“This album is a must for the pipes and drums enthusiast as it contains an excellent variety of original material superbly arranged and played by the Pipes and Drums of the 1st Battalion Queen’s Own Highlanders…. The overall tone and execution is of the highest caliber. This could well introduce a new approach to pipe and drums representation.” - Captain John Allen, Director of Army Bagpipe Music. (ARC Music)

Maasai Footsteps is a project that reveals the evolution of the Maasai culture and shows the value of their traditions in the world today. To illustrate this development, Anuang’a brings modern choreography to the traditional performance of song and dance. Anuang’a describes it as “a show that travels to the ancient times and connects to the present, while revealing how much of the present-day culture is influenced by the past... This is a show that brings out the beauty of the Maasai culture and the unique rhythm of powerful voices and dance.” Anuang’a explains that the dancers are not professionals, and that he wanted to demonstrate the raw talent that exists in the local villages, those who sing and dance as part of their daily routine. The three clans involved are Purko from Maasai Mara, Loodokilani from Magadi and Kisonko from Amboseli. Each of the three clans bring their own combination of rhythm, voices and movements to traditional Maasai songs. While the groups perform a cappella, the contemporary dance that Anuang’a displays is a tribute to the Maasai community.“Tradition is what makes people who they are. If you lose it, you lose your identity.” – A.F.

Noel McLoughlin the Limerick, Ireland-born singer, guitarist and string player spent his early years in Ireland playing traditional folk music with various groups in countless sessions, festivals, concerts, etc. In the 1970s he joined several Irish folk bands, among others Cromlach (later Celtic Tradition) with whom he recorded his first album in 1984. Afterwards, he concentrated on performing mainly as a soloist, playing guitar and singing Irish and Scottish folk songs, touring throughout Europe and the USA. Since 1989 he has recorded numerous albums of the most popular Irish and Scottish songs and ballads. After many international tours and broadcasts as a soloist, he now prefers to tour with a small group, with occasional solo performances. The incredible success of his recordings is due to Noel’s impressive but soft voice. A best-selling ARC Music artist, this is the long awaited brand new recording of old and new Irish songs by one of the most acclaimed singers of Irish and Scottish folk.

Irish music is enjoyed by people around the world, whether or not they or their ancestors hailed from The Emerald Isle. This new release is an entertaining and varied album of Irish songs and instrumentals, presented and compiled by Tara, a well-known name in Irish music. Tara Music has been regarded for many years as one of the leading traditional Irish music recording companies. They have a reputation for finding Ireland’s unknown traditional music stars and bringing them into the limelight. The artists they have utilized to compile this album, Martin Byrne, Christy Delaney, Alan McBride, George Ormiston, and Leo Reid, are all experts in their field. The booklet contains lyrics and chords for each and every song.

Classical Music

A moving album which creates the spiritual feeling and atmosphere of Casamance, Senegal, focusing on the traditional rhythms and melodies with added modern influences. - Baaba Maal.

Young Peruvian group Wayne Picchu is made up of three brothers who learned to play the various traditional pipes and flutes in early childhood. Their music, while being traditional, has a contemporary feel partially due to the keyboards and bass that they use in addition to the traditional instruments. The group recorded their debut album in 1996. They currently live and work in Germany, but return to Peru frequently for concerts and recording sessions.

From the producers: "There's a lot of great Jewish holiday music out there, and we were listening to one of our favorite world music programs during the holidays. That's when it occurred to us that we could do our own Khanike album, one that reflects our interests and highlights Yale's extraordinary arrangements and compositions, with music that could be enjoyed by a wide range of listeners, from little kids to serious music appreciators. And it provided a perfect opportunity for an idea that we had been discussing for some time- an entire album arranged for vocals and strings. It also gave us a perfect opportunity to join forces with Sara and David, whom we met through the Mark O'Conner Strings Camps; Amos; and Alex from the Hausmann Quartet. We wanted the repertoire to present a sense of how Khanike was and is celebrated by different cultures around the world. The Ladino songs were traditionally sung by women in the kitchen as they prepared for the holiday. There is a particular feeling of intimacy, comfort and family that was true of how we musicians felt about each other, both musically and personally, and that is really satisfying. When you listen to these songs, you'll hear the musicians thinking out loud and sharing inspiring thoughts and ideas with each other. Each of us has our own personal references, ranging from classical to jazz and blues, to Middle Eastern, klezmer, bluegrass, and Texas Swing. You'll hear all of this as we fuse seamlessly with each other."

Forrester’s Cape Breton Scottish Dance Company is the performing group of the Forrester School of Celtic Dance established in 1965 under the direction of artistic director Eileen (Pottie) Forrester of Sydney, Cape Breton, Nova Scotia. The dance company has been invited to represent Canada and their province at many international festivals. They have performed all over the world including Canada, the United States, Europe and Asia. One of the highlights was their participation in the World Folklore & Folk Game Festival in Taiwan in 1997 with 300,000 spectators and twenty other countries represented. Another festival that ranks among their favorites was Rhythms of the World at Epcot Centre, Walt Disney World, Florida, in which they represented Canada and performed in twenty-one shows at the America Gardens Theatre by the Shore. Forrester’s musical ensemble consists of award-winning highland bagpipers, drummers, bodhrán players and fiddlers. They all work together to provide their audiences with a varied repertoire of Celtic music with a mix of both traditional and contemporary works of music and dance. Their mandate is to continue to share the Celtic culture of their ancestors with many diverse audiences locally, nationally and internationally. This is evident in the fact that the director has three daughters who perform Scottish dance, and Eileen herself was first introduced to this culture by her two older sisters.

Esma’s Band – Next Generation continues the legacy left by the great Esma Redžepova, the “Queen of Gypsy Music”. Made up entirely of members of Esma’s famed Ensemble Teodosievski, and fronted by her daughter, Eleonora Mustafovska, the band purveys irresistible Gipsy Dance from Macedonia in Esma’s style and honor. As members of Esma’s Ensemble Teodosievski, the band has performed many thousands of concerts all over the world, performing their own blend of pop music based on gypsy and Balkan songs and melodies. Following Esma’s death on 11th December 2016, the band continued touring, delighting crowds around Europe with dance music from the heart of Macedonia, exploring the intricacies of rhythm and sound.

Queen's Royal Pipers: Journey Through Scotland - Best of Sco

New belly dance music from Bashir Abdel 'Aal to follow his very successful VOL. 1 OF ARABIAN.

Lous Gouyats De L'Adou: Folk Music From South-West France

The Queen's Royal Pipers: Best of Scottish Pipes and Drums

Otava Yo continue to develop the concept of bringing Russian folklore songs to broader modern-day audiences. Remaining true to themselves, they speak to their audiences, who may be curious about their own musical heritage, using modern-day ideas, melodies and vocabulary. Featuring a large number of acoustic instruments, including the unique Russian gusli and a specially-recreated Russian bagpipe, as well as female vocalists from the folk ensemble Vasilisa.