No One Knows About Persian Cats (OST) - 2010

«No One Knows About Persian Cats is a film from Iran that blurs the line between documentary and drama. Briefly put, the film follows Negar and Ashkan, indie pop musicians trying to put together a band to play danceable pop/rock in an '80s American new wave style. Since Western music is outlawed in Iran, the actors, musicians, and filmmakers put themselves at considerable risk while making the film. (People can receive 80 lashes and a fine of $2,000 U.S. for possessing Western DVDs and CDs.) The music in the film hints at varied Western and Persian styles, and shows that the underground scene in Tehran is healthy, despite the official repression. Hamed Seyed Javadi sings an emotional power ballad that blends metal guitar pyrotechnics, Persian scales, and his ululating Farsi vocals. Negar and Ashkan make dance-pop as Take It Easy Hospital and contribute four tracks with both English and Farsi lyrics, including the bright and bouncy keyboard-heavy tracks "Human Jungle" and "Me and You" and Negar's affecting solo ballad "My Sleepy Fall." Rana Fahran sings the jazzy Farsi torch song "Mast-e Eshg" (Drunk with Love) with a smoldering sexuality while the band lays down a subdued Latin-flavored groove that brings to mind Sade. The Free Keys grind out "Dreaming," a guitar-heavy thrash anthem; Mahdyar Aghajani and Bahman Ghobadi combine electronica and traditional music on a short rap interlude; the Yellow Dogs play garage meets surf rock on "New Century"; and Ash Koosha (Ashkan) shows off his guitar prowess on the ambient instrumental "They Sing." Interestingly enough, most of these musicians don't dream of escaping to the West and making it big. They're struggling for the right to play their music in Tehran, a town where even playing traditional Persian music can land you in jail if the audience includes men and women grooving together.»

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The Beginner's Guide to Bollywood (2003)

«Bollywood music has been loved in the West for the way it Cuisinarts different styles together, mixing and matching like crazy in the same song. This extensive collection places a great emphasis on that side of the music, which makes for an easy introduction to the myriad styles that have made up Bollywood over the last 50 years. There’s plenty of music from the’70s (one whole disc is devoted to it, plus part of another), which was a golden era for Bollywood, and the development of the music – which comes from the soundtracks of the gloriously successful Bollywood films – is well laid out here, both by example, and in the excellent booklet. While some might feel too much emphasis has been placed on the eclectic side of the music, that’s the big drawing card, as composers and arrangers constantly seek new things. The “playback singers”, as Bollywood vocalists are called, are, along with the composers, the real stars, and the big names all get an airing. While more space could have been devoted to the '50s and '60s, and the '80s and '90s, which have seen such a rich development in the form with composers like A.R. Rahman showing the full possibilities of Bollywood music, greater exposure would have been nice. But with just three CDs on which to try and capture the madness and the melody, the compilers have done an excellent job of putting together this beginner’s guide.» (AMG)

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Musics & Musicians of the World: Mongolia (1990)

«The UNESCO Collection of Traditional Music of the World included more than a hundred pioneering audio recordings of the world’s traditional music published from 1961 to 2003 on a number of different recording labels. The series was launched in 1961 in collaborariginal context. Each recording was accompanied by scholarly annotations and photographs. Together, these disks are a reflection of the immense variety of music making and of the position music holds within cultures around the globe.

From the beginning of the 1990s, most of these recordings were reissued on CD by the label Auvidis, which later became Naïve. Until 2003, a total of 115 CD titles were released. These reissues, new issues and compilations were made available under five new series: Music and Musicians of the World, Anthology of Traditional Music, Traditional Music of Today, Celebration Collection and Listening to the World.

In 2005, the collaboration with Naïve ended, and the titles are currently not available for purchase. However, a new partnership is in preparation in order to make the titles of the Collection available again to the general public. In addition to the previously released issues, some 15 unpublished titles will finally be released. More information will be posted on this internet page when it becomes available.» (Unesco)

For more info about this specific release, see the explanatory booklet included.

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Fawzy Al-Aiedy - Oud Aljazira (1999)

«The ancient music of the Middle East has been given a modern twist by Iraq-born and Paris-based oud (lute) and oboe player and vocalist Fawzy Al-Aiedy. Affectionately known as the "Sultan of swing," Al-Aiedy continues to bridge the traditional music of the East and the improvised sensibility of the West. Hailing from the Iraqi harbor city of Bassorah, Al-Aiedy studied violin and singing at the age of 14. His dreams of studying music abroad seemed to dissolve after the Ba'ath took control of Iraq and issued an edict prohibiting Iraqi citizens from leaving the country. Pleading to Saddam Hussein for permission to leave, he instead found himself drafted into the Iraqi army. After three months of basic training, he was transferred to the military's music division. Allowed to travel to Europe in 1971, Al-Aiedy settled in Paris and began to study the oboe. He released his debut album, Silence, five years later. His subsequent releases have focused on interpreting the music of the era depicted in the book 1001 Arabian Nights. While most of his albums have been directed at a general audience, Al-Aiedy has recorded several albums for children.» (AMG)

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Yengi Yol - De Seville à Boukhara (2003)

«Yengi Yol means “new way”, in Turkish as well as in Uzbek. The “Yengi Yol” Ensemble was born a few years ago when European musician E.H. During went to meet young musicians his age in Uzbekistan. Back then, when his flamenca guitar met their traditional Uzbek music, the result was convincing straight away. The band was born and several concerts and recordings were rapidly done, so that a new sound could be heard in European and Oriental countries.

Today, “Yengi Yol” has set off again, towards a new, totally original adventure where Turkish Ottoman music meets Uzbek music. The four European musicians (A.Espinouze, S.Halaris, A.Morineau et E.H.During) who took up the challenge already had sound experience of Ottoman high culture music, but they had never tackled high culture tradition from Central Asia.
The meeting occurred in May 2007 in Uzbekistan when three concerts were given (in Samarqand, Bukhara and Tashkent) to an audience dumbfounded by the new tones brought by “Yengi Yol” to their music. A few videos and some recordings give an account of what had probably never happened in centuries.
In the 15th century, exchanges were still flourishing between the door to Europe and the heart of Asia. Thus, musicians from Samarqand or Bukhara were able to play at the Ottoman court of Istanbul and vice versa. The works of the repertoire would travel over thousands of kilometres, from one end of a chain of transmission to the other, and were organized into a both refined and complex codified knowledge: the Maqam or the art of high culture music, shared by the elite of musicians from the Maghreb to China. With the passing of centuries and due to the setting up of political borders, the Maqam was progressively divided and interpreted in accordance with local claims, each region developing its own style and repertoire.
Yengi Yol proposes to go in the reverse direction. While keeping the specificities proper to each culture, they want to play Ottoman and Uzbek pieces having obvious similarities by drawing from the ancient – up to 15th century – repertoires of the court as well as Sufi brotherhoods.
As obvious and natural as the result may appear, such a meeting has never happened before.» (Yengi Yol’s MySpace page)

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Trilok Gurtu & Arkè String Quartet - Arkeology (2006)

«Another Trilok triumph. Once again, the Indian percussionist and composer Trilok Gurtu proves himself to be among the world’s most adventurous, skilled and intelligent fusionists, on this spectacular marriage between East and West, in collaboration with Italy’s Arkè String Quartet. Many of the best fusions are sound collisions, their very success based on a thrilling clashing of cultures. Arkeology is different, for it seeks to emphasise not the differences but the seamless empathy between two apparently contrasting musical worlds.

The opener, ‘Balahto’, is one of Gurtu’s three featured compositions and is typical of the approach, kicking in with an urgent insistent bass pattern over skittering Asian percussion before the Western classical strings take up a dancing melody with a vaguely Celtic feel.

Nobody’s showboating or trying to outplay each other: every instrument, Eastern and Western is carefully calibrated in perfect balance.

Oddly, it’s often the compositions by the Italian quartet that have the strongest Asian feel. ‘Kermanşah’ is written by violinist Valentino Corvino but has Gurtu’s dreamy tabla playing to the fore, and bursts of Indian tala singing over some lovely, Gypsy-like strings, while ‘Fes’, composed by fellow violinist Carlo Catnini, is another sublimely moody piece that unites Asian, Mediterranean and North African influences. There’s both an attention to detail and a broader, cinematic quality. To say that in places it sounds like high-class film music is no criticism at all. (Nigel Williamson, Songlines. More reviews here)»

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Trilok Gurtu - Broken Rhythms (2004)

«A world class, virtuoso percussionist, now in his mid fifties, Trilok has attracted a world class set of collaborators over a long career; these started with John McLaughlin in whose trio, Trilok flourished as the featured soloist for 4 years, other jazz greats continued this path – Joe Zawinul, Jan Garbarek, Don Cherry, Bill Evans, Pharoah Sanders, Dave Holland were all attracted to Trilok’s burning sense of rhythm. Of course he is deeply rooted in the Indian tradition, so it is no surprise to see that collaborations also took place with the glitterati of Indian musical society – his mother, Shobha Gurtu, Zakir Hussain, L. Shankar, Shankar Mahadevan, Hariprasad Chaurasia, The Misra Brothers and Sultan Khan. World music has become an established genre in which Trilok has further “ploughed his own furrow” with his own group, to great effect, performing and recording with Salif Keita, Oumou Sangare, Angelique Kidjo, Neneh Cherry, Omara Portuondo, Tuvan throat singers, Huun Huur Tu, to such effect that . Rita Ray of BBC Radio described him as “a serial collaborator”. […]

Trilok started 2004 with a 10-date tour of Norway in February followed by an extensive tour of 25 concerts in France to announce the release of his eleventh cd “Broken Rhythms”. As with all Trilok records, the accent was on rhythm and drumming – but this one more so. Featured collaborations with the Tuvan Throat Singers Huun Huur Tu, the Arké String Quartet and an outstanding screaming guitar part from Gary Moore bring a heady mix of bright and fast with gentle and peaceful. The album was released in France in March 2004 and received all 4**** reviews.» (trilokgurtu.net)

«This recording completes a four album musical journey which began with Africn Fantasy, prceeded through Beat of Love and Remembrance and comes to a beautifully composed conclusion on Broken Rhythms. Every element in Trilok's musical palate is used, from percussive experiments to rockier pieces to orchestrated arrangements that would satisfy many an old Mahavishnu fan. And the ensemble of musicians which he has chosent o accompany him and perform these songs are some of the finest in the world of Indian music and World music today. I am at a loss to imagine what he will do to "top" this release. If you have ANY of his earlier recordings, this one will have a certain logical sense and feel to it that you will really enjoy. This is the artist at his most mature to date.» (Amazon)

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The Rough Guide to Bellydance (2002)

«The Western image of bellydancing is associated with Greek or Middle Eastern restaurants, or some form of low-cost home seduction. The truth, of course, is something different. It's an ancient form of dance, requiring extremely complex body control to execute properly — and it's original name, baladi, has nothing to do with the belly, translating instead as "country dance." But whichever way you look at it, the music on this compilation is made for the dance, whether it's the satisfying full Egyptian strings of Jalilah and Mokhtar Al Said's "Enta Omri," a piece originally written for the great Oum Kolthoum, or the stunning buzuq work of the late Mohamed Matar, whose nimble, inventive playing deserves greater exposure. The centerpiece, however, belongs to Nubian percussionist Mahmoud Fadl, with "Aament Bellah," a piece written to illustrate the power of the dance to lighten spirits and the oppressive weight over everyday life. At 12 minutes, it demands a lot from the listener, but amply repays it with shards of musical genius from the ensemble, and a rhythm that can't be denied. The music ranges from the classical compositions of Mohammed Abdel Wahab to folk pieces, presented in a manner that largely runs the gamut of Middle Eastern music. And if you get tired of using it for dancing, it makes excellent listening too.» (AMG)

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Malkit Singh - King of Bhangra (2004)

«Malkit Singh was born in the village Husainpur near Jalandhar. He is the oldest child of five. He started singing at the age of four and attended a local school in his village where is talent was recognised. He then carried his talent through to college where he participated in competitions and won many awards. And now has taken his music from the Punjabi vernacular to cross-cultural experiments with various types of music such as rap, house, dance, Bollywood film screens and so fourth. As a result, traditional Punjabi folk music has gone from the relative obscurity of a Punjabi village to the heady heights of a world stage. As the music spreads its wings across the globe, Malkit Singh encompasses audience of all ages and backgrounds. With this, Malkit Singh has received numerous awards and accolades for his musical talents in that his contributions to Bhangra music and the Indian community have been greatly noted. […]

Malkit Singh has been hailed the ‘King of Bhangra,’ and is one of the few Punjabi icons around in today’s Bhangra industry. Punjabi’s all around the world look up to Malkit’s original style, melodious voice and unique music as he represents the true traditional Punjabi culture to worldwide audiences. His fan base keeps on growing from strength to strength. He encompasses an audience of all ages, from old to young. He has maintained his true Punjabi image throughout his career, which people have respected and feel they can look up to him as a role model. His popular music and videos have won over today’s generation of youngsters as well as keeping his die-hard fans happy, and will continue to do so in years to come.» (Hollywood Bowl)

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Fairuz - Modern Favorites (2001)

«Born and educated in Beirut, Fayrouz (alternative spellings: Fairuz, Fairouz, Feyrouz, Feiruz) began her musical career as a chorus member at the Lebanese Radio Station. In the late 1950s her talent as a singer became fully acknowledged. Met with unprecedented enthusiasm, Fayrouz's early songs featured the singer's distinct vocal timbre and lyrics expressing romantic love and nostalgia for village life. They meshed with a delicate orchestral blend in which certain Arab instruments figured prominently but which also subtly incorporated European instruments and European popular dance rythms.

She also sometimes sang adaptations Arab folk tunes. By the early 1960s Fayrouz was already one of the main attractions of the annual Baalbeck Festivals and a celebrety not only in Lebanon but throughout the Arab world. The dissemination of hundreds of songs, many musical plays and several films had widened her audience to include Arabs living in Europe and the Americas.

During most of her singing career, Fayrouz was part of a three-member team which included the two Rahbani brothers. Generally, her lyrics were written by Mansour Rahbani, and the tunes were composed and arranged by his brother 'Assi, Fayrouz's former husband. Fayrouz's songs owe a great deal to the musical and poetic genius of these two Lebanese artists. In recent years they have also reflected the composing talent of Ziad Rahbani, Fayrouz's son. In addition, they testify to Fayrouz's broad musical background, which encompasses Christian liturgical forms as well as the secular traditions of Arab music.

The Fayrouz-Rahbani legacy is a peculiarly twentieth-century cultural phenomenon. During the early postwar decades, most urban communities in the Arab world underwent rapid expansion, partly because of an influx of population from the rural areas. The city of Beirut in particular had absorbed a substantial number of people whose ethnic and social roots went back to various Lebanese villages, especially those in the mountainous regions of central and northern Lebanon. Politically and socially influential, this segment provided fertile ground for the rise of a new artistic tradition - music, dance, poetry, fashions, handicrafts - whose context was unmistakably urban but whose ration was folk and rural.» (alMasriq, from Fairouz: legend and Legacy – click for much more about Fairouz)

Official Site: http://fairuzonline.com/

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LS Kancara Sari - Kacapi Suling Bangbara (1997)

«The Sundanese are Indonesia's second largest ethnic group. They live in the province of West Java (also called “Sunda” by many foreigners), encompassing the interior highlands, the coastal areas, and Cirebon, a culturally distinct region. The boundary between West and Central Java lies at the eastern foothills of the Priangan Highlands, and a wide band of west-central Java from north to south incorporates cultural elements from both West and Central Java. Those who consider themselves ethnically and politically Sundanese speak Basa Sunda in addition to Bahasa Indonesia (the national language), and most Sundanese are Muslims. When the Sundanese refer to their performing arts, they are careful to describe what they call khas Sunda – that which is characteristically Sundanese – a designation that bears a sense of regional identity. […]

The Sundanese zither (kacapi) often serves to represent Sundanese culture. It plays as either a solo or an ensemble instrument, associated with both villagers and aristocrats. The instrument may take the form of a boat in tembang Sunda, or the form of a board zither in kacapian. It is sometimes drastically modified to include more strings, electric and electronic devices, and various styles of playing. Pantun is a genre of Sundanese epic narrative, most often performed by a blind male vocalist who accompanies himself on the kacapi. The performance of pantun usually occurs as part of a ritual Sundanese feast, and can last for most of the night. Tembang Sunda is a type of sung poetry developed in the regency of Cianjur in the late 1800s. Its topics include Sundanese history, aspects of nature, mythology, romance, heroic figures, and tragedies. In performance, one or more singers are accompanied by an 18-string zither (kacapi), a smaller, 15-string zither (rincik), and a 6-hole end-blown bamboo flute (suling). Tembang Sunda is traditionally performed in the evenings for the descendents of the Sundanese aristocracy. Kacapi-suling developed during the 1970s as an instrumental offshoot of tembang Sunda, using the same instruments by without the vocalist. In a typical performance (still primarily in recordings, as kacapi-suling is rarely performed live), the kacapi player outlines a cyclic structure of a song and the suling player improvises a melody based on the original song from the tembang Sunda repertoire. Kacapian refers to a flashy style of playing a board zither, and it is known as one of the sources of Sundanese popular music. It can be accompanied by a wide variety of instruments, and can be played instrumentally or as the accompaniment to either a male or female vocalist.» (Sean Williams – read more)

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Tabla Beat Science - Tala Matrix (2000)

«The North Indian drums know as the tabla were said to have been invented in the 13th century by Amir Khusrau, a disciple of the Sufi saint Hazrat Nizemuddin Aluya. At the time, Khusrau sawed a pakhawaj (a single two-headed wooden drum) in two. Though no one may never know exactly why Khusrau felt it necessary it to saw a pakhawaj in half, his act gave birth to the tabla. Since that time, the tabla have been conceived to accompany vocalists and such instruments as the sitar (a multi-stringed lute), bin (a seven-stringed tube zither), venu (a side-blown cane flute), saord (a lute with a parchment soundboard and metal frets), and the sarangi (bowed lute).

The late Ustad Alla Rakha, who played for many years with Ravi Shankar, is widely credited with having expanded the repertoire and the role of the tabla. Thanks in great part to his ingenuity and determination, today the tabla is no longer considered to be merely an accompanying instrument. In honor of his impressive contributions to the world of tabla, the musical consortium known as Tabla Beat Science has dedicated their debut CD, Tala Matrix, to the memory of Ustad Alla Rakha. By asking some of the most highly regarded tabla players in the world to play with a variety of musicians and programmers, producer and bassist Bill Laswell has essentially appropriated the ancient tradition of the tabla and fused it with contemporary electronica studio wizardry. Tabla Beat Science is comprised of Ustad Alla Rakha's son and tabla superman Zakir Hussain, venerated sarangi player Ustad Sultan Khan, Indian and jazz percussion innovator Trilok Gurtu, New York drummer Karsh Kale, bass and drum visionary Talvin Singh, music programmer Brad Somatik, and producer/bassist Bill Laswell. Laswell, who “conceived and constructed” the CD, acts as the catalyst for the outfit, adding the bottom end with his dub basslines and the overall aesthetic with his studio prowess. More of a consortium than a full-blown collaboration, not one of the songs on Tala Matrix features all members of the group. Zakir Hussain's many tracks are among the best on the album, though Trilok Gurtu's funky Big Brother and Talvin Singh's Don't Worry.com are both extremely compelling. The often zombie-ridden doldrums of electronica should benefit immensely from this experimental union with tabla. An excellent CD that deserves to be heard many times by many people, Tala Matrix manages to be innovative without loosing sight of tradition.» (AMG)

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Kutumba - Folk Roots (2005)

«The word ‘Kutumba’ holds a special meaning in the Nepali language. It stands for a unique bond amongst community members. As their name, Kutumba is all about bringing together traditional folk tunes and instruments with new and improvised sounds and ideas.

Kutumba is a folk instrumental ensemble, group of seven professionals from Kathmandu. Having come together for the preservation of their culture and art, Kutumba wishes to spread love and joy of Nepali folk music throughout the world. Self motivated and self driven, Kutumba is a group with their own unique sound and vision.The seven members have different roots and backgrounds in music. Kutumba is the harmony of traditional roots, culture and new sounds.» (Kutumba’s Official Site – Click for more info)

Many thanx to Bijay for this post.

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Dudubeat - Experience (2002)

«Experience is the debut project of the St. Petersburg-based duo Dudubeat. Its members, Karen Sargsyan (duduk) and Arsen Grigoryan (keyboards) brought together in it their love for the traditional melodies of Armenia and the desire to make them more modern, fully preserving the national colors, producing a tasteful blend of live instruments and electronic sounds. Combined with the electronic rhythms, the moving, deep and tender sound of Karen’s duduk, which he plays in strict adherence to the classical style of duduk playing, becomes even more expressive. The result is an album quiet varied in moods and atmospheres, which will please all the lovers of background music and also the more adventurous listeners. Ethno-beat for mind and body. Recommended.»

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Ghazal - Moon Rise Over The Silk Road (2000)

«Westerners have become increasingly familiar with the classical music of India since it first became fashionable in the 60s. But the Persian tradition, without a Beatles/Ravi Shankar collaboration to promote it, has remained a mystery, although it is becoming more recognized. Ghazal creates (or rather, re-creates) a musical bridge between two of the world's most expressive and distinctive musical traditions.

Improvisation lies at the heart of both Indian and Persian classical music. According to Kalhor, “The music that we play together reflects the improvisatory styles of our cultures. This means taking a small idea or melodic form or phrase and developing it into something much larger, beyond its primary character.”

Kayhan Kalhor is a master of the kamancheh, the traditional fiddle of Persian classical music who has performed with and composed for some of Iran's greatest artists. As a son of the legendary Ustad Vilayat Khan, Shujaat Husain Khan is a virtuoso sitarist and scion of one of the greatest families of Hindustani (North Indian) music. They are accompanied on tabla by either Swapan Chaudhuri, one of India's most acclaimed artists, or Sandeep Das, a rising star of the younger generation.

The Persian and Indian traditions are, in a sense, musical cousins. In fact, there is a connection that goes beyond the notes themselves: Several centuries of Moghul rule in northern India left a strong imprint on Hindustani music: a result of the mysticism, poetry, and musical subtleties of the Persian language and culture. The name Ghazal reflects that link: in the Persian tradition, a ghazal is a specific genre of poetry, characterized by an unusual blend of ecstatic spirituality and earthy desires. In India, ghazal has evolved into a form of semi-classical music that remains popular to this day, and usually takes the form of a love ballad.» (World Music Institute)

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The Rough Guide to Bhangra (2001)

«The Rough Guide to Bhangra marks a milestone in the history of Bhangra by bringing together, for the first time ever, most of the key artists and labels onto one CD. Every track is a classic, no padding, no 'fillers', just hit after hit. You don't need to understand the words, just get the vibe.

From humble beginnings in the North Indian Punjab region, where Bhangra began as traditional folk music, the last half decade has seen it transported to Western Europe, a million miles away, to be missed with every music style non-Asian could throw at us: house, hip-hop, swing, reggae, drum'n'bass and UK garage. British Bhangra has merged with flying colours in its own styles. Bhangra music is now Britain's major Asian export, accounting for huge sales across the world notably in other parts of the scattered Asian diaspora.

What hasn't changed from the Punjabi villages, though, is that the music is still simply brilliant. Vibrant, colourful, entertaining and exhilarating, this music is built for dance with the dhol, the tumbi, the alagozi, the electric guitars and synths, the hook lines, catching lyrics, 'chak de pahtteys' and 'hoi hois' amid the dance moves – playful skipping, jubilant arm waving and expressive facial expressions.» (DJ Ritu, Red Hot Curry)

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Yalla - The Beard of the Camel (1996)

Pop music from Uzbekistan! Maybe not a masterpiece, but a curious piece of music indeed!

«Yalla, the leading popular music group in the former Soviet central Asian republics, is from Tashkent – the capital of Uzbekistan, one of the newly independent states of the former Soviet Union. The group, whose name is an Uzbek word for a song accompanied by dancing, has become a popular icon in Uzbekistan, frequently serving as cultural ambassadors to international festivals or meetings abroad.

The members of Yalla are graduates of the Ostrovsky Theatrical Art Institute and the Ashrafi State Conservatory in Tashkent. They are not Russian but Uzbek, a Turkic nationality from the crossroads of the ancient Silk Road. Their music incorporates traditional ethnic folk tunes and poetry of Uzbekistan and other Central Asian and Middle Eastern cultures, along with contemporary pop and dance influences, into a unique international blend. They perform songs in more than 10 languages, including Arabic, Farsi, Hindi, Nepalese and French as well as Uzbek and Russian.

Formed in the early 1970's, Yalla has appeared on Soviet national television as well as performing in Moscow and elsewhere in the Soviet Union, and on concert tours in Europe, Africa, Asia and Latin America, including featured appearances at the "Voice of Asia" festival.

Yalla has been named "State Merited Chamber-Instrumental Ensemble" (a musical equivalent to poet laureate), and winner of the Lenin Komsomol Prize of Uzbekistan. Farrukh Zakirov, artistic director of Yalla and composer of many of their songs, was elected to Uzbekistan's national parliament.» (Imagina Productions)

More info on Beard of the Camel here

Full English review here

Interview in Russian here

«Yalla is Uzbekistan’s equivalent of the Beatles…» (Laurel Victoria Gray, founder of Uzbek Dance and Culture Society, USA)

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Armenian Navy Band - Natural Seeds (2005)

«Music is considered a crucial means of communication by the founder of The Armenian Navy Band, Arto Tunçboyaciyan, a percussionist and vocalist of Armenian descent. Arto claims music as his instrument of choice to express his highest aspirations: love, respect and truth.

The Armenian Navy Band’s compositions are all originals of Arto Tunçboyaciyan which, he insists, “have the sound of my life”. This music is founded on Armenian and Anatolian musical traditions and infused with jazz and contemporary culture. Arto’s compositions embrace sounds from generations past as well as present this is what he calls “avant-garde folk”. As such, the Armenian Navy Band represents the synthesis of Arto's musical journey and life experiences.

The Armenian Navy Band is composed of twelve of the finest of Armenia’s contemporary musicians, ranging in age from 20 to 45. The instruments include the traditional – duduk, zurna, kemanche, kanun – and the contemporary – trombone, alto sax, tenor, soprano sax, trumpet, bass, drums, keyboard and piano. Together with the unique vocals and percussion and sazabo of Arto, the band’s sound is a sort of aural journey from the past to the future.

The band’s first European tour in February/March 2000 was successfully received in Italy, Germany, Austria and Spain. Their next tour, later that year, included Sardinia, France, Bruxelles and Holland, ending with a stop in Istanbul for the recording of the album New Apricot under the Turkish label Imaj Müzik. This was followed by another brief tour in March 2001 and an extended European Summer/Fall tour through to November 2001.

The Armenian Navy Band’s 2004 album Sound of Our Life – Part One: Natural Seeds is a nearly 50-minute-long composition in eleven parts, which is dedicated to nature. Natural Seeds takes the listener along part of the path of life that Arto Tunçboyaciyan and his musicians have traveled. The recording equally represents the return to the origins of the musical “seed” of the The Armenian Navy Band; the tremendous joy and affection which the band’s musicians feel with and for each other in the here and now of their life together – also outside the recording studios and stages; as well as the hopeful, self-confident view to the future. For Arto Tunçboyaciyan, the project Sound of Our Life is a never-ending musical documentation of the future.» (WorldMusicCentral)

If you like Natural Seeds, check also New Apricot.

Official Site: click here

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Ravi Shankar - India's Master Musician (1963)

«One of Ravi Shankar's first Western recordings – made at London's Abbey Road Studios in 1963 (a full two years before George Harrison was introduced to Shankar's music) and originally released in the U.S. on the tiny jazz-oriented indie World Pacific – India's Master Musician makes some slight concessions toward the untutored Western audience. The liner notes are almost teacherly in their dry explication of Indian musical forms, and the five brief pieces (the longest, "Raga Charu Keshi," clocks in at a mere 13 and a half minutes, which by the expansive standards of Indian classical music is downright Ramones-like in its brevity) do little more than introduce a theme, suggest some variations, and conclude. Yet for all that, there is no attempt here to dumb down this difficult but rewarding music for Western ears, and the occasional resemblances to Western musical forms, like the almost jazz-like call-and-response section between Shankar and his sidemen, tabla player Kanai Dutt and tamboura player Nodu C. Mullick, are entirely coincidental. This is an excellent introduction not only to Ravi Shankar, but to Indian classical music in general.» (AMG)

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Gang Chenpa - Voices from Tibet (1999)

«Muziek uit het land van de sneeuw. Puuren zuiver. Helemaal zoals het tot veertig jaar geleden in Tibetgeklonken heeft. Zo willen Namgyal Lhamo, Kelsang Chukie Tethong enTobden Gyamtso van Gang Chenpa – ‘Mensen uit het land van de sneeuw’ – zingen. In het huidige Tibet is dat vrijwel onmogelijk. Veertig jaar Chineseoverheersing heeft haar sporen nagelaten. Daarmee is het traditioneleTibetaanse repertoire in Tibet zelf in één klap obscuur geworden.

De generatie die de afgelopen decennia in Tibet is opgegroeid, kent detraditionele liederen niet meer van eigen horen, laat staan door zezelf te zingen. Traditionele instrumenten, zoals de dragnen – deTibetaanse luit – en de gyumang – een veelsnarig hakkebord – wordensteeds minder bespeeld.

Gang Chenpa bestaat uit Tibetaanse zangers in ballingschap. Dezusters Namgyal Lhamo (1956) en Kelsang Chukie (1957) kwamen als kindal naar India. Vanwege de betrokkenheid van hun vader bij het verzettegen de Chinese annexatie van Tibet, werden zij in de jaren zestiggedwongen hun geboorteland Nepal te verlaten. Tobden Gyamtso (1964)raakte eind jaren tachtig betrokken bij anti–Chinese demonstraties inde Tibetaanse hoofdstad Lhasa, werd gearresteerd en vluchtte beginjaren negentig naar India.

Namgyal, Chukie en Tobden ontmoetten elkaar in 1996 in Argentinië opde filmset van Seven years in Tibet. Hun zang is in sommige scènes opde achtergrond te horen. Tijdens het langdurig verblijf in Argentiniëen het vele wachten tussen de verschillende scènes herkenden Namgyal,Chukie en Tobden hun geestverwantschap.
Alle drie willen ze de traditionele Tibetaanse muziek levend houden.Niet als doel op zich. Niet omwille van de traditie zelf. Maar omdatje, zoals Namgyal het zegt ‘geen ander kostuum moet aantrekken voordatje weet dat je eigen kostuum je lekker zit.’ Ze zingen en spelenTibetaanse licht klassieke liederen zoals die gezongen werden tijdensfeesten en partijen. Ze zingen liefdesliederen, bergliedjes, liedjesdie gezongen werden tijdens het werk op het land of in de werkplaatsen.

Gang Chenpa put uit de eerste hand. Namgyal, Chukie en Tobden hebbenhun liederen en hun zangtechniek geleerd van mensen die voor 1959 inTibet vrijuit konden zingen en spelen. Namgyal en Chukie kregen inDharamsala les van grootheden uit de Tibetaanse traditie, zoals dezangleraren Lhutsa en Majalhama, die inmiddels beide zijn overleden. Zezingen en spelen op dit album zoals ze dat ook op een podium zoudendoen. Geen enkele stem en geen enkel instrument is dubbel opgenomen.Tijdens het zingen voeren ze dezelfde rituele dansen op als ze tijdenseen optreden zouden doen – dat hoor je misschien niet, maar je merkthet wel aan de timing, aan het gevoel waarmee gezongen wordt, aan dediepgang van de muziek.

Gang Chenpa vult de leemte met The Voices of Tibet overtuigend. Vooralle muziekliefhebbers in de wereld. Maar vooral ook voor Tibetaanseoren – in het buitenland en zo mogelijk in Tibet zelf. Al zal datlaatste, gezien de politieke situatie, voorlopig nog een droom blijven.» (Musicworlds.nl)

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