Travolta. Neo-Reconquista is his latest recording.
Alex Cuba
Vocalist Alex Cuba was born in Cuba and currently lives in British Columbia. His style has gradually changed from Cuban roots music and soul to pop. Healer is a pop and Spanish-language R&B album.
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.
