Online - February 06, 2008

We Got the World Beat

Global Playlist

Can’t get yourself on a world tour this week? Save your frequent flyer miles and send your iPod for a globe-trot instead.

Spain: Buika, “Mi Niña Lola”
Flamenco + jazz + those pipes = stop you dead in your tracks

Tanzania: Hukwe Zawose & Master Musicians of Tanzania, “Sisi Vijana”
A transporting song of celebration

Brazil: Virginia Rodrigues, “Tristeza e Solidão”
Heart-wrenching samba with a heavy dose of soul

Uganda: Geoffrey Oryema, “Lapwony”
Layered, nuanced, mellow … play it again

Germany: The Whitest Boy Alive, “Don’t Give Up”
The latest collabo by mod folksy singer/songwriter Erlend Øye

Senegal: Ismaël Lo, “Dibi Dibi Rek”
Guitarist, painter, producer/actor, and activist

France: Carla Bruni, “Le Toi du Moi”
What Madame le President did between Vogue and Versailles

Mali: Tinariwen, “Soixante Trois”
An underground band of desert nomads and soldiers

Mexico: Rodrigo y Gabriela, “Tamacun”
Acoustic guitar wizards (who do an excellent “Stairway to Heaven” cover)

France: Bazbaz, “Le Crocodile”
A happy, froggy tune about another reptile

Want more? You could spend a week’s vacation browsing playlists, free downloads, and videos on Calabash, which assembles hard-to-find international musicians — and has a fair trade sales policy.

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