V/A-Waking Up Scheherazade Vol 2

This is the second volume of rare garage and psyche rock from the Middle East. 14 tracks from garage bands from Iran, Egypt, Morocco, Lebanon, Syria and Sudan. So what is the difference between Middle Eastern groups playing garage and psyche vs. the western groups who did the same thing? Think of all the western groups who tried to mimic sounds of the Middle East in their music... Now take the musicians trained in classic Middle Eastern music and listen to them play rock. The Psyche movement owes plenty to the music of South Asia and the Middle East, that’s for sure. This is a vinyl only release. The first volume sold out quickly so you may not want to sleep on this.

Solla Solla – Maestro Ilaiyaraaja & The Electronic Pop Sound Of Kollywood 1977 to 1983 – Vol 1 & 2

Kollywood, you say? Everyone knows Bollywood and there have been a few Lollywood compilations in recent years. Kollywood is film music based in the Chennai Kodambakkam area, where films are made in the Tamil language, thus the K for Kollywood. The two separate LP releases feature the work of composer Ilaiyaraaja. Like many film composers in India & Pakistan, Ilaiyaraaja was as prolific with his music as the Indian film industry was with making films. Over the span of 1977-1983, the years that the two volumes focus on, Ilaiyaraaja recorded hundreds of scores. The music on these two LPS contains some heavy funk, dirty guitar and electronic exploration, all with Ilaiyaraaja's South Indian flavor. This is a must for any Indian Music soundtrack junkie.

Top 10 World Music Sales for the week of July 20th-26th

1. V/A – Analog Africa No. 5: Legends Of Benin
2. Mahssa - Vol.1-Oyun Havasi
3. V/A - Sound Of Wonder!
4. V/A - Panama 2!
5. Amadou & Mariam - Welcome To Mali
6. V/A - Rudo Y Cursi Soundtrack
7. Goran Bregovic - Welcome To Bregovic
8. Joyce - Visions of Dawn
9. Selda - S/T
10. 11 albums tied at 10



Top 10 World Music Sales for July (so far)

1. Mahssa - Vol.1-Oyun Havasi
2. V/A – Analog Africa No. 5: Legends Of Benin
3. V/A - Panama! 2
4. Bebe -Y.
5. Chico Sonido - S/T
6. V/A - Black Rio 2 : Original Samba Soul 1971-1980
7. Eydie Gorme - Cantan En Español
8. V/A - Sound Of Wonder
9. Goran Bregovic - Welcome To Bregovic
10. 4 albums tied at 10

Do to an unforeseen glitch in the Amoeba Hollywood database, the mix CD by Amoeba Hollywood’s very own Mahssa was accidentally omitted from all the World Music charts up til now. A thousand apologies go out Mahssa and all those who have been deprived of her Middle Eastern Psychedelic mix CD, Oyun Havasi Vol.1. Released by B-Music in May, this tasty treat of Turkish, Persian and Arabic Psyche rockers could serve as a guide to explore the many gems hidden in Amoeba Hollywood’s Middle Eastern section. Only drawback to the mix CD is there is no track list. So if you love the sound of Turkish Rock and Iranian Psychedelic Folk, one has to dig, just like Mahssa has. No cheating allowed!

Speaking of B-Music, the latest installment in their Finders Keepers series is Sound Of Wonder!, focusing on Pakistan's little known-to-westerners “Lollywood” sound. What is Lollywood, you say? Lollywood was a tongue in cheek term made up in the late 80’s by Glamour Magazine gossip columnist Saleem Nasir because the Pakistani films that rivaled the Bollywood films were all filmed in the city of Lahore…get it? The Pakistani film industry thrived, much like India’s film industry, but had little success outside of Pakistan’s borders. The music on this compilation sounds like a low-fi, spaced out version of Bollywood music with more edge and Urdu lyrics. Most of the tracks on this compilation are done by composer M. Ashraf and singer Nahid Akhtar, with one track containing the legendary Noor Jehan, the legendary Pakistani singer who recorded over 10,000 songs in her lifetime and was the first female Pakistani film director. Of all the Finder Keepers releases, I feel this one is their strongest to date. Also available on LP.