My brother sent me this clip from a group that he saw in New Orleans. According to their website they bridge African jazz and "the culture of New Orleans." I thought it was pretty interesting so here you go:
Fatien Ensemble
In other musical news, I have developed a minor obsession with this Belarusian folk band that I saw at the Art Pole folk/art/music festival in Ukraine. You can see a different video under my Song of the Moment section, but just in case you needed more:
Нагуаль (Nagual)
In regards to that video - I was actually there. Yes, in the audience kinda far back, but dancing with enthusiasm. Admittedly the band is a little weird. I do realize this, but also utterly amazing. And really really good live. On a positive note, every single person that has listened to the c.d. that I own has also enjoyed it. Here is a description of the band:
The band NAGUAL (a rolling stone, wanderer) was formed in winter 2000 in order to recreate sounds which can express both the beginning of the dance of life and one's own song.
NAGUAL consists of six musicians. Their aim is to deepen their knowledge about music origins, modern trends, shaping of folk cultures, relations among people, since these factors directly influence the group's creativity. They create music by means of selected instruments, their unique arrangements and feelings of the musicians. They play instruments which vary from archaic to classical.
Psycho-folk is a trend in music which combines the personal with the social. The vocal is a sophisticated mixture of phonemes of various language groups, sounds of nature, psycho-physiological processes and the primitive and the postmodern. Therefore, the gist of this work is admiring the world, biostimulation, deep experiences and expressing emotions and feelings explicitly.
(http://www.gadki.lublin.pl/east_eng/n/index.html)
Psychology, anthropology, music, folklore all wrapped in one group - perfect for me wouldn't you think? :)
