New Music CDs

After a 5-year hiatus, this French quintet is back with its fifth studio recording, simply titled (5).

Romance in the sound cinema: Banda Magda's sunny, dreamy, globally inflected debut poses the eternal question, Amour, t'es là? Throwing caution to the wind, she jotted down a flurry of words in French. A simple, playful gesture, it eventually yielded song after cheeky, beautifully crafted song, sunny vignettes that harkened back to the golden age of Brazilian bossa, the best cinematic arranging, and the lush chic of vintage French pop.

Known as the virtuoso guitarist in famous Congolese band Wenge Musica (Maison Mere), which notably accompanied the singer Werrason, Flamme Kapaya is also an outstanding composer and arranger. The release of his first solo album, recorded in Kisangani, comes at a time when he has gained international recognition for his musical work in theatre (Comedie Francaise, Festival d'Avignon), cinema, and modern dance, notably with a distinction at the 2012 Bessie Awards in New York.

Drawing upon ancient Roman Jewish melodies and incorporating Resistance poems by Pasolini and Alfonso Gatto, Dan Kaufman has put together a powerful and touching homage to the Italian Resistance during the period of Nazi occupation after the fall of Mussolini. Using the members of his band, Barbez, including the stunning theremin virtuoso Pamelia Kurstin and vocalists Dawn McCarthy and Fiona Templeton, it's a stunning suite of music from the mastermind behind Force of Light.

An enchanting collection of the best-known and loved Russian songs as played by the Balalaika-Ensemble Wolga. Includes the famous songs Kalinka, The Red Sarafan, The Lonely Bell, The Legend of the 12 Bandits, and Evening Bells. Showcases the unique sounds of the balalaikas together with the resonant, deep-voices of the Russian singers. Includes bonus track.

The second album from L'Ham de Foc, with a sound created by more then 50 different Mediterranean acoustic instruments, can be best described as a meeting between Dead Can Dance and Led Zeppelin!

Foot-stomping fusion of Celtic and North Indian music.

Taraf de Haïdouks's third album was recorded in their home environment of Clejani and in nearby Bucharest. Just like its predecessors, it was produced by Stefan Karo, Michel Winter and CramWorld producer/engineer Vincent Kenis. But this time the Taraf have invited a series of guests to appear with them.

Renowned Serbian world music composer's first international release since 2005. A remarkable representative of Balkan music today, all of his last three albums were in the Top Ten of the World Music Charts Europe. The ultimate Balkan entertainer blazes on high once again with his own brand of east-west fusion. It is an album of sentimental journeys from Pannonian melancholy to Mediterranean joy.

Tinariwen follows up their Grammy Award-winning release with an album that sees them delivering stripped-down dirges and effervescent electric anthems. They continue to bring together their Tuareg musical heritage with modern urban blues.

As featured on NPR's All Things Considered. Bob Brozman is an American guitarist and ethnomusicologist, and the world's leading authority on vintage and new national guitars. Fire in the Mind features musical traditions from around the world, from Delta Blues and Hawaiian to West African, Django, Caribbean, and even hip-hop and ska.

In the world of accordion-driven Tejano conjunto music, Jimenez and Baca are at once pillars of the past and forgers of the future. Their latest release spotlights these larger-than-life artists, each an inheritor of a musical legacy from his father and grandfather, and each a dynamic force of musical genius. It captures the essential sounds of conjunto tradition with Jimenez's accordion and Baca's deep-pitched bajo sexto.

Artists from across the world pay tribute to Bob Dylan by putting a global music spin on some of the singer-songwriter's most iconic tracks. Included are artists from Cuba, India, Egypt, and more.

Welcome to Neo Baile, a new take on the traditional sounds and aesthetics of Brazil's Baile Funk (or Funk Carioca) that challenges the established order to create something new, exciting, and forwardthinking. Mr Bongo is extremely proud to present the compilation, featuring fourteen unreleased and exclusive tracks from worldwide producers that reinterpret the love-it-or-hate-it Brazilian Baile Funk sound!

Two maverick groups, Albanian brass maestros Fanfara Tirana and Britain's eclectic world-fusion collective Transglobal Underground, team up for Kabatronics, a dynamic cross-border, cross-cultural jamboree. Drawing on a wealth of musical treasures, Balkan and otherwise, they exchange ideas, melodies and lyrics to tell new tales of mystery and re-imagination in a sparkling celebration of life, love and solidarity with its roots in history and its sights on the future.

Listen to an album of rare armenian music by two of the most prominent contemporary Armenian composers: Eduard Mirzoyan and Vache Sharafyan. Acclaimed cellist Suren Bagratuni, winner of the Silver medal at the Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow, present a CD of music. The music, although deeply rooted in ancient Armenian melodies, embraces innovative compositional techniques with the use of quartertone intonations, wide vibrato, whispers, and other sound effects.

Features bagpipe player and violinist Michel Esbelin, accordionist Ludovic Rio, and banjo player Olivier Sulpice, who met during a musical session in Paris. Well-known amongst lovers of Auvergne music.

Featuring Kidjo's unique interpretations of songs from artists as diverse as James Brown, Otis Redding, Miriam Makeba, and Santana, and including guests John Legend, Roy Hargrove, and Dianne Reeves, this album is a truly diverse collection reflecting the music that inspired Kidjo growing up.

The repertoire explored here comes from the Arab-Andalusian music of Algiers, plus original compositions by the three players, in which voice, lute, guitar, and cello complement each other. Habib Guerroumi's melismatic singing is effectively supported by the lute, which he plays himself, along with the guitar by Christian Vasseur, and the cello by Jean-Christophe Lannoy.

A new record of works mostly composed and performed by bandoneon player Mainetti. 'This is a sum of individual works where the bandeon thread serves as a host of different characters that make up the total record.' (Mainetti)

For their third album, these four famous singers from Corsica, known for their impressive polyphonies, are accompanied by a group of very talented musicians. Still based on tradition, the new repertoire also revisits the melodies of Corsican song.

On his ninth album, Six String Blvd, Pavlo incorporates the world's most exotic instruments into his classic Mediterranean sound. Influenced by his travels, listeners will be captured by the Chinese ehru, the Portuguese guitarra, the Arabic flute, the Indian sitar, and of course the Greek bouzouki.

This new collection hones in on Sparrow's most creative years as he effortlessly surfed musical styles from calypso party jams to hard-hitting boogaloo and soul.

Rayssa Fatima Tabaamrant continues the Morocco rwais tradition, a tradition rooted in everyday existence and concerned with matters of life, death, nature, and love.

United by their common experience of performing at festivals and theatres over the last fifteen years, the members of the band have been filled with the energy of always-generous audiences, urging them to seek new paths. As both musicians and instrument makers, the connection they have to their instruments has led them to explore various expressive possibilities, thus giving a more contemporary character to their work. The repertoire is made of original compositions inspired by Sicilian culture.

Urstan presents a spirited and innovative musical re-imaging of a number of classic traditional Gaelic and Scottish numbers and one original tune each from Mairi and Ali. There's fastidious notes included in both Gaelic and English, but the compulsive rhythms and moods conjured by the band will leave little time to read while the music plays. Urstan is a physically absorbing experience, filled to abundance with color and the love of life.

United by their love of rip-roaring, artfully delivered klezmer, She'Koyokh spins tales of wild goats, unmarried women, and broken hearts drawn from the rich folk traditions of Eastern Europe, Turkey, and the Balkans.

On their fourth studio album, Terrakota continues to mash up frontiers, bringing together music from around the world. With the help of some surprising special guests, the ambassadors of Portuguese multiculturalism keep expanding their musical horizons, to Rajasthan, Angola, classical India, urban Cuba, and beyond.