Caprixo de Fashion

«Every summer in the far north of Norway, in the land of the midnight sun north of the Arctic Circle, a unique music and culture festival is held in the municipality of Gáivuotna (Kåfjord), a few hours drive from the city of Tromsø. This festival, called Riddu Riđđu (which means, roughly, “storm off the water”), celebrates the music and culture of the Sami, the indigenous people of northern

«Presenting hits from 10 countries African Rebel Music – Roots reggae and dancehall gives a first insight into the new reggae dancehall movement in Africa (24 page booklet). So far only two reggae artist have had real international success: Lucky Dube and Alpha Blondy. A new generation has long arrived but although many of them are stars at home and regulars in their local charts, this

A love song of sparkling beauty...

«In the mid 90s, Max Masri (synths and programming – in his teens one of the last disciples of the legendary tango maestro Virgilio Expósito) went back to Buenos Aires from Germany after sharing interesting experiences with argentine emigrants and, because of that, brought the idea to create a new musical language, blending tango and modern sounds.In late 1998 he started working with Diego S.

Le rappeur sénégalais Awadi se fait, dans sa chanson « Sunugaal », la voix des immigrés clandestins qui tentent, au péril de leur vie, d’atteindre les côtes des îles Canaries. Pour la première fois, son titre est mis à la disposition des auditeurs sur son site Internet. Une première pleine de succès pour le chanteur.Listen to the song/Watch the video (use IE browser) : http://

«Lo spirito del maloya si colloca tra nostalgia e speranza, malinconia e collera, umanità rubata e felicità possibile. Le sue parole e le sue melodie in tonalità minore sono come i bagliori di uno specchio frantumato. Una poetica caratterizzata da voci lancinanti sostenute da strumenti rurali: il rouleur (tamburo di basso che si suona a cavalcioni) e il bobre (arco musicale). Il kayamb, che

«Altan has long been one of the most consistently thrilling of the current crop of traditional Irish groups, and it's difficult to pick a single highlight from their catalog. But if pressed, many fans and critics would pick either Harvest Storm or the equally fine Red Crow. Although the program is a fairly typical collection of traditional reel sets, jigs, Gaelic songs, and slow airs, every track

Angelique Kidjo - Oremi (1998)

«The late Horace Swaby, a.k.a. Augustus Pablo, was one of the canonical figures of Jamaican reggae and dub music. From the moment he emerged on the scene as a teenager with his hit single "Java" to the classics he cut with his influential Rockers band and label, Pablo made the melodica, an obscure mouth organ of European origin, an indispensable part of the reggae sound. That instrument's

Photos: Gilles

Recorded in the Netherlands in 1997, while the group was touring in Europe, Anoush features Muradian Ensemble interpreting a nice selection of Armenian folk dances. Band leader Hratchja Muradian plays kamantcha, while the other group members play kanoun, doudouk, clarinet, zurna, oud, accordion and dehol. Guest soloist Liudvig Garibian improves the musical quality of the wind instruments.

«Hugh Masekela has an extensive jazz background and credentials, but has enjoyed major success as one of the earliest leaders in the world fusion mode. Masekela's vibrant trumpet and flugelhorn solos have been featured in pop, R&B, disco, Afropop and jazz contexts. He's had American and international hits, worked with bands around the world, and played with African, African-American, European and

«In 1980 a 15-man band from Dar Es Salaam got together in a Nairobi studio for some young Brits who wanted to cash in on the Afropop boom that was happening thanks to King Sunny Ade. Mzee ("Elder") Makassy was the leader and principal vocalist of the band named after him; Tshimanga Assosa of Maquis Original contributed singing and songwriting skills. (The songs are in Shona, Swahili and Lingala.)

«To kick off this Mike D-produced East meets West extravaganza, Bhagavan Das offers the appropriate homage to Lord Ganesha, remover of obstacles and bestower of blessings. He is the first to be worshipped by dictate of his father Lord Shiva. It must be said that the words sound oh so much more sacred in the authentic Sanskrit rather than English. For instance, no one ever mistook "you have a big

«If you are into fiddle / guitar duos this one is a must! The duo Haugaard & Høirup (Harald Haugaard, violin, viola; Morten Alfred Høirup, guitar, lute and vocals) belongs certainly to the top of the creme of Danish music playing musicians. Both musicians are well known faces in the scene: Harald has played /plays in DUG, Dk-Locomotiv, Sorten Muld, Puls and Serras; Morten in Danish Dia Delight,

«Aprile 1980: lo Zimbabwe proclama l’indipendenza nazionale. Per festeggiare l’evento, Thomas Mapfumo e il suo gruppo, The Blacks Unlimited, vengono raggiunti nientemeno che da Bob Marley e dai suoi Wailers a Salisbury, in un Rufaro Stadium strapieno! […] Thomas Mapfumo incarna i sette anni di lotta nell’allora Rhodesia […] contro il potere coloniale bianco che, alleato al Sudafrica, si era

Roferu, Cuideiru (1994)

A masterpiece of Asturian folk, and a personal favourite of mine. «Llan de Cubel ye ún de los más veteranos (dende 1984) y el de mayor repercusión, internacional de los grupos del folk asturianu. El so nome ta sacáu del Picu Llan de Cubel ente los conceyos de Cuideiru y Pravia. La so música ta basada nel repertoriu tradicional asturianu (popular y ensin autor reconocíu). El so soníu ye

«Foday Musa Suso is a Mandingo (West African tribe) griot (hereditary musician and cultural curator) who can trace his hereditary lineage back to the first performer on the 21-string kora lute. After a traditional apprenticeship in Africa, he came to the US in 1977 and formed The Mandingo Griot Society to bring his native sounds to a new, receptive audience. The group included Adam Rudolph (who

«If Dread Beat An' Blood brought Johnson and initial flush of notoriety, then Forces of Victory was the record that cemented his growing reputation as a major talent. Bovell and the Dub Band swing hard on this set, especially on the album's opening track "Want Fi Goh Rave." This contains some of Johnson's most memorable songs/poems, such as the heartfelt prison saga "Sonny's Lettah" and the

«Both of these two energetic violoncellists (and singers) come from Northern Moravia, where they were passing by each other while studying at the Ostrava Conservatory. They met in Brno during their musicology studies at the Philosophical Faculty. Andrea (born in 1972) was at that time featured in the band BOO and in the international music-dance formation Rale, while Dorota (born in 1975) was

«This recording arrives freighted with legends. The members of Tinariwen belong to the Touareg, the romantic indigo-clad North African nomads of the Sahara desert whose men veil. They were fighters in the Touareg insurgency against the Malian government, which lasted from the 60's to the mid-90's. In military camp in Libya, they were exposed to Bob Dylan and Bob Marley, and picked up electric

Won't you please help me to put out the candle?Just click on the image!

«Hi Radu,We are WE’RE LATE FOR CLASS, an independent improv band that gives away our music. We’ve just released our 20th post, A Collection, and it features our best work from the last year.We’re writing you in hopes that you might post our new album on your fine blog. It would mean a lot to us to reach your wider audience... and to just be acknowledged by other bloggers like yourself would be a

Photo: JTC

Another fine contribution from Chris (aka Avantgarterbelt). Many thanx! «Mode Plagal, a pioneering jazz-folk Greek fusion group offering a unique approach to traditional music, has created a signature sound both familiar and refreshingly new, that has led to their album topping many lists of the best recordings of 2001 in Greece. This is a work produced with great care, with an international

«Compilers Alan Bishop and Mark Gergis (of American bands Sun City Girls and Neung Phak, respectively) use the word "groove" advisedly in the title of their new release. Molam: Thai Country Groove from Isan doesn’t have a single cut that would fit in on a collection of funk dusties, but a great number of these rustic tracks definitely impart head-nodding bliss. The term molam represents a group

Photo: MauritZ ®

Some time ago, Francesco (many thanx, although regrettably belated!)from Sardinia sent me this beautiful album by the sadly late Maria Carta, one of the best interpreters and innovators of Sardinian folk music. Somehow, the files got lost in the vaults of my hard disk. Now, prompted by another reader from Sardinia who sent me a picture of his beautiful land, at last I managed to find it. So here

Another fine contribution from Tobi (Thanx again!). «At first blush, adding Roswell Rudd to a group of native West African musicians might seem, well, stretched. Surprisingly, though, it proves a remarkably impressive combination — in large part due to the simple melodies, the opportunity for the trombonist to stretch out, and the quality of the band. Curiously, although recorded in Mali,

«Fino ai primi Anni Settanta, strutture e strumenti musicali etnici erano presenti solo in un certo tipo di jazz o di musica contemporanea. John Coltrane impiegava moduli africani e asiatici nelle sue composizioni per sassofono, pianoforte, contrabbasso e batteria. Charlie Mariano e Yusef Lateef usavano strumenti e scale melodiche etniche in abbinamento con il piano, la batteria ecc. Anche gruppi