Just had a great visit with bandura virtuoso Julian Kytasty.  Ever since I heard him play this celestial instrument I've been wanting to spread the word, so on this particular installment of the blog I kept my mouth shut and just let Julian do his thing.

I hope you enjoy it; it's gonna be in two parts because it ran rather long, and I couldn't bear to cut it all down. The first post here is just one composed piece, and the second part is to come; it'll be more about the traditional repertoire. The meeting was also fun because he lives in what used to be the predominantly Slavic section of Manhattan, has lived there for 30 years and so knows where you can still get the best potato pirogy. (Which turns out to be a weekend church kitchen run by some sprightly elderly ladies.) And yes, we went there and had some mighty FINE home-made borscht and pirogy!

UPDATE on the Lost Fingers:  for those of you who got hooked on the band from my last post, Sony will be bringing them back to the US for an official PUSH in July. They're up for a Juno award, the Canadian equivalent of a Grammy.

UPDATE on the NY Gypsy Festival, the next event will be taking place at Le Poisson Rouge with Slavic Soul Party and Scott Kettner's Forro Brass band. Scott Kettner is a true Brazil Nut, who fronts  his own Nation Beat band, fusing the music of Northeastern Brazil with -gulp- Country classics.

Don't laugh, Willie Nelson loves them! Hmmmmm...Maybe it's time to vlog the guy. (Scott, not Willie.)

As promised, I am writing to you from WOMEX in beautiful Seville, Spain, where each night there is a music festival on three different stages. Last night's highlights were A Filleta, an exquisite a capella ensemble from Corsica. Like the medieval European artisans who never thought of themselves as individuals, who subordinated themselves to a greater goal, A Filleta build musical cathedrals. The other hit of the night was the ragged but right, electrified oud played by Mehdi Haddab of Speed Caravan. This band definitely knows how to get an audience jumping. I'm hot on the trail of videos for each band, so hopefully, in a few weeks you'll get to see these two excellent and totally different bands.

What better way to usher in the Summer than with some videos that take us on the road? World Music Block #53 starts out with Spain's Dusminguet packing their instruments for a bucolic outing, then Zdob si Zdub, from Moldova, offer up a retro hommage to state sponsored music. Next we have one of our viewers' favorites, "Manne Ke Manjeere" about the first female lorry driver in India, followed by a rooftop bash in Brazil with Silverio Pessoa. We cap it off with a madcap street chase from Mano Negra, the group that gave Manu Chao his platform to becoming a soloist and superstar.

There you have it - a globetrotting road trip... without using a single drop of fuel!