What we heard in 2015: Part one
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What we heard in 2015: Part one
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What We Liked in 2015: Part 1 We've never gone in for "Best of the Year" lists at RootsWorld, because it is your editor's firm opinion that there are too damn many good albums out there to codify into a short, bulleted, ordered list. So instead, I asked our writers to contribute a few words about some of their favorite recordings of the last year, many that we never reviewed in RootsWorld and sometimes, overlooked everywhere. - Cliff Furnald Here is the first installment, with at least one more to come before we finish off the first month of 2016. Greg Harness starts us out with three of his picks. Balas y Chocolate (Sony/RCA) translates to “Bullets and Chocolate,” and that's a good description of both the pain and the hope contained in the songs on the newest record from Lila Downs. No one else blends Mexican traditional and popular music with the social activist fight for indigenous people like she does. And while I rarely recommend music videos, the miniature films for the title track and for “La Patria Madrina” are wonderful works of art in their own right.
A new release of old music from the Buena Vista Social Club, Lost And Found (World Circuit) is a compilation of studio and live recordings from the original Havana sessions in 1996 and from subsequent tours. If the first six notes from the saxophone on “Bruca Maniguá” don't hook you, I don't know what will.
Marty Lipp writes, I like to think of myself as open-minded, but reviewing albums is always a reminder that the universe is not yet through with opening my eyes. Several of my 2015 favorites could be categorized as more-than-pleasant surprises. Although I had never heard of minimalist composer Ludovico Einaudi and I'm not a fan of minimalist music in general, his venture into the folk music of Puglia made The Taranta Project (Ponderosa) a favorite of the year and one of my biggest surprises. I loved his adaption of soulful folk with elements of traditional music from outside Italy, then shaping it with a classical sensibility of development and crescendo. You can read George De Stefano's full review and listen to some music. I was ready to write off a few albums on arrival, but instead fell in love with them. I initially dismissed Buena Vista Social Club: Lost and Found (World Circuit) as an attempt to make some money by releasing songs that were not good enough to make the original albums. But the tunes are lovely and offer interesting new facets of this group of wonderful musicians. On the other side of the age spectrum, I was ready to roll my eyes at another Brooklyn hipster take at world music when I received the eponymous debut album from Banda de los Muertos (Barbes). Instead, I kept coming back to this lively set of tunes, which take rustic party music from Mexico and imbue it with some lovely horn arrangements. It's not fusion as much as a refinement of working class music.
Entering 2016 and another year of my own cranky aging process with a reminder to not be so self-satisfied is a gift for which I thank these inventive artists. Alex Brown focused on African artists this year South African musician and ethnomusicologist Dizu Plaatjies and Friends have spun gold on Ubuntu - The Common String, which pays homage to stringed instruments. The impressive variety of compositions makes this one of the most dynamic releases of the year. It's sensational from start to finish.
The late, great Mariem Hassan, the voice of the Sahara, soars on this release. Joined by her dancer and percussionist Vadiya Mint El Hanevi, the pair work with guitarist Lamgaifri Brahim and other special guests to assemble an outstanding document of Sahrawi music. Baila Sahara Baila (Nube Negra) is essential listening.
2015 also saw the release of Razia outstanding Akory. This urgent album explores the tough decisions facing Madagascar. She has become a cultural ambassador, speaking out for the children and rainforests of her homeland. Razia's contemporary Malagasy music is unique and engaging. Interlocking salegy rhythms and vibrant vocals join marovany and accordion come together on a substantial record. (Read Alex's full review and listen to some of the music) There's lots more in Part Two.
Further reading:
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