Various Artists Acoustic Brazil (Putumayo PUT 234-2, 2005) Putumayo’s 1999 release Brasileiro was also mostly acoustic though more upbeat, and the label has presented other…
Brazil Plugged Out
Category: Album reviews
Beatwave Japan, Hip Japanese Electronica
Various Artists Beatwave Japan (Sonic 360, 2005) The Japanese musicians included in Beatwave Japan have mastered the art of electronic grooves. Beatwave Japan is an…
The Who and What of Rachid Taha
Rachid Taha Tekitoi (Wrasse Records WRASS 126X, 2004) The title of Rachid Taha’s latest album translates as “Who Are You?”, though “what are you?” might…
Sheer Makassy magic
Orchestra Makassy – Agwaya (ARC Music EUCD1909, 2005) From the opening bars of the irresistible ‘Mambo Bado’ to the sweet, bitter end of ‘Mume Wangu’…
Kuti According to Fela
Fela Anikulapo Kuti – The Best of Fela Kuti, 2CD & DVD Box (Wrasse Records WRASS132) It’s hard to think of anything to say about…
Where there’s brass
Gangbe Brass Band – Whendo (Roots Racines/Contre Jour CJ015, 2004) Best described as afrobeat-goes-trad (afrotrad?), the sound of Benin’s Gangbé Brass Band blends percussion and…
Night Journey
Jennifer Cutting Ocean: Songs for the Night Sea Journey (SunSign SCD2004, 2004) Jennifer Cutting is an Anglo-Irish-American composer/bandleader with advanced degrees in music and ethnomusicology.…
African Beat, Amerind Soul, Indomitable Spirit
Various Artists Garifuna Music – Field Recordings From Belize (ARC Music EUCD 1913, 2005) The music on this disc, raw and fiercely non-commercial though it…
Worlds Collide by el douje
Santa Cruz (California) flamenco guitarist, El Douje, has just released his debut solo album. Entitled Worlds Collide, it’s a bold mixture of traditional and modern…
They Were Some Very Good Years
Bembeya Jazz National The Syliphone Years (Stern’s Africa STCD 3021-22, 2004) The West African nation of Guinea pretty much had to start from scratch after…