Putumayo’s clever world music policy has done it once again – hit my music
button. When I drive down to Spain this summer, this’ll be part of my ‘holiday
soundtrack’ for summer 2008; such is the feel-good factor.
Ok, so you’ll need to a multi-linguist to understand the lyrics, but it shouldn’t
prevent you from enjoying this exquisite collection by some of Europe’s finest
musicians, producers and DJs. Euro Groove is oooooozing in sophistication
and style, exemplified by the opening song Destins et Desirs lifted
from Tootya (2007) by Lebanese saxophonist and jazz composer Toufic Farroukh.
After the opening strings and lazy drum beat it soon gets into its easy-going
stride with Jeanne Added’s smokey and sensual vocals, in French, putting the
icing on the cake. Midway there are shades of Farroukh’s middle-eastern roots.
The loungy jazz overtones of German duo Bettina Mischke and Roland Grosch aka Jazzamor,
provide the perfect segue on Nuit Magique, sung again in French. Italian
World Music ensemble Fiamma Fumana (fire mist) is well known for fusing Italian
folk with electronica. Here the quintet’s Check In combines trad folk sensibilities
with contemporary RnB, bringing sparkling results.
Six-piece !Dela Dap began in 2002 headed by Prague producer Stani Vana who was raised
in the Slovak mountains. Though not a Roma as such, Le Shin still possesses
a gypsy-like quality which he absorbed from the region, propelled by a violin
layered over a smooth and funky groove, which this collection is all about.
Madrid based quartet Guateque All Stars’ Superwhirly is lifted from their
self-titled 2002 album. They use a rotation of lead vocalists. This time the
track is fronted by Shiva who adds a touch of sensuality. Berlin duo Inga
Humpe and Tommi Eckart are veterans on the German alternative pop scene.
Madchen Mit Plan (Girl with a plan) was originally released on In Wirklich
in 2002. It tells the tale of a chance meeting between two lonely people, and
it’s one of the standout tracks here. Formed in Yorkshire, Chumbawamba have been
together for over two decades, scoring a massive hit with Tubthumping in
1997.
The excellent Jacob’s Ladder is an example of their departure from anthemic
pop, veering more towards world music, tinged with Celtic flavours. Smoother
lounge stylings remerge via the cool and sophisticated Florentine trio Mystic
Diversion’s E Pa-Pa, featuring sultry singer/songwriter/ actress Pati Palma,
singing in French.
Continuing the French theme, brothers Mouss and Hakim Amokrane hail from Toulouse,
with their song Mina reflecting the oppression of women, by people who
follow fundamentalist beliefs.
DVDs reviewed by the editor are watched on a Panasonic TXW32R4 32" widescreen TV
connected to either a Creative Dxr2 DVD-ROM player or Microsoft Xbox and
played through a Sony STR-DB930 amplifier.
PC games reviewed by the editor are on:
Since Nov 2005: Intel Pentium D 830 3.0Ghz, 1Gb RAM, 128Mb nVidia GeForce 6700XL, Windows XP
Since Aug 2003: Intel Pentium 4 2.66Ghz, 512Mb RAM, 128Mb GeForce4 MX440 graphics, Windows XP
Since May 2003: Intel Pentium 4 2.6Ghz, 512Mb RAM, 128Mb ATI Radeon 9600TX graphics, Windows XP
Since Jun 2002: Intel Pentium III 600Mhz, 384Mb RAM, Windows 98 SE, 64Mb ATI Radeon 8500LE
Since May 2000: Intel Pentium III 600Mhz, 384Mb RAM, Windows 98 SE, Voodoo 3 3000 AGP
Review & concert pics copyright © Elly Roberts, 2004-2008.
