Golden Bough celebrates its 36th Anniversary as a Celtic Music trio this year. rooted in the traditional music of the seven Celtic nations (Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Cornwall, The Isle of Man, French Brittany and Spanish Galicia), Golden Bough has become a popular and in-demand group on both sides of the Atlantic. Since their formation in 1980, this trio of modern day minstrels has travelled great distances to numerous countries to bring their music to enthusiastic folk fans the world over. Bakcing themselves on an array of acoustic instruments - Celtic harp, guitar, octave-mandolin, mandolin, accordion, violin, penny-whistle and bodhran, they blend their voices in the pristine harmonies that have become a Golden Bough trademark. In the recording studio, as well as on stage, Golden Bough captures the essence and joy of traditional music. "The group has made a name for itself...Thus the two concerts on the weekend were sold out...They create, in a wonderful way, the connection between the old and the new world, not only musically, but also the spirit. Once in stride, they heated up the public and didn't get away without four encores." - Holsteinischer Courier, Germany

Bellydance is a very natural dance and evolved out of ritual dances and fertility dances. It impresses and enchants spectators through its earthiness and its grace. The effortless ease of the body control of a bellydancer is fascinating and is enhanced by the personal expression of every dancer. She can be in communication with the music and her public through either wild, happy and exuberant hip and body movements, or with snake-like and introverted and erotically soft wave-like movements. In Europe bellydance has become more and more popular. Women appreciate it, as dancing enhances physical well-being, certainty and a positive attitude towards the body, and gently tones the entire body. Thus bellydance is an adventure for the dancer and the spectator alike. All of the songs on this album are from Lebanese musician Emad Sayyah, who has been performing for more than three decades. His concerts have taken him across the globe. Besides using traditional oriental instruments, Emad also utilizes modern instruments like the saxophone, oboe, and clarinet. He writes soft and harmonic arrangements avoiding quarter tones to create a new and modern sound with easily accessible melodies and rhythms.

Celtic music is the collective name given to the native folk music of the Celtic nations. The Seven Celtic nations of Ireland, Scotland, Brittany, Cornwall, Wales, Galicia and the Isle of Man share a common tradition of folk music and songs. Each musical tradition includes lively dance-tunes, melancholic airs, and songs both serious and comical. The worldwide popularity of Celtic music has blossomed over the last decade or two and it has found a place as a worldwide musical language. Behind its popularity lies a tradition o fmusic and songs passed down through centuries and generations. This collection is a snapshot of the living reality of Celtic musical traditions in today’s world, presenting music from Ireland, Scotland, Brittany, Asturias, Wales, and Galicia in a variety of sung and instrumental pieces.

Swamp Pop is indigenous to the Acadiana region of South Louisiana as well as from the Beaumont/ Port Arthur area of neighboring East Texas. It is marked by highly emotional, ultra-romantic, plaintive style vocals. The simple, unaffected and often bilingual lyrics are backed by a honky-tonk piano, bellowing sax sections and a strong R&B backbeat. Upbeat pieces often possess the bouncy rhythms of Cajun and black Creole two-steps, and their lyrics frequently convey the local color and joie de vivre spirit pervading South Louisiana. Slow melancholic ballads with their undulating bass line and dramatic breaks exhibit the heart-broken ‘what’s-the-use-of-living’ laments common to many Cajun and black Creole compositions. The genre appeared during the mid-to late 1950s, its heyday lasting until the early 1980s.

Del Canto Gitano portrays the unique, historic blend of Greek, Roman, Arabic, Sephardic, Indian and Castilian traditions, that create the mystical symbiosis of Ancient Andalusia. Arranged for flamenco guitar, with baroque guitar, Greek violin and original Iberian rhythmic interactions, combined with the vocals of Victoria Couper and Hindustani tenor Rupesh Gawas. This is music of great resonance and feeling. Born and raised in Buenos Aires, into an Argentinian/Italian family, Ignacio started playing the guitar aged six. Inspired by his cultural surroundings, he played with his siblings as a family pastime, learning Argentinian folk songs and tango music. His passion for flamenco started, aged 9, when he discovered the works of the Spanish flamenco guitarist Paco de Lucia. His desire to pursue the flamenco genre eventually took him to London in 2013, where he became musically connected with Spain and the rest of the world. Ignacio is now an acclaimed London-based flamenco guitarist, producer and recording engineer. He graduated as a choir master at Buenos Aires Conservatoire in 2013, and has since collaborated with a number of performers including Ahmed Mukhtar, Baluji Shrivastav OBE and Eduardo Niebla.

The music of Zingaros involves two different styles: gypsy and tango. The blending of these styles gives rise to a unique genre characterized by the passion and the euphoria coming from gypsy music and the melancholy and nostalgia from Argentinean tango. The band’s music is sensitive and descriptive, and it brings to mind the life experiences of Eastern European gypsies by means of chords and sounds that spring from Argentinean tango. The songs, either sung in Romani and Russian or only instrumental, tell of typical gypsy scenarios such as a spring morning, gatherings around the fire, cold evenings and the galloping of distant horses. They also describe the wind, dances, loves and dreams. Everything is there calling upon you to feel...

A Moving Sound has established worldwide recognition as a truly innovative ensemble. They borrow melodic and rhythmic inspiration from the musical traditions of Asia, Africa and the West to create rich and unique compositions. ‘Little Universe’ has been praised for its crossing of stylistic and cultural boundaries, beautiful melodies and avant-garde originality. “One of the few groups offering truly creative music from Asia.” (Marco Werman, BBC Public Radio International) “A Moving Sound is one of the most original outfits working in the world music arena today. An inspired marriage of Taiwanese traditional sounds and Western pop experimentation that forges an important new musical dialogue.” (Tom Pryor)

Rachel is an Honorable Member of Parliament representing the Bugweri District, who has used her successful singing career, six previous solo albums, to help the people of Uganda. Recorded during the Covid-19 pandemic, this album focuses on upbeat harmonious songs that encourage positivity and unity. Influenced by the country's history and it's cultural spectrum, it features native instruments from the various regions of Uganda, such as the embuutu (drum), endingidi (single-stringed fiddle) and akogo (thumb piano).

Expressed through his native Berber tongue, Abdelli acknowledges the feelings of displacement and loneliness that often arise for many people experiencing exile. With North African bendirs, Armenian duduks and Brazilian pandeiros, Abdelli blends his traditional Kabyle singing with modern and traditional influences from around the world. Abdelli has performed with the likes of Ravi Shankar, Natacha Atlas and Hossam Ramzy, and was the supporting act for Peter Gabriel’s ‘Growing Up’ tour. His worldwide tours have taken him and his musicians to Pakistan, Morocco, the United States, France and Switzerland to name a few.

Black Umfolosi are Zimbabwe's greatest musical ambassadors. Founded in March 1982 by a group of school friends, the group has developed into a global outfit over nearly forty years together. With unrivalled beauty and enthusiasm, they perform music inspired by the traditional song and dance of their native southern Africa. As such they are true custodians of their culture. The name of the group is taken from the Umfolozi Omnyama River in the Natal Province of South Africa, to where their ancestors can be traced. Just as the river is a permanent feature of this stunning landscape, so the music of Black Umfolosi shall flow from generation to generation as their permanent legacy. Specializing in the 'Imbube' style traditional to the Nguni speaking people of Southern Africa, the band's performances are energy driven and completely engaging, mixing a great gentleness of spirit and song with an exuberance in dance. The group has become firm favorites around the world with people of all ages and cultures, due to their natural ability to communicate through song. WASHABALAL' UMHLABA is the fifteenth Black Umfolosi album to be released internationally. The six voices come together in crystalline harmonies laced with their usual brand of optimism for the world. Here, Black Umfolosi sings of the joys of life, with gentle underlying messages for us to count our blessings, to appreciate and protect what we have.

A vibrant mix of creole heritage. The music of Sakili is from the island Rodrigues, a small volcanic island just east of Mauritius. The island’s European and African influences - waltzes, polka, mazurka, Scottish - all blend harmoniously with the ségadrum rhythms to intertwine the past musical traditions of African slaves with the western world. The three members of Sakili (Francis Prosper, Vallen Pierre Louis and Ricardo Legentil) had their own solo careers and were put together in 2019 by Mauritian artistic director Percy Yip Tong. The purpose of the group’s formation was for a European tour to introduce the rarely heard music of the Rodrigues island.

With previous influences of swing, folk and barbershop, interwoven with African-inspired grooves and American folk pop, Belcirque’s latest album La Grande Fête takes on a new adventure and heads south! Travelling across deserts and dry lands, and sailing stormy oceans, it finally swims ashore upon the golden sands of South America. Now wearing a sunny Latin-American jacket as barbershop and swing meet calypso, cumbia and rumba! For over ten years this seven-piece Belgian band have turned many venues upside down; music halls, street theatres, festivals – big and small. Today, they can be spotted in Europe, the UK, and even in South Korea. Their many years of playing and traveling together – getting through four Camionettes so far – resulted in Belcirque developing their own unique style. La Grande Fête, their third album, is a clear result of this.

This album features lively and soulful songs from Costa Rica, presented by Grupo Quelite. Founded in 2008, Grupo Quelite is a traditional Costa Rican music group from San Carlos, in the northern part of Costa Rica. They have performed countless concerts in many communities in Costa Rica and abroad. Their repertoire consists of songs in various traditional musical genres of Costa Rica, such as the tambito, considered a national rhythm, the calypso of the Caribbean area of the country, as well as boleros, corridos and others. Quelite's songs tell stories, and express thoughts and feelings of the peasant and rural life of the Costa Rican people. They play instruments common to traditional Costa Rican music, such as guitar, accordion, flute and clarinet, as well as more contemporary instruments such as electric bass, keyboards and drums.

Alan Shavarsh Bardezbanian was the unparalleled master of the oud, the Middle Eastern lute. Here he showcases many styles of oud playing, with fourteen folk songs and original compositions from his homeland of Armenia, as well as Turkey, Lebanon and Greece. “Oud at lightning speed with incredible sensitivity to the melody” - Allmusic.com “An earthy, elevating sound…” - Elsewhere New Zealand “The improvisational work is world class…” - OmRadio USA ALAN SHAVARSH BARDEZBANIAN was born into an Armenian family in the thriving ethnic community of Watertown, Massachusetts, in 1950. Musically gifted from an early age, Al began playing the oud as a child, modeling his playing on the versatile dance band musicians like George Mgrditchian and Richard Hagopian who performed in the local clubs every weekend. By his teens, Al had already mastered the Armenian dance hall repertoire, which he continued to perform for the rest of his life, and began exploring a wide range of other musical idioms, particularly the contemporary jazz scene of the 1960s.

Khiyo are a London-based British-Bengali band known for their unique style of blending traditional Bengali heritage music with contemporary rock‘n’roll vibes. Oliver Weeks’ wild electric guitar riffs unite energetically with strings, brass, tabla...all enhanced by the powerful and mesmerizing vocals of Sohini Alam. Their latest album ‘Bondona’, meaning ‘to pay homage to’, features Nazrul and Rabindra Sangeet classics, as well as original compositions, that honor the beauty of Bengali culture and heritage. Through Khiyo, Alam and Weeks have succeeded in preserving Bangladesh’s cultural identity for a new generation, and have introduced Bangladesh to a whole new audience.”– Lopa Kothari