[davidrs]

Like most art, the modern music we now listen to has its foundations in what we generally label as spiritual, sacred and perhaps more accurately as indigenous, tribal, traditional and folk.

Taking spiritual musical expression as just one example, we have Johann Sebastian Bach, Gospel, Gregorian chants, a cappella, Anasheed, Gnawa, Sufi, Gagaku, Shinto, Livitical choir, Kabbalah melodies, Qawwali, Kirtan and Bhakti, Native American vocables and percussion, Afro-Caribbean Nyabinghi, Santeria, Vodou;  .........

The list is as long and varied as our cultural, liguistic and ethnic diversity and reaches far into the past and into our prehistory (replicating natural sounds and rhythms transformed by intentionality, and motherese, for example). And it touches and moves us uniquely.

So what are members listening to in these traditional and older music genres?

Which current day musicians and groups are producing modern interpretations of these musical forms?

How does this music move you?

[saisunil]

I listen to a lot of bhajans / vedic chants - tradational Indian / Hindi devotional music
I also love a lot of Sufi music - albeit - very modern - commercial / pop
 
There is a lot of love and devotion ... and that is what I feel when I listen to them ... like "The Love Supreme"

[thunderbrick]

I enjoy listening to the NPR program "Sound and Spirit".  I find it fascinating how they weave musical threads and themes, spiritual and otherwise, through so many cultures.  I've discovered a lot of things I like well enough not to turn off, but few that I hunt down and buy.

[davidrs]

I listen to a lot of bhajans / vedic chants - tradational Indian / Hindi devotional music
I also love a lot of Sufi music - albeit - very modern - commercial / pop
 

Saisunil,

Interesting that the first post on this thread lists Indian devotional music.

This "reaching back" to older and in some cases, spiritual, genres of music was  triggered by a visit to a friend's home, about nine months ago.

She is a wholistic medicine practioner with a solid and core western pediatric medicine specialization. Though not Sikh, she was playing Shabad (Sikh devotional music) and I was really moved by it.

This experience motivated me to explore music that I was totally unaware of, and certainly might never have considered (in the past), even if I came across it. In other words, it pushed me to do what I would not otherwise have done.

Though this has been said and experienced countless times, I was reminded of the universality of music in context to the human experience. Which was reinforced by a more recent experience.

A friend, of Indian origin from Switzerland, was visiting me. She found out her grandmother had died when she landed in New York. One of the things she wanted to do was spend some time at a Hindu temple. I was able to find a Tamil temple and accompanied her. They were playing south Indian devotional music (I am not sure exactly what) and there it was again: that universality.

It has been a fascinating departure from what I had been, and still mainly listen to.

[davidrs]

I've discovered a lot of things I like well enough not to turn off, but few that I hunt down and buy.

thunderbrick,

Love your line: "I've discovered a lot of things I like well enough not to turn off"


Here are some more possibles to hunt down and buy 


From: The Santa Barbara Independent - Fes [Morocco] World Sacred Music Festival - by Josef Woodard 9/29/10

“This year’s typically rangy festival roamed the world, from the Sufi Group Mtendeni Maulid of Zanzibar to the bracing Master Drummers of Burundi, from the mesmeric Parvathy Baul, out of the exotic Bengali Baul tradition to Jordi Savall’s new and ambitious, religion-crossing and peace-seeking—and overlong—concept piece Jerusalem, the City of Two Peaces: Heavenly Peace and Peace on Earth.

The American contingent included, naturally enough, the iconic gospel group Blind Boys of Alabama and free-leaning saxophonists David Murray and Archie Shepp. Ben Harper, the token pop rep in the mix, was a no-show, citing a skateboarding accident: his evening slot was given over to the Saturday night Mali-an double-header with sinuous guitarist Djelimaday Tounkara and the popular, groove-machined African sensation, Amadou and Mariam.

Other 2010 highlights included music based on texts by sacred poets. Rumi’s words were set in the music of great Iranian singer Shahram Nazeri, joined by setar-playing son Hafez Nazeri and the Ensemble Rumi, and poems of Arab poet Hussein Mansour al-Hallaj (857-922) were at the center of an engaging contemporary classical project, “Prohibited Voices,” composed by Moroccan-born French resident Ahmed Essyad and delivered, sharply, by the French contemporary music-geared l’ensemble Accroche Note (Hang Note Ensemble)."

[davidrs]

Here is a YouTube link for Bangla (Bengali) Baul music performed by Binod Das and friends.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5PRFdKredT0&feature=related

No village people jokes - ok!    This is a serious 9 minute jam.

Takes you back in time: the performance, the instruments and the venue.

[davidrs]

Here is the primary musical instrument, Ektara, used in Baul music.

The following photograph and short description is from Wikipedia:



"Bauls use a number of musical instruments to embellish their compositions. The "ektara" is a one-stringed “plucked drum” drone instrument, and by far the most common instrument used by a Baul singer. It is carved from the epicarp of a gourd, and made of bamboo and goatskin. Other commonly used musical instruments include the dotara, This is a long-necked fretless lute. While the name literally means “two stringed” it usually has four metal strings (steel or brass); the dugi, a small hand-held earthen drum; percussion instruments like dhol and khol; small cymbals called "kartal" and "mandira" and the bamboo flute."

Google 'Baul Music' for more.

[saisunil]

I found a site that serves the kind of bhajans I listen to ...
http://www.raagabox.com/
My favorite choice is Sai Students ...
 
Just returned from 24 hours globals bhajans ... (actually they are still going on ...) 6 PM Sat to 6 PM Sun ...
 
Say nothing about sound quality ... but it is devotional and touches the heart ... wish I could do the same with my approach to my sound system ... and stop tweaking it or analyzing it ...
 
Will be listening to some of this music live ... on my next visit to India ...
 
Peace Peace Peace, Peace on Earth
Peace Peace Peace, Peace for all the Universe ...

[davidrs]

Saisunil,

Listened to the Sai Students offerings.

The clarity of voice and slower tempo (and warmth) of the bhajans was very impressive. And yes: peaceful.

Thanks for sharing.

- David.

[davidrs]

Here is an article on preservation efforts in China for their ethnic music and musical heritage:

http://www.newsweek.com/2010/11/21/preserving-china-s-traditional-ethnic-music.html?gt1=43002

[adamaley]

Recently, when in the mood for music in this vein, I usually turn to the following in my collection:

Ballake Sissoko: Tomora

Ladysmith Black Mambazo: Best of

Lhasa: La Lhorana

S.E Rogie: Dead Men Don't Smoke Marijuana

Dhafer Youssef: Divine Shadows & Electric Sufi

All masterpieces in their own rights.

[adamaley]

Also, Choying Drolma and Steve Tibbets - Cho

[satfrat]

Traditional chants and such, not my cup of tea. But take that type of music and modernize it, fusion it and I'm game. Here's a perfect example of ethnic fusion that'll get the juices flowing for me;
 
DJ Cheb I Sabbah: La Ghiba-La Kahena Remixed (2006)
 

 
                     SAMPLES       
 
Cheers,
Robin
 
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