A chance encounter and shared moment with one of nature’s greatest and most fleeting phenomena.

Click here to view the embedded video.

1)          Gary Clarke Jr

Gary Clark Jr. is an American guitarist considered by some to be the leader of the Austin, Texas rock scene, playing in a style that has at times been compared to Jimi Hendrix and Stevie Ray Vaughan. He has been acclaimed as the savior of blues and Rolling Stone declared him “Best Young Gun” in its April 2011, “Best of Rock” issue. His live performances, as well as his recordings, blend rock, soul and blues, infusing fluid guitar with a guttural howl and a falsetto trill that mix together.

Check him out in this video:

Click here to view the embedded video.

2)          Bombino

Omara “Bombino” Moctar is a young Tuareg guitarist and songwriter, who was raised during an era of armed struggles for independence and violent suppression by government forces. His electrifying jams capture the spirit of resistance and rebellion while echoing with guitar riffs reminiscent of fellow Africans Tinariwen and Ali Farka Touré not to mention rock and blues icons such as Jimi Hendrix, John Lee Hooker and Jimmy Page. Already a superstar in the Tuareg community, with the release of Agadez on Cumbancha Discovery Bombino’s stature as one of Africa’s hottest young guitarists has been revealed to the world.

Here are 2 videos of him so you get an idea:

Click here to view the embedded video.

Click here to view the embedded video.

3)          SMOD

SMOD is a young rap group from Mali who were discovered by Manu Chao when he was producing the groundbreaking album, Dimanche a Bamako, by the accomplished duo, Amadou and Mariam. One of the members of SMOD is the son of Amadou and Mariam. Their music is a great mix of Mali style guitar work, catchy Manu Chao riffs with political lyrics and some African rap in there. It is such happy music and sooooo catchy even if you can’t understand the lyrics.

Here are 2 videos to get an idea of their catchy music:

Click here to view the embedded video.

Click here to view the embedded video.

For the last 12 years, I have been bringing out my favorite World Music tracks of the year and making cd’s to give as gifts. As a World Music fan, I wanted to turn people onto amazing artists they probably have never heard of. This year is the first year I am putting them out digitally as a blog as well as on cd. Hope you enjoy this beautiful music as much as I have all year and get turned onto new artists. To Happy Listening!!

Chill Out

1) Elhem-1 By Diaspora & Amina Annabi (4:11)

2) All the Same By Vieux Farka Touré (feat. Dave Matthews) (4:30)

3) Yer Mande Lek Sen (feat. Mehdi Haddab) (3:53)

4) Les Jeunes Filles Du Maliba By Smod (3:59)

5) Lero-lero By Lusia Maita (4:43)

6) Ojalá By Federico Aubele (feat. Natalia Clavier) (3:24)

7) Labaru Wanwa By Aurelio Martinez & Youssou N’ Dour (3:44)

8) The Whirlwind By Tom Morello (4:00)

9) Talkin’ Tea Party Blues By Dan Bern (4:46)

10) Woza By Vusi Mahlasela (4:24)

11) Tropicália (Mario C 2011 Remix) By Beck & Seu Jorge (3:23)

12) Ahoulaguine Akaline (I Greet My Country) By Bombino (4:03)

13) Marley By Youssou N’Dour (feat. Mutabaruka) (3:53)

14) Night Nurse By Suga Roy & Conrad Crystal (4:03)

15) E. T. By Lee “Scratch” Perry/Bill Laswell (5:09)

16) Redemption Song By Playing for Change (4:10)

17) Alifatá By Kimi Djabaté (3:09)

Upbeat

1) Broda Olé Asa (3:55)

2) Sabali [Grey X Sage Remix] By Amadou & Mariam (feat. Theophilus London)(2:54)

3) Les Dirigeants Africains By Smod (3:59)

4) CA Chante By Smod (3:04)

5) Pelo Shao By Sarazino (3:35)

6) Mi Son Mi Friend By Sergent Garcia (4:15)

7) Goza Moneda Dura (feat. Ibrahim Ferrer) (3:53)

8) Para Poder Olvidarla By Peret (3:19)

9) Rebel Blues By Lëk Sèn (2:53)

10) Aratan N Tinariwen By Tamikrest (3:45)

11) Tar Hani (My Love) By Bombino (6:31)

12) Nobody Beg By Femi Kuti (4:02)

13) Jamm By Cheikh Lo (4:48)

14) Muloma (Let Us Be United) By Sierra Leone’s Refugee All-Stars (4:53)

15) Karam By Kimi Djabaté (5:13)

16) Salamalama Aby By Razia(3:23)

17) Set Fire to the Rain By ADELE (4:02)

As my friends and patients know, I am a world music freak and I have been making mixed world music cd’s of my favorite tracks for the last 15 or so years.  They are continually playing at home and in my office. Recently I have been asked a number of times to put together a mix of world beats with relaxing rhythms, so here it is. I call it my yoga mix because I often do yoga at home to a mix of many of these tracks.

Here are the tracks with iTunes links followed by Spotify links:

1) Om Numah Shivaya By Apache Indian

2) Elhem-1 Original by Diaspora featuring Amina Annabi

3) Maya By Susheela Raman

4) Kala Infinite By Bill Laswell

5) Guramayle By Gigi

6) The Long Road By Eddie Vedder With Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan

7) The Way You Dream By Michael Stipe

8) Falling By Nitin Sawhney

9) Weyu Lárigi Weyu (Day by Day) By Andy Palacio

10) Sabu Yerkoy By Ali Farka Touré & Toumani Diabaté

11) Bamako By Toumani Diabaté

12) Boubacar By Bill Frisell

13) Savane By Ali Farka Touré

14) Haayo By Bill Laswell

15) Tara Mantra By Gabrielle Roth & The Mirrors

My favorite cd of year thus far is SMOD  by SMOD (Nacional Records, 2011).  It is produced by one of my favorite artists, Manu Chao and it carries his signature psychedelic bounce with reggae bass lines, one-note melodies and dubby chants. Manu Chao also produced one of my favorite cd’s of all time, the groundbreaking album,  Dimanche a Bamako, by the accomplished duo, Amadou and Mariam.  One member of SMOD is Sam, son of Amadou and Mariam, who Manu Chao met in 2005 when he was producing Dimanche a Bamako in Mali. At that time Sam and his friends had formed a group to make “African Rap”. Manu Chao was staying at Amadou and Mariam’s house and heard these young guys rehearsing on the roof late at night. He liked what he heard and volunteered to produce their cd.  The SMOD trio observed the international success Amadou and Mariam achieved using Mali’s musical heritage with some catchy riffs, so they traced a similar path through pop, rock and the bluesy Malian tradition and added hip hop (which is what the Mali youth listen to) to the formula. The result is a great mix of Mali style guitar work with catchy Manu Chao riffs with political lyrics and some African rap in there. It is such happy music and sooooo catchy.

Here are 2 videos of 2 of the songs from the cd:

1)  Les Jeunes Filles du Maliba

2)  Les Dirigeants Africains

Baaba Maal is both one of my favorite musicians as well as one of the finest people I know. Not only is he a superstar in his native Senegal and a spiritual pop singer, he is on a mission to bridge the cultural divide between Africa and the rest of the world. As an artist, Baaba Maal is regarded highly because of his unique musical style – his ability to mix traditional music with modern beats. His popularity and status as an influential spokesperson for Africa is largely due to his social conscience and his ability to use his music to spread messages of hope.

Last year I moderated a Q and A session with him at Urban Zen, where he also performed a few songs. His final song was one that he sings frequently. It is a song for the African children who have lost their parents to HIV and subsequently fallen into a life of violence and drugs and a call to save these children by providing them with support and education. Watch here to get an idea of what I am talking about…he is special!!!!

Below is a mix of some of my favorite Baaba Maal tracks with both Itunes and Spotify links. If you want to know more about him and watch 2 great youtube videos of tracks that I could not find Spotify links to, click here.

1) Television

2) Dakar Moon

3) Tindo Quando

4) Tindo

5) Miyaabele

6) Lam Tooro

7) Djam Leelii

8) Dunya Salam

9) Souka Nayo (Remix By Thievery Corporation)

10) Africans Unite (Yolela)

11) Fanta

12) Cherie

13) Taara

14) Demfalam

15) Haayo

It’s been over a year since Baaba toured the US in support of his latest album, Television, which I reviewed last year. This upcoming series of dates will give US audiences a different experience- the chance to hear Baaba’s worldly insight and knowledge.

Baaba Maal 2011 Speaking Tour Dates in the USA

• Oct 5 Oakland, CA @ Yoshi’s
• Oct 6 Oakland, CA @ Yoshi’s
• Oct 7 Santa Cruz, CA @ Rio Theatre
• Oct 8 Los Angeles, CA @ Univ of Southern California
• Oct 9 San Diego, CA @ Anthology
• Oct 11 Seattle, WA @ Triple Door
• Oct 13 Denver, CO @ L2 Arts & Cultural Center
• Oct 15 Minneapolis, MN @ Cedar Cultural Center
• Oct 16 Chicago, IL @ Old Town School of Folk Music
• Oct 17 Ann Arbor, MI @ The Ark
• Oct 18 Nelsonville, OH @ Smart’s Opera House
• Oct 19 Alexandria, VA @ Birchmere
• Oct 21 New York, NY @ Michael Schimmel Center for the Arts at PACE
• Oct 22 Blue Bell, PA @ Science Center Theatre
• Oct 23 Boston, MA @ ICA Theatre

Here is an eclectic mix of different styles of upbeat Latin rhythms from all over Central and South America for a Latin Summer Party mix. I have included the links for www.Spotify.com (which is my latest addiction), as well as links to I Tunes for each song. Spotify is the award-winning music service that’s taken Europe by storm and has now come to U.S. shores. Millions of tracks ready to play instantly, on your computer and your phone. Many tracks you can get for free or you can pay a minimal monthly membership with many more benefits… I love it!!! Enjoy the music.

1) Fuego by Bomba Estéreo

2) Mi Son Mi Friend by Sergent Garcia

3) El Burrito by Yerba Buena

4) Arenita Playita by Cuarto Poder

5) Peligrosa by Grupo Fantasma

6) Finalmente by King Chango

7) Super Riddim Internacional by El Gran Silencio

8) Cumbia de los Muertos by Ozomatli

9) La Calle by Orishas

10) De Donde Vengo Yo by ChocQuibTown

11) Peligro by Mano Negra

12) Oye Company Juan by Ska Cubano

13) Cowboy Rumba by Ned Sublette

14) Donde Estan by Nelson De La Olla/La Banda Chula

15) Mas Que Nada by Mas Que Nada Featuring The Black Eyed Peas

Music, one of life’s greatest pleasures, has power – the power to ignite a sprint on the treadmill, bring a tear to the eye or quiet a racing mind. Music also has the power to help heal, which is why I often use it as a relaxation aid for my patients, while they are getting acupuncture. By playing music that pulses at about 60 beats per minute, my patients can get a well-deserved break from the daily stress merry-go-round and start to stimulate their body’s own healing response, more deeply and in less time than it might take them to achieve such states on their own.

The key to achieving this relaxed, healing state is to have patients listen to music with fewer beats per minute than their average resting heart rates, which usually runs at about 75 bpm for women and 70 bpm for men. For most patients, the 60-bpm speed is ideal for helping to induce alpha states, the same relaxed state that’s induced by meditation.

Among my favorite “alpha albums” or cd’s that I use in my practice, are those by Jonathan Goldman, a musician and author who has spent much of his career studying the use of sound as a healing force and then creating therapeutic music based on his explorations. After I have put the acupuncture needles in, I put on one of these cd’s on and let patients listen with headphones. My favorites albums are Reiki Chants, Chakra Chants, The Lost Chord, and De-Stress. They are all beautiful, meditative albums of transformational sounds, available on Goldman’s Healing Sounds website or at Amazon or ITunes. If you want to explore these first, I suggest you try Frequencies, which is a sample collection of 13 different Goldman cd’s.

For those looking to create a personal relaxation plan to help set the stage for healing in their lives, I highly recommend these cd’s. They a far cry from the much-maligned “New Age” music of the 80’s and 90’s, Goldman’s compositions weave together sonic elements from multi-cultural musical traditions, ancient religions, harmonics, entrainment, toning and mantras. The result? Pure bliss at your fingertips—just press play!

Franco-Spanish musician Bruno Garcia (a.k.a. Sergent Garcia) has been a favorite of mine for years and is a massive star around the globe,  He is one of the pioneering figures in the global Latin Alternative movement, and is now bringing his uplifting and defiant sound to festivals and clubs across the US and Canada. …see below for dates.

After falling in love with Latin and Caribbean music, Bruno created the Sergent Garcia persona and quickly became one of Europe and Latin America’s most successful artists. Going at it for almost twenty years now, Sergent Garcia has recorded and performed styles ranging from rock to reggae to “salamuffin” – a genre created and self-coined by Garcia himself on his latest album Una Y Otra Vez.

A revolutionary at heart, Sergent Garcia takes stabs at the status quo with hard-hitting lyrics blended with funky grooves spiked with salsa, reggae, cumbia, ska, rock and hip-hop. His new album offers a musical journey to the heart of Colombia, currently the source for some of Latin America’s hottest sounds.

I recommend checking him out on his tour as his live shows are just as all over the place as his albums.

Check out this video to get an idea of what I am talking about.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Tour Dates

8.12: Gaspe, Quebec – Musique Festival du Bout du Monde
8.13: Caraquet, New Brunswick – Festival Acadien
8.16: Toronto, Ontario – Lula Lounge
8.17: London, Ontario – Aeolian Hall
8.18: San Jose, CA – Music In The Park
8.20: Salmon Arm, British Columbia – Salmon Arm Folk & Roots Festival
8.21: Salmon Arm, British Columbia – Salmon Arm Folk & Roots Festival
8.23: Seattle, WA – Nectar
8.24: Portland, OR – Aladdin Theater
8.26: Oakland, CA – New Parish
8.27: San Francisco, CA – The Independent
8.31: Los Angeles, CA – The Roxy Theater
9.01: San Diego, CA – Belly Up Tavern
9.02: Tucson, AZ – Rialto Theater
9.03: Miami, FL – Grand Central
9.08: Washington D.C. – Black Cat
9.10: New York, NY – SOBs
9.13: Austin, TX – Flamingo Cantina
9.16: Albuquerque, NM – Globalquerque
9.17: Madison, WI – Madison World Music Festival
9.18: Milwaukee, WI – Milwaukee World Music Festival
9.18: Chicago, IL – Chicago World Music Festival
9.20: Quebec City, Quebec – Palais Montcalm
9.21: Montreal, Quebec – Le National

As many of you know, music is an integral part of my life. In fact, I listen to music virtually all day long. My Ipod plays as I commute, throughout my day at the office and keeps on playing after I get home from a hard day’s work. It lifts me up, calms me down, helps me focus a busy mind, brings joy to my heart and enriches every moment of the day.

Music helps to remind me how to be present in the moment, allowing me to quiet my mind, take a step back from racing thoughts. It helps me balance emotional states, promote a sense of well-being and connect to deep, profound feelings — without drugs or therapy. It has helped me connect to other cultures and realize we are all one family. As Bob Marley said, “the thing about music is that when it hits, you feel no pain.” I couldn’t agree more.

For the last decade or so, I’ve been sharing my love of music with my patients, suggesting artists to know, albums to buy and playlists to assemble. Now, due to popular demand and the ubiquity of Ipods, I’m sharing my playlists, with a little help from Itunes. Here are some beautiful mellow cover versions of some classics by artists from all over the world to help you chill out thru the summer:

Lipmo’s Summer Chill-Out Covers

Summertime, (George Gershwin) by Angelique Kidjo

Girl from Ipanema, (music by Antonio Carlos Jobim) by Getz/Gilberto

Killing Me Softly with His Song, (Charles Fox and Norman Gimbel) by The Fugees

Frosty the Snowman, (Walter “Jack” Rollins and Steve Nelson) by Angela McCluskey

As Tears Go By, (Rolling Stones) by Marianne Faithful

I Can’t Get No Satisfaction, (Rolling Stones) by Cat Power

Poetry Man, (Phoebe Snow) by Zap Mama

Most of the Time, (Bob Dylan) by Sophie Zelmani

Chelsea Hotel, (Leonard Cohen) by Rufus Wainwright

Downpressor Man, (Peter Tosh) by Sinead O’Connor

Time, (Pink Floyd) by Easy Star All-Stars

Imagine, (John Lennon) by Khaled & Noa