Various Artists Blues Lounge (Putumayo PUT 229-2, 2004) The art of mixing roots music from various sources with modern electronica has really taken off lately,…
A Different Kind of Blue
Author: Tom Orr
Tom Orr is a California-based writer whose talent and mental stability are of an equally questionable nature. His hobbies include ignoring trends, striking dramatic poses in front of his ever-tolerant wife and watching helplessly as his kids surpass him in all desirable traits.
Wondrous Women of the Western World
Eva Ayllon – Eva! Leyenda Peruana (Times Square Records TSQCD 9040, 2004) Emeline Michel – Rasin Kreyol (Times Square Records TSQCD 9041, 2004) Lhasa –…
Bang-Up Dibango
Manu Dibango The Rough Guide to Manu Dibango (World Music Network RGNET 1144 CD, 2004) For many, Cameroon’s Manu Dibango truly arrived with his massive…
Vinyl Go the Distance
Vinyl All the Way Live (In the Pocket Records VI450992, 2004) If their name suggests they’re something of a throwback to an earlier time of…
Koralation
Mory Kante – Sabou (Riverboat/World Music Network TUGCD 1034, 2004) N’faly Kouyate and Dunyakan – Kora Grooves from West Africa (ARC Music EUCD 1892, 2004)…
The World As We Know It
Various Artists World 2004 (Narada / Wrasse Records Wrass 123, 2004) Charlie Gillett knows what global music listeners like, having tested the waters by showcasing…
Precious Cargo
Darko Rundek and Cargo Orkestar Ruke (Piranha CD-PIR1894, 2004, distributed by Harmonia Mundi in the USA) Think of Cargo Orkestar as the opposite of a…
Stars That Shine, Darkness So Fine
Jamaica All Stars – Right Tracks (Passage Productions/Nighthawk CD 29006, 2004) Version City Rockers – Darker Roots (Antifaz ATFZ-01CD, 2004) These releases both offer a…
Oh, Suzzana
Suzzana Owiyo Mama Africa (ARC Music EUCD 1875, 2004) My first taste of Suzzana Owiyo came via the song “Kisumu 100” on World Music Network’s…
Greek to Me
Various Artists Putumayo Presents Greece, a Musical Odyssey (PUTU 225-2 CD, 2004) Probably timed to coincide with the current Olympic games, this disc isn’t likely…