WOMEX, the annual gathering of the planet's global music pros, is about to happen in Copenhagen, Denmark. The WOMEXIZER compilation album gives the world a view into artists likely to tour worldwide in coming months and years. From the funk and rumba grooves of Kinshasa’s famous "disabled band" Staff Benda Bilili to the Chinagress revolution of Hanggai, the album has something for everyone; new sounds, old sounds, and everything in between. Border-crossers like Ahilea (Macedonia/Austria), Watcha Clan (France/Algeria), and Kayhan Kalhor & Brooklyn Rider (Iran/USA) sit alongside roots musicians like Parno Graszt (Hungary), Yves Lambert et le Bébert Orchestra (Canada), and Orchestra Popolare Italiana (Italy). No album like this would be complete without an Icelandic-Belgium collaboration (Mógil) or Gnawa desert rocker (Hasna el Becharia). Listen in to hear what music will emerge worldwide from WOMEX, the gathering of tribes and global vibes.

Music fans can stream full WOMEXIZER album on Womex.com

About WOMEX

"The most important international professional market of world music of every kind. This international fair brings together professionals from the worlds of folk, roots, ethnic and traditional music and also includes concerts, conferences and documentary films. It contributes to networking as an effective means of promoting music and culture of all kinds across frontiers." --UNESCO Global Alliance for Cultural Diversity

"WOMEX, the biggest world music trade fair on the planet" --The Australian

Balkan King Hands Crown to Youthful Prince:
Father/Son Duo Create a Dancefloor Heaven

Clad in a suave white suit, it’s not impossible to imagine why urban legends credit gypsy trumpet king Boban Markovi? with getting his homeland out of a recent jam: Markovi?’s spit-fire precision is rumored to have so seduced Bill Clinton that the saxophone playing president called off the further NATO bombing of Serbia.

True or not, one thing is clear: Markovi? and his son, prized protégé Marko, are the bomb in Balkan brass dance music, harnessing the absolute flexibility of Miles Davis and the cool funk of Herb Alpert in the ultimate expression of their Southern Serbian Rroma roots. Their latest album as the Boban and Marko Markovi? Orkestar, Devla: Blown Away to Dancefloor Heaven (Piranha Musik, November 10, 2009), flies effortlessly between echoes of the Ottoman Empire and down-and-dirty grooves that would make P-Funk’s jaws drop.

Boban’s decades of experience are now fired by Marko’s youthful vibe—an energy sustained by marathon practice sessions and a lifetime spent with dad on stage. As a kid, Marko put in ten hours a day at home with his horn, a practice that drove Boban so crazy he finally insisted his son stand and deliver with the Orkestar. The determined, then fourteen-year-old Marko played so perfectly, he soon became a fixture in the group.

But Marko has done more than merely play along. Together, Boban and Marko Markovi? are expanding the idioms of gypsy brass, as Marko scats (“Devla”), raps in Serbian and English (“Benim Gecem”), and even flirts with flamenco (“Kazi Baba”). All while keeping true to tradition: the lightning-fast melodies, driving rhythms, and exuberant transcendence of the greatest Balkan brass bands.

The Weapon, the Broom, and the Guitar: South Africa’s Selaelo Selota Unites Music of the Jazz Club, the Gold Mine, and the Hunt

For South African musician Selaelo Selota, home is where electric guitar intertwines freely with broken families, beloved forests, and the wily animals of sePedi legend. Memories of hunting with a throwing stick mix with those of mining gold and sweeping jazz clubs, before Selota discovered his talent for jazz guitar. Sorrow for the father who abandoned him mingles with commitment to be a central figure in his own family’s life. Anger over the abuse of an aunt who fled her cruel husband in terror on a bike intermingles with passionate appreciation for a beautiful lover.

Selota’s roots and hopes combine on Lapeng Laka (SIN/Sony South Africa; August 4, 2009), Selota’s circumspect yet joyful return to the music and deeply personal experiences of his village youth. The album title means “My Home” in English.

“SePedi music grew in me,” remembers Selota, about the music of his people in the northern part of South Africa. “It was always used during story time, when we would listen to legendary stories around the fire and the teller would incorporate songs. I was not aware I had been so enriched with these melodies, these simple, beautiful tunes. Now my whole band when we play, it is more like we are celebrating, an energy I cannot describe. And it all comes from home.”