The Rough Guide to the Music of Central Asia (2005)

«While there are a few handfuls of albums of Mongolian music, and older targeted albums for particular nations, this is more of a rarity: an album covering the music of Central Asia as defined essentially by the 'Stans' of the former Soviet Union: Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Tajikstan. The music on Rough Guide to the Music of Central Asia ranges from the classical traditions

Women of Africa II

Chéri Samba (Congo), Mama Mbangala au repos, 2007

Putumayo Presents: Women of Africa (2004)

«While the African music scene is currently dominated largely by men, there has never been any stigma to speak of against women performing (with the possible exception of some of the North African Islamic nations). The catch is that women tended historically to spend less time playing instruments in favor of other portions of the rituals and work, and stayed primarily within the vocal field as a

Mich Gerber - Mystery Bay (1997)

«Mich Gerber nous délivre un premier album unique. Une musique venue d'ailleurs qui ne se danse que sur la Lune comme dirait l'autre... Des parcours languinant de contrebasse mélancoliques, une rythmique mi-percu mi-contrebasse sacadée. Le tout vous faisant "tripper à mort". Des airs orientaux, tribaux, pour ce Suisse dont l'avenir était les grands orchestres symphoniques. Un revirement total

Postcards from Italy (51) - Milano

Modena City Ramblers - Appunti Partigiani (1945-2005)

Since a reader from Argentina requested me to post some Modena City Ramblers music, I’m very happy to anticipate the post of these “Appunti Partigiani”, which I had planned to post on the 25th of April in concomitance with the Festa della Liberazione, the Italian feast day celebrating the liberation of Italy from the German army at the end of World War II. I hope you’ll appreciate these songs of

Franco et le T.P. OK Jazz - Originalité: The Original 1956 Recordings (1956)

«Dopo il mercato centrale di Kasavubu, Matongé è il cuore pulsante di Kinshasa, città di 4 milioni di abitanti [nel 1978] suddivisi in 400 etnie, capitale di un paese grande quattro volte l’Italia che ha conosciuto grandi sconvolgimenti sociali e una lunga dittatura. […] Matongé è la valvola che lascia sfiatare il vapore, una zona d’ironia libera per non impazzire. La musica zairese contemporanea

Sambasunda - Salsa and Salse: We Live, We Eat, We Play Bamboos (2001)

Another great offering from one of Indonesia’s finest bands, Sambasunda, this time playing with salsa and «salse» (Sundanese word for “people who usually like to relax”). To learn (and listen!) more about this amazing band, search for their Berekis album here on Babe(b)logue. Otherwise, you can read the interview with Bpk Ismet Ruchimat from Sambasunda realised in January 2002 by Judith

Dengue Fever - Escape from Dragon House (2005)

«Even when you consider the cultural cross-pollination that goes on in large metropolitan areas, L.A.'s Dengue Fever had perhaps the strangest genesis of any band in recent memory. It's left-field enough for a group of white musicians to cover psychedelic rock oldies from Cambodia, but finding a bona fide Cambodian pop star to front the band – and sing in Khmer, no less – is the kind of

Grocery Store Wars (Free Range Studios)

Just in case you missed it so far... Enjoy!Learn more:http://www.freerangestudios.com/

Grand Kallé & L'African Jazz - Succès des Années 50/60 (2002)

«[…] Nato a Matadi nel 1930, [Joseph Kabaselé] frequenta i corsi di musica dei cori cattolici, come quasi tutti gli artisti del Congo belga. […] Bocciato in terza media per cattiva condotta, nel 1949 l’adolescente Kabaselé entra a far parte di un gruppo vocale, La voix de la concorde, poi si lascia alle spalle le canzoni religiose per dedicarsi alla rumba afrocubana, uno stile musicale ricco di

Re-Post

Thomas Mapfumo - The Chimurenga Singles 1976-1980 (1984)

Made in Japan III

For YouPicture: Noel G.-S.

Tokyo Bossa Nova Lounge (2002)

«While bossa nova certainly had its moment in the sun in the U.S., it seems to have enjoyed an even greater impact in Japan – check out any of the superb Café Après-midi compilations for proof of the continuing Japanese obsession with vintage bossa beats, or better still check out Tokyo Bossa Nova Lounge, a fantastic collection of Japanese originals from the 1960s. The sound and vibe are so close

Pink Martini - Sympathique (1997)

«Pink Martini was the brainchild of classically trained pianist Thomas M. Lauderdale and vocalist China Forbes; fusing a vast array of influences spanning Cuban jazz to music hall to film scores, the group honed an exotic sound which led to their 1997 debut LP, Sympathique. The group's sophomore effort, Hang on Little Tomato, emerged seven years later, followed by Hey Eugene! in 2007. Pink

Farmers Market - Musikk fra Hybridene (1997)

«The band Farmers Market was formed in Trondheim during the fall of 1991. All members where students of the Jazz Department at the Conservatory of Trondheim. At first Farmers Market started out as a free-jazz quintet, but soon found itself heading in a completely different direction; towards Bulgarian folk-music. Since then, this Bulgarian music, with its odd meters, oriental scales and

Los Guruses - Menos Pregunta Dios Y Perdona (1996)

Argentinian rock band Los Guruses kindly offers their 1996 album. Thanx, guys! «Hace muchísimos años, en una diminuta aldea de la lejana provincia de Santa Fe, llamada Casilda por sus habitantes y por otras personas, la Mala Suerte de la Música se anotó un garbanzo, tras lo cual sonrió malignamente, como es su costumbre. Unió a un grupo de individuos de dudosa calaña, comportamiento vagamente

African Jazz Pioneers - The Best Of (2002)

«The background of the African Jazz Pioneers stretches back to the 1950’s, when jazz was the fashion and big bands were the name of the game.The late Ntemi Edmund Piliso, leader and founding member of AJP, nourished the group from their humble roots to their current international acclaim. In the early 1950’s Bra Ntemi and his Alexandra All Star band hit the cutting edge of South Africa’s music

The Countries in the Southwestern Sea (from the Kuang Yü T'u or The Mongol Atlas)

«The culmination of indigenous Chinese cartography is found in the contributions of Chu Ssu-Pen and his successors who, beginning in the Mongol Yuan Dynasty (1260 -1368), established a mapping tradition that provided the basis of China's cartographic knowledge which was not seriously challenged until the early 19th century. The Mongol conquests, besides promoting the unification of Asia and

Geoffrey Oryema - Beat the Border (1993)

«There's a quiet, contemplative side to African music, and it is from this lineage that Geoffrey Oryema's music emerges. Although his musical roots lie in Uganda, his work has been inspired by a myriad of influences, including those from other regions of Africa, a complete understanding of Western pop music and the need to define his own unique musical identity. Singing in both English and Acholi

Sunset

The Rough Guide to Central America (2001)

«This is the first comprehensive single-disc collection of the various popular and folk styles from the Central American region of the world. Included on this album's 17 selections are representative tunes of the styles of Guatemala (marimba), Belize (brukdown), Nicaragua (trova), Honduras (punta), and countless variations incorporating reggae, salsa, son, cumbia, and local styles. The performers

Louise Attaque - Louise Attaque (1997)

Elle est parisienne, elle est pas presentableElle est pas jolie,elle est pas moche non plusElle est pas a gauche, elle est pas a droite… (Louise Attaque, Léa) «French folk-rock quartet Louise Attaque emerged as one of the most successful new acts of their generation via their award-winning 1997 debut LP. Singer/guitarist Gaëtan Roussel and bassist Robin Feix first met as school children,

The Indestructible Beat of Soweto Vol. 1 (1985)

«This has to be one of the seminal series of recordings of what has come to be called "world music." When Trevor Herman collected and released these albums of South African township music from the 1980's on his Earthworks label, it pretty much created the genre with music that demanded a bin of its own in the record store. Here was a rock solid collection of folk, jive and groove that told the

King Sunny Ade and His African Beats - Juju Music (1982)

«Nigeria's King Sunny Adé and his 20-piece African Beats hypnotize audiences with juju --deeply layered, percussive groove music. Juju started in the '20s as local bar music and developed over the years absorbing new technologies and influences. In the '50s, amplification made it possible to combine acoustic elements, such as guitar melodies and solo singing from the older palm wine music, with

Istanbul II

Courtesy: Cri & Chris

Mikis Theodorakis & Zülfü Livaneli - Together (1997)

«Theodorakis et Livaneli ont initié l'Association d'Amitié Gréco-Turque en 1987, à un moment où les armées des deux pays étaient face à face, prêtes au conflit militaire.Comme premier artiste grec, Theodorakis a alors donné des concerts publics en Turquie - ensemble avec Livaneli - et a exigé à plusieurs reprises une Confédération Gréco-Turque d'après le modèle scandinave.Livaneli a enregistré un

Pictures of Greece: Mykonos Harbor, Cyclades

Courtesy: JTC

Nick Haeffner - The Great Indoors (1987)

A (lost) masterpiece of British Folkedelia, in the vein of Syd Barrett, Kevin Ayers and Nick Drake, and still one of my favourite albums from the 80’s. «The Great Indoors is an album of songs released in 1986 on the Bam Caruso lable. Although out of print it is still available second hand on LP and CD.Extracts from reviews at the time of release: “The best sixties-style psychedelic

Eugenio Finardi - La Radio (Parco Lambro 1976)

Eugenio Finardi - Non Gettate Alcun Oggetto dai Finestrini (1975)

A masterpiece of Italian rock. « Singer, lyricist, guitarist and pianist. Eugenio Finardi was born in 1952 in Milan, the son of an Italian sound engineer and an American opera singer who had come to Italy to sing at the LA SCALA Theatre in Milan.His first recording experiences came early in his childhood when he sang in children’s’ records and in recordings of American classics for the

Pale Nudes - Wise to the Heat (1995)

«Amy Denio, Wadi Gysi, Mitch Gerber and Will Dowd in a post- (ec) Nudes. More 'acoustic' and much less experimental than the (ec) Nudes, but smoothly listenable. Well recorded and the addition of contrabasse is a plus. Usual good performance from Tone Dog Dowd.» (Chris Cutler, Squidco) «Strange and experimental but full of hooks--that defines almost everything Amy Denio touches, and certainly

Carnival of Lights

Putumayo Presents Carnival (2001)

«Carnival, the ecstatic release of carnal desire in the days leading up to Lent, has a long history. With its roots firmly buried in the Dionysian festivities of ancient Greece, the celebration was appropriated by the Romans for their Bacchanalian homage and then adapted by Roman Catholics to fit pre-Ash Wednesday festivities. Celebrated by Catholics and Bacchanalians alike, contemporary carnival

Emmanuel Jal & Abdel Gadir Salim - Ceasefire (2005)

«The old meets the new, and Northern & Southern Sudan are united, briefly, in this fine offering. Abdel G. Salim is one of the old-guard Sudanese oud players from even before the civil war. That war put an end to most of the music in the country and is still going on in the worst display of international ineptitude in the face of genocide since Rwanda. Salim suffered more than being silenced when

Gulf War Montage: The Aftermath

Footage from the documentary Lektionen in Finsternis (Lessons of Darkness) by Werner Herzog showing some of the destruction and enviromental issues that followed after Desert Storm in 1991.The destruction seen is mainly caused by the heavy air and artillery bombardment from allied forces. The enviromental issues "Oil spill/fires" were caused by the burning oil wells sat on fire by the retreating

Ilham Al-Madfai - Baghdad (2003)

«Ilham commence à jouer à 12 ans comme guitariste. Il forme sont premier groupe ‘Twisters’ dans les années 60, le premier en Irak à incorporer des instruments modernes (guitar, piano, bass&piano) à la musique arabe. Une expérience plutôt mal accueillie par les médias de l’époque qui l’accusent de dénaturer la musique traditionnelle. Quelques années plus tard, il quitte Bagdad pour l’Angleterre où