TINARIWEN

TINARIWEN
AMASSAKOUL (2003)
320 KBPS

Tinariwen strip rock down to its basic building blocks of rhythm, guitars, and voice. On their second CD there are no fancy studio tricks or multiple overdubs. They stick to what they've shown they do well — keep the music raw and emotional. While there are similarities to the desert blues of Mali, these Tuareg nomads from the Western Sahara are as much as rock band as the Stones at their best, capable of conjuring up magic with a guitar riff or lick. Oftentimes, the music has the same bluesy, undulating, hypnotic rhythm of a camel crossing the sand, as on "Aldhechen Manin." But they can also crank the amps and unleash something to tingle the spine and feet, which they do on "Oualahila Ar Tesninam," as frantic and primal a piece of rock & roll as you're likely to find. There's even a touch of rap on "Arawan." But there's a complexity in their basic approach, the interlocking layers of electric guitars and the plaintive, defiant voices. To listen to Tinariwen is to believe once more in rock and its power. This is angry and passionate; it's dangerous music in the very best sense. Western bands might have forgotten how to rock as if their lives depended on it; Tinariwen can teach them.

1. Amassakoul 'n' Ténéré
2. Oualahila Ar Tesninam
3. Chatma
4. Arawan
5. Chet Boghassa
6. Amidinin
7. Ténéré Daféo Nikchan
8. Aldhechen Manin
9. Alkhar Dessouf
10. Eh Massina Sintadoben
11. Assoul

MIRIAM MAKEBA

MIRIAM MAKEBA
PATA PATA (1972)
REMASTER
320 KBPS

Following a three-decade-long exile, Miriam Makeba's return to South Africa was celebrated as though a queen was restoring her monarchy. The response was fitting as Makeba remains the most important female vocalist to emerge out of South Africa. Hailed as the Empress of African Song and Mama Africa, Makeba helped bring African music to a global audience in the '60s. Nearly five decades after her debut with the Manhattan Brothers, she's as essential as she was then.
Miriam passed away about two years ago but her music remains as vibrant and lively as it was when it was first released.

1. Pata Pata
2. Ha Po Zamani
3. What is love
4. Maria Fulo
5. Yetentu Tizaleny
6. Click Song Number 1
7. Ring Bell, Ring Bell
8. Jol'inkomo
9. West Wind
10. Saduva
11. A piece of Ground
Bonus Track
12. Malayisha

TRANS-GLOBLAL UNDERGROUND

TRANS-GLOBAL UNDERGROUND
DREAM OF 100 NATIONS (1993)
320 KBPS

Dream of 100 Nations was released in the year when everything seemed to be coming together for UK electronic dance music. Born out of the post-rave dance festival and live techno club scene, Transglobal Underground managed to draw all the threads together in an album that was at once genre-defining and genre busting. It sounds as fresh today as it did 10 years ago: breakbeat, rap and house are still going strong, but you might easily have missed the "world beat" sound that Transglobal Underground built on the foundation of these more mainstream sub-genres.
African, middle-eastern and asian sounds are fused in a truly global groove, with hints of the KLF, Primal Scream (Screamadelica), Meatbeat Manifesto, System 7, The Orb, Banco de Gaia, Faithless and The Shamen. Add to this the unique vocal talents of Natacha Atlas (her vocals on the intensly moving "I Voyager" make this album worth the price for this tune alone) and you have nothing less then an absolute treasure from the golden age of British dance music.

1. Temple Head
2. Shimmer
3. Slowfinger
4. I, Voyager
5. La Voix Du Sang
6. El Hedudd
7. This Is The Army Of Forgotten Souls
8. Sirius B
9. Earth Tribe
10. Zombie'ites
11. Tutto Grande Discordia
12. Hymn To Us

NITIN SAWHNEY

NITIN SAWHNEY
INTRODUCING (1999)
320 KBPS

One of the most talented and recognized producers and songwriters within the British electronic and fusion music scene, Nitin Sawhney is also a respected actor, writer, and scriptwriter. Conceiving daring theme combinations of electronica-style beats with gleaming pieces of Asian inspirations driven within the trip-hop and jazzy styles, Sawhney delivers exclusive and overwhelming sound pieces, enlightened by his indubitable creative insight.
Introducing is a compilation of Nitin's best tunes up to 1999 and a perfect introduction to the artist.

1. Migration
2. Bahaar
3. Hope
4. River Pulse [Rain Mix]
5. Market Daze
6. Pieces of Ten [Chandru Mix]
7. Herecica Latino
8. Displacing the Priest
9. Bengali Song
10. Streets
11. Voices
12. Oceans and Rain

[RE-UP] YUNGCHEN LHAMO

YUNGCHEN LHAMO
AMA (2006)
320 KBPS

Yungchen Lhamo is a new kind of Tibetan, one who was not only forced out into the world at large, but who embraces all its possibilities. Born and raised in Lhasa, she never knew a Tibet that wasn't under Chinese rule. She fled the country in 1989 and now resides in New York City. It's at this cultural crossroads that Ama is born. Except for a raucous version of "Om Mani Padme Hung," this isn't a chant album, but original songs sung in Lhamo's native tongue. Produced by Jamshied Sharifi, an Iranian-American musician who is a master of global sounds and voices, Ama has a transcultural aesthetic, mixing traditional Tibetan chanting and singing with Middle Eastern percussion, fuzzed guitar, Chinese erhu, and African kora, among other instruments. Sharifi has probably listened to Steve Tibbetts's productions with the Tibetan nun Choying Drolma. Although he doesn't have Tibbetts's penchant for abstraction, their approach shares a certain austerity and atmosphere that makes the voice the central focus. "9/11" sets Lhamo in a multitracked choir, echoing distant chants with a simple mournful cello reflecting her sadness. Other tracks are more richly designed, like "Ranzen", which features growling fuzzed-guitar ambiences and Jon Hassell-like trumpet from Norway's Arve Henriksen. Much will be made of Annie Lennox's appearance on "Fade Away," but her performance seems overwrought next to Lhamo's restrained spiritualism.

1. Ranzen
2. Gebu Shere
3. Om Mani Padme Hung
4. Tara
5. 9/11
6. Look Down On Us
7. Nyebe Nilam
8. Someday
9. Fade Away
10. Lhasa

MIKE PATTON

MIKE PATTON
MONDO CANE (2010)
320 KBPS

Mike Patton is about as predictable as the mood swings of someone with a severe case of bipolar disorder. The prolific Faith No More frontman is releasing Mondo Cane, via his own Ipecac Records, on May 4. It's not just another Patton project; it's a collection Italian oldies, which shouldn't surprise Patton disciples, since he was married to an Italian artist and is said to be fluent in the language.
Mondo Cane features as 40-piece orchestra, a choir and back- up band. Patton sings a host of Italian-language songs from the '50s and '60s. The disc also features a several covers: Blackmen's "Urlo Negro," which was recorded in the '60s and is about the struggle for civil rights; Gino Paoli's "Senza Fine," which was also recorded by Connie Francis four decades ago; and "Deep Down," written by Ennio Morricone for the 1986 film, Danger: Diabolik.

1. Il Cielo In Una Stanza
2. Che Notte!
3. Ore D'Amore
4. Deep Down
5. Quello Che Conta
6. Urlo Negro
7. Scalinatella
8. L'Uomo Che Non Sapeva Amare
9. 20 KM Al Giorno
10. Ti Offro Da Bere
11. Senza Fine

GORAN BREGOVIC

GORAN BREGOVIC
ALKOHOL (2009)
320 KBPS

The fall of communism in Eastern Europe in the late '80s and early '90s gave the world music enthusiasts the chance to hear a lot of Polish, Russian, Czech, Hungarian, Romanian, and Bulgarian artists they hadn't been exposed to previously. Nonetheless, there are some Eastern European artists who — despite doing a good job marketing themselves at home — remained underexposed in the United States long after communism's demise. One of them is Serbian-Croatian guitarist, singer, composer, and bandleader Goran Bregovic, but hopefully, his 2009 release Alkohol will make him better known in North America. Bregovic has been part of the former Yugoslavia's music scene since the days of communism, and Alkohol is clearly the work of a seasoned bandleader. Recorded live in Belgrade, Guca, and Skopje in 2007, Alkohol has some rock influence and some electric guitar but nonetheless demonstrates that Bregovic's Eastern European roots run deep. Picture a brass band that has a Balkan Gypsy orientation and is both rootsy and modern by 2007 standards; that is the type of approach that Bregovic favors on these inspired performances. There are parallels between Bregovic's music and Jewish klezmer as well as parallels between Bregovic's music and Middle Eastern music; Bregovic's band has clearly mastered the art of modal/scalar playing, which is something one finds all over the Middle East, India, and Arabic North Africa. But at the end of the day, Bregovic's use of modality is very much a reflection of his Serbian-Croatian heritage — and listeners who are seriously into world music will realize that this is an Eastern European modality rather than a Middle Eastern or North African modality. For westerners, Alkohol is an engaging introduction to Bregovic's work.

1. Yeremia
2. Paradehtika
3. Venzinatiko
4. On The Back-Seat Of My Car
5. Imagine
6. Truckers' Song
7. Gas Gas Gas (Shantel Ve Bregovic)
8. Ruzica (Rose)
9. For Esma
10. Streets Are Drunk
11. Kerna Mas
12. Na' Tan Ixara Oikopedo
13. Tis Agapis Sou To Risko

DEAD CAN DANCE

DEAD CAN DANCE
THE SERPENT'S EGG (1988)
320 KBPS

Perry and Gerrard continued to experiment and improve with The Serpent's Egg, as much a leap forward as Spleen and Ideal was some years previously. As with that album, The Serpent's Egg was heralded by an astounding first track, "The Host of Seraphim." Its use in films some years later was no surprise in the slightest — one can imagine the potential range of epic images the song could call up — but on its own it's so jaw-droppingly good that almost the only reaction is sheer awe. Beginning with a soft organ drone and buried, echoed percussion, Gerrard then takes flight with a seemingly wordless invocation of power and worship — her vocal control and multi-octave range, especially towards the end, has to be heard to be believed. Nothing else achieves such heights, but everything gets pretty darn close, a deserved testament to the band's conceptual reach and abilities. Slow plainsong chants such as "Orbis De Ignis" mix with the harpischord and overlaid vocals of "The Writing on My Father's Hand" and the slow build and sweep of "In the Kingdom of the Blind the One-Eyed Are Kings." Two of Perry's finest vocal moments occur here. The first, "Severance," is a slow, organ/keyboard led number that showcases his rich, warm vocals exquisitely — it's no wonder that Bauhaus chose to cover it some years later on its reunion tour. "Ullyses," the album's closing track, makes for a fine ending as much as "The Host of Seraphim" did an opening, Perry's delivery almost like a reading from a holy book, the arrangement of strings and percussion rhythmic, addictive and lovely.

1. Host of Seraphim
2. Orbis de Ignis
3. Severance
4. Writing on My Father's Hand
5. In the Kingdom of the Blind the One-Eyed Are Kings
6. Chant of the Paladin
7. Song for Sophia
8. Echolalia
9. Mother Tongue
10. Ullyses

BEIRUT

BEIRUT
THE FLYING CLUB CUP (2007)
320 KBPS

Beirut's second LP purportedly takes inspiration from French chanson of yesteryear (as opposed to the Balkan folk of yesteryear). Bandleader Zach Condon has found a new home in Paris, and a new muse as well, quickly absorbing fodder from the likes of Francois Hardy or Jacques Brel. The music remains quite recognizably Beirut--in all its oom-pa glory--but the production value is stepped up a notch. It's through the dense arrangements that it reaches new heights, this without question being the fullest offering yet. The band appeared on Owen Pallet's (Final Fantasy/Arcade Fire) new album in exchange for the use of Arcade Fire's Masonic church studio, along with the exotic pile of instruments within. Pallet ended up contributing several string arrangements and the band made full use of the studio. The result is a truly orchestral take on the simpler gypsy stomp of Gulag Orkestar or the straight-up eight-piece live band of the Lon Gisland EP. Opener "Nantes" features a perfectly broken organ and introduces the wealth of percussion that continues throughout the album, as well as some samples of French TV or radio (the most explicit Franco-features are these sampled tidbits). Waltzing glockenspiels give way to a celebratory, raucous chorus on "La Banlieu." "Un Dernier Verre" features a skittering, jazzy piano bit (in 3/4 time, natch). The Flying Club Cup lacks the immediate hits that made Gulag Orkestar explode (like "Postcards from Italy" or "Mount Wroclai"). It works as an album rather than just a collection of songs. It's a more pensive presentation--dare I say it: more mature. Beirut remains mind-boggling work for a 21-year-old, and it's exciting to watch Condon's musical palette expand as he gathers the life experience to match his voice.

1. A Call To Arms
2. Nantes
3. A Sunday Smile
4. Guyamas Sonora
5. La Banlieue
6. Cliquot
7. The Penalty
8. Forks and Knives (La Fête)
9. In The Mausoleum
10. Un Dernier Verre (Pour La Route)
11. Cherbourg
12. St. Apollonia
13. The Flying Club Cup

NIYAZ

NIYAZ
NINE HEAVENS (2008)
320 KBPS

On their second outing, Niyaz are even more specific about what they're doing in both acoustic and electronic music. Their sound draws on traditional Turkish music, as exemplified by "Beni Beni," and music inspired by Iranian folk songs. By using two discs, one consisting of acoustic and the other of electronic versions of the same material, they really illustrate their approach. But what's most interesting is how subtle their electronic process is. It's still powered by percussion, like the acoustic versions, and voice and instruments still take center stage, but the careful programming and mixing provide for a changed atmosphere. In many cases the electronic tracks are not any more contemporary than their acoustic counterparts, but just different, offering a new perspective on the sound. There's a lot of rootedness in the music, and they use drones effectively, as well as lots of percussion around the simple melodies, with the basic trio filled out by guest musicians who are used judiciously. Singer Azam Ali is stunning throughout, a gentle powerhouse who acts as the glue to hold it all together. In fact, this is more than just an interesting release; it's an important way forward for Middle Eastern music.

Disc 1
1. Beni Beni
2. Tamana
3. Feraghi - Song of Exile
4. Ishq - Love and the Veil
5. Allah Mazare
6. Iman
7. Molk-E-Divan
8. Hejran
9. Sadrang

Disc 2
Acoustic Versions
1. Allah Mazare
2. Beni Beni
3. Sadrang
4. Tamana
5. Feraghi - Song of Exile
6. Hejran
7. Ishq - Love and the Veil
8. Molk-E-Divan

ARKAN

ARKAN
HILAL (2008)
320 KBPS

Can you imagine some Tuaregs or Bedouins playing Death Metal? If you can then you will also know ARKAN. This strange band was formed in Paris and has already self-financed and released the MCD "Burning Flesh" back in 2006. If you don’t have a clue why I asked the above question let me give you some linfo on the band’s musical grounds.
ARKAN was formed to bring some oriental sounds from countries like Algeria and Morocco who to my knowledge are absolutely inactive in the Metal scene. Well, the idea of blending ethnic sounds to Metal is nothing new and actually has been quite successful in the past with bands like ORPHANED LAND or even SOULFLY. I think for a strange reason Thrash or even Death Metal fits excellently to these foreign elements making quite an explosive mixture. So, have ARKAN used the right portions for their mixture or did it blow on their faces? Let’s find out; shall we?
The album kicks in with "Groans Of The Abyss" that gets you by the throat! The aggressive vocals bring to mind Max Cavalera while the down tuned guitars build a ton heavy groove. The melodic break welcomed the Eastern oriental atmosphere that flows smoothly taking you over the hot Sahara desert. This break becomes even more interesting with the use of non-Metal instruments and some female vocals. I don’t know but this song earned me from the very beginning and played with my mind with all this Eastern and mystical atmosphere. Don’t be fooled by my references to the oriental sounds because ARKAN brings some brutal stuffs in their songs. The deep Death growls or the down tuned tribal riffs ala SEPULTURA can make your neck snap and your head bang. Some excellent examples of my saying are the mid tempo "Mistress Of The Damned Souls", the groovy in the SOULFLY way "The Seven Gates" and the Death Metal shredder "Chaos Cypher."
I think ARKAN succeeded 100% to create a colorful album by blending some strong "tastes" from different cultures to our Metal aesthetics. If you like the Tribal side of Metal or even something different in your plate then "Halil" is the perfect treat for you!

1. Groans Of The Abyss
2. Lords Decline
3. Mistress Of The Damned Souls
4. Lamma Bada
5. Tied Fates
6. The Seven Gates
7. Athaoura
8 .Chaos Cypher
9. Defying The Idols
10. El Houdou
11. Native Order
12. Amaloun Jadid

DEAD CAN DANCE

DEAD CAN DANCE
AION (1990)
320 KBPS

Long before No Doubt brought back ska and Big Bad Voodoo Daddy resurrected swing, Lisa Gerrard and Brendan Perry were making music that recalled an earlier time. How early? Try the Renaissance. Everything old--really old--is new again on Aion, the band's fifth and arguably finest album. Like DCD's other discs, Aion revolves around the interplay between Gerrard's soaring glossolalia and Perry's baritone crooning. A range of styles are explored, from the polyphonic choral heights of "The Arrival and the Reunion" to the smooth balladry of "Fortune Presents Gifts Not According to the Book" to the Middle Eastern sensuality of "Radharc." Other standout tracks include the playful "Saltarello," a traditional 14th-century instrumental dance piece, and "As the Bell Rings the Maypole Spins," a strikingly melodic song carried by bagpipes and Gerrard's angelic voice.

1. Arrival and the Reunion
2. Saltarello
3. Mephisto
4. Song of the Sibyl
5. Fortune Presents Gifts Not According to the Book
6. As the Bell Rings the Maypole Spins
7. End of Words
8. Black Sun
9. Wilderness
10. Promised Womb
11. Garden of Zephirus
12. Radharc

YOUSSOU N'DOUR

YOUSSOU N'DOUR
ROKKU MI ROKKA (GIVE AND TAKE) (2007)
320 KBPS

Like his last two releases for Nonesuch, 2002's Nothing's in Vain and 2004's stunning Egypt, Youssou N'Dour's Rokku Mi Rokka (Give and Take) is a glistening, polished work that perpetuates the singer's recurring role as one of Africa's greatest gifts to music. Where Egypt was something of a side trip for N'Dour, a tribute to his Sufi faith, Rokku Mi Rokka takes on more of a mainstream melodic pop sheen, with an eye toward the northern desert country for inspiration. N'Dour, in addition to using his regular musicians, reunites here with members of his early-career Super Etoile de Dakar band as well as other players with whom he's been comfortable for years (gotta love Ali Farka Touré sideman Bassekou Kouyate on the four-stringed n'goni), so the results are familiar and the groove locked in tight. Neneh Cherry, who performed a duet with N'Dour on 1994's hit "7 Seconds," returns for a rap on the album-closing mbalax-funk anthem "Wake Up (It's Africa Calling)," which implores the Western world to stop taking Africa for granted and look to the continent for positive vibrations. The opening track, "4-4-44," is a celebration of 44 years of Senegal's independence, bathed in driving, repetitive keyboard riffs, a persistent rhythmic punch, and a midsong horn blast that provides a sudden Memphis-esque R&B kick. As always, much of N'Dour's songwriting addresses tradition and its role in an Africa struggling toward modernization. There are songs of love and songs of politics and spirit. "Tukki" is little more than a simple paean to the joys of traveling, and "Xel" exhorts humans to do the obvious: use their brains and think. But then there's "Sportif," with its drum lick right out of a New Orleans second-line march, whose sole purpose is to remind countrymen that there's no need to take it personally if a favorite wrestler loses a match — it's only a sport. Go figure. Nonetheless, Youssou N'Dour is never less than thoughtful and intriguing, and his voice is never less than gripping. Rokku Mi Rokka is another gem from an artist who has come to define the African music renaissance.

1. 4-4-44
2. Pullo Àrdo [The Shepherd]
3. Sama Gàmmu [My Rival]
4. Bàjjan [The Father's Sister]
5. Baay Faal
6. Sportif [Sportsman]
7. Tukki [Travel]
8. Létt Ma [Indecision]
9. Dabbaax
10. Xel [Think]
11. Wake Up (It's Africa Calling)

BEIRUT

BEIRUT
GULAG ORKESTAR (2006)
320 KBPS

While it may sound like an entire Balkan gypsy orchestra playing modern songs as mournful ballads and upbeat marches, Beirut's first album, Gulag Orkestar, is largely the work of one 19-year-old Albuquerque native, Zach Condon, with assistance by Jeremy Barnes (Neutral Milk Hotel, A Hawk and a Hacksaw) and Heather Trost (A Hawk and a Hacksaw). Horns, violins, cellos, ukuleles, mandolins, glockenspiels, drums, tambourines, congas, organs, pianos, clarinets and accordions (no guitars on this album!) all build and break the melodies under Condon's deep-voiced crooner vocals, swaying to the Eastern European beats like a drunken 12-member ensemble that has fallen in love with The Magnetic Fields, Talking Heads and Neutral Milk Hotel.

1. The Gulag Orkestar
2. Prenzlauerberg
3. Bandenburg
4. Postcards From Italy
5. Mount Wroclai (Idle Days)
6. Rhineland (Heartland)
7. Scenic World
8. Bratislava
9. The Bunker
10. The Canals Of Our City
11. After The Curtain

Bonus Disc
Lon Gisland E.P.
1. Elephant Gun
2. My Family's Role in the World Revolution
3. Scenic World
4. The Long Island Sound
5. Carousels

DEAD CAN DANCE

DEAD CAN DANCE
SPIRITCHASER (1996)
320 KBPS

Listening to Dead Can Dance is a transcendental experience. Enriched with dedications to the living Gaia, their creations subsist in natural and other worldly realms. Initially crafting songs which augmented their Australian roots with Gothic and Renaissance traditions, the group have since grown to encompass a hybrid of global sounds. On Spiritchaser the enchanted souls of founding members Brendan Perry and Lisa Gerrard shine in this, their most ethereal LP to date. Whereas earlier endeavors succumbed to genres grounded in eras of the past and non-Western present, it's immediately apparent that this album has loftier aspirations. Hypnotically threaded with traditional and electronic instruments, the exorcism of each song touches upon the universal essence beyond. While Gerrard's heavenly vocals are used primarily for instrumental effect, Perry's fertile lyricism both compliments her efforts and expresses the spiritual associations related to the album's title and meaning. Intrinsically delivered with shamanistic connectivity, the sensations ritualize the modern mortal.

1. Nierika
2. Song of the Stars
3. Indus
4. Song of the Dispossessed
5. Dedicacé Outò
6. Snake and the Moon
7. Song of the Nile
8. Devorzhum

PISSUK RACHAV

PISSUK RACHAV
ERETZ HAKODESH (2009)
256 KBPS

Channeling Serge Gainsbourg through the lens of Hassidic porn and the loving erection of the soul, Pissuk Rachav is the bastard child of Holy Land poetic visions and Brahmachari Circus Music. Marimba, ney, theremin, drums and voice weave a remarkably original and hilariously serious musical universe that seems so perfect one wonders why it has never happened before. French Israeli Jeremy Fogel is an instant superstar, styled in the mold of his hero Serge Gainsbourg. In their own words "perambulations through the existential crisis experienced by post-menopause and suddenly somewhat melancholic Bruria heroine. We would advise all listeners to work out their own salvation with diligence and would like to dedicate all we say, write, sing, play or do to the eternal landlord of the soul." Who knew? This is their debut CD, and it is a must hear for all interested in the outer realms of sanity, Jewish or otherwise! Also features avant superstars Marc Ribot and John Zorn as special guests.

1. Jesus Christ The Nazarene Runs In The Streets Of Tel Aviv Shouting Allah Hu Akbar; Invocation
2. Allenby Vagina Street
3. Holy Bond
4. A Feeling Divine
5. Taqism
6. Song Of Love
7. End Of Thought
8. The Great Shofar
9. Jerusalem
10. Blessing
11. Sweet Death Of Roses
12. The Holy Land

FRANK LONDON & LORIN SKAMBERG

FRANK LONDON & LORIN SKAMBERG
TSUKER-ZIS (2009)
256 KBPS

When you mention Jewish music to most people they will most likely think of Fiddler On The Roof, groups of Kibbutzim dancing Israeli folk songs, or maybe even Klezmer. However most people don't associate Judaism with religious music, and for the longest time music was forbidden to Jews by Rabbinical edict as a symbol of their mourning the destruction of the second temple in Jerusalem by the Romans in 70 AD. Yet, by the middle ages those strictures were relaxed and instruments were once again being used to help celebrate religious feasts and secular events.
Of course with such a huge break in their own musical tradition, and the fact that most Jews were now living in Eastern Europe instead of Jerusalem, their music was heavily influenced by the folk music of their gentile neighbours. Like Yiddish, the language spoken by the Jews of Eastern Europe for day to day usage, you can hear traces of everything from German, Polish, Czech, to the Romani (gypsies) in Klezmer and Jewish religious music. While Klezmer music has obtained a level of popularity recently and there are any number of recordings available, the same can't be said for the religious music. However two musicians who were instrumental in creating the interest in Klezmer music through helping found the band The Klezmatics have now begun making recordings of Jewish religious music as well.
Frank London and Lorin Sklamberg have just released Tsuker-zis on the Tzadik label, a collection of fourteen songs celebrating various holidays and aspects of Jewish religious life. The title is Yiddish for sugar sweet, and according to notes accompanying the release Jewish imagery often uses sugar metaphorically to describe the divine sweetness of our lives. That doesn't mean the songs on the album are sickeningly sweet, rather they are expressions of the joy the various holidays bring to people. For even a holiday as intimating sounding as Yom Kippur, Day of Atonement, can be considered joyous as its a part of the overall sweetness of the divine in a Jewish person's life
However, you'd be forgiven for wondering what kind of disc of Jewish religious music features an Armenian oud player, Ara Dinkjian; a tabla player from North India, Deep Singh; and an electric guitar player, Knox Chandler, whose credits include Cyndi Lauper, the Psychedelic Furs, and Siouxie & The Banshees. Well, when you consider that trumpeter and keyboard player London has worked with everyone from Itzhak Perlman to LL Cool J and vocalist and accordion player Sklamberg has taught Yiddish singing from Maui to Kiev, the fact that they have elected to work with three musicians from such diverse backgrounds makes a little more sense. Anyway, remember the Jewish musical tradition that has inspired this recording drew upon a wide variety of musical influences to begin with. It only follows that modern day adaptations of these songs should follow in their footsteps by drawing upon the world around them as well.

1. A Sukkah Of Branches
2. Blessings Without End
3. Our Life Is Sugarsweet
4. Our Parent, Our Sovereign
5. Increase Our Joy
6. The Days Between #1
7. The Lord Sent His Servant
8. The Days Between #2
9. Heed Not The Accuser!
10. Elijah The Prophet Bought A Red Cow
11. Greeks Gathered Against Me (Intro)
12. Greeks Gathered Against Me
13. Mighty, Blessed, Great, Prominent, Glorious, Ancient, Meritorious, Righteous, Pure, Unique, Powerful, Learned, King, Enlightened, Exalted, Brave, Redeemer, Just, Holy, Merciful, Almighty, Omnipotent Is Our God

BASSEKOU KOUYATE & NGONI BA

BASSEKOU KOUYATE & NGONI BA
I SPEAK FULA (2009)
320 KBPS

After his award winning album' 'Segu Blue' the ngoni wizard from Mali is back with a new offering: 'I Speak Fula'. The album captures the incredible live energy of Bassekou Kouyate & Ngoni ba and is the next step in the career of one of Mali's most exciting and innovative musicians coming out of Africa.
Bassekou has transformed the traditional music of the ngoni into the modern world. With his band Ngoni ba he has created a new lineup as a quartet with a rock band's style of playing. Bassekou opened up the magic of an age-old music, to people all over the world.
For Bassekou Kouyate it has been a long journey that started out in Garana, a small village on the Niger river where he grew up, then took him to the town of Segu, capital of his region, and on to Mali's capital Bamako. And now it is taking him and his music around the world. Welcome to a new chapter of this exciting story.

1. I Speak Fula
2. Jamana Be Diya (feat. Toumani Diabate, Kasse Mady Diabate)
3. Musow - For Our Women
4. Torin Torin (feat. Harouna Samake)
5. Bambugu Blues (feat. Vieux Farka Toure, Andra Kouyate)
6. Amy (feat. Zoumana Tereta)
7. Saro (feat. Vieux Farka Toure)
8. Ladon
9. Tineni (feat. Toumani Diabate)
10. Falani
11. Moustapha

JOHN ZORN/CRACOW KLEZMER BAND

JOHN ZORN
THE CRACOW KELZMER BAND
SANATORIUM UNDER THE SIGN OF THE HOURGLASS (2005)
320 KBPS

John Zorn's Masada songbooks have surrendered themselves to many modern genres and styles—free jazz with the original Masada Quartet, contemporary improvised music with the Masada String Trio and the duo of Mark Feldman and Sylvie Courvoisier, 1970s electric fusion meets today's electronica with Electric Masada, power rock with Rashanim, and a dozen others in the various tributes to the first Masada songbook (Masada Guitars; Voices in the Wilderness; and The Unknown Masada, all Tzadik, 2003). But only now, with the release of the Polish Cracow Klezmer Band's fourth disc on Tzadik, are they interpreted in the Old World Eastern European klezmer form. Many Masada interpretations have referenced, abstracted, or suggested new readings of this genre which is so identified with Jewish music.
The four members of the Cracow Klezmer Band—leader, arranger, and bayan (accordion) player Jaroslaw Bester; violinist Jaroslaw Tyrala; bayan player, clarinetist, and percussionist Oleg Dyyak; and violinist Jaroslaw Tyrala—are augmented by singer Grazyna Auguscik, who has collaborated with them before, not only to tackle John Zorn's Masada Songbooks One and Two, but also to use these tunes to paint a heartfelt tribute to the Polish-Jewish writer and artist Bruno Schultz (1892-1942), whose character still inspires contemporary writers like the Israeli author David Grossman (See Under: Love) and Americans Cynthia Ozick (The Messiah of Stockholm) and Phillip Roth (The Prague Orgy). This release is named after Schultz's second collection of short stories, published in 1936, and its official title is The Cracow Klezmer Band plays the music of John Zorn—Sanatorium Under Sign of the Hourglass: A Tribute to Bruno Schultz.
The Cracow Klezmer Band's beautiful arrangements are faithful to the original versions. In the opening track, "Meshakh," and on "Regalim," these four musicians even manage to capture the same dynamic telepathic coordination that is so identified with the original Masada quartet. But soon as Tyrala begins his magnificent solo on "Galgalim," you realize that their music is more faithful to the klezmer tradition than any other Masada incarnations or interpretations: klezmer music as a high art concert music that must be performed with subtlety, finesse, and great passion.
"Tirzah," with Auguscik's dreamy wordless vocals, and "Hamadah" both succeed in capturing the sensual atmosphere of Schulz's fantastical stories. Tyrala introduces "Adithaim" with a virtuosic, lyrical violin solo, slowly turning the piece into a gentle dance tune. "Pagiel" is the only tune from Zorn's second Masada songbook, Book of Angels, and is performed as a passionate Astor Piazzolla tune. "Meholalot" is interpreted slightly differently than the version the Cracow Klezmer Band did on Voices in the Wilderness, this time stressing its driving rhythms, as its Hebrew title suggests, and highlighting the captivating vocals of Grazyna Auguscik.
A brilliant release that blends Old World with New World, an almost vanished culture with a vital resurrecting one, by one of the world's most extraordinary new klezmer outfits.

1. Meshakh
2. Galgalim
3. Tirzah
4. Yesod
5. Pagiel
6. Adithaim
7. Hamadah
8. Regalim
9. Demai
10. Meholalot

BROWN BIRD

BROWN BIRD
THE DEVIL DANCING (2009)
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"The Devil Dancing" is Brown Bird's second fulllength album on Peapod Recordings. The album is set to be released on CD and LP on November 10th of 2009. It was recorded in two separate multi day sessions. The first session took place at Hogfarm Studios in Biddeford, ME and included the upright bass work of Micah Blue Smaldone (Death Vessel, Fire on Fire). The second session took place at the Peapod Recording Studio in Portland, ME. The engineer for both sessions was Ron Harrity. Mastering was done by Nick Zampiello at New Alliance East.
Brown Bird is an original 5 piece band which draws influence from Country, Blues and Eastern European musics. Brown Bird began over five years ago as the brain child of songwriter David Lamb and has developed into a miniature orchestra of harmonized voices and instruments carrying Lamb’s haunting lyrics on surging waves of Appalachian, gypsy, and shanty music. The group hails from Rhode Island and Maine and pulls from the talents of each member to create a diverse folk music that swells into high-spirited, foot-stomping madness.

1. Danger and Dread
2. Down to the River
3. Muck and Mire
4. Lake Bed
5. Needy Generator
6. Wrong Black Mare
7. Bottom of the Bottle
8. By The Reins
9. Gallows
10. Sickle and Hood
11. Severed Soul
12. Devil Dancing
13. Mabel Grey