World Music Wednesday: The Second Mixtape!

January 23, 2014

(On Wednesdays, I post a song from somewhere in this big wide world on my Facebook page. Every three months, I make a mixtape of the songs– check out the first mixtape HERE.)

CLICK HERE FOR THE MIXTAPE.

Since the last mixtape three months ago, I’ve actually only left Turkey once– and that was to go to North Cyprus, a country that in many important ways (currency, cuisine) feels very similar to Turkey. I’ve been saving money and energy for my imminent trip to Malaysia. But my wanderlust rarely abates, even when I’m being responsible.

My ears, however, have been all over the place.

World Music Wednesday is wanderlust for the ears, an aural travel experience. Physically I’m in Istanbul, but my music takes me all over the world. It can take you all over the world, too.

New discoveries like Mulatu Astatke and William Onyeabor take their place on this month’s mixtape next to old favorites like Ibrahim Ferrer and Kocani Orkestar. BaBa ZuLa, an Istanbul favorite, coexists with Duke Ellington’s very American riffs on the Nutcracker. The juxtapositions can lead to dissonance or unexpected similarities. It’s a big, wild world. There’s so much to hear.

WORLD MUSIC WEDNESDAY, MIXTAPE II

1. Mulatu Astatke – Yekermo Sew (Ethiopia, 10/30/13)

2. Sergio Mendes – Constant Rain (Brazil, 11/6/13)

3. BaBa ZuLa – Cecom (Turkey, 11/13/13)

4. Kocani Orkestar – Siki Siki Baba (Macedonia, 11/20/13)

5. R.D. Burman ft. Asha Bhosle – Meera Nam Hai Shabnam (India, 11/27/13)

6. William Onyeabor – Good Name (Nigeria, 12/4/13)

7. Salamat – Mambo El Soudani (Egypt, 12/11/13)

8. Serge Gainsbourg – La Javanaise (France, 12/18/13)

9. Duke Ellington – Dance of the Floreadores (Waltz of the Flowers) (USA, 12/25/13)

10. Ibrahim Ferrer – Buenos Hermanos (Cuba, 1/1/14)

11. Yma Sumac – Jungla (Peru, 1/8/14)