Bruce Peninsula - A Mountain Is A Mouth (2009)

«Dreamt up by Misha Bower and Matt Cully in the summer of 2006, Bruce Peninsula has slowly mutated, elaborating on the Alan Lomax archives that initially inspired them and taking a new turn every time a new member or instrument is added to the mix. Since their second show, Bruce Peninsula has ballooned out to include a large cast of hoot-and-hollerers. The band mutates often but the last couple of years has seen contributions from Neil Haverty, Andrew Barker, Steve McKay, Leon Taheny, Kari Peddle, Daniela Geshundheit, Katie Stelmanis, Caseey Mecija, Maya Postepski, Isla Craig and Doc Dunn (the latter two no longer perform with BP but are honourary members for life).

The instrumental elements have expanded into new terrain (unlike most folk bands, prog isn't a dirty word for this band), but Bruce Peninsula's focus is devoted to the singing, first and foremost. Singing from the gut, singing with gusto, singing the way we were made to sing… The early, simple call-and-responses have given way to more elaborate harmonies and compositions over time, but the teachings of those timeless old recordings from the American south remain in tact. There is no denying the power and conviction of old spiritual singers like Vera Ward Hall or Washington Phillips. And while each member of the band may have their own take on the powers that be, the words those legends sang (and, more importantly, the way they sang them) have forever converted Bruce Peninsula into devotees of the church of song.
The surge of experimental music in Toronto has been equally important for Bruce Peninsula, bestowing upon them a wide-eyed, anything-goes mentality. Purists may argue that the blues or folk tradition can't be properly expressed without an old steel string and a slide, but this band has never been too concerned with trying to crack open closed minds. And so, a march of metalophone, lap-steel, zithers, and bells. Of drums and sticks and any other oddities of interesting and pleasing tone. Voices blaring all the while. A Mountain Is A Mouth is their debut LP.» (Canadian Music Wiki)

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The Wailin' Jennys - Firecracker (2006)

«Though Cara Luft, a founding member of the Wailin' Jennys, was replaced by Annabelle Chvostek, the band's tight harmonies and pretty folk songs haven't changed at all on their second album, Firecracker. In fact, they've even gotten better. Chvostek's voice is seductively low and versatile, and it blends well with and adds a lot of strength and depth to the higher ranges that Ruth Moody and Nicky Mehta provide. All three Jennys are also great songwriters, and everything on the album is well done, with thoughtful reflective lyrics about love and friendship and death, the cold autumn wind of the Canadian prairie blowing through the record, shaping and influencing the mandolin, the banjo, the acoustic guitar, the violin, the National Steel. It's music with a dark, sweet edge, like it understands the pain in the world but still chooses to focus on what's good instead. "Swallow," though in its attempt to maintain rhythm and rhyme the lyrics can occasionally sound a little corny ("You got me, arrow shot me/Now come connect the dot me"), lilts along like the bird itself as it explores love's transience, while "Avila" is simple and pretty, with a delicate chorus of "O sweet peace never have you fallen/never have you fallen upon this town," sung in three-part harmony, that sense of longing lodged between the notes of a slow, aching electric guitar solo that winds its way through the song. A similar feeling is also apparent in "Glory Bound," manifested as a desire for a reprieve from life's hardships. It's not morbid, it's simply sad and honest in that uplifting way that only country and folk music can be. There is a melancholy that lies within many of the Wailin' Jennys' songs, but there's still an overwhelming sense of hope and happiness that is even stronger, and makes Firecracker a really great, uncontrived album.»

Official site: http://www.thewailinjennys.com/

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Lynda Lemay - Live (1999)

«French Canadian singer/songwriter Lynda Lemay has been a star in her native Quebec since the early '90s, and also has a large following in Europe, where her playful, poignant writing style is appreciated for its compassionate, literate, and often humorous approach to both the large and small requirements of contemporary life. With a novelist's eye for detail and an endearing ability to make light of her own phobias, Lemay writes melodic songs (almost always sung in French) that are fast becoming national treasures in Canada, and her popularity in France stems from her clear understanding of the French chanson tradition.

Lemay was born on July 25, 1966, and grew up in Portneuf near the St. Lawrence River outside Quebec City…» (AMG, read more)

«Des sujets de société les plus divers, Lynda Lemay sait créer des perles poétiques, piécettes tragi-comiques ou photographies d'un instant de vie. De part et d'autre de l'Atlantique, un large public se retrouve dans des textes souvent bouleversants. Depuis le début des années 90, il a alors suffi de quelques chansons pour que cette jeune Québécoise s'impose comme un nom essentiel de la chanson francophone.» (RFI Musique, lisez plus)

Lynda’s official site: click here

Some lyrics here

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Riddu Riđđu 1991-2001 (2001)

«Every summer in the far north of Norway, in the land of the midnight sun north of the Arctic Circle, a unique music and culture festival is held in the municipality of Gáivuotna (Kåfjord), a few hours drive from the city of Tromsø. This festival, called Riddu Riđđu (which means, roughly, “storm off the water”), celebrates the music and culture of the Sami, the indigenous people of northern Scandinavia, and of other indigenous peoples of the world.» (Read more)

«For 10 years the Riddu Riđđu Festival has featured the culture of the Sami and other Northern Peoples. In 2001 Riddu Riđđu celebrates its 10^th anniversary. To mark this jubilee we have gathered musical highlights from past festivals. All tracks are live recordings from Riddu Riđđu, and are published by kind permission of the artists.» (From the liner notes)

Featured artists: Hedningarna, Wimme, Chirgilchin, Sara Marielle Gaup, Mari Boine, Sirmania, Sabjilar, Tiina Sanila, Elvel, Per Ivars Orkester, Namgar Lkhasaranova & others.

Thanx to Giuliano for this post.

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The Souljazz Orchestra - Uprooted (2005)

«Since 2002, the Ottawa-based band has been keeping the classic sounds of raw, gritty groove alive and well in Canada. Their style combines jazz, funk, African and Latin music with messages touching on politics and spirituality. The blaring horns, retro keyboards and polyrhythmic beats show the influence of James Brown, Herbie Hancock, Fela Kuti and Tito Puente, but the sound remains nonetheless refreshingly original. Their stylistic variety is in part due to the diverse musical backgrounds of the band’s individual members: jazz, funk, blues, reggae, classical, and traditional Cuban, Brazilian and West African percussion. The Souljazz Orchestra has had the chance to collaborate with notable artists such as Beautiful Nubia and Mighty Popo, and has opened up for Etta James, Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings, Big Bad Voodoo Daddy, John Lee Hooker Jr., The Sadies, and more. The Souljazz Orchestra's all-original debut album, Uprooted, was released in April of 2005 to critical acclaim, receiving nation-wide airplay through public and campus radio. The band recently released their second album, Freedom No Go Die. This high-energy project focuses mainly on afrobeat music, and features the vocal stylings of Mighty Popo, Alanna Stuart and Marielle Rivard.» (radio3.cbc.ca)

«Si Shaft devait renaître, il choisirait le Soul Jazz Orchestra pour illustrer ses aventures. Une bande son télescopant toutes les musiques afro-américaines du 20e siècle, orchestrant l’ambiance faite de débrouille et de misère banale des ghettos urbains, mais aussi exigence de l’existence dans ce qu’elle peut avoir de plus léger, urgence d’être tout simplement. Le discret martèlement des percussions sonne le rappel de racines ancestrales et nous délivre des forêts d’immeubles. Un son furieusement funky à la pulsion de vie salutaire, à l’image des poings levés ornant la pochette de l’album Freedom No Go Die (DoRight ! Music). Une énergie en diable qui anime les corps dans une transe assoiffée de liberté et de délice.» (let’s motiv)

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Black Ox Orkestar - Nisht Azoy (2006)

«The second record by Montreal's Black Ox Orkestar places the group at the forefront of a ‘new Jewish music’ that rejects contemporary fusion and musty nostalgia in equal measure. With backgrounds in folk, punk-rock and free jazz, the group's four musicians distill Balkan, Central Asian, Arabic and Slavic sources into a coherent, impassioned sound that gives teeth to old Jewish songs.

Nisht Azoy (Not Like This) builds dramatically on Black Ox's debut (Ver Tanzt?), striking a similar balance between vocal and instrumental tunes, but with more intensity, mystery, and a readiness to stretch things out, whether in the incantatory opener "Bukharian" or the clomping crescendos of "Az Vey Dem Tatn" and "Tsvey Tabelakh". Further upping the ante with greater use of percussion and group singing, the band's entirely acoustic instrumentation pumps and pulses with explosive energy and emotion. Radwan Moumneh captures the 4-piece band (at Montreal's Hotel2Tango studio) with a detailed warmth and authority, and a large cast of guest players expands the group to bona fide orchestral size on "Tsvey Tabelakh". The slow plaintiveness of vocal songs "Ikh Ken Tsvey Zayn" and "Golem" rank among the group's most spine-tingling, mesmerising moments. "Ratsekr Grec" summons a Balkan dance rhythm in one of the album's more overtly traditional arrangements, adding a flurry of colliding horns down the home stretch. Taken as a whole, the cycle of songs on Nisht Azoy further opens up a world, inspired by Jewish diasporic culture and politics, that challenges conventional appropriations and forges music that is highly original, deeply felt and very much alive.» (Southern)

«I membri della Black Ox Orkestar sono solo gli ultimi tra i tanti artisti nordoccidentali rapiti dalla incredibile cultura musicale degli ebrei dell'est-Europa, gente che vagava per sfuggire ai tanti pogrom della storia. E ogni fuga, ogni diaspora, arricchiva la loro cultura, che incontrava e si apriva all'alterità. Le musiche si contaminavano più facilmente, le lingue assumevano caratteri babelici, i ritmi erano l'unica festa. Il klezmer è più o meno questo, una spugna che assorbe i suoni dell'antica Europa, guarda a Levante e tocca Grecia, Turchia e Spagna, dove i Sefarditi dialogano con il continente nero, cingendo così il bacino del Mediterraneo.
Come novelli Klezmorin, i quattro musicisti di Montreal danno vita a una musica il cui umore è essenzialmente quello malinconico e mesto dei canti tradizionali, anche perché il klezmer – che letteralmente significa strumento musicale ma in una accezione più ampia vuol dire musica dell'anima, cioè soul music – non è solo clarinetti in levare e ritmiche serrate, ma anche, appunto, musica di sofferenza (soprattutto alle origini, prima che il clarinetto prendesse il sopravvento sul violino).» (Musicboom)

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