New releases by Daj Ognia, Omar Sosa, Amparo Sánchez and Katerina Papadopoulou.
The album Wykrot (Extract) is the Polish group Daj Ognia’s (Gives me fire) debut. The group consists of two men and two women, all from the Polish city of Krakow. They play modern folk and draw their inspiration from traditional music from Poland and Scandinavia. There are some entertaining videos on YouTube of their song Kir, among others. You can see them playing traditional (sometimes homemade) instruments, like the tagelharpa, shakharpa, mandola, bagpipes and frame drums.
1. Midsommar, Daj Ognia (03:50)
2. Kir, Daj Ognia (04:34)
3. Oj nie pójde, Daj Ognia (03:39)
CD: Daj Ognia, Wykrot, Polen (2021) 2679582 Records DK
Omar Sosa is a well-known jazz pianist from Cuba who has now settled in Barcelona after several detours through Ecuador, California and Mallorca. He has always remained close to his African roots, and in 2009 he toured through East-Africa, where he performed with local singers and musicians. A CD of this tour, entitled An East African Journey, has now been released.
4. Eretseretse, Omar Sosa, ft. Monja Mahafay, Madagascar (03:41)
5. Che Che, Omar Sosa, ft. Seleshe Damessae, Ethiopia (02:57)
6. Dadilahy, Omar Sosa, ft. Rajery, Madagascar (05:24)
CD: Omar Sosa, An East African Journey, (2009/2021), MDC, Ota Records, Xango Music Distribution
Amparo Sánchez is known for the group Amparanoia, which she started. Her solo album B.S.O. La Nina Y El Lobo, vol. 1, is based on her autobiographical book with the same title, La Ninã y el Lobo (the girl and the dog). After settling back in the Spanish city Granada in 2019, she decided to make this album after several wanderings. For this album, she collaborated with two guitarists from the flamenco scene, Víctor Iniesta Iglesias and Eduardo Espín Pacheco.
7. La Pistola y el Corazon, Han Caïdo los Dos, starting with Mala Vida
8. Mala Vida, Amparo Sánchez (03:35)
9. La Pistolay y el Corazón, Amparo Sánchez (04:14)
9. Han Caïdo los dos, Amparo Sánchez (05:26)
CD: Amparo Sánchez, B.S.O. La Nina Y El Lobo, vol. 1, (2020) Namitarecords.com., Xango Music Distribution
You may already know Greek singer Katarina Papadopoulou from her collaborations with Jordi Savall and l’Arpeggiata. She released a new album called Anástatica (resurrection). The theme of the album is how Greek music transcends boundaries, changes and thus stays alive. The songs are from Asia-Minor, Thrace, Macedonia, Pontos, and South-Italy, among others.
10. Rise, trad. (06:29)
11. Old Grape Vine / Ikariotikos dance, trad. (09:12)
CD. Katerina Papadopoulou & Anastatica, 2021, Saphrane S62620, Music & Words
The Knockengorroch festival is an annual roots festival held in South West Scotland. Because of the coronavirus, the festival was cancelled last year, and the organisers managed to make it into a digital festival instead. A double CD of this festival was released, and we will play you two songs from it. Cera Impala will sing Nothing, but first, you will hear the excellent Afro Celt System with Lockdown Gorroch Reel.
12. Afro Celt Sounds System, Lockdown Gorroch Reel (04:04)
13. Cera Impala, Nothing (02:29),
Double CD: Sounds like Knockengorroch 2020, KNOCK2020CD, www. Birnamcd.com, Xango Music Distribution
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