The highest position on December’s Transglobal World Music Chart goes to “Baraaim El-Louz” by Koum Tara, the French-Algerian supergroup from Lyon.
Trees grow in their own time, buds appear when they are ready. French-Algerian super group from Lyon, Koum Tara’s much anticipated 2023 album is set to release on the 20th October, 2023. BARAAIM EL-LOUZ translates from Arabic as ‘The Buds of the Almond Tree’ and is an exciting meld of Algerian chaâbi and jazz that all rotates around the powerful axis of exceptional jazz pianist and album producer, Karim Maurice.
‘Koum Tara’ as well as the album name ‘BARAAIM EL-LOUZ’ both take their name from poems written by the 18th century Algerian poet, Mohamed Bendebbah. ‘Koum Tara’ translates as ‘come and see’, while BARAAIM EL-LOUZ is a poem about fresh beginnings,
“The buds of the almond tree was a line from the poem which is an invitation to admire spring, its renewal and its continuity. Renewal, because the group, with its new singer, has come up with original compositions and texts that attempt to open up new horizons for modern chaâbi”.
Top albums albums December 2023:
- Koum Tara · Baraaim El-Louz · Odradek [21]
- Luzmila Carpio · Inti Watana / El Retorno del Sol · ZZK [1]
- Bixiga 70 · Vapor · Glitterbeat [9]
- Batsükh Dorj · Ögbelerim: Music for My Ancestors · Buda Musique [3]
- Catrin Finch & Aoife Ní Bhriain · Double You · Bendigedig [2]
- Aga Khan Master Musicians · Nowruz · Smithsonian Folkway Recordings [14]
- Ana Carla Maza · Caribe · Persona Editorial [19]
- Idrissa Soumaoro · Diré · Mieruba [4]
- Les Mamas du Congo & Rrobin · Ya Mizolé · Jarring Effects [11]
- Mo’ Horizons · Mango · Agogo [24]
- Bombino · Sahel · Partisan [38]
- Mari Kalkun · Stoonia Lood / Stories of Stonia · Real World [6]
- Ayfer Düzdaş · Kilomên Arxawûnê · Ayfer Düzdaş [16]
- Leon Keïta · Leon Keïta · Analog Africa [7]
- Santrofi feat. Omniversal Earkestra · Deep into Highlife: Live in Berlin · Outhere [18]
- Yungchen Lhamo · One Drop of Kindness · Real World [12]
- Genticorum · Au Coeur de l’Aube · Genticorum [25]
- V.A. · Lost in Tajikistan · Riverboat / World Music Network [8]
- Emilia Lajunen · Vainaan Perua: Satavuotinen Sakka · Nordic Notes / CPL-Musicgroup [15]
- Mohammad Motamedi & Rembrandt Trio · Intizar · Just Listen [39]
- Dudu Tassa & Jonny Greenwood · Jarak Qaribak · World Circuit [5]
- Alam Khan, Arjun K. Verma, Del Sol Quartet · The Resonance Between · AMMP [22]
- Abdo Buda Marconi · Oltremura · Felmay [31]
- Sangit · Ooroo · Riverboat / World Music Network [23]
- Times New Román · Jól Élünk · Times New Román [28]
- Lenhart Tapes · Dens · Glitterbeat [-]
- Okan · Okantomi · LulaWorld [-]
- Miranda · Uma Mulher na Cidade · Jaro Medien [17]
- Rüüt · Kiriküüt · Nordic Notes / CPL-Musicgroup [33]
- Faratuben · Changement · Gülbaba [37]
- Mokoomba · Tusona: Tracings in the Sand · Outhere [10]
- Yamandu Costa & Domingo El Colorao · De Vida y Vuelta · Bagual Productions [27]
- Jono Heyes · Beehive · Asphalt Tango [-]
- Oriane Lacaille · Iviv · Ignatub / MDC / PIAS [36]
- Ziya Tabassian · Remembrances · Bostan [26]
- Shakti · This Moment · Abstract Logix [-]
- Pekko Käppi & K:K:H:L · Credo · Rockadillo / Nordic Notes [30]
- Krilja · Sosnitsa: Roma Music from Russia & Eastern Europe · Liljans Musik [40]
- Mari Boine & Bugge Wesseltoft · Amame · By Norse Music [-]
- Chango Spasiuk · Eiké! (Entrar en el Alma) · Chango Spasiuk [30]
NMR (photo: Christophe Charpenel)
Founder members and administrators:
Ángel Romero (US), Araceli Tzigane (ES), Juan Antonio Vázquez (ES),
Current members:
Gil Medovoy (US), Chris Heim (US), Ciro De Rosa (IT), Scott Stevens (US), Hendrick T S Foh (MY), Cliff Furnald (US), Rob Weisberg (US), Toni Polo (FR/ES), Nicolás Falcoff (AR), Masakazu Kitanaka (JP), Jordi Demésenllà (ES), Rafael Mieses (DO/US), Luís Rei (PT), Jean Trouillet (DE), Evangeline Kim (US), Willi Klopottek (LU/DE), Alejandro López (ES), Jon Kertzer (US), Ken Stowar (CA), Jiří Moravčík (CZ), Mu Qian (CN), Gil Rouvio (IL), Bouna Ndiaye (SN/US), Kutay Derin Kuğay (TR), Robert Gregor (SK), Yatrika Shah-Rais (IR/US), Armen Manukyan (AM), Rolf Beydemüller (DE), François Bensignor (FR), Eleni Ziliaskopoulou (GR), Marija Vitas (RS), Jaïr Tchong (BE), Enrique Blanc (MX), Tiago Lucas Garcia (BR), Zekeriya S. Şen (TR), Benjamín Muñiz (PR), Daryana Antipova (RU), Mika Kauhanen (FI), Luisa Piñeros (CO), Toni Pennacchia (US), Chen Hanzi (CN), Takuya “Salam” Unagami (JP), Janaína Ávila (BR), Roger Short (UK), Ankur Malhotra (IN), Alexis Herrería (MX), Rosângela Britto (BR), Ula Nowak (PL), Liana Cisneros (PE), Banning Eyre (US), Magda Tejchma (PL), Seth Jordan (AU), Tony Hillier (AU), Charlie Crooijmans (NL), Nigel Wood (IE), Dore Stein (US), Roger Holdsworth (AU), Madan Rao (IN)
More at: https://www.transglobalwmc.com/
