|
|
Stocking Stuffers 2005
*For the music lovers on your holiday list*
HAPPY HOLIDAYS
from everyone at AFROPOP WORLDWIDE!
Here's wishing you and yours a healthy and musically exciting 2006! We've collected a tasty sampling of the best world music releases that will keep you in the groove well into 2006!
Reviews by Banning Eyre
Khaled, “Ya Rayi” (Wrasse) (Algeria)
Khaled ’s seventh international release is his most ambitious, a tour de force that
spans hard-driving rai, funky pop, crooning balladry, and Latin rock graced by the
presence of the genre’s guitar-god icon, Carlos Santana.
[SEE FULL CD REVIEW] [SEE THE FEATURE]
Thione Seck, “Orientation” (Stern’s) (Senegal)
Thione Seck, one of Senegal’s, indeed the world’s, greatest singers, has created a
masterpiece, a work that traverses history, geography and global culture with confidence,
originality and verve. The mix is Seck’s own griot roots, Arabic classical music, and the
Hindi film soundtrack tradition. Magnificent.
[SEE FULL CD REVIEW] [LEARN MORE]
Pedro Luis Ferrer, "Rústico" (Escondida) (Cuba)
Rural music of eastern Cuba takes on polished elegance and worldly wit in the hands of a
master. The sound is warm, bursting with vocal harmony, ever graced by Ferrer’s sure footed
tres and guitar melodies. All in all, deeply soulful.
[SEE FULL CD REVIEW]
Mamadou Diabate, “Behmanka” (World Village) (Mali)
This U.S.-based master of the kora, a 21 string harp-lute from West Africa, offers his first solo
album. His unique personal takes on kora traditions dazzle with virtuosity.
[SEE THE FEATURE] [LEARN MORE]
Celso Fonseca, “Rive Gauche Rio” (Six Degrees) (Brazil)
Guitarist and singer-songwriter Celso Fonseca brings freshness and verve to bossa nova’s well trod
territory. Very quickly, these songs seem as familiar as old friends.
[SEE FULL CD REVIEW] [BUY FROM AFROPOP SHOP]
Mariza, “Transparente” (Times Square Records) (Portugal)
Internationally celebrated diva collaborates with Brazil’s Jacques Morlenbaum for tasteful string
section arrangements that complement well Mariza’s emotionally charged fados as well as her more
playful, uptempo songs.
[READ AN INTERVIEW] [BUY FROM AFROPOP SHOP]
Ghorwane, “Vana Va Ndota” (Milan Entertainment) (Mozambique)
Mozambique’s greatest pop band’s latest with a big but uncluttered sound, as layerings of voices,
horns, percussion, guitars and keyboards paint vivid sonic landscapes. There’s a pervasive air
of melancholy and seriousness in this beautiful set of songs.
[SEE FULL CD REVIEW] [LEARN MORE]
Konono #1, “Congotronics” (Crammed Discs/Rykodisc) (Congo)
Electro roots pop featuring buzzy warm tones of three likembes (thumb pianos).
Long, grooving trance pieces that gather intensity steadily as they unfold. The surprise hit of
2005.
[LEARN MORE] [BUY FROM AFROPOP SHOP]
Lura, “Di Korpu Ku Alma” (Escondida) (Cape Verde)
Cape Verde is an archipelago of islands 300 miles off the coast of West Africa. Lura takes us
on an island-hopping journey with this delightful collection of songs. A charismatic and relaxed
performer, Lura is very promising newcomer on the scene.
[LEARN MORE]
Souad Massi, “Honeysuckle (Mesk Elil)” (Wrasse) (Algeria)
This one of a kind African singer-songwriter has mapped out her own stylistic and emotional
territory. You can hear hints of Arabic classical singing, Berber village singing, Afropop,
Portuguese fado and more.
[LEARN MORE]
Also Highly Recommended...
- Jack DeJohnette & Foday Musa Suso, “Music from the Hearts of the Masters” (USA & the Gambia)
[READ FULL CD REVIEW]
- Andrea Echevera, “Andrea Echevera” (Colombia)
[SEE THE FEATURE] [BUY FROM AFROPOP SHOP]
- Abdel Gadir Salim and Emmanuel Jal, “Cease Fire” (Sudan)
[READ FULL CD REVIEW]
- DJ Delores, “Aparelhagem” (Brazil)
[BUY FROM AFROPOP SHOP]
- Bebo Valdés, “Bebo de Cuba” (Cuba)
- Mose Fanfan, “Bayekeleye” (Congo)
-
- Sierra Maestra, “Son: Soul of a Nation” (Cuba)
[LEARN MORE]
- Waldemar Bastos, “Renascence” (Angola)
[READ THE INTERVIEW]
- Various, “Golden Afrique”, vol. 1
|
