Carnival of Lights

Putumayo Presents Carnival (2001)

«Carnival, the ecstatic release of carnal desire in the days leading up to Lent, has a long history. With its roots firmly buried in the Dionysian festivities of ancient Greece, the celebration was appropriated by the Romans for their Bacchanalian homage and then adapted by Roman Catholics to fit pre-Ash Wednesday festivities. Celebrated by Catholics and Bacchanalians alike, contemporary carnival celebrations are especially fervent among the African Diaspora in the Caribbean and the Americas. And from the parading samba schools in Rio to the calypso tents on Trinidad, the art form most identified with carnival is that of music. On Putumayo's Carnival, ten festive tunes, performed in the spirit of carnival, are presented. Among the featured artists are New Orleans' own Eddie Bo building slide trombone riffs on top of shuffling beats, Colombian salsa group Fruko y sus Tesos singing about a particular kind of foppish carnival reveler, and Rio's distinguished sambistsa Martinho da Vila beautifully performing the carnival classic "Canta Canta, Minha Gente." Though some of the CD's cuts have more to do with festivals in general than with carnival in particular — such as Big Davy's Crop Over celebration song — all the songs contribute to the ebullient atmosphere of the compilation. If you're looking for field recordings of actual carnival celebrations then this CD is not for you. On the other hand, if you're looking for contemporary studio recorded songs that reference carnival either directly or indirectly, then Putumayo's Carnival should probably find its way onto your stereo.» (AMG)

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Emmanuel Jal & Abdel Gadir Salim - Ceasefire (2005)

«The old meets the new, and Northern & Southern Sudan are united, briefly, in this fine offering. Abdel G. Salim is one of the old-guard Sudanese oud players from even before the civil war. That war put an end to most of the music in the country and is still going on in the worst display of international ineptitude in the face of genocide since Rwanda. Salim suffered more than being silenced when he was stabbed by some fundamentalist who wanted to wipe out music in Khartoum. Emmanuel Jal is one of the child soldiers press-ganged into the Liberation army on the other side of the conflict and trained to kill by the age of 8. Children have no fear and make ideal soldiers, as the various fighting factions in the world have discovered. After a failed assault on Juba, thousands of these child soldiers set out to walk to the Upper Nile region they had started from but most perished on the way. Hunger, thirst, disease and animal attacks led to cannibalism & the decimation of their ranks till only a handful made it back. During a ceasefire, when he was 11, Jal met an international aid worker from UK who snuck him in her baggage to Kenya and saw that he was enrolled in school […]. Jal has grown up a bit and turned rapper and his songs are about his experiences. He is now a spokesman for the campaign to stop the recruitment of child soldiers but it's rather a moot point.

The Merdoum All Stars, Salim's band, add their funky sax and guitar to the young rapper's songs while his posse, the Reborn Warriors, get to throw down during the Merdoum pieces. (Merdoum is a 6/8 beat from Western Sudan's desert.) The result is not chaos but a great mix around the central theme of "Peace." The opener "Aiwa (Yes)" is a strong blend of rap over a thudding backbeat that reminded me a little of On-U Sound but overlain with atmospheric flute, xylophone and arabic bass rather than reggae bass. The first two tracks flow well together like a mini hip-hopera, but then we arrive at the familiar terrain of the Merdoum All Stars: accordion, hand-percussion and soothing vocals. Just when you get mellowed by the Merdoum kings, Jal drops his big one on you: track 6, "Gua," which has already appeared on the Rough Guide To Sudan, and went to Number One on the East African charts in September 2004. The word means "good" in Nuer and "power" in Arabic. […] A great encounter and a ray of hope for Sudan.» (Muzikifan)

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Gulf War Montage: The Aftermath

Footage from the documentary Lektionen in Finsternis (Lessons of Darkness) by Werner Herzog showing some of the destruction and enviromental issues that followed after Desert Storm in 1991.
The destruction seen is mainly caused by the heavy air and artillery bombardment from allied forces. The enviromental issues "Oil spill/fires" were caused by the burning oil wells sat on fire by the retreating Iraqi troops in the desert of Kuwait.
Music: Rob Dougan - Born Yesterday

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Ilham Al-Madfai - Baghdad (2003)

«Ilham commence à jouer à 12 ans comme guitariste. Il forme sont premier groupe ‘Twisters’ dans les années 60, le premier en Irak à incorporer des instruments modernes (guitar, piano, bass&piano) à la musique arabe. Une expérience plutôt mal accueillie par les médias de l’époque qui l’accusent de dénaturer la musique traditionnelle. Quelques années plus tard, il quitte Bagdad pour l’Angleterre où il étudie l’architecture, où il joue et se produit avec Al Bayt Al Baghdadi et découvre Paul Mc Cartney et le jazz. Il retourne à Bagdad en 1967 et forme le groupe 13 ½ qui devient populaire au cours de la décennie suivante et le place en tête des musiciens les plus réputés du pays. En 1979 il quitte l’Irak à nouveau, voyage et poursuit sa carrière à l’international pour n’y revenir qu’en 1990. Il forme alors Firqat Ilham, formation qui allie influences est/ouest.

Combien de fois la lui a-t-on posée, cette question: Peut-on être un artiste irakien de nos jours, et faire dans la légèreté ? Peut-on intituler son album Baghdad et chanter autre chose que la guerre ?
On peut, quand on est amoureux de son pays et soucieux d’en préserver les trésors. On peut, en musique, immortaliser les plus belles debkas, les plus beaux poèmes, les plus douces berceuses. On peut même se payer le luxe de le faire sur des airs de jazz. Mode fusion? Ilham, joue de la guitare et chante accompagné d’instruments orientaux et occidentaux depuis plus de 30 ans. Dans le monde arabe, c’est un inclassable qui a déjà plusieurs tubes à son effectif dont Shlonak, qu’on retrouve dans l’album. L’Ilham, en arabe, c’est "l’Inspiration".» (Mondomix)

«“Ilham gave us a chance to taste the sweetness of life again,” writes a young Iraqi fan on the aramusic.com website. The comment neatly encapsulates Ilham Al Madfai's extraordinary significance. From the moment he picked up a guitar and formed The Twisters, the Middle East's first rock'n'roll combo, back in 1960s Baghdad, this maverick Arabic musician has been giving his peers reasons to dance, to dream, to keep struggling and to 'taste the sweetness'. Ilham's own struggle has been fierce and intense...» (Ivan Chrysler, BBC Radio 3 Awards, read more)

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

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Winter III

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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African Rebel Music: Roots, Reggae and Dancehall (2006)

«Presenting hits from 10 countries African Rebel Music – Roots reggae and dancehall gives a first insight into the new reggae dancehall movement in Africa (24 page booklet). So far only two reggae artist have had real international success: Lucky Dube and Alpha Blondy. A new generation has long arrived but although many of them are stars at home and regulars in their local charts, this compilation is the first chance for most of them to release their music internationally. The East African Reggae Bashment Crew is a cooperation of two famous line-ups from East Africa: the duo Necessary Noize from Kenya and Bebe Cool from Uganda. They were nominated for one of the most important African music awards the Kora Awards in South Africa end of 2005 in the category Best African Reggae Group. Another highlight is Tiken Jah Fakoly from Ivory Coast who is no doubt the next reggae star to emerge from Africa. In 2005 he became the most successful reggae artist in France. The 994 Crew recorded the first dancehall track ever from Mauretania. […] Ethiopia pitches in the song ‘Shashamane on my mind’ in which Sydney Salmon praises a piece of land that was once given to the Africans in the Diaspora by Haile Selassie as a place for repatriation. Batman is one of the most popular dancehall artists from Ghana adding the newest style of music now rocking the nightclubs of Accra: raglife. Musicians like Dully Sykes, H2O, The Danfo Drivers, Peter Miles, Teba or Rebellion are the heroes of a new generation of African pop music, that has long surpassed the usual world music stars still being celebrated in Europe. The language is reggae and dancehall. The sound and lyrics of their music represent the feeling of an urban Africa in the 21st century.» (Out Here Records)

«African reggae has always been a hit-or-miss affair. While there have long been reggae artists working the local music scenes of South Africa, Mauritania, and Uganda, the continent has produced only two real international stars: Alpha Blondy (from Ivory Coast) and, even bigger, Lucky Dube (from South Africa). This compilation of tracks presents a wide variety of artists from such disparate locales as Mauritania, Ethiopia, Tanzania, Ghana, Nigeria, and Senegal, and it raises hopes for the future of African reggae while still revealing a pretty uneven musical landscape. On the evidence here, it appears that the most exciting developments are taking place in Nigeria: there's a subtle complexity to Mad Melon and Mt. Black's "Sinsemilia" that you wouldn't necessarily expect from a song by that title, and Bantu brings a nice hip-hop flavor to "One Vive One Flow, Pt. 2." In fact, there's quite a bit of hip-hop-reggae fusion going on here, as well as some fine Afrobeat/dancehall (courtesy of Peter Miles and Leo Muntu). There's also the odd sprinkling of political banality (Alif's "Wooyo") and musical banality (H2O's "African"), but overall this is an exciting and encouraging compilation. Recommended.» (AMG)

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Ali Farka Touré and Boubacar Traoré: Diarabi

A love song of sparkling beauty...

Hybrid Tango - Hybrid Tango (2004)

«In the mid 90s, Max Masri (synths and programming – in his teens one of the last disciples of the legendary tango maestro Virgilio Expósito) went back to Buenos Aires from Germany after sharing interesting experiences with argentine emigrants and, because of that, brought the idea to create a new musical language, blending tango and modern sounds.

In late 1998 he started working with Diego S. Velázquez (guitars) and they began recording and producing their first electrotango tracks. In 2001 this idea was revived, with a modern sound, their own compositions and, finally, a name for the project: Tanghetto, a combination of the words "tango" and "ghetto" inspired by the "little Argentinas", the communities of exiled argentines living overseas. The current line-up includes Federico Vázquez (bandoneón), Antonio Boyadjian (piano), Chao Xu (violoncello and Chinese bowed string instrument erhu) and Daniel Corrado (acoustic and electronic drums).

In December 2003, Emigrante (electrotango), Tanghetto's debut album, was released in Argentina. The album achieved gold status by early 2005. On July 2004, Emigrante was nominated for a Latin Grammy award in the "Best Instrumental Album" category.
During 2004 Tanghetto intensified its live activity. […] On December 10th, 2004, many Tanghetto musicians, led by Max and Diego, released a side project called Hybrid Tango, where the fusion of modern tango music and electronica goes unprecedently beyond, adding a world music flavour with flamenco, latin rhythms and jazz elements. This record has been equally well received by the specialized press and music consumers, sharing the top positions of the rankings of alternative music sales with Tanghetto’s Emigrante. Some of the tracks for Hybrid Tango are part of Tanghetto's live repertoire. In August 23rd, 2005, this album was nominated for a Latin Grammy award in the "Best Tango Album" category.» (Tanghetto)

«Les nombreuses expériences et créations qui voient le jour en Argentine dans la mouvance electro-tango ne sont pas toutes convaincantes. Parfois il y a trop de 'production' d'effets electro et pas assez de musique. Ce travail, que nous avons sélectionné, nous a attiré par la forte volonté de rester dans le respect de la musicalité, de travailler au plus près de la matière tango, en particulier de ce tango “piazzolliano” qui marque les dernières décennies. Un travail soigné, une interprétation qui présage d'autres bonnes réalisations. A suivre. L'objectif de Hybrid Tango, selos ses membres, est de “concevoir l'idée d'un tango cosmopolite, en conservant ce son 'porteño' qui lui est propre”. (Musicargentina)

«Definido por sus creadores como un “tango cosmopolita”, Hybrid Tango, el proyecto paralelo de los miembros de Tanghetto fusiona el nuevo tango y la electrónica con diversos estilos y músicas del mundo, como flamenco, jazz, candombe, etc. Nominado en el 2005 para los premios Latin Grammy, es un atrevido paso adelante en la música argentina contemporánea.» (Constitucion Music)

Per un profilo in italiano cliccate qui

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Awadi Video

Le rappeur sénégalais Awadi se fait, dans sa chanson « Sunugaal », la voix des immigrés clandestins qui tentent, au péril de leur vie, d’atteindre les côtes des îles Canaries. Pour la première fois, son titre est mis à la disposition des auditeurs sur son site Internet. Une première pleine de succès pour le chanteur.

Listen to the song/Watch the video (use IE browser) : http://www.studiosankara.com/sunugaal.html

Learn more: Afrik

Recommended by Francesco (thanx)

Postcards from Italy (50) - Milano

Olivier Ker Ourio & Danyel Waro - Sominnkér (2003)

«Lo spirito del maloya si colloca tra nostalgia e speranza, malinconia e collera, umanità rubata e felicità possibile. Le sue parole e le sue melodie in tonalità minore sono come i bagliori di uno specchio frantumato. Una poetica caratterizzata da voci lancinanti sostenute da strumenti rurali: il rouleur (tamburo di basso che si suona a cavalcioni) e il bobre (arco musicale). Il kayamb, che contiene dei semi e si suona scuotendolo, fa nascere il tempo 6/8, la firma ritmica del maloya. Il maloya “rullante” originale (da distinguersi dal maloya “scandito”, accessibile a tutti) è di natura rituale. Legato ai periodi di quaresima, quando le famiglie invitano gli amici a condividere le offerte per gli dèi, è anche la trama di leggende, racconti, sirandanes (indovinelli tradizionali) e preghire durante le quali qualcuno “entra in comunicazione con l’aldilà” attraverso la trance. […]

Dall’inizio degli anni ’80 il maloya ottiene una grande risonanza all’estero grazie alle numerose varianti (puro, permeato di influenze sega, jazz, reggae, rock…) diffuse da musicisti quali Rwa Kaff, Granmoun Baba, Firmin Viry, Ti Fock, Zizkakan e Baster. Il protagonista più notevole e innovativo è Danyel Waro. […] Nel corso degli anni, mentre altri puntano sulla world music, Waro cerca la propria legittimità nei kabarés. Un’immersione stilistica e filosofica che ha per scopo “proteggere la profondità della nostra musica”. Un lavoro di ampio respiro che porta i suoi frutti. Per quanto rigoroso in questo tentativo di riabilitazione, Danyel Waro ha arricchito il maloya di inflessioni jazz e colori malgasci. Una questione di ortodossia aperta. […] » (Frank Tenaille, Lo Swing del Camaleonte, Epoché, pp. 99-101)

«Dans une égale volonté de partage, de respect et d’exigence, Olivier Ker Ourio (un harmoniciste rare dans le jazz d’aujourd’hui) et Danyel Waro (la «voix» du maloya de la Réunion) ont tracé ce “chemin de cœur” (Sominnkér): une rencontre qui fera date par la magie des musiques, la puissance des textes, l’intensité des émotions. “Il y a onze ans, j’ai quitté la Réunion pour m’installer à Paris et vivre ma passion : le jazz. Je suis toujours habité par cette île magique, ses paysages, ses contrastes, sa diversité culturelle. La culture créole est toujours très présente dans ma vie : j’aime manger et parler créole, et je suis resté à l’écoute des musiques réunionnaises, le séga et surtout le maloya. Je rêvais depuis des années d’une rencontre entre les couleurs du jazz et le rythme irrésistible du maloya. Je ne pouvais espérer mieux que ce chemin de cœur avec Danyel Waro et toute une famille d’extraordinaires musiciens” (Olivier Ker Ourio).»

«Two first-rate musicians, the Paris-based jazz harmonicist Olivier Ker Ourio and THE voice of the maloya, namely Danyel Waro, have come up with this “path of the heart” (Sominnkér), an invigorating mix of jazz and maloya. With its magical music, powerful lyrics and emotional intensity, this album will stand out in the history of Reunion music. “Eleven years ago, I left Reunion and settled in Paris to fully live my passion for jazz. I have remained haunted by this magical island, its landscapes, its contrasts, its cultural diversity. The Creole culture is very present in my life. I eat and speak Creole, and I listen to Reunion music, sega and especially maloya. I had been dreaming for years of blending the tones of jazz with the irresistible beat of maloya. I could not wish for a better way than this ‘path of the heart’ with Danyel Waro and this gang of amazing musicians” (Olivier Ker Ourio).» (Africultures)

Un portrait de Daniel Waro

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Altan - Harvest Storm (1992)

«Altan has long been one of the most consistently thrilling of the current crop of traditional Irish groups, and it's difficult to pick a single highlight from their catalog. But if pressed, many fans and critics would pick either Harvest Storm or the equally fine Red Crow. Although the program is a fairly typical collection of traditional reel sets, jigs, Gaelic songs, and slow airs, every track feels as if it were chosen for a unique sort of loveliness — the soaring beauty of the "Rosses Highlands" set, the curiously eerie hush of the traditional wedding song "Dónal Agus Mórag," the chugging energy of "Drowsy Maggie." The singing of fiddler Maighread Ní Dhomhnaill is particularly noteworthy on "Donal Agus Morag" and "'Si Do Mhaimeo Í" (the latter of which offers the unusual opportunity to hear a didgeridoo part on an Irish album). This is one of the last albums the group made with flutist Frankie Kennedy, who died of cancer after making one more album with them, the excellent Island Angel. (AMG)

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Re-Post

Angelique Kidjo - Oremi (1998)

Augustus Pablo - East of the River Nile (1977)

«The late Horace Swaby, a.k.a. Augustus Pablo, was one of the canonical figures of Jamaican reggae and dub music. From the moment he emerged on the scene as a teenager with his hit single "Java" to the classics he cut with his influential Rockers band and label, Pablo made the melodica, an obscure mouth organ of European origin, an indispensable part of the reggae sound. That instrument's piercing and poetic strains made this memorable out-of-print-classic, originally released in 1977 and rereleased in honor of its 25th anniversary, a marvel of sound and soul. Recorded in Lee Perry's legendary Black Ark Studio and mixed by the Scientist of Sound King Tubby, Pablo--who also plays keyboards--is backed by a first-rate band that includes Robbie Shakespeare on bass, drummer Aston "Family Man" Barrett, and guitarist Earl "Chinna" Smith. Pablo and company deliver a nondub instrumental album that serves as the syncopated soundtrack of the Rasta nation. Who could forget the minor-key Afro anthems "Chant to King Selassie I," "Natural Way," and "Jah-Light"? Along with shout outs from Perry, the Orb, and others, the CD also includes six bonus tracks and a never-before-heard version of the title cut. All told, Augustus Pablo's "Far East sound" is still with us.» (Eugene Holley, Jr., Amazon)

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Armenia

Photos: Gilles

Muradian Ensemble - Anoush: Armenian Dances (1998)

Recorded in the Netherlands in 1997, while the group was touring in Europe, Anoush features Muradian Ensemble interpreting a nice selection of Armenian folk dances. Band leader Hratchja Muradian plays kamantcha, while the other group members play kanoun, doudouk, clarinet, zurna, oud, accordion and dehol. Guest soloist Liudvig Garibian improves the musical quality of the wind instruments. According to the Rough Guide to World Music, the Muradian Ensemble «are a typical Soviet-style group, with an arranged and polished style, but very compelling». To me, they're well worth a listen! You can find other titles by this group here.

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Hugh Masekela - The Boy's Doin' It (1975)

«Hugh Masekela has an extensive jazz background and credentials, but has enjoyed major success as one of the earliest leaders in the world fusion mode. Masekela's vibrant trumpet and flugelhorn solos have been featured in pop, R&B, disco, Afropop and jazz contexts. He's had American and international hits, worked with bands around the world, and played with African, African-American, European and various American musicians during a stellar career. His style, especially on flugelhorn, is a charismatic blend of striking upper register lines, half valve effects, repetitive figures and phrases, with some note bending, slurs and tonal colors. Though he's often simplified his playing to fit into restrictive pop formulas, Masekela's capable of outstanding ballad and bebop work. […]

No other work during Hugh Masekela's long and fruitful career blended all of his interests – jazz, funk, pop, Afrobeat, and R&B, plus a little Latin and a lot of disco – into such an exciting mixture as 1975's The Boy's Doin' It, his first record for Casablanca. Influenced by Kool & the Gang as well as the growing tendency for Latin artists (like Joe Bataan) to cross over toward contemporary dance trends (and labels), Masekela recruited a few veterans from the Ghanian highlife band Hedzoleh Soundz – with whom he'd worked with on one album before. Recorded in Lagos, Nigeria and dedicated to Fela Kuti, The Boy's Doin' It has six extended jams, each of which does an excellent job of playing off deep grooves against ensemble vocals and catchy hooks, with plenty of room for Masekela's own trumpet and every note polished to a fine '70s sheen. It didn't matter what type of music fan you were: pop, disco, funk, world music, and any but the most hidebound jazz purist could get into these tracks.» (AMG)

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Makassy Wallpaper

Orchestra Makassy - Agwaya (1982)

«In 1980 a 15-man band from Dar Es Salaam got together in a Nairobi studio for some young Brits who wanted to cash in on the Afropop boom that was happening thanks to King Sunny Ade. Mzee ("Elder") Makassy was the leader and principal vocalist of the band named after him; Tshimanga Assosa of Maquis Original contributed singing and songwriting skills. (The songs are in Shona, Swahili and Lingala.) Mose Se Sengo a.k.a. "Fan Fan" is often mentioned in connection with the band as he had been chef d'orchestra before striking out on his own, and he co-wrote two of the songs on the album, but the guitarists on the record are Aimala Mbutu and Alfani Uvuruge. The excellent, bustling Kasongo Shinga played bass, and there were two drummers, a tumbador, and four horn players, including Twalib Mohamed as trumpet soloist and Akuliake Saleh on alto sax. In short, a classic East African dance-band line-up. The opening cut, "Mambo Bado," by Assosa, did become a dance-floor hit, at least in the limited world in which I was deejaying. It still gets you going from the first note. "Kufisilika Sio Kalema" is another mover and shaker in the Virunga style. The ballad "Nakolela Cherie" that closes side one is a haunting ballad about a man whose wife has abandoned him and the kids. There is a bright guitar part in the style of "Fan Fan" and muted trumpet adding to the pathos. Most of the songs contain wry social commentary. Side Two opens with "Mosese," obviously penned by Fan Fan, about a man complaining to his fiancée, followed by "Athumani," a song in which a young married woman complains about her husband running around. The bass is high in the mix for the moody "Mke Wangu," another classic track in which the singer tells of a man who lavished material goods on his wife only to have her leave him. Periodically he says "No smoking!" or "Disco!" in English, seemingly exhortations to the guitarists who are working out. "Molema" by Fan Fan and Makassy at the end of Side B, winds the set down beautifully. "Mambo Bado" should have prompted the group to international stardom but Virgin failed to promote them and they broke up. A further tragedy is that the album has not been reissued on CD [In fact, what you got here is a vinyl rip].» (Muzikfan)

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Bhagavan Das - Now (2002)

«To kick off this Mike D-produced East meets West extravaganza, Bhagavan Das offers the appropriate homage to Lord Ganesha, remover of obstacles and bestower of blessings. He is the first to be worshipped by dictate of his father Lord Shiva. It must be said that the words sound oh so much more sacred in the authentic Sanskrit rather than English. For instance, no one ever mistook "you have a big fat red belly" as a holy expression. A Beastie Boys feel guides the whole album, without overtaking the spirit of devotion. The traditional chant of "Raghupati" suddenly becomes a contemporary groove in his hands. Whatever gets you singing to God is a good thing, and most of the Hindu deities are represented here: Ganesha, Ram, Kali, Radha, Shiva, Hanuman, and Krishna. For good measure, Das even throws in a curve ball. On the aptly titled "Shiva Gospel," he moves from ancient mantras praising Shiva into a gospel shout-out to Jesus. Not a subtle point he's making, and well taken. To close the album, as any true devotee would do, Das tacks on a sweetly solemn arati, complete with the requisite conch blowing and bell ringing. Kudos to Mike D for the tasteful combination of Indian classical instruments such as sarangi, ektar, tabla, and dholak with Western drum'n'bass rhythms. It works really well, making this an easy listen for someone dabbling in this genre.» (AMG)

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