Two years ago I was fortunate enough to attend the Sharq Taronalari festival that is held every two years in Samarkand, as a guest. It has given me a bug for the place, and I recommend Uzbekistan as a travel destination, as not enough people really know or understand this part of the world. The country is rich with historical monuments, extraordinary textiles, warm and hospitable people and of course, music.  Not that the music is immediately accessible to the Western ear, and I was finding it quite demanding. One day I sat my assigned interpreter, Dilnoza Mamadaliyeva, down and said "Tell me about Muggam. Maybe you can help me to appreciate it better." So here is Dilnoza doing just that.

Much later on, we were able to acquire the fine Smithsonian series you have been watching on Link, but the other day, I discovered this tape from years ago.  Hey Dilnoza! I hope you're still singing.

A word about the technical problems...I should have known better than to place Dilnoza in front of a bright window. Every time she waved her hands, my camera tried to compensate, resulting in a flicker. Apologies.  And if anyone wants to know more about my travels in Uzbekistan, a memoir is available on request ;-) 

Let's get some of the PR out of the way.  Yes, he is currently on tour, and yes, he has a new recording out called "Alkohol." BUY IT. It rocks, it has soul.  What more could you want?

Without question the most successful musician to come out of Sarajevo, Goran Bregovic has brought the sound of the Balkans to millions, first from his soundtracks for such films as Emir Kusturica's "Time of the Gypsy" and "Underground," followed by a plethora of collaborations with top flight musicians as disparate as Iggy Pop and Sezen Akcu, (remember "Prawy do Lewego" with Polish diva Kayah?) and more recently by touring with his "Wedding and Funeral Band."  His music is special to me, just because it touched me deeply during the days after 9/11. It seemed to reach out and say "I know how you are feeling." So I was a teeny bit nervous meeting him. I needn't have worried.  We laughed a lot! Maybe I should have brought along a bottle of Slivovitz.

The video for Jeremija was filmed at the Guca Brass Festival and Competition in Serbia, and if you want to know more about that giddy event, check out our documentary "Guca".

And speaking of Balkan Brass, we have to mention that it's getting to be quite the hip club thang, pushed by Deejay Shantel across the water (as in:Disko Partizani) and other mixmasters this side of the pond as well. --And right here in NYC we have our own Zlatne Uste Brass Band, that can pump it out with the best of them.

I headed over to Drom the other night to catch The Shin, a great band from the Republic of Georgia. The place was packed, which made it hard to get good shots, and as usual, the club was dimly lit, even on stage. Even more frustrating, I am finding that while this little Flip camera shines in an acoustic setting, just get an electric bass in there and that's all you hear. Fortunately, though, the band had a folk dancer, David Ninoshvili, who turned in some pretty dynamic moves.

I was sitting in a tiny space by the stage, so I had a great view of Ninoshvili's footwork.  I captured a fair amount, but at one point (after my batteries had run out!!!) the man actually got on his tippy-toes (yes, just like in "Titanic") and proceeded to go through some truly punishing choreography; he wasn't wearing anyting remotely like ballet shoes, which have a built in box to protect the dancer's foot. Don't mess with those Georgian folk dancers.

Also: just found out about a great site : http://www.radiovideotrad.com

Check out their videos-- the accent is on ethnographic, but from Cajun to Balkan Brass to Bellydance, most of them are a lot fun!

This week we are showing - quite by coincidence - the debut of block 110 "Dancing" and the wonderful music documentary Dame La Mano, a film about dancing.

Dame La Mano centers on a Cuban community in New Jersey. The various protagonists all are hard working folks who can't wait for Saturday nights at their local hang, where they can literally give body and soul to music. It keeps them young, it keeps them centered, and it helps to make life joyful. Not bad for something you don’t have to buy!

Block #110/"Dancing" is full of great grooves to get your feet, arms and hips in motion. Sona Mohapatra provides some swinging bhangra, followed by Hard Kaur RAP-sodizing about Bollywood. Madagascar's Namavao, Marina and the Magic Powers follow with what feels rather homespun by comparison, but is full of charm and cool moves. Next we get two takes on Balkan Brass dance music; one from deejay Shantel and another from the ever strange Magnifico. We then head south to Brazil for a rendition of the forro classic "Asa Branca" and finish with Manu Chao's award winning ode to the street and those who work it, "Me Llaman Calle."
Get those endorphins going - cut the rug!

Watch Block #110 online here!

We love concept videos, but sometimes the best way to really understand what a musician is about, is to see them perform! Block #107, our ninth "In Performance" block, brings you Mamak Khadem a vibrant singer from Iran, Malian guitarist Habib Koite, the Southern Brazilian accordionist Renato Borghetti, Russia's DDT at a massive concert in St. Petersburg, Cape Verdean diva Mayra Andrade  at the Africa Festival in Lisbon, and Ojos de Brujo (Spain) with Faada Freddy (Senegal) rocking the house with Bob Marley's "Get Up, Stand Up.".

Block #109, AKA "What a World" shows how world music artists address a variety of serious issues: Michael Franti speaks to the unity of mankind but keeps it all very danceable;  K'Naan describes the difficulties of being a refugee in a new country, and Nasjota rap about the Sudanese homeland. Then Aterciopelados sings about the misplaced love of money with "Don Dinero" and El Hadj N'Diaye makes an impassioned plea about third world debt. We close with DDT's animated anthem to the Kursk tragedy, "Captain Kolesnikov."

And of course, these two blocks will both be streaming on our site soon!

We've been trumpeting the arrival of several new programs, and this week we're rolling three of them out. Soweto Strings is a totally endearing documentary about violist Rosemary Nalden, the music school she founded in Soweto, and her exceptional students. Coming from the impoverished township, their lives have been difficult to say the least, yet all of them show an openness and enthusiasm for learning classical music that Ms. Nalden (and we) find irresistible. On a side note, I showed this documentary to a friend of mine, who used to be the Concert Master for the Metropolitan Opera here in New York, and he thought Ms. Nalden had put together "a damned fine orchestra!"

We are also debuting two new music blocks (and in a few weeks these will be available streamed on our website, too).

Block #106 "Mashups" is a fun-filled block with videos that are musically and visually eclectic. Here's a brief rundown: Magnifico's "House of the Rising Sun" goes Balkan, Mexican Institute of Sound visits the dinosaur room, Rahul Sharma presents a philosophical hallucination, SoCalled deconstructs his head, Ojos de Brujo create a spiritual and cultural collage, Dengue Fever pays tribute to the Road Warrior, and Antiquarks get down on the dance floor - with the hurdy gurdy.

Block #108, aka "Romance" has Ziskakan praising Gypsies in Rajasthan, Sona Mohapatra presenting different styles of Indian dance, Federico Aubele playing guitar a bordello, while Rupa and the April Fishes take us to a Paris Bistro that is not really in Paris. Then Dato brings us a mournful love song illustrated by sand art, and we finish with Kiran Ahluwalia and a contemporary setting of an ancient Urdu love poem.

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!