Calypso is a form of folk music and dance from the Caribbean. Historically, Calypso can be traced back to the arrival of African slaves in the Caribbean islands in the seventeenth century. It has its roots on the island of Trinidad. The words of calypso songs are witty and humorous, usually involving social or political commentary in satirical form. The lyrics are characterized by arbitrary shifts in the accentuation of everyday English words. The infectious Calypso music is set in duple meter. It is a vital component of any carnival celebration in the Caribbean, and there are annual calypso competitions which are themselves a premier aspect of the carnivals. Born in Africa in 1968, King Selewa got into music through Jamaican 70s calypso, ska, rock-steady and early reggae music which he and his elder brother, Lord Skalipsoul, then performed live all over Europe in 1995. King Selewa and Chico, his guitar player, soon formed their own band of experienced musicians- their “Calypsonians,” in order to go deeper into the roots of Caribbean music, that is to say, Calypso. As Lord Invader said: “Calypso is folklore of Trinidad, a style of poetry recounting current events in song.”

Indian classical music has certain modes and ragas dedicated to the seasons, which have been explored by many generations of musicians. In accordance with the Indian calendar, spring runs from mid-February to mid-April, and is known as Vasant (or Basant). The festival Holi celebrates spring’s arrival. In this album, Baluji captures the rapture of spring, expressing seasonal feelings of renewal and hope through the subtle nuances of the chosen ragas. He celebrates his mastery of the sitar with wonderful sensitivity and dexterity. There are also some thrilling moments enthused by the distinctive tabla playing of Sukhvinder Singh “Pinky”, with his vivacious renditions of 1relas and 2chakradas. Baluji cannot see the colors of flowers but he has heard their voices, and they sing out through this joyous album – Voice of Flowers.

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.

A vibrant mix of creole heritage. The music of Sakili is from the island Rodrigues, a small volcanic island just east of Mauritius. The island’s European and African influences - waltzes, polka, mazurka, Scottish - all blend harmoniously with the ségadrum rhythms to intertwine the past musical traditions of African slaves with the western world. The three members of Sakili (Francis Prosper, Vallen Pierre Louis and Ricardo Legentil) had their own solo careers and were put together in 2019 by Mauritian artistic director Percy Yip Tong. The purpose of the group’s formation was for a European tour to introduce the rarely heard music of the Rodrigues island.

Celtic Woman - "Postcards From Ireland" Filmed at 14 beautiful and iconic locations around the island of Ireland, Postcards From Ireland features 80 minutes of beautiful Irish landscapes as Celtic Woman perform 13 new compositions from their latest album, plus some fan favorites. Breaking from the usual format of former concert specials, Celtic Woman bring an innovative, fresh and

Two CD set. This never-released-before project from The Owsley Stanley Foundation and Claddagh Records is the last ever by the legendary member of The Chieftains, Paddy Moloney. Bear's Sonic Journals: The Foxhunt, The Chieftains Live in San Francisco 1973 & 1976 was recorded live by legendary soundman Owsley "Bear" Stanley, at Boarding House on 1st October 1973, where The Chieftains appeared at the personal invitation of The Grateful Dead's Jerry Garcia.

This new release is an enchanting collection of traditional and contemporary music from mainland China and Taiwan, with both sung and instrumental pieces, showcasing traditional Chinese instruments such as the board zithers guqin and zheng, lutes, such as pipa and ruan, flutes, dizi and xiao, as well as erhu (fiddle), yangqin (hammered dulcimer), sheng (mouth-blown bamboo organ) and konghou (Chinese harp). Eastern music specialist Diz Heller compiled the songs featured here and mastered them for optimal sound quality. Authentic ensembles and musicians perform here, including the Pan Jing Ensemble, Mei Han & Red Chamber, Silk & Bamboo Ensemble, and many more. Information about each song is included in the booklet.

CD Track Listing Cantique de Nöel (O Holy Night) 2. Adeste Fideles 3. Ave Maria, dolce Maria 4. Wiegenlied 5. Oh Tannenbaum 6. Tu scendi dalle stelle 7. Amazing Grace 8. White Christmas 9. Dormi, O bambino 10. Silent Night 11. Pregaría (El cant de l'ánima a la Verge) 12. Susani 13. Happy Christmas/War is Over 14. Wiegenlied 15. Carol of the Drum (The Little Drummer Boy) 16. La virgen lava pañales 17. I'll Be Home for Christmas 18. Sleigh Ride 19. Winter Wonderland 20. Un nuevo siglo 21. Feliz Navidad DVD Track Listing Medley: White Christmas, Let It Snow, Oh Tannenbaum, Ay! Para Navidad, Tu scendi dalle stelle, Carol of the Drum (The Little Drummer Boy), Medley: Ave Maria, dolce Maria - Video, Wiegenlied, Jingle Bells, Medley: Children of Christmas, La virgen lava pañales, I'll Be Home for Christmas, Adeste Fideles, Cantique de Nöel (O Holy Night), Amazing Grace, Feliz Navidad, Silent Night, Pregaría (El cant de l'ánima a la Verge), Medley: Winter Wonderland, Wiegenlied, Sleigh Ride, Susani, Un nuevo siglo, Medley: Dormi, O bambino, Happy Christmas (War is Over).

The songs on this album are not as well known as other works by these three composers, but this more intimate form of expression often goes straight to the heart and soul of their work. Tchaikovsky wrote songs throughout his life, and it is easy to find autobiographical parallels in his chosen themes of love and longing. Rimsky-Korsakov's songs are characterized by tender lyricism, while Rachmaninov's wordless Vocalise has become one of his most famous melodies. Margarita Gritskova was born in 1987 in St. Petersburg. She is a prizewinner of the Luciano Pavarotti Competition in Modena, and the Concurso Internacional de Canto 'Villa de Colmenar Viejo' in 2010. She has performed in Carmen under the direction of Mariss Jansons in St. Petersburg, and appeared at world renowned festivals across the globe.

Pipa master Lin Shicheng is often referred to as the Ravi Shankar of the pipa. Lin was the teacher to the majority of prominent pipa players in the world today, including Gao Hong. Gao Hong has received numerous awards and honors and has toured internationally. In 2017 she became the first Chinese musician to play national anthem at a Minnesota Timberwolves NBA basketball game in Minneapolis. A truly historic recording of unedited, live performances of classical traditional pipa repertoire, showcasing rarely seen virtuosity and command of Chinese musical tradition. The feature track is a never-before-heard rendition of the Chinese evergreen Moonlight over the Spring River.

For Baluji Shrivastav to be such an accomplished and respected musician is a minor miracle. Blinded as a child, Baluji is largely self-taught. His skill, as well as his versatility, is what makes Baluji shine as a musician. Baluji has accompanied such major stars as Coldplay, Massive Attack, Annie Lennox and Noel Gallagher. He received the Order of the British Empire for his contribution to music by His Majesty the Prince of Wales in 2017, and is founder of the blind Inner Vision Orchestra. Baluji is widely recognized as an ingenious musical pioneer. Indian Classical Interactions is an album of vibrant instrumentation, choral prayers and musical revelations. This intriguing new album of original compositions truly highlights Baluji’s poetic and philosophical insight into Indian Classical music.

Kanun, the new album by Didem Basar, is a beautiful blend of Turkish and Western classical music. The dialogue created between the kanun (Turkish zither) and Western classical instruments (flute, percussion, violin and cello) is enriched by Turkish makams (modes), rhythmic cycles and improvisation, in compositions that have a distinctly impressionist approach. After composing and playing with different artists and ensembles for the past 15 years, she creates here a project very much of her own. Born in Istanbul (Turkey) in 1974, Didem started her music education at I.T.U. Turkish Music State Conservatory in 1985. Having completed her kanun training, she continued at the same University’s Composition Department. Her interest in examining the effects of music on society led her to study Sufi Music at Marmara University. She got her master's degree on the musical analysis of Sufi Music in 1999. Since then, she played in many concerts, on album recordings and radio & television programs both in Turkey and abroad.

Double 180gm vinyl LP pressing. Critically acclaimed Saharan Tuareg group Tinariwen's third album, Aman Iman: Water Is Life, is being reissued on vinyl for the first time. Released internationally in 2007 via Independiente, the album was produced by long-time associate Justin Adams and features the voice and guitar of founding member Mohammed Ag Itlale. The GRAMMY-winning collective perform a guitar-centric branch of Malian music known as Tishoumaren - a percussive, rock-oriented desert blues.

Double 180gm vinyl LP pressing. Critically acclaimed Saharan Tuareg group Tinariwen's fourth album, Imidiwan: Companions, originally released in 2009. The album hypnotically blends Malian desert blues with twanging guitar-led Tishoumaren music to create a sound altogether unique.

Senegal's greatest living artist is back with a major album that subtly alternates between tradition and modernity. A marvel of balance between modern sounds and his African roots, History is an album with variety and eclecticism. Tracks include a tribute to his late bassist, Habib Faye, the beautifully written song "Confession," a great remix of the song "Birima" with Seinabo Sey, "Hello," a duet with Mohombi, along with many other treasures. Youssou N'Dour is a Senegalese singer, songwriter, composer, occasional actor, businessman, and politician. In 2004, Rolling Stone magazine described him as, "perhaps the most famous singer alive" in Senegal and much of Africa. From April 2012 to September 2013, he was Senegal's Minister of Tourism.

With the towering spires and sky framing canyons of Monument Valley as their stage, flutist Paul Horn and R. Carlos Nakai create a music that is at once intimate and majestic. Wind, thunder, bird song, the keening of falcons and even the raucous cries of curious ravens provide counterpoint to the lyrical grace of Horn's transverse flutes and the haunting tone of Nakai's traditional Native American flute.

We learn village music straight from the source, from folk masters. We are fascinated by timbral-emotional phenomenon, beyond description, words, notes. We see parallels between the flow of a folk party and the pulse of a club night, between meaty fiddles and glitch electronica. “The band succeeds in conveying this sense to the listener. The electronics helps stippling traditional rhythms, the variantivity of folk music is transmitted through scratching or light glitching – Niewte seamlessly merges the old with the new.” (Katarzyna Ryzel, “Ruch Muzyczny”) This allows for creating personal, up-to-date music, yet still drawn from archaic Polish idiom. Utilitarian and refined, dancing and deep, local and global, from grandpas to kids.

M�nica Giraldo is a woman walking two paths. The first one is taking her deeper and deeper into the heart of Colombian music, surrounded by the power of her native land's traditional rhythms. The other one leads her out and away, following melodies and harmonies from the world. M�nica is a singer-songwriter who released two independent albums before earning a nomination for Best New Artist at the 2008 Latin Grammys. Born in Bogot�, Colombia, Giraldo studied music at Unviersidad de los Andes in her hometown and subsequently studied further at Berklee College of Music in Boston. Since her return to Colombia, she recorded several albums: Muy Cerca in 2005, Todo da Vueltas in 2008, which earned her a nomination for Best New Artist at the 2008 Latin Grammys. She also released Que venga la vida with Polen Records in 2014, and Bajo el mismo cielo in 2017. This new release features her very best work.

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.

Music is woven into the fabric of Africa and is as vast and varied as the continent's many regions, nations, and ethnic groups. From traditional songs to contemporary compositions by inspired artists, ARC Music presents in this compilation of artists from all over Africa. Featured artists include Afrika Mamas, an all-female musical group hailing from South Africa who perform a song written by the group’s leader, Insingizi a cappella trio who come from Zimbabwe, Gondwana Dawn children’s choir, Gabriella Ghermandi from Ethiopia and more. The compilation was curated by Julia Beyer, director of ARC Music, who is well-known for leading the label into new, successful world music initiatives.

Glaschu is the new studio album from urban Gael, now highland resident, Mary Ann Kennedy. Dedicated to Glasgow, the album features songs and poetry celebrating life in Glasgow from the past and present. Mary Ann’s debut solo album, ‘An Dàn’, confirmed her place as a composer and songwriter as well as performer, released on ARC to critical acclaim in July 2017. She writes: “I grew up in the southside of Glasgow, in a city rich in languages and cultures, and as part of Scottish Gaels’ biggest urban diaspora. It was something of a strange and wonderful upbringing for me and my sister, feeling part of a big community but at the same time- in terms of peers at least- sometimes feeling like the only Gaels in the village. Things change, and it’s a joy to see today at the bottom of the street where I grew up, one of Glasgow’s three Gaelic schools. You can take the girl out of Glasgow, but never Glasgow out of the girl, and in the spirit of Gaels’ eternal need to sing about home, this is my Gaelic love-song for the city in all its guises- the voices of arrivals in search of a new life and of those, like me, born and bred there with Gaelic as our first language.”

Ilya Kuzinets, leader of the group Adon Olam, was born in St. Petersburg, Russia. He began to study the violin at the municipal music school in St. Petersburg and finished the class with honors. He continued his study at the Rimsky Korsakov College, St. {Petersburg, and then at the St. Petersburg Conservatoire. There he received his diploma with honors with Professor Anatoly Reznikovsky. In 1991 he emigrated to Israel and continued his studies at the Jerusalem Rubin Academy. In the following years, he played in various orchestras and folk groups with whom he toured Germany, France, Italy, Switzerland, and South America. Since 1996, parallel to all of his concert and touring activities, he has been the house composer for The Israel Stage Orchestra, writing new pieces and arrangements for the orchestra. He also wrote arrangements for the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, and other orchestras in the area. This group presents traditional Israeli songs arranged by Kuzinets for his group Adon Olam.

Traditional Irish music is said to have originated with the Celts when they settled on the land after travelling from Europe around 500BC. They brought with them many influences of the east; one possible origin for the most famous of Celtic instruments- the harp- is that it came from Egypt and was used to create music for those of higher rank. Over the years traditional Irish music has been born, developed and spread worldwide as a means to express the traditions, musical styles, poetry works and treasured stories of it's ancestral lands. This album is a celebration of Ireland's traditions heard in songs from all over the country, from many a talented and well-known Irish musician- the tales of their land

The era of the Maharajas was a time of bejeweled kings, opulent palaces filled with the finest art, and a rich cultural tradition of Rajasthan- the land of the kings. The DHOAD Gypsies of Rajasthan take us back to these times, recreating the experiences of the public spectacle of palace life. These are ancient melodies that were handed down to DHOAD's musical director, Rahis Bharti, over several generations from his courtier-musician ancestors, who would sing in the presence of Maharajas at public events like births and marriages and religious ceremonies, or just for entertainment. 'Sona ra button Banna' celebrates the birth of a prince; 'Dhanra Saheba ji,' the arrival of the wedding party, and 'Janwariyo (Romantic Peacock)' announcing the coming of the rainy season, a symbol of wealth and the return of a lover.

This release is a captivating album by a popular folk group from Coimbra, Portugal's cultural capital. Portugal is a popular year-round locale, not only as a vacation destination in the Summer, but also for it's timeless folk and fado music. The present album is the perfect gift for Portuguese fans. Grupo Folclorico de Coimbra, a non-profit cultural association, was founded in 1986. It's main aim is to collect, study, recreate and revive the popular traditions of Coimbra, in the areas of singing, dance, costumes, poetry and life of Coimbra in the late eighteenth century to the beginning of the twentieth century. Today the group, of whom all members are past or present students and also employees of the University of Coimbra, has a repertoire of over 90 songs in two main areas: songs of very diverse types, from satire, work songs, religious songs to serenades, and dance, which include urban dances and those of the surrounding rural areas. They perform regularly in Portugal as well as abroad. They have presented their traditions in Hungary, France, Spain, Lithuania, the Canary Islands, Egypt, Brazil, and Canada. "This is a rarity... For fans of Portuguese music with a curious ear." (Allmusic USA)