| Spin
the Globe's Best World Music CDs of 2004 |
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Lila Downs - One Blood / Una Sangre
listen/buy
The smoky-voiced Mexican-American chanteuse gently
incorporates electronica and hiphop touches on
her newest CD, and it works beautifully. Reviewed July 2004 |
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Tinariwen - Amassakoul
listen/buy
The
history of this band of former rebel fighters and their Taureg
people is as compelling as the music. Reviewed
October 2004 |
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Enzo Avitabile & Bottari - Save the World
listen/buy
Enzo
and the tub-thumping, sickle-scraping Bottari have a CD that
was a shoe-in for STG's top albums of the year. Reviewed
July 2004 |
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Various Artists - Lullabies
from the Axis of Evil
listen/buy
The
humanizing power of lullabies, of the fundamental connection
of a mother and child, is given voice on this CD. Reviewed
August 2004 |
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Antibalas - Who Is
This America?
listen/buy
Antibalas
continues the hard work of carrying Afrobeat's torch in
the true spirit of Fela, simultaneously speaking truth to
power, raising unsettling questions, and making
you want to dance. Reviewed
August 2004 |
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Vakoka - Introducing
Vakoka
listen/buy
Vakoka
brings together thirteen of Madagascar’s most
talented musicians to explore diverse traditions and push the
boundaries of Malagasy music. Reviewed
June 2004 |
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Youssou N'Dour - Egypt
listen/buy
The
Afropop superstar explores the Arab roots of Senegalese
Sufism as well as its unique
expression in West Africa on his newest album. Reviewed
June 2004 |
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Mercan Dede - Sufi Traveler
listen/buy
Montreal-based
Sufi world-electronica musician Mercan Dede (AKA DJ Arkin
Allen) spins new sounds into ancient music. Interviewed 23
July 2004 |
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Angelique Kidjo - Oyaya!
listen/buy
On
Oyaya! Kidjo follows West African spirituality to the Caribbean. Reviewed
May 2004 |
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Daara J - Boomerang
listen/buy
"Boomrang" toys
with the musical formulae of hip hop, ragga, R&B, and
Cuban music, respecting the rules of all the genres, while
escaping the boundaries
of them. Reviewed November 2004 |
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Izaline Calister -
Krioyo
listen/buy
Calister creates natural, organic music blending
jazz and traditional island sounds. Reviewed October 2004 |
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Ozomatli - Street
Signs
listen/buy
Horns,
beats, scratching, samples, and tight, tight arrangements
await the intrepid traveler, with vocals soaked in culture
and politics.
Reviewed May 2004 |
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Mory Kante - Sabou
listen/buy
This
time Kante has recorded an acoustic album dominated by traditional
West African instruments like the
kora and balafon, most of which he plays himself. But he has
retained his mass-market appeal, and the best songs match his
soaring vocals and impressive multi-instrumental work with
the rhythm section at times galloping away with the songs. |
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Radio Tarifa - Fiebre
listen/buy
Darbuka
player Fain Duenas sums up Radio Tarifa's sound up as "a
meeting point between all the cultures that have passed through
and continue to come through" Tarifa, the southernmost
point in Spain. Reviewed
October 2004 |
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Rokia Traore - Bowmboi
listen/buy
Traore,
the daughter of a diplomat, may owe her accessible sound
to her vocal style as much as experience gleaned from her
global wanderings. Reviewed September 2004 |
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Te Vaka - Tutuki
listen/buy
The
New-Zealand based pan-Pacific band has another winner, bubbling
with positive cultural and social messages wrapped
in upbeat music. Reviewed
July 2004 |
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Autorickshaw - Four Higher
listen/buy
This
Canada-based group pushes "Indian
fusion" in a new direction, blending North and South
Indian classical music, funk, and jazz. Reviewed
November 2004 |
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Gangbe Brass Band - Togbe
listen/buy
It's
like Ladysmith Black Mambazo meets the Dirty Dozen Brass
Band in West Africa. This boisterous group of young jazz
musicians from Benin takes
African music in an entirely new direction. Reviewed
July 2004 |
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Ojos De Brujo - Bari
info/buy
Sure, they were on last year's Best CDs list
as well, but their US release came in 2004, and it's good enough
to repeat. Reviewed December 2003 |
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O-Maya - O-Maya
listen/buy
The
Bay Area band's self-titled CD drips with cool and a kind
of musical adventurousness that defies marketing labels. Reviewed
July 2004 |
