Other artists that you should check out:
Talvin Singh: The main man behind bringing the “Asian underground” to
the mainstream, Talvin Singh is a DJ and composer from India who learned
that digital composition and Classical Indian music were an appropriate
match, something that many artists have lately emulated thanks to his
influence. Having learned to play tablas professionally in his hometown of
Leytonstone while dancing to electronica with other young Asians, Singh
gathered experience in and an appreciation for different styles of music
that would eventually lead to his prize-winning album O.K. The album
is a must-hear for all fans of electronica or digital sampling with ethnic
influences – it’s one of the first, and best, examples of the genre.
Garmarna: Do you like rock with electronic beats? Enjoy violins along
with your digital mixing and screeching guitar? Then you’ll definitely like
Garmarna. Hailing from Sweden, this group manages to be part trip-hop, part
classical, part rock, and part electronica. They have a club sound with a
hard rock attitude. At least, that attitude shines through when Emma
Hrdelin sings about a mythological character who takes the form of a wolf
and rips her evil stepmother to shreds. There is a bittersweet smoothness
that reminds one of the popular group Portishead, or perhaps a darker
Hooverphonic; but the Swedish language makes a much more interesting
cadence.
Buena Vista Social Club: If you haven’t heard the Buena Vista Social
Club, you’re missing out on an important part of music. The BVSC is a group
of very experienced highly talented Cuban musicians and singers who,
gathered and produced by guitar great Ry Cooder and his son Joachim,
recorded the traditional songs they have heard and played all their lives in
their native land. Anytime you have gone to a Cuban restaurant in the past
few years, I guarantee you’ve heard the album at least once. It is
beautifully touching, and helped launch the careers of Ibrahim Ferrer and
Ruben Gonzalez, displaying the unmatched talent of these previously
undiscovered veterans of Cuban folk. Sweet and lulling as well as light and
lively, their interpretations of traditional tunes and original compositions
makes the perfect album for when you’re looking for a change from the crap
you hear on the radio everyday, or when you need something new and different
in your collection. Music obsessives cannot call themselves by that title
without having heard and appreciated the Buena Vista Social Club.
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