Fado is arguably the most romantic genre in the world. Born in tiny working-class clubs in Portugal where it's so dark you'd have a hard time finding your drink on the table, it's anchored by diva singers who wear elaborate gowns and sing sad tales (Fado roughly translates as fate or destiny) of love, lost love and love that is doomed. While tales of lovers dying or lost at sea are common in the music,… more »
Anyone into Caribbean and/or Latin music is almost certainly familiar with merengue, the barreling accordion-based national sound of the Dominican Republic. But I'm guessing that few non-Dominicans are as acquainted with the ruggedly suave sounds of bachata, merengue's once-shunned younger sibling. Bachata took a while to grow on me, frankly. At best, early bachata sounded like diluted Cuban son or rinky-tink, overly melodramatic boleros. At worst, electrified tecno bachata and bachata-merengue — the sort of thing… more »
Known for wedding the musical traditions of his native South Africato other styles from around the world, trumpeter Hugh Masekela (b. 1939) returns on Jabulani to the literal wedding music of his childhood. The Zulu title means rejoice, and Masekela celebrates good times (come on!) mostly with funky, thumping mbaqanga dance grooves that lean heavily on the one, while organ and piano often team up, as on “Tsoang Tsoang” (Come Out), to lend a gospel tinge to the township jive. Ever the syncretist, Masekela adds funky strings to “Iph’ Indela” and takes a Latin detour in “Scatter My Dada.”
Masekela’s trumpet solos tend to sound a little slower and wobblier than his rhythm section prepares us for, yet still pack a… more »
Any anthology invites complaints about omissions but Strut can be forgiven for only skimming the surface of the calypso king’s vast output. Born Slinger Francisco, Colin Powell’s favorite musician scored his first hit aged 20 with Jean and Dinah, a playful song about the plight of prostitutes looking for trade after the closure of wartime U.S. bases in Trinidad. More than 300 albums later, he’s still touring and knocking out topical songs like 2008′s “Barack the Magnificent.”
Even within this collection’s 1962-74 timeframe, Sparrow roams far and wide. Like Jamaican music, calypso functioned as a kind of eclectic musical newspaper. One minute Sparrow’s a horndog novelty act, the next a quick-witted battle rhymer, and the next an earnest political commentator in… more »
Rodrigo y Gabriela have become unlikely stars, a pair of Mexican metal guitarists who reinvented themselves as wild flamenco players after moving to Ireland. They’ve carved an admirable niche for themselves, with fiery playing and adventurous ideas that draw heavily on their rock past. Area 52 takes that basic formula one step further, teaming the duo with a 13-piece Cuban orchestra for a fresh look at some of their older material that offers a vibrant, unusual union of Latin cultures, an imagined place where Mexico, Cuba and the sense of old Spanish culture swirl effortlessly together.
Opener “Santa Domingo” sets the tone for much of the album; beginning with a heart-pounding riff, the duo crank up the tension until there’s an… more »
London gypsy-punk quartet Mano De Dios will not endear themselves to English sports fans with their name, referencing a notorious 1986 football World Cup incident when Argentina’s Diego Maradona, playing against England in a highly charged post-Falklands War fixture, illegally punched the ball into the goal and attributed his team’s subsequent victory to “the hand of God.” Thankfully, anybody not harbouring quarter-century-old sporting grudges will find much to love in this ebullient debut. Mano De Dios boast members of Spanish, Cuban and English provenance and their forte is a vivacious, irresistible strain of flamenco-hued Latin party music that suggests an edgier, more attitudinal take on the Gypsy Kings. Their trump card is Spanish singer/guitarist Jackson Scott, whose prodigious songwriting talents… more »
Want to get a snapshot of last year's best music? In our Best of 2011 radio station, you'll hear songs from the artists who provided our 2011 soundtrack. No matter what your taste -- indie rock, jazz, doom metal or avant-folk, you'll find it here in eMusic's Best of 2011 Radio. more »
