The Whole Music Experience

The Mountain Music Project A Musical Odyssey from Appalachia to Himalaya The Mountain Music Project When you start actually listening to music from around the globe, you come across surprising similarities.   This isn’t news to seasoned ethnomusicologists and it’s not news to fans of traditional music who keep their ears plugged into specialty music radio shows.   However, who thought there was a connection between bluegrass music of the Blue Mountains and Nepalese folk tunes? Got me and got me again. The musician caste of Nepal referred to as Gandharba who passed down oral tradition songs sound well, a bit twang.   And if twang is your thing, you’ll love this double dose of American bluegrass and traditional Nepalese songs.   These musicians not only give some outstanding performances on exotic and familiar instruments, they also engage in the art of storytelling on The Mountain Music Project’s A Musical Odyssey from Appalachia to Himalaya . ...

Purposeful Music & Preservation for the Sustainable Age: A Filetta, Wikipedia As I write this essay on bringing back the true intent and purpose of folkloric music, I’m listening to the Corsican polyphony group, A Filetta. In 2006 I co-produced a segment on Corsican polyphony music for “The Old Country,” a radio show produced at the community radio station, KBCS (Bellevue, WA). During my research (which took months), I discovered that this vocal music found its roots in the Corsican shepherds who took their herds up into the Corsican island’s mountains. In fact, I learned that the Corse language was nearly lost because of French bans placed upon it for several decades (I might be wrong about the time frame), and the language was only preserved because of this Corsican vocal tradition and the fact that the shepherds, the ones carrying on this tradition, spent that time in the mountains. The Finnish language also nearly went extinct, but again was preserved through an or...

Oreka tx Nomadak tx World Village When we forget how wonderful and magical the world is, a collective of musicians come together to remind us of the musical language we share in common. The collective project, Nomadak tx lead by a pair of Basque txalaparta players (percussive instrument similar to a xylophone), that go by the name Oreka tx. This exotic recording brings together nomadic musicians from Saamiland, the Saharan desert, Mongolia and India to perform along side a little-known instrument from Basque Country. The first track, Lauhazka combines txalaparta with Saami yoiks, Mongolian throat singing, Indian gypsy and Saharawis chants. The second track does a bit more of the same, but reminds me of Finnish music with its fiery fiddling. Think of this recording as a new wave of Silk Road music, this time with a greater emphasis on indigenous music. The last time, I experienced this type of collective was when I heard the Saami recording Frozen Moments (DAT) a few years ago...

photos: from Rock Paper Scissors Jayme Stone and Mansa Sissoko Africa to Appalachia Independent Release Canada Seckou Keita SKQ TheSilimbo Passage World Artventures UK Like some of you that visit this blog, I am also a huge fan of West African griot music and especially the West African harp, the kora. I am also keen on cultural exchange between West African countries and folk music of North America (blues, Appalachian, traditional folk). Not long ago I read an article on World Music Central regarding the banjo and its ancestor, the West African n'goni. I was fascinated with the article and through synchronicity, I would encounter Jayme Stone and Mansa Sissoko's exploration of the ordinary banjo--not so ordinary at all. While the banjo has been a staple of bluegrass, folk and other types of North American musical genres, it has also suffered a bad reputation as an instrument that can't seem to stay in tune and in some corners it might just seem rather outd...

Toumani Diabate in concert (wikipedia) Taj Mahal and Toumani Diabate Kulanjan Hannibal Records Released at the tail end of the last century, Kulanjan has already become a classic in my book. Bluesman Taj Mahal had been exploring his griot heritage--could feel it in his genes. The renowned musician teamed up with Malian kora player Toumani Diabate, Malian vocalists Kassemady Diabate and Ramatou Diakite and other Malian musicians. The end result takes us to the crossroads where American (U.S.) blues and West African blues intersect. While it is not the only recording out there that marries these traditions, it is my personal favorite among the West African-American blues recordings. Kulanjan provides one fantastic track after another, with no weak ones in the bunch. It opens with Queen Bee , a duet sung with Taj Mahal and Ramatou Diakite. Taj's gruff vocals gravitate around Ramatou's sweeter one. The following track, Tunkaranke features Kassemady singing soaring gr...