Endangered Species

Reviewed by Sadie O., 11/15/06
Globalized dance/hip hop/funk/house from NYC and around the world. Turntablist and guests from all over spin ideas of peace, unity, and dance Some of it is less beat-driven and more sound collage/trance, some of it is irresistibly funky. Lots of Latin and Middle Eastern elements and a healthy dose of hip hop.
No FCCs detected. It’s all great, I like 2 and 11 best, and 1 and 3 too.
1. 3:42 *** minimal instrumentation & Spanish vocals for first 30 secs, then swingy midtempo mambo with lots of percussion and horns – great vibe.
2. 4:28 ****funky bellydance beat with a bit of human beatbox and great horns.
3. 4:47 *** funky as hell beat, a bit of Latin feel, hip hop rap about music in English. I love this. Shoutouts to all kinds of drummers. Sweet!
4. 7:31 ***uptempo doumbek and added layers of music, Middle Eastern oboe. Jazzy and mysterious vibe. No vocals, a bit trance-y.
5. 4:54 ***downtempo, slinky vibe, seductive Middle Eastern female vocals, no lyrics, some nice oud.
6. 3:54 **clapping, acoustic guitar and pipes, males vocals in Spanish. Midtempo steady beat with some Andean trance-iness.
7. 4:21 ***starts with thumb piano, then midtempo beat and female hip hop rap in English. Nice lyrics, lots of cool sounds, some tree-hugging.
8. 4:50 **uptempo Latin-tinged funk, pretty female vocals in Spanish.
9. 5:27 *** uptempo complex percussion and snare, guitar with heavy African accent. Mostly it’s all about the syncopation. Tasty and pretty.
10. 4:09 **doumbek solo intro, other elements come in gradually. A bit uptempo, sort of a sound collage.
11. 4:48 ****midtempo very swingy groove with some Middle Eastern horn, bits of electronica, gradually builds layers, gets really wildly cool.
12. 5:34*** starts with solo plucked instrument, again building layers. Midtempo hip hop beat, but with stuff like melodica. Female vocals in English.
13. 1:41 **water sounds and ethereal female voices, no lyrics. Some hand drums, trance-y. Ends with long fade of crickets chirping.