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.

Spanish singer Josefina Gomez Llorente (better known as La Jose) has been recognized as one of the leading contemporary female flamenco singers. • She is a lyricist, composer and singer with a versatile and authentic voice. La Jose has gone through many transformations as a soloist and collaborator, being influenced by her travels around the world. • These influences are revealed in highly personal compositions on her new release for Arc Music, “Espiral”, on which she sings of Gypsy journeys, human fraternity, regional homage, resilience, patience, faith and love. • “Emotion, reflection and vitality in abundance… La Jose is a woman who is going to give a lot to the world of music.” (Radio 3 Nacional, Spain)

On Mexico's west coast, inland from the tourist zone of Acapulco and Huatulco, the Costa Chica is an isolated region of towns and villages in the foothills of the Sierra Madre. It is a region known, from the outside, for violence and poverty, but, as the boleros in this album reveal, has a deep feeling for poetry, a love of music and constant parties where it all comes together far from the recording studios and the concert halls of Mexico City. In 2016, after several journeys to the area, these five remarkable bands were recorded. The groups, each in their own way, are masters of the bolero tradition, inherited from the local musician and composer Alvaro Carrillo. This collection includes very well known boleros like 'Sabor a mi' and 'Luz de luna' as well as contemporary boleros from the Costa Chica, recorded for the very first time.

Hossam Ramzy, Egypt’s Ambassador of Rhythm, was born in Cairo. His musical career began early, when at the age of three he was given his first drum- an Egyptian table. His passion for percussion was noted by his family who encouraged him to master his craft by studying with the leading music teachers of Egypt. A move to Saudi Arabia introduced Hossam to many of the Bedouin tribes who gave the young Hossam a rich insight into the cultural origins of Middle Eastern music that became the inspiration for many of his later rhythmic directions. Faddah (“Silver”) is an album of classical style Egyptian Dance compositions, created by Hossam Ramzy. Creating music for a dance routine is rather complex and requires vision and innovation. You have to be able to see the dancer in your mind while writing such music for her, counting her every step, caring about her every move and working it out rhythmically, melodically and making sure it flows from mode to mode, from beat to beat with logically worked-out transitions.

Former Spanish National Champion accorionist Enrique Ugarte, presents this new release, Classics on the Accordion. Ugarte displays perfect command of his instrument, as her performs classic and folk pieces that he has arranged. Works included are favorites like Ravel's Bolero, Mozart's Eine Kleine Nacht musik, and the Sabre Dance.

Sarvar Sabri is an internationally renowned table player whose versatility and passion for the rich diversity of the world’s musical traditions has spurred him on constantly to experiment with other world-class musicians and composers, and to extend the boundaries of his own classical form. Sarvar Sabri started learning table at a very early age from Ustad Mehdi Hasan Khan and then from Ustad Chhotey Ahmed Jan Khan. Later he came under the guidance of Ustad Bundu Khan of Meerut. He is not only proficient as a soloist, but also works with many Indian classical vocalists, instrumentalists, and dancers. His strength and distinguishing feature is his versatility; he is able to work with a range of art forms, showing awareness and sensitivity to the different styles required. As well as Indian classical music, Sabri has also been involved in experimental and fusion work with Western classical, jazz and popular music. He is the founder of the Sabri Ensemble, which is a Birmingham-based group dedicated to exploring the richness of different musical traditions and styles. The Ensemble creates music, taking inspiration from the Indian, Latin American, Afro-Carribean, jazz and Western classical traditions, exploring new sounds and techniques.

‘Christmas In Ireland’, featuring guitarist, multi-instrumentalist and singer Noel McLoughlin & multi-instrumentalist, singer, teacher, composer and arranger Ger O’Donnell offers real traditional Christmas favorites from Ireland and ‘all over’, inviting listeners to sing along in the true spirit of Christmas. + Among its thirteen seasonal tracks are ‘The Holly and the Ivy’, ‘O’ Little Town of Bethlehem’, ‘Oh Christmas Tree’ (an English translation of the German carol ‘Oh Tannenbaum’), ‘God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen’ and ‘Auld Lang Syne’.

'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)

An album of soulful compositions with heartfelt melodies, each piece highlighting a particular Egyptian instrument. Following Hossam Ramzy's high standard in dance pieces it washes onto the shores of world music with a hypnotic and exotic flavor. Includes four bonus practice tracks for dancers, and explanations to each of the songs.

The new Musical Explorers series from ARC Music makes available, often for the first time, a valuable range of historical films and audio recordings gathered from all over the world. The next release on this series is Music of Tibet, curated by Simon Broughton. Accompanying the album is Deben Bhattacharya’s film, Echoes from Tibet, which was shot in 1979 in Ladakh, Darjeeling and Dharamsala. This is where many Tibetan exiles and the Dalai Lama (who appears in the film) are based. The music on the accompanying album was recorded in 1975 and 1979 in the refugee communities of Ladakh, Himalchal Pradesh, Sikkim and Darjeeling, and also in Sarnath, close to Varansi where The Buddha gave his first sermon. The music on the album was recorded by Deben Bhattacharya on his Nagra in 1975 and 1979. “For the new Musical Explorers series by the British label, the world music expert Simon Broughton has raised a real treasure.”

Much has been said and written about the origins and first appearances of the Gypsies. Their first documented existence in Europe dates back to the early fifteenth century and most scholars agree that they originally came from Northern India. This is based on the resemblance of their Romany language to certain languages in Northern India. Apparently, the Gypsies migrated into Persia in the 11th century and further into South East Europe around the beginning of the 14th century and from there into Western Europe. Today, Gypsies live all over the world, including North and South America and even Australia. As many Gypsies worked as musicians or entertainers, they had a considerable impact on the music of the countries in which they lived- their own particular musical style often combined with the folk music of a particular country, thus preserving the traditions over centuries. The so-called Gypsy repertoire can be described as a blend of Russian, Hungarian and Romanian influences but on the other hand the Roma have contributed their own style to many areas of music and influenced other artists in their music, such as Bizet, Brahms and Dvorak, to name but a few. In this compilation, a variety of Gypsy music has been included, from purely traditional to modern, including soloists who excel with their instruments, small Gypsy ensembles, large Gypsy brass bands, some of the greatest Gypsy singers and composers as well as travelling Egyptian Gypsies, recorded on location.

The distinctive sound of Israeli folk music has charmed listeners across the globe for centuries. With this album, you can bring the music right into your living room, regardless of what country you call home. These popular songs come from the best-known Israeli composers, such as Effi Netzer, Nurit Hirsh, HaGevatron, and more. The booklet includes transcribed Hebrew lyrics, as well as English translations.

The tracks that make up this release are songs that were made famous by the Queen of Fado herself, Amalia Rodrigues. Up and coming fado starlet Matilde Larguinho sings these traditional songs, accompanied by Antonio Carvalho on the Portuguese lute and Alfredo Pena on the guitar. Included in the booklet are the original Portuguese lyrics, as well as descriptions of the songs in English and biographies of the musicians.

Classical Music

Ismael Reinhardt Quartet: Gypsy Swing