Cesaria Evora (Cape Verde)
Cesaria Evora is everyone's favorite. Coming from the formerly Portuguese colonial islands of Cape Verde, off the northwest coast of Africa, she sings soulful songs which connect "the fado of Portugal to the choro of Brazil also extends to the morna and other musical forms of her native land. Now a whiskey-drinking, cigarette-puffing grandmother, Cesaria Evora has succeeded in exporting her tiny nation's sounds to Europe and the U.S, in recordings and live performances. You won't guess her habits or her age from her voice, soft and engaging as a large cloud in a sunny sky."
Deep Forest
Boheme
Stamatis Spanoudakis (Greece) -- a Greek classical and new age composer.
Σταμάτης Σπανουδάκης - Tango
Goran
Bregovic (Balkans)
Brogovic
- Ederlezi
Sainkho (Tuva) Naked Spirit
Paradoxically, the best known region of Russia for music
lovers all over the world could be the distant republic of Tuva (could
you find it on the map?), thanks to artists such as Huun-Huur-Tu,
internationally known for their overtone throat singing. Of these
artists, I like Sainkho most. Sainkho - Tamola Nomads
Djivan Gasparyan (Armenia) Black Rock (with Michael Brook)
"sensual,
spiritual, sad happy, tender, dark and sweet at
the same time..." check duduk master Djivan Gasparyan, and
Canadian
multiinstrumentist and experimentalist Michael Brook. "Gasparyan
performs folk songs and melodies from Armenia's ancient Pagan and
Christian traditions using the duduk, one of the oldest wind
instruments in the world, dating back to Armenia's pre-Christian times.
... Gasparyan's exposure to
western
audiences escalated further after the film soundtracks of Gladiator,
The Russian House, and Storm and Sorrow
(cable
television production)."
Yma Sumac (Peru) Voice of the Xtabay
Born high in the Peruvian Andes, a direst descendant of the last of the Incan kings, Yma Sumac has become one of the biggest sensations of the music industry, "the five-octave queen of exotica". ... The combination of Sumac's extraordinary voice, her exotic, mysterious looks, and her stage personality made her a great hit for American audiences."
Cumbia (Colombia) The Rouge Guide to Cumbia
Cumbia is one of the great Latin rhythms and Colombia's
most popular dance music. The Rough Guide To Cumbia highlights
the golden age of this infectious dance rhythm, exploring its folkloric
roots in the
rural communities of Colombia's Caribbean coast, and
featuring tracks from the biggest cumbia stars.
Astor Piazzolla (Argentina) The Best Of
It's been said that Argentina has two national anthems - the official hymn and the tango. Forget the mannered ballroom-dancing image, tango is a real roots music: sometimes sleazy, sometimes elegant, but always sensuous, rhythmic and passionate. Astor Piazzolla is, not only the most renowned tango musician in the world but also, a composer chosen by internationally noted concert players, chamber groups, and symphonic orchestras. You'll never forget his haunting sound. Astor Piazzolla - Oblivion
Various Artists (Brazil) Brazil Classics
David Byrne's groundbreaking 1989 compilation, BRAZIL CLASSICS 1, presented an entirely new vision of Brazilian pop. Culling together '70s and '80s tracks by avant-garde artists (Gilberto Gil, Gal Costa, Caetano Veloso) as well as Afrocentric soulsters (Milton Nascimento, Jorge Ben), Byrne presented a polyglot pop that was as blithe as '60s bossa nova and as adventurous as his own work with the Talking Heads. (Kaoma - The Lambada: not from this compillation but one of the most globally successful Brazilian pop-melodies.)
Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan (Pakistan) Night Song (with Michael Brook)
The
serene, moving Qawwali vocals of classically-trained Pakistani singer
Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, combined with the music of Canadian ambient
composer Michael Brook produces an aural experience perhaps only
paralleled by the eyewitnessing of a faith healer at work, a miracle
birth, or a natural disaster in this present-day world. ...
Night Song makes a great companion to either
sudden revelation or a simple evening in the forest, under the stars.
Despite the down-to-earth lyrics about relationships and spiritual
cleanliness, the two artists make an obvious, pronounced effort to lead
one down a path of pure spiritual ecstasy.
Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan / Michael Brook - Sweet Pain
Peter Gabriel Passion: Soundtrack to The Last Temptation of Christ
Peter Gabriel (known to many for his work in Genesis) is perhaps one of the most influential people in the field of world music. My personal interest in world music began with this album. I still recall the shock of listening to some of the tracks from this album for the first time. The best time to listen to it: when you study for a test. Peter Gabriel - Of These, Hope!
Enigma Le Roi Est Mort, Vive Le Roi!
The
driving force behind Enigma is Romania-born Michael Cretu. Now he
lives on Ibiza Island, the rave dance music mecca -- can you locate
it? The project invented "gothic erotic" music, and made
religious chants popular. This third album is probably the most
ethnic and least "cheesy" of the four available so far. The best
time to listen to it: some Europeans find Enigma
to be the best music background for sex.
Enigma - "The Eyes of Truth" (from Enigma's second album)
Delerium Karma
Delerium is, at its core, Bill Leeb and Rhys Fulber, who wrote and performed the music. Joining them are lyricists/singers Kristy Thirsk, Camille Henderson, Sarah McLachlan and Jacqui Hunt, all of whom add potent vocals to the mix. There are several Latin and various native chants and other samples used in the blend, including a few from Dead Can Dance and the Baka Forest Pygmies.
Delerium - "Til the End of Time"
Bjork Homogenic
Bjork is from Iceland where she became popular for her work in Sugar Cubes. Now she lives mostly in London, the center of modern music (although she has been presented with an island by the government of Iceland). Her dance hits are great. But Homogenic -- it's special. The album was made on the most remote Andalusian edge of Europe (can you locate this province in Spain?) with musicians from Iceland. This uniquely powerful and fragile, complex and stylish, deep and naive, modern and ancient album was quite a fortunate discovery for me. Bjork - Bachelorette, official video
Amon Tobin Supermodified
A
native of Brazil living in Canada and elsewhere, Amon Tobin is
fantastic. "Quite
how Supermodified can be described in generic terms is
certainly tricky. Thank God. It's dark but without employing the dull
monotone formulas that have dragged drum and bass down. Funky, without
ever approaching 'easy' rhythms. The sound is spawned from a variety of
organic sources compressed into the crunching machinery of his studio
and ejected in painfully sharp rhythmic shards."
Video for the song Slowly from the Supermodified album by Amon Tobin
Dead Can Dance
Long, long before it was fashionable to acknowledge tribal and native beats, the mutations of which now come under the thoroughly unauspicious banner of 'world music', Dead Can Dance crafted fine, mesmerising orchestrations for the world to behold. Furthermore, and indelibly linked to the gothic sub-culture - brooding, pessimistic, fatalistic - their early, seemingly dark undertones formed the dominion of many of today's industrial merchants, though none seem to strive for the light that Dead Can Dance always celebrated amongst this ball of confusion. Yulunga - Dead Can Dance
Brian Eno Thursday Afternoon
Brian Eno is from the UK, but recently was living for some relatively long time in St. Petersburg! He invented ambient music -- or popularized what was already in the air. I mean not ideas of other musicians but rather the noise, all the everyday sounds we take for granted. They are quite beautiful if presented by such a bright person as Brian Eno. He also helped many other musicians (e.g., Ultravox, U2) to find their own unique "sound". The best time to listen to it: while reading textbook for the next day class. Brian Eno - Thursday Afternoon
Cocteau Twins Garlands
There is something decadent, unhealthily mysterious about Cocteau Twins, their lyrics and fragile, ethereal female voices. They conquered my heart, though. Don't know why. I like their old stuff, e.g. Garlands and Pink Opaque (thanks to Karen for introduction!), and, selectively, parts of their last releases. Cocteau Twins - "Wax and Wane"
Philip Glass Glassworks
My biggest discovery in America. In the end of this list I could be honest -- most of the titles on this list I am not listening to anymore. Not the case with Glass, I am never tired of his music. Philip Glass - "Facades"
Vladimir Vysotsky
"the most famous Russian bard of the 2nd half of the 20th century. His gruff voice and starkly, sometimes slyly, poetic lyrics have inspired two generations of Russians and are working their way into the young hearts of a third. "... "The authorities did their best to constrain his popularity, but eventually erected a monument to him in Moscow, apparently contrary to his wishes. Whether the government did it well or clumsily, the point was made by an entire society as it mourned the death of their Shakespeare-with-a-guitar."
"
Vysotskyi - "Bath-House"
Various Bards Pesni
Nashego Veka [Songs of Our Century]
"Various theories trace the origins of bard music to Soviet prison camp songs, soldiers' ballads, prerevolutionary romances and even the songs of the wandering minstrels of centuries ago. Some bard songs even sound like American country music... Oleg Mitiaev - Summer Is Life In Itself
Alla Pugacheva
"Alla Pugacheva is the embodiment of success in the true Russian style. That is, success against all odds. And in that sense, Alla Pugacheva is the true Russian national legend in the full meaning of the word. Her album sales amount to about 200 million (!) copies. Her name has been given to an ocean liner in Finland, a brand of French perfume, a magazine (whose editor in chief is Alla herself) and a line of shoes (also designed by Alla) as well as many little girls all over Russia." Soviet superstar Alla performs Arlekino - about a clown - in many different venues.
Sergey Kuryekhin Sparrow Oratorio
Sergey Kuryekhin (St. Petersburg) -- jazz, rock, classical, ambient -- Kuryekhin is comfortable with almost any kind of music. Ironic, gifted and mischievous, Kuryekhin was an immensely popular showman. His sudden, tragically premature death from a rare cause (heart cancer) elevated Kuryekhin to a cult status among many art-minded Russians. . Sergey Kuryokhin - "Donna Anna"
Boris Grebenschikov and Aquarium Territory
"There is hardly a Russian in the world that hasn't heard of the legendary underground rock band Aquarium and its leader Boris Grebenshikov. During the 70s and 80s Aquarium created an entirely unique musical and social aesthetic. Influenced by a variety of music styles and cultures, the group's sound nevertheless remained recognizable - whether performing quiet love ballads, light dancing reggae or powerful rock-n-roll anthems.
Brat-2 Soundtrack
This soundtrack serves as a good overview of the current pop-rock music scene in Russia, with all its post-Soviet achievements and ideological constraints. Unlike during perestroika, however, the geography of Russian rock-music now is not limited to St. Petersburg, with the biggest stars coming from such distant areas as the Urals, Bashkortostan, the Far East, Ukraine and Moldova. Smyslovye Galliutsianatsii - "Eternally young"
Messer fur Frau Muller Allo, Superman!
From Pulp Fiction to Pulp Music! Do you like all the trash music of the 60-90s -- Superman theme, TV soap operas music, computer game sounds, and the like? Influenced by Pizzicato Five and other modern pop-postmodernist artists, the two musicians from St. Petersburg have launched this project as an experimental revision of easy listening (lounge? chill-out?) music. Highly valued in Germany, these intelligent and ironic musicians have some following in Moscow and St. Petersburg too. They are very trendy artists these days. Messer Für Frau Müller - For Svetlana Svetlichnaya Personally
Zemfira
Most popular female singer these days
Vitas
Russian superstar in China
T.A.T.U. 200 km/h in the Wrong Lane
The controversial pop duo made history by becoming the first Russian act to top the British charts [and stay on top for 5 weeks]. It's not hard to see where the record company were headed with this - pretty young girls, dressed in school uniforms, kissing and groping each other at every opportunity. ... the biggest selling Eastern European group. Tatu - "Stars"