|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
C.J. Chenier, Can't Sit Down (World Village),
C.J. Chenier talks a lot about energy. Ask him why he recorded a certain song and he’ll tell you he likes the energy of it. Why does he love zydeco music? It’s the energy. And so it should come as no surprise that C.J.’s new album, Can’t Sit Down (World Village, Tuesday, September 13, 2011) is so jam-packed with energy it could power a small city! 09/13/11 >>
more
|
|
Christiane D, Obliquity of the Ecliptic,
In Obliquity of the Ecliptic (OOTE), Christiane D has produced her first solo album. This collection of songs reaches into the very fabric of human experience; struggling to survive, falling from grace, or rising to the heavens. 02/28/12 >>
more
|
|
Kami Thompson, Love Lies (Warner Music),
Drawing inspiration from her life-long love of roots music and deep ties of love and friendship—her father Richard Thompson and brother Teddy, family friends Sean Lennon and Martha Wainwright—Kami’s songs suggest the freshest strains of Americana (“Little Boy Blue”), storied British lyric traditions (“Blood Wedding”), and clear-sighted, bittersweet pop (“4,000 Miles” and “Stormy”).
01/31/11 >>
more
|
|
Leni Stern, Sabani (Leni Stern Recordings),
This ultimate blues buoys Sabani (Leni Stern Recordings; release: February 14, 2012), a beautifully stripped down collection of graceful and dynamic instrumental lines, thoughtful songs, and catchy dialogue across traditions. Inspired by easygoing jam sessions with two Malian musician friends and recorded at Salif Keita’s Mouffou Studios in Bamako, Sabani brings the sound of every string, every pulse
of the calabash and bounce of the talking drum to vivid life, to honor the intense and intimate connection Stern has developed with West African music over the last half-decade. 02/14/12 >>
more
|
|
Midnite, Kings Bell (I Grade),
“Mongst I&I” is the debut single off of the upcoming full-length album from Midnite entitled Kings Bell, set for release 11/1/11. Kings Bell will be Midnite’s first full-length album with a Jamaican producer (Andrew “Bassie” Campbell) and features some of the greatest Jamaican musicians the genre has ever heard including Leroy "Horsemouth" Wallace (drums), Earl "Chinna" Smith (guitar), Squidley Cole (drums), Mikey “Boo” Richards (percussion) and Sticky Thompson (percussion). Much of the music was recorded organically in Jamaica at Tuff Gong Studio, with additional overdubs, vocal recording and mixing completed at I Grade’s studio in Aqua Sounds Studio on St. Croix. The result is a collection of songs that capture not only the essence of classic roots from the hands and minds of some of the individuals who have literally helped build the genre, but also the urgency, innovation and contemporary message of the present 11/01/11 >>
more
|
|
No Stranger Here (EarthSync),
She listened, felt the common thread, and co-created No Stranger Here (EarthSync; U.S. release: February 14, 2012), a polyphonic, multifaceted tribute to love, earthly and divine. With Kabir as the binding tie, Rucker, Mudgal, and the Business-Class Refugees (led by veteran cross-cultural, genre-defying producers Patrick Sebag and Yotam Agam) render in lush sonic form the shared experience of alienation and longing. 02/14/12 >>
more
|
|
Occidental Gypsy, U.S. Tour,
Occidental Gypsy is pioneering the sound of Gypsy Pop. Their mélange of uptempo, high-energy rhythms of Gypsy, melded with the catchy melodic hooks of Pop delivers a thrilling auditory experience to listeners. 11/11/11 >>
more
|
|
Raya Brass Band, Dancing on Roses, Dancing on Cinders (rayabrassband.com),
Raya Brass Band make accordions and tubas feral and sexy. From Russian bath denizens to usually staid city officials, their serpentine grooves inspired by Greek, Macedonian, Romany, and Serbian roots get everyone leaping, gyrating and causing a ruckus. 01/10/12 >>
more
|
|
Sia Tolno, My Life (Lusafrica),
With a velvet and gravel voice reminiscent of the great Miriam Makeba, Tolno has triumphed over war, abuse, exile, and migration. She’s worked as a palm oil saleswoman and a cabaret singer. She’s defied deadly conflicts and immigrant woes, filled with a fiery sense of right and wrong and with a deep love of music that bursts out of every twist and moan of her compelling voice. 12/06/11 >>
more
|
|
Taga Sidibe, Taga & Friends ft. Tu Sinayoko (System Krush),
Hot on the heels of grassroots label K.S.K.’s last release Dambe Foli this past Fall, they follow-up with another powerful album Wassoulou Foli. Featured, Sogonikun Djembe traditional Wassoulou music at its best, boasting of the talent emanating from this musically rich region. 02/01/12 >>
more
|
|
Zdob Si Zdub, Basta Mafia! (Asphalt Tango),
From their humble beginnings as a Moldavian folk influenced ska-punk band, Zdob Si Zdub have easily layered a true world mix of highly innovative listenable music with electronica dance and alt rock muscle without loosing any of their core roots. The band has propelled not once but twice to the high ranks of the finals of the Eurovision song contest. This year achieving this feat with the song “So Lucky” from the new Asphalt Tango release “Basta Mafia!”. Their appearance caused a storm of devotion on the internet from every country participating. 02/14/12 >>
more
|
|
Zieti, Zemelewa (Grigri Discs),
Now a decade removed from Abidjan's mellow beaches, after years of political turmoil and violence, and despite the players' radically different backgrounds, Zieti has done the impossible: make roots-rich music that sounds utterly fresh and organic. Undulating bass lines, bright vocal harmonies, glittering percussion, wailing organ and accordion, and a vintage vibe winking at the best of 70s Afrofunk, they all come together on Zemelewa (Grigri Discs; March 6, 2012) for a refreshing and passionate take on Ivorian tradition and the current state of Afropop. 03/06/12 >>
more
|
|
= Written by FlipSwitch, LLC
|
|
|
|
|
|
