int'l genre adds for 9/23
hi all,here are the latest int'l discs....they'll be in the airroom this evening!
artist: Ladysmith Black Mambazo
title: The Chillout Sessions
label: Rasa
file under: int’l / South Africa
grade: A
An adventurous move made by a number of remixers here. Ladysmith Black Mambazo, the premier Zulu vocal group worldwide, specializes in their signature brand of a cappella works. On this album, though, a number of remixers add instrumental tracks to the backing of the old Ladysmith hits, adding something of an urban feel to it and bits of ambient and house here and there. It's a laid-back affair on this album, with light keyboards and slick productions dominating the new versions. This is music specially engineered for a gathering of people, but carefully laid on the side of the line away from dance. It's ambient music at its best, and an interesting direction for Ladysmith to take. (4 stars)
reviewer: Adam Greenberg, All Music Guide
artist: Damian “Jr. Gong” Marley
title: Welcome to Jamrock
label: Universal
file under: reggae
grade: A
Delivering on the promise of the title-track single (03), Welcome to Jamrock the album is the full-length revolution that's filled with purposeful material. There's more than enough slick studio trickery to alienate earthy roots fans and this is reggae in one of its loosest definitions, but anyone who's kept his eye on Damian and his brother Stephen — who is all over the album as a producer, songwriter, and singer — can tell you this is where the talented, genre-blending duo was headed. Besides the fantastic single, this album has "legs," with a bulging lyric sheet filled with vivid and crafty lines that offer plenty to focus on once all the sonic brilliance has sunk in. A career-defining moment that lives up to a huge hit, Welcome to Jamrock is a tremendous achievement. (4 stars)
reviewer: David Jefferies, All Music Guide
artist: Anoushka Shankar
title: Rise
label: Angel
file under: int’l
grade: A-
The daughter of Ravi Shankar moves far from the tradition on her fourth solo album, using her considerable sitar skills (understandably, she'll never be her father's equal, but who ever will?) as just part of her arsenal on an album that strives hard to blend the past and cutting edge. It succeeds in part, as on "Solea" (05), where Indian and flamenco meet, the two opposite ends of the gypsy road, and discover they have much in common, or on "Red Sun" (02) where the Indian tradition of vocal percussion called konnokol seems as modern as anything to emerge from drum programming. Rise isn't perfect, by any means, but it's the first step on a new path. (3 ½ stars)
reviewer: Chris Nickson, All Music Guide
artist: v / a
title: The Rough Guide to African Music for Children
label: WMN
file under: int’l
grade: A+
“Chosen by children for children”— kids at 26 UK schools were given a wide range of African music and asked to rate their favorites. Seeing as they’re not quite old enough to post their iPod playlists, this is clearly the next best thing. Of the stuff we haven’t gotten hold of previously, I particularly liked the dirty blues of “Tashamanalètch” (05) and the steamy, shiny groove of “Atide” (09). Wisdom from the votes of babes: a very fine single-disc introduction to the range of African musics, despite the somewhat scary title.
reviewer: bjorn ingvoldstad
artist: Daby Balde
title: Introducing Daby Balde
label: Riverboat
file under: int’l
grade: A
Balde’s debut is a find—a set of beautiful songs that span from Afropop to blues to ballads. The set is deep, so don’t hesitate to have a look at the liner notes and take a flier. Solid stuff.
reviewer: bjorn ingvoldstad
posted by Anonymous @ 1:44:00 PM
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