Indian Ocean - Black Friday OST (2005)

Another incredible album from one of India’s finest bands (in case you missed it, click here for their Kandisa album). Enjoy! «Indian Ocean is a musical ensemble that refuses to pigeonhole itself. Others spend considerable time trying to define their music; the members of the group sidestep that issue politely. Almost every time. But, a few things are certain: their vista is phenomenally wide

Yusef Lateef - Eastern Sounds (1961)

«One of multi-instrumentalist and composer Yusef Lateef's most enduring recordings, Eastern Sounds was one of the last recordings made by the band that Lateef shared with pianist Barry Harris after the band moved to New York from Detroit, where the jazz scene was already dying. Lateef had long been interested in Eastern music, long before John Coltrane had ever shown any public interest anyway,

Postcards from Italy (52) - Torino

Linton Kwesi Johnson - Dread Beat An' Blood (1978)

«[…] Dread Beat An’ Blood was Linton Kwesi Johnson’s debut recording, the first time his political poetry had been accompanied by the powerful beats of reggae. This new form of music, revolutionary in terms of language, content and style, came to be known as ‘dub poetry’ and Johnson is still the foremost and most uncompromising practitioner of the art. Using the patois of Jamaican speech, Johnson

Toure Kunda - Live Paris-Ziguinchor (1984)

«This live recording captures the great Senegalese band around the time of their finest recordings (Amadou-Tilo and Casamance au Clair de Lune) and offers some wonderful performances of their greatest hits, including "Salya" and "Emma." Their accompanying musicians are out in full force; though, with the exception of the occasional cheesy synthesizer fill, they're largely reined in, providing the

Kevin Johansen & the Nada - Sur O No Sur (2003)

«It's hard to imagine a more disjointed upbringing than Kevin Johansen's: the songwriter grew up in Alaska and Argentina (to an American father and Argentinean mother). As an adult he spent a decade in New York City honing his chops and writing. Since moving to Buenos Aires in 2000, he's become one of Argentina's biggest pop stars thanks to a mildly psychedelic American-style folk song sung in

Amaia Zubiria - Haatik (2002)

«Amaia Zubiria (San Sebastian – Gipuzkoa, 1947) has a marvelous voice and a deep knowledge of traditional song. Together with Txomin Artola she was a longtime member of the ensemble Haizea, and after persuing solo careers for a number of years they came together again to record the beautiful and interesting ‘Folk Lore Sorta’ series of albums of traditional Basque song. Haatik is decidedly

Night Lights of Eilat (Israel) from Aqaba (Jordan)

Picture: RMF

Bustan Abraham - Ashra (2000)

«Formed in 1991 (the same year as Alei Hazayit), Bustan Abraham was the brainchild of Avshalom Farjun, a concert promoter and self-taught Israeli musician. Up to that point Farjun had expressed his interest in music from Turkey, Persia,and India through his choice of foreign musicians to bring to Israel for concerts. Avshalom Farjun sowed the seeds for Bustan Abraham when he brought Krishnamurti

Aurelio Martinez - Garifuna Soul (2004)

«Following in the footsteps of the legendary Parranderos from the Caribbean coast of Central America, with an enchanting blend of African and Latin acoustic roots, Aurelio emerges as one of the most exceptional Garifuna artists of his generation. Acclaimed for both his preservation and modernization of the Paranda musical tradition, Aurelio's virtuosity is found in his distinctive, penetrating

17 Hippies - Berlin-Style (1999)

«[…] The Berlin-based group emerged after the Berlin Wall fell. “It was like someone had opened a hidden door,” explains vocalist and lyricist Kiki Sauer. “New and exciting music from Eastern Europe flooded into town with new grooves. All we could do was listen, learn, and try to find our own musical connections.” The band started with a simple concept, says vocalist and musical mastermind

Paris - L'Institut du Monde Arabe

Institut du Monde Arabe, Paris

Abdel Gadir Salim - Le Blues de Khartoum/Khartoum Blues (1999)

«When Abdel Gadir Salim, the exceptional singer, composer and oud (Sudanese lute) player was a student at the prestigious Institute of Music & Drama in Khartoum, he turned for inspiration to the music of his native Kordofan. The province of Kordofan is a desert region to the west of the country, where most of the people are nomadic cattle herders. They came to this part of Sudan from every corner

La Tabaré - Chapa, Pintura, Lifting (2006)

«Chapa, pintura y lifting: eso hizo Rivero y compañía a sus creaciones desde 1987 a 2002. Como toda cirugía, algunas parecen necesarias, otras ayudan un poco y hay las que pasan inadvertidas. Además de estas 10 intervenciones “mecanicoquirúrgicas”, La Tabaré, creó dos temas nuevos y versionó un tema de Sumo y otro de Viglietti. El disco arranca con “Kafkarudo”, un éxito a primera vista – evítese

Hand Painting Art II

Guido Daniele, Elefante (2006)

Club Africa Vol. 1- Hard African Funk, Afro-jazz & Original Afro-Beat (2000)

«One of a handful of Afro beat/Afro jazz compilations put out by British promoter and DJ Ross Dewbury, Club Africa features an infectious blend of '70s cuts informed by Fela's groundbreaking Afro roots and jazz blend. High profile moments come courtesy of Mandingo, Peter King, and Miriam Makeba, revealing the collection's cross-cultural bent in the process. In fact, a good amount here is global,

The Kudsi Erguner Ensemble - Peshrev and Semai of Tanburi Djemil Bey (1994)

«Along with his brother, Suleyman, Kudsi Erguner is one of the top players of the ney, a Turkish reed flute. In addition to his own recordings, Erguner has performed with Peter Gabriel, Maurice Bejart, Peter Brook, Georges Aperghis, Didier Lockwood and Michel Portal. His compositions and collaborations have been heard in the films, The Last Temptation Of Christ and Meetings With Remarkable Men,

Chambao - Pokito a Poko (2005)

«The three original members of Chambao – La Mari, El Edi, and Dani – made waves in the world music scene with their new brand of flamenco, called flamenco chill, which combined the passion and vocal style of traditional Andalusian flamenco with elements of electronica, specifically chillout. Formed in the early morning hours of the 2001 summer solstice in Malaga, Spain, Chambao first appeared to

Un Crime Contre l'Humanité

Chéri Chérin (Dem. Rep. of Congo), L'Esclavagisme (2006)

Dakar Sound Vol. 4: Their Thing (1996)

Here's a great collection of late 70's-early 80's Senegalese urban music from the authoritative Dakar Sound series. This fourth volume features great tracks from Canari de Kaolak, Royal Band, Number One of Dakar and Takarnasse, all of them doing "their thing". So, don't expect westernized sounds or "commercial" arrangements. This is pure afro-caraibic music at its best. Enjoy!For more info about

Hand Painting Art

Guido Daniele, Aquila (2001)

Mercedes Sosa - 30 Años (1993)

«The driving force behind the nueva canción movement, singer Mercedes Sosa was born and raised in Tucumán, Argentina, beginning her performing career at age 15 after taking top honors in a radio station amateur competition. A rich, expressive vocalist and a gifted interpreter, Sosa was dubbed "the voice of the silent majority" for her choice of overtly political material, and alongside artists

The Steppes - Enquire Within (1989)

«Easily one of the best and most distinctive combos of the neo-psychedelic crop, combining a subtly baroque musical sensibility with an ability to pull off ambitiously original arrangements and production ideas. The Steppes capture the essence of vintage psychedelia without sounding pretentious or unduly derivative. The band's albums have steadily grown more accomplished and impressive, Enquire

D'Gary & Jihé - Horombe (1995)

«With an instrumental virtuosity and unique vocal style, D'Gary has successfully brought the musical traditions of Madagascar to the international stage. His 1991 album, Malagasy Guitar/Music from Madagascar, was produced by American guitarists Henry Kaiser and David Lindley, and served as an introduction to his musical mastery. In a review of the album, Puncture, wrote “(This) is an album for

No Blues - Farewell Shalabiye (2005)

«In late 2004, the Dutch production company Oost-Nederland commissioned a three-day exchange between Haytham Safia, guitarist Ad van Meurs and double-bass player Anna-Maarten van Heuvelan. The result was a subtle and profound conversation between classical Oriental music and American folk-blues. The tradition of folk tales inspired by the likes of Woody Guthrie and Pete Seeger finds a strong

Luar Na Lubre - Plenilunio (1997)

«Reinterpreting songs from centuries-old songbooks, Luar Na Lubre has brought the musical traditions of Galicia, a Celtic region in northwestern Spain, to the international stage since 1986. The recipients of the Ideal award as Best Galician Folk Group awarded by the region's leading newspapers, El Ideal Gallego, the band continues to reinvent the music of their homeland. Formed in 1986 in the

African Art

Romuald Hazoumé (Benin), Ati (1994)

Super Rail Band - New Dimensions in Rail Culture (1985)

«Despite recent forays onto the North American concert stage under the leadership of guitarist Djelima Dytounkara, the Super Rail Band's seminal role in the development of modern Malian music is today largely forgotten. They may be credited as an early launchpad for the careers of Salif Keita and Mory Kante, but their importance is deeper than that: as the first high-profile Malian band to

Ulytau - Jumyr-Kylysh (2006)

«I have always tried to work on as many styles and genres of music as possible, from Ozzy Osbourne to Tears for Fears, there has always been something new to learn and enjoy from a complete change of style. The Ulytau project was sent to me by producer Tabriz Shakhidi from Russia and I immediately enjoyed their fusion of Hard Rock and traditional styles. The twisted combination of screaming rock