I just got the Paris Combo - very good! Thanks for listing everything else!

The Sauti Za Busara festival on Zanzibar wrapped up earlier this week with a closing party for participants at Kendwa Rocks on Nungwi beach on the north shore of the island (also the location for full moon parties). Arriving at 10:30 pm, we were greeted by a dj spinning bongo flava music, the uptempo dance music of Tanzania (similar in rhythm and style to Congolese soukous). There were some remixes and we heard Dennis Ferrer's Afro-house classic Funu during a performance by local acrobatic dance ensemble Jambo Boys during their fire number.

While Bongo Flava is the Afropop sound of mainland Tanzania, Zanzibar is perhaps better known for its taarab music, a fusion of Arabic, Indian, and African sounds that were popularized by the former Omani rulers of the island. In its classic style, taarab is a lush, intoxicating rhythm that evokes the ambiance of an Arabic court. Two of the principal instruments are the kanun (zither) and Arabic ney flute. In its modern incarnation, the sound has been somewhat electronized to suit the palate of a younger generation of islanders.

There were a couple of taarab numbers heard that nite--including one with a sonicliciously long intro and vocal chant before breaking out into a percussive feast for the ears (and feet). Being new to this music, I can only relate it to similar sounds heard from khaleeji (Arabic Gulf area) groups such as the Kuwaiti Miami Band.

It was a great nite of world music and artisans/performers. There were poi spinners from Canada and Italy. There was an informal drumming circle on the beach led by members from Israel. The truly international audience came from Europe and the Far East. The dj playlist truly reflected the diversity of the revelers with everything from dancehall reggae to African hiphop heard on the dancefloor.

On the subject of African hiphop, there was a live PA by Ugandan hiphop group Clear Cut (whose festival appearance was sponsored by the French embassy and Alliance Francaise. known for bringing in artists and musicians from Francophone Africa to world music festivals around the globe). A very talented group of MCs rapping in both Swahili and French, incorporating ol skool hiphop and contemporary reggae-inflected styles with more than a dash of world and African music flava. We instantly recognized the sample of Jolly Mukherjee and the Madras Cinematic Orchestra's Kirwani in one of the tracks they performed.

Around 1 am, the dj broke out into a world beat set starting with Tarkan's Simarik, Khaled's Ya Mama, Elissa's A'ayshalak and an African salsa number. Dancing with rubber slippers in the white sand is a truly unforgettable experience!

As we explore more of the taarab music of this truly magical island and world cultural heritage site, we'll be sharing more on the African and world music scene here on Zanzibar.

2-Day Putumayo World Music Fest March 18-19 as part of the Mosaic Jazz & World Music Festival at the Esplanade, Singapore, featuring Youssou N'dour, Susheela Raman, Poncho Sanchez Latin Jazz Band, Sidestepper, Kaissa, and dj sets (on both nites!) by Fabian Alsultany (Globesonic, NYC)

www.mosaicmusicfestival.com/start.htm

www.putumayo.com/index.html

www.youssou.com/

www.susheelaraman.com/

www.ponchosanchez.com/flashed.html

www.sidestepper.com/sides/index.php

www.kaissa.com/html/gigs.html

www.globesonic.com/home.htm

In Miami this week with my host, DJ Micsto of the EarthNoize collective and organizer of the Six Degrees Night in South Florida

www.earthnoize.com/

As a major music market and gateway to the Caribbean and South America, Miami has come a long way since when I started attending the Winter Music Conference in the late 90s. A lot of local bands, especially those specializing in world beat fusion, have emerged on the local music scene. It is a privilege to finally be able to check out local talent that are spreading the soniclicious world music vibes.

On Thursday nite, I was finally able to catch a performance by DJ Le Spam and the Spam Allstars at Hoy Como Ayer, which is a must-see when in the Miami/Dade County area.

www.spamallstars.com/home.htm

Having caught their performance at SoBe hangout Jazid three years ago, I wanted to catch their legendary nite in the heart of Little Havana, and they certainly did not disappoint. We arrived at 11 pm and DJ Le Spam (Montreal-born Andrew Yeomanson) was already spinning some classic Latin grooves from his extensive collection of rare vinyl recordings of Afro-Cuban classics. The bands' albums, two so far, were available for sale at the door. The following is a link to an online article featuring an interview with the Spam Allstars founder on how the band got started.

www.glidemagazine.com/articles96.html

Members of the band continued to arrive thru the night, and at midnite they were to play. It was a fusion of live Afro-Cuban percussion, accompanied by keyboard, saxophone, flute, drums/timbales, and of course, Le Spam's turntables serving up midtempo electronic beats. The visual artists in charge of the event had scenes of Celia Cruz dancing on stage with Johnny Pacheco on the screen

The first set went by pretty fast (on account of all the fun). During the intermission, another dj played more salsa classics from the golden age of salsa in the70s, among them Ruben Blades' classic Pedro Navaja. The second live set proved to be more energetic than the first, and the crowd was in a serious mood to partay! At one point, they had no less than three congueros that were jamming up on the stage. A wonderful night of Afro-Cuabn rhythms fused with electronic beats make this Hoy Como Ayer gig a not-to-be-missed experience in South Florida.

Friday nite (last nite) had a decidedly Brazilian slant to it. As if one world music act wasn't enuff, there were two--including a local band that I have been wanting to check out for the longest time since when I first heard about them. The event was the BossaCucaNova concert (featuring the amazing Brazilian dj Marcelinho Da Lua) at the North Shore Bandshell with opening act, Suenalo Sound System, a Miami-based band.

www.bossacucanova.com/

www.suenalomusic.com/

They appeared as part of the Rhythm Foundations' Trans-Atlantic festival

www.rhythmfoundation.com/

This being the first time for me catching a performance by Suenalo, these guys struck me as being in the same league of Ozomatli in California or Cat Empire in Australia. Their blend of Afro-Cuban, Afrobeat, rock, and reggae was as perfect as a cup of Cuban cortadito. As they say it here, fuerte...y con sabor! They also employed the same visual artist at this event as did the Spam All Stars.

After a full hour set, Suenalo stepped down and BossaCucaNova appeared on stage. DJ Micsto remarked that this was the first time she had seen all the bandmembers up on the same stage. With lead female vocalist Cris Delanno (who sounds like a cross between Gal Costa and Marlene Dietrich at times) belting out classics from the Tom Jobim songbook among others, accompanied by all the live musicians and DJ Da Lua's live scratching and missing, it was a def a nite to remember. They even led the crowd on singing the chorus of the track Onde Anda Meu Amor (my fave track off the last album!) It goes something like this

Onde Anda Meu Amooor...Sambaaanndooo!

A couple hours and encore numbers later, the crowd was still psyched and ready to move on to the post-party at the Sandbar where DJ Da Lua spun from midnite to 3 am. Showcasing his own musical preferences, he spun an eclectic mix of Brazilian dnb, hiphop, roots reggae, ska, dancehall, and even samba de enredo. Those of you who have a chance to see BossaCucaNova live or a dj set by Da Lua (or even better, both!) in the future should definitely not miss it as it is a world of nova bossanova, world electronica fusion, and so much more. For this world music fan and Brazilophile, it is the closest thing short of hopping on a plane and laying on a praia in Niteroi while listening to sweet bossa grooves :)

Miami has a lot to offer for world music fans and enthusiasts--apart from homegrown acts like Spam Allstars and Suenalo, it is also a frequent stop for many world music acts from all over the world. A big shoutout also goes to DJ Micsto to hooking this world music fan with the best of world music in Miami :D

Just got back from the Thievery Corporation event and what a show it was! Actually went to their in-store appearance at Borders downtown today where Rob Garza and Eric Hilton fielded questions from the audience about their work. There was significant interest about the collaborators on their latest album, Cosmic Game, particularly the David Byrne track. I asked them how they came about to working with Gunjan, the Indian vocalist featured on the album and they said it was thru an introduction from one of their Washington, DC associates. Many know Gunjan as the most exemplary of all the singers groomed by Bally Sagoo. They also expressed their intention to work with the North Carolina-based singer on future albums; Garza also revealed his interest in vintage Bollywood music from the 60s and 70s.

The concert was held at the Premiere, this cavernous venue in Seattle where there was a sizable turnout. People were sitting all around the stage by 9 pm and the crowd roared to a thunderous applause to welcome the musicians who entered the stage at ten to ten. Then began a fabulous show filled with the heady mix of downtempo, world fusion, dub, ragga, Brazilian, and Latin sounds that are characteristic of Thievery Corporation. The guest vocalists featured were of a diverse range and including a special appearance by Mercan Dede who was in town for the Seattle International Festival. That Turkish fusion number with the electro-percussion and two wind instruments in duet was off the hook!

While the Jamaican mcs rocked the crowd, the budgeoning female divas were also quite prominent in their vocal and stage presence. The Brazilian singer gave a rousing performance, including the song Pela Janela from the new album. The Spanish vocalist's dulcet tones were reminiscent of a young Ruben Blades and it was he who performed the David Byrne track "Heart Is A Lonely Hunter," improvising Spanish lyrics in the process and giving a taste of el sonido latino to the grateful audience.

All in all, it was an awesome show with a great mix of sounds, genres, languages, and world music. This particular fan did notice one omission in the repertoire--the song Satyam Shivam Sundaram, vocalized by Gunjan, from the new album. Perhaps if Gunjan had toured with the band, coz only a vocal of her calibre would have done the track justice. Here's hoping that Garza and Hilton collaborate more with her in the future and invite her to tour, kinda like the way Natacha Atlas tours with Temple of Sound (granted, they are her former bandmates ex-Transglobal Undergound).

Thievery Corporation offical website for news and tour information

www.eslmusic.com/artists/thievery.html

The amazing world music artist and sonic alchemist that is Cheb i Sabbah makes his eagerly awaited return appearance in Hawaii nei this weekend as part of his La Kahena album release tour. This is my first Cheb i Sabbah event for this year after an extremely fortuitous 2004 when I had the opportunity to catch three of his performances (Miami during WMC, Honolulu during Visakha Puja, and San Francisco at Worldly I).

It is Chebiji's third annual appearance in the islands and he couldn't have come on a better occasion. If world music truly reflects the cultures of the world that inspire it, the date 23rd July couldn't be more loaded with world history as well as cultural and musical references. Here are some of the global commemorations that were observed on this day.

Egyptian Revolution Day commemorates the date in 1952 when a popularly-supported revolution resulted in the abdication of King Farouk I and paved the way for the Egyptian republic.

Birthday of His Imperial Majesty Emperor Haile Selassie I of Ethiopia, the central religious figure among the Rastafari movement.

This year, July 23rd coincides with the eve of the Avoliketesvara Bodhisattva/Goddess Quan Yin puja which falls on the nineteenth day of the sixth lunar month.

It is against a backdrop of such important world cultural celebrations, that Cheb i Sabbah returns to perform in multicultural Honolulu at Indigo resto-lounge-club in the heart of the city's Chinatown, and it was the best three hours this world music fan has spent so far this year!

Arriving at the venue, I was pleasantly surprised to learn that Chebiji will be performing in Indigo's main hall as opposed to the Opium den which was a much smaller space where he did his set last year. By 11:45 pm, a sizable crowd had gathered all along the corridors of Indigo, eagerly awaiting Chebiji's appearance. Their wish was granted and the doors to the main hall opened, as if by magic, and the sweet sounds of Asian electronica emanated from the far corner of the room where Chebiji had set up his dj booth.

The crowd wasted no time in filling the generous space and started to dance as if it were the most natural thing to do. Chebiji had opened his set with Dhol Warriors by Asian Dub Foundation and it was the perfect opener to a bhangra fusion set which saw another staple track, the D'Caro bhangra remix of Groove Armada's I See You Baby. The dancefloor filled to capacity in no time.

At 12:10, Chebiji transported us from the Punjab to the Maghreb with Sadat, the track featuring the phenomenal group B'Net Marrakech from the La Kahena album (incidentally, my second favorite track after Im Ninalou--heck I love them all!). The dancing crowd was whipped into a frenzy as the Berber beats built to a crescendo and the hypnotic chants fused with the electronic elements of the track. And the North African beats just kept flowing--there was a hiphop rai track followed by another one of Chebiji's standards and one of my favorite songs, the Said Mrad bhangra-meets-Arabic production of Moroccan singer Hasna's Marsoul Il Hob! Incidentally, I and my Egyptian friend in attendance tonite had silently prayed that he would play this song and our prayers were answered, resulting in pure bliss thru dance!

Just when we thought the Maghrebi beats couldn't get any hotter, Marsoul Il Hob was followed by Rimitti Ridim featuring the vocals of legendary rai singer Cheikha Rimitti (imagine furious North African percussion over a midtempo rhythm track and a catchy techno riff that just won't quit, and you get the picture). Then came the piece de resistance, Rachid Taha's current Arabic rock anthem Rock El Casbah--the crowd had no problem singing along to this one!

A sonic journey through North Africa would not be complete without a reference to malouf or the Arabo-Andalucian musical tradition of the region. In contmporary times, many world music artists have continued the tradition of mixing the popular music of both sides of the Meditteranean, including Algerian singer Souad Massi, who was Chebiji's choice as he dropped Ech Edani with its flamenco fusion and Gypsy vocals singing the chorus

Yo pensando en ti toda la noche
Yo pensando en ti toda la noche
Que tanto te queria

One fusion track begs for another, and this came in the form of Dhol Foundation's After the Rain, an Indian-Celtic fusion ditty that featured dueling tablas and fiddles (the latter courtesy of Máiréad Nesbitt of Lord of the Dance and AfroCelts fame) and the dancefloor spontaneously broke into an Irish jig-- even Chebiji couldn't resist bustin some moves from behind the dj booth!

After the frenetic uptempo numbers, it was time to get jiggy with some bhangrahop numbers and some gorgeous Asian-influenced electronica such as his extended remix of Mitwa from the movie Lagaan. A 1:20, a lone bellydancer suddenly emerged at the head of the crowd and did a number to the deep dive corp remix of Zehava Ben's Y'Mama. Some of the crowd took the opportunity for an intermezzo by sitting down on the floor encircling her. By her third number, Tara's Arabic ragga fusion version of Rich Girl (If I Were A Rich Man) from Fiddler On The Roof, the crowd was back on its feet again. An extended set of rai and other North African beatlicious tracks followed. At one point during the night, Chebiji took to the mic to thank the crowd and for a moment, alluded to the sobering state of world affairs.

True to the saying, time flies when you're having fun, before long the lights in the dancing hall started to slowly come back on. For his last track, Chebiji played Apache Indian's Om Namah Shivaya. This track has a lot of significance especially for this world music fan.

I started this thread earlier this year by chronicling the sounds and music of East Africa over the course of my travels to the continent. Both I and my travel companion, ardent world music lovers, brought our stash of music along and this was the one song we shared and loved. It played on the island of Zanzibar, across mainland Tanzania and the Serengeti, all the way through our departure from Africa via Nairobi. Words cannot express the beauty and meaning of this song that is very close to my heart.

I am forever in debt to Cheb i Sabbah for playing that song for the finale of his show in my hometown of Honolulu. His parting words to us tonight was to remember the message of the song: "Seek the truth and learn to be kind." Amid a turbulent world, world music seeks to reaffirm universal humanity and bring people together in the spirit of love and happiness, rather than tear them apart. With a final namaste, salaam aleikoum, and sat shri akal, thus ended a magical night of world music, gathering, and celebration featuring Cheb i Sabbah in Honolulu, Hawaii.

In the City by the Bay for the first time this year, and as a prelude to WORLDLY IV, went to check out the final nite of Cheb I Sabbah’s residency at Blue Cube featuring special guest, author/dj/yoga instructor Derek Beres who was presenting his book Global Beat Fusion: The History of the Future of Music.

www.globalbeatfusion.com/

It is my second time seeing Chebiji this year (trying to keep up to par with last year when I got to see him thrice in Miami, Honolulu, and San Francisco respectively). This time out in San Fran, I was blessed to be joined by a dear friend and fellow World Music tribe member, the amazing DJ Lady Ra from the Beats Without Borders collective, Vancouver, BC, Canada.

www.beatswithoutborders.com/

Arriving at the club just before 10 pm, we walked into the wonderful space that is Blue Cube which looked like a combination bar-meets-Goethe-Institut with its tasteful art gallery downstairs which is also where the chairs had been laid out in front of the stage. At 10 pm, author Derek Beres arrived, accompanied by fellow author Dax-Devlon Ross

www.daxdevlonross.com/home.htm

The book reading session actually took the form of an informal talk and discussion. The book, Global Beat Fusion, discusses many of the artists and movements in contemporary world fusion music such as Ojos De Brujo, Warsaw Village Band, and the groundbreaking Asian Massive Tour (Cheb I Sabbah, Karsh Kale, and MIDIval PunditZ)—many of the artists discussed on a daily basis here in the World Music Tribe. I asked author Beres his opinion about the Asian Massive movement as a major US-based world music and electronica fusion style vis-à-vis its older sibling, the UK-based Asian Underground movement. He said that the Asian Massive style is more melodic and dynamic compared to Asian Underground, and it is one of many worldtronica styles currently gaining popularity in North America alongside other styles such as Brazilian house, already a staple in mainstream clubland, and the emerging Mexican electronica scene.

It was a smallish gathering, however, with an international audience (folks from Holland and Canada), and even Chebiji sat in on the discussion. The book reading session was actually organized by SF’s own A Clean Well-Lighted Place for Books which is known for promoting indie authors and their publications. We also had a chance to chat with Peter Win, the Events & Promotions representative from the bookstore in attendance that nite.

www.bookstore.com/

Later, everybody moved upstairs for Cheb I’s dj set. The dancefloor space on the upper level was quite expansive and chic, with brick walls and hardwood floors (always a plus for dancing feet). It is always a treat to catch Chebiji playing to the home crowd in SF. We heard many a remix from the latest album, La Kahena. The dancing crowd was still straggling in while we continuously tapped our fingers and feet. Finally, when he dropped Panjabi MC’s Mirza, with its beautiful bhangra melodies and emotive lyrics, we could sit no longer and just had to get up and dance! What followed was four hours of pure nonstop dancing bliss—the crowd continued flowing in until the dancefloor was packed. We danced to more as-yet-unreleased remixes from La Kahena, including several versions of Sadat and Toura Toura--what joy!

www.chebisabbah.com/music.php

Both Derek Beres and Dax-Devlon Ross had also joined the party and were dancing to Cheb I’s global grooves. It was truly a crowd that was into all the magnificent world beats that truly crosses cultural boundaries. We continued to run into many fellow world music enthusiasts and personalities from the Bay Area, including prolific musician and producer Jef Stott (Lumin, MC Rai) who informed us of the upcoming release of the MC Rai debut album this autumn. From the audio samples he previously shared with us in the World Music Tribe, we can tell it’s a winner! We also ran into DJ Amar, a prolific dj, producer, and entrepreneur here in the Bay Area and on Tribe.

www.mcrai.com/

bansuri.net/solunamar/djamar.html

Meanwhile, the 1002 nights dance experience served up by DJ Cheb I Sabbah continued until the wee hours of the morn. The dancers never looked like they were ready to leave anytime soon (woulda stayed till dawn if they had their way ;). Everytime it looked like the nite would be over, enthusiastic handclaps, whistles, and shouts of “one more” had a grinning Cheb I play yet another downtempo worldbeat track to round up the nite. Never have I seen so much love, respect, and devotion shown toward a world music dj as I saw accorded to Chebiji that nite. Not one, not two, but three encore tracks were played, including Nitin Sawhney’s Koyal (Songbird, a personal fave) featuring the angelic voices of Reena Bhardwaj and Javanta Bose, two of the best up-and-coming Indian female vocalists, and Apache Indian’s Om Namah Shivaya (another personal fave, one with profound meaning and deep significance for this world music traveler).

And so ended a legendary world music club nite in SF. Having never caught Cheb I during his long residency at Nickie’s, we were pleased to have seen him on his last nite at Blue Cube, and wish him well on his sonic journeys (already, SF folks are waiting to see where his next residency will be) as he continues to produce and dj the most mindblowing, intercultural, and truly international worldbeatz.

Walking out of the Blue Cube in the early hours of Friday, we went back to the hotel for a brief respite before heading out to another SF institution, Amoeba Records, where we promptly went into world music shopping overdrive in their massive world section (with the dusty and scratched fingers from going thru each and every shelf uncovering audio treasures to prove it, not to mention our credit card bill ;), before preparing for the main reason we were in SF, Dhamaal Soundsystem’s bi-monthy world music and electronica clubshow, the largest in the US, WORLDLY

www.dhamaalsf.com/mailer/su...dly_1.html

PS We are currently listening to the over 30 amazing, fresh, and new world music we gathered on our trip and will be sharing information and weblinks to audioclips in the coming weeks ~*~

In Victoria, BC, this weekend, with local world musician and Sooke resident, Azul Savaje

www.angelfire.com/cantina/azulsalvaje/

On All Hallows' Eve which, as the folks at the hotel told us, was the busiest night in town, Azul recommended a world beat fusion dance party where he was also doing a live PA. The One Heart Howl party is organized by One Heart, a group with a monthly dance event here on the island. It was an all ages event and many of the adults brought their children who ran circles around the dancers like ghastly little ghouls. The music was primarily ethno-didj-trance and Afro-tribal house including tracks by the likes of the Afro Celts and Manu Chao. At 10:45, Azul came on with the electric violin which enhanced the dj mix with a sound that was at times Celtic and rakish, and at other times psychedelic and jazzy, draping itself like sonic velour over the dance beats. Since this was the first time I had caught a performance by Azul, I really enjoyed the fine performance by this skilled musician who has appeared with the Vancouver-based Beats Without Borders collective in several recent high-profiled gigs such as the Opus Hotel party and the Vancouver Folk Music Festival.

If there is a musician that can shik shak shook Sooke with his violin, or the entire Vancouver island for that matter, it is definitely Azul. Many thanks for a memorable night of world fusion and tips on the island music scene.

aka the night Janaka Selekta rocked Vancouver, BC!

10:30 pm Arrived at club Red Room in downtown Vancouver to see a packed dancefloor moving to the incredible tag team of BwB djs Tarun Nayar and Lady Ra

www.beatswithoutborders.com/

Tarun spun an eclectic, seamless mix of essential Asian flavas and bhangra dancefloor smashes including Sona Family's Indian Style, the Tigerstyle remix of Bikram Singh's Taakre, and the Fort Knox Five-produced Got That Vibe by Afrika Bambaataa feat. King Kamonzi. Lady Ra played to the Surrey massive her rockin blend of bhangra fusion including hiphop and dancehall. When Tarun dropped the Apache Indian classic, Arranged Marriage (the second Apache Indian track after Global Talk), he raised the temperature on the floor up a few noches as more bodies joined the already packed dancefloor.

This is my second BwB event this year since May which reinforced my observation that their events really bring out the multicultural denizens of Vancouver, BC. You literally saw faces right off the streets of this amazing city in the Pacific Northwest--South Asian, East Asian, European, and Middle Eastern. It helps that between the four members that make up the BwB collective, their knowledge of world music spans all its different forms, genres, and subgenres in order to cater to the eclectic tastes of their diverse partygoers. And on the night of this, the first club event in the Vancouver Celebrates Diwali 2005 program, Tarun and Lady Ra certainly do the BwB name proud.

At 11:30, Tarun introduced the night's highly anticipated headlining dj, Janaka Selekta, the visionary cofounder of Dhamaal Soundsystem, San Francisco's most dynamic world music electronica collective.

www.dhamaalsf.com/v1/index.html

At 11:30 pm, Janaka, in his Canadian debut, opened the first hour of his set with David Starfire's Loaded which perfectly introduced the sound of the Bay Area's fertile fusion of undergound dance with tablatronica and world music. It was enthusiastically received by the dancing crowd whose energy levels showed no signs of letting up. The utter brilliance of his set lies in the superb mixology and playlist selection--this is an experience that is often referred to as a journey by dj, and what a dancefloor journey Janaka took the revelers on this particular nite.

If the world can be divided into the yin-yang dichotomy, then the amazing two and a half hours that Janaka was behind the decks can stylistically be remembered as uniting the polarities of worldtronica starting with the yang aspect. Wikipedia defines yang as "the brighter element, active, light, masculine, upward-seeking." This is certainly true of the predominantly worldly breakbeat set of the first hour with lots of masculine voices, ranging from soaring Punjabi vocals to patois-driven ragga mc toasting.

The second hour opened with the dazingly dark and beautiful Ges-e and Equal-i refix of A.R. Rahman feat. Bollywood diva Lata Mangeshkar's So Gaye Hain, originally from the Zubeidaa soundtrack. This was followed by Janaka's own drum and breaks remix of Cheb i Sabbah feat. vocalist Michal Cohen's Im Ninalou. True to the yin principle, the second hour was predominantly characterized by female vocals and drum n bass tunes that progressively became darker going deeper into the night. The dancing crowd was totally into it as evident from the preliminary pix posted from the event

www.skyearth.org/events/janaka/

At 2 am, even as the lights came up, the dancefloor was still filled with dancing bodies. He closed his set with a couple of Brazilian drum n bass traxx which delighted the Latinos on the dancefloor as they shouted the chorus "samba...assim!" It was an auspicious nite for all the elements to come together--the convergence of Diwali and Eid-ul-Fitr, the meeting of Dhamaal's Janaka Selekta with Tarun and Lady Ra of BwB in a BC-Bay Area mash-up, and the global dancing community of Vancouver coming out to represent and celebrate. One can only hope that this is only the first of many collaborations between awesome world electronica talents in Vancouver and San Francisco to come.

Having narrowly missed his show in Van city, I had an opportunity to see a performance by the finest kora master this side of the Atlantic on the island last Sunday.

www.princediabate.com/

On a clear Victoria autumn night, this Guinean musician of Malinke origin, accompanied by three additional musicians--Lansana Kouyate on balafon, Thione Diop on African percussion including djembe, sabar, and talking drum, and Richard Fultineer on drum set--managed to heat up the dancefloor of the Central B & G in downtown Victoria.

The first set was more on the traditional tip with a soulful opening number that nevertheless had the audience shuffling their feet to the groove. The second song kicked the tempo up a few notches especially with the introduction of the exuberant talking drum. Prince Diabate's prowess on the kora is really a sight to behold and his vocals were in top form.

The second set saw the musicians engaging in more world fusion as the drummer took the dancers into a funkier groove. This world music enthusiast was particularly stoked to be dancing to the polyrhythmic kora, a luxurious experience that one can never seem to get enuff of. Diabate ensured a world music education on the dancefloor by frequently introducing the rhythm that accompanied each number. The special treat came in the form of the many new songs that would make up the forthcoming album, the purpose of completing which he was taking a trip back to his native Guinea following the North American tour.

As we get ready to welcome the new year 2006, looking back at 2005, it has certainly been a tremendous year for World Music!

From Africa to Asia, from the Americas to Europe and beyond, world roots and traditional music, world beat and electronica fusion, and ethnic music have definitely represented as evident from the new releases, artist performances on tour, and world music festivals around the globe.

This world music afficionado would like to acknowledge all the amazing artists, musicians, performers, djs, and fans, many of whom are members of this very tribe, for representing and showcasing the musical heritages and artforms of the world this year, and taking the opportunity to wish everyone a bountiful and prosperous 2006 filled with music, music, and more music!

And to the individuals who have chimed in on this thread in particular, I am deeply indebted for the insight and valuable suggestions that have vastly broadened our world music horizons--Carla, Aniqa, Ln, Caban, XS, Jurg, and Ross. To the incredible musicians and artists--Jef Stott www.jefstott.com/ www.embarkarecords.com/ and Vash www.bodhranai.jackalpress.com/, what incredible pleasure your music has brought us this past year, looking forward to more releases, live events, and productions in 2006! And to the djs/artist collectives--Lady Ra and Beats Without Borders (Vancouver, BC) www.beatswithoutborders.com , Micsto and EarthNoize (Miami, FL) www.earthnoize.com/, and Janaka Selekta and Dhamaal Soundsystem (SF) www.dhamaalsf.com/
mahalo nui for propagating the sounds of the world and mixing it with cutting-edge beats and technology.

In the past month alone, I have had the fortune of catching quite a few world music artists live, including Samoan/Polynesian fusion band Te Vaka www.tevaka.com/ at the Pasefika festival in Honolulu, and Middle-Eastern fusion ensemble Atash www.atash.com/ (based on Ln's recommendation, gracias Ln!) in Austin, Texas. The past 30 days have seen a deluge in new releases from established world music names such as Amr Diab and Cheikha Rimitti, and a new and exciting generation of artists such as MC Rai and Aventura. This is a strong indication for the prominence of world music and fusion on the international stage in 2006!

In bidding adieu to 2005, permit this world music traveler to sum up the year with a list of world tunes that have particularly touched my heart and rocked my world this past year.

1. Om Namah Shivaya - Apache Indian. Re-released earlier this year as a tsunami aid single, an anthem for love, peace, and understanding that I and my companion listened to during our travels in tsunami-spared Tanzania.

2. Latifa - MB Dogy. Bongo flava/Tanzanian hiphop that was heard all over the street markets of Darajani on Zanzibar.

3. Im Ninalou - Cheb i Sabbah feat. vocalist Michal Cohen. A new interpretation of 17th-century Yemenite mystic Shalom Shabazi's poetry, previously made famous by Ofra Haza, mixing devotion into 21-st century ethno-trance-dance.

4. ReggaeTurcaTone - Ayhan Sicimoglu & Istanbul Latin Ensemble. The global impact of reggaeton is undeniable, with its roots in Panamanian Spanish dancehall to the hiphop stylings of the barrio fino and to the shores of the Bosphorus, in this Turkish-Latino dancefloor smash.

5. Desi Rock - Swami. Bhangra came back in a big way in 05, this track has crossed over from balle balle club nites to hard rocking festival stages all over the world.

6. Ya Rayah (balkan mix) - Shantel. The familiar theme of exile, vocalized by a Bulgarian Roma singer, and produced in the signature style of the master of the Bucovina Club, Shantel.

7. Echotwist Frankie's Next Move - Dhamaal SF. A percolating blend of Middle Eastern fused with South Asian electronica from the most exciting worldtronica collective on the west coast.

8. Noches En Vela - Nitin Sawhney feat. Ojos De Brujo. The fave album cut from my personal #1 world fusion album of the year, Philtre, unites maverick UK-based producer, his love of flamenco, and premier flamenco fusion outfit, Ojos De Brujo.

9. Ya Salam - Emmanuel Jal & Abdel Gadir Salim. The music is world music, uniting the voices and musics of Northern and Southern Sudan, with the message being peace, coming out of 21 years of bloodshed into the 21st century.

10. Ungudi Wele Wele - Konono No. 1 Sound the horns and beat the drums, it's time to party like it's 2006!

~*~