Mamer Eagle (Real World Records, 2009) After snagging prime spots and rave reviews on the BBC and National Public Radio for their Mongolian grasslands recording…
Grassland Beats
Category: Album reviews
Pad the Road with Malinky
Malinky Flower & Iron (Mad River Recordings/Greentrax, 2009) Flower & Iron is the latest release by Malinky, which is one of the finest contemporary folk…
Norwegian World Expressions
Various Artists Norway (Music Export Norway MENCD 015) I find that most of the Norwegian music that gets to World Music Central’s hands is of…
Songs across Walls of Separation
Various Artists – Songs across Walls of Separation (Kirkelig Kulturverksted, 2009) Norwegian record producer and founder of the label, Kirkelig Kulturverksted, Erik Hillestad and I…
Pepo Rocks
La Banda del Pepo Tanto por Hacer (Galileo/Nufolk, 2009) La Banda del Pepo means Pepo’s band, and what a band. Pepo Sanchez is a singer-songwriter …
Colombian Coastal Fire
Pacifico Colombiano: Adventures in Afro-Colombia (Otrabanda Records OTB09, 2008) The Colombian port city of Buenaventura is an entry point for many goods into the country’s…
Get On Board
Empty Boat Waitless (Poo Productions PPLCD002, 2006) I came late to Poo Productions other CD release, the superb 2006 album Bumping by Mozambique’s Massukos, so…
Offbeat Yet Spot On
Nation Beat Legends of the Preacher (Modiba MP 0007, 2008) Brazilian bluegrass? Country candomble? Okay, I’m either generalizing too much or not specifying enough, but…
Zap Mama’s Recreation
Zap Mama ReCreation (Heads Up International, 2009) Lush and exotic, Zap Mama’s latest, ReCreation, is yet another dishy blend of eclectic world music compositions swirling…
Samba, Strictly Speaking
Various Artists Far out: Strictly Samba (Far Out Recordings FAR0137, 2009) Samba is truly Brazil’s signature sound, but even a collection like this, with a…