Mulatu Astatke Mulatu Steps Ahead (Strut 056CD, 2010) Ethiopian music has seen quite a resurgence in recent years and many good things have resulted. For…
View More Ethiopia’s Head ManCategory: Album reviews
Japanese Dub In Every Sense
Jah Wobble and the Nippon Dub Ensemble Japanese Dub (30 Hertz Records; 30hzcd31, 2010) The great British world beat and global electronica innovator Jah Wobble…
View More Japanese Dub In Every SenseDelicate Beauty Recovered
Tomoko Sugawara Along the Silk Road: Ancient and Modern Music for the Kugo (Motema Music, 2010) The type of harp that Tomoko Sugawara plays on…
View More Delicate Beauty RecoveredSpirited San Patricio
The Chieftains San Patricio (Blackrock Records/Hear Music HRM-31321-02, 2010) The Chieftains’ latest recording, San Patricio (Saint Patrick in Spanish), celebrates the music of Mexico and…
View More Spirited San PatricioThe Original Country Music
Willie Nelson Country Music (Rounder Records, 20120) Whether you’re looking to two step across the carpet, have a good nostalgic weep into your beer or…
View More The Original Country MusicAncient Indulgence Made Modern
Gaida Levantine Indulgence (Palmyra Recordings, 2009) It was overlapping pre-dawn calls to prayer from the mosques of Damascus and the sounds of Arabic pop on…
View More Ancient Indulgence Made ModernBuoyant Banjo
Evie Ladin Float Downstream (Evie Ladin / Evil Diane, 2010) The sound of the banjo remains an acquired taste, even given a recent resurgence in…
View More Buoyant BanjoAlluring Spider Dances
Various Artists Taranta Nights 2 (Italian World Music (IWM 252 , 2009) Unfortunately, "O Sole Mio," "Mambo Italiano" or some other equally cheesy pop song…
View More Alluring Spider DancesWestern Pyrenees Reconfigurations
Xarnege Ixo-sho (Pyrene Pyr-003, 2009) The new album by Xarnege continues the fascinating explorations of the ancient land of Vasconia which includes the current Basque…
View More Western Pyrenees ReconfigurationsInto the Django Swing
Wedeli Köhler Swing and Folk (Jazzpoint Records, 2010) Lingering over that second pot of coffee while brushing the croissant crumbs from your chin and smudging…
View More Into the Django Swing