“Stories of Stonia” by Estonian singer Mari Kalkun took the top spot on September’s Transglobal World Music Chart.
With a voice that seems to speak to us from the heart of the Estonian forest, Mari Kalkun’s music is at once of a place and deeply personal. Rooted in ancient Estonian and Võru traditions, but beautifully fresh and contemporary, Stories of Stonia reaches back to very old layers of tradition to imagine what Mari’s ancestors would have thought and sung about the world in an era of skyscraper, steel and metal.
Throughout the album’s nine songs, Mari explores humanity’s controversial relationship with nature with powerfully emotive musical backdrops. One of Northern Europe’s most important folk singers Mari has created a mysterious and magical album.
Top albums September 2023:
- Mari Kalkun · Stoonia Lood / Stories of Stonia · Real World [13]
- Kayhan Kalhor and Toumani Diabaté · The Sky Is the Same Colour Everywhere · Real World [2]
- Tinariwen · Amatssou · Wedge [1]
- Dudu Tassa & Jonny Greenwood · Jarak Qaribak · World Circuit [22]
- V.A. · Lost In Tajikistan · Riverboat / World Music Network [-]
- Wilson das Neves · Senzala e Favela · FundiSom [11]
- Bokanté · History · Real World [3]
- Bantu · What Is Your Breaking Point? · Soledad Productions [5]
- Mokoomba · Tusona: Tracings in The Sand · Outhere [-]
- Matthieu Saglio · Voices · ACT [20]
- Ali Farka Touré · Voyageur · World Circuit [7]
- Damir Imamović · The World and All That It Holds · Smithsonian Folkways Recordings [6]
- Baaba Maal · Being · Marathon Artists [14]
- Cantares del Pacífico · Aguajes de Mar y Manglar · Chaco World Music [19]
- Saîdê Goyî · Jinê · Saîdê Goyî [9]
- Shono · Kolkhozoy Traktor · CPL-Music / CPL-Musicgroup [17]
- Idrissa Soumaoro · Diré · Mieruba [-]
- Omara Portuondo · Vida · One World [8]
- Fatoumata Diawara · London Ko · 3ème Bureau / Wagram Music [4]
- Bilja Krstić & Bistrik Orchestra · Biljur · Jugoton Croatia [-]
- Sissoko, Segal, Parisien, Peirani · Les Égarés · Nø Førmat [26]
- Faizal Mostrixx · Mutations · Glitterbeat [35]
- Balimaya Project · When the Dust Settles · New Soil x Jazz re:freshed [37]
- Tri Nguyen · Duos Alone · Naxos World [40]
- Mehmet Polat Quartet · Embodied Poetry · Aftab / AudioMaze [25]
- Yamandu Costa & Domingo El Colorao · De Vida y Vuelta · Bagual Productions [-]
- Immy Owusu · Lo-Life! · Hopestreet [-]
- Oghlan Bakhshi · Across the Steppes · Felmay [32]
- La Cantiga de la Serena · La Novia · Zero Nove Nove [18]
- Seckou Keita with BBC Concert Orchestra · African Rhapsodies: A Work for Kora and Symphonic Orchestra · Claves [15]
- Inna de Yard · Family Affair · Chapter Two / Wagram [27]
- Miranda · Uma Mulher na Cidade · JARO Medien [-]
- Luiza Lian · 7 Estrelas | Quem Arrancou o Céu? · ZZK [-]
- Tony Allen & Adrian Younge · Tony Allen JID018 · Jazz Is Dead [29]
- Jawa · Last Breaths from Aleppo · Muziekpublique [12]
- V.A. · Taa! Our Language May Be Dying, but Our Voices Remain · Glitterbeat [31]
- Al Bilali Soudan · Babi · Clermont Music [34]
- Eliades Ochoa · Guajiro · World Circuit [16]
- Lankum · False Lankum · Rough Trade [28]
- Blick Bassy · Madiba · InFiné [10]
NMR
Founder members and administrators Transglobal World Music Chart:
Ángel Romero (US), Araceli Tzigane (ES), Juan Antonio Vázquez (ES)
Current active members:
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), 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), Carlos Ferreira (PT), 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)
More at: https://www.transglobalwmc.com/