featuring world music from all points of the compass including ambient,chill,downtempo,electronic,classical,experimental,ethnic,African,European,Americas,Pacific,Asia,Indigenous,compilation albums
Guitarist Lauri Manner, aka Kadonnut Manner, has recently released his album "The First Train to Kajanaland - Finnish Primitive Guitar vol. 2". Kajanaland (or nowadays more usually Kainuu) is the region in Northern Finland where he is from, and on the cover is a photo of the first train arriving there in 1905. Kadonnut Manner means "The Lost Continent", a kind of a pun on his last name that also sounds appropriate for making music while living on the European continent at times like these. "Finnish Primitive Guitar" means it's guitar music very much influenced by John Fahey and other American Primitive Guitar players, and it's composed and played by a Finn. It's rhythmic and hypnotic music, scary and dissonant at some times, silly and playful at other and not overtly repetitive or pretentious at any point. The most usual feedback he gets from my live shows and music overall is that the listeners start floating off to elsewhere, conversations end in mid-sentence people and start recalling memories they didn't remember having.
He was born in 1983 in Suomussalmi, took trumpet lessons and played in a brass band when he was 10, took up bass guitar when he was 15, dropped out of all formal music studies, formed a punk band and never looked back. Besides playing both kinds of music (punk and hardcore) he was always into "classic" rock, blues and the roots of the whole thing, so starting from some CCR tapes his uncle gave him when he was 10 years old, he got into Allman Brothers, country blues of Mississippi John Hurt, Skip James, Blind Blake and all those early acoustic blues players. Finally discovering John Fahey, Robbie Basho and Jack Rose playing this really unique music that has the drive and rhythm of the blues but with musical ideas that are all over the place was the thing that forced him to start learning fingerpicking guitar in 2015.
Ali Ibrahim "Ali Farka" Touré (31 October 1939 – 6 March 2006) was a Malian singer and multi-instrumentalist, and one of the African continent's most internationally renowned musicians. His music is widely regarded as representing a point of intersection of traditional Malian music and its North American cousin, the blues. The belief that the latter is historically derived from the former is reflected in Martin Scorsese's often quoted characterization of Touré's tradition as constituting "the DNA of the blues". Touré was ranked number 76 on Rolling Stone's list of "The 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time" and number 37 on Spin magazine's "100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time". As the first African blues man to achieve widespread popularity on his home continent, Touré was often known as "the African John Lee Hooker". Musically, the many superpositions of guitars and rhythms in his music were similar to John Lee Hooker's hypnotic blues style. He usually sang in one of several African languages, mostly Songhay, Fulfulde, Tamasheq or Bambara as on his breakthrough album, Ali Farka Touré, which established his reputation in the world music community. Niafunké was released in 1999. The title reflects the name of the village in Mali where it was recorded. It is largely a traditional album concerning Mali.
Within the album liner notes Touré discusses his motivation for creating the album and how the music might relate to its audience. "This record is more real, more authentic. It was recorded in the place where the music belongs - deep Mali. We were in the middle of the landscape which inspired the music and that in turn inspired myself and the musicians. My music is about where I come from and our way of life and it is full of important messages for Africans. In the West perhaps this music is just entertainment and I don't expect people to understand. But I hope some might take the time to listen and learn." — Ali Farka Touré, Niafunké marked the first of a series of albums he recorded towards the end of his career in his home town. The album was released around the same time he retired to his farm in a remote region of Mali.
The artists gathered together here hail from nations and cultures noted for the growing and export of coffee. Part of the proceeds from the album were earmarked for charity and any catchy idea that gets the music out there is a good thing. Like the luscious drink itself, the tunes come in many intensities and flavors, ranging from a light-as-air ditty from Peru, to the more complex vocal stylings of Colombia's Claudia Gomez, to Ricardo Lemvo and Makina Loca's earthy Afro-Cuban Congolese rumba. The album is a lively and fascinating travelogue, making landfall in Cuba, Kenya, Brazil, Uganda, Mexico, Zimbabwe, Costa Rica, Hawaii, and Peru. As with many other Putumayo projects, aside from its musical pleasures, this set would make an entertaining and educational experience for younger family members. 1. Guajira Bonita - Julian Avalos 2. Soltarlo - Claudia Gomez 3. Wasuze Otya? - Samite 4. Maria Lando - Susana Baca 5. Below the Bassline - Ernest Ranglin 6. M'Ban Samba - Raimundo Sodre 7. Hanzvadzi - Thomas Mapfumo & The Blacks Unlimited 8. Dilema - Los Tradicionales De Carlos Puebla 9. Esa Noche - Cafe Tacvba 10. Gabby Kai - James 'Bla' Pahinui 11. Kothbiro - Ayub Ogada 12. Este Son (Costa Rica) - Juan Carlos Urena 13. La Milonga de Ricardo en Cha-Cha-Cha - Ricardo Lemvo / Makina Loca
Rebétika is the music of the Greek underworld, whose golden years started shortly after Greek national independence and lasted until the 1950's. A rich and heady stew, rebétika focuses on hopeless love, disease, drugs, death and imprisonment. As a musical form, it draws on numerous sources such as the formal instrumental suites of the Ottoman court, the solo vocals of Turkey and Iran, and the captivating, sophisticated instrumentation of the café aman in Istanbul and Izmir. The Rough Guide To Rebétika showcases some of the best rebétika artists from its early roots to the rising stars from the more recent revival movement.
If you enjoy Celtic music you will enjoy this - highlighting the language, lyric and melody of the Gaels in Ireland. 1) Altan: Molly na gCuach ni Chuilleanain 2) Seamus Begley & Mary Black: Ar Bhruach na Carraige Baine 3) Van Morrison & The Chieftains: Ta mo Chleamhnas Deanta 4) Brian Kennedy & Maire Bhreatnach: Eist, a Stor 5) Maura O'Connell: Aisling Ghear 6) Clannad: Seanchas 7) Frances Black: Jimmy mo Mhile Stor 8) Paul Brady: Gleanntain Ghlas' Ghaoth Dobhair 9) Sinead Lohan: Eist do Bheal 10) Mary Black: Mo Ghille Mear 11) John Spillane: Seachtain 12) Maighread ni Dhomhnail: An Cailin Gaelach 13) Kate Bush: Mna na hEireann 14) Christy Moore: Na Conghailihg
Stanley Joseph Dural Jr. (November 14, 1947 – September 24, 2016), better known by his stage name Buckwheat Zydeco, was an American accordionist and zydeco musician. He was one of the few zydeco artists to achieve mainstream success. His music group was formally billed as Buckwheat Zydeco and Ils Sont Partis Band, but they often performed as merely Buckwheat Zydeco. The New York Times said: “Stanley ‘Buckwheat’ Dural leads one of the best bands in America. A down-home and high-powered celebration, meaty and muscular with a fine-tuned sense of dynamics…propulsive rhythms, incendiary performances.” USA Today called him “a zydeco trailblazer.” Buckwheat Zydeco performed with a large number of famous musicians from Eric Clapton (with whom he also recorded) and U2 to the Boston Pops. The band performed at the closing ceremonies of the 1996 Summer Olympics to a worldwide audience of three billion people. Buckwheat performed for President Clinton twice, celebrating both of his inaugurations. official website: http://buckwheatzydeco.com/ This 11 track compilation released in 1993 features an excellent sampling of his music.
Real World Records is a British record label started in 1989 by Peter Gabriel to record and produce world music, as well as his own releases. The label grew up alongside the success of the WOMAD festivals and Peter Gabriel's exploration of music from other cultures, and helped push world music into the general public's consciousness during the 1990's. Many of the label's releases are recorded at Gabriel's Real World Studios, at Box, Wiltshire. see official website: https://realworldrecords.com/ This 10 track compilation released in 1995 features a good cross section of artists from the label.
Zorita are a raucous rousing rabble. The band’s bohemian music boasts an eclectic mix of instruments like organs, synths, trumpet and violin. In combination with bass, drums and guitars, as well as front man Carlos Zorita Diaz’ raw voice, this creates a completely unique sound. Blending influences from around the world into catchy pop songs, an evening with Zorita is guaranteed to breathe life into any party.
They recently released a new video for their single Calliope from their new album 'Aphrodite'. The song mixes African rhythms with indie-pop sounds. The video is a collage from 30's amateur video material shot in Kodachrome.
If you love a bit of afro-beat crossover- this nice little Congolese number is for you! Predz is well known in the industry, having been supported by BBC R1, MOBO, Capital and many more. Kata Dance is the long-awaited single from Predz, the hardest working independent artist in music today. “This track is so important to me. I created it to represent and share my Congolese heritage with the world in a way anyone can appreciate and vibe to”: Predz UK. The track is produced by Yung Reggie, mixed and mastered by Limitlus Entertainment. Predz UK’s tracks have been played on radio stations such at The Beat London, Westside Radio, Pulse, Rinse, Kiss Fresh and BBC 1xtra. The MOBO’s tipped him as a “one to watch” and his songs have accumulated over 100,000 streams and hundreds of thousands of YouTube views. This year, his EP launch event sold out, proving Predz fans are excited to hear his new music!
Kevin Muyulu aka Predz is a multi-talented musician who fell in love with music whilst drumming in a church band as a young boy. He started writing and performing his own lyrics, later becoming part of the popular Secret Service Crew, eventually going solo and selling his own mix tapes. He independently sold over 20,000 copies across the UK. To this day, most of his music has been recorded and mastered in-house by his close friend Mr Mennie and his team ‘Limitlus’. Predz has performed alongside some of the biggest names in the British urban music scene and graced some of the biggest stages in the UK. He has fans in Germany, France and Belgium and has performed in venues across Europe. Predz UK is well known for his catchy slogan “R U KRAYZEE!?” of which the sound bite is often used by well-known DJ’s. Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Soundcloud
