JULY 15 2007

Bob Marley "Roots, Rock, Remix" (Quango / Jamaica) Reggae legend Bob Marley is being reintroduced to sound systems worldwide. A crop of today’s hottest producers –including Jimpster, Yes King, Trio Elétrico, Fort Knox Five and DJ Spooky have remixed a dozen of the cherished songs of the celebrated and beloved master. Roots, Rock, Remixed balances that fine line of being respectful to the inimitable artist Nesta was, and using the bass-heavy, digital technologies available to us today. Nothing of the gorgeous, analog originals (including classics like “One Love,” “Trenchtown Rock,” and “Lively Up Yourself”) is lost in translation.

Various Artists "Nuits D'Afrique 2007" (Disque Nuits D'Afrique / Canada) Productions Nuits d’Afrique has been instrumental in opening doors to a whole new market. Simply put, this is a major accomplishment. Indeed, many of the festival’s finest discoveries hadn’t yet put their creative talents on record before they played their first Festival International Nuits d’Afrique.

B-Side Players "Fire in The Youth" (Concord / USA) B-Side Players have been spreading their message of culture, music and family for over 10 years now. The San Diego based septet led by frontman Karlos Paez, more commonly known as Solrak, was the son of a musician and spent a good deal of his time growing up on the road. He formed B-Side Players in 1993 in San Diego. The group built a local following and continues to win San Diego music awards each year for their blend of Latin flavored reggae, afro-beat and funk.

Mamani Keita "Yelema" (Universal / Mali) Mamani Keita is a singer and musician from Mali, best known for her album with Marc Minelli, Electro Bamako. She was once a backup singer for Salif Keita. "Yelema"...has the audacity to telescope all kinds of styles, all kinds of cultural hybridization, without ever ceasing, not even for the slightest instant, to humbly belong to the thousand-year-old gestures of the most authentic African music.

Forro For All "Forro For All" (Mezzogiorno / USA) Rob Curto's Forró For All: a band dedicated to the sound of Northeastern Brazil’s “forró pé de serra”, performed with a sensibility born of New York City’s diverse and dynamic musical culture. Forró is both a musical genre and an event.

Kobo Town "Independence" (Music Disc / Trinidad) Founded by bandleader Drew Gonsalves, Kobo Town is named after the historic neighborhood in Port-of-Spain, Trinidad, where traditional calypso (kaiso) was born amid the boastful, humourous and militant chants of the roaming stickfighters. Situated near the fishermen's wharf, the area was a site of constant defiance and conflict, a place where sticks and stones, songs and verses clashed with the bayonets and batons of colonial rule. For the members of the eight-piece outfit, the name suggests an origin as well as a destination.