CD Review: Silva's 'Jupiter'

Silva
Jupiter
Six Degrees

Brazil's Silva brings us pop-infused tunes with R&B, electronica, tropical, Latin, and urban qualities on a new album that celebrates his love of Jupiter. As a child, the planet Jupiter has been a fascination. Hence, the album artwork illustrates this point from the beginning. The music is not spacey or atmospheric, as one would expect from an otherworldly image or album title. Instead, Silva's ethnic-infused concoctions showcase the lounge side of pop, jazz, and dance. The punchy rhythms and bubbling bass accompany traditional percussion and electronically-tinged arrangements with such ease and grace the album is sure to be a favorite of all who listen. Silva's vocals are soft and mellow, but very compelling. Fans of contemporary Brazilian music will love it. Everyone should get on-board with Silva's latest release. ~ Matthew Forss

CD Review: Bombay Dub Orchestra's 'Tales From The Grand Bazaar'

Bombay Dub Orchestra
Tales From The Grand Bazaar
Six Degrees

The Bombay Dub Orchestra is project of composers Garry Hughes and Andrew T. Mackay. The nine track release contains a plethora of instruments, including sitar, sarangi, bansuri, qanun, baglama, oud, strings, synth, keys, table, santoor, sarod, French horn, guitars, cello, kalimba, harpsichord, and others. The music ambulates along with many instruments shining and glimmering with sparkling tones, filmic undertones, and traditional elements. The music is contemporary with floating vocals used at times. The music is very dreamy and instrumental with a strong Indian presence, but filmic ambiance, too. The music is slightly electronic with some dance elements, but this is primarily a groovy album with atmospheric washes, cultural instruments, and a sonic beat. Fans of Six Degrees albums will love it and anyone with a passion for Indian fusion. ~ Matthew Forss

CD Review: Ballake Sissoko's 'At Peace'

Ballake Sissoko

At Peace
No Format/Six Degrees Records
 

Mali’s kora master, Ballake Sissoko, once again joins with cellist Vincent Segal on an addictive, nine-track release that is aptly-titled, At Peace. The soothing, melodious echoes of the kora, gentle guitar picking, classical cello, and harmonious balafon make At Peace a required listen for fans of Malian music, world fusion, classical, and instrumental music. The album is void of vocals, which accentuates the instrumental prowess from Vincent, Ballake, Fassery Diabate, Aboubacar Diabate, and Moussa Diabate. The scintillating sounds of the kora provide a relaxing, though somewhat jaunty, musical result. The instrumental exchanges between Vincent and Ballake are very fluid and seamless—the result of joint African and European connections over hundreds of years. Fans of Malian fusion will love the rustic nature of the compositions, though they are recorded with very high quality equipment. ~ Matthew Forss

CD Review: Silvana Kane's 'La Jardinera'

Silvana Kane
La Jardinera
Six Degrees

Born in Peru and based in Canada, the soft-spoken and brilliant Silvana Kane creates a beautiful medley of folksy, South American-tinged compositions that are cheery, poppy, and ballad-esque. The slow, meandering folk song, "Duerme Negrito," is a good song with minimal percussion and instrumentation that is led by Silvana's voice and a distorted guitar. The playful, "La Jardinera," is a sweet song with bird sounds and a light guitar melody. The soft songs are reminiscent of nearby Argentina, Brazil, and Chile. The sweet voice of Silvana is matched by her good looks, which happen to resemble Jordana Brewster - an actress and another South American-native. However, Silvana is not acting here; her music is genuine all the way. Additionally, the ten songs are highly recommended for fans of Peruvian and Brazilian music. ~ Matthew Forss

CD Review: Curumin's 'Arrocha'

Curumin
Arrocha
Six Degrees Records

Brazilian-born, Curumin, contains a good sense of rhythm and urban grooves steeped in Brazilian colors of warmth and brilliance. The gritty grooves contain a slew of addictive electronic embellishments and catchy melodies that do not stray too far from his Brazilian roots. The thirteen tracks are a snapshot of Brazil's electronically-inclined music industry. The seductive grooves and danceable songs are equally-textured with style, grace, and fluidity that ebbs-and-flows between cool and really cool. At any rate, the contemporary compositions are more authentic and natural than other similarly-compared groups. The absence of much electronica on "Passarinho," showcases a lighter, acoustic side of Curumin with a more pop-focused result. Arrocha, which means, 'to hold on with a lot of pressure,' is perfectly-named, as Curumin does not wither from the pressure of creating amazing music. Brazilian music fans will love Curumin and the rest of the world should be on-board by this evening! ~ Matthew Forss

CD Review: Niyaz' 'Sumud'

Niyaz
Sumud
Six Degrees

The modern arrangements of the Persian group Niyaz are steeped in Persian, Kurdish, Afghani, Palestinian, and Turkish folk songs. The contemporary arrangements on keyboards, electronics, drums, and percussion are due to the talented Carmen Rizzo. Azam Ali is the vocalist, but she also plays the santoor and assorted percussion. Loga Ramin Torkian plays saz, robab, kamaan, djumbush, lafta, guitar, and viol. The stunning compositions are modernized, but not so much they are diluted with boring or cheap embellishments. Instead, the result is a catchy, moving, and ear-friendly approach to folk music. The popularized result is not devoid of folkish charm. Sumud, which means 'steadfastness' in Arabic, is appropriately-titled. Sumud will astound, amaze, and awe-inspire all who listen to it. ~ Matthew Forss

CD Review: Karsh Kale's 'Cinema'

Karsh Kale

Cinema

Six Degrees Records

The Indian-American musical influences collide on Karsh Kale's latest addition to the musical world unfold on Cinema. From the opener 'Island,' it doesn't take long for the Air or Tangerine Dream comparisons to come into view. The electronica, dub-step, trance, and dance-type musical concoctions are trademark compositions for Karsh. A host of guest vocalists lend their talents to the mix, including Denmark's Anne Rani, Vidhi Sharma, Shahid Siddiqui, Vishal Vaid, Papon, and Monica Dogra. The serene beginning to 'Cinema' bleeds into a cascade of rock riffs, electronic effects, and Indian vocals by Vidhi Sharma. The piano opens 'Avalanche' with Zero 7-like male vocals matching a downtempo guitar rhythm and light percussion. 'Turnpike' is more of a dance beat anthem with an electronic undertone and New Age progression. 'Supernova' is a dubbed-out, retro tune with all the dance rhythms one can handle. The pulsating beats and electronic accompaniment with flute and rock influences mark the sign of good song only Karsh would produce. The mix of lush rhythms, soaring vocals, dance beats, and Indian sensibilities signify an excellent achievement with Cinema. ~ Matthew Forss

CD Review: Azam Ali's 'From Night To The Edge Of Day'

Azam Ali

From Night To The Edge Of Day

Six Degrees

Iranian-born and US-based, Azam Ali, presents a multicultural recording of lullabies from around the Middle East. The spacious and subtle instrumentation are as vast as the regions the songs originate from. For instance, Azam incorporates lullabies from Azerbaijan, Turkey, Iran and Iraq. Azam's voice is steeped in tradition with a warm and tender sensibility that eschews a mystical or transcendental quality. In a similar manner, the instrumentation includes a variety of indigenous strings, percussion, and plucked instruments. Inspired by the birth of her son, From Night To The Edge Of Day is an inward journey of a calming peace and charisma that leaves every listener in awe. Ten songs and fifty-minutes of music provide a good deal of entertainment. Fans of Middle Eastern music, lullabies, New Age, and world fusion will find Azam Ali's latest release heartwarmingly appealing. ~ Matthew Forss

CD Review: Generation Bass Turn It Up With 'Transnational Dubstep'

Various Artists

Transnational Dubstep

Six Degrees

Generation Bass, founded by DJ Umb and Vincent Koreman, celebrate the diversity in cultural dubstep music appropriately titled Transnational Dubstep to reflect the cultural elements of the music. Some of the artists include Mars, Alexisk, Sabat Machines, Shem, Midival Punditz, Jajouka Soundsystem, and Celt Islam. The music reflects Indian, South American, Chinese, Middle Eastern, and European influences. The global trends in electronic and dance music have contributed to a growing desire and need to hear the many electronic sounds from all over the globe. The dubstep is primarily an instrumental album with occasional vocals that do not detract from the rhythms, moods, and melodies. The dubstep even contains hints of rock guitar, as in "Clownie", or Balkan/Klezmer rhythms on "Valium Gitan". Transnational Dubstep is definitely for fans of electronic, dubstep, dance, and club music. ~ Matthew Forss

CD Review: Natacha Atlas' 'Mounqaliba'

Natacha Atlas

Mounqaliba

Six Degrees

What seems to be a departure for Natacha Atlas may in fact be a concept album with historic roots and societal relevance. Mounqaliba is an Arabic term for 'being in a state of reversal'. In this case, the 'reversal' pertains to a growing uncivilization of global culture and society. This is evidenced throughout the album with taped excerpts of Peter Joseph's thoughts on the pitfalls of modern society through the Zeitgeist Movement for the betterment of society as a whole. Mounqaliba is largely a classical, Arabic album without Natacha's typical, modernized Arabic pop sound. Natacha tries to match the lyricism of classical music with Arabic poetry. In addition, Natacha is joined by a twenty-member Turkish orchestra with strings, ney flute, accordion, percussion, and piano. The result is a primarily classical approach to Arabic music with languid beats and soulful vocals interspersed with a few spoken word soundbites, thunder sounds, traffic noise, and religious calls. Despite this, Mounqaliba is the product of a mature songstress and visionary with an eye to the past and an ear to the future. ~ Matthew Forss

CD Review: Mali's Vieux Farka Toure is LIVE!

Vieux Farka Toure

Live

Six Degrees

The desert blues guitar style popularized by Vieux's father, the late-Ali Farka Toure, is at the forefront of performance on this live CD. Anyone familiar with Vieux's songs should recognize these tracks from 2009's Fondo (Six Degrees) release. Best of all, a previously unreleased track, 'Maiga', is included as classic desert tune with certifiable groove appeal. The live performances are culled from various venues including the Thornbury Theatre, Colorado College, The Independent, and Brisbane Powerhouse. Surprisingly, the songs blend very well and do not sound pasted together artificially. The bluesy-electric guitar playing sometimes overshadows some of the more traditional instrumentation, but there are just as many instances where the quieter moments shine. For those seeking a more modern desert blues-rock sound, then check out Vieux Farka Toure's latest release, Live! ~ Matthew Forss