2-ft deep and rising

As of this writing, nearly two feet of snow has accumulated on the back deck, with the forecast calling for another 5"-10" by the time it's done Thursday afternoon. My 12-minute commute took 50 minutes (incl. 10 stuck), and now the Saab is parked in a snowdrift, buried to its hood. No getting to work in this official State of Emergency. Sleeping in, snowshoeing down the middle of the street, shoveling snow. I love it. If it has to be cold, let it snow.

Inspired by this fine display of nature's almighty power over us, I feel a year-end list forming, like a low-pressure system over eastern Kansas, pulling in moisture from the Gulf, slamming it into the Colorado Front Range and wringing those clouds out right on top of us. Maybe the cabin fever's setting in already. Without further ado, I present to you:

TerraSonic's 2006 Top 13 Albums for Snowbound Pleasure:

13. Various / Radio Algeria & Radio Thailand / Sublime Frequencies

Tune in "Disco Maghreb" and--voila!--you're on a balcony in Algiers, sipping tea and overlooking the Mediterranean. The Thailand set is postively humid. I can smell it. In every sense of the word, these recordings are a trip.


12. Novalima / Afro / Quango

On this festive joint, 4 producers from Lima join forces with some of Peru's legendary folk musicians, updating traditional Afro-Peruvian songs from as far back as the slavery era. Excellent production and crazy booty-shaking-ness.


11. Various / Rough Guide to Yodel / World Music Network

Francis Bebey's "Pygmy Divorce" alone is worth the price of admission on one of RG's more genre-mixing collections. Sainkho Namtchylak, Gillian Welch, Jimmie Rodgers and a dozen-plus others will have you thinking about yodel in new ways. Includes a "Yodeling Lesson".


10. Simon Diaz / Simon Diaz Remixed / unknown

A listener, Jose, called during a show last summer. He had just returned from his native Venezuela with a CD of remixes of the sublime Simon Diaz and offered to send me a copy. Google searches on this are pretty fruitless, but I'll play it for you as much as I can. Thanks, Jose.


9. eccodek / More Africa In Us / White Swan Records

Full disclosure: in my dayjob I manage the record label that put this out. That doesn't mean I can't dig it though. This is an afro-dub dream done elegantly. And, as the label guy, I can attest that it's just a taste of what's to come on eccodek's next one, Voices Have Eyes.


8. Juana Molina / Son /Domino

In a New York Times piece on Juana, they visited her home studio in Argentina. From the description, it sounded like a life-sized, handmade musicbox. This record was made there.



7. Auktyon / Pioneer / Circular Moves

As it turns out, this powerfolk band has been together for over 20 years and is a big deal back home in Russia. This record pulls together tracks from their dozen or so releases. From one track to the next, it's like the best Russian hockey: multi-faceted, unpredictable and hugely entertaining.


6. Miguel Anga Diaz / Echu Mingua / World Circuit

With its (mostly-) trad son, straight-outta-Havana hip hop, dynamite conga explosions and a moving version of "A Love Supreme", this record leaps out as one of the best in the post-Buena Vista era of Cuban music. Sadly, that's all we get. Anga passed away unexpectedly last summer. He was 45.


5. Natacha Atlas / Mish Maoul / Mantra

Early collaborator Count Dubulah from Temple of Sound returns to the controls, striking a balance between soft and slamming and resulting on Ms. Atlas' best record in years. I've always loved how classic she sounds in a traditional setting, as captured here on a few pieces, namely "Yariet".


4. Cheb i Sabbah / La Ghriba (La Kahena Remixed) / Six Degrees

For La Kahena, Chebiji, the original DJ, returned home, scouring the Maghreb for its finest voices, then put his heart, soul and best beats into a love letter to/from North Africa. Now, those same tracks are remixed here by a hand-picked group of his proteges and inspirees.


3. Various / Tropicalia: A Brazilian Revolution In Sound / Soul Jazz

I fawned over this one pretty well last week and don't want to overdo it. But if you're looking for a surefire crowd pleaser of a record, this one's about as close as it gets to a sure thing.



2. Cyro Baptista / Love the Donkey / Tzadik

Yes, we do love the donkey, Cyro. Possibly my favorite record to come from John Zorn's relentlessly adventurous label. Baptista and his band careen through assorted styles, rhythms and sounds with ease, expertise and apparent, infectious joy.


1. Instituto Mexicano del Sonido / Mejico Maxico / Nacional Records

Ciudad Mexico tastemaker Camilo Lara, using only his computer, his extensive vinyl and his mind, concocts this astonishing debut. Samples laced through roller rink organs, shuffling drums, low rider beats and other sound interpretations of the City of Hope.

And there you have it. A fine set of records from a year that was interesting, though I'm sure not nearly as fascinating as 2007 will turn out to be.

Whatever your New Year philosophy, have a great holiday and thanks again (and again and again) for tuning in. Here's to what comes next...

(And here's last week's show. Sorry for posting so late.)

TerraSonic - 16 December 2006