world music

Best of 2009 selected by yours truly. Including Real Estate, In the Country, Bill Callahan, Ducktails, Steve Lehman, Celer, Ahleuchatistas, King Midas Sound, Om, Black Cobra, Vijay Iyer Trio etc.

Making a best of list has been considerably harder for 2009. Here are our mentions in random order. Fedayi Pacha, Bibio, Wye Oak, Liechtenstein, BLK JKS, Crystal Antlers, Proudpilot, Yagya, The XX, OPN..

L’Attirail takes Balkan folk & klezmer into new & cinematic territories with their 2007 album Kara Deniz, and continues to do so on their recently released “Wilderness”. And it’s exactly their progressive tone and soundtrackist mentality that sets them apart from traditional Eastern European folklore/ klezmer bands.

One of the things that will hopefully continue in 2010 is Strut’s magic streak. They hit bullseye this year with Mulatu & Heliocentrics and the 4th edition with Jimi Tenor & Tony Allen (feature coming soon). The shower continues with the Mulatu Astatke Career Retrospective released two days ago.

Yesterday’s post already mentioned the percussion wiz Cyro Baptista’s upcoming album with his Banquet of the Spirits troupe. It’s no secret Cyro loves huge ensembles that’s why I guess he decided to transfer Banquet of the Spirits from a quartet to a 26-strong ensemble.

If there’s one person I won’t tire composing similar music, it’s John Zorn. His 2008 title The Dreamers is out and it’s basically The Gift No.2 with a lot of great references to genres like exotica and surf with the help of Cyro Baptista’s mood setting percussions and Marc Ribot’s delicate guitar tone

Featuring downtown jazz players like clarinettist Doug Weiselman and accordeon player Ted Reichman alongside a wealth of other guests, “Conviviencia” is a lyrical tale from the Middle East formed on traditional Sephardic melodies from the 11th to the 16th century.

#22 is one of my self-acclaimed best shows. It’s one of the two shows where I’ve tried to mix songs in such a way to create a seamless show with the use of soundscapes and interludes. I also tried key mixing and I think it works to create the cinematic effect I desired but that made it more demanding and darker than the other shows. I’ve