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Bedouin Soundclash
“12:59 Lullaby”

Sorry for the late post today. Life happens.

I Intimated that I might post more than one song by an artist. This is the first occurrence of that. I had a hard time deciding which song to post by this band a while back, so today I decided to post the one that lost out to the other one.

Enjoy your Sunday.

Zap Mama
“Mupepe”

I have a soft spot in my heart for music with African influences. Zap Mama was started in Belgium and mixed European and Moroccan musical styles. This a capella female group has created some amazing music.

“Marie Daulne and Zap Mama make music that sounds like a one-woman multicultural movement, melding African percussion, American soul and European urbanity.” - Time

By the way, happy Valentine’s day.

From Escaflowne
“Sora”

I wouldn’t dare try to pronounce the composers on this album, but here they are: Maaya Sakamoto,Yoko Kanno,Hajime Mizoguchi.
I’ve had this album for quite a while, and I’m not really sure why. I love the work of Hayao Miyazaki (Spirited away, howl’s moving castle), and for some reason while thinking of those, this song popped into my head. The japanese have an interesting sense about art and storytelling. In some sense, they’ve picked up where Disney left off with that sense of magic in movie making.

Bedouin Soundclash
“One Way”

“This Canadian trio stuff a reggae enchilada with homegrown melodies that could stand up to the greats.” - Sarah Bardeen
This group formed in 2002, and play a mix of reggae, punk, dancehall and jungle. This single CD is great. You should hear the other track, “12:59 Lullaby”. I was tempted to post that one today, instead.

Tomorrow, back to the regularly scheduled program.

Lhasa
“La Marée Haute”

This is a very natural progression from the previous post. This starts off with a clarinet and bass clarinet trading jabs. It rather quickly progresses into this wonderful mix of instrumentation. Listen for the xylophone and for the soft-mallet bass drum notes in this. Notice the high-pitched piano notes, soft snare rolls, and an occasional cymbal crash. Try to envision the water as you listen. I’m no expert in the French chanson style, but I do know this is quality work. I will certainly provide an update if she releases another album.

Cirque Du Soleil - Benoit Jutras
“Innocence”

This is breaking a rule but this song needs to be here, regardless of age.

Earlier I mentioned how Imogen Heap’s “Us” reminded me of Benoit Jutras’ music, and now I am posting one of his finer creations.
I also chose this piece, from “Quidam”, because it gave me the most options for future posts. This song reminds me of many things. Normally when I think about circus music, I think 3/4 time (think: waltz), but this song is a slight departure from that. It is, however, still very much circus-like. This piece reminds me of Italy, and especially of Nino Rota. You may or may not recognize the name, but you should remember what he composed–The music for “The Godfather”.

Sit back, relax, and take in “Innocence”. Listen for the children jumping rope in the background. I know because I have seen Quidam live.

Rodrigo Y Gabriela
“Tamacun”

Rodrigo and Gabriela are accomplished musicians hailing from Mexico. They started out as thrash metal musicians, but traded in their electric guitars for acoustics. They traveled together and landed in Dublin where their technical virtuosity was a hit.
“Tamacun” is the first track on their self-titled album and is exactly what you would expect from impassioned musicians. The tempo of this track is par for the course on this album — these two are all about speed. Rodrigo normally concentrates on the fast-moving melodic lines, while Gabriela lays down nicely-put percussive beats and rhythm. Youtube has a video of Tamacun as performed by these two. Watch it while you can.