SEPTEMBER 1 2007Manu Chao "La Rdiolina" (NACIONAL / France) Manu Chao is on top the WorldZone Top 20 for a second month in a row. Last month was a teaser EP that was released to promote the release of this hot new CD. The world waited six years for a new studio album from one of the most exciting ambassadors of cosmopolitan party/protest music. Infusing rock fundamentals with elements of ska, reggae, punk, and Afro-pop since fronting Mano Negra ("Black Hand") in 1986, Chao's grown by continental leaps as a bandleader since then, as La Radiolina's mix of festival-rousing rock, defiant politics, and multilingual lyrics attests. -AMAZON.COM
Anoushka Shankar & Karsh Kale "Breathing Underwater" (EMI / India)
Like her father before her, Anoushka Shankar is a musical eclectic experimenting with forms far beyond those of Indian classical music. Going even further than on her previous disc, Rise, Shankar, along with co-producer Karsh Kale, explores the meeting of electronica and India. " -AMAZON.COM
Oliver Mtukudzi "Tsimba Itsoka" (TUKA MUSIC / Zimbabwea) Oliver Mtukudzi, known familiarly as "Tuku," is already world-famous for his irresistibly infectious brand of socially conscious Zimbabwean pop. Now a revered elder statesman, he has graced several films, including Under African Skies and The Soul Of The Mbira, both from the BBC, as well as Jit, featuring an all-Zimbabwean cast, and Neria, which addressed the dire plight of women in male-dominated cultures. He has also composed soundtracks for documentaries about Africa's ongoing struggle against AIDS. The present album's title acknowledges that everyone's footprint is different while asking what lingering traces of our lifetimes we are likely to leave behind us. -AMAZON.COM
Kiran Ahluwalia "Wanderlust" (TIME SQUARE / India) Aluwalia was born in India, grew up in Canada, and now lives with her husband and musical collaborator, Rez Abbasi, a native of Pakistan, in New York City. A longtime devotee of ghazals, ancient romantic poetry originally written in Urdu (she is one of the few modern artists to compose new music for these odes), she recently found herself enthralled by fado (literal translation--"fate"), Portugal's impassioned, doom-laden, yet somehow stately contribution to the world's lovelorn repertoire. -AMAZON.COM
17 Hippies "Heimlich" (HIPSTER RECORDS / Germany) The latest album by 17 Hippies features ukulele and a Persian hammered dulcimer—played by a former heavy metal drummer—together with an acoustic Turkish take of the hip hop classic “Apache”. The Berlin-based group emerged after the Berlin Wall fell. “It was like someone had opened a hidden door,” explains vocalist and lyricist Kiki Sauer. “New and exciting music from Eastern Europe flooded into town with new grooves. All we could do was listen, learn, and try to find our own musical connections." - WORLD MUSIC CENTRAL
17 Hippies "Heimlich" (HIPSTER RECORDS / Germany) The latest album by 17 Hippies features ukulele and a Persian hammered dulcimer—played by a former heavy metal drummer—together with an acoustic Turkish take of the hip hop classic “Apache”. The Berlin-based group emerged after the Berlin Wall fell. “It was like someone had opened a hidden door,” explains vocalist and lyricist Kiki Sauer. “New and exciting music from Eastern Europe flooded into town with new grooves. All we could do was listen, learn, and try to find our own musical connections." - WORLD MUSIC CENTRAL
Shantel "Disko Partizani" (CRAMMED/ Romania) Stefan Hantel first came to prominence when combined North African and Brazilian mix beats with East European brass ensemble music. The latter was largely inspired by his maternal roots in the Bucovina region of Romania.