Global Top 10 Albums, April 2009

For the second month running, the Basques top the SoundRoots/STG Top 10 -- And I've had a chance to preview the accompanying film documenting Oreka TX's musical travels from the Saraha to the Arctic to remote India and Mongolia, and it's quite wonderful. I'm inspired to see this on the heels of Dengue Fever's Sleepwalking Through the Mekong, as both bands seem to understand that visiting another culture should involve interaction, learning, and humility. And dancing. And, possibly, swimming in a hole cut in the ice. Anyway, this month's list of much you should check out:

SoundRoots / Spin The Globe Top 10 World Music Albums
April 2009
(click on album title for sound samples and more info)

1. Oreka TX: Nömadak Tx
2. Amadou & Mariam: Welcome to Mali
3. various artists: Putumayo Presents African Reggae
4. Chango Spasiuk: Pynandi Los Descalzos
5. Bela Fleck: Throw Down Your Heart
6. Golem: Citizen Boris
7. Moh Alileche: In Memory of a Hero
8. Toubab Krewe: Live at the Orange Peel
9. Idan Raichel Project: Within My Walls
10. Los Fabulosos Cadillacs: La Luz del Ritmo

Monday's mp3: Sticking with the Basques

Some wag once defined "world music" as "other people's local music." So what happens when musicians take their local music and make it global, mixing their traditional sounds with the traditional sounds of others? This album is one answer to that question. Harkaitz Mtnez. de San Vicente and Igor Otxoa of the Basque txalaparta group Oreka Tx take their musical planks and sticks across India, Mongolia, Lapland, and the Sahara, recording the sounds of collaborations with local artists (and documenting the journey in an film also called Nömadak Tx -- see trailer).

This musical journey was inspired by a chance meeting, the txalapartari explain:

"This idea was revolving in our heads and we
thought about the idea of living as nomads in
order to go out to look for those sounds and
those experiences; then, one afternoon
something happened that gave life to this movie:
an Indian band of musicians and dancers was
touring in the Basque Country. Pablo Iraburu
was with them, he called us to meet them and
we got together to play. Pablo and Raul came
with us to take care of the camera and the
sound. Indian sounds and rhythms mixed with
the unusual Txalaparta and the result was
magical.

We laughed, we talked and we had a beautiful
afternoon creating, barely saying a word and
starting from cultures, traditions and customs
that are supposedly different. That afternoon,
the Txalaparta was the detonation, the catalyst,
and the gathering point among people and
feelings."

[mp3] Oreka Tx: Etzgarit
from the album Nomadak Tx

The resulting music is hypnotizing, the tlaxaparta accompanied by everything from throat-singing to Indian vocal percussion and tabla to oud. The txalapartari seem very respectful of the cultures they visit, frequently giving them the spotlight as their wooden percussion plays a supporting role. The whole experience may remind you of the 1 Giant Leap project, though the grounding sound of the txalaparta makes this even more of a cultural conversation, and not just a global collage of sounds. Highly recommended!

more Oreka Tx:
Nomadak Tx movie trailer
movie website
Youtube
label site

Monday's mp3: Attack of the Txalapartari!

I discovered txalaparta music a few years back, and just realized I hadn't shared any of this amazing stuff on SoundRoots. So here's a taste to entice you to more exploration...

You've seen marimbas, right? So imagine something like that, only with thicker, less resonant boards, struck with a vertically held stick. Better yet, have a look (photo). Buber.net helps us out with the rules:

The players, called TXALAPARTARIAK, use short wooden sticks about 10 inches long and an inch and a half in diameter to hit the boards following a set of rules for rhythm. Each txalapartari has his or her own space of time that can't be invaded by the other txalapartari. This space of time can become longer or shorter during a session of playing and this respect for the other player's space is what keeps the rhythm from breaking down.

[mp3] Ugarte Anaiak: Azken Aurrekoa
from the album Ttakunetan

And now you know about as much as do I about the music of Basque group Ugarte Anaiak. Except that I've heard it, and the amazingly intricate rhythms bring to mind African drum polyrhythms, or Indonesian gamelan, or Stomp at a construction site. End even with a limited melodic pallette of three or four tones, the music is, well, music -- not just percussion. This album begins with two purely txalaparta tracks, then other instruments (accordion, synthesizer, percussion) are layered in.
Like Indian tabla, however, the txalaparta maintain a melody of their own even as they provide percussion for the larger group. For those who think they've heard it all, this little-known music will be a fascinating discovery.