Press release : It is said that Damascus – old Damascus, the 7,000-year-old capital of Syria – is a bit like a veiled woman who keeps her beauty hidden. Get close, and you’re dazzled. In this labyrinthine city whole worlds of activity exist behind closed doors. Sights and sounds are imbued with an almost sensual power. Calls to prayer echo alongside music that has sweeping scope and epic punch; music that keeps the past alive as it surges, wave-like, into the future. Eastern music. Read more »
Middle East
Jill Turner discovers some gems in the cleverly crafted Putumayo compilation, Acoustic Arabia but remains confused by its title. Choosing to stay mainly, to the east of the Red Sea, this is perhaps, more of a fusion album. It demonstrates the far reaching influence of arabic music and the footprint of Gypsy musicians who travelled from the Persian plate, across the Red Sea, south to Sudan, across North Africa to Western Sahara before tripping northwards into the Iberian Pensinula.GondwanaSound: other content and links
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