February 27, 2009

Stella - Different Skies

Different Skies is the second release from 7-woman Durham, NC-based a cappella group Stella, the first being the excellent "Gimme Stella." This is a sumptuous, gorgeous collection of 15 tunes, some of which are lightly accompanied by bass, guitar and even a Morocan riq on the lovely opening cut, "Before This Time Another Year." These 7 women share a love of good stories, eclectic tastes and music from different cultures. Two originals, "Cave Ranger," which reflects on the sexy possibilities of a date with a cave ranger, and "Stretched On Your Grave," tells the tragic tale of the death of a beloved teenage friend, are marvelous. Other favorites are the sweetly rhythmic "Be Mine (Little Baby," "Satellites," "My Babe," "I'll Never Leave You Baby," the bluesy "Blue and Lonesome," the stark anti-war song "No More To The Dance," the gospel tune "Wondrous Love," "Shto Si Goro," a gospel tune from the Georgia Sea Islands, the powerful "Kappee," a Bulgarian folk tale, the poignant ballad "Teenage Girls" and the wonderful American shape note chant, "Long Time Traveller." Since first getting together in 1998 to harmonize favorite tunes with each other, the group took the name Stella in 2000 and began to perform publicly in venues such as the NC Museum of Art, Festival for the Eno, Artsplosure, Light Up Durham and Black Mountain, NC's LEAF Festival. Possibly because of this, their sound as a group has taken a huge leap forward—every cut on "Different Skies" is a richly harmonic delight! 2361 CD 14.95
Listen to "I'll Never Leave You Baby

Posted by acapnews at 12:00 AM

February 7, 2009

Ladysmith Black Mambazo - Live!

For more than three decades, the story of Ladysmith Black Mambazo has been just as much about physicality and choreography as it has been about brilliant vocal harmonies. For this GRAMMY® winning a cappella group that merges South African music and dance traditions with a Christian messages of compassion, love and global harmony, the music alone is only half the story. Simply put, Ladysmith Black Mambazo has to be seen to be understood. Catch a visual glimpse of these icons of South African music and dance with Live! Recorded in Akron, Ohio, in 2008, the set captures not only fourteen songs performed on the stage of EJ Thomas Hall at the University of Akron, but also forty minutes of in-depth interviews with founder, leader and musical director Joseph Shabalala and other members of the group. 9921 DVD 19.95

Posted by acapnews at 12:03 AM