New Reviews: August 30, 2004
Reviews by Matthew J. Forss
Plena Libre
Estamos Gozando!
Times Square Records
Latin music troubadours, Plena Libre, continue to pave the way for "plena" music.
Plena Libre perform a unique and enjoyable for of Latin dance music. However, the
typical Latin instrumentation is definitely evident. Male and female solo and choral
vocals are intertwined throughout. Estamos Gozando! celebrates the group’s ten year
anniversary. Another ten years is certainly not out of the question!
Various Artists
Bazaar Istanbul - Music Of Turkey
Arc Music
The instrumental music of Turkey is featured on the latest Arc Music
release: Bazaar Istanbul - Music Of Turkey. Lively instrumentation of
bender, darbouka, cura, baglama, nay, zurna, kemanche, and many more are
performed by several top Turkish folk ensembles. The ensembles perform Gypsy,
wedding, love, heroic and dance music from the region. However, vocals are
contained on some of the tracks. A high-quality recording! An informative booklet
in English, French and German translations is included.
Ex-Centric Sound System
West Nile Funk
Indieland
The Ex-Centric Sound System is a world music funk group with members from Ghana,
Israel, and France. West Nile Funk is a mostly contemporary drum & bass/trip hop type
album that explores the emergence of electronic African music. Drums, flutes, balafon,
kalimba, and guitars accompany lead and background vocals. However, West Nile Funk
is largely an instrumental work. Overall, West Nile Funk is an excellent
addition to the eclectic music collection of every collector!
Tummel
Klezmerised!
Arc Music
Klezmer music from Sweden? Absolutely! The seemingly unlikely connection of
Klezmer music and Swedish folk culture collide on Klezmerised!. Tummel performs
danceable, instrumental music on clarinet, drums, sax, tuba, guitar, bouzouki,
flute, and accordion. Whirling tunes, Swedish vocals on a few tracks and an
informative booklet in English, German, Spanish and French is included. An
invaluable addition to any Klezmer collection!
Matthew J. Forss is currently a full-time student at
Lakeland College-Sheboygan, Wisconsin. He is majoring
in Biology and German Language/Culture. Since 1998, he
has collected numerous musical instruments and CDs from
around the world. Also in 1998, he wrote a paper on
Mongolian Ethnomusicology, entitled: How Does Music
Play An Important Role In The Life And Culture Of
Mongolia? Currently, he has collected over 100 CDs that
represent dozens of different countries. His general
interests include ethnomusicology journalism and
researching the traditional/contemporary ethnic music
of various cultures from around the world. His specific,
geographic areas of study include the traditional and
popular music from Central Eurasia (especially Mongolia,
Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan.) In November of
2000, he accepted the position of writing world music CD
reviews for this site.
