A Night of Duo & Trios
It's time to focus. I tell this to myself on a regular basis--especially when listening to tracks that I've culled together for The World Music Show. You see, my mind tends to wander aimlessly while listening to beats from faraway places. And, while listening, and contemplating, I try to focus on what type of theme will emerge from the artists I've pulled together. So, after much review, a theme for this week's show (on 9/24) emerged as if from a fog. This week's show is about: Duos & Trios.
Ok, it wasn't really a foggy, day-dreamy type of realization. It was more a light bulb coming on after a review of my scratch notes that I take when listening to tracks for each show. Duo & Trios--of course! So many of the bands on this week's show are comprised of this format. For Instance, in the first hour alone, there are about seven joinings of either a duo or a trio to listen to.
To kick off this first hour, you'll hear a track from the trio out of Brazil known as BossaCucaNova. These three guys have been known to take standard Brazilian tracks from years past, like say from the Tropicalia movement or from the legendary Brazilian performers like Antonio Carlos Jobim or from Joao Gilberto, and add some electronic "umph" to it. They start off a mini Brazilian set of music that includes Bebel Gilberto and trio track that features Vanessa da Mata, Seu Jorge and Almaz.
And, I guess you could say that the tunings move from Brazil to Mexico, as you'll hear some fantastic guitar work from the Mexican duo of Rodrigo & Gabriela and a song from David Byrne and Caetano Veloso, who I guess istill fits in that Brazilian peg.
To continue with this Duo/Trio thing, you'll hear some cuts from a duo pairing out of India with Anoushka Shankar and Karsh Kale. They work great together--she on the sitar and him on pretty much everything else. Plus, you'll hear a couple of tracks from the now defunct trio who were known as Mosquitos.They play a mixed up, mellow sort of Brazilian/New York mash sound that is very rhythmic. And to end the hour (but don't worry, there is more music in between the ones I'm mentioning here), is a track that features Ziggy Marley and Elizabeth Mitchell,who play a track of of his cd "Family Time."
In hour two, the theme continues. In the first chunk of music, you'll hear the duo of Ali Farka Toure and Toumani Diabate. But one of the main attractions of this show, will be a set of songs from the French Trio called We Are Enfant Terrible.A friend of mine, who actually gave me the CD, wrote a review on Amazon's website about this band. He said, "This album was my reward for taking a small gamble. The whole thing is just superb, funky and futuristic, and completely sans pretense. It's like Fischerspooner and Sonic Youth conceived a child delivered by the Breeders." I couldn't have said it better myself.
The band mixes synth pop and a whole bunch of other sounds to make something unique. But, they have also been known for using the sounds of a reprogramed Nintendo Gameboy to make some great songs. But don't worry, this music won't scare you. It's a nice mix, so I hope you can stay tuned.
The World Music Show aires Saturday Nights at 10:00 p.m. on WCVE Public Radio. You can follow my updates and musings on Twitter. Just look me up: @wcveworldmusic.
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