World > 15 GBP to 20 GBP World > North African

Introducing... Warsaw Village Band ~ 'Uprooting'

Advantages: Exciting; unique; passionate; challenging
Disadvantages: Well, it's in Polish, so some may find that a disadvantage...

In recent years, the little-known Warsaw Village Band have risen from obscurity to earn some much deserved recognition, playing several high-profile festivals including Glastonbury 09, and even clinching the Best Newcomer award at the BBC Radio 3 World Music Awards in 2004. 'Uprooting' is a fine example of the band's capability, and also of their potential to grow and continue. Comprising six young musicians from Poland's capital, the band blend ...
...passionate and hypnotising set of tracks which should be essential listening for any music fan. I had the honour of first hearing the band when they performed at Musicport Festival 2008, a very surreal experience indeed as they were supporting Rolf Harris! Their set consisted of many of the tracks from 'Uprooting'. The performance put on by the band was both aurally and visually stunning, in part due to their incorporation in their music of many ...

littlewiggle 25.11.2009 · Read full review
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Review of Uprooting - Warsaw Village Band

'JOANNA...A Hymn of Devotion

Advantages: incredibly underrated music very well produced and presented
Disadvantages: none

...Devotion’ James Young's Joanna was made on the battered upright piano in his house - an instrument most pianists would reject without a moment's hesitation. Bad pianos - in pubs, bars, clubs, cafes and the parental home - are the bane of musicians and music teachers: the sustain pedal doesn't work; the felts are worn; mezzopiano is indistinguishable from fortissimo. And that's before you get on to the problem of keeping it in tune. Players develop ...
...wisdom on its head. Joanna is a hymn of devotion that both dignifies and delights in his old piano's imperfections. As Billy Jenkins wrote in Notes on Crap Pianos: "Years of warp and deterioration have ripened each mechanical artefact into its own unique sound. Do not attempt music scored for a good piano." Young describes his piano as "a ready-made that needed to be celebrated for its intrinsic peculiarities". There are antecedents: Virginia Astley's ...

JLWguardian 28.10.2009 · Read full review

Review of Joanna - James Young

"Remembering The Day", thought provoking and uplifting music!

Advantages: Beautiful, thought provoking and uplifting music
Disadvantages: none

"Remembering The Day" is such an evocative, beautiful, touching and sensual album, composed / performed by the multiple award winning violinist / composer Catya Maré. I´d like to recommend it to everybody who likes world / ambient / new age music! It is highly original. A mixture of ambient / electronica / classical / new age and world elements. And, in my opinion, it really touches your soul, leaves you refreshed after listening. Catya´s violin ...
...special. In some of her songs she combines her mesmerizing violin sound with a choir, that adds an ethereal quality to the song. I love it! If you like Deep Forest, Enigma, Delirium or classical crossover artists like Sarah Brightman and Andrea Bocelli you might love this one. Worth the money... Cheapest buy at: http://www.soundloud.com/catyamare.aspx Also check out her websites..... www.catyamare.com or www.myspace.com/catyamar ...

Harry112222 27.10.2009 · Read full review
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Review of Remembering The Day - Catya Mare

LIGHT LONGING....sensual, gorgeous instrumental songs

Advantages: Original, uplifting, worth the money
Disadvantages: none

Light Longing is such a beautiful, touching and sensual album, composed / performed by the multiple award winning violinist / composer Catya Maré. I´d like to recommend it to everybody who needs some positive energy...it is highly original music. A mixture of ambient / electronica / classical and world elements. And, in my opinion, it really touches your soul, leaves you refreshed after listening. Catya´s violin sounds more like a female voice than ...

Harry112222 27.10.2009 · Read full review

Review of Light Longing - Catya Mare

Laundry Service - Easily Shakira's best album to date

Advantages: Fantastic album
Disadvantages: Need to brush up on your Spanish

It is an unfortunate fact of life for the many thousands of talented latin musicians that, if you want to make it on a worldwide scale, you have to learn to sing in English. This was powerfully illustrated in the late 1990s by Ricky Martin, and in 2001 when Shakira's third studio album - but only her first in the English language - expanded her appeal from the confines of the Spanish-speaking world and sent her global. Of course the fact that the ...
...coupled with the fact that Shakira herself is a multi-talented mega-babe, did her progression no harm at all. The album itself is an appealing mix of traditional latin beats, pop and ballads, with a number of tracks still sung in her native tongue - but not enough to make the album unlistenable to the monolingual masses (of which I am one). OBJECTION - Starting with a typical Tango-Argentino introduction, the song bursts into life with a lyrical ...

rabidbadger 04.10.2009 · Read full review
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Review of Laundry Service - Shakira