Detroit-born Berliner with theater background presents his concoction billed as “Yiddish Punk Cabaret”; an irreverent, pseudo-cross between German beer hall music, klezmer, & political cabaret. Multilingual. Lyrics are great. Copy in station is FCC clean (tracks 1, 4, 11 gently edited) A WRUV-FM exclusive sent directly to us from Berlin.
Čači Vorba (”cha-chee vor-bah”) means “true speech” in Romani. This Polish-Ukrainian band creates a fascinating ethnic fusion drawing heavily from traditional Gypsy & Balkan folk, mixed with modern Eastern European jazz, classical forms, & Balkan wedding music… Very special music! WRUV-FM exclusive sent to us directly from Berlin.
Listen & read about the band on their website here
Here is a must see music video (band kicks in at 2:00)
Music sampler here:
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Kroke (Yiddish name for the city of Kraków) is a Polish trio (accordion, viola/violin, & double bass) dedicated to creating rich contemporary arrangements built on the musical traditions of Poland’s historically vibrant Jewish culture. Intense, contemplative, serious, fantastic! A WRUV-FM exclusive sent directly to us from Berlin.
Early 1970’s Barcelona quartet exemplifies the Catalonian “rock laieta” movement of the Spanish psychedelic club scene. A blend of classic rock & jazz elements that’s been compared to King Crimson, Goblin, Focus, & Gentle Giant. Great retro fusion!
The most iconic female pop-singer in Iran and an Iranian movie star from the 1950s into the 1970s, until the ban on female singers after the Islamic Revolution in 1979. Still she remained in Iran until 2000. The music has sort of an Arabic-flavored Bollywood sound. Good musicianship.
Born in Jerusalem (in 1964) of a British mother & Arab father, her music is like her heritage -a fusion of Arabic & Western electronic music. Here are remixes of tracks from her amazing recent CD Mounqaliba, created by some of the best remix artists in the business.
Fabulously popular in Southeast Asia, this band of Australian, French, & Cambodian performers plays Psychedelic “Khemer-rock”; a mix of classic Cambodian styles with 60s-70s rock ‘n roll introduced by GI’s during the Vietnam war. Vocals by Srey Thy. Note the cover of “I’m Your Venus” (track #9).
Third release by this award-winning Taiwanese band founded by Fulbright scholar Mia Hsieh & Pittsburgh native Scott Prairie. Mixes traditional Taiwanese instruments and styles with traces of western pop & avant-garde arrangements. Ethnic, experimental, and wonderfully original.
Very nice collection of authentic contemporary music by local musicians from around the world (Guinea, Syria, Morocco, Trinidad, Argentina, Colombia…). Tracks feature cutting-edge African roots & trance (1-5), cumbia (9), dub, reggae, & hip-hop-inspired, and more. All fresh and creative; lots of stand-out tracks. First release from this new Bay Area label/production house. Available as a download only.
Here’s a track from the collection:
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Latest of this popular annual series: Highlights of the 26th annual World Music Festival in Nijmegen, The Netherlands. Live World music by top-notch performers from more than a dozen countries. 2-CD set, not sold in stores. Sometimes the recording quality leaves something to be desired.