Tinariwen – Amassakoul (Independent Records IRL014, 2004) Carrying on from their much-lauded debut CD, released in the UK on Wayward Records, Amassakoul showcases this group…
Diamonds in the rough
Category: Album reviews
Agatsuma Goes Beyond
Agatsuma – Beyond (Domo Records, 2004) Domo Records has been doing a great job introducing new Japanese music to international audiences. Agatsuma is a young Japanese…
Dove songs
And if the World (Suoni, 2002) Make Me a Channel of Your Peace (Kirkelig Kulturverksted, 2001) On March 1st, (2004) after I arrived home from…
Hitting all the right notes
Various Artists – The Rough Guide to African Rap (World Music Network RGNET1126CD, 2004) Like all hugely proliferating music forms, rap, in its many guises, all-too-often,…
The Sounds of Precious Metal
Golden Sounds Band – Swahili Rumba (Naxos World 76055-2, 2003) Congolese rumba reigned so long as Africa’s most popular dance music that it’s no surprise how…
Barefoot in Assisi
Arja Saijonmaa – Nära (Kirkelig Kulturverksted, 2003) Recently I came across a listing for Finnish vocalist Arja Saijonmaa in the Kirkelig Kulturverksted catalog and her most…
Let’s Hope They Stay
Mahmoud Fadl The Drummers of the Nile in Town (Piranha Musik CD PIR 1791, 2003) For his latest Drummers of the Nile outing (there’s been…
The Best of Caetano Veloso
Caetano Veloso – The Best of Caetano Veloso (Nonesuch 79808 2, 2003) I’m usually very skeptical of “Best of…” recordings, but this collection by Caetano Veloso,…
Awards for World Music 2004
Various artists – BBC Radio 3 Awards for World Music 2004 (Manteca MANTDCD224, 2004) Here we go ‘round again. This year’s finalists from the third…
Harmonia ‘Music of Eastern Europe’
Harmonia – Music of Eastern Europe (Traditional Crossroads CD 4313, 2003) It’s always been the case that the various ethnic immigrant groups traveling to the USA…