Musix mix

Product Description
World Music: The Basics gives a brief introduction to popular musical styles found around the world. Organized by continent/region, and then A to Z by country, the book features both background information on the cultural and musical history of each area, along with succinct reviews of key recordings. The reader can quickly find out enough about each musical style to appreciate its subtleties, and is also directed to the best available CDs for further listening. Unl… More >>

World Music: The Basics

Join fellow activists, media makers, educators, journalists, policymakers and concerned citizens in calling for real and lasting changes to the nation’’s media system at the National Conference for Media Reform, June 6-8 in Minneapolis. Bill Moyers will deliver the keynote address. On June 7, the Alameda Writers Group in Glendale interviews humorous author, screenwriter, and producer Eric Garcia, best known for his novels, Anonymous Rex, Casual Rex, Hot & Sweaty Rex, Matchstick Men, and Cassandra French’s Finishing School for Boys. Eric Garcia’s Matchstick Men which was made into a 2003 film directed by Ridley Scott, starring Nicolas Cage. The annual Webby Award Competition, open to all organizations and individuals involved in designing, building, managing, maintaining, marketing or promoting Web sites for business, consumer of general audiences, takes place this year in New York, June 8-10. BANFF World Television Festival 2008 combining an international program competition, the Banff World Television Awards, with a comprehensive conference agenda, will be conducted June 8-11 from its always scenic location of Banff in the Canadian rockies.  Read more...

Ras Nas aka Nasibu Mwanukuzi, a musician and poet from Tanzania, is one of the artists at this year’s Oslo World Music Festival. The Festival, one of the biggest in Scandinavia in World Music genre, takes place in Oslo, Norway from 30th October – 04th November.

This year’s Oslo World Music Festival theme is “Strong Women Voices” and female artists from different corners of the world are well represented. The Spanish flamenco artist Estrella Morente opens the festival

Among other artists are Cesaria Evora, Seun Kuti & the Fela Egypt 80, Rachid Taha and the fast rising South African jazz singer, Simphiwe Dana. “It feels good to be part of Oslo World Music Festival this year”, says Ras Nas, whose real name is Nasibu Mwanukuzi. Ras Nas will also be releasing his long awaited follow up CD “Dar-Es-Salaam”. The CD contains nine tracks with a mix of reggae, afro and dub poetry.

Other African artists that have taken part earlier include Salif Keita, Tiken Jah Fakoly, Oumou Sangare, the late Ali Farka Toure and Toumani Diobate.

Ras Nas with an eight piece band plays at Belleville in Oslo, Saturday 03rd November.

Check out Ras Nas live video – Dar Es Salaam here!

The various options associated with sound therapy come courtesy of the many different kinds of sound that exist in the world. To explore some of the best options, I have listed a few below:

DVDs, CDs, and Tapes for Stress Reduction

One of the most well known categories of sound therapy includes audio products that contain refreshing sounds. This approach may come in the form of music; exploring natural wonder; chanting; words spoken softly; or primitive sounds, such as the echoes of the outside world that a fetus encounters while in the womb. All of these sounds possess the power to send you into a dreamlike state of mind. To get the most out of this process – I suggest lying down or sitting still while listening. However, some people still experience great results when doing various activities at the same time.

When looking for the best in stress reduction CDs and audiocassettes – I recommend seeking out the resources offered through the Center for Neuroacoustic Research (also known as CNR). Since 1980, Jeffrey D. Thompson, the founder of CNR has accumulated extensive research pertaining to sound and healing. As a respected expert throughout many international circles – his studies in the field of neuroacoustic healing has led to the creation of more than 60 CDs and audiotapes centered on acoustic pacing, which is responsible for blending the frequencies of musical sound tracks.  Read more...

Music downloads are highly compressed audio files transferred onto a personal computer from an Internet website or P2P (peer to peer) program. From IPOD’s to MP3 players galore, music downloading is seen as the fastest way for a musician to get his or her work out to the public. Many musicians have developed world-wide followings by adding downloadable music files to their web sites.

It’s a trend reaching nearly epidemic proportions; music downloads are everywhere. Websites all over the Internet offer downloads of particularly rare or hard-to-find songs, and computer-savvy music fans have been known to spend hours searching through the mountains of downloadable material. They also function as a godsend for new or underground musicians; who needs a record label when strategically placed downloads alone can garner you a dedicated following? Even cell-phone companies have grabbed themselves a piece of the pie by offering downloads that serve as ring tones. The sound quality is often superior, the P2P programs easy to use—one of those rare pop-culture phenomena embraced by nearly everyone.

But despite (or perhaps because of) their overwhelming popularity, musical direct downloads have stirred quite the controversy. Many P2P programs allowing users to transfer music directly between computers offer downloads for free, much to the chagrin of several recording artists and labels. Fearful of losing money to music fans downloading the songs instead of buying the full record, bands and labels have set out to stop the users from obtaining their music from free programs. A virtual witch-hunt for frequent downloaders and the threat of lawsuits led many P2P programs to begin charging for their services, though several sneak under the wire by making that payment optional.  Read more...