ARTIST ... Origin
Title  Duration
(Album) [Label]

Erik MARCHAND & Thierry ROBIN .... France
Heuliad Plinn 8'04
(Chants du Centre-Bretagne "An Heñchoú Treuz") [Ocora]

Peter GABRIEL .... UK
(a) Sandstorm 2'50
(Passion) [Real World]
(b) Slow Marimbas 3'22
(Birdy) [Charisma]
(c) Stigmata 2'26
(Passion) [Real World]

SABAH .... Lebanon
Massaynakom Massouna 3'46
(Sabah) [Voice of Lebanon]

Simon SHAHEEN .... Middle East
Theme and Variations 7'52
(The Music of Mohammed Abdel Wahab) [Axiom]

Sussan DEYHIM, Richard HOROWITZ
Murmur Mutanta 7'52
(Majoun) [Sony Classical]

ANDALUSIAN ORCHESTRA of TANGIER & Juan Peña LEBRIJANO .... Morocco / Spain
Vivir Un Cuento de Hadas 5'06
(Encuentros) [Globestyle]

Various Artists .... Egypt, Bulgaria, France
L'amma Bada - Symphony No.40 4'48
(Mozart in Egypt) [Virgin Classics]
If you take some of the most popular and gorgeous and compositions of Wolfgang Amadeus and merge them with equally popular and gorgeous melodies from the Arab world, is the resultant hybrid superlative, or complete rubbish? I am too much of a purist to enjoy it, and the orchestral sound is technically very disappointing. You can blame Hughes de Courson and Ahmed el Maghraby for this gimmick.

Craig ARMSTRONG .... UK
Weather Storm 5'55
(The Space Between Us) [Caroline]
A lush album of string orchestra and electronics. Highly recommended and very gorgeous.

SHINJUKU THIEF .... Australia
Bá Benzele II 4'24
(Bloody Tourist) [Extreme]
Featuring David BROWN on shakuhachi

Gavin BRYARS .... UK
A Man in a Room, Gambling No.10 5'14
(A Man in a Room, Gambling) [Point]
Narrated by the Spanish artist Juan Muñoz. Part of a series of ten radiophonic pieces created in 1992, designed to be heard before the final evening news on the BBC in a similar way to the predictable and bizarre delivery of the shipping forecasts.

KRONOS QUARTET / Justinian TAMUSUZA .... USA / Uganda
First Movement 5'34
(Pieces of Africa) [Elektra Nonesuch]

Dembo KONTE & Kausu KUYATE .... Gambia, Senegal
Banta Toure 7'09
(Kairaba Jabi) [Rogue]
A wonderful new album for two koras and two voices.

SONGHAI - KETAMA, José SOTO, Tuomani DIABATE, Danny THOMPSON .... Spain, Mali, UK
(a) Ne Ne Koitaa 3'13
(Songhai) [Hannibal]
(b) Sute Monebo 4'53
(Songhai 2) [Hannibal]

Mansour SECK ....Senegal
Almamy Bocoum 4'54
(N'Der Fouta Tooro Vol.1) [Stern's Africa]
The album also features Ousmane Hamady DIOP

Djenaba DIAKITÉ ....Mali
Ibe Miri Mouna 6'51
(Women of Wassoulou Vol.1) [Stern's Africa]

Dembo KONTE & Kausu KUYATE .... Gambia, Senegal
Kairaba Jabi 4'22
(Kairaba Jabi) [Rogue]

ANDALUSIAN ORCHESTRA of TANGIER & Juan Peña LEBRIJANO .... Morocco / Spain
El Anillo 4'35
(Encuentros) [Globestyle]

Various Artists .... Egypt, Bulgaria, France
Egyptian Symphony No.25 4'48
(Mozart in Egypt) [Virgin Classics]
See above. This boppy tune reminds me of Hooked on Classics. Now I feel really depressed.