the syliphone years

The first album by this big and boisterous band was a live outing recorded at Womad in 2005. It didn't do it for me and was one of those "guess you had to be there" albums. But it was clear that aside from energy and enthusiasm (which they had by truckloads) they certainly had some musical chops and their set sounded like an...
> music/1391/batucada-sound-machine-rhythm-and-rhyme-border/

The reissue six years ago of this Senegalese band's 1982 sessions Pirate's Choice thrust this exceptional outfit into the world music spotlight where it remains to shine and gleam. They released the equally good Specialists in All Styles five years ago and have played to wide accclaim for their rocking rhumba and laidback late-night styles...
> world-music/1355/orchestra-baobab-made-in-dakar-world-circuit-elite/

There are some who think that "world music" is corrupted by outside influences, and that the folk musicians of various parts of the globe should be time-locked so as to retain some degree of authenticity. Such paternalistic purists bang on about how tragic it is that musicians from the Sahara use synthesizers, or that sitar players...
> world-music/1336/thione-seck-orientissime-elite-best-of-elsewhere-2007/

In a beautiful sleeve featuring stamps from Guinea and with an informative booklet, this double disc collection takes you to the heart of music from this small African state (population about 10 million) and includes material by the very famous Bembeya Jazz National and their peers on the Syliphone label. It seems when Guinea became...
> world-music/1267/various-authenticite-the-syliphone-years-1965-80-southbound/

Congolese rumba (or its pop imitations) accounts for around 70% of all music bought by Africans in Africa, a measure of the impact that the touring Cuban rumba bands of the Forties made, and how pervasive their horn-driven sound has become. Papa Noel is a veteran of the Golden Age of Rumba in the Forties and Fifites, and his guitar sound...
> world-music/1251/papa-noel-bana-congo-presents-papa-noel-tumi-elite/

One of the chief delights of being in Elsewhere is that music usually comes with no promotional blasts or advance reviews, so you make the discovery for yourself. It often comes from people you've never heard of before either. Like this guy from Cape Verde Island who plays driving and melodic acoustic guitar, and possesses a voice which...
> world-music/921/tcheka-nu-monda-harmonia/

Copies of this uplifting album by Diabate from Mali come with an intelligent and interesting DVD-doco which shines a light on the culture of the griot -- a caste of hereditary musicians-cum-storytellers and counsellors to the influential -- and also explains that unusual band name: Diabate wanted to bring together the traditions of the griot...
> world-music/876/toumani-diabates-symmetric-orchestra-boulevard-de-lindependence-elite/