Can You Name Them All?

Thinking back to our very first visit of Bali back in 2010, one of our most cherished memories is that of the gamelan, the traditional ensembles, made up predominantly of percussive instruments and found mainly in Java and Bali. The word itself comes from the Javanese word gamel, which refers to a type of mallet used to strike instruments. Gamelan ensembles today often accompany dance and wayang shadow-puppet performances as well as rituals and ceremonies. The [...]

It is no longer a secret that we are true admirers of the prolific Israeli songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, producer, orchestra-leader, mixmaster and film maker Kutiman, who keeps on adding to his already impressive repertoire. Labeled a "psychedelic space funk architect" by London's Straight No Chaser magazine, he continues his pioneering ways and is about to embark on tour early next month with his 8-9-piece psych-jazz combo, aka The Kutiman Orchestra, [...]

We first reported on this hallucinogenic native Canadian producer and DJ three-piece late last year, to highlight their amazing third studio effort "We Are The Halluci Nation" as well as their politically active ways, which tied in perfectly to the dramatic scenes unfolding around the protests against the Dakota Access Pipeline project. While the outcome of the US government's plans for the pipeline remains up in the air, A Tribe Called Red continues to send [...]

Fresh off the press on pioneering Afrocolombian imprint Palenque Records, founded in 1996 by Lucas Silva, is album number 16 by the legendary Son Palenque. Founded in 1980 by Justo Valdez, the group has made a name for itself by re-working the strong musical tradition of San Basilio de Palenque in northern Colombia. Their innovative and surprising fusions include African rhythms ranging from "soukous, to afrobeat and highlife" as well as "Palenquero rythms such [...]

Yes, dear friends. Playing the World Music Stage at Sziget Festival two weeks ago was an absolute blast. Take this Facebook video for instance of the Jewish Monkeys engaging their crowd in some intense physical activity. Talk about authority.

In any case the band has just announced new Germany shows coming up in late September, early October. The Jewish Monkeys will be playing a string of shows in Wiesbaden, Konstanz, Mannheim, Viechtach, Frankfurt (am Main) [...]

Let's set things straight: We love the increased attention African artists have been receiving in recent years, especially on the global club circuit. Many a newish afrofusion genre is currently being concocted in studios across the world, by combining traditional African elements with dancefloor styles originating mainly in the Western hemisphere. While some may be quick to emphasise that this is just another modern-day form of cultural appropriation and thus [...]

Thou shalt not judge a book by its cover. With records it's different though and so in this case we did, we trusted our gut feeling on this one and were rewarded with a once-in-a-lifetime album. Recently reissued via Marseille-based label Sudiphone in a limited edition of 500, this highly sought-after album by the three Moroccan brothers Mahmoud, Hassan and Younès Mégri, known as Les Frères Mégri, was first released in 1974. The band originally formed in [...]

Browsing through the world wide web, we chanced upon a downright hypnotic track by Tanzania's vocalist Msafiri Zawose, "one of the biggest slept-on musical forces from the region". A descendant of the Wagogo people, a Bantu-speaking, traditionally nomadic tribe inhabiting central Tanzania, "known for their musicality and made famous by Hukwe Zawose - Msafiri’s father, who toured the world as a part of Peter Gabriel’s Real World roster in the 80s and 90s", [...]

Once again, it is festival time in good ol' fortress Europe, as Hungary's well-established Sziget Festival takes center stage and our very own Jewish Monkeys perform on the jam-packed World Music Stage. After an already busy summer, including a raucous show at the Düsseldorf-based Asphalt Festival in July, the JMs are set to play their hearts out, alongside a well-nourished lineup of acclaimed as well as up-and-coming global players the likes of the Goran [...]

While this may not come as news to some of you, we just stumbled upon the amazing sound archive of The British Library, home to some "90,000 selected recordings of music, spoken word and human and natural environments" to be explored/streamed at will, if time permits. Among this vast collection is a segment dedicated to world and traditional music, "available for non-commercial research, study and private enjoyment".

Moving deeper into the proverbial thicket, [...]

It is a wild dream, unlike any other, textures of sound, part organic, part machine, layers upon layers of intricate audioscapes, evolving into a 20-minute soundtrack out of space and time, a journey to distant lands of sonic temptation. By now you may have realised that we are absolutely overwhelmed by the latest 8-track offering from internationally acclaimed producer and performer Cristiano Crisci, aka Clap! Clap!, "one of Italy's brightest new talents, [...]

Prolific Grammy-winning US record producer Ian Brennan (Tinariwen, Zomba Prison Project, ZMEI3) is back at it again. For his latest Six Degrees Records-released project Brennan travelled to the remote Tanzanian inland island Ukerewe, accessible only by ferry and known as a refuge for people suffering from Albinism (a genetic condition marked by the complete or partial absence of pigmentation in the skin, hair and eyes).

"It is a sad and tragic fact that [...]