Cara Dillon
Cara Dillon
(Rough Trade RTADECD019)
(www.roughtraderecords.com, www.caradillon.com)

Cara Dillon and Estrella Morente have both adopted the same approach on their albums, albeit to two very different kinds of music. They both take traditional songs from their own musical culture--Ireland and the UK in Dillon's case, and Spain for Morente--and perform them in a fairly straightforward style, i.e., no fusion or electronic gizmos in sight. While there does not seem to be anything particularly original in such an approach, both of the singers are in their 20's, and they both have terrific voices.

Cara Dillon is currently hot property on the folk/roots scene in the UK. She was the winner of the recent BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards best Newcomer award. "Black Is The Colour," the opening track on her self-titled album, also picked up the award for best traditional track. You could pick just about any track on the album, and make a case for it, however. Dillon is blessed with a beautiful, almost child-like voice, which she uses to great effect to impart extra emotion into the material. Accompanied throughout by (relatively) long time collaborator Sam Lahkeman on keyboards, this is a wonderful album that works as background music for relaxing, or playing loud. The choice of "I Am A Youth That's Inclined To Ramble" as the closing track is inspired, because it leaves you wanting more. This is the sort of album that could get traditional folk music a good name!

Estrella Morente
My Songs And A Poem
(Realworld CDRW101)
(realworldrecords.com)

Estrella Morente is much more than a singer. She fits the bill of true performer, which is precisely what you would expect from a flamenco artiste. On "My Songs And A Poem" Morente sings, claps and dances her way through a collection of traditional flamenco songs and a poem ("Moguer"). The latter has been set to music by her father, Enrique Morente, one of the leading lights of flamenco in the late 20th Century. The selection of songs demonstrates the wide variety of styles within the flamenco genre. The best delivery requires high levels of intensity and passion, however, and Morente has all that it takes and more. This enables her to carry off the fiery tangos of "At The Top Of The Cerro De Palamares," and back it up with the gentler Bulerias style on the aforementioned "Moguer."

In spite of being ostensibly a traditional album, Morente manages to make flamenco sound as fresh as it ever did. This is due in part to some excellent backing from a range of musicians (mostly on guitar) that reflect the great and the good, including Josemi, Juan and Antonio Carmona from the excellent Ketama. It all adds up to make "My Songs And A Poem" an excellent album, that is well worth investigating. The fact that it is on the comparatively mainstream Realworld label should make it easy to track down.

Orchestra Super Mazembe Giants of East Africa
(Earthworks STEW45CD)
(www.sternsmusic.com)

From the mid-1970's through to the early 1980's Orchestra Super Mazembe dominated the East African and Kenyan music scenes. The band originally formed in 1967 as Super Vox in what was then Zaire. They subsequently moved to Kenya (1974), changed their name to Super Mazembe (which is Lingala for Bulldozer!) and proceeded to take the country by storm. They even popularized their own dance style (mushosho), and were in demand throughout Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda.

The album opens with the group's first hit, "Kassongo," which epitomizes so much that is great about this sort of music. The blend of the highly distinctive guitar sound with horns and (harmony) singing is so joyful and uplifting that it virtually guaranteed to bring a smile to anyone's face. Also included here is a cover of "Shauri Yoko" which was another of the band's biggest hits. Every track is a gem in its own right, however, and the album is a fine reflection of how Orchestra Super Mazembe did things at their peak.

Orchestra Super Mazembe were a bit ahead of their time, in terms of the wider development of the World Music scene. Sadly, recent efforts to revive the group now seem to have largely disappeared with the death of founder member Mutonkole Longwa Didos in 1999. Fortunately the release of "Giants of East Africa" gives everybody the chance to hear just how great Orchestra Super Mazembe really were, and will have even the most hardened non-dancers shuffling around in their seats.

Afel Bocoum, Damon Albarn, Toumani Diabate and Friends
Mali Music
(Honest Jon's Records HJR CDR1 7243-538440-2-8)

"Mali Music" is the result of a visit to Mali made by Damon Albarn (of Blue and Gorillaz fame) as part of Oxfam's On The Line project. Albarn recorded music that he encountered (and sometimes joined in with) as he toured around the country. Once he returned to the UK he set about constructing an album from the recordings, which was then sent to Afel Bocoum to add vocals.

The production is excellent, and manages to combine lilting reggae rhythms, rock-oriented guitar and Malian strings and percussion in something close to the perfect balance. Each of the tunes is gem in its own right, and has something to recommend it. Particular favorites are "Le Relax," which would make great mood music for a thriller movie, and "Niger," which is one of those tunes that you just cannot get out of your head once you hear it. A clever device is also deployed by the producers towards the end of "4AM At Toumani's" where there is the beginnings of a refrain on melodica. This refrain reappears in a few places, and gets fleshed out into a full track on the catchy "Sunset Coming On," which probably explains why it sounds so familiar when you first hear it!

"Mali Music" is really a sort of impressionist musical travelogue of Albarn's visit to Mali. The music reflects the different musicians and styles that he encountered on his travels. The end result is that "Mali Music" is a very worthwhile effort on all fronts. Part of the proceeds from the album are going to fund future work by Oxfam in Mali, which is reason enough to buy it. Factor in the quality of the album, plus the fact that fRoots magazine described "Mali Music" as "the sound of the summer," and it means that no discerning music lover should be without it!

Simply click on the CD cover to order these CDs NOW!

This review is copyright © 2002 by Gordon Baxter, and Blues On Stage at: www.mnblues.com, all rights reserved. Copy, duplication or download prohibited without written permission.
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