Mishthi Music

A few weeks ago I was told about a Bangladeshi-transplanted-to-Boston singer songwriter Armeen Musa. This song is from the Bangladeshi Film Looks like she’s a graduate of the Berklee School of Music (who isn’t, amiright?) which makes her immigrant story that much more interesting.

Singer/songwriter Armeen Musa represents a 21st century Bangladeshi and Global musician connecting her Bengali roots of lyrics and melodies, various languages and sounds from the places she has lived in with those of her new home USA; blues, soul and jazz to create a non genre effect, that she likes to call “music.”

From my scouring of the internets, her sound is mellow and soft, sadly beautiful. Almost all are Bangla lyrics. Her album came highly recommended via a friend which is what turned me onto her. It also seems like she’s involved in the Shahbag Movement and contributed a track to this benefit album. You can listen to her music on SoundCloud, find her on Facebook, and follow her on ReverbNation. And twitter.

Is it just me or is Cumbia the latest rage and has hip bumped the obnoxious trend of dubstep to the curb in the global bass scene? Or is it because I’m in L.A. that Cumbia chords are inherently embedded in all beats? I ain’t complaining! The music is fun and has some of the same chord sequences found in motherland music, leading to some really cool fusion mixes.

JazzyRani put me on to San Antonio based DJ Sonora who is dropping some amazing beats on his SoundCloud and as I I stumbled onto this Cumbia en La India remix. Are you kidding me? This song was MADE for Mishthi Music. Listen, enjoy, and dance in your office cubicle like I will

The ladies of The Aerogram have been all about 19-year-old Mathai, who wowed crowds on “The Voice.” She just debuted this single Once Again, which is just lovely.

Grooving to the sounds of Sikh Knowledge. Again.

When I was on the bus going from one gorgeous beach to another on the west side of it island of Sri Lanka, the best island music was playing through the intercoms. I had no idea what the songs were saying - but it was vaguely reminiscent of reggae music you hear in the Bahamas, beaches of Mexico, under palm trees in Hawaii. Maybe all island music was the same, no matter what island you were on.

This podcast from AfroPop Worldwide basically confirms that and digs into the roots of India & Sri Lanka’s international origin. It is an amazing history of sounds, and makes M.I.A.’s second and third album international sampling a little less “exotic” and more “inherent” to the musical styling of Sri Lankan music.

African Sounds of the Indian Subcontinent

In this Hip Deep program, we explore musical connections between Africa and the Indian subcontinent. First, we hear the story of the Afro-Indian Sidi community. Starting in the 13th century, Africans arrived in India as soldiers in the armies of Muslim conquerors. Some were able to rise through the ranks to become military leaders and even rulers in India. Their descendents continue to live in India today, performing African-influenced Sufi trance music at shrines of a black Muslim saint named Baba Gor. Next, we dive into the swinging jazz era of 1930s Bombay, when African-American jazz musicians arrived by the dozen to perform at the glitzy Taj Mahal Hotel. They trained a generation of Indian jazz musicians who would become instrumental in the rise of India’s Hindi film music industry. Then, we head south to Sri Lanka, where Africans have had a presence for almost 500 years. We explore their history through the groovy Afro-Indo-Portuguese pop music style known as baila, popularized by 1960s star Wally Bastiansz and still performed at parties around Sri Lanka today. Last, we speak with Deepak Ram, a Indian jazz flutist who recounts his experiences growing up Indian in apartheid South Africa. Throughout, we speak with leading experts, and of course, hear fantastic - and often unexpected - music.

Also - check out the blog on the same subject: Baila for Dummies: A Quick Guide to Sri Lanka’s Afro-Portugese Pop Music.