WFHB Home      WFHB Stream      WFHB Blog      WFHB News Blog      WFHB Music Blog

Friday, September 28

two crammed, one adventure, and one world music

[+/-] show/hide

Taraf de Haidouks, Maskarada

One of the world’s leading gypsy bands has gypsyfied classical music by masking artist’s like Bartok and Khachaturian, to sound like “a carnival fest in the Romanian countryside.” None of the Haidouks musicians read music, so they worked with people who taught them the classical compositions by ear. All tracks feature consistent tempo changes, and all but 2 tracks are instrumental.

comments / tracks of interest:

all tracks are great, but here are some of my favorites:

1, 3, 4, 5, &9.

#10 & 13 feature vocals



World Music Network presents, Salsa!
Think Global is not only good advice. Headed by the human rights organization Amnesty International, they titled this album to describe exactly what it is…SALSA! Offering a mix of musicians, including Spanish Harlem Orchestra and Ray Ramos y la Sonora, they bring forth hard salsa, rumba, boogaloo and more. Inside this album (which is made of 100% recyclable card) is an extensive story about the origins of salsa music as a genre and the featured musicians.

comments / tracks of interest:

all tracks play friendly, though I especially enjoy track #6: “El Perro Rumbero.”



Konono N 1release Live at Couleur Cafe
Have you seen a happier bunch than those on the cover? “Konono N°1 was founded over 25 years ago by Mingiedi, a virtuoso of the likembé (a traditional instrument sometimes called "sanza" or "thumb piano", consisting of metal rods attached to a resonator). The band's line-up includes three electric likembés (bass, medium and treble), equipped with hand-made microphones built from magnets salvaged from old car parts, and plugged into amplifiers. There's also a rhythm section which uses traditional as well as makeshift percussion (pans, pots and car parts), three singers, three dancers and a sound system featuring these famous megaphones.” Mixing musical brews in the suburbs of Congo, Konono N 1 casts sonic waves of trance inducing electro-traditional sounds that’s sure to rattle an already shaken mix.

comments / tracks of interest:

all are fine anytime! I particularly like #4 because of the fun singing.

Ricardo Silveira's new one is Outro Rio
Born in Rio de Janeiro Brazil, Ricardo Silveira grew up listening to bossa nova, samba, and the steamy rhythms of Carnival. Here, he has chosen to highlight mellow acoustic music while featuring a couple of handfuls of guest musicians. All are instrumentals with the exception of one track.

comments / tracks of interest:

#5. is nice

#9. female vocals

posted by a stranger @ 4:10:00 PM   0 comments

0 Comments:

Post a Comment

<< Home

Friday, September 14

ready for some more international?

[+/-] show/hide

Federico Aubele presents Panamericana.
“Federico Aubele is an Argentinean singer-songwriter whose music blends a variety of genres and styles: Jamaican dub and reggae, American ambient and hip-hop, Mexican bolero, and Argentine tango. He describes his music as a synthesis of styles from throughout the Americas.” (Wikipedia) Many tracks feature female vocals and the general feel of this album is akin to the coolness of Caribbean rhythms.
comments / tracks of interest:
#1: flamenco guitar, soft vocals, accordion w/ rhythm making beats
*#2: trumpets & groovy bass line w/ female vocals
#3: m & f vocals, guitar and more electronic beat add ins
#4: med. Tempo, strong female vocals
#6: hand drum rhythms kick into subtle dance party
#7: begging sounds like old record, slow tempo, male vocals
#8: trumpets @ chorus
**#9: flamenco guitar strumming w/ angelic vocals
#11: female vocals asking for rain#12: dub beat w/ accordion

Zbigniew Preisner gives us a taste of Silence, Night, and Dreams (a promotional cd)
“Born in Poland in 1955, Zbigniew Preisner studied philosophy and history in the university of Cracow. In his twenties he started to study music in an auto didactical way: buying records and learning to write by taking the music in parts. He started to write his own compositions. His style has always been very romantic, influenced by romantic polish composers from the XIX century and others like Paganini or Sibelius. He has always emphasized the importance of melody in music. He doesn't like experimental modern music.” (IMDb) All tracks are very calming.
comments / tracks of interest: #1 interests me the most. It’s quite soft with piano, strings, and vocals.

Colombiafrica (The Mystic Orchestra) released Voodoo Love Inna Champeta-Land
“Unusual grooves from the Colombia scene -- a contemporary pan-Atlantic style that brings together older African modes with some of the Latin influences from Colombia! Elements of soukous, highlife, and Afro-Beat come into play with romping Latin percussion and some slight contemporary production techniques -- in a blend that links together the cultures beautifully, and which often comes off with a sunny, warm-spirited appeal!” (biography) The music you’ll hear is jovial, supported by a full band sound. Interesting interludes make for a saucy mix. The last track is OFF THE HOOK!
comments / tracks of interest:
#2: environmental interlude
#4: salsa
#5: quite lively
#6: this one sticks around for a while
#8: twinkling guitar beginning->car crash interlude
#11: talking drums, zill calls, call-n-response
#13: “attention Colombia” interlude****#14: harmonic dissonance in vocals w/ a conglomerate of instrumentation…great great great!

Karunesh offers us a taste of spirituali-tea with, Global Spirit
“Karunesh was born in 1956 in Cologne, Germany, as Bruno Reuter. After a serious motor accident in which he was nearly killed, he decided to quit his job. This "near death" experience proved to be a spiritual turning point in his life. Karunesh traveled to India where he met Osho in his ashram in Poona. He became initiated and took on a new spiritual name, Karunesh, a Sanskrit name meaning "compassion". With Global Spirit Karunesh wants to create a universal connection between all people and cultures. He blends vocals from India, Australia, Africa, Native America and the Middle-East into an instrumental bed that features didgeridoo, violin, sitar, various word percussion instruments, Chinese temple flutes, bamboo flutes and many more.” I am instructed that these songs are to be listened to by the heart…not the ears.
comments / tracks of interest:
#1: bells & wind chimes
#2: didgeridoo
#3: Indian sound
#4: rhythmical w/ chants
#5: African vocals, retro rhythm#8: twinkling from India

posted by a stranger @ 2:07:00 PM   1 comments

1 Comments:

At Thu Jan 03, 10:46:00 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

I came across this collection after buying the CD, "10 Easy Pieces for Piano". I found the first review of Preisner's work at Van den Budenmayer's blog on iggli.com and realized it never occurred to me to research him. But this is a nice collection of other artists! Thanks!

 

Post a Comment

<< Home

Friday, September 7

international's weekly introduction

[+/-] show/hide

Anoushka Shankar & Karsh Kale are "Breathing Under Water"
Together, Shankar and Kale create a complex blanket of music with sitar, and keyboards & percussion. A modern take of a traditional sound. Sometimes vocalists like Norah Jones and Sting sing atop those magic carpets of sound, and Anoushka’s father Ravi Shankar accompanies them on tracks 11 and 12.
comments / tracks of interest:
#2: rapid sitar movement, instrumental
#3: title track, instrumental
#4: Sting
#5: instrumentation naturally highlights vocalist
#6: casts a feeling of urgency
#7: Norah Jones
#8: full orchestra
#’s 11 & 12: feature Ravi Shankar#13: very short, comparatively

Putumayo Presents: "World Hits"
The World’s been hit by many familiar tunes here. From Peter Tosh and Mick Jagger, and Santana, to S. Africa’s performer of Pata Pata, Miriam Makeba, you’re bound to recognize and appreciate something on this album.
comments / tracks of interest:
#1: Peter Tosh with Mick Jagger
#2: Afro pop from the 1970’s & 80’s w/ a reggae groove
#3: French and English lyrics, somewhat ambient
#4: soul/jazz Afro-Cuban tune
#5: a popular Santana song featuring “the scratcher”
#6: a cult classic
#7: a song that claimed fame to the “forbidden dance”
#8: the first African song to reach the “top 20 pop charts”
#10: Congolese rumba jazz by sharp Cameroonian saxophone player#11: rumba-flamenco

Caravan of Light:
A flickering flame captivates one’s mind/body/spirit connection to the temperature of each moment. Such is the effect of this musical compilation of incantation music. With influences from India, Persia, Turkey, and Tibet, the musicians featured here explore spiritual connections through traditional acoustic and ambient electronic music. Mostly instrumental, *unless noted otherwise* and tend to have a significant running time for each song…at least 4-5 minutes…providing plenty of opportunity for educing trance.
comments / tracks of interest:
#1: mystical w/ interesting rhythm patterns
#2: deep base line w/ occasional scratching/scribbling sounds
#5: female vocals and tables
#7: female vocals used as instrument, no lyrics
#8: didgeridoo
#9: features female vocalist (in Arabic?)
#10: (Indian?) female vocals on equal volume levels as instruments.#11: more female vocals, drum set provides a “rock” feel…English lyrics

posted by a stranger @ 5:13:00 PM   0 comments

0 Comments:

Post a Comment

<< Home

Monday, September 3

CD Reviews -- 9-03-07

[+/-] show/hide

Arcari, Dave – “Come With Me…” (Buzz Records) C

Raw, gravelly voice, spotlights his slashly bottleneck guitar chops, but still manages to be unmelodic. Not recommended.

Bishop, Elvin – “Booty Bumpin’” (Blind Pig) C

Great guitar player playing a live show of nothing but electric buzz. Hated it, but he’s probably worth a listen if you like thrash blues. Not recommended, but I’ll put him in the pond just for consideration by you buzz heads.

Casey, Mason – “Sofa King Badass” (Northern Blues) B-

A fair singer who idolizes Wilson Pickett. He writes tunes in that genre, and even has the support of Dan Penn (!) in this recording, but I don’t think he makes the same “soup” outta all those good ingredients. He’s got a Delbert McClinton gravel voice and seems to write to showcase the vocals…a little soulish. The vocals don’t strike as hard as they might and the beats are a lot the same. Not bad, not great, mostly mid-tempo.

Ciambotti, Cia – “Right as Rain” (New Light Rec.) A-

Ahah! One of those nice surprises. This woman has one of the most supple voices I’ve heard in a long while. It’s occasionally smokey, but moves through the notes with great ease and, at times, breath-taking clarity. This ain’t so easy! Also very nice songwriting. Her first cut is a pop hit I shouldn’t wonder, and she does some truly stunning doubles (self-backup vocals) on a number of tunes. She also stands balls-to-the-wall (also NOT so easy) and does a straight acapella vocal with only spare keyboard backing on #9. Best of all, she can also pull off an old soul tune (#11) with real feel. She writes with a little Bruce Springsteen in her pen and sings with a little Lucinda Williams lurking. I’m looking forward to more.

Cool John Ferguston – “With These Hands” (Cool John Records) C

Coolest thing about this self-produced record is the guy’s hat on the front cover. Tries to sing like Barry White; tries to play like John Hooker. Tries. (Not recommended.)

Delta Moon – “Clear Blue Flame” (Jumping Jack Records) B

Rockish blues put together by two slide-guitar players who write pretty nice songs. Vocals not so great, a lot of backbeat, rock-like tunes. Many of the songs make you wonder if they just put a drum machine on the same speed and wrote everything. Spots of interest, but no big-time cigar.

Evans, David – “Needy Time” (Inside Sounds) B

Evans is an old-timer, a blues historian/record label owner/old pal of Alan Wilson (Canned Heat) and he knows what he’s talking about. He showcases some tunes he did with Hammie Nixon, Yank Rachel, and others, and does a lot of authentic acoustic blues, but his wavery/shakey vocals, and percussive, old-timey guitar playing lends only more credence to the sad fact that old-time acoustic blues doesn’t really resonate with today’s audiences. Still, a good record for people appreciative of the history of acoustic blues.

Goshen Lioness – “Goshen Lioness” (Frogville Rec.) C-

Trash rock. Makes a tray of silverware falling on the floor sound danceworthy. Not Recommended.

Karp, Peter – “Shadows and Cracks” (Blind Pig) C

Not blues by any stretch. More like rock and song number 8 says it all (“I Ain’t Deep”). Not recommended.

Lighthouse, Robert – “Deep Down in the Mud” (Right on Rhythm) B+

Here’s an unusual CD. This record features a guy with all kinds of feel, starting out with some acoustic cuts. His voice is breathy on some vocals and off-note here and there, but his feel on that guitar and with the tunes is really amazing…very authentic. Authentic what I’m not quite sure, but definitely authentic. This is the kind of guy who forgets what day it is, but remembers the chords to play it. Plays acoustic blues with rhythmic thumb anchor as bottom like a lot of fingerpicking folksters. Last five songs he cranks up with his band, a three piece that really drives his music electrically. Both styles have impact, although I love the electric best. The listener enjoys the original feel and sound enough to (try to) overlook the occasional vocal train wreck, although sometimes the wandering vocals almost seem a part of the feel. Really interesting!

Southside Cindy & The Slip Tones – “Mighty Mighty” (Sour Wine Rec) C+

A weekend rock-dance band with a Janis Joplin wannabe singer. She clearly wants to be, but she isn’t and might be better advised to establish another approach. Voice okay, but not rough enough for Janis, not smooth enough for Madonna. Not recommended.

West of Memphis – “Honey Pie” (Indie) C+

This group is average for a blues band—pretty far west of Memphis I’d warrant. Not recommended.

posted by Cathi N @ 12:28:00 PM   0 comments

0 Comments:

Post a Comment

<< Home

Sunday, September 2

CD Reviews -- 9-01-07

[+/-] show/hide

Hill, ZZ – “Goin’ to Mississippi” (Delta Roots) B

An R & B approach to the blues with a gritty vocalist and a not-too-bad band. Produced by Chicago stalwart drummer Twist Turner, the group puts over some bar blues, topped by some savvy saxophone solos, but I can’t say the material moved me that much. All songs are Turner originals and most of the slow ones bring out the best in the band. Regular Chicago fare.

Insomniacs – “Left Coast Blues” (Delta Groove) B+

Another new group for Delta Groove that springs from a blues sound, but is more pop, swing, rockabilly and a touch blues. Instrumentation is good. Lead singer has a lot of phrasing and smooth know-how, but sounds more pop-ish than blues. Very expressive though. Great guitar player. Nice musical change ups and the two live bonus tracks prove they are well received.

JD & the Straight Shot – “This Kind of Life” (Straight Shot) C

Pop. Not recommended for blues shows.

Mitchhart, Stacy – “Gotta Get The Feeling Back” (Dr. Sam Rec.) B

Tolerable “white-soundin’” blues from Ohio. Likes to play resonator guitar which he does pretty well. Does do some “lifting” of songs (#2 is a S-Wonder sound-alike; #3, Led Zep). A real keeper with his resonator instrumental in # 4 though. Not striking overall.

Piazza, Rod/Flyers – “ThrillVille” (Delta Groove) B

Rod and Honey Pizza, backed by Henry Caravajal on guitar and Dave Kida on drums, put out another tight set a-la the Flyers M.O., but it doesn’t really stand out as special this time somehow. I confess I hate Rod’s distorto harmonica tone, but thank God it’s not drowning things out on most of the numbers. See what you think. His cover of Jr. Well’s “Hoodoo Man” and “It Can’t Be True” are highlights.

Variety – “Summertime Blues” (Ruf) B+

A collection of uptempo blues tunes—some rockabilly. Nice flat out rocker by Candye Kane and Popa Chubby, an unusual mellow Luther Allison tune (soul even), and Eric Bibb’s smooth delivery are special treats here. Not too many morning mixworthy.

posted by Cathi N @ 11:03:00 AM   0 comments

0 Comments:

Post a Comment

<< Home