(Part 2) Reddit mentions: The best world music

How about music that shouldn't be pay to download, i.e. music that has been around for 100s of years?

On another note most of the music I like is nigh impossible to find to buy. Basically I can download it or I can buy it from a website where I have no assurance that any of the money -- usually an outrageous amount for import CDs -- actually goes to a particular artist, that is if they have the artist at all. Sure there are alternative means like getting an itunes Japan/other country card, (there still is the language barrier to deal with) or waiting until a domestic version is released, which will never happen for most bands/artists, or even from certain people who bring imports over to sell at conventions, none of which are in a relatively close distance.

Even if I import music I have to worry that it won't play on my computer, some Japanese CDs have "we must contact a server in Japan" DRM and other such silliness, or even customs confiscating my package.

Sure it's easy for you folks that enjoy domestic music, or just music in English, you can just get online to some place that is easy to navigate and find what you want, however for me most of the time it is difficult to find music I want to download, let alone buy.

Sure, if music I wanted was readily available in a easy to access way to buy, I would do it, but it isn't so I'm not going to go through the rigmarole and inflated import prices just to make myself feel better about burning a hole in my pocket.

Now, some foreign artists have had releases over here and I've bought them in order to support more coming over, but they are few and far between, also itunes US does have some music from places that I might enjoy, but not in the sheer quantity I can find on the internet.

I have only bought things that I have already listened to and enjoyed, I figure that is the way most buy music, and until there is a radio station with music I would enjoy listening to I will still download just to get a preview and see if I enjoy it enough to buy.

Just as a few examples:
This is a relatively cheap import. That is from an older band and most of the newer CD imports are a bit more pricey, like here, here, and here.

I see. If you're looking for really old music (aka kundiman), here's a sneak preview of Harana, it's a documentary about searching for the few remaining singers who can sing and remembers these songs. You can buy the MP3s as well.

Harana - Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=32iQIuxC2wY
MP3s thru Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Introducing-Harana-Kings/dp/B008MA7NUA

As for 60's/70's folk music, you can search for the following artists. I also included the general description of their music:

Freddie Aguilar: More towards rock (using his guitar skills), very famous for 'Anak' but he has other good songs too. "Ipaglaban Mo" is a love song, but it was also used as OST for a law drama TV show with the same name. "Bayan Ko" is very patriotic. Said that his songs were anti-Martial Law.

Asin: Sounds very country (but Philippines-country, not American country music). Very mild. Really calming female voice.

Coritha: Sounds like Asin. Said to be pro-Marcos, "Lolo Jose" song in particular.

Rey Valera: Usually love songs, mainly used in big drama superstars' movies. Classic love songs.

Noel Cabangon: Country. Very patriotic songs as well.

Joey Ayala: More of ethnic Filipino sound.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=41guxaNk9FY

I used to go to this bar in Manila, but it closed down. Here are some of their performers

Cynthia Alexander
Bobby Mondejar
Ernel Mendoza

Not sure if this will help too, here's a playlist via spotify:
http://open.spotify.com/user/1276315102/playlist/5YacF6OWslVIdcuzS2TbZG

I highly recommend a band from Barcelona called Fang, which I think as a fan of Regina Spektor you will really appreciate. They are a bit obscure and don't have too much online, but I think the following few bits will win you over. Here is a video for their song 'My Black Dress' (which is in English, but will give you a good idea of what their music sounds like). I wish this were on Youtube, but the best I can do for you is a myspace fan page; they have a fantastic cover of the Cure's 'Close To Me'.

You can listen to 30 second clips (and purchase) their standout album Dos Vidas on Amazon. Most of the songs on this album are in Spanish, I believe - I don't think it is in Catalan at all, which could be a possibility I suppose.

Glad to help. It is a really good album. If you're interested there are also a lot of collections like this made for other countries, like Guitars of the Golden Triangle which collects Burmese folk and pop. There's also a Saigon Rock & Soul which is a collection of Vietnamese music and Pomegranates which collects Iranian music.

Also, if based on the songs you like I think you might enjoy the album Middle Eastern Rock by John Berberian and the Rock East Ensemble. Oud and the Fuzz is an especially awesome song.

Edit: Here's some more good ones: African Scream Contest and this collection of Middle Eastern Rock. There's also a really good "Flamenco Rock" album by Sabicas called "Rock Encounter". Here's the first track... give it some time to get good.

Well here is a list of all the ethiopiques stuff. Here's a best of. I'm not sure about it but it has a fair mix in there.

I'd highly recommend this whole album for more of Astatke's stuff.

If you want some of Guebrou's stuff, this is great.

Here is some more Mekurya sax playing.

I really like it all, though - that whole era and genre of music.

Thanks for sharing.

So many good pianists, where to begin? Have you checked out the Maybeck Recital series? The concert by Stanley Cowell is one of my favorite albums, Toshiko Akiyoshi really good as well..

Right now I'm listening a lot to Pastorale by Steve Kuhn, and a few albums by Enrico Pieranunzi (1685: Plays Bach, Handel and Scarlatti is superb. I'd say it's my favorite, but it is from 2011 so it hasn't yet stood the test of time. Trio: Dream Dance, Plays Morricone, Seaward and many more).. Eddie Higgins is good.. Ray Bryant's Somewhere in France is nice.. Fred Hersch plays Jobim is great. En Vivo piano solo by Ernán López-Nussa is also worth a listen.

Brad Mehldau as mentioned by someone else is of course the obvious recommendation for a modern jazz pianist, not obscure at all but brilliant. Live , Live in Marciac and Highway Rider would be my picks. One trio, one solo and one more ambitious undertaking (with his regular trio + Joshua Redman and a Chamber Orchestra)

Great idea for a birthday party! I'm not sure any of these will appeal to you, but I'll suggest them for whatever it's worth:

If you like Townes Van Zandt (some think he's an acquired taste), Heartworn Highways is excellent. It also features Steve Earle and Guy Clark.

The Decline of Western Civilization was a really good documentary about the early punk scene in Los Angeles, but I don't think it's out on DVD yet.

If you have any interest in Latin music, The Return of Rubén Blades is interesting.

I've also heard that U2's Joshua Tree DVD is good, but I haven't seen it.

Soukous: For an introduction, I'd recommend The Rough Guide to Franco/Le TP OK Jazz. Some of the earliest examples on the album have a Cuban rhumba feel. My favourites by him would be Chacun Pour Soi and Infidélité mado

Other artists I'd recommend - Diblo Dibala who played guitar with various groups including on this track Iyole and Sam Mangwana - Suzana

Zouk has popularity in both the Francophone areas of the Caribbean and West Africa. I highly recommend ANYTHING by the group Kassav', since they've been so influential. Much of their music is sampled by artists outside the genre. The albums Majestik Zouk and Vini Pou. I consider Rété their best track.


African zouk - Afrik Melody by Chorus and Bod Guibert 's Si Man Lé Save

Bonus: If you like Latin music, you may be interested in the parang music of Trinidad/Tobago . A type of Christmas music that is sung usually in Spanish ( it originated in Venezuela). Daisy Voisin-Goipe

I visited Paris two years ago and since hearing how hip-hop was done over the ocean, I've all but given up on American hip-hop.

I personally am particular to Marseille groups. IAM is an outstanding group. Saison 5, their latest album, is absolutely fantastic. Fonky Family and 3ème Oeil are also outstanding.

Sniper and MC Solaar are also fantastic.

I will say, while Sinik, Booba, Rohff are more of the same 'thug rap', it sounds a lot better than anything produced in the last five years in the U.S. ("Mauvais garçon", "le duc", "TDSI" come to mind).

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|name|Oceansize|
|about artist|Oceansize were a British band who combined heavy rock with several progressive/experimental elements. They formed in 1998, and funded themselves through various jobs including writing music for arcade games and building/repairing helicopters. At the start of 2001 they were named 'Best Unsigned Band in Manchester' by the Manchester Evening News. The A Very Still Movement EP was released that August, and the band enjoyed support slots with the likes of Elbow, Lift to Experience, and The Cooper Temple Clause and in March 2002 were asked to open the BPI stage at the SxSW festival in Austin... (more on last.fm)|
|album|Effloresce, released Sep 2003|
|track|Women Who Love Men Who Love Drugs|
|images|album image, artist image|
|links|lyrics, wikipedia, allmusic, discogs, imdb, official homepage, myspace, facebook, mp3 on amazon, album on amazon|
|tags|progrock, rock, progressive, postrock|
|similar|Amplifier, Vessels, Demians, Aereogramme, The Pineapple Thief|
|metrics|lastfm listeners: 201,729, lastfm plays: 7,735,167, youtube plays: 50,999, radd.it score: 21.25|


Please downvote this comment if this data is incorrect!
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The Ghosts That Haunt Me by The Crash Test Dummies.

It uses a badass Gustave Doré engraving from the Rime of the Ancient Mariner.

This is a nearly perfect album, by the way. CTDs went on to really suck with their radio stuff, but this album was a largely unknown gem. Such richly layered arrangements. Guitar, bass, pedal steel banjo, mandolin, harmonica, accordion, violin, cello, piano, keyboards, pennywhistle. It's traditional, good, rich, fun music. This was before the lead singer discovered what his voice could really do. Later he went on to over-ham it and ruin songs, but in these he's great, as is the woman's voice in many of the songs. If you've heard any song off this album, it's the Superman song, but that's really a gimmick. The others are the good stuff. The title track is my favorite.

I just started discovering Brazilian music, so I don't feel totally qualified to speak about it, but there's one artist whose music I love: Tom Zé. His early stuff was what I'd call psychedelic-samba, but Tropicália is the correct term. His undisputed masterpiece is Estudando o Samba ("studying samba") from 1975.

The songs in order (highlights in bold):

Mã

A Felicidade

Toc

Tô

Vai (menina amanhã de manhã)

Ui! (você inventa)

Doi

Mãe (mãe solteira)

Hein

Só (solidão)

Se

Índice

A lot of these are from the Brazil Classics 4: The Best of Tom Zé CD.

A good compilation of early samba is Brasil: A Century of Song, Vol. 1: Folk & Traditional, and a more contemporary collection is Putomayo's Samba Bossa Nova.

Yes!!! This album is incredible. In fact it won a Grammy. Hey, here are some other outstanding GD-related albums that younger fans might know about:

• Diga - incredibly spiritual music for me, think Ewoks and Ayahuasca
  
• Seastones - equal parts creepy and amazing, it's music that you "experience" rather than listen to
  
• The Guitar Artistry of Enrique Coria - Mickey Hart produced this album, I listen to this when I'm photographing sunsets out in remote wilderness, extremely peaceful, inspires creativity

• Manu Chao, great party music, gives off a very internationalistic vibe and automatically establishes a fun and laidback atmosphere. He sings in a mix of languages; most often Spanish, French and English. His albums Clandestino and Proxima Estacion: Esperanza are classics in Europe, it's a pity he's not that well known in the States. A song he made with an earlier band is one of my absolute favorites: Mala Vida.
  
  
• Noir Desir - Le Vent Nous Portera. Awesome song, singer got landed in jail for almost a decade for hitting his wife or girlfriend which caused her death.
  
  
• Arsenal is a Belgian band that makes Brazilian themed music. If want to get a party started these guys are a sure bet. Check out A Volta and Longee.
  
  
• Buena Vista Social Club is a band made up of a bunch of old Cuban guys. They got discovered by Ry Cooder about a decade ago, who was so impressed by them that he asked them to record a record. It was such a success that a documentary film was made about them. Chan Chan is their most famous song.
  
  
• If you like blues music, check out Ali Farka Toure from Mali. He is a legend of modern African music. Check out the last album that he released before he died, Savane and the song M'Baudy from his 1984 album Green.
  
  
• Don't think make the mistake of reducing Samba and Bossa Nova to fancy elevator music! Check out Samba da Bençao by the grandmaster of samba Vinicius de Moraes and Agua de Beber by Astrud Gilberto. The first one is like a shot of instant happy thoughts, the second one does the same with sexy thoughts. If you like it, check out the compilation album Bossa Nova Brasil. There are tons of compilation albums, 75% of which is just crap. This one offers a very good selection of Bossa's best songs.
  
  
• If you're feeling openminded, check out Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan singing Qawwali, a traditional Pakistani/Indian type of music. The way he gets entranced by his singing and the level of interaction between him, his band and the crowd are very impressive to watch.
  
  
• Marco Antonio Solis - Si Tu No Te Hubieras Ido. Film connoisseurs will know this song! Strangely enough, I'm pretty sure that if this song had been written in my native language I would have brushed it off as tacky; somehow the Spanish lends it credibility.
  
  
• So intense! 81-year old Mexican Chavela Vargas singing a Spanish classic song called La Llorona.
  
  
• Quite saccharine (excuse the pun), but absolutely worth it, Zucchero's Il Volo.

It would be majestic if I could support my favourite rookie K-Pop band BtoB. Or surprise me if that's too pricey, I'd be grateful either way :)

I hope Norway is lovely! Hmm, what can I tell you...yesterday I played frisbee with some of my friends and we managed to get a chain of 15 passes without dropping the frisbee. We were very proud of ourselves!

Just received Nitin's Sawhney boxset of his live session at the Metropolis Studios. I was excited before receiving it and I am not disappointed. The box is heavy, the pressing is high quality, these are some of the best sounding records I have. It sounds ridiculously good, no exaggeration.

There are 17 songs spread on 5 discs, 2 songs per side at 45 RPM + the last song on side A of the 5th disc. The reason is that they recorded directly on lacquer while playing, which means they had to anticipate the shape of the groove. The result is that each side is full, the groove has a lot of space, and this is probably why it sounds so good. It's worth noting that this was the first major direct to vinyl recording in decades. It's technically amazing. The engineers had to mix and master live. There was no undo, no post-production.

Music wise, it's great. "Letting Go" and "Nadia" in particular are very nicely rearranged, and the new song featuring Joss Stone "I Ask You" is soulful and makes me excited for his upcoming album.

If you're a fan, it's a must have. The boxset is a bit expensive though.

Update - some videos:

• Teaser 1
  
• Teaser 2
  
• Homelands
  
• I Ask You (with Joss Stone)

I found it on this compilation album: Pomegranates
http://www.amazon.com/Pomegranates/dp/B0031ZWZCM

Mulatu Astatqe's Ethiopes 4 and Charles Mingus' Blues & Roots! In the mood for funk? Miles Davis' Star People