Eliyahu and The Qadim Ensemble - "Im Nin'alu"

Free Download - "Im Nin'alu" by Eliyahu and The Qadim Ensemble from the album "Eastern Wind" Produced by Jef Stott for Embarka Records


Six Degrees artist and friend Jef Stott recently produced a record for Eliyahu and The Qadim Ensemble and was generous enough to share a track from the record and some insight into the recording process! Thanks Jef!

I had the good fortune to be asked to produce the new album for Eliyahu and
Qadim early last year. It seemed to me a great opportunity to reconnect
with my "roots" in traditional music from the Middle East and step away,
for a moment, from the fast moving world of electronic music production.

Our intention on this production was to use only acoustic instruments but
record and arrange them in a contemporary way, i.e adding heavily
compressed contra bass to saturate the low end or creating deep
interlocking rhythm sections with many layers of percussion played expertly
by Fasil Zedan and John Villa as well as jump-cut edits and subtle dub
effects as a nod to the current era, circa now.

But mostly we wanted to lovingly create a collection of pieces that reflect
the diversity of the region known as the Middle East, an area that is sadly
too often in the news and is known primarily for conflict and injustice.
The collection of material presented by Eliyahu and Rachel spans the whole
range of cultures of the area, Arabic, Persian, Armenian, Mizrahi Jewish
and a few original jams thrown in for good measure. The result is a deep,
playful and expansive album that is absolutely gorgeous. The vocal and oud
performances by Rachel are consistently stunning and Eliyahu's solos on
ney and bansuri are as deep as any taksims I have heard.

We released the album on my Embarka Records label and it is available
everywhere, Itunes, CD Baby, Embarka Records website etc...
www.embarkarecords.com
Thanks to the folks at Six Degrees for helping us put the word out!

cheers,
Jef Stott

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Revolution Rising

Free Download - Genetic Drugs - Hannena feat. Mohamed Mounir -Hartsteine Island remix by Transglobal Underground from the compilation Revolution Rising vol. 1 presented by dimmSummer

Head over to ethnotechno.com and grab the limited edition cd along with a free copy of the goonda double disc + remixes (offer valid until the digital release of RR, which is fast approaching!)

Our friend Sank (aka dimm) at ethnotechno.com sent over this great track from the compilation and a short note on how the cd came about:

"I made this compilation for two reasons:
1) it was way over due (the site being online for 8 years).

2)I had to supply a remedy to Meta4's comment during his 2001 interview with me: "...a lot of these compilations are not put out by people who are die hard fans, connected at the grassroots. There are just people who put out a ska compilation and then turn around and put out an 80s compilation, and the sources they go to find about what to put on are the other compilations in the store..."

he goes on to talk about how no one knows what a hit will be - and that "the correlation between quality and success is very tenuous in the music business. Arguably the more quality you can objectively say is in the music the LESS likely it is to do well in the market..."

i've received mostly favourable reviews on the cd, but who knows - all i'm banking on is my taste and relationship with the artists. the physical limits of a cd meant i couldn't get everyone i wanted on board in one go, but the next volume is most likely digital-only so sky's the limit ;)






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Vieux on "The Interview Show"

Last week Vieux Farka Toure stopped by The Interview Show at The Hideout in Chicago to give an interview and short performance with Huffingtonpost writer Mark Bazer.



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Lal Meri - Live on KCRW

Lal Meri performed a great set, live on KCRW's Morning Becomes Eclectic program earlier this week. The set even included a guest appearance from Indian vocalist Pooja Lal who flew in specially for the performance.

Listen to the show here

If you are in the LA area you can catch Lal Meri live at the Roxy on 7/30



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Huun Huur Tu & Carmen Rizzo- Eternal

Free Download - Huun Huur Tu & Carmen Rizzo - Saryglarlar Maidens from the album Eternity

Buy from Amazon or iTunes

I've been working with the talented musician/producer, Carmen Rizzo for many years now. From his production work with Ekova to the two groups signed to Six Degrees that he has been involved with, Niyaz and now Lal Meri, Carmen is so good at what he does that one could be forgiven for taking the high quality of his work almost for granted. Perhaps this is why I was completely blind sided by the power and the beauty of his latest project, a collaboration with the Tuvan group Huun Huur Tu. Carmen had kindly sent me an early, advance CD of the project which I slipped into the CD player in my kitchen, one night while making dinner. Suddenly the room was awash in lush electronics, beautiful string arrangements and those incredible voices that defy any notions that you might have of what a human voice SHOULD be capable of. This is fusion music at it's most creative- one of those rare projects where different cultures beautifully collide, forming something totally new and dazzling. Check out the free track that Carmen has generously let us share with you today and then make sure to make this gem a part of your collection.


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Issa Bagayogo- Live & Remixed:

Free Download - Issa Bagayogo - Poye (Tal M. Klein Remix Radio Edit) from Issa Remixed (click down-arrow icon to download)

It's been an embarrassment of riches when it comes to Six Degrees artists on the road this summer. Just last Saturday night, we had BOTH Céu and Vieux Farka Touré playing two separate shows here in San Francisco. Both concerts were amazing and worked like two sides of one coin. Céu was deeply dubby, soulful and groovy at the beautiful Herbst Theater, while Vieux was fiery and rocking as he proceeded to rip the roof off of the Independent Club with screaming guitar licks that equally summoned the spirits of his West African ancestors as well as guitarists as diverse as Jimi Hendrix, Tom Verlaine and Carlos Santana.

Also currently on the road is Mali's Issa Bagayogo who is bringing his unique style of African/Electro across North America. You can get his complete tour dates here. Last Thursday Issa wowed an LA crowd at the Skirball Cultural Center and our buddy, radio host Derek Rath snapped some great shots that he has generously allowed us to share with you.

Also don't forget Issa's fantastic new remix project, Issa Remixed, which is filled with great mixes from the likes of Shrift, Tal M. Klein, Adham Shaikh, Tapan Raj (one half of the Midival Punditz), Rise Ashen and many others. Here's the radio edit of Tal M. Klein's inspired Afro- Disco mix to give you a taste of the future-Afro sounds and to get your booty moving.





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Punditz on BBC

Great interview on Pathaan's Musical Rickshaw this week. Check out the show here.
And don't miss the World Odyssey Mix by Midival Punditz linked on the right hand side of Pathaan's page.




Tracklist
Sunday 12th July

Karsh Kale feat Vishal Vaid Sunbeam [High Chai]
Twotrups The Cello Track (Kobbe Remix) [Yoshitoshi]
Hakan Lidbo From Hackney To Caracas [Enjoy Recordings]
Munty Disillusioned [Munty Recordings]
Asli Sevgilim (ZAD Remix) [White]
7 Samurai feat. MC Coppa FavelyGyal_ZeroCashRmx [Poets Club Records]

***STOPOVER: LEBANON***
Beirut Mazaj Featuring Oumeima [Virgin]
Clotaire K Emigrate (Remix) [Sub Culture]

Radio Trip Whole Wide World (UBK Featuring D.M Karase Whole Wild World Remix) [Jalapeno Records]
Laroca Yallah Andalucia [Just Music]
Sweet Coffee Tomorrow [Turntable Dubbers Radio] [Dubplate]
Ragana Ah [Interchill Records]

*** WORLD ODYSSEY MIX & INTERVIEW: MIDIVAL PUNDITZ***
Shankar Mahadevan Breathless [HMV]
Midival Punditz Har Ek Baat [Six Degrees]
O.T.T. Splitting An Atom [White]
Midival Punditz Tonic [Six Degrees]
Karsh Kale and Midival Punditz Ranjabi [Six Degrees]

Ashtech/Polcari The Third Planet [RareNoise Records]
OMFO Tipsy Djinn [Essay Recordings]
Entropik Sirius [Striling Media Music]

***CLASSIC NOT FORGOTTEN***
Navdeep Jogi [Anamika Records]

Oumou Sangaré Iyo Djeli [Brownswood]
Vieux Farka Touré Paradise [Six Degrees Records]

***BHANGRA CONNECTION***
TJ Rehmi Who Killed Bhangra? [Nation Records]

Cantoma Maja [iLabel]
EarthRise SoundSystem Daylight As Sunset feat. Lucy Woodward [White]
Third Ear Audio Ethereality [Dubmission Records]














Tracklistings

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"The Queen of British Soul Music"

This week's Gilles Peterson Radio 1 show is up now and features live tracks from Alice Russell taken from the video above at the Maida Vale sessions. You can listen to the full show here.





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Watcha Clan - Diaspora Remixed

Free Download - Watcha Clan - Goumari (EarthRise SoundSystem remix) - From Diaspora Remixed on Piranha Records

Listen/Buy from Amazon or iTunes

The French city of Marseille is a melting pot of cultures, a gateway French port-city that was founded by Greece over 2500 years ago. Marseille is also home to Watcha Clan and their sound is a 21st Century reflection of their backgrounds, their musical interests and their time. Mixing traditional Berber music with contemporary Dub, Hip-Hop and Electronic productions Watcha brings heat to dancefloors and headphones alike. The free download on the blog today is off of their brand new album, Diaspora Remixed, if you like the free track you will love the rest of the album which features heavy remixes from some of Europes finest, including Dunkelbunt, DJ Click and Transglobal Underground. If you are in the U.S. Watcha Clan have performances in SF and LA this week and more extensive dates at the end of the summer!


Watcha Clan are a French band that fuses together influences as
diverse as its members’ heritages. Drawing on North African, Spanish, Arabic, Hebrew, French, and modern electronic musical styles for inspiration, the Clan claim a nomadic ethic, calling no single style “home.” Since their inception at the turn of the century, Watcha Clan’s touring schedule and lifestyle have been as nomadic as their philosophy. Their compositions feature Hebrew, Arabic, French, English, and Spanish lyrics, drawing in listeners from all sides of the Mediterranean.

post by Señor Oz

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OMFO: The Sorcerer

Free Download - OMFO - "The Sorcerer" (click on downward arrow next to wave form to download)


Music doesn't always have to be so serious. It's rare in the "Global Grooves" scene to find the sense of fun and whimsy that pervades the catalog of the artist who calls himself OMFO. Originally from the port city of Odessa in the former USSR, the man who was born German Popov has just released a new album on the fine Essay Recordings label, (home to such other great artists as Shantel and Senor Coconut.). While I have enjoyed OMFO's prior releases, this new one, Omnipresence kicks things to the next level with a really fresh mix of middle eastern influences, electro beats, dubby goodness and yes, a great sense of humor that in no way takes away from the power of the grooves.

Thanks to our buddy Jean Trouillet at Essay Recordings for allowing us to share this track with you today



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Evan Bluetech - Free Call Of The Wild EP

Free Download - Evan Bluetech - Call Of The Wild EP

I recently had the pleasure to meet one of my favorite electronica artists Evan Bartholomew aka Bluetech in his last swing through San Francisco. Evan has been putting out a variety of gorgeous releases of many different styles under a variety of names (Evan Mark, Evan Bartholomew & Bluetech). Although the approach on the records may vary, what remains constant is Evan's impeccable production skills as well as his singular approach to sound and arrangement. He has recently posted a free EP on his site at http://www.bluetechonline.com which is well worth you checking out. He describes his motivation for this release by saying

"In my increasing frustration with the broken mechanics of the music industry, I've been constantly thinking about why I actually make music. Since I'm barely able to survive doing this, and no matter what I do people will pirate my releases within a few hours of release, I've thought about what I would do instead. I keep feeling this tug from the natural world to bring myself into alignment with a more organic approach to life, to finding myself in a flow of clear water."

Do your self a favor and after you get the freebie, move on to further explore the many gems in this fascinating composer's catalog.




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