Rolling Global Sublime Whirled "World" Music Thread 2010(with an emphasis on African likely)

As in 2009 this will ideally serve as a catch-all thread for mostly non-English language international music that does not fit under the Afro-Latino threads or the Arabic threads or the Brazilian or Eastern European ones, Reggae/dancehall, etc. That is, mostly African music. New and reissues(although some folks just like to post on reissue only threads). I'm into Congolese, Malian, Senegalese, Nigerian, and more sounds, mostly afropop in feel, but if you want to highlight global "ghetto-tech" club sounds or rap or whatever, that's ok too. I like soca too, but I think I usually mention that on a Caribbean/soca thread.

www.ilxor.com/ILX/ThreadSelectedControllerServlet?boardid...

Bookmarked as I try to expand my horizons and have nothing to contribute

i bookmarked last year's but then sort of last track as the year went on. will try again...

Rolling Global Sublime Whirled Music 2009 (With an emphasis on African likely)

Here's last year's thread. Maybe Whiney will participate as I noticed alot of Malian albums on his huge list of albums he twittered about in 2009.

So my little Washington City Paper blog piece on Ethiopia's Teddy Afro got linked to by an Ethiopian blog and now all these worshipful Afro fans are posting comments on how they love their Teddy. I missed the show at the DC Armory last night.

In today's Washington Post, Chris Richards has a nice article on the DC area living Ethiopian bassist Tommy T. Gobena, who is now the bassist with Gogoll Bordello, the Balkan gypsy punk whatever band, but has also released an album in his own name, was playing in various DC Ethiopian restaurants, and released a cd by Gigi (who I like and others here do also) sometime in the recent past.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/12/31/AR2009123101256.html

Man they were pumpin that Tommy T record, I wasn't convinced though.

I will be more active here this year, probably.

I haven't heard it. Just figured, as with Teddy Afro, that I should check out modern Ethiopian music not just old Ethiopiques stuff. I'm not wowed by Teddy Afro though.

I wonder if the "African Soul Rebels" tour with Oumou Sangare, Orchestre Poly Rythmo of Benin and South Africa's Kalahari Surfers that is in the UK in February and early March will come to the US?

Maybe I shoulda put "world music 2.0" in the subject line of this thread. That's Wayne Marshall's term for club music with African or other non-European, non-US aspects. I'm not too wowed by this stuff although I haven't heard enough. I'm not just an old-school Afropop type, I like some international rap too, I'm just not crazy about disco mixes (I sheepishly admit) although I do like Ten City and various other early house and NYC mid to late 70s stuff.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2010/jan/02/ethno-techno-music-the-guide

Interesting. Although I am guessing that Wayne Marshall and others would say that kuduro beats and other like-minded international sounds are aesthetically exciting and that thanks to those who created them, are not Western colonial exoticism and exploitation.
As much as I like the Very Best album, I realized especially after seeing them live that what I liked was the old-school Malawian vocal melodies and the rhythms when they moved beyond club or techno. But the straightforward club beats do little for me no matter who creates them or where they are from(Do I sound like Sasha Frere-Jones whining about how club beats on Blackeyed Peas songs and those of other pop hits are dominating the American top 40 landscape? Or Eminem talking about techno?!).

I see that Wayne Marshall doesn't like BlackEyed Peas though---not world 2.0 ghetto-tech enough(I'm saying that not him).

for my fellow NY pretentious world ppls

http://www.globalfest-ny.org/

January 10
This year’s festival includes:
- Alif Naaba, West African acoustic song (Burkina Faso)
- Cara Dillon, striking Celtic vocalist (Ireland)
- Caravan Palace, swingin’ electro manouche jazz (France)
- Cedric Watson & Bijou Creole, Creole Zydeco heir from Louisiana (USA)
- Federico Aubele, bolero and cumbia meets electro downtempo (Argentina/USA)
- François Ladrezo & Alka Omeka, Gwo-ka master (Guadalupe)
- La Cumbiamba eNeYé, music from the Pacific and Caribbean coasts of Colombia (Colombia/USA)
- La Excelencia, old-school salsa dura revivalists (USA)
- Meta and the Cornerstones, African roots reggae export (Senegal/USA)
- Namgar, Siberian shaman rock from the Central Asian steppes (Russia)
- Nguyên Lê’s Saiyuki, acclaimed French-Vietnamese guitarist leads a Pan-Asian jazz trio
(Vietnam/Japan/India/France)
- Nightlosers, Transylvanian blues-rock/Gypsy chameleons (Romania)

I went last year and half the acts were great and half were total NPR snake oil. Also tickets are mad asspensive, but it's worth a trip

La Excelencia have been touted on ILX's Afo-Latin thread. Guadelupian Ladrezeau is gonna be in DC for free and webcast from 6 to 7 US eastern time tonight on the Kennedy Center Mill. Stage. Young Creole dude Watson is very charismatic live (he's gonna be back in DC Friday and webcast from 6 to 7 at the K. Ctr Mill. stage). The Aubele cd I had bored me on 1 listen, but maybe I need to give it another shot (its got those trendy beats).

x-post--Meanwhile Simon Reynolds thinks the most interesting rhythms are coming from Animal Collective, Micachu, Vampire Weekend and the Dirty Projectors. No he doesn't get into the origin of their bass approach, he just wants to take shots at current hiphop for its alleged dullness and lack of innovation.

I listened to a little bit of Dirty Projectors the other day; I think Simon Reynolds and I have two different definitions of the word "interesting."

Re Globalfest, I've only heard Aubele and La Cumbiamba eNeYé; the former is quite boring and the latter is kinda good. Neither would inspire me to buy a ticket to the whole damn event, though.

It took me 3 listens but I decided I liked some Dirty Projector songs--the ones where the women sing seem less stiff and awkward. There are one or 2 songs that incorporate African style guitar work. Between those songs and the new Vampire Weekend cd, people can say they listen to African music without having to actually listen to Africans. Nah, I know that musicians paying homage like Brit rockers and the blues can be a good thing (sorta).

And yea incorporating those sounds into your Western pop or art-rock approach is more than or different than "homage".

But as important, I'm wondering if François Ladrezo & Alka Omeka, Gwo-ka master (Guadalupe) will be strictly folkloric on this tour or show some zouk influences, or be rhythmic and folkloric?

Anybody know whatever happened to Kassav?

http://www.kennedy-center.org/explorer/live/?id=M4087

As much as I like the Very Best album, I realized especially after seeing them live that what I liked was the old-school Malawian vocal melodies and the rhythms when they moved beyond club or techno. But the straightforward club beats do little for me no matter who creates them or where they are from(Do I sound like Sasha Frere-Jones whining about how club beats on Blackeyed Peas songs and those of other pop hits are dominating the American top 40 landscape? Or Eminem talking about techno?!).

I absolutely agree with this. I'd go so far as to say that kuduro beats now seem kind of anonymously club to me, ironically because of their status as the raw exciting world dance music du jour (also because they sound so much like um fidget house etc.)

If anything what makes The Very Best album so enjoyable is the sense of distance it has from other global international language of booty exercises, guest appearances from M.I.A. notwithstanding.

Yea, that makes alot of sense.

x-post-

I'm watching Ladrezeau and company from Guadelupe online chanting and banging out percussion now. Definately not pop, but in doses this stuff is impressive.

Oh, and i do not know enough about UK funky or dubstep to talk about their relationship to world 2.0 music or dancehall or hiphop or r'n'b.

There were apparently 7,000 to 8,000 folks at the DC Armory for the late into the night/morning Teddy Afro show. The Afropop Worldwide folks came down from the NYC area (well George C. lives here). Here's Banning Eyre's (largely reverent) review of the show with photos--

http://www.afropop.org/multi/feature/ID/925/Teddy%20Afro%20Wows%20DCs%20Ethiopian%20Community%20in%20Triumphant%20Return%20Concert

ethiops do love their Teddy, never seen the level of adulation he gets with any other artist here, he was playing tonight at the stadium in addis, achristmas show (jan 7 is ethiop christmas) and am sure the place was absolutely packed, saw tons o ppl heading that way some wearing tuxes which seemed a bit off for a stadium show but hey, who am i to judge

on another note, similar to the posting above re Globalfest for ppl in NYC an event tomorrow night (tonight?) well Friday the 8th at the 92y tribeca, 200 Hudson St billed as
Trouble Worldwide and Barbès Records present "Here Comes Trouble" 2010
Six bands play funky, crazy, dirty world music

more info here http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=186224957636&ref=nf

forgot to add the schedule and ticket info, Tickets are $15. Doors open at 7 pm for an 8 pm show. Ticket info is available at http://bit.ly/TroubleHere or 212.601.1000.

Here Comes Trouble includes:

8 PM - Bad reputation: Pierre de Gaillande Sings Brassens http://www.barbesrecords.com/brassens.html
Franco-American singer and composer re-imagines iconic French singer George Brassens' classics

8:45 PM - Rana Santacruz
http://www.myspace.com/ranasantacruz
“Irish Mariachi” from former member of Mexico's La Catrina.

9:30 PM - Pistolera
http://www.myspace.com/pistoleramusic
“...a foot-stomping sound that's one part ranchera and one part indie-pop.” -The New Yorker

10:15 PM - Chicha Libre
http://www.myspace.com/chichalibre
Latin rhythms, surf music, and psychedelic pop inspired by Peruvian music from the Amazon.

11:00 PM - The Cuban Cowboys
http://www.myspace.com/cubancowboys
"So hip-rocking, it makes you want to buy a cowboy hat and howl at the moon." - New York Post

11:45 PM - Slavic Soul Party!
http://www.myspace.com/slavicsoulparty
Fiery Gypsy brass, soulful Balkan anthems, and hip-grinding American funk.

Cuban Cowboys are playing DC for free at the Kennedy Center (and yes webcast) Saturday night from 6 to 7 pm.

The Festival in the Desert was moved farther south to Timbuktu do to fears of Al Queda attacks

http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Africa/2010/0108/Mali-moves-music-festival-as-tourism-threatened-by-Al-Qaeda-threat

Whatever "Al Qaeda" is supposed to mean in this instance.

Yep.

So Christgau's best of '09 list is out. He's got some African releases and I think some other international stuff. He never seems to have made that effort to start reviewing more Latino stuff after he made that request for information on that arts journalism blog.

http://bnreview.barnesandnoble.com/t5/Rock-Roll/The-Dean-s-List-The-Best-Albums-of-2009/ba-p/2031

Kinda weird Christgau listing those Rough Guides to tango and merengue. Also, I'm curious about that Senegalese comp he listed. K'naan seems to be the rapper of choice for older critics. He's okay, but contrarian old guy me is not wowed and wonders how many African rappers without American record deals are releasing good stuff. Also as I have said before, I love the old-school afropop but obsessing just over that makes me feel like someone fixated only on '60s soul and '70s funk and ignoring everything since then.

And substituting just K'naan doesn't seem much better. It's a step in the right direction and its not as if I'm seeking out obscure unreleased African rappers, so maybe I should be careful with what I say (glass houses and all that).

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/12/arts/music/12globalfest.html?ref=arts

Pareles on the Global Fest in NYC. One little thing that some might think is nitpicky--Pareles kept using the term Cajun to describe the music of Cedric Watson and his band Et Bijou Creole, which is largely incorrect. Cajun is the music of white french-speaking folks and is more rooted in country while Creole and zydeco are the musics of Black french-speaking folks and are more rooted in the blues. While Black French speaker Watson does cover some Cajun, he plays alot more Creole and zydeco. I have read interviews with Black Louisianian zydeco musicians who get very peeved at being called Cajun. And yes, telling the difference between slow Cajun waltzes and Creole ones can be difficult.

Hi all! After scouring the board, I decided this would be the most appropriate place for a reggaeton song with a Middle Eastern conceit made by an Italian with an African moniker. I can't seem to quit playing it. In return for your patience, I'll try to keep up this year. Thanks, enjoy!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qe6QE2EN_S0

OT: Major earthquake in Haiti; tsunami watch throughout the Caribbean.

Poor Haiti, that country never gets any good luck it seems.

The photos from there are so sad to look at. I gotta check with my old connections to Haitian music in DC. See if there are any benefit events happening so as to offer help that way (and spread the word).

Wyclef Jean's been tweeting that the Yele charity is the one to help, but their website has been overwhelmed and crashed.

http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/wireStory?id=9551832

I read elsewhere a December 11th blog post about a Boukman Experyans show in Haiti. I have not seen anything further about them since then.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/34835478/ns/world_news-haiti_earthquake

ugh, yeah, was just reading up on Haitian music because of the big Lomax box set ... looks really rough down there!

Just saw this Lomax Haiti Box blog, although I haven't got the box yet--a ton of music.http://thehaitibox.blogspot.com/

thanks for the link -- hadn't seen that. Haiti Box looks amazing, and from the couple songs I've heard so far, sounds amazing too ...

Haiti: WTF?

The Haiti thread from ILE.

http://videokreyolkreyol.blogspot.com/

http://tvlakay.com/2010/01/haiti-earthquake-relief-fund-supremacy4-music-n-action/

Carimi producer and promoter Joubert Charles is one of the many dead in Haiti. http://www.kompamagazine.com/board/viewtopic.php?t=28373&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=20

Richard Morse, a Haitian-American who founded the Haitian band Ram, has been tweeting from Haiti-

http://twitter.com/RAMhaiti

for those who read French

http://blogues.cyberpresse.ca/brunet/?p=883

I hope it does not say what I think it says about the singer of excellent Haitian band Phantoms.

http://blogues.cyberpresse.ca/brunet/

Over the years I reviewed Haitian bands Boukman Eksperyans and Djakout Mizik, among others. I hope they are ok.

DUTTY ARTZ TROPICAL RELIEF FOR HAITI

DJs:

DJ Rupture
Matt Shadetek
Lamin Fofana
Feliz Cumbe
Bingy

THIS Saturday 1/16 10PM

Bowery Poetry Club
308 Bowery, NYC

I wish some Brits would comment on that Guardian piece.

Sterns summer bestsellers:

VARIOUS ARTISTS Africa: 50 Years Of Music 1960-2010 (Stern’s/Discograph/Syllart)
D.O. MISIANI & SHIRATI JAZZ The King Of History (Stern’s)
ETOILE DE DAKAR FEATURING YOUSSOU N’DOUR Once Upon A Time In Senegal (Stern’s)
ISSA JUMA & SUPER WANYIKA STARS World Defeats The Grandfathers (Stern’s)
FRANCO & LE TPOK JAZZ Francophonic Vol. 2 1980-1989 (Stern’s)
VARIOUS ARTISTS African Pearls: Congo (Syllart)
YOUSSOU N’DOUR Special Fin D’Année (Xippi)
STAR NUMBER ONE DE DAKAR La Belle Epoque 1974-1980 (Syllart)
TUTU CALLUGI Paris Match (Afrik Talents)
YAABA FUNK Afrobeast (Yaabaphone)
SKA CUBANO Mambo Ska (Casinosounds)
BAKO DAGNON Sidiba (Discograph)
RANGO Bride Of The Zar (30 IPS)
SIBONGILE KHUMALO Live (Gallo/Warner)
SOUL BROTHERS Thul’ Ubheke (Gallo/Warner

That Sterns list is not reflective of the listening habits of the audience described in the Guardian piece. Which is ok as long as folks don't think that the Sterns list is all that is happening.

http://www.nation.co.ke/News/Old%20sound%20fighting%20back%20in%20Congo%20/-/1056/1008424/-/7x2y5f/-/

Congolese rumba lives!

Kofi Olomide is a Congolese veteran at this point but he keeps getting lumped in with the "young artists who only appeal to Africans" crowd and not the "1980s or before peak era Congolese artists Christgau wrote about" crowd. White guy me started getting into his music when I read about it in the now defunct Beat magazine a long time ago. I didn't think I was being that adventurous or hipster or cool or whatever when I saw him at the U. of Maryland (with a 99% African audience).

Sometimes deciding whether an artist is a "world music performer" or one that is hip with emigrees from their own country is not so simple. Haitian band Boukman Ecksperyans put out a cd on a big American label once and have played gigs in DC at crossover-friendly establishments, but I also saw them once before a 99% Haitian crowd. A Haitian-American promoter just e-mailed me that they will be playing Sunday at a DC area club, the Crossroads, that usually hosts dancehall reggae artists.

My point is I think people should simply decide on an artist by artist basis whether they like a performer, and that all of it is worthy of coverage (this is the hard part--as some music is not marketed equally to all, and writers don't seek it all out), be it NPR-friendly, Pitchfork reissue-collector-friendly, beat-oriented club audience and blogger friendly, or emigree friendly.

Alas, the title of this thread discourages some from coming here I think (plus not enough people into 'international sounds' however they are defined, post on ILX anyway.

That Guardian article is kind of interesting. I wonder if another unspoken reason why shows aimed at African immigrants, or shows aimed at Puerto Ricans &/or Dominicans in Philly or DC, aren't promoted more outside their core audience is that that core audience might not want to see too many outsiders at these shows. If so, the promoters would stand to lose some of their core audience by promoting more broadly. I don't know whether that's really part of what's going on or not, just a thought. But clearly the concerts partly serve as a celebration/confirmation of group identity.

Good point re celebration/confirmation of group identity.

I should try to hear the new Natacha Atlas album.

has anyone heard that 50 Years of African Music box set from Sterns?

is it new? sterns is on emusic, but that box set isn't.

18 cds! Yes it's kinda new

http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2010/sep/26/africa-50-years-music-review

$125 from Amazon in the US

The deluxe boxed set includes a 76-page bi-lingual booklet with photographs, record-cover reproductions, specially-commissioned artwork and essays by experts on each of Africa’s popular styles.

I wish I could say I was enthusiastic about most of the global ghettotech stuff Wayne Marshall digs, but I'm not. Not that I just want to listen to old musician (without pro-tools) driven stuff, but I will do some of that. I also like "mambo"(current Dominican street merengue) and some other regional styles that some of Wayne's fave djs sample, better than the more straight-ahead electro club stuff.

http://wayneandwax.com/?p=4568

I've lost track of the DC clubs that spin African music. I think I'm gonna have to go to some DC African restaurants and look for flyers and ask around.

Gonna eat Sengalese food soon.

Meanwhile did anyone go to the Society for Ethnomusicology meeting in Los Angeles on the 14th:

12G Brentwood Room
New Media Ecologies of World Music
Chair: Timothy Taylor, University of California, Los Angeles
8:30 Dude, Where’s My Video? – Kevin Driscoll, University of Southern California
9:00 The Corrido and the Network: Cross-Border Ecologies of Mexican Music – Josh Kun, University of Southern California
9:30 Uneasy Peers and Unstable Platforms: The Making and Breaking of World Music 2.0 – Wayne Marshall, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
10:00 “New Old Media” of World Music – David Novak, University of California, Santa Barbara

Senegalese, I mean

And it was good. And they had good Senegalese music on the tv on the wall. But no postcards for DC African dj nights just for auto mechanics and churches.

I may have to go to an African market over in Maryland and try to find info there.

Oumou Sangare is in NYC at Lehman College Saturday. She's got an awesome voice. Wish she was coming to DC

She's in North Carolina I think, the next night

http://blog.afropop.org/2010/12/afropops-2010-stocking-stuffers.html

Surprised not to see Khaira Arby as I know he likes her. I had never heard of Tuargeg band Tamikrest.

Tuareg

http://www.suite101.com/content/mtv-africa-music-awards-2010-to-hold-december-11-a317675

I need to check out these nominees. A few I know but not others.

One of these nights I will find the time to research the above.

Also, I wonder if the columnists for the late lamented The Beat magazine are writing anywhere else. They used to cover some African music in a way that I could not find elsewhere on the internet. Really.

Has anybody heard J Wow from Buraka Son Sistema spinning tunes on his current club tour? He's at U st. Music Hall tonight. Djing kuduro and more I presume.

Ended up writing about overrated NPR fave Buke and Gass (they're ok just not better than a million others who don't live in Brooklyn ) last night and did not get to the MTV Africa nominees. Ugh.

City Paper party last night, movie tonight, maybe this weekend I will get to the MTV Africa nominees.

And alas, re one of my questions above and the non-response, any DCers or others who heard J Wow at U St. do not go to a thread with "world" in the title.

grumble, grumble. Rudiph and others don't do that when people don't respond to their questions on non-rock threads

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X4EhvE0aRYg

I think I still prefer the original as usual in these matters, but this is not bad.

yep

Remmy Ongala RIP

The only album of his I own is the Kershaw Sessions which is excellent.

That's sad. I own 1 cd of his (forget the name) and used to play it alot. He nicely blended influences.

A fair amount of Brit EOY polls include the Diabete with Ali Farke Toure cd (Toure's final recordings before passing away) while a few American EOY polls include King Sunny Ade's first cd of new material available in the US

Senegelese music in NY tonight (but still haven't found it in DC):

Saturday, December 18th, 2010

featuring
MOR DIOR BAMBA
Griot of the Royal Bour Guewels of Senegal, West Africa!

with an all-star band including:
Mamadou Yade (vocals)
Sory Kouyate (guitar)
Jean Jacques (guitar)
Thierno Camara (bass)
Ndongo Mbaya (tama)
Mbaye Niass (drums)

Doors 11pm * One Show Only 11:30pm
Admission $15

Hosted by "Maleye Comptale"

at JOE'S PUB

Shame on me for still not having heard the Group Inerane vol. 3 on Sublime Frequencies. I thought this latest from that Malian desert band was only available for collector scum $24 American on vinyl, but apparently there's a $10 download.

Checking out Marcel Khalife's son, Bachar's 2010 release Oil Slick. Don't necessarily file under "world music," because it's more jazz/rock (prog? avant-?)/electronic overall. In "Democratia" I recognize a bit of melody from a Mauritanian anthem (with social/political themes), which leaves me wondering if it's borrowed from that song, or from some common source. I like it, but will have to see how it holds up over time.

Here are links to a couple cuts:

Bachar Mar-Khalifé - Distance
Bachar Mar-Khalifé - Marée Noire

I saw him live with his dad years back.

I am wondering what to do about this thread for 2011. The term "world music" even though I put it in quotes and use "whirled" as well scares folks. Plus maybe the African reissues threads, the Korean pop ones,the J-pop threads, and the various Arabic ones cover enough that this is not needed. But I like it as a catch-all for everything else--Afropop artists with new cds or who are touring but aren't big enough to deserve their own thread, etc., various folks Rudiph highlights that don't fit into other threads...

even though I put it in quotes and use "whirled" as well scares folks

Do you seriously expect that to make a difference?

Because the subject of the thread is so broad, everyone tends to post in different directions, which cuts back a lot on any real discussions developing. By the very nature of its vastness, there's a lot of "world music" that just doesn't interest me. In fact, most of it doesn't. I do see some usefulness in having a catch-all thread like this where people can shout about (international/foreign language/other culture) things they particularly like that don't easily fit into other threads, but maybe by its nature the thread is going to be fragmentary.

http://yoganonymous.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/putumayo-yoga.jpg

Have a blissful and enlightened New Year!

Thanks. Good ol' Putumayo. Alright, well maybe I will just start a rolling African music thread--yes that is pretty broad, but it won't have "world" in the title. Alas, that will also mean that you will have to find a different thread for some of the international non-African stuff you have posted here (and I will as well).

Do want you want. Maybe you could call it the "World Mu$ic thread." No, please don't.

Caravan Palace will be playing the Winnipeg Folk Festival this year. First time I've seen/heard of them, pretty amazing imo. They make fun videos too:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j95HbhTl60k&feature=related

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=upFAU2xjRgg&feature=related

globalFest just dropped their lineup. They're also doing a kickstarter to keep the festival alive. Support if you can and NYC ilxors should go to the show.
(full disclosure: i love the people who do this, have gone to this for years and sometimes work with the festival)
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/445430954/globalfest-2012?ref=live

This year’s edition of the annual world music showcase and all-night party includes three U.S. debuts, as well as several fresh programs and approaches from a bevy of respected global performers.

BélO: Haiti’s acoustic innovator and social activist channels his home’s deep and diverse Afro-Caribbean roots with catchy, reggae-inflected songs.

Canzionere Grecanino Salentino: Southern Italy’s hottest band revitalizes the ancient ritual pizzica tarantata, said to cure the deadly pider’s bite with frenzied trance dances.

Debo Band: Boston-based crew reinvents the Golden Age of Ethiopian and East African funk and jazz.

Diogo Nogueira: Brazil’s red-hot samba (and television) star adds a contemporary twist to the beloved rhythms of Rio.

M.A.K.U. Sound System: Queens, NY-based Afro-Colombian underground band’s roaring guitars, bold brass, and hard-hitting Latin beats and vocals bring down the house.

Mayra Andrade: Golden-voiced Cape Verde-born singer brings a Parisian and Brazilian flair to her island roots with a new acoustic trio.

Silk Road Project Ensemble: An international collective of virtuoso musicians from Japan to the Mediterranean and in between continue founder Yo-Yo Ma’s musical legacy on their own, exploring the world’s oldest trade routes in unexpected ways.

SMOD (U.S. Debut): Malian folk rappers, featuring the son of Amadou and Mariam, work serious lyrical flow to create Afro-Rap, wrapped in Manu Chao’s signature globe-trotting production.

The Gloaming (U.S. Debut): Irish and American roots supergroup (Martin Hayes, Dennis Cahill, Iarla Ó Lionaird, and Caoimhín Ó Raghallaigh with NY’s indie pianist Thomas Bartlett (aka Doveman), marries edgy but harmonious, sparse yet beautiful elements to age-old and new tunes.

Wang Li (U.S. Debut): France-based Chinese jaw harp master-improviser creates wildly unexpected and deeply meditative melodies, discovering the infinite nuances that breath, tongue, and throat can make.

Wonderland: Featuring Turkish virtuosi of the Taksim Trio (Hüsnü Senlendirici: clarinet, Ismail Tunçbilek: baglama, and Aytaç Dogan: kanun) and East Village nu-jazz-world-dub club Nublu’s mover-and-shaker, multi-instrumentalist Ilhan Ersahin, Wonderland’s global music artfully unites Turkish, Kurdish, Gypsy and Armenian grooves into soulful delights.

Yemen Blues: Yemeni-Israeli electrifying singer and his global band make Mediterranean sounds rock and soar.

I've seen Debo Band who I liked. I'm curious about a number of the others--Smod, Diogo Nogueira,M.A.K.U. Sound System

Yemen Blues is great and Silk Road and Wonderland are totally trustworthy picks.

http://www.npr.org/2012/01/23/145361675/78-78s-in-search-of-lost-time

Return of the World Music Thread: 2012

gracias