Nuit Tsigane: Gypsy Night at Le Divan du Monde (Gaetano Fabri Remixes)

Crammed Discs



Saving for winter is one of Mother Nature's oldest lessons, but unlike nature, the music industry does little to accommodate releases for enjoyable consumption outside the Christmas fever. And when it comes to world music, the procedure is a lot like allowing an elephant in a china store. If it weren't for a couple labels, namely Luaka Bop and Crammed Discs, sorting out traditional music from around the world would be like stepping on rocks and expecting them to produce wine.

Fortunately, things are slowly changing – world music is no longer an island (by its definition, it should never have been), and the clubbing factor is pushing the envelope for a wider acclaim. This compilation "Nuit Tsigane: Gypsy Night at le Divan du Monde", as remixed by Gaetano Fabri, is a clever take on Balkan music to, well, sort of debalkanize it. Emir Kusturica's work as a director and a musician is, of course, a good help.

But there's a lot of fun in transgression. When you do so, you're more likely to get the most cake...or a bigger bite of the poison apple. Either way, it's always worth every sweet drop. The recipe here is simple: add dance floor vibe to an already messy equation. Let's start by slicing out two cuts by the most obvious ensemble in "Nuit Tsigane": Fanfare Ciocãrlia, a brass band from eastern Romania.

The first one, "Alili", has the eye-opening potential of two cans of Red Bull, but it's with the couch-inducing "Godzila" that you can almost smell the dirt on the dancers' feet. Another inevitable highlight in the record has to be "Go East", performed by Taraf De Kaïdouks and revised by Gaetano Fabri. On this one, the legitimate heirs of the Romanian "laurati" gypsies play a valuable tribute to "tradition" – a word immortalized and, above all, praised in Norman Jewison's movie "Fiddler on the Roof".

The most reliable guarantee when purchasing "Nuit Tsigane" is that you will never fall asleep at the wheel. The only down-side is that, because of its schizophrenic and attention-grabbing qualities, you really should never drive and play this record at the same time. Apart from that there's nothing much to add, except that this is one good example of how tradition and avant-garde can work hand in glove.

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The Warheads - Tantra Remixed

Water Music Records



According to Encyclopedia Britannica, tantra refers to "any of numerous texts dealing with the esoteric practices of some Hindu, Buddhist, and Jaina sects". Now imagine all that remixed and put together on CD. Unless you are a Mossad affiliate, you're going to love this stuff. For most of you readers, this may be the first time that Far East comes to the dance floor or your iPod. So pay close attention to what "Tantra Remixed" has to offer.

"Boxed Ram" and "India" are good warm-ups, but the real fun starts after the third track, a cut appropriately named "JB Dub", featuring a serpentine-like female voice and nice memorabilia from Indian shores. Two songs later, there comes "Funk N Gandhi", a track Mahatma himself would probably dance to, with its incantatory chants and lounge-like tedium.

The first half of the record is like a long, contemplative yawn that haunts you on a Sunday afternoon. But then, "What Did She Say" defiantly sets the tone for a more uptempo second half, of which "The Star Raga" is the most high-caloric number. The glitter remains on "Border Crossing", which sounds like a true-life rollercoaster even if it doesn't even reach the one-minute mark.

To prove that Baghdad and New York (or Bombay and San Francisco for that matter) are not that far apart, "Mechanical Means" puts a metallic, sharpened piece in the beautiful mantra work. And the disclaimer goes like "this sound is not produced by mechanical means, instead it originates as a stream of electrons in a vacuum tube". How clever is that, huh?

Anyone familiar with Tehran-based Ghazal collective will notice the Persian roots in "Tantra Remixed". But while the kamancheh (a traditional Iranian fiddle), the sitar, and the tabla (a percussive instrument from Northern India) put Ghazal's music in a regional shell, this record let in all manners of occidental infusion.

Someday a work like this will be the plat du jour in any record store. Until then, consider yourself blessed with such a musical journey.

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#40: Tantra Remixed

1 Boxed Ram
2 India
3 JB Dub
4 From Her Voice
5 Funk N Gandhi
6 Dipped in Ghee
7 My Bombay
8 What Did She Say
9 Mechanical Means
10 This Time Faster
11 The Star Raga
12 Border Crossing
13 Once More (inc.)

emitido a 16 e 20 Outubro

#39: Café Europa

1 Bossa Nostra Roxanne Nao Ligar
2 Quadro Nuevo Café Europa
3 Giacomo Bondi Anema e Core (feat. Didi)
4 Mazachigno Night in Capri
5 Tape Five On The Run (slowdown mix)
6 Mondo Candido Meglio Stasera
7 Panaphonic Contas Novas (vintage bossa cut) (feat. Liliana Giminez)
8 Cabano Bossa Suave
9 Bungalove Aphrodisiaco
10 Os Morcegos Fabula Negra
11 Eddie Silverton Apertif
12 La Rue de la Trois Freres Metro Abbesses
13 Edson X Sem Voce
14 Melania Resta Cu'umme

emitido a 9 e 13 Outubro

Café Europa - A European Chill-Out Experience

Water Music Records



Lounge bars are the lifeblood of any well-informed, upper-middle class urban bohemian. This statement may sound hipster-like and even a tad snobbish but, after a couple of nights, you don't get much fun in a dump, right? Anyway, what indeed amazes me is how a good chill-out track always tastes like a cinnamon-scented martini, and the tracks assembled in this compilation called "Cafe Europa" are no exception.

While the opening act, Bossa Nostra's "Roxanne Nao Ligar", has the strength of a good anti-depressant (and if you know any Portuguese, that's even better), Mazachigno's "Night in Capri" is the audio equivalent to a strong antacid. The bottom line here is even if you eat until you're broke and your stomach is worn-out, there's always a beautiful tune to soothe your pains, like a mermaid carrying you across the sea.

All these tracks are taken from cool European destinations such as Lisbon and Barcelona, Paris, Rome or Venice, and, as the press release puts it, they were brought together in celebration of Water Music's 100th chill-out/lounge release. If anything, this serves as an ephemeral polaroid over the romantic, fresh nights you can spend in the old continent's southwestern corner.

To put it simple, let's just say that Cabano's "Bossa Suave" and Bungalove's "Aphrodisiaco" share the same cultural wavelength, but wouldn't be out of place in any Latin American downtempo venue. In fact, there's a sense of familiarity throughout the album that almost feels like you've come across an oasis in the FM dryness. "Cafe Europa" possesses a touch of narrative logic that most radio shows lack.

Some of these tracks are plain, chilled-out cuts (Edson X's "Sem Voce" or even the title track as done by Quadro Nuevo), but others demand a nice, clean tuxedo to be fully understood, be it Os Morcegos' "Fabula Negra" or Eddie Silverton's "Apertif". This compilation is especially recommended for those who don't normally add a sprinkle of bossa nova and tango to their downtempo diet.

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Kidda - V.I.P.

Skint Records



After this "V.I.P." single release, the world should kneel down before the well-kept secret of good remixes. Kidda, formerly of Catskills, indeed has a feline approach to the turntables. For his first 12" on his own label, the guy milks a robust herd of sacred cows, when it comes to remixing previously recorded material. Neither do the ensuing versions of "V.I.P." sound like a carbon copy of the original, nor are they aliening babies of the same womb.

Fortunately, the man scratches it up and slows it down like a possessed devil, inevitably leading his followers to the dance floor. In fact, with the original version of "V.I.P.", featuring vocals by Beatnuts MC Psycho Les and a childish choir, even Scrooge McDuck's ass goes down.

What follows is a less organic take on the mold, a butcher's work of art, as delivered by Puma Strut's Beathoven. It's a sweaty cut that will have gangsta rappers dreaming of jumping in hot girls' pants. And then the instrumental and acapella mixes – so simple, so economical, so perfect. It's amazing how less than 15 minutes worth of music can make you dream of blooming, remixing tomorrows.

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