Around The World With Music Gourmets

[Ojai Sam]

We're going to inaugurate another new series at MG. Thanks in large part to Slacker Radio's perceptively curated "World Station", I have developed a keen interest in contemporary international music. I'll start posting my favorites here for comment and enjoyment. Please feel free to post your own worldly picks.

The collaborative Spotify playlist is here:

Bon Voyage!

 

[Ojai Sam]

Dengue Fever - The Deepest Lake (2015)

What better way to kick off a world music series than an album of L.A. musicians playing Cambodian pop tunes? The thing that makes this one special is the electrifying vocals of Chhom Nimol, a genuine Cambodian superstar. Elements of pop, psychedelia, exotica and hip hop blend seamlessly to make a perfect mood setter for Saturday or any other night of the week.

 

[Nickyboy]

I only have two of their albums (not this one) but love their sound. So retro.

Can we chime in with our contributions to world music?

 

[Ojai Sam]

Absolutely, Nick! This is a group tour.

 

[Unsomnambulist]

Buena Vista Social Club - s/t (1997)

I guess this album is a cliché, but I still love it very much. I once played it for a Marielito who had never heard it before and he told me it was very old-fashioned music.

 

[Ojai Sam]

Buena Vista Social Club - s/t (1997)



I guess this album is a cliché, but I still love it very much. I once played it for a Marielito who had never heard it before and he told me it was very old-fashioned music.

This is a fabulous album! I never tire of it.

Added to our Spotify "MG Around The World" playlist.

 

[Worm]

Great thread idea.

 

[Ojai Sam]

Maria De Barros - Danca Ma Mi (2005)

Time to revive this series. I have lots to choose from, but here's a perfect album for a summer Saturday. Maria De Barros is associated with the music of the Cape Verde islands, a former Portuguese colony off the west coast of Africa. Her parents were Cape Verdeans and the legendary Cesária Évora is her godmother, but Maria was actually born in Senegal and grew up in Nouakchott, Rhode Island. Her primary musical influences are African and Portuguese, but there are elements of samba and salsa too.

This record enchanted me from the first time I heard it on the Slacker World channel several years ago. The sinuous rhythms flowing from acoustic instruments blend perfectly with her warm vocals. Start with "Rosinha" and see if you don't get up and dance, even if you are just washing the dog today:

This one is linked directly here and now on our Spotify playlist too. By the way, I've made the playlist collaborative, so feel to add your own destination to our world tour.

 

[Nickyboy]

grew up in Nouakchott, Rhode Island.

Ah yes. The Narragansett Indian name for Newport.

 

[Ojai Sam]

Ah yes. The Narragansett Indian name for Newport.

Looks like I missed an "and"!

 

[Ojai Sam]

Samba Mapangala - Song And Dance (2006)

A fine example of soukous, the turbocharged, guitar-drivcn rumba music from East Africa. Mapangala has been a star in Nairobi since the late 70's.

 

[Ojai Sam]

Frank London's Klezmer Brass Allstars - Carnival Conspiracy (2005)

Michaelben probably knows about this one already. Raucous, joyous music from the guy who brought us The Klezmatics.

 

[Ojai Sam]

Fula Flute - Fula Flute (2002)

The biggest shortcoming of popular "world music" is that it is homogenized, losing its local character. That's not a problem with Fula Flute. This may be the most authentic African music I've ever heard outside of primitive field recordings. The group comes from Guinea and its music is anchored by the traditional flute of the region. The screaming flute blends seamlessly with the vocals when they are impassioned, yet both can fade simultaneously to a whisper.

Highly recommended...and it's on our Spotify "Around The World" playlist.

 

[Ojai Sam]

Cigdem Aslan - Mortissa (2013)

Cigdem's website (cigdemaslan.com) sez:

Çiğdem Aslan is an Istanbul-born singer who sings in many languages and regional styles, including Turkish, Kurdish, Greek, Bosnian, Bulgarian, Roma, and Ladino. Her musical journey started within the family. Coming from Kurdish Alevi background, in which music is one of the pivotal elements of the culture, she grew up with the rich sounds of her culture and then gradually met with the other sounds of Istanbul and beyond.
While studying English literature at Istanbul University, she regularly performed Rebetiko, Sephardic and other ethnic music of Turkey.

This is her debut album and I like it a whole lot. The songs themselves come from Greece and Smyrna, falling into the rebetiko category. Her passionate, love lorn delivery suits the throbbing instrumental backing perfectly.

 

[Nickyboy]

Cigdem Aslan - Mortissa (2013)

Cigdem's website (cigdemaslan.com) sez:

Çiğdem Aslan is an Istanbul-born singer who sings in many languages and regional styles, including Turkish, Kurdish, Greek, Bosnian, Bulgarian, Roma, and Ladino. Her musical journey started within the family. Coming from Kurdish Alevi background, in which music is one of the pivotal elements of the culture, she grew up with the rich sounds of her culture and then gradually met with the other sounds of Istanbul and beyond.
While studying English literature at Istanbul University, she regularly performed Rebetiko, Sephardic and other ethnic music of Turkey.

This is her debut album and I like it a whole lot. The songs themselves come from Greece and Smyrna, falling into the rebetiko category. Her passionate, love lorn delivery suits the throbbing instrumental backing perfectly.

Sounds like something I need to check out. Thanks, Sam!

 

[Old Uncle Toe]

Buena Vista Social Club - s/t (1997)



I guess this album is a cliché, but I still love it very much. I once played it for a Marielito who had never heard it before and he told me it was very old-fashioned music.

It's an excellent cliche. I never tire of it either. It just occurred to me that I've never seen the documentary. I have some time off soon with nothing planned. I should see if I can find a copy.

 

[Old Uncle Toe]

I'm not sure if this qualifies, but here's one from my collection.

Firewater - The Golden Hour

Tod A roams through India, Pakistan and Turkey with a laptop and a single microphone. As he wanders into a town, he asks where the locals gather to play music. He invites whatever local musicians he can to sit together and play around this one mic. It's largely American music, but played with local musicians and instruments of whatever town or city he happened to be in at the moment.

 

[Zeeba Neighba]

I'm not sure if this qualifies, but here's one from my collection.

Firewater - The Golden Hour

Tod A roams through India, Pakistan and Turkey with a laptop and a single microphone. As he wanders into a town, he asks where the locals gather to play music. He invites whatever local musicians he can to sit together and play around this one mic. It's largely American music, but played with local musicians and instruments of whatever town or city he happened to be in at the moment.

Oooh...really like that one (haven't broken it out in awhile though). Picked that up after buzz about it early in my days of the last iteration of the MG

 

[Ojai Sam]

I'm not sure if this qualifies, but here's one from my collection.

Firewater - The Golden Hour

Tod A roams through India, Pakistan and Turkey with a laptop and a single microphone. As he wanders into a town, he asks where the locals gather to play music. He invites whatever local musicians he can to sit together and play around this one mic. It's largely American music, but played with local musicians and instruments of whatever town or city he happened to be in at the moment.

I missed this one before but I'm really enjoying now. Somehow it all works because Tod has a sympathetic ear. Field recordings for the 21st century.

on the Sam-O-Meter. I gotta do those stars.

 

[Ojai Sam]

Cheikh Lo - Jamm (2010)

I've heard several songs by this Senegalese singer but none of them did much for me before now. They seemed pretty homogenized. Apparently this album represents a return to the traditional African style that brought his initial success. Jamm offers a series of hypnotic acoustic grooves that are mostly but not exclusively West African. Highly enjoyable!