WorldBeat

World blues, world groove, folk, funk, world new age, Eurobeat... it's all here!

1. Folk Playground by Various Artists
2. World Groove by Various Artists
3. New Orleans by Various Artists

  If you're not already familiar with Putumyao's 'Groove' series, the idea is to blend ethnic music with groovy dance beats and electronics. This type of post-disco dance club music was once known as Eurobeat, but has evolved way beyond the dance clubs of Paris, London and Munich  (though those places still delve heavily into the scene.)

 Many musicians from the mid-East and Africa have settled in Europe: it was only a matter of time before the different scenes would mix together.

 Speaking of mixing, many of the tunes on WORLD GROOVE  (and throughout the groove and its related lounge series) are remixes by disc jockeys and mix masters of more conventional recordings, but the scene keeps evolving.   Some groups employ mix masters as part of the group, and sometimes the mix master is the group - a combination of disc jockey and electronics whiz.   Sometimes a group of signers employ electronics and skip the regular band altogether.   There are almost as many ways to produce this music as there are people who do it.

 WORLD GROOVE may be my favorite cd in the series so far, just because of the great variety of sounds. Ten cuts hold some conventional instruments, some all-electronic, some sampling: most are a combination.

 Ten countries are featured (sort of - as there are French connections with at least three of them.) Paris really is the center of 'world music' nowadays, and probably has been for the last 25 years: its dance clubs and recording studios seem to be always jumping.  In fact, much of the 'African' music recorded in the last 25 years was actually recorded in Paris. London plays a similar but smaller position on the world stage.

 Old favorites like Zap Mama and Brenda Fassie are here, but many of these artists may be new or only recently discovered by American listeners.

 Some cuts are so internal and modern they sound like they could be American artists, i.e. the new Zap Mama cut - others keep their ethic roots up front, i.e. Isa Bagayogo from Mali.

 Though it also sounds somewhat blusey, like much of the music from Mali, I love hearing a group from Lebanon following a group from Cuba.

 For those of you who think they can't enjoy Arab music, especially the vocals - listen to cut 10 by Ragheb Alama: tres cool. Tastefully subtle electronics with saxophones, accordion, flamenco guitar and lots of hand clapping: I'm in heaven.

 If you love WORLD GROOVE as much as I do, try out some of the other Putumayo dance club cds such as ARABIC GROOVE, WORLD LOUNGE, etc.: it's all fun stuff.

 What incredible timing: we were still reeling from the devastation wrought by Hurricane Katrina to one of our favorite cities when what pops up in the mail but the lively, fun-filled collection of music unique (at least in origin) to the crescent city itself, NEW ORLEANS.

 The music is primarily in the style the British call 'trad jazz' or 'Dixieland', as most Americans call it.

 This music sounds a great deal more authentic and live - really alive - than most Dixieland preservationist recordings ever do.

 The fact that most, if not all, these musicians were born and raised in the Big Easy certainly helps: the sound is looser and a little funkier than most Dixieland groups, and there's even some of that famous 'Nawlins second line beat on some tunes.

 Need cheering up? Want to have some fun and chase away the blues? Try some NEW ORLEANS: take as often as needed; don't dilute.

 Some of the kids' songs on FOLK PLAYGROUND go back a ways and some are new (to me, anyhow). A surprise to me was how sophisticated some of the musicianship is compared to the versions from my youth.

 Kids' performers today give kids a lot more credit in the brains department than performers did in the days of my youth. Is this a good thing for kids? Well, we won't know for decades, but for now these songs sure are a lot of fun to listen to; more so than most kids' songs I'd heard before.

 Nothing on FOLK PLAYGROUND is going to show up on a Barney show. In fact, most adults with or without children will love this recording: 12 tunes, all in English.

 Woody Guthrie pioneered this sort of thing, but the twelve performers take it a step further.

 I wish I had kids at home to test FOLK PLAYGROUND on: we'll just have to pretend to be kids whenever we play FOLK PLAYGROUND - which will be often.

  Stellamara used to get listed in record stores under 'new age', 'world music' or in really hip stores, under 'ethnic fusion'. Ten or fifteen years ago several different groups, many based in England, started combining different ethnic elements from parts of the world they had little or no knowledge of with more modern elements.

 In my opinion Stellamara was the best group lumped into this category: their music combined Middle Eastern, Eastern European and medieval elements. A strangely fascinating, ethereal female voice with a variety of acoustic instruments such as oud, mandacello and saz were included.

 I missed Stellamara and thought they must have broken up - but with the release of THE SEVEN VALLEYS I can rejoice:  Stellamara is back, better than ever.

 Vocalist Sonja Drukulich is singing better than ever thanks to voice lessons from the lead vocalist from the choir known as the Mysterious Voices of Bulgaria. she's the only vocalist listed in the credits, so she must overdub herself on those tracks that have a choral sound.

 Her partner Gari Hegadus is a multi-instrumentalist whiz. Only four other instrumentalists lend an occasional hand.

 The music pushes boundaries and combines various elements from as far away as India, with ancient European elements.   Fans of Sheila Chandra should enjoy the Indian elements that combine with choral sounds reminiscent of both Bulgaria and the early Christian church - wow!

 If new age music didn't have such a negative reputation with so many people, I'd call Stellamara's THE SEVEN VALLEYS the best of that genre.  It's a 'must have' for anyone with a curious, open mind.

1. Dakshina by Deva Premal
2. Spirit Romance by David Lanz & Gary Stroutsos

 Ever heard the expression 'Keep it simple, stupid'? I never heard that expression applied to the music of the new age movement, but it did (and does) apply to some of the most popular music of that era. Pianist David Lanz may not have thought those words when playing and composing, but he feels the message: for more than twenty years his minimalist approach to relaxing piano music has won him fans and accolades world wide.

 Flutist Gary Stroutsos has a similar reputation. So why not combine these two old friends and see (hear) what happens? Will they get in each others' way? Will there be too many notes, thus breaking the spell and thus wakening someone from the meditative bliss?   Not to worry: these two know what they're doing: not an extra note to be found anywhere.

 You can easily bliss out on SPIRIT ROMANCE unless you strongly desire something more challenging.   Not even the presence of hand drummer Glen Velez and bassist Keith Lowe really make their presence felt: everything is sublimated.

 I've heard that the term 'new age' is not being used in radio nowadays and that the music is going in a slightly different direction: well, not Lanz and Stroutsos: this is definitely the very easy listening side of contemplative music - some people love and need it; others hate it.

 Many spiritual singers who come from the Indian tradition (Hinduism and related religions and movements) have been recording in the last thirty years or so: many are from India, some are descended from Indian families now living abroad, while still others are Westerners who traveled to India for spiritual enlightenment and started chanting and singing music that they learned while studying at an ashram at the feet of a guru.

 Deva Premal is probably the best of the later group: she's been blessed, if you will, with a beautiful voice that could probably be used to great effect in more popular music styles. She is, however, totally devoted to sacred chanting.

 She devotes DAKSHIMA to her guru Osho, whom she has been a devotee of since the age of eleven. Her chief accompaniment is known as Miten, an ex-rocker and now fellow traveler on the spiritual path. Miten very wisely never lets the instruments get in the way of the voice: they may start a tune a few seconds before the voice comes in, but they're there for support only: no fancy solos please.

 Having heard all or nearly all of Deva Premal's recordings, I'm struck as to how Indian her voice sounds now after 15 years of almost non-stop touring. Most Westerners who have gone down this road usually start adding Western elements: after ten years or so other musical traditions start to sneak in, even if not consciously.

 The playing on DAKSHIMA is so subtle it's hard to believe more than eleven musicians actually play on it.

 The harmony vocals are also very much under-stated and lovely. For many Westerners interested in the spiritual chants of India, Deva Premal's voice is easier to understand than many of the voices of Indians themselves. It's pretty in a way we can understand.

 Trans-Global Underground is not a band, except when it is. Trans-Global Underground is an always-changing collective of DJs, mixmasters, musicians, and singers based in London England (well, most of the time).  The group/nongroup records with guest artists from Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe, the Caribbean and who knows where in the future: their music is eminently danceable, which is logical since it began in the discos - though I'm delighted to report the listener is not pounded over the head with a simple heart-like beat, as is common in most music played in disco clubs (yes, your reviewer is aware the word 'disco' isn't used anymore; but so much post-disco electronic dance music really is disco in disguise - and yes, some of it sneaks onto IMPOSSIBLE BROADCASTING).

 Like sitar? They got it. Eastern European polyphonic harmony? Ditto. Post-beatnik cool rappin? That that too. Space electronics? Of course.

 The name of this group sure is fitting: even though this is their sixth album release the sound is trans-global (more so all the time) and this isn't mainstream pop music by any meals - they are cookin'.

 
"What a killer compilation - who did this?" was the comment heard around the office the first time I played the two-cd set SOUND OF THE WORLD, holding some of the best of and most requested songs played on Charlie Gillett's radio show on BBC Radio out of London.

 Like so many of us around here, Charlie Gillett started out with a love of American rock-a-billy and blues, then discovered West African music, which then led to discovering the world is filled with great interesting music.

 Charlie still favors African music (we can relate), so Africa gets more elections than some other continents - but I doubt many folks will object.   Most of the music here is of the amplified band style, but it does range from acoustic to very electronic with samples.

 Several of the name artists will be familiar with most listeners, but many others will be a delightful surprise: just when you think you've heard every good musician/signer from some small country, another great artist pops up.

 33 artists from 28 countries, yet we still want more. Thankfully Charlie does one of these every year: now all we have to do is spend the next 12 months trying to find individual recordings by all these terrific artists. Life sure won't be boring while we await Charlie's next collection!

  An alternative name for this cd could have been 'The Anti-Globalization Album' as much of the music is in a protest vein; much of it against the engulfing of the world by big business and big government in the globalization of nearly everything.

 Some of the music is recordings by Femi Kuti and the Skatalites (rare live recordings) tooting freedom, but a feeling of anger and pent-up emotion is found throughout the recording.

 Much of BREAKING OUT OF THE BAR(CODE)S is hard to listen to even if you have other recordings by these artists: those are usually light-hearted fun recordings.

 The liner notes are quite extensive and the packaging is deluxe and handsome. A map of the world done in barcode (get it?) adorns the cover.

 Need something soft after several cuts of bombastic music? Try cut #10: Salif Keita doing an acoustic version of 'Baba'.

 Cut 15 is 'The Strangler' by Underground resistance: it sums up the theme of BREAKING OUT OF THE BAR(CODE)S rather well, I think.

 The title of the cd is not printed on the spine or anywhere else which may prove a store challenge: stores do have to sell it, and clerks do have to file it, to sell it....

  Putting together EMBRACE THE WORLD V. 1 is  bit like putting together a tape at the home of some of your favorite sounds, but making sure that it all fits together somehow. When you're including recordings from such diverse places as China, Persia (Iran), and Columbia, South America, you have a real challenge: somehow the producers of the extremely listenable EMBRACE THE WORLD have done it.

 I still can't believe I can be listening to Leonor Dely and Millero Congo, drift into Farzad then hear K.C. Porter, and only on the fourth cut featuring Lin Cheng on the erhu (Chinese violin)_ does it really hit me: "we're not listening to the same band as on track one."

 Now, that's what a good compilation does: transitions so smoothly you're unaware it's happening.

 All the groups have a somewhat modern, vaguely jazz-inspired sound, but not far-out: more like smooth groove meets ethnic.

 I was prepared not to like EMBRACE THE WORLD, thinking I was going to be preached to, or the music would be sappy - but I was pleasantly surprised: it was a hit with many in the office; chances are it'll be a hit with you, too.

 Rough guide anthologies are usually deeper and more encompassing than anthologies from other companies; thus I was surprised that only acoustic blues guitarists are featured on ROUGH GUIDE TO BOTTLENECK BLUES - if it was titled ACOUSTIC BOTTLENECK BLUES, it would be close to perfect.

 The bottleneck style is associated with the Mississippi Delta region and that region and nearby areas are well represented here by Muddy Waters, Robert Johnson, and others. But the bottleneck blues style was not confined to Mississippi (or, later, Chicago): case in point: Kokomo Arnold of Georgia, Blind Willie McTell, who usually played a twelve-string guitar, also of Georgia, Pete Harris from Texas, Allen Shan and Fred McDowell, both of Tennessee. 

 The idea of playing slide guitar or bottleneck blues was  a combination of African roots revived by the fad for Hawaiian music early in the 20th century throughout the world.  One group who exploited this was Jim and Bob (the genial Hawaiians who were actually from Chicago).

 There are twenty-two cuts on BOTTLENECK BLUES. Most were cut  in the late 1920s through the 1930s by black American artists who recorded on many different labels. One of my favorite cuts is the opening cut by Sylvester Weaver called 'Guitar Rag'.   This tune later became known as 'Steel Guitar Rag', a staple of Bob Wills and the Texas Playboys.

 It's fleshed out by four great white players who helped revive the style: Stefan Grossman, John Fahey, Bob Brozman and Martin Simpson.  As these four all branched out far beyond blues, the perspective cd buyer might worry that these four selections might not fit in. Not to worry: most listeners will never notice.

  I've been listening to some of these tunes for over forty years now, and I notice their appeal never dies. New fans of the style are always coming along and others like myself fall in love with these recordings all over again.

 I suspect hundreds of years from now these recordings will still be delightful listens.

 Great music, a great package, informative liner notes - even a few photos - makes this a recommended pick for any collection.

  It really is amazing how much music can be put on a cd: at least, to someone born in the 78 RPM era. 26 tracks are on WAR THAT MADE AMERICA - of course some are only 57 seconds long, but still...

 The variety of music is outstanding: much better than we are used to with the usual Hollywood fare. We get European, classical music, French folk music, Native American music - actually native to the nations and tribes of the areas affected: not the sort of thing we all grew up with where two composers dream up some simplistic, totally un-authentic approximation of Native American much which is then played by a bunch of union session musicians, most of whom have been to music school.

 Along with all this we get some original music by Brian Keane, written to convey the emotion of the scene its' written for. Some of this is actually scary as it's a war, after all.   

We haven't seen the PBS special, but listening to THE WAR THAT MADE AMERICA, I could imagine the scenes without even seeing them or reading the liner notes telling me where we were.  I could tell what was happening just by listening to the music: now that's what a soundtrack should do.

 Authentic period instruments were used throughout (though subtle electronics are also used on the original music sections).

  One of our all-time favorite Native American musicians Douglas Spotted Eagle is one of the contributors.

  THE NEW HEROES is a wonderful TV series shown on the BBC and PBS stations: it concerns people working around different places in the world trying to make the world a better place and, for the most part, succeeding. Maybe only a few people at a time; but these dedicated souls are accomplishing what big U.S. and government programs have promised but failed to do.

 Composer (and mostly guitarist) Christopher Hedge includes some of the voices and extra sounds of the people actually participating in these projects into the sounds he and his fellow musicians recorded.

 The result is very powerful music, not in volume but in emotional connection, even if you haven't seen the film.   To have seen the video and listened to the music and not been deeply moved, you'd have to be dead: it's powerful music indeed.