Search - Banco de Gaia, Suba, Bob Holroyd :: A Six Degrees Collection: Traveler '00

Sometimes, Diversity is a BAD thing

punkdolphin | Punk Dolphin - NYC/Amsterdam | 10/25/2000

(1 out of 5 stars)

"When I first attained this CD compilation, I quickly put it on for the reason that it is a product from the Six Degrees label.  How disappointed was I after the first listen?  Not as disappointed as I was after repeated listens.This CD has 12 tracks of global music with an electronic feel that give world music a baaaaaaaad name.  Tracks that should be relevant to the music we listen to, and in some bland way, I guess they are. Unfortunately, this CD compilation comes off like a stale version of Transmissions From Planet Dog.  The music sounds at times like trance circa 92, but not the good trance from that period. For example, check out track 3, the Thievery Corporation remix of Baaba Maal. Or if you're in the mood for some hideous torture, check out the Uman track or the Dj Cheb / Sabbah track.  Sometimes the music resembles dry trip hop or mundane acid jazz tracks that add nothing to the any genre. Here's a wacky idea!  How about Ladysmith Black Mambazo doing a track over some tired drum n bass track??!  The kids will love it, eh?  Okay, just stop it people.  Stop with the lame gimmicks and get back to good music.  Imagine if you were a photojournalist and each track on this compilation is some war zone, some trouble spot in the World.  Each track brings out this horrible drone that muddles its way into boredom. Even the Banco De Gaia track serves to solidify the negativity of this listening experience.  If you want Banco De Gaia, get the Maya album.  Now I have this compilation, which is only good for torturing people and small animals.  No tracks on here should get any play by any DJ of any substance.  This is a world tour that you should demand your money back.  The only track on there that would be worth listening to is the Bob Holroyd track "African Drug" remixed by Coldcut.  Except for the fact that I heard this track years ago and it's not exactly a classic remix by Coldcut.The maniacal monotony of mundaneness."

Hip Hop Ambient Denizen

08/09/2000

(3 out of 5 stars)

"This album attempts to bring together music from diverse parts of the planet and make it all(or most of it) sound like hip hop. There are some good moments when the American music influence doesn't overshadow what's there in its musical essence waiting to be heard. Subo's remix is great, especially the Brasilian percussion. Thievery Corp's take on B. Maal is also trippy and well done. But for the most part, I would rather hear and dance to the real deal. It seems that people think that to get listeners to listen to and buy African, Brasilian music one must put it in a hip-hop-ambient envelope for them to digest it. Not for me and many other dedicated dj's and dancers. If I want to hear African music, I'll take Paulo Flores from Angola any day of the week. If I want to hear Brasilian music, give me Olodum or Ara Ketu. The source is always richer than the subsequent rendtions. Remix at the source."

Get Your Fresh Diversity Right Here

S. L. Winant | Seattle, WA United States | 07/26/2000

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Real World should stand up and take notice...but looking at the early promo's for WOMAD USA, they already have. "Traveler '00" isn't just a collection of world-influenced grooves, but equal parts 'world music' sampler and beat-infused collection of tracks. Better in some ways than the previous "Traveler" sampler, this disc is diverse in every way--sources, styles, and tempos. With big 'world-music' names like Ladysmith Black Mambazo and Baaba Maal now contributing, plus their own parcel of artists such as the now well-known Cheb i Sabbah and rising fusionists Ekova, Six Degrees is now entering the big time for both the ethno-techno crowd and the long-standing 'world' audience. Pay attention!"