Ayo - Joyful (2006)

«Folk-soul chanteuse Ayo [her name means "joy" in Nigerian Yoruba] emerged as one of Europe's biggest new pop stars of 2006 with her breakthrough debut LP, Joyful. Born to a Nigerian father and Romanian gypsy mother in Cologne, West Germany, on September 14, 1980, as a child Ayo absorbed the musical traditions of her parentage as well as influences including American soul, reggae, and Afrobeat, all staples of her father's extensive record collection. Ayo first studied violin before moving to piano and guitar. At 21 she relocated to London, later dividing her time between Paris and New York City and earning attention while opening for neo-soul kindred spirits including Omar and Cody Chestnutt. After recording a five-song demo reel, Ayo briefly receded from the live circuit in late 2005 to give birth to her first child. Early the following year she signed to Polydor, and with producer Jay Newland completed Joyful (the English translation of her Yoruba name) in just five days. Buoyed by the lead single "Down on My Knees," the album fell just shy of the German Top Ten.» (AMG)

«Joyful was produced by Grammy award-winner Jay Newland and recorded in New York City in five days flat, under studio-live conditions. This created a relaxed yet urgently charged ambience that underpins the ebb and flow of all 12 tracks. Musically, the tunes incorporate diverse quotes from a polyglot life, such as accordion-laced French bal musette, slouchy Afro-Euro reggae, quietly down-and-dirty R & B-influenced organ riffs, Beatles-eque piano chords, plus subtle strings and over all, a moodily suave acoustic guitar. Ayo's girlishly light but spot-on vocals are sung primarily in English with occasional touches of Nigerian pigeon. She speaks of sexual passion hopeless and fulfilled, family, friendships, and philosophical observations both grim and optimistic; these are young songs from an old soul.» (Christina Roden, Amazon)

Link in comments

Willie and Lobo - Siete (2000)

Though they were initially discovered while playing at a small club in Puerto Vallarta, the acoustic duo of Willie Royal and Wolfgang "Lobo" Fink had been influenced by the music of the entire world — Royal, though born in Texas, traveled with his Air Force father to Turkey, Germany, Mexico, the Netherlands and France, while Fink, born in Germany, also lived in Spain, Jamaica and Mexico. As such, Willie & Lobo's music includes influences from Gypsy music, Tex-Mex, flamenco, hot jazz, reggae, tango, and many more styles. The duo met in Mexico and after playing together briefly, went their separate ways, with Fink recording two albums as Lobo during the mid-'80s. They were together again for good by 1991, Royal's classically trained but jazz-inspired violin meshing well with Fink's energetic flamenco guitar. Willie & Lobo had been playing together for several years before being picked up by Mesa/Bluemoon for American release in 1993. That year, Gypsy Boogaloo was released in the States and reached number two on the world charts. Worldwide exposure followed soon after, almost a given considering the duo's inclusion of several different national forms. Further albums followed.

On their seventh album, the aptly titled Siete, Willie & Lobo move farther than ever into smooth contemporary-jazz territory, crafting a showcase for their fine soloing technique. Yet that doesn't detract from the air of mysticism and understated passion that's always been a hallmark of the duo's recordings. Nor does it mean that guests like pianist David Benoit and bassist John Leftwhich obscure Willie & Lobo's blend of flamenco and Latin American rhythms – it simply makes for an even more eclectic blend.» (AMG)

Link in comments

17 Hippies - Berlin-Style (1999)

«[…] The Berlin-based group emerged after the Berlin Wall fell. “It was like someone had opened a hidden door,” explains vocalist and lyricist Kiki Sauer. “New and exciting music from Eastern Europe flooded into town with new grooves. All we could do was listen, learn, and try to find our own musical connections.” The band started with a simple concept, says vocalist and musical mastermind Christopher Blenkinsop. “We said, ‘OK, so you play an instrument? Well, don’t bring it!’” Christopher picked up the ukulele (after playing bass in rock bands); Kiki, who had been trained on classical piano, took up accordion; Lüül found a misplaced banjo; Dirk, the heavy metal drummer, had always wanted to play guitar; Antje switched to clarinet, after classical flute training; and off they went creating their own sound. […]

From the beginning, the number of musicians was constantly changing. “In Berlin you’d call a person trying to do something in a nice way, but only half succeeding, a hippie,” Kiki explains. “So with their tongue in their cheek, people were referring to us as the five hippies, 24 hippies, or whatever amount of musicians that happened to be on stage.” One day when in a trio format, the band opened for a friend’s British punk band. “The English lead singer asked for our band name, as he wanted to announce our ‘appearance,’” says Christopher. “On a lark, one of us said 17 Hippies, and since then it stuck. In German, ‘17’ is pronounced ‘zieb-t-zeen,’ and has a nice sound to it. It also has a somewhat magical appeal. It could never have been 16 or 18.” As of this writing, there are 13 band members in 17 Hippies. And they also play the jew’s harp, the Indian tanpura, the Irish bouzouki, and assorted other string, brass, and wind instruments. Just what you would expect from 17 Hippies, regardless of how many of them are on stage. “In Germany – and only in Germany –people tend to count musicians on stage,” chuckles Kiki, “and sometimes they say, ‘Why, there aren’t 17 of you!’ One or two have wanted their money back! Same thing happens about the hippie thing: ‘Why, you’re not hippies?’ We tell them, ‘Well, the Rolling Stones aren’t exactly stones.’”

[…] “When we started, our friends were organizing the Techno-heavy, musical-political celebration ‘Love Parade,’” says Christopher. “Techno was the thing everybody was into, while we were ‘going acoustic.’ We had all grown up on Chuck Berry and the Beatles, and maybe Beethoven, and that ever since the ’70s, when David Bowie and Iggy moved here, the ‘scene’ considered itself to be Europe’s rock city. There was no such thing as German folk, or world music, or whatever you might call it… When we started, everyone here thought we had gone mad.”

17 Hippies continues to use traditional tunes, and instruments, but rarely playing them “the right way” (whatever that is). “Our audience in Berlin learned about these new, old sounds by listening to us,” says Kiki. “The ‘traddies’ hated us. After a while, people started referring to the way we played as a style. Now in other parts of Europe they call it ‘Berlin style.’» (RockPaperScissors)

Official Site (de/eng/fr): http://www.17hippies.de/

Link in comments

Govi - Guitar Odyssey (1997)

«Every so often, a musician emerges who is quite unlike any that have come before; a musician that reflects not an imitation of styles and tones, but who embodies the entire spectrum of styles in such a unique way that "categorizing" is impossible. Guitarist Govi is one of those artists. A native of Germany, Govi spent eight years living in India. "My approach comes from the meditative and creative environment I experienced while living in India as well as playing with musicians from many different cultures and backgrounds," he says. It was there that Govi started playing the mandolin, mandola cello, sitar, bouzouki, charango and the 8-string ukulele. While in India, he also established a friendship with prominent German new age artist, Deuter. Their mutual admiration and respect led to Deuter co-producing Govi's debut album Sky High throughout which Deuter can be heard playing flutes and keyboards. […]

Govi describes his compositions as "the natural and inevitable result of moving deeply into the wellsprings of my creativity. My music is a reflection of my vision of life rather than mere notes on a sheet," he adds. The result is a deeply mystical quality that is both jubilant and pensive, music that ultimately reflects the dimensions of the human spirit in all its complexity and simplicity.
Judging from the accolades, fans are being taken to new heights of their own by Govi's uplifting melodies. Currently living in Hawaii, Govi contends that the overwhelming response he has received from listeners worldwide is heartening and keeps him going. […]

Govi sets the spirits soaring and the hips swaying on Guitar Odyssey, an intoxicating blend of guitars sweetened with breezy South American pan pipes and sensual rhythms. With a treasure chest full of tracks encompassing the high spirited 'Sails of Joy,' the soulful rhumba of 'Treasure Bay,' and the romantic tenderness of 'Your Lingering Touch,' Govi's virtuosity is showcased on Guitar Odyssey, a truly joyful adventure.» (Real Music)

Link in comments

Schäl Sick Brass Band - Maza Meze (2000)

«It was almost inevitable that a young German group would come up with the idea of using the sound of a pumping brass band to explore the music of other cultures. What perhaps was less certain was that the result would be such a thoroughly engaging collision of styles. With the trademarks of innovation and stylistic versatility oozing from every pore, the Schäl Sick Brass Band blends Bavarian brass with Persian folk then embark upon a tour around any other region that takes their fancy.
The Schäl Sick Brass Band started out as an alternative, multi-culti Cologne Carnival band ten years ago. With its offbeat style of world music, the band has since developed into one of the most exciting German music groups.
The “musical world theatre” (Sueddeutsche Zeitung) rides on the breeze of delightfully fresh and versatile “collective-blowing” in the spirit of “think global – blow local,” supported by a rhythm section consisting of tuba, drums, percussion and guitar or Waldzither, that “grooves like hell” (Gitarre & Bass). After about 500 concerts at home and abroad - in Bavaria and Istanbul, in Morocco and Madrid, in Cologne's Carnival and concert halls, in Oetztal and Rimini, in Prague in springtime, in Budapest in autumn, in Ljubljana and Greece in summer – the journey continues. It's a journey that uses the simple language of music to contribute to a better intercultural understanding… “this is gloriously polycultural stuff” (Folkroots).» (CDRoots)

Link in comments - Thanx to all for your nice comments!

Popol Vuh - Einsjäger & Siebenjäger (1974)

One of my favourite Popol Vuh albums. This can be krautrock, but is (still now) lighter and fresher than water… (2 bonus tracks)

«Released in 1974, Einsjäger & Siebenjäger is a further rock entrenchment for Popol Vuh. Florian Fricke's piano is more percussively present with its runs and large chord voicings rippling throughout each composition. In addition, Daniel Fichelscher's electric guitar picks up where Conny Veit's left off, taking the bluesy space rock solo style into new territory by incorporating Eastern scales into the main body of his blues phrasing. There are five short compositions on the first side, which merely prepare the listener for the mind-blowing title cut, which takes up the entirety of side two. Here, in addition to the swirling organic percussion and pianism of Fricke and the loping, often singing guitar lines that repeat hypnotically with rock & roll tension, the vocals of the amazing Djong Yun become the catalyst for the other musicians to spiral off into extended improvisations. This is certainly one of the most beautiful albums Popol Vuh issued in the 1970s, and remains a watermark for their trademark of melding beauty and free-flowing composition.» (AMG)

Link in comments

Ibn Battuta 2 / A Musical Homage

Embryo - Ibn Battuta (1994)

The German band Embryo is centered around multi instrumentalist Christian Burchard. Embryo was founded in the late 60s, after Burchard had played in several jazz combos and allegedly had spent a short time in Amon Düül II. Busloads of musicians have played together with Burchard in Embryo and there are probably not two Embryo albums that have the same line-up. Nevertheless, several musicians stayed with Burchard for quite a long time. […]

In addition, Embryo has played constantly with musicians from outside Europe, especially musicians from Asia and Africa. […] The continuous changes in the band line up and the wide range of musical styles probably typify the musical restlessness of Burchard. Although the band started as a Krautrock outfit, it was clear within a few albums that Burchard had a genuine interest in combining jazz (rock) and a large variety of ethnic music styles. Throughout the 70s, the jazz and ethnic influences were often embedded in a jazz rock/fusion format, while in the mid and late 80s the band often focused on purely ethnic music, especially from Africa. During the 90s, Embryo developed more or less into an «ethnic jazz» band, trying to combine and absorb all kinds of ethnic influences, but rarely restricting themselves to a strict compositional format and, as such, always allowing ample room for spontaneous musical interaction. Surprisingly, Embryo still exits after 30 years and the band still play many concerts and festivals, especially throughout Europe, the Middle East and Northern Africa. [...]

On Ibn Battuta, the focus has shifted towards music from the Middle East. Quite an excellent album mixing jazz, fusion and above all various styles of Arabic music. On the title track Edgar Hoffman plays some lovely Turkish clarinet. Simai Ka features a Coltrane like soprano sax solo by Chuck Henderson, and Edgar Hoffman plays a dreamy solo on the nay (a type of flute often used in North African/Arabic music). Burchard adds several virtuoso contributions on vibraphone/xylophone. Kletta is an interesting piece trying to merge percussive elements and structures of three continents. Dieter Serfas plays on the African talking drum and Yusuf Esqah joins on Indian tablas, while Burchard plays the hackbrett (hammer dulcimer). (gnosis2000.net)

Download