Yes, it sounds like a movie script. A group of paraplegic street musicians who play near the zoo in Kinshasa, Congo, catch the ear of well-place westerners (including Damon Albarn, members of Massive Attack, and filmmakers Renaud Barret and Florent de la Tullaye. The latter have been documenting the group (whose name roughly translates to "look beyond appearances") since 2005. Now Staff Benda Bilili's sparkling debut album Tres Tres Fort has been released, produced by none other than Crammed's Vincent Kenis (who also brought [...]
With the boxes packed at KAOS for our impending move, this week's show featured music from all over the planet (which is to say, whatever I could find [...]
An interesting email just came in from our friends at PodOmatic, where the Spin The Globe show archives are kept. Seems there's been a rather dramatic surge in interest in the show, so much so that we've exceeded our monthly bandwidth. The show audio has now been replaced with a friendly man explaining the situation and suggestion a donation via the Spin The Globe podcast site. This has all happened automatically, which brings us to the present. I'm curious about the surge of interest in the show. The site stats show an uptick in some torrent [...]
I don't know if you thought you were too busy or what, but if you didn't make time to get to the Giant Magnet Festival over the last week, just stop reading now or your culture-loving heart may just break over what you missed. Formerly known as the Seattle International Children's Festival, Giant Magnet seems to have an irresistible attraction for great global acts. This year, they included Zimbabwean chimurenga musician Thomas Mapfumo , German chemist-comedians Hacki and Company , and the Gentlemen of the Carolina Chocolate Drops (on their own with [...]
It's not often that a reggae-rooted album makes it to the top of my playlists, but here's a welcome exception to that rule. The first solo album from legendary reggae player and Jamaican percussion virtuoso Larry McDonald freshes up the genre, raining down great rhythms and a remarkable cast of guest musicians. Toots Hibbert, Mutabaruka, Dollarman, Shaza and Terri Lion are among the vocalists on the generous 15 tracks. My early favorites include the positive-rap and rhythm "Brother Man," the percussion-celebrating "Drums Say" and "Drumquestra (Dawn Always Comes)," the [...]
There's some wonderful new stuff on this month's chart, including Staff Benda Bilili (read their amazing story ), the latest from Zap Mama, and a powerful, mature release from Maori group Moana & the Tribe. Alongside the newcomers are albums still spinning strong from last month. There are the collaborations: Bela Fleck's musical tour of Africa, Oreka TX's txalaparta wanderings, and India-meets-America on Slide to Freedom. Add in great albums by Poland's Warsaw Village Band, Russia's La Minor, Mali's Amadou & Mariam, and Israel's Idan Raichel Project, and you've got perhaps the strongest Top 10 list we've [...]
The new/old album by Hip Hop Hoodíos (out May 12) provides a chance to revisit some of our favorite guilty pleasures from the world's premier Jewish-Latino hip-hop outfit. Funny as hell, the Hoodios are nonstop outrageous, frequently crude, and always entertaining. The humor starts with the album's title; as the second (or, if you count the Raza Hoodio EP, second-and-a-half) album, it seems a little early for a "Best Of" -- but if you're new to the band or willing to duplicate some of the songs you already own, go ahead and nab this [...]
World music by and for kids this week, with previews of the Giant Magnet Festival (formerly the Seattle International Children's Festival - see Calendar). Plus an interview with Giant Magnet producing director Brian Faker about the festival, its new identity, and this year's performers. World Music By, For, and About Kids: Spin The Globe playlist for 8 March 2009 Listen/download for a limited time at: soundroots.podomatic.com More show info at http://spintheglobe.earball.ne t Artist [...]
If you're interested in hearing more from yesterday's featured artist -- and a bunch of others as well -- check out this free world music compilation. While you need to be on Facebook, and befriend "Apple Students" to get the iTunes download code, the collection is well worth it! Here's the link: http://apps.facebook.com/freeo nitunes/fb_gencode.php?cid=37 And here's the song list: Artist Song Time Album [...]
Camilo Lara has so many records it's crushed both his love life ("I don't have a girlfriend, but I have my records.") and his body (back surgery). But not his spirit, which is in boisterous evidence on the latest Mexican Institute of Sound album, Soy Sauce . Starting with a zesty track simply called "Cumbia," the album veers all over the alt-Latin landscape, mashing traditional rhythms, gritty rap, jungle noises , and electronica into a crazy Latin mayhem. "When I was working on Soy Sauce ," [...]
The music of Oceania, from the billabongs of Northern Australia to the islands of the South Pacific. Plus other stuff in hour 2. Music of Oceania: Spin the [...]
Rhythms from all over the planet were the focus of this show, to celebrate the return of the World Rhythm Festival in Seattle (and the rhythmic content of Olympia's annual Procession of the Species parade). Groove globally! Global Rhythms: Spin The Globe playlist for 24 April 2009 Listen/download for a limited time at: soundroots.podomatic.com More show info at http://spintheglobe.earball.ne t Artist - Song - Album hour 1 Larry McDonald [...]
A friend recently converted me to the cult of Flight of the Conchords, the nutty Kiwi duo who have their own HBO series and a unique knack for writing simple, often ridiculous songs that nonetheless loop in your mind long after you're done watching. I thought about stretching the SoundRoots umbrella and posting one of their songs -- perhaps the dancehall-ish "Boom" or their French lounge "Foux du Fafa" -- but I reconsidered. Find those on your own (if you don't mind that endless loop running in your head). Meanwhile, my thoughts turned to an actual French band [...]
To you, that phrase might conjure up images of a difficult commute to work. But really, your inconvenience pales in the face of ongoing human trafficking. I'm not going to lecture you (heck, I've done that recently), but do have a look at this video by Peter Buffett featuring Akon -- this is one thing they're doing to fight for the most basic human rights. Peter and Akon also have a social action website, IsThereSomethingICanDo.com , which spotlights a new social cause of worldwide concern every month. From the empowerment of girls [...]
Even as the Obama administration shows (long-overdue) signs of warming towards Cuba, there's still a cultural chasm with the island nation. Think about it. The Buena Vista Social Club thing was back in the late 1990s ( album , 1997; film , 1999). Hip-hop group Orisha's groundbreaking debut A Lo Cubano album came out in 2000. And since then? There have been musical releases from Cubans in the last decade (among them, Ska Cubano , Telmary , Yusa , and Juan-Carlos Formell ), but none with such [...]
Back in December when writing about the cultural pride expressed by Gipsy.cz , I made a reference to Moana and the Moahunters. Now I realize that I haven't yet introduced you to that fabulous Maori group here on SoundRoots. So here's the fix. I discovered this raucous Maori-pride world/hip-hop group some years back in a tiny music shop in Vancouver BC. Browsing, as I am wont to do, the more obscure sections of the store, I ran across this CD and from the band name and the title ("rua" is Maori for "two") I quickly [...]
For the second month running, the Basques top the SoundRoots/STG Top 10 -- And I've had a chance to preview the accompanying film documenting Oreka TX's musical travels from the Saraha to the Arctic to remote India and Mongolia, and it's quite wonderful. I'm inspired to see this on the heels of Dengue Fever's Sleepwalking Through the Mekong , as both bands seem to understand that visiting another culture should involve interaction, learning, and humility. And dancing. And, possibly, swimming in a hole cut in the ice. Anyway, this month's list of much [...]
Music from Portugal and Portuguese speaking lands, including Brazil, Cape Verde, Angola, and Mozambique. Plus new releases and concert previews in hour 2. (Sorry - due to technical difficulties, no show archive/podcast this week.) [...]
For the second month running, the Basques top the SoundRoots/STG Top 10 -- And I've had a chance to preview the accompanying film documenting Oreka TX's musical travels from the Saraha to the Arctic to remote India and Mongolia, and it's quite wonderful. I'm inspired to see this on the heels of Dengue Fever's Sleepwalking Through the Mekong , as both bands seem to understand that visiting another culture should involve interaction, learning, and humility. And dancing. And, possibly, swimming in a hole cut in the ice. Anyway, this month's list of much [...]
Somali rapper K'naan gives a little background on Somali pirates, their original motivation, and how some got greedy. Read more about toxic/nuclear waste dumping in Somalia at: Al Jazeera Audacity of Hypocrisy Voice of America Google News search
SoundRoots World Music & mp3 Blog
Avicii – Two Million
Yellow Magic Orchestra edit from Chrome Canyon
Beck – I Just Started Hating Some People Today
H&M Lookbook Mujer y Hombre Otoño 2012.
