Cosmic Voices of Bulgaria Mechemetio (Intuition, 2000) Bulgarian choir music and folk dance drew awareness in the West when 4 AD Records released records by…
Preaching to the Choir
Category: Album reviews
California Singing
Deborah Falconer – Brave like me (Ravish, 2003) A life of singer-songwriter is a hard one. Any songwriter can come up with interesting chord progressions…
Disco d’Afrique
Kaleta Kaleta Jaa (Kaleta Music, 2003) West African rhythms mixed with thumping disco beats and lots of programming, sadly has become the latest trend. This…
Colombia Goes African
Batata y Su Rumba Palenquera Radio Bakongo (Network 24.127, 2003) About 300 years ago, a group of escaped African slaves barricaded themselves in a safe…
Music on the Fringe
Maraca Longe(Indies Records, 2003) When I first moved to Seattle in the late 80’s I found myself hanging out in arty dives where I immersed…
Gnawa Njoum Experience
Gnawa Njoum Experience (No Fridge/Boom Ba Clash NOCD 097, 2003) Gnawa music from Morocco has attracted the attention of many musicians in the fields of…
In a Beirut Mood
Jalilah’s Raks Sharki 6 In a Beirut Mood (Piranha CD-PIR788, 2003) This is a recording of Lebanese-style raks sharki music, better known as Oriental dance…
Canta y Baila
La Susi Agua De Mayo (Muxxic, 2002) Ever since I heard my first flamenco guitar in college, my knees melt at the sound of a…
The Indian Way
Joseph Fire Crow Legend of the Warrior (Makoche Recording Company, 2003) There seems to be no shortage of Native American flautists or a shortage of…
Spoons and Fiddles
Le Vent du Nord Maudite Moisson [damned good harvest] (Borealis, 2003) Quebecois musician and dancer Benoit Bourque (Matapat) brought the traditional group Le Vent du…