September 17th, 2008
Here’s a big batch of fresh music from the Latin, funk, jazz, and Afrobeat-centric Freestyle Records:

Love International by Kokolo
This ska and funk flavored album is tinged with some island flair, especially on the title track. Latino touches show up …
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July 19th, 2008

There aren’t many places that Americans can’t go. An U.S. passport is like a golden ticket to the world. So, it seems strange to have a nation just 90 miles off our coast that’s off-limits.
Putumayo’s Cafe Cubano...
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May 13th, 2008
Do the blues speak to you? Do hot Brazilian-style beats and funky African rhythms get your hips moving? If so, cast your ears across the ocean to Cape Verde, an island nation off the coast of Senegal. The Rhode Island-sized country was originally a Portuguese colony, a weigh-station for the …
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January 29th, 2008

Travel Tracks is on the move! Just a few days ago, I arrived in Rome, where I’ll be staying with an Italian family for three months. On my way to the Eternal City, I visited some old Soviet stomping grounds: Kiev, Ukraine, and Prague, Czech Republic.
The cold …
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January 10th, 2008

“Volare! The Very Best of the Gipsy Kings” is the perfect introduction to this French phenomenon. The double album is packed with their signature get-up-and-dance rhythms. Soaring guitars and passionate vocals create an intoxicating blend of flamenco and rumba. Classics like …
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