Artist Profiles: Ustad Mohammad Omar
Ustad Mohammad Omar, one of Afghanistan’s finest rabab players, became the first Afghan musician to teach in the United States of America when he arrived…
Band of Gypsies 2
Taraf De Haïdouks & Kocani Orkestar Band of Gypsies 2 (Crammed Discs CRAW74, 2011) Two European record labels, Crammed Discs and Asphalt Tango, have been…
Orient Noir – A West-Eastern Divan
Various Artists feat. Watcha Clan, Bi Kidude Baraka and more Orient Noir – A West-Eastern Divan (Piranha Musik CD-PIR2545, 2012) German label Piranha Musik presents…
Hispanic Heritage Month, Focus on Puerto Rico
World Music Central‘s celebration of Hispanic Heritage month continues with the music of Puerto Rico, a tropical island in the Caribbean. Puerto Ricans and their…
That Dang Kang
Eyvind Kang The Narrow Garden (Ipecac Recordings, 2012) The name being entirely new to me, I didn’t even know if Eyvind Kang is a he…
Diez, a New Album by Raúl Paz
Cuban singer-songwriter Raúl Paz has announced a new album titled Diez. It will come out under the Naive label and Cuban record company EGREM. It…
Have it Norway
A Report from the Førde Festival by Tom Orr, July 5-8, 2012 “I’m here for a musical event, ” I had to keep reminding myself.…
Ghanaian Master Drummer Obo Addy Dies at 76
Obo Addy, a master drummer from Ghana passed away at 4:00 pm on Thursday, September 13th of 2012 surrounded by family and friends. He had…
Taïga Maya
Cameroonian Singer Lapiro de Mbanga Gets Asylum in the USA
International organization Freemuse, which advocates freedom of expression for musicians, announced today that Cameroonian vocalist Lapiro de Mbanga has been granted asylum in the USA…