Review reprinted from the Spotlight/MarketPlace section of
Music & Media magazine.
Review reprinted from the May issue of
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The Roots Side Global Beat (USA) Producer: Greg Istock
One of the best ways to survive the winter chill is to turn up the volume
on some tropical musical product, and the Miami-based Coconutheads certainly
do the trick. Their album relies heavily on reggae, but they accelerate
with Caribbean abandon on Hand Of Fate, an uptempo soca number, combining
soul and calypso. The Coconutheads are one of Global Beat's first releases;
the label presented itself internationally at MIDEM, where it was scouting
for foreign distribution and licensing deals. Global Beat is not a purist
world music label, but aims to present worldwide sounds with a '90s attitude.
Contact: Laurence Singer at Global Beat, tel. (+1) 212 262 0004; fax: (+1) 212 262 4169.
WORLD: Sound Of The Future by j. poet
Symbiose, a trio of musician/singer/songwriters from Congo/Zaire, now based in Paris, is part of a new Afro-European movement that may be creating the dominant pop sound of the 21st Century. Its mixture of European club music, Afro-American r&b and its own African pop tradition has created a sound that draws on the band's influences to create a hybrid that's more than the sum of its parts. Symbiose's eponymous debut (Global Beat, ****) is packed with potential hits sung in English, French, Swahili and their native tongues. Strong cuts include "I Need Love", an Afro-house club killer, "Amazone", a bouncy zoukous workout and "Got A Fever Of You", an r&b ballad with a French Caribbean flavor. The Symbiose sound may be the future of international pop.
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