Ojos de Brujo

Spain has a badly spotted history of mistreating "outsiders," but the country's music is heavily influenced by these same groups. Even Spain's signature music, flamenco, sprang from persecuted Gypsy, Jewish and Moorish communities. Three recent releases demonstrate the beauty created by this once-feared diversity.

Since the 1970s, when Paco de Lucía began fusing flamenco with jazz and rock, one wing of the genre has broken free of its traditional moorings, while staying respectful of its origins. After a spectacular U.S. debut in 2002, the Barcelona-based collective Ojos de Brujo returns with Techarí, which again pulls in a variety of styles - most obviously flamenco and hip-hop. But like all the bands I'm writing about today, Ojos de Brujo (Eyes of the Warlock) is not easily pigeonholed.(...)

Techarí, on "Six Degrees," lacks some of the excitement of "Bari," but is still a vibrant brew. This time around, the group is joined by guest artists, including flamenco guitarist Pepe Habichuela and Asian Underground leader Nitin Sawhney, but the draw here is still the group's unique sound. Heavily percussive, the band uses palmas or handclaps, the South American box- like drum called the cajon, the Indian dhol drum and handfuls of turntable scratching.

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Ghulam Ali Interview

Q: Where do you think the traditional ghazal (Urdu poem) fits into the contemporary music scene?

A: Today's music is far removed from the ghazal. 'Ghazal ek apna muqaam rakhti hai.' (Ghazal has its own status.) It's not just a genre, it's a thought, an attitude and a way of life. When a ghazal is featured in a film, it acquires exceptional longevity. My ghazal 'Chupke chupke, raat bhar' in 'Nikaah' is remembered to this day. I've sung many ghazals in films. They're all loved to this day.

Q: Do you still feel satisfied singing ghazals?

A: My love for my work remains undiminished. I never gave up singing in the style and mood that I had adopted from the start. That's what keeps my love for my art alive. One should love and respect one's own work. I never sing at a venue where my musicians and I aren't comfortable.

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Daara J Interview

If the patois of hip-hop is slang, its attitude is subversivness in baggy jeans and its beats can very well border on the rude. A refined namaste and a polite satsriakal that will make your grandma happy can sound strangely out of place on a rapper’s lips. But then the Senegalese band Daara J, which sings in the tribal language Wolof, English, French and Spanish, wants to break stereotypes. In the Capital for Alliance Francaise’s Francophone Week, they belted out an unusual blend of bhangra, reggae and African music. And N’Dango D, Aladji Man and Faada Freddy, who make up Daara J, say they want to talk love, not war.

“Our music is derived from the Senegalese oral tradition of tasso and we use it to discuss environment, the living conditions and the country’s situation. But we also want to say that Africa is about youth and great music,” says 33-year-old N’Dango D, before they head home to Dakar, Senegal. “Through our music, we are also trying to break the dark image of Africa, often associated with AIDS, drugs and poverty.”

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Tinariwen

Can blue men sing the blues? The Tuareg are proud, nomadic desert people who were sometimes known as "the blue men" after the clothes dye that stained their skin.

Tuareg nomads Tinariwen ("the people of the empty spaces") are currently the hottest band in world music, with their new album Amar Iman (Water Is Life) climbing the charts in numerous countries.

If the roots of blues music are in West Africa, Tinariwen have plugged into its ancient sources, mixing them with Western rock influences (Robert Plant, the singer with Led Zeppelin, was in the audience and will sing on stage with them later in the tour).

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Robin Denselow reviews "Segu Blue" Bassekou Kouyate and Ngoni ba.

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