Can you believe it's already been over two decades since we entered the new millennium? And, if so, which artists and releases do you remember from that time? In December of each year, as part of his monthly Globalwize format, Weltbeat selector/host Jean Trouillet takes a look back at his favourite releases and has begun compiling his past annual best-of picks into comprehensive playlists, now streaming in our Greedio channel on Spotify. So let us rewind the clock, if only for some 90 minutes, and return to the year 2000, shall we?
The journey begins in Mali, as we follow British guitarist Justin Adams' ventures on the ngoni and into Desert Blues. Staying true to the desert, we move on to Tucson, Arizona-based indie rock band Calexico with two tracks off their 2000-released third studio album "Hot Rail". Cimbalon player Zev Feldman and clarinetist Andy Statman released their "Jewish Klezmer Music" in 1979 to wide acclaim, a true gem of Jewish soul music that resurfaced in 2000 and ties in nicely with Klezmer clarinet virtuoso David Krakauer's seven-minute "Lovesong for Lemberg / Lvov". Then it's off to beautiful Napoli, Italy's chaotic southern metropolis and a slice of aquatic tarantella, as performed by Spaccanapoli, which Trouillet follows up with steel guitar wizard Bob Brozman's and Guinean kora master Djeli Moussa Diawara's "Uncle Joe", off their collaborative album "Ocean Blues".
Brazilectro being the soundtrack to the summer of 2000, we then hear Bebel Gilberto's dreamy "August Day Song", before returning to Mali behind the 'ancient chords' of kora masters Sidiki Diabaté and Djelimadi Sissoko, playing the classic jali tune "Duga", and then transitioning to Guinea with dance-music orchestra Balla et ses Balladins' 1965 interpretation of the same Duga theme, featuring the great Kanté Manfila on guitar and the jazzy sounds of a vibraphone. We remain in Guinea with the Orchestra de la Paillote's "Khadia Blues" from the same year, before the Bembeya Jazz National performs its tribute to the Guinean army on "Armée guinéenne". As beautiful as this track is, we must not forget that said army was there to enforce a dictatorship.
After having spent some time in Ghana, Israeli musician Yossi Fine's Ex-Centric Soundsystem blends West African influences with electronic production, taking us "Electric Voodooland", before Zimbabwean icon Thomas Mapfumo And The Blacks Unlimited give us a taste of their guitar-led "Chimurenga Explosion". Then it's off to East Africa, with two tracks from volume eight of the fabulous "Ethiopiques" collection by Girma Bèyènè and Alemayehu Eshete respectively. As we fill the final slots for 2000, we hear a collaborative track by Spanish singer-songwriter Tonino Carotone and Manu Chao singing about a "Mondo Dificile", Afro-Basque music and a tip of the hat to Comandante Che Guevara by King Mafrundi as well as a closing track by Jamaican crooner Bim Sherman, who sadly passed away that year.
For the full playlist, simply click the player below or head directly to Spotify. Oh, how time flies!