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Showing posts from August 4, 2013

In review--Folk Spain

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World   The Ultimate Guide to Spanish Folk   Compilation Arc Music I have known for several years about the diverse folk music traditions coming from the provinces of Spain.   From the haunting strains of Galician Celtic fare to the fiery strums of Andalusian flamenco to early music traditions, and the music of the Jewish and Moor populations, we could spend a lifetime discovering Spanish folk traditions.   While hardly an exhaustive compilation, The Ultimate Guide to Spanish Folk Music whets our appetites, though some of the tracks sound too modern too my ears, while others such as Doa’s revisit to the early music song, Levou-se a fremosa has me swooning a bit from its enchanting vocals and hurdy-gurdy. Compiled by radio hosts, Juan Antonio Vásquez and Araceli Tzigane (for Mundofoniás--national radio of Spain), we hear music from Majorca, Barcelona, the Canary Islands (which is new for me), Galicia, Extremadura, Asturias, Valencia and accordion from Basque Co

In Review--Street Groovin'

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World   Dieter Iby Didgeridoo Street Music   Arc Music On visits to YouTube, I have encountered street musicians playing didgeridoo on street corners and sidewalks.   I can’t imagine encountering didgeridoo players on the streets where I reside, however, I can listen to Dieter Iby perform his world fusion on Didgeridoo Street Music .   The musician arranges didgeridoo with West African percussion instruments and he partners with kora player (West African harp) Stefan Charisius on Sim.Mah (Pisces) with spectacular otherworldly results.   Iby also pleases me with his song titles which feature signs of the Zodiac.   I’m not sure if the musician is familiar with astrological energies, but he certainly matches the right song to the right sign. For instance, the opener, Gu.an.na (Taurus) feels sensual and grounding to me similar to the sign Taurus and the track I already mentioned for Pisces also feels right on.   The second track, named for Leo starts off with a roa