Oliver Arditi

Blog archive

  • Music Basti – Monkey On The Roof (world music/ children’s)

    Music Basti – Monkey On The Roof (world music/ children’s)

    Monkey On The Roof is a document of, and a promotional, fundraising project for, an Indian charity called Music Basti. The charity brings music activities and education to street children in Delhi, in an organised, workshop based structure: their aim is to help give those children some hope for the future, and the skills of… Read more

  • Monday Musing: Art, Folk, Pop And The Taxonomy Of Musical Culture

    Monday Musing: Art, Folk, Pop And The Taxonomy Of Musical Culture

    There’s a broad classification of musical types that has some common currency, in artistic, marketing and academic circles. I want to briefly consider what it is, where it draws the lines between musics, whether it holds water, and what use it might be to those of us that think about music for whatever reason. There’s… Read more

  • Saturday Summary 019

    Saturday Summary 019

    The big news this week is Spotify’s North American launch, but there’s really nothing to say about that so far. It will have some kind of an impact, but exactly how much of one remains to be seen. I don’t know what the end user deal looks like at launch, but here in Europe it’s… Read more

  • CS Gray – Shoot Out The Star (roots rock)

    CS Gray – Shoot Out The Star (roots rock)

    I have one major criticism of Shoot Out The Star: the title is written a bit too close to the bottom of the artwork. Some readers may be surprised, given my taste for the experimental and oppositional, that I could be that excited about a straightahead roots rock album. Perhaps ‘excited’ is the wrong word… Read more

  • Juana Ghani – Budmo! (gypsy/ folk)

    Juana Ghani – Budmo! (gypsy/ folk)

    Juana Ghani play central European gypsy music (as far as I can tell, I’m no expert). They are a large band, incorporating a variety of instruments, some plucked, some struck, some blown and some squeezed. The songs collected here are driven along by a tightly and propulsively played brass bass (although on their website only… Read more

  • Various Artists – You Got Your Punk in My Garage – The Best of the GaragePunk Hideout, Vol. 3 (punk/ garage)

    Various Artists – You Got Your Punk in My Garage – The Best of the GaragePunk Hideout, Vol. 3 (punk/ garage)

    This album is for sale through all the usual big online retailers, but it’s also available as a freebie to active members of the garage music fan community linked to above. It’s the third in an ongoing series, and let me tell you: if you are a fan of this kind of music it is… Read more