January 27, 2004
Various | Teen Dance Music from China and Malaysia |Thrift Score | Various Countries
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Without a doubt, the best thing about getting this site back online is finally being able to sing the praises of this CD, which features the Mao Sound at its grooviest--happenin' beats, craaazy farfisa organ sounds, surf guitar and plenty of Spy and Morricone influences. It's a cultural collision of Latin percussion, 60's pop and occasional Chinese touches and melodies. If Bruce Lee met James Bond for a showdown in the Spaghetti desert, this would be the soundtrack.
January 26, 2004
Yang Xiao-lin | I Take You There |Hugo | Hong Kong
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After a few spins I found myself enjoying this album. Yang Xiao-ling takes classic folk songs from China, Japan and Indonesia and resets them in contemporary arrangements. It's the kind of music you might hear at a hip teahouse in Hong Kong or Taipei, mellow but not too sappy. It's Chinese chill-out music--just pass the oolong tea and licorice watermelon seeds.
January 20, 2004
Nguyen Vinh Bao Ensemble | Nguyen Vinh Bao Ensemble |Ocora | Vietnam
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Over the years, the French have done the world an invaluable service in supporting and compiling traditional Asian music. Nguyen Vinh Bao Ensemble is an excellent new example of that tradition--lovingly recorded and packaged by Ocora Radio France, this collection of Southern Vietnamese chamber pieces will appeal to collector and neophyte alike.
January 19, 2004
Various | Go! Go! Beach Party |Teichiku | Japan
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Go! Go! Beach Party harkens back to a time when the tides of pop were washing in the opposite direction and Japanese kids were copying the fads of the West. By the end of the 30th track on this single-disc compilation, if your mind hasn't been smashed on the rocks, it'll have a Japanese Beach Blanket Bingo World inside it, complete with summer girls, surfer boys and a pineapple princess.
January 13, 2004
Sainkho Namtchylak | Stepmother City |Ponderosa | Tuva
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One of the most powerful and innovative singers to come from any land in the past decade. Though she's unafraid to morph her staggering voice into style after style, hear her once and you'll never mistake her for anyone else.
January 12, 2004
DJ Krush | The Message at the Depth |Sony | Japan
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It's no secret that Japan's DJ Krush is one of hip-hop's ablest producers. Discerning American emcees have been appearing on his albums for years. But who would have expected one of the most relevant musical responses to 9-11 to come from a Japanese artist?
January 10, 2004
Various | Asian Takeaways |Normal Records | Various Countries
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Kitschy 60's & 70's Asian pop we'll call "the Mao Sound."
In this inaugural review I want to start boldly. And what bolder beginning could a reviewer make than to coin a genre?
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