This album takes the listener on a musical journey through Morocco. From the Berber traditions of the Rif and Atlas Mountains, to deeply spiritual Sufi music and the improvised street music of Marrakech, Morocco is a land of musical riches. The tracks on this release have been curated from ARC music's vast catalog of world music, and include artists like Nour Eddine, Abdesselam Damoussi, Rachid Halihal, the Altaf Gnawa Group, and many others. Julia Beyer is responsible for compiling the works on this album, and Diz Heller, once again, presents stellar mastering.

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 features fourteen new mixes combining Native American chants with modern instruments and electronics. At times relaxing, at times invigorating, always enchanting. All of the tracks are performed by Brandon Friesen and James Creasy. Brandon Friesen is an American, Grammy Award nominated and multi-Juno Award winning songwriter, music producer, and audio engineer. Brandon's career has spanned over 15 years, and he has recorded and produced artists including: Nickelback, Sum 41, Billy Ray Cyrus, Everlast, Finger Eleven, Three Days Grace, and many more. Brandon is a strong guitarist and songwriter, with the ability to produce artists of all genres by guiding musicians to create a consistent sonic vision. Grammy and Juno nominated composer/producer James Creasey began his musical journey 35 years ago with a passion and study for classical music and the desire to conduct. With the guitar as his first instrument, James quickly became a first call session player on the Canadian West Coast and eventually moved behind the glass as an engineer and producer. Relocating back to his native Winnipeg, James realized the logical outlet for his multi-faceted musical views was composing for film and television. His music has since been heard on such channels as A & E, TSN, ESPN, The Discovery Channel, and Space; along with several Canadian movies and television specials.

Classical Music

Timba MM (pronounced 'Timba emmay emmay') take traditional Cuban sounds and adapt them further with other musical genres from around the world. Michel Medrano Brindis (who has performed with the likes of David Sanborn, Gipsy Kings and Dominique Fils-Aim�) formed Timba MM with good friends Mathieu S�n�chal and Adam Goulet. They compose their own songs inspired by contemporary Cuban artists such as the Pedrito Martinez Group, NG La Banda, Sintesis, Afro Cuban All Stars and Buena Vista Social Club.

A posthumous record? "Nothing to declare!" as Rachid would have said, leaning on the bar counter, with messy hair, bright eyes, and a raspy voice. He's there, you can't miss him. He may be laid to rest in Algeria, but he hasn't left us. He knew that those who are allegedly missing are well and alive: "Do you really know the others?" the master of rock-Cha�bi once asked, quoting the greats Johnny Cash, Oum Kalthoum, and Andy Warhol in a prophetic song titled Andy Walhoo. He wrote this arabic-punk-electro piece with guitars, balafon, and mouth harp before succumbing to a heart attack on September 12, 2018. With boundless energy, Taha wrote eleven songs together with Toma Feterman for his eleventh solo album, diving deep into his roots as usual. First, Algerian Cha�bi, so subtle, yet so complex. Then rock, which took the world by storm during the postwar period, and punk, it's offshoot, in the style of The Clash. Finally, electronica, the musical revolution of the late twentieth century, as hypnotic as the Gnawas guembris or Sufi trance sounds.

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; a historical snapshot of China’s heritage. Due to the cultural privacy China mandates, these are in fact rare, musical gems. This is volume fourteen of a twenty album series, exploring China’s rich and diverse musical heritage. Folk songs from the Monba and Lhoba peoples of the Tibet Autonomous Region. These celebrational love songs of the Monba and the Jia yi jia and Bai li songs of the Lhoba, are played on a range of traditional instruments such as the Da beng, Jew’s harp and double-tube flutes.

(2-CD set) Hawaiian music of the early 20th century exerted a considerable influence on all American popular music, from country-music to the blues. It was hawaiian virtuosos - artists almost without peer - who shaped the now famous slide-guitar style.

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 new release features a wide and varied collection of Klezmer music, gathered from across the Americas and Europe. These songs represent a kaleidoscope of styles and instrumentations, from ethnic to jazzy and everything in between. The music exudes a special kind of charm, and a kind of melancholic exuberance, at once happy and sad, a kind of feel that only Klezmer can bring. Featured ensembles on this release include The Burning Bush, who specialize in music of the Ashkenazi and Sephardi traditions, London-based ensemble She’koyokh, Canadian trio From Both Ends of the Earth, and many more. This release was compiled by world music specialist Diz Heller.

Golden Bough celebrates its 36th Anniversary as a Celtic Music trio this year. rooted in the traditional music of the seven Celtic nations (Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Cornwall, The Isle of Man, French Brittany and Spanish Galicia), Golden Bough has become a popular and in-demand group on both sides of the Atlantic. Since their formation in 1980, this trio of modern day minstrels has travelled great distances to numerous countries to bring their music to enthusiastic folk fans the world over. Bakcing themselves on an array of acoustic instruments - Celtic harp, guitar, octave-mandolin, mandolin, accordion, violin, penny-whistle and bodhran, they blend their voices in the pristine harmonies that have become a Golden Bough trademark. In the recording studio, as well as on stage, Golden Bough captures the essence and joy of traditional music. "The group has made a name for itself...Thus the two concerts on the weekend were sold out...They create, in a wonderful way, the connection between the old and the new world, not only musically, but also the spirit. Once in stride, they heated up the public and didn't get away without four encores." - Holsteinischer Courier, Germany

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.

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.

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.

Also available on Blu-ray

Founded in Tel-Aviv in 1964, the Batsheva Dance Company has been headed since 1990 by Ohad Naharin: an incredible dancer with musical training, who has a true passion for movement. Through his “Gaga” technique, a choreographic vocabulary that explores the sensations and the availability of the bodies, he made his mark on the dance world and offered the company its finest hours. In 2015, Tomer Heymann’s documentary “Mr. Gaga” paid tribute to the Naharin phenomenon, its influence on the contemporary dance scene and in pop culture. This diptych aims to broaden the Batsheva videography by, as a showcase of Naharin’s aesthetics and demanding technique, featuring two of the most emblematic works in the company’s current repertoire, both filmed in Paris: Naharin’s Virus and Last Work. A collective creation, Naharin’s Virus is, in a way, a dialogue between Naharin’s choreographic style and the Batsheva dancers’. Its starting point is the text Publikumsbeschimpfung (Offending the Audience) by the Austrian playwright Peter Handke. An aesthetic manifesto, it is also a political piece: it is worth noting, for instance, that it features traditional music written by a Palestinian composer… A carefully negotiated balance between frenzy and meditation, a frail and unstable whole saturated with an enigmatic opacity and symbolism, Last Work is also a politically committed, ethically-charged piece reflecting on war, peace, oppression and coercion. While dance is stretched up to its limits, Naharin’s choreographic gesture calls for a new outlook on our contemporary world, its violence, its possibilities, its future.

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. This album features ballads from the She, wandering love songs from the Miao, and lullabies from the Li peoples. All played on traditional instruments such as the suona, lu sheng and yehu. This is volume fifteen of a twenty album series, exploring China’s rich and diverse musical heritage.

MOZART MEETS CUBA

China's rich and diverse musical heritage has been recorded and documented in a stunning, original collection. With nineteen 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. This series explores China's rich and diverse musical heritage. The songs featured in these recordings are folk songs from the Tibetan peoples of Qinghai province and the Tibet autonomous region. Beautiful folk singing, atmospheric soundscapes of nature and varied traditional instruments are heard in this colorful album from Tibet.

China's rich and diverse musical heritage has been recorded and documented in a stunning, original collection. With nineteen 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. This series explores China's rich and diverse musical heritage. The songs featured in these recordings are folk songs from the Bai, Nu and Derung peoples of Yunnan province. As with Chinese traditional visual arts, the song titles explain their mood and origin.

Classical Music

China’s rich and diverse musical heritage has been recorded and documented in a stunning, original collection. With a total of twenty albums, 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. This is the concluding volume of a twenty album series, exploring China’s rich and diverse musical heritage. It features banquet and hua’ersongs of the Hui; folk songs of the Manchu, featuring the Ba jiao gu (octagonal drum); dingba tunes of the Xibe, accompanied by the feite kena; lyrical songs of the Korean peoples, including songs from Arirang tune group; and sea songs of the Gin peoples accompanied by the duxianqin.

Classical Music

This record is a panorama of contemporary Turkish music. As such it includes traditional music - folk and classical - and also new popular music, in which Western, Indian och North African influences are combined. The music group Sameyda consists of six eminent Turkish musicians, all residing in Sweden at the time of this recoding. The group was founded by singer Sevinc Uygur, who also leads the group. Uygur also picked out the repertoire for the group, a great part of which she copied from the Turkish Radio's Folk Music Orchestras, a kind of modern versions of folk songs with strong melodies and rhythms. Many of the lyrics are humoristic and light spirited, built up around rhymes and jingles, and with love as a general theme.

Classical Music