The Black Earth Boys are Justin Adams, Juldeh Camara and Ben Mandelson. The band is an aggregate of two others- with Adams as the link between. Justin and Juldeh -- now touring internationally under the name "JuJu" have recorded two CDs, "Soul Science" and "Tell No Lies."  Camara, who is from the Gambia, is a singer, instrument maker, and master of the ritti, a single stringed, violin-like instrument. Adams is well known for his long association with singer Robert Plant. His great strength is groove; no flashy mile-a-minute riffs, simply a guitar style that FEELS just right, and is an excellent partnering with Camara's flights of improvisation.

Ben Mandelson is not just a fine musician, he is a real life hero of world music. Back when I was first listening to recordings of what would eventually be called "world music" it was Ben's productions I often found myself checking out. Here we see him comfortably supplying tasty fills, textural motifs and rhythmic drive on mandolin. Adams, Mandelson and Lu Edmonds (unavailable for this performance) have their own ensemble "Les Triaboliques," a project that has them gleefully galloping through all the musical influences they have gathered in their past and present lives.

This performance, from Lincoln Center's Out of Doors series took place in Damrosch Park. The repertoire was primarily a melding of American folk and blues with Camara bringing the West African flavor. His ritti at times sounded like a fiddle, and eerily, at times like a harmonica. It was a surprisingly cohesive sound, reminding us once again of the debt that our music owes to African culture. While Adams' gritty voice sang a simpler, countrified interpretation of this Carter Family standby "Sow 'Em on the Mountain," Camara's vocal takes a soaring, melismatic approach. Great stuff.

For more of Michal's original music videos click here.

Now that Spring has sprung, here's a dose of soulful fiddle music from two masters: David Greely, founding fiddler of Steve Riley and the Mamou Playboys, and Joel Savoy of The Savoy Family Band and the Red Stick Ramblers. The duo was in town for GlobalFEST, at an "offsite event" at the Highline Ballroom. This performance (no interview -- it doesn't need it!) is a happy reminder that there are still places in the USA that treasure their ethnic heritage and play homemade music to enrich life. It's easy to imagine these two making music on the front porch in the midst of a warm Louisiana Spring day. So relax and bask in the sounds of some sweet strings.

Keep in mind that a lot of this is music for dancing off the work and cares of the day. In Cajun country there are still plenty of places to hear live, authentic music, be it Cajun, Creole or Zydeco. You go there to dance till you are ready to drop, till your endorphins kick in and do what they are supposed to.  For my money, that's a fun evening.

AND here's some other news:  When I attended WOMEX last October I met Karima Daoudi, a young woman with a major penchant for world music. She's got her own blog now, and it's off to a promising start. I love the video she chose to share and discuss. 

Hmmmmm....I'll have to try to get that for Link!

We tend to think of Taiwan mostly in terms of its relationship to China. But there are eleven different aboriginal tribes still dwelling on Taiwan, some going back 7000 years.  Amazingly each one of the tribes is distinctive from the others in customs and language. What unites them is their common marginalization, as various successive powers have attempted to "normalize" them into the ruling or majority culture. Many have held on to their identities, and still live in the mountains, valleys and plains of the island. Inka Mbing, an Atayal, was forced to leave her village at a young age in order to make a living in Taipei. But a lifetime later she is at the forefront of preserving the culture of her tribe. Her voice can be powerful and heartbreaking at the same time, and she is not without adventure, as I heard that she and the Nanguan singer Wu Hsin-fei (see Taiwan Journey Part 1) have been known to jam, and wonderfully, too. By contrast, the rock band Totem is made up of young bucks from different tribes -- Paiwan, Ami and Taitung -- and they have an unapologetically commercial sound. That's okay, it's what they love, and the songs -- which can be about leaving home for the city, or the pleasures of tribal life -- also retain some of the melodic elements of their folk music. They've had some decent recognition at home, and won the music competition at the Ho Hai Yan Rock festival in 2004. In the lead up to that, they were part of the documentary "Ocean Fever." After listening to their records, which have quite the "wall of sound" production, I think I can safely call my video "Totem Unplugged."

There is no way that I could have covered all the different aboriginal music in Taiwan in the five days I was there. Suffice it to say that if any of this music piques your curiousity, there's plenty more to be heard! I recommend checking out the catalogues of Trees Music & Art, Wind Music, and David Darling's striking recordings with the Bunun tribe, "Mudanin Kata."

My thanks to the very knowledgeable David Chen for his commentary.