Musicians from the UK travel to The Gambia in this unique cultural exchange. Under the guidance of Gambian percussionist and vocalist Musa Mboob, musicians from both countries create an inspired, energetic, tribal, West African soul music. "... captivating sounds of West Africa in it's most innovative masterpiece of artistic creativity... " (ebonyonline. Net) Musa Mboob and XamXam aim to bring you the perfect blend of traditional West African music with a modern twist. Musa has made it his aim in life to continue the family tradition of playing percussion and promoting traditional music from The Gambia. In 2017 Musa returned to The Gambia with a new set of musicians and returned with this collection of new songs that capture the exciting Gambian vibe.

'Daa Dee' is the first groove a baby learns in Ethiopia as it takes it's first steps. It is the sound the mother makes to help her baby in it's first attempt into independence. Minyeshu explores her own upbringing and the resulting positive changes in this uplifting album of strength, vulnerability, faith and doubts overcome. Daa Dee is Minyeshu's fourth album, a collection of dance songs exalting love, spiritualism, and what it means to be a woman- especially a mother and daughter- in today's times. Drawing from her cultural life experiences in Africa and Europe, Minyeshu has sculpted her signature tone- a hypnotic and modern hybrid of Ethiopian grooves and melodies, delicately mixed with Western instruments and styles. "Minyeshu manages to sound both accessible to a wider audience yet still authentically and proudly Ethiopian at the same time." (Songlines) "... brave and new musically stimulating and exciting experience." (NetRhythms UK)

The tango originated circa 1890 in the harbor area of Buenos Aires where musicians performed “a la parrilla” (improvised). Now the tango is a nostalgic, exciting music that has developed into a sound and dance passionately reminiscent of Argentina. Guillermo Destaillats was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina in 1970. At the age of sixteen he began to study music, starting off with piano at the Conservatorio Nacional. Although born in Buenos Aires, it was Germany that Guillermo heard tango for the first time in his life. It was the orchestra of Leopoldo Federico with Julio Sosa as a singer. He was eleven years old then, and it took eleven more years before he started learning the bandoneon, which he took up in 1992, studying with Enrique Fasuolo. In 1993, Guillermo formed Pantango together with Fernando Rubin Saglia. Saglia was born in Buenos Aires in 1968. He began studying music at the age of 20 at the Conservatorio Nacional and the Escuela de Musica Popular de Avellaneda. Michael Elvermann was born in Germany. He played clarinet in the local brass band, both self-taught and with some tuition. In 1983 he studied with Geza Komjathy at the music school in Dorsten. He joined Pantango in May 1993.

This release is a unique gold-mine of an album focusing on the world’s most prominent dulcimer players. This collection presents international performers, providing not only a brilliant listening experience but also an education in cross-cultural history. The dulcimer is a percussive stringed instrument that is seen in various forms across the globe. From the Eastern European cimbalom to the Chinese yangqin to the Indian santur, and every variation in between, the dulcimer appears in musical cultures all over the globe. The pieces on this collection feature songs, musicians, and instruments from Belarus, the British Isles, China, Greece, India, Iran, Mongolia, Slovakia, Uzbekistan, and more. “Sure to turn heads with the music’s positive, spiritual energy.” (Ascentor, Russia) “…A delight to listen to from start to finish.” (Nonsuch News, UK) “…Great to get if you want to see how the instrument differs around the world.” (Amazon)

In the history of Irish music, no group has created and maintained their calling as effectively as the Dubliners. They began their career in 1962. The original members were Ronnie Drew, Ciaran Bourke, Luke Kelly, and Barney McKenna. In 1963 they were joined by John Sheahan. In 1967 the band recorded “The New Dubliners.” The track “Seven Drunken Nights,” was released as a single. It was so bawdy that the official media decided to ban it. Luckily for the Dubliners it was picked up by the pirate station Radio Caroline and given saturation airplay. As a result, it stayed at the top of the charts in Ireland for two months and shot up to number five on the British Pop charts launching the Dubliners into stardom. More recordings followed and a performance in front of a capacity crowd in the Royal Albert Hall, London. By the early 70s, they were touring the world. This special compilation album includes the group’s biggest hits as well as several lesser-known but equally enticing songs.

In an intoxicating meeting of cultures, guitarist Ramon Goose and Senegalese singer-percussionist Modou Touré trace the ancestry of the blues – back before its birth to the dunes and deserts of western Africa. The West African Blues Project is a vibrant, exciting marriage of these two seemingly distinct but inescapably-linked musical traditions.

This new release is a very special collection of songs from Ireland. The musicians and bands included in the recording are amongst the finest Irish singer/songwriters, reflecting a range of feelings and impressions capturing the magical culture of the beautiful emerald isle. Featured artists include Dolores Keane, Mick Hanly, Barrowside, Arty McGlynn, Nollaig Casey, and John Duhan, to name just a few. The chosen songs, paint a portrait of Ireland not often seen on traditional Irish compilation albums. Rather than recording an album full of folk tunes passed down orally through generations, this release puts on display what today's Irish songwriters are producing, and punctuates these songs with beautiful sound quality.

The melting pot of cultures in the islands and coastal areas surrounding the Caribbean Sea have made this region one of the most musically fruitful in the world. Every island and every stretch of coastline boasts at least one signature style of music - often more - each different from the rest, but all bearing an irresistible, dance-friendly rhythm. Enjoy digging your heels into the sand and listening to these sunny songs. Artists featured include ARC veterans, including Blind Blake, The Sons of Buena Vista, King Selewa & His Calypsonians, and more.

Sufism is the mystical branch of Islam. The Sufi strives for a direct connection with God. The rapture of music and dance is frequently used to create a transcendental experience in which the ego falls away, allowing direct experience of the divine. There is a saying: ‘If a man claims to be a Sufi, he is not, and any true Sufi will never claim to be one’. To call a music ‘Sufi’ is to thereby bring into question its authenticity. If we claim this is Sufi music, it therefore must not be. What we can say, though, is that Shafqat Ali Khan’s music is thoroughly rooted in the Sufi tradition. Many of the songs are ghazals, a poetic musical form in which the singer, taking the woman’s perspective, longs for the return of her lover. This longing, expressed in a romantic form, is understood to be a metaphor for the soul’s longing to be connected with the divine. The spiritual expression of Sufi music is robust and intensely emotional. This is no quiet background music for meditation, but deeply passionate music that wrestles with strong emotions, from melancholy and despair to rapturous ecstasy. By directly going into the emotion, in a way somewhat akin to how an American blues or gospel singer might, we find transcendence. The music takes us on a journey, and we emerge somehow changed.

Lenka Lichtenberg is an award-winning singer and composer born in Prague and living in Toronto, Canada. With seven solo albums to date, this new album sees Lichtenberg turn her sights to her homeland-Czech Repulic- and the music that she grew up with. MASARYK is an evocative collection of reimagined Czech, Moravian and Slovak folk songs, based on Jan Masaryk’s seminal 1948 songbook Narodni pisne. Lichtenberg’s clarion voice soars above musical settings both classic and contemporary, breathing new life into the much beloved repertoire. “Lichtenberg’s vocals remain remarkably controlled and soulful throughout.” (Songlines UK) “Lenka creativity transcends all genre conventions, calling to destroy with the help of colorful music barriers between people.” (Ancestor Russia) “Passionate and prolific, Lenka Lichtenberg is a force of nature within Canada’s world music scene…” (Penguin Eggs Canada)

Though music is a universal thing, Indian classical music has a very distinctive feature of its own. The very origin of Indian classical music is in the praise of the Supreme Power of the Almighty. Thus, Indian classical music has a spiritual value, rather than an entertainment value. A performance is almost like a symphony being played, with the difference that the Indian “symphony” is not written. The artist creates it during the course of his recital, always keeping within the framework of the raga. The music is essentially an extension of a prayer but the artist is morally bound to offer his music as a gift of peace and joy to all who hear the music. The insight of the musician is thus conveyed to the listeners. On this album Rash Behari Datta plays the raga “Koushiki.” On the sitar this raga is very close to the popular raga “Kounsi-Kanhra.” During the Mughal period of India many new ragas were created and many new combinations were tried. Out of these the Kanhras type of raga became very popular. The Kounsi-Kanhra is also a combination of two ragas: the Malkouns and the Kanhra.

Rebetika is a type of Greek urban blues - bouzouki music, influenced by oriental elements. The lyrics reflect poverty, pain, oppression, unrequited love, and bitterness. Greek popular music as we know it today is original folk music enriched by modern elements. This album showcases both types of Greek music performed by The Athenians, a group that originated in 1977 and enjoyed many years of success in sold-out concert halls as they developed their musical repertoire. They not only rendered masterful interpretations of Theodorakis' music, but were equally acquainted with the compositions of other Greek composers such as Stavros Xarchakos, Manos Hatzidakis, Manos Loizos, and others. Their repertoire encompass contemporary songs and Greek popular music that has come into existence as original folk music and has been enriched by modern elements and thus developed into this genre.

The roots of traditional Balkan music go back all the way to the ancient Greek civilization. In the two millennia since, it has been influenced both by the East and the West, being the crossroad where the two meet and mingle. Despite this, traditional Balkan music has managed to sustain an original sound and spirit due to the rhythms and melodies which remain closely linked with performing practices and traditions. The lyrics, the melodies, the rhythm of this folk tradition which is very much alive, continue to pulse and are as vibrant as ever, constantly creating new forms and shapes. This ensures an ever changing beauty of Balkan music style and the many ways it can be played. This release presents authentic folk music performed over time by both professionals and amateurs. In just a few verses, they weave stories about past times and traditions, when man lived as one with nature, admired the power of thunder and yearned for nature’s strength and beauty. The times when you could hear the song of the birds before the dawn chasing away the night remind us of a life as it was meant to be for our grandparents and their grandparents, a life which our children and grandchildren might also aspire to.

Insingizi's third international release, Siyabonga follows their two critically acclaimed CDs, Voices of Southern Africa Volume 1 & 2. This extraordinary trio from Bulawayo, Zimbabwe offers uplifting performances filled with harmonious a cappella singing, traditional chants, hand percussion, and superb choreography. Their songs possess a gentleness and honesty that is soul stirring, conveying a wide range of challenges facing people today. The group's success has caught the eye of renowned music critics worldwide; in March 2010, Insingizi - Dumisani Ramadu Moyo, Blessings Nqo Nkomo, Vusa Mkhaya Ndlovu - were rewarded with the "Prix France Musique du Monde 2010" (Radio France World Music Award) at the Babel Med World Music Forum in Marseille, France.

Since 1981 some minor events associated with the Tango had been taking place in Granada, Spain, and these culminated in big festivals. As the councilor for culture at the Granada Town hall asserts, “In my opinion anyone would be quite right in thinking that the Tango in Granada becomes less foreign and surprising every year and more our own familiar tradition.” Tango is a genre whose heart lies in the people of the city and therefore cities far from its birthplace in Buenos aires can and should express their day-to-day existence in the sharp truth of the Tango. The Tango is the music of a special country, sophisticated, melancholic, solitary, “sexy yet sentimental”, more tender than chivalrous and dense with “tango moves.” In the same way as Jazz spread from the Northern Hemisphere to so many different latitudes, the Tango has done the same “from the waist upwards.” The Tango springs from a mixture of different cultures and its peculiar fragrance springs from its impurity. That is why, inseparably from its origins, it must be a space open to new creations. In this way its development from the “old guard,” moving from Gardel to Piazzolla, is confirmed.