Mike Link and Harvey Taylor have released their second album titled Beat Elementals continuing their successful blend of jazz and world music that was evidenced on their first album. Link’s keyboards and electronics still perfectly meld with Taylor’s cool trumpet style. Some of the tracks remind me a little of Bill Laswell’s world music hybrid. Aside from Link and Taylor’s usual impeccable playing they are joined by some excellent musicians, most noticeably the flute and vocals of Holly Haebig which can be heard to good effect on “Silver Swirl” and “PuraVeda”. “Room For All” has some intriguing didgeridoo work by Julio Pabon. Other fine tracks include “Angels of Mercy”, “Blue-Green Patina”, and “Sun Tour”. This is another exceptional album of jazz and world grooves from this Milwaukee-based jazz-fusion duo.

The album is available from Jamendo by the download link below in VBR MP3. If you enjoy the music support the artist by buying their CDs.

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The Sundayers from Madrid, Spain play reggae and ska with a decidedly Latin touch. This is good-time music best played on the beach or, at the very least, next to the pool with a sufficient supply of Red Stripe. “Eterno Domingo” is a nice track to get your feet moving while “Latin Jeta” is a sexy Spanish-Caribbean number that is custom made to suit your lazy Sunday. This six-track, 25 minute EP is a winner.

The album can be found on their Myspace page or be downloaded from Jamendo through the link below.

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I’m really excited about WMFU’s free music archive which will open in November. Anyone who has listened to the radio station or perused its blog has a good idea about how much great music must be hiding in their vaults. The new Selected Sounds From The Free Music Archives may be just a teaser to what we can expect. Since it is volume one, we might get a few more of these which is fine with me.

Volume one will more than do for now. The offerings are split between cuts from indie produced albums and tracks from live studio performances. The 21 tracks range from punk to experimental rock to world music. In other words, the album is as far-out as the radio station. Most of the artists are obscure so I hope the archive will provide more info on these musicians. It’s hard to pick favorites but Fursaxa’s eerie “Song of the Spindle Berry” sent shivers down my spine which continued with Nautical Almanac’s bizarre take on the children song “Rolling in The Green”. Of the live studio takes, I especially liked New Bomb Turks, Kinski and Citay’s somewhat Celtic “On The Wings”. Of the others, Lucky Dragon does a good job mixing cute with bizarre while Food For Animals w/ Faust provides the only hip-hop track of the anthology. This album will certainly hold you over until the full archive is unveiled in November. Thanks WFMU!

The album is available in separate tracks or a full album zip in varying MP3 bitrates.

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I’m afraid I’m going to have to plead ignorance when it comes to Russian bard music. As I understand it, Bard Music is sung poetry usually accompanied by a guitar. The lyrics are centered on Russian life or has potilical concerns. One of my readers was kind enough to point out these three free and legal albums by Ed Prizant, a young musician that stays in the tradition of this music. The web site is in Russian but with the help of the not-so-reliable Babelfish I’ve translated the album titles to Step From The Love (2007), Fire of The Large City (2004), and My Clownish Desire (2001). Any Russian speaking readers are welcome to give me the more accurate titles. These albums are difficult to review as the lyrics are so essential to this music and my Russian vocabulary is limited to “Vodka”. However I find Prizant’s voice quite expressive and have no trouble enjoying these very melodic songs despite the language barrier. Check out these three albums. You will not be disappointed.

Again we have albums available in lower than usual bitrate; 64kbps Mp3. However they still sound pretty good and shouldn’t distract too much from your enjoyment.

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Sea and Field is a French ensemble of six musicians specializing in Celtic music. While traditional in style there is a strong influence from the more rock-oriented purveyors of this music such as Pentangle and Fairport Convention. Nonetheless, traditional music fans will surely enjoy this self-titled album. The vocals are strong and the instrumentation of guitar, violin, accordion, bass and percussion remains enjoyable throughout. The opening “Les Livres” has a powerful vocal but I especially like “Le Phare”, the only totally instrumental track on the too brief 5-track, 19 minute EP.”Matelot” is also a favorite and shows off that strong rock influence I mentioned. “Casse Oreilles” and “Eglantine” round out this lively romp of traditional and not-so-traditional world music.

The album is available from Jamendo in VBR MP3.

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Jalikebba Kuyateh is a master of the kora and part of the strong tradition of Griots throughout West Africa. He currently performs at the Tanji Village Museum in Gambia where he entertains and educate visitors on the musical culture of The Gambia.

The good news is that Jalikebba & The Toubabs has a self titled album freely available on the internet that nicely displayed the various moods and colors of this exciting music. The band is an exhilarating mixture of the traditional and the contemporary. There is a tantalizing taste of Swedish folk music and Indian tablas thrown in but African traditional music is certainly the main attraction. Standout tracks include “Jaliyah”, “M.Samba”, and “Caira”. While indie rock and electronica remain the bulk of online free music, the real promise of internet music may be to introduce people to the vast variety of world music that has been out of the reach of most people until now. Jalikebba & The Toubabs is an excellent example of this.

The bad news is that the free online version of this album is available only in 56kbps MP3 but it is exciting enough to still recommend a listen. However the download page tells you how you can support the musicians by purchasing the higher quality sound CD. Take my advice and do it!

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Kosta Vomvolos is a Greek composer of primarily theater music. From his discography on his web site plus the free albums he has on Jamendo, it appears that he is quite prolific. His influences are ancient and traditional Greek music, classical, jazz and electronic. The nine albums I’ve chosen give a good retrospective of this eclectic composer.

Doxombus may be a good place to start. Written as a soundtrack for the film of the same name directed by Fotos Lambrinos, it relies heavily on Greek folk music and traditional instruments, yet strings play important roles in such tracks as “The Lake” and “Tension”. A four note descending phrase acts as the theme uniting these pieces. This is an interesting example of atmospheric movie music.

A number of his albums are written to accompany ancient Greek drama. Not surprisingly, ancient Greek music is a major influence in these works. Hecuba: Music for Euripides’ Tragedy features a chorus of 16 actresses accompanied by lute, double-bass and drums. The lack of the visual and a translation hinders a full understanding of the work but the interplay between the instruments and monotonic chanting is still quite interesting. Sophocles’ Tragedy: Women From Trachis is much better. Vocalist Elsa Mouratidou and 20 actresses are accompanied by cello, violin, electric guitar and drums in a beautiful theater piece. It is a nice blend of ancient, folk and modern. Euripides ION Actors Touring Company-London is the last of the three works written for ancient Greek drama and it’s my favorite. It is an exotic instrumental piece that works well on its own. Vomvolos has a knack for blending the traditional with the experimental.

Two albums represent music written to accompany later dramas. The Deer’s Curse is a Kurdish tale presented with 30 actors who sing, chant, whisper the traditional story. Again, it is interesting but probably harmed by the fact we get only the aural experience. Kandalis’ Wife fares much better. This is an instrumental work with strong traditional influences. Alternately meditative and percussive, it hold up the best of the previously mentioned albums as a separate composition.

Fake Nightmare is a total different kind of theater music. Written for the National Theater of Northern Greece, this is very modern using elements of jazz, rock, electronic music, European cabaret and, of course, Greek folk music to make a dense and complex musical tapestry. Like the other theater works it still has a mostly dark mood. This is a piece that holds well on its own with “Saturday” and “Funky Finally” being especially compelling.

On My Birthday I Caught a Train to Thessaloniki is a dance piece. It starts out on accordion like a minimalist Reich composition but then moves into rock, jazz and at times an industrial sound. I can’t quite see this as a dance piece but it certainly kept me interested.

Finally, Vomvolos presents a short string quartet of 15 minutes duration titled …And Juliet. As Vomvolos’ other albums tend to be sonorous and dramatic, …And Juliet is light and breezy. The six piece suite is quite classical in feeling but it makes use of a tango in the second track while “Right Walk” has a jazz melody over a striding bass line. This may be the most pleasing and accessible of the albums but all nine will give you a different and worthwhile musical experience.

All nine albums are available in VBR MP3 with an average bitrate of 192kbps MP3. If you enjoy the music, support the artist by buying his CDs.

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…And Juliet: String Quartet
Deer’s Curse
Doxombus
Fake nightmare
Hecuba: Music For Euripides’ Tradegy
Euripes ION Actors Touring Company: London
Kandavlis’ Wife
On My Birthday I Caught a Train To Thessaloniki
Sophocles Tragedy: Women From Trachis

Nonagenarian Jaimina Johnson’s odd and beautiful albums are hard to classify. Her accappella choruses are led by her almost child-like voice and incorporates world music, classical choir music, and jazz into gentle harmonic gems.

So Many Songs and So Little Time are part of a trilogy of albums, the third to be released in the future. Many of the songs are in Spanish and the influence of Spanish/Latin American traditional music is quite noticeable. (While she was born in England she spent a good part of her life in Puerto Rico). On So Many Songs, the opening “Uno Queriendo Ser Dos” is a fine example of this. In all of her choruses, Ms. Johnson harmonic progressions are sometimes awkward but, like her often wavering voice, still retains a lot of charm. Her repertoire is wide, going from the folk and traditional to liturgical choir pieces such as “Bogoroditse Dievo” to “All I ask of You”from The Phantom of The Opera to “When You Get Caught” which is best known as “Arthur’s Theme” by Christopher Cross. All track are brought together by Johnson’s voice and her unique arrangements. But the most impressive turn is her solo rendition of Elton John’s “A Song For You”. I hope I can sing that well at 90. Come to think of it, I can’t sing that well now.

So Little Time continues both the variety and unique style of her first album. Of the twelve tracks, I especially am fond of the beautifully arranged “Ave Maria Immaculata” and the jazzy (and live) Strollin’. The album ends with a light and breezy cover of Gilbert O’Sullivan’s “What’s in a Kiss”. Overall the vocal arrangements are much tighter, as are Ms. Johnson vocals, making this the better of the two albums. However, both albums make for a delightfully different experience. Some people might call this outsider music but I think it’s too accomplished for that moniker, I might prefer calling it “Aural Folk Art” or perhaps just good music.

Both albums are available from Jamendo in VBR MP3, around 192kbps.

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So Little Time
So Many Songs

Bryn Jones aka Muslimgauze was one of the more interesting underground techno artists of the 90s. Although he had never been to the Middle East and was not Islamic, he had a life long infatuation with the area, the culture and, in particular, the plight of the Palestinians. He created instrumental music using analog electronic equipment and Middle Eastern instruments that remains innovative. His life was cut short in 1999 but he left an surprisingly large output for such a young musician.

Wish of the Flayed is from a cassette of a one day session in June of 1996. It is the only known recording of that session. The owner of the tape, with the permission of the Soleilmoon record label that handles most of Muslimgauze recorded material, has placed it on the fan site Arabbox v1.0 as a free and legal download. This is music from the later years of his life when the sound has become very percussive and post-industrial. The Middle East sounds that make most of Muslimgauze’s music so unique is more in the background than usual, often drowned out by the unrelenting beat. A delightful exception to this is “Muta Safvid” where a female voice is accompanied by a strong bass pulse. While this is far from Musilimgauze’s best, it is still an intriguing recording and recommended to those who are already into the artist and those who enjoy noise/industrial music.

The album is available by a full album zip in 192kbps MP3.

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While the acoustic duo Le Flore Acoustique may be French in origin, they seem to be closer at heart to Brazil. There is a nice Bossa Nova/Latin American thing going on their two free online albums available from Jamendo.

The first album, titled simply 2005, is a bit more world oriented. The opening “Destruction” has a Middle Eastern influence and the last track has a funky blues feel. However the second song titled “Gentil” goes straight into a nice Brazilian guitar riff and stays there. Flore Dupont’s sensuous voice floats over the beautifully arranged lines of guitar, woodwinds and background vocals. Alex Alber is the other half of this duo and both parties play a barrage of instruments including guitar, keyboard, bass, and percussion. It is the delicate use of wind instruments and vocal backings that add so much to this pretty album. Make sure you check out the cool soprano sax solo on “Plus Léger”.

2006 is just as good. In fact, maybe a little better. The Brazilian influence is most prominent beginning with the jaunty “Ou Pour Prochain”. Alex Albers is also more prominent in the vocal department which is a plus. Check out his solo on “Raisons”. Good arrangements continue to raise the bar on this splendid release. The last track “Dors!” is an dream of a song with a great Dupont vocal plus nice marimba and flute accompaniment, but it has an odd conclusion with a long break of silence and then an accappela solo that tentatively ends in a giggle. It is a flawed ending to an almost perfect album.

Both albums are available as separate tracks or full album zip in VBR MP3.

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2005
2006

If Beltaine’s Fire is not the only Celtic hip hop group on the planet, I am sure it is a very short list. Their first album titled Weapon of The Future is available on Jamendo and it is a very entertaining mix of musical genres that, considering that both have a socio-political history, may have more in common than most people realize.

Rapper/lyricist Lynx is the primary voice behind Beltaine’s Fire. He is a veteran rapper whose beats and words effortlessly float over the music with clockwork precision. Yet the twist is that the branished “weapons” are traditional Celtic instruments such as clawhammer banjo, cello, and mandolin. The ever present rhythm is managed by bass and drums in a style that is respectable of both hip hop and Celtic music. The fourteen tracks are, in most cases, foot tapping revolutionary message songs. It is a strange but successful combination of the social anger of Rage Against The Machine and the traditional style of the Irish rebel band Wolfe Tones. Another comparison would be to the equally socially conscious Michael Franti who also turns to world music as his base. Beltaine’s Fire’s revolutionary zeal can be found on most tracks but best heard on songs like “Home”, “Thrive”, and the lively opening track “Carpe Diem” which is embellished by the mellow voice of bassist Laura. I also like it when the group slows down like on “A Month of Storms” and the moving “Be Myself”. I hear a little beat poetry seeping in on numbers like “A Months of Storms” which makes me wonder if there is a Celtic Tom Waits in Lynx as well. Immensely listenable and always thought provoking, Weapon of The Future is highly recommended.

The album is available in VBR MP3. If you enjoy the music, support the artists by buying the CD.

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I’m not surprised to discover that Peruvian artist Sebastian Alvarez, aka Spirit Elevating Brains (SEB), is more of a visual artist specializing in performance art than a musician. The title of his free online album and the album cover attest to an artist that is fluent in the visual and the poetic.

This is not to say that the music on Raw Adventures of The Strident, Harsh and Sweet Returnee is any less realized. In fact, SEB’s music is a complex sound painting made of samples, complex beats, and mesmerizing melodies and riffs. Partly collage, partly world beat, and partly electronica, this is a very enjoyable and surprisingly accessible journey into the artist’s mind and travels. As busy as his beats and glitches are, none of it is filler. It all comes together like a well wound watch. This is SEB’s first album and it marks him as someone to pay attention to.

The album is available in 320kbps MP3 as either separate tracks or album zip.

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Tubifex is one of the tightest trip-hop / nu-jazz outings I’ve heard in a long time. Spacey electronics and dub-like beats convalesce in your mind and eases you slowly into a funky Turkish bath of sounds. Miki has a soothing and sexy voice while the rest of the band lays down exotic rhythms and jazzy riffs.

Subahar has a style that borrows fluently from jazz, world groove, and techno. “Narajano” and “Walking” offer middle Eastern and Reggae thrills respectively. “The Key” and “Gentle Giant” get downright funky while “Joint Venture” is nu-jazz with a cool guitar and flute solo. Don’t miss the delightful reggae romp “Ganesha Message”. Sharp arrangements and a very hip sound makes Tubifex highly recommended for your listening pleasure.

The albums is available from the Ouim netlabel in 320kbps MP3.

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Jivan Gasparyan is a master of the duduk, an Armenian double-reeded instrument similar to the oboe. He has made available an untitled “demo” online album of six Armenian folk melodies. Gasparyan appears to favor slow hypnotic tempos making this collection a good one for quiet reflective listening.

The album is available in 128kbps MP3. If you support the music, support the artist by buying his CDs.

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The music of Thomas Fiancette is an arresting blend of jazz rhythms and world grooves. It reminds me a bit of the early world beat/jazz experimentations of Don Cherry except the emphasis here seems to be on an over-all sound environment rather than jazz improvisation. Fiancette plays all instruments but seems most interested in flutes and percussion set on a background of electronics. The opening track “India” is an excellent example of the dense interplay between flutes and percussion. “European Echoes” starts with a simple classical etude and becomes something else. But I like Fiancette best when he focuses on drums. His work is most jazz-like on extended percussion excursions like “Trois” and the wonderfully complex “Gros Moteur”. This is a creative on-line endeavor and one of the more interesting albums on the internet.

The albums is available from the eDogm netlabel in 256kbps MP3.

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Two albums of chilled out latin/reggae vibes are freely available from Sebastian Nussbaum who usually records under the alias of Mabafu. This is music somewheres between hiphop and techno, between the urban hipness of Thievery Corporation and the mellow Euro-Latin electronica of The Gotan Project.

Bahia Aleman is an especially nice collection of Latin and Caribbean beats mixed with a healthy dose of club sounds. “Salasnita” sounds a little Nortec to me but “Cubana” is a bit like a psychedelic cha-cha. “Donde Fuiste” has a nice vocal by Alin over a reggae dub making it a favorite track of mine.

Sonido Del Callao is more hip-hop influence, more down-tempo and a little darker. The music is rather club oriented . Of the 12 tracks, the tile song stands out with its mellow beat and a dynimate rap. If you’re into the club scene, Sonido Del Callao may be your thing. I prefer the latin chills of Bahia Aleman. Either way, I think you will like Mabafu.

Bahia Aleman is available in VBR MP3 while Sonido Del Callao is in either MP3 or Ogg Vorbis Format.

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Bahia Aleman
Sonido Del Callao

The Swedish duo Skald is one of the more perplexing bands I have run into. Their combination of Scandinavian traditional music and metal rock is both humorous and a little scary. The vocals by Hebbe are often grunted more than sang but are mixed with quite impressive guitar work both acoustic and electric. There is also an interesting use of non-rock instruments in the mix (ocarina, jew-harp, and willow flute). They have two EPs free available that will amuse, bewilder and fascinate the listener.

The latest EP is Trolska Vemodsband and it is 22 minutes long. It starts a bit deceptively with a beautiful acoustic guitar number. The second track wakes you up with blaring metal and the Hebbe’s odd vocal style. There’s something alluring about marriage of the electric and the traditional on these tracks. This is a different and intriguing kind of metal band

The earlier Sagor Från Skogstjärnen is 30 minutes long and fairly similar. It’s a little more folk oriented and but not by much. “Folksagan” has a masculine folk dance quality. I like Trolska a little better but give this odd metal duo a try.

The albums are available in 192kbps MP3.

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Loopaholic’s anthology Progressive Folk is a scintillating, sometimes disorienting, mixture of electronica and traditional world music. Some would classify this as neo-folk or world groove. I would prefer just to sit back, listen, and meld with the sounds.

DJET start with a Indonesian gamelan hybrid which is just a little too brief to really get involved in. Auditoolz’s “Advance Japanese Folk” fares better. It has a sweet vocal with Japanese traditional instruments effortlessly blending with a percussive techno beat. Audiotoolz has four tracks on this collection including an excellent collaborative effort with Wrekkers titled “Hungarian Fight Club”. The traditional influences on this album travel the globe with nicely manipulated samples of Middle East music (”Manipulationolgogy” by Digital Drug), Aboriginal drones (”Aboriginal Soundsystem” by Freestep), and Eastern European (”Felix is My Friend” by Pattern Industries). Other tracks escape specific cultural identification but are still joyous romps in international grooves. All in all, this is a fun globetrotter of an album.

The album is available as an album zip in 192kbps MP3.

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“Baiki” is polish for “stories”. The band called Baiki hails from Belguim. Their music borrows profusely from European folk traditions, “Francaise Chaussons”, British punk, and many other musical styles. Baiki deserves to be called multi-cultural not only because of the hodgepodge of iinfluences but because they actually manage to pull it off.

Aside from imaginative arrangements and excellent musicianship, the main reason this music works is due to the strong vocals and lyrics of Philippe Bailly. He is as much as a storyteller as a singerand he does it well in several language including Polish, French, Spanish, and English. Their latest album Do It Yourself is a good representation of the group’s talent. The music remains enjoyable whether its the punkish stle of “Rover”, the outstanding must-download “Positive, the French folk ballad “Les 3 Pecheurs”, a foot-tapping “Sokoly” or any of the boundary breaking delights of a song you will find here.

There is also an early release titled To są Baïki from 2002. It is not quite as good as Do It Yourself but still shows good songwriting and imaginative musianship. There may be an stronger emphasis on lyrics as evidenced by “Level Down” and an moving “For Small Jessie”. There is also a clearer rock influence although French pastries like “Clapiers” and “Le Petit Matin” still manages to shine. Overall it is very enjoyable and definitely worth a download. But if I was to pick one of these albums, I would have to go with the very impressive Do It Yourself.

Both albums are available in 128kbps MP3. There is also a free EP with 5 other songs if you still can’t get enough. There are no CDs to purchase so if you like the music, support the artist by seeing them live or by just telling them how much you like their music.

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Do It Yourself
To są baïki

As I listen to the online album Aditi by Ka, the most prevalent word that comes to mind is “mysterious”. There is barely any information on Ka except that it appears to be a solo project by Franklin Zambrano. The album is presented with little hype but a eerie album cover and the music’s own merits. The music is trance-like and exotic, much of it evoking visions of midnight caravans, jungle temples, and mystical moments. I wouldn’t call it meditative but the pulsing beat and hynoptic melodies could lull you into a sense of unreality. “Manvantera” certainly has a feeling of mystery and forboding, while “Mahaset” could be a nice soundtrack for a full moon boat ride down the Ganges. “Innana en los Infiernos” really breaks out the global groove and almost becomes a bona-fide rock track.”Ganges” returns to the land of moonlight and mystics while “Costas” ends the album with what could only be described as a new age lullaby. This is a beautiful, perhaps even spirtitual, session of soothing sounds.

The album is available in 128kbps MP3.

No longer available

Hindustani classical singer Panith Pran Nath has become an important figure in both India and the Western world. He is a devotee of Dhrupad, a slow repetitive form of devotional singing. His music is a major influence on Western artists such as La Monte Young, Terry Riley, Jon Hassell, and Don Cherry.

Ubuweb, the essential archive of modern sounds, now offers an out-of-print 1986 album of a live 1968 performance titled Ragas of Morning and Night. Two ragas, each over 20 minutes in duration, displays Panith Pran Nath’s austere but beautiful stylings. This is sacred music of the finest, a meditative and mystical masterpiece that truly can be called New Age. If there is anything that should be called an essential download on Free Albums Galore, this would be it.

The album is available as two separate tracks in 192kbps MP3.

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Nomada is a band out of Hungary that plays music from the Hungarian Gypsy tradition. They blend their music with folk influences from Spain, Serbia and the Arabic cultures. In 2006, they became the first Hungarian artists to release a track with a Creative Commons license and they encourage other artists to remix it.

The track is “Aven le Roma” and the result is a collection of the master track and 13 exciting remixes. Nomada’s original starts it off. It’s a rollicking gypsy dance with a modern edge. The remixes have enough variety to keep this album of theme and variations interesting. Most stay in a dancable folk/techno beat while others, like DJ Blockhead and Laureth, play it down-tempo with a hint of trip-hop. If you are a avid fan of remixing, this is one collection you will want, Others, like myself, will enjoy listening to creative minds at work but may be happy keeping the first track and a couple favorite remixes.

All tracks are available in either 128kbps MP3 or AIFF format.

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Kletka Red is a high energy avant-punk quartet led by Leonid Soybelman who was also the singer and guitarist for Ne Zhdali. Guitarist Andy Ex, drummer Tony Buck and bassist Joe Williamson rounds out this very imaginative assault on rock and traditional music. Their first two albums are freely available from the Ne Zdahli web site.

Hijacking pits punk rock and avant garde noise against Klezmer. Soybelman and company take on the Yiddish musical genre with a passion. From the first strains of “Sirba”, the traditional dance music is slammed with lighting speed and heavy volume. At times there is a sense of Sonic Youth-like overload. Soybelman’s guitar often reminds me of Fred Frith’s fragmented style especially on tracks like “Trigger”. When Soybelman takes a vocal the song becomes slightly more traditional as on “D’Mame but there is always enough going on that you know this isn’t your grand parent’s idea of a folk song. Actually, all are Klezmer standards with the exception of three original tracks by Soybelman. HiJacking will surprise and delight you from the first listen.

What the first album did for Klezmer, their second album titled Hybrid does for other European folk traditions. The first track sounds downright old fashioned while “Wire” delivers the hard metal/punk sounds mixed with various levels of madness that make Kletka Red so much fun to listen to. There are more vocals on this album which I consider a plus. I find “Persecution Complex.Skimp” to be an especially creative mixture of sound and musical pyrotechnics.

Both albums are available in MP3 format. Unfortunately the bitrate is only 96kbps but these two recordings are too much fun to pass up. If you enjoy the music you definitely owe it to yourself to hunt down the actual CDs and support the artists by buying them.

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Hijacking
Hybrid

The Ouim netlabel describes Havana House as “the Buena Vista Social Club meets Mark Farina” which is as accurate a comparision that you may ever see. Miami resident DJ Kirill lays down house electronica over a tasty sampling of Afro-Cuban tunes and beats. Kirill has a deft touch driving a sensual and dancable groove over the samples. However, it is the vocals and percussion of Cuban band Sin Palabras that fuels the samples and really makes this album move. Authentic Afro-Cuban rhythms and chilled out electric vibes is an exotic mix that is hard to beat. My favorite track is “Cuban Y Fusion” featuring a hot vocal and a cool other-worldly background. This electronica / world music hybrid is a treat for your mind and feet.

The album is available in 192kbps MP3.

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While in China, I developed a fondness for Chinese Opera. It is a delightful experience of visual and aural overload. I first experienced the Peking style but later learned to enjoy the Cantonese version. Whenever listening to Chinese opera the first caveat is to realize how much is lost on any audio recording. It is a feast of sound and sight, where all senses are treated equally.

That being said, this old 50s recording of Cantonese Opera is still a good intro despite the less than adequate monaural sound quality. The opera is Tang Kung Han Si or “Dreadful History in the Tang Chambers”. The download page gives you a brief description of the action. Fans of the genre will appreciate this rare recording while uninitiated music lovers will enjoy one of the more accessible examples of this music.

The long out of print recording is available in its entirety through six 15 minute tracks of 96kbps MP3s. Yes, it’s a little scratchy but that is to be expected from these old vinyls.

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