After MANdolinMAN's successful first album "Old Tunes, Dusted Down" - a concept album devoted to the impressive field work of folklorist Hubert Boone - and a second album on which they explored the bossa nova style, MANdolinMAN return to their roots. The band digs even deeper into Flemish folk music and once again breathe new life into old tunes and melodies from the province of Flemish Brabant. Played on four mandolins, the music takes on new forms and teh historic melodies are injected with a modern and contemporary vigour, merged with various styles: African, polka, waltz, bluegrass and more. "...Passionate and polished playing...It's also refreshing to hear mandolins outside of bluegrass and Celtic folk settings..." - Rhythms, Australia

These mask dances, folk songs, and ceremonies come from the state of Jharkhand in India. This is energetic and up-tempo music played on purely traditional instruments, flutes, folk oboes, various drums, and percussion. Three of these tracks were made during the Karam Festival. On the eleventh day of the moon in the month of Bhad the head of the family brings home two branches of the karam tree and in the evening plants them side by side in the courtyard of the house. He then makes an offering of milk, ghee, and bread made of rice flour to the gods. Meanwhile the inhabitants of the house dress up and sing and dance in the courtyard or by the house. Performing these works is the Chhau and Nagpuri group.

Egyptian master percussionist Hossam Ramzy presents this album of Egyptian rhythmic dance. The first part of the album explains the Egyptian dance rhythms, and gives examples of each, such as the Masmoudi, Maqsoum, and Saaidi. From track 25 on, Hossam presents a drumming workshop. He explains the drums, which include the table, darabuka, mazhar, and duf, then plays simple examples as well as how the drums fit into a full percussion section.

All the way from the gauchos of Rio Grande do Sul, South Brazil, this traditional music is performed by the multi-award winning group Aldeia dos Anjos. The group performs on guitar, accordion, bass guitar, violin, flute, tambourine, and castanets. The booklet includes information about the musicians as well as illustrations for each piece.

Classical Music

This new release contains well-known and much loved steeldrum hits, such as Jamaica Farewell, Guantanamera, Yellow Bird, El Cumbanchero, Island in the Sun and many others, presented by two of London’s champion steel bands, the Southside Harmonics Steel Orchestra and the London All Stars Steel Orchestra, both multiple winners of many steel band competitions. The Southside Harmonics Steel Orchestra (formerly the ‘Lambeth Community Youth Steel Orchestra,’ re-named in 1998) was formed in the summer of 1979. Since then the band has gone on to become one of London’s finest steel orchestras. They have participated in the National Panorama Steel Band competition every year. In 1998 they were placed second, which proves the capabilities of the group. Since 1987 the band has also taken part in Europe’s largest street festival, the Notting Hill Carnival in London. They made first place four times in the “Best Steel Band on the Road” competition, entertaining carnival audiences with performances to remember. The London All Stars were the initial winners of the Lambert Steelband Festival Championship and the Jamorama Competition. Between 1980 and 1989 they won the Mangrove Trophy twice, the Panorama Championships three times and the first and second British National Steelband Festival Championship. They made history by being the first steelband to be invited to play at the 1990 BBC Proms and to represent Britain at the 1990 World Steelband Music Festival in Trinidad and Tobago.

Dumisani “Ramadu” Moyo started his career as a professional musician in 1990 in the City of Kings- Bulawayo in Zimbabwe. The city is in the South of Zimbabwe where the Ndebele language is spoken. The music in this city is very much like South African music because of the Zulu language which has similiarities with Ndebele such as the “clicks” which can be heard in Miriam Makeba’s songs for example. His name “Dumisani” means “to praise” and the family name “Moyo” means “heart.” “Ramadu” is his chosen artistic name which he prefers to use as a musician. Ramadu dropped out of school at fourteen and decided to make music his career. In 1990 he joined the a cappella group Insingizi Emnyama who specialized in iMbube and traditional dances like Indlamu and “Gumboot Dance.” Today Ramadu runs a music label and studio working with different musicians from within Zimbabwe and around the globe, in a variety of styles from pop to classical music, from blues to Afro-pop to traditional roots music from southern Africa. Ramadu recorded this, his first solo album, in the summer of 2001. It is a mixture of traditional and self-composed songs from his hometown, mostly in the Ndebele language combining traditional and modern sounds. His focus is to develop and popularize the traditional music of his culture throughout the world by staging live performances and recordings and producing music.

Nii Okai Tagoe was born into a family of master drummers and dancers in Accra, Ghana. This new album, West to West, follows his successful debut, African Roots. Tagoe has toured worldwide as a singer, percussionist and artist with artists such as Baka Beyond, ADF Soundsystem, and Lorraine Ayensu. This release reflects his extensive international travels, and features musicians from Ghana, Venezuela, Wales, Nigeria, the Carribean, and France. “…We seek to benefit the world in exploring a side to music and culture people don’t always see- music as health, music as discipline, music for life.” (Nii Tagoe)

Mary Ann’s unique collection of contemporary Gaelic songs reflects a lifetime of musicmaking in the Scottish traditional music world, but also a hothouse classical music training and even a brief foray running the BBC’s Gaelic news service. She and producer-musician husband Nick Turner are based in Ardgour in the Scottish West Highlands where they run their Watercolour Music studios, home to her various roles as writer, TV and radio broadcaster, choral director, producer, and performer. A chivvier, an encourager, an in-the-mix partner all her musical life, including her time with the seminal Gaelic supergroup Cliar, Mary Ann is finally stepping forward- An Dan is her debut solo album. “It’s important to any living culture that new songs are composed and performed. An Dan, from one of Gaelic music’s most talented figures, may surprise some- in the best possible way. A very classy album.” (Arthur Cormack) “Scottish singing doesn’t get much better than this. A wonderful singer and excellent choice of songs in Scottish Gaelic.” (D. W.)

This new release features fifteen rousing and very danceable Cuban songs in the best tradition of ‘Buena Vista’ with some of the old guard as well as the younger generation of ‘post Buena Vista’ Cuba. Artists include Luis Frank, Soneros de Verdad, Mayito Rivera, Rudy Calzado, Cesar Pedroso, and more. The Buena Vista Social Club was a members’ only club in Havana, Cuba that operated until the 1940s. The club was so widely known, that it inspired a 1990s band, a popular album, a late-nineties film, and a brand name. The spirit of the club is evident in this release as well. These songs have been handpicked and remastered by celebrated sound engineer Diz Heller.

This release contains lively and romantic Mariachi songs sung with pride and passion, telling stories of love, won and lost, about patriotic pride, about various customs at festivals and about singing beneath the balcony of the beloved. Fer Gonzalez is a singer of Mexican boleros, rancheras, hupangos, and more. His dream has always been to take Mexican music all over the world. Through his voice, music, and songs, he takes a message of joy from Mexico to the world, and presents his culture, tradition, and roots proving that music is a universal language of humankind that can break down barriers always and anywhere. Fer was born in Aguascalientes, Mexico. He inherited his love of music from his parents, especially his mother who loved Mexican music and had an extraordinary voice. His career as a professional singer did not begin until his adult life, but took off right away with radio and television appearances, stellar reviews, and appearances at international festivals.

Lutz Cassel came in touch with the culture of his ancestors for the first time in the early 1960s. This was during song contests at the Castle “Waldeck” in Germany. Although he had no idea of his background (he had been raised in the Christian faith) the music touched him deeply and from this time onwards he began to collect everything connected with Jewish culture and especially with Jewish music and to adapt it for his performances in folk clubs. Step by step he developed a repertoire of songs and also the idea to describe the history of the Jewish people and its music and culture. By and by Lutz started to season his performances with jokes, anecdotes and stories from the thousands of years of history of this people, which consists of more than just the Bible, the Roman Empire and the Holocaust. Lutz was often dissatisfied with the fact that singers of Yiddish songs in Germany generally only described the modern history of the Jews. The origins of the songs were not explained and therefore only a few people understood their meaning. His successes in many small cabarets encouraged him to combine history, stories and music. He did this not in the then popular way of many singer/songwriters, with a moralizing undertone, but with humor and irony- the typical self-irony of Jewish humor. This release is a live recording of a concert which took place in the Hamburg Music Hall for the Hanukkah Celebration of 1986.

This highly diverse Flamenco album features the best and most beautiful pieces compiled from six previous albums. Featuring international musicians from Barcelona, Cairo, London and Berlin, the wide variety of compositions and instrumentations brings pleasantly surprising and exciting phrases. Each of these works has been composed or arranged by Rafa El Tachuela. Born in Berlin, Rafa El Tachuela began teaching himself flamenco guitar at the age of thirteen. Two years later he made his first public appearances. His passion for flamenco led him to find the group Yamada, and for eight years he wrote all of their compositions. He has intensely studied authentic traditional flamenco as well as modern flamenco styles. Today, the main focus of his compositional and guitar work is the musical connection of the flamenco with elements of jazz and the ideas of the next generation of flamenco guitarists.

This release features authentic contemporary Hungarian gypsy music collected from all over the country, as well as original compositions. A wide array of instruments (guitar, pitcher, cajon, darbuka, tapan, spoons, mouth bass, mandolin, violin, bouzouki, cimbalom, double bass and 4 voices) make for an infectious, interesting and entertaining album. Khamoro Budapest Band is a folklore band that plays authentic contemporary Hungarian gypsy music collected from all over the country. Besides collected music and covers, they write, compose and publish their own original songs. Their virtuosic songs are accompanied with ‘voice bass’ and other colorful ornamentations in the accompanying voices and instruments. The music touches the hearts of the audiences and they can become deeply emotional. The lyrics sung in polyphonic modes are of real life stories about family, love, sorrow, and happiness.

Classical Music