Ladysmith Black Mambazo Ilembe: Honoring Shaka Zulu (Heads Up, 2008) Renowned South African a cappella group Ladysmith Black Mambazo pays tribute to the legendary Shaka…
Shaka Zulu Would Be Thrilled
Category: Album reviews
Dazzling Global Stringband
Andy Irvine and Donal Lunny’s Mozaik Changing Trains (Compass, 2008) Veteran instrumentalists Andy Irvine and Donal Lunny have recreated their Pan-European ensemble under the name…
May She Bloom and Grow
Sevda Gul Acdi ‘A Flower in Bloom’ (Network Medien 495119, 2007) I’m not sure how many superstars there are in or from Azerbaijan (which borders…
Call to Action
Graeme Revell Darfur Now (Lakeshore Records, 2007) For the soundtrack to the film Darfur Now, composer Graeme Revell has recorded a collection of dazzling cinematic…
Berber Echoes
Rayssa Fatima Tabaamrant Taghlaghalt or the Echo of the Atlas (Institut Du Monde Arabe 321.044, 2006) Morocco’s Atlas Mountain region is, among other things, home…
Mongolian singer Otgonbayar Chuluunbaatar Preserves Songs of the Zakhchin People
Otgonbayar Chuluunbaatar – Zastiin Nogoodoi – Tribal Zakhchin Music of Western Mongolia (self release, 2007) Otgonbayar Chuluunbaatar has recorded an album that preserves the rich…
Podolian Wedding
Konsonans Retro A Podolian Affair (Oriente Musik, 2007) As in other parts of the world, Ukraine has its families of musicians who entertain participants at…
Baobab Has Legs
Orchestra Baobab Made In Dakar (World Circuit Records, 2007) Ask any MBA record executive why a particular song or CD is good and he or…
Unrivaled Tambal Performer
Toni Iordache Sounds from a Bygone Age, Vol. 4 (Asphalt Tango, 2007) The Asphalt Tango label is doing a tremendous job by releasing high quality…
The Two Coasts of Afrobeat
Two Afrobeat bands based in the United States have new recordings. The Afromotive, based in Asheville (North Carolina), in the East Coast, is led by…