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CD review: Third-World Music Is Not Second Class
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Daily Journal (Franklin, Indiana), CD review: Third-World Music Is Not Second Class >>
Music from the Third World has a wonderfully paradoxical effect on industrialized Western ears.
Exotic instruments and rhythms remind us how large and diverse this planet is. But then a human voice reminds us that people are people, facing joy and pain regardless of where they live or what language they speak.
Some new CD releases that crossed our desk recently gave us that pleasurably odd combination of feelings, humbling and inspirational at the same time.
The real stunner among the bunch is Reves d'Oasis: Desert Blues 2, a double-disc collection of North African folk ballads scheduled for release Tuesday.
The music is not strictly blues as played in the American South, and many cuts reveal influences that sound Asian or Middle Eastern. The title is appropriate, however, as both the African and African-American forms developed in parallel fashion from the same roots. The two genres share stringed instruments, minimalist arrangements, vocals that convey raw human emotion and lyrics that, according to the provided translations, explore life's trials as well as any Delta bluesman can.
The 26 cuts -- more than two hours of music -- range from traditional music of nomadic Saharan cultures to more contemporary arrangements with electric guitar and other Western instruments. Featured native instruments include the kora, a harp-guitar hybrid with a gourd body; the ngoni, a lute; the djembe, a hand drum; and the balaphon, a sort of xylophone or marimba played with mallets.
The album's European producers spent two years compiling selections from artists in 11 countries. The album is a follow-up to their popular 1996 two-disc collection Ambiances du Sahara: Desert Blues. The double-sized case may not fit in your CD rack, but it looks great and includes a full-color booklet with information on the artists and their respective cultural traditions.
If you can't find Desert Blues 2 at your local record store, which is a distinct possibility, try online. Amazon.com, for example, is taking orders at $35.98. Find more information at www.networkmedien.de. 01/09/03
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