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In this annual feature, our columnists, contributors and other authorities and
observers in the world music world select their favorite sounds of the past year,
a year that once again demonstrated the urgent need to heed the call for world
peace through world music.
Top of the tens: as usual, our contentious panel of experts was all over the map
with its choices, but this year, production was everything: it was the brilliant
Sengalese/Indian/Egyptian fusion of Thione Seck (9 picks), the inventive work by Manu Chao
on Amadou and Mariam's Dimanche á Bamako (7 picks), and Cheb I Sabbah's North
African explorations on La Kahena (5 picks) that provided the soundtrack for 2005.
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It seems that everyone has their favorite Might Diamonds song.
"I Need A Roof." "Right Time." "Natural Natty." "Africa." And the ubiquitous
"Pass the Kouchie," which was reworked as "Pass the Dutchie" by an English Band
called Musical Youth in the '80s. Incidentally, "Pass the Kouchie" even made its
way into an episode of "The Simpsons" as a cultural reference. (Homer wanted to
fly to Jamaica instead of Japan -- he wanted to pass the dutchie from the left-hand side)!
Three years shy of their 40th anniversary, Trench Town's renowned vocal trio,
Lloyd "Judge" Ferguson, Donald "Tabby" Shaw and Fitzroy "Bunny" Simpson -- the Mighty
Diamonds -- have outlasted numerous vintage and contemporary reggae groups...
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New Zealand is a couple of small green islands southeast of Australia, just about at
the bottom of the world. The first nation to receive the rays of the sun every
morning, with cinematic natural beauty and a feisty bicultural heritage, Aotearoa
(the country's Maori name -- pronounced "Ow-tay-ah-roah") bubbles with an exuberant
local music scene.
New Zealand is a pretty special place. Kiwis call it "Godzone" and "Paradise."
Something about New Zealanders, Maori or pakeha (white), is their connection
to the land and nature. For artists the rugged mountains, the forests and the
expansive empty beaches are always their muse. "The enormity of the landscape is
humbling," says Andrew Penman of Salmonella Dub, "and it reflects itself in the music"...
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The Maori of New Zealand bear a rich and vivid culture. A fierce warrior nation,
the Maori were the only indigenous people in the British Empire with whom the Crown
signed a treaty recognizing their sovereignty and rightful ownership of all land.
Maori still struggle for recognition of that sovereignty today.
The Maori language Te Reo is integral to the preservation of their culture as a whole.
Waiata (songs) are the expression of life and emotion. Maori children learn
their language through song, and waiata are a central and participatory element at
all Maori gatherings and ceremonies. Many musicians record in Te Reo, and the market
for Maori music continues to grow...
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