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Backspin: A Six Degrees Ten Year Anniversary Project
Various Artists
$24 |
World music purists
have never been happy with the Six Degrees label's pan-cultural
mash-ups or the fact that western rock has a global influence.
They'll take no comfort when India's MIDivil PunditZ lay their
digitized-Bollywood sound on Led Zeppelin's "Four Sticks," nor
respite when Spain's Ojos de Brujo conduct a flamenco romp
through Bob Marley's "Get Up Stand Up." It's all part of the
concept of Backspin: A Six Degrees 10 Year Anniversary
Project. Each of these artists, all associated with Six
Degrees, covers a song that had an influence on them. Like Jimi
Hendrix with "All Along the Watchtower," the best make the song
so personal that you forget the original. And speaking of
Hendrix, psychedelia fares well on Backspin, with a cover
of the guitarist's "If 6 was 9" by Rara Avis (from Desert
Dwellers). A nine-minute compression of Pink Floyd's "Echoes" by
Banco de Gaia is a jewel of hallucinogenic electronica. Singer
Azam Ali and Niyaz are probably the only ones who could take the
Cure's "Love Song" and make it sound like a Rumi love poem.
Dzihan & Kamien's soul-jazz take on Herbie Hancock's "Rockit" is
actually more jazz-driven than the original electro-funk hit,
with some Herbie Mann-style solo flute driving the track. Few
transformations are as radical as the Real Tuesday Weld's
deadpan, Leonard Cohenesque read of ABBA's "The Day Before You
Came." Yet even the relatively faithful versions reveal new
dimensions in these works, like Karsh Kale's ominous stomp on
the Police's "Spirits in the Material World." Shrift's
ethereally intoxicated drift through the Beach Boys' "God Only
Knows" makes it sound even more heavenly than the original. But
most artists here completely reinvent their songs. Backspin
isn't meant to be profound, but it does underscore the
global-village ethos that has brought the music of the world as
close as the click of a key.
TRACKS: 1.Spirits in the Material World - Karsh Kale
2.Rockit - Dzihan & Kamien 3.Get Carter Theme -
Bombay Dub Orchestra 4.Love Song - Niyaz
5.If 6 Was 9 - Rara Avis 6.Four Sticks -
Midival Punditz 7.Get up Stand Up - Ojos De Brujo
8.Bed's Too Big Without You, The - Los Mocosos
9.Day Before You Came, The - The Real Tuesday Weld 10.God
Only Knows - Shrift
11.Echoes - Banco De Gaia
12.Julia
- MNO
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Six Degrees 100
Various Artists
$24 |
Six Degrees Records celebrates
their 100th release with this specially priced compilation. Six Degrees
100 features all of the label's most popular tracks performed by such
artists as Bebel Gilberto, Michael Franti & Spearhead, Euphoria, Suba,
dj Cheb i Sabbah, dZihan & Kamien and many others.
Track
Listings - 1. Delirium Euphoria 2. A
Loop
In Time (Banco De Gaia Remix) Wally Brill 3. Kese Kese DJ Cheb I
Sabbah 4. Drumming Up A Storm Bob Holroyd 5. Baro Issa
Bagayogo 6. Felicida deSuba 7. Lenu (Sounds Of
Summer Remix) Bobi C'spedes 8. Stay Human (Stereo Steambath Remix)
Michael Franti 9. So Nice (Summer Samba) Bebel Gilberto
10. Stiff Jazz Dzihan & Kamien 11. Tengo Sed (The Batidos Song)
Batidos 12. Bhangra Fever Midival Punditz 13. I Love
Baby Cheesy (Radio Edit) Banco De Gaia 4.
Milan
Karsh Kale
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