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Celso Duarte: Son of the South
Hometown: Curenavaca, MexicoAlbum: De Sur a SurFor fans of: Gipsy Kings, Adreas Vollenweider, Joanna NewsomFor Paraguayan-born, Mexican-raised harpist and violinist Celso Duarte, music is the family business. And business has never been better.... read more
Found in: Music, FeaturesLionel Loueke: Karibu
Afropop/jazz-fusion record is hit-and-missWest African guitarist Lionel Loueke’s Blue Note debut is a challenging and occasionally wondrous fusion of Afropop and knotty, dissonant jazz. Loueke has been an integral part of recent releases from trumpeter Roy Hargrove and legendary pianist Herbie Hancock (that’s him on Herbie’s recent Grammy winner/Joni Mitchell tribute River: The Joni Letters), and here Hancock and fellow Miles alum Wayne Shorter return the favor, playing on three of Karibu’s nine tracks. Those tracks are the highlights, since Loueke’s regular trio—featuring bassist Massimo Biolcati and drummer Ferenc Nemeth—fails to overcome Eli Wolf’s safe fuzak production. Loueke’s a major... read more
Found in: Music, ReviewsNikolai Grozni
“But this is India...Things happen again and again for..." read more
Found in: Books, ReviewsKate Rusby: Awkward Annie
Kate Rusby’s bonus-track cover of Ray Davies’ “The Village Green Preservation Society” adds a delightful context to... read more
Found in: Music, ReviewsOpportunistic Excursions: To the Dominican Republic
I’ve always been big on allowing disasters to dictate my vacation destinations—you seriously can’t beat the deals to be had from a desperate tourism economy after it’s been hit by hurricanes or other acts of God. I was among the first... read more
Found in: Culture, FeaturesThomas Quasthoff
German-born bass-baritone Thomas Quasthoff is one of the most versatile singers of our time... read more
Found in: Books, ReviewsSilje Nes: Ames Room
Gripping debut from Norwegian singer/songwriterSilje Nes’ low-key but ultimately gripping debut album is equal parts cute forest elf, kooky CocoRosie and prowling Cat Power. It’s a home-recorded disc, and one can imagine the young Norwegian—who grew up in Leikanger, where the climate is mild, fruit trees thrive and splashes from the Kvinna waterfall produce rainbows in the summer—strolling along her stream of consciousness, adding flickers of melodica, glockenspiel, cello or whatever instrument suited her at the moment. Nes’ music is less a genre than a mood: sometimes haunted, and other times slinky. “Bright Night Morning” and “Melt” are echo-y Americana,... read more
Found in: Music, ReviewsMartin Hayes & Dennis Cahill: Welcome Here Again
Renowned Irish fiddler Martin Hayes and guitarist Dennis Cahill have been making music together since the 1980s... read more
Found in: Music, ReviewsBerlin Dispatch: Dance Music Gives Rock a Beatdown
Between 1961 and 1989, Berlin was divided by a wall, and on each side was a culture, one of which was communist. Which isn’t to say that the commies didn’t rock—far from it: They had bands in East Berlin, notably The Puhdys... read more
Found in: Music, FeaturesDublin Calling: How the Irish Bagpipes Point Me Home
What do I remember about my first seven years? I remember that I spent them in Ireland. I remember the rain and the pervasive grey skies that made every color on earth below—natural and manufactured—seem bottomless. I remember those rare sunny days that occasionally prompted women to stand in their front yards wearing bras like bikini tops, soaking up what sun they could. We were deadly pale, the ghostly descendants of Adam and Eve, and we felt no shame.... read more
Found in: Music, Features
The 20 Best Gadgets of the Decade…
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Blind Pilot - The Story I Heard
Kim Taylor - Days Like this
B.O.B. - Put Me On
Gregory Alan Isakov - The Moon Song
Punch Brothers - Punch Brothers at CMJ
Elvis Perkins in Dearland - Stay Zombie…
Anya Marina - Whatever You Like
David Bazan - Hard To Be
