China’s rich and diverse musical heritage has been recorded and documented in a stunning, original collection. With twenty albums in the pipeline, this is a highly specialized series with the appeal of perhaps being the closest thing to the ‘complete works’ of traditional Chinese music. Each album features a different region of the vast territory; an historical snapshot of China’s heritage. Due to the cultural privacy China mandates, these are in fact rare, musical gems. Folk songs from the Uyghur peoples of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. This album features six folk songs from the Yili region in northern Xinjiang, five folk songs from Kashgar and Artux in southern Xinjiang and two excerpts from the Uyghur Twelve Muqam. All are played on traditional instruments such as rewap, dap, tembor and dotar. This is volume eighteen of a twenty album series, exploring China’s rich and diverse musical heritage.

China’s rich and diverse musical heritage has been recorded and documented in a stunning, original collection. With twenty albums in the pipeline, this is a highly specialized series with the appeal of perhaps being the closest thing to the ‘complete works’ of traditional Chinese music. Each album features a different region of the vast territory; an historical snapshot of China’s heritage. Due to the cultural privacy China mandates, these are in fact rare, musical gems. Folk songs from the Tujia and Sui peoples of Hubei and Guizhou Province. This album features ‘inserting chant’ songs and south songs of Changyang by the Tujia peoples, and various ancient songs of the Sui. All played on traditional instruments such as mouth organs, bronze drums, gongs and suona, as well as the popular dongdong kui (bamboo clarinet), that dates back thousands of years. This is volume seventeen of a twenty album series, exploring China’s rich and diverse musical heritage.

This series explores China’s rich and diverse musical heritage. The songs featured in this recording are folk songs of four of the minority ethnic groups of Guangxi province – Zhuang, Bouyei, Mulao, Maonan. As with Chinese traditional visual arts, the song titles explain their mood and origin. It is noteworthy that the music of the Dong-Tai language speakers presents a common feature of incorporating polyphonic or heterophonic songs. Although this feature is present in the music of more than 20 minorities in China, it is rare that the speakers of a whole language family all incorporate multi-voice songs in their music. The performance forms of these multi-voice songs include nearly all the types found in folk music. The number of harmonic intervals is limited because the songs usually employ only one octave. Aside from pentatonic scales, the folk music of the Dong-Tai language speakers also incorporates the scales of three or four notes.

Bringing together the music of Wales and the Khasi Hills in North East India, 'Sai-thaiñ ki Sur (the weaving of voices in Khasi) is a unique cross-cultural collaboration. Between 1841 and 1969, hundreds of men and women left Wales to establish and maintain the first Welsh Overseas Mission in the Khasi and Jaiñtia Hills. This three-year album project explores the folk songs, poetry, missionary hymns, folklore, and resultant culture of the crossing of Wales and India. Welsh songwriter Gareth Bonello (The Gentle Good) has recorded this poetic, beautiful album with artists from the indigenous Khasi community.

This Naxos World Rhythm 4 Kids sing-a-long CD helps develop sensitivity and acceptance of the musical, spiritual and religious practices of people around the world, while offering kids an experiential listen, learn and sing-a-long experience. We hope to create products that engage our youth and offer learning experiences. This collection seeks to expose children to the empowering message found in world music. Rhythm 4 Kids is a company that believes children acquire self-worth through learned behavior, through experiences shared in the home, and at school. By obtaining a better understanding about the musical and artistic traditions of other cultures, children can learn to respect and cherish difference. We want children to value their peers and elders as well as to gain acceptance of others, regardless of their religion, race or creed, to develop in children the desire and ability to communicate and learn about each other's differences in a manner that is open, creative and constructive, and to foster in them an international awareness.

Sumeet Anand Pandey is a 10th-generation Dhrupad singer, a genre of Hindustani classical music that dates back to the 15th century and the most ancient form of Indian classical music still alive today. There is no Indian musical heritage that has lasted the test of time this far, based on original documentation. Originally for meditative, spiritual and religious purposes, the ancient Dhrupad writings are often ‘in praise of the Almighty’. As the artform progressed, it was adopted by more confined groups and eventually became popular in Courts of the Mughal Emperor and even among the masses. Immovable and permanent; spiritual, heroic, thoughtful... gradually developing to an accelerating rhythmic pulse. Sumeet has been interviewed on Indian TV (video, right): “listening to Sumeet was educational and made putting this web series together all worth it.” (Arteree TV)

A.G.A Trio are three musicians from Armenia, Georgia and Anatolia (Asian Turkey), who have taken their heritage of melodies passed down through the ages and reinterpreted them to create vibrant ensemble music. From caravan travelers' lamentations in times of war to lively wedding dances in times of peace; this budding new group’s performances have captivated audiences in Europe. Born in Istanbul, Turkey, Deniz Kartal graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Turkish folk dance in 2005. He has since used his skillset to explore many different genres, including Balkan ska / reggae, electronic and folk music. He has performed with bands in Turkey, Sweden, Germany and the Czech Republic. Mikail Yakut studied classical accordion and jazz piano at university, he is a member of two bands and involved in numerous collaborations such as an electro-acoustic techno duo with Korhan Erel. One can hear influences of classical, contemporary, jazz and blues in his music. He enjoys mixing different styles and crossing genre borders while leaving room for improvisation in his live performances. Arsen Petrosyan is a young duduk master numerously awarded for his talent. He lives in Charentsavan, Armenia. Seen as a musical prodigy, he initially started his studies at the age of six. He has toured internationally and created diverse collaborations that go beyond the boundaries of traditional Armenian music.

Kalibe is as an imaginary musical society where elements of different cultures come together in harmony. The heart and voice of this album is Mae da Lua, a poet, singer, and activist from Brazil. With her deep and intense voice she sings about the need to preserve the environment, the meaning of existence, and the importance of universal love. All the songs have a strong message of tolerance and peace, with the belief that music can unite people. “I first met Mãe da Lua in 2004, when we were both street musicians in the south of Spain. She had just arrived in Europe and was travelling with so many instruments that she couldn’t carry them by herself and always had some friend around helping her. I remember I was really impressed by her approach to music: she used to arrive in a square, lay down a carpet and put several percussion instruments, flutes, guitars and weird instruments on the ground, as if it was a ritual. Then she started playing and singing, inviting people to grab an instrument and play along with her. For her, music was first of all a matter of sharing, she really believed in the power of unification that music has. Her voice was so strong and charismatic and her message so clear that it transcended language barriers. She lived with me and Ermanno Panta for a few months and we were playing music all the time. Then she went back to Brazil. In the following decade we kept in touch but met only a couple of times. At the end of 2015 I called her and asked if she ever recorded the songs we were playing together. She answered no, telling me that for some time she’d been praying to the sky for somebody to help her record and arrange those songs. That was the beginning of this album!” Matteo Crugnola

Noukilla’s Soley is a mix of sega and seggae music, with a touch of jazz: a tribute to their home country of Mauritius. Created by Creole slaves, sega music was publicly shunned in Mauritius until the 1960s, when it was embraced nationally. In the 1990s, a Mauritian Rastafari, known as Kaya after the Bob Marley classic, infused it with reggae, creating seggae. Although he died under questionable circumstances in 1999, countless contemporary Mauritian musicians are influenced by his legacy and music. The album cover features the island’s most famous ex-resident, the dodo bird.

In this album we explore the Hindustāni classical tradition and its celebrated instrument the bansuri. With liner notes detailing the rich historical roots, this album features meditative and uplifting rāgas which are thought to be therapeutic, healing and even encourage creativity. Pandit Ronu Majumdar is a globally renowned, Grammy-nominated, multiple award-winning Bansuri flutist from the Hindustani tradition of Indian classical music. He is a pioneer in his field and was trained by Pt. Pannalal Ghosh and Pt. Ravi Shankar. This is the second release in the Classical Traditions series which recently launched with ‘Classical Traditions – The Turkish Oud.’

Kadialy’s captivating kora skills originate from his long family history of Kouyate griots. Embracing the art of traditional storytelling, via the 21-stringed kora, he draws on his past heritage for inspiration while creating his own uplifting compositions. In the Senegalese society, ‘aado’ stands for ‘moral customs and values’. Kadialy’s enchanting songs touch on these principles and reflect on the Mandinka culture.“...Admirable skill and precision.” (Songlines #125) “Kadialy’s skillful and emotional playing of the kora produces some peaceful ethereal and yet highly melodic rhythms which I truly love.” (The Folk Roots) “Kadialy Kouyate’s kora playing soothes the soul with its beautiful melodies and deep messages from the griot tradition of West Africa.” (Penny Black Music, Nicky Crew)

In 2018, Fadhilee was asked to take part in a research program to explore the musical genre Omutibo. This finger-picking style of guitar playing, which originated from the Luhya people of Western Kenya, was popular around the mid ‘50s to the late ‘60s. Fadhilee started implementing it into his own songs after noticing his own natural playing style was similar. He is now a modern-day pioneer known for bringing Omutibo music to a new generation. SHINDU SHI is an album of good-time music, fetching its roots from the Luyha technique ‘Omutibo’ from Western Kenya. With a comical, dramatic and playful flair, Fadhilee is a breath of fresh air to the Kenyan and international music market, creating his own vibrant style.

Fadhilee Itulya is from Kenya. He began his professional music career in 2008 when he was featured on the Nairobi Alliance Française compilation album “Spotlight on Kenyan Music”. He draws inspiration from a style of Kenyan guitar music called omutibo from the Luhya people of Western Kenya that is driving, syncopated, and gets people to dance like nothing else. His music has elements of acoustic folk, pop / dance and World music – making for a melange of good time music that is grounded in culture, community and care for the environment. Fadhilee counts Habib Koite (Mali), Ayub Ogada (Kenya) and Richard Bona (Cameroon) among his musical influences. His debut album Kwetu (meaning home in Swahili) features 14 vibrant tracks and includes Isukuti percussion and chants, showcasing the roots percussion style of Western Kenya. Besides his performing career, Fadhilee hosts a monthly concert series called 'Fadhilee's garage,’ and is the founder of Utam Festival (Kenya).

China’s rich and diverse musical heritage has been recorded and documented in a stunning, original collection. With fifteen albums in the pipeline, this is a highly specialized series with the appeal of perhaps being the closest thing to the ‘complete works’ of traditional Chinese music. Each album features a different region of the vast territory; an historical snapshot of China’s heritage. Due to the cultural privacy China mandates, these are in fact rare, musical gems. The Uzbek and Tatar peoples both live in Xinjiang province and speak Turkic languages. The population of Chinese Uzbeks is around ten thousand, which is approximately three times that of the Tatars. The majority of these two peoples live in the northern and western regions of Xinjiang province. The Uzbek music displays its artistic charm with complex melodic variations and gorgeous ornaments. Their instrumental music mainly includes interludes of Shashmaqam and dutars accompany all the Uzbek musical pieces. The music of the Tatars is the gemstone in Xinjiang’s musical crown, with many of their songs being popular among different ethnic groups. In this album, the accordion accompanies all the Tatar songs. The kubyz, the brass jew’s harp, is another popular instrument among them and they also perform on an instrument similar to a long end-blown flute, the qurai.