The Whole Music Experience

While I was listening to Earth Wind & Fire this morning a thought occurred to me.  We all need to heal and clear our first chakra, as individuals, as communities, as nations, and on the entire planet.  As you know, the first chakra represents our roots, our powerbase, and our survival skills and tools.  When this chakra contains blocks we are unable to find employment, pay our bills, we feel powerless, and angry because anger, grief and other challenging emotions form the blockage. So I am going to suggest listening to three songs by Earth Wind & Fire, as I did this morning.  You can find these songs on The Best of Earth Wind & Fire, Vol. 1 or on YouTube.  Your library most likely carries this album or you can pick it up used at a record store and if you feel brazen with your money flow, buy the album new, and support these great musicians. 1) Listen to That's the Way of the World first.  For me, this song with its message of love and ...

Las Chicas del Tango Featuring Horacio Ferrer Tango de Norte a Sur Arc Music On the album Tango de Norte a Sur, (Tango From North to South), the Finnish trio Las Chicas del Tango meld Finnish tango with new Argentine tango. Kukka-Maaria Ahonen (vocals), Johanna Juhola (accordion), and Milla Viljamaa (piano), collaborate with esteemed Argentine poet Horacio Ferrer who also performs on the album. Rounding out the text, the musicians feature the poetry of Bolivian songstress Siboné Oroza and the late Argentine feminist poet Alfonsina Storni (who lived during era when Argentine tango was just emerging). I read in a Finnish radio review that Las Chicas del Tango successfully wed Finno-Ugrian melancholy with the sadness of Argentine tango.  While this is not an exact quote, the musicians blur the lines between tango of South America and Finland, with Ahonen singing the text in Spanish. I imagine dancers could tango to these melodies, but tango songs (music with lyrics...

Matilde Politi Folk Songs from Sicily Arc Music I adore folk songs from Italy, especially when musicians play the songs on traditional and acoustic instruments, as they appear on Sicilian folk musician Matilde Politi’s Folk Songs from Sicily .  I also adore women’s voices as they sing folkloric material. I have a collection that fits that bill.  I could spend years exploring folk songs from the Mediterranean and still not scratch the surface.  For now, let’s take a look at the delightful Folk Songs from Sicily . This warm production features accordion, a variety of percussion including frame drums and North African drums (not surprising), strings, guitar, the Arabic oud, double bass, concertinas, and other instruments.  While these instruments provide a lush and exotic backdrop, Politi’s voice grabs my attention.  On laments such as My Son (Figghui Miu) , Politi pulls out vocal colors from a diverse palette and she shows off her vocal range, wh...