Pangea This is a great CD that not many know about. A blend of electronic, vocals of dialects from around the world, and rhythms, it probably could go in some new age category, but I'm putting it in World for now. This was a great find. More info Jai Uttal and the Pagan Love Orchestra - Beggers and Saints Jai Uttal is a New York native who lived in India studying classical Hindu devotional chanting. He has blended Indian instumentation and vocals with pop-ish and funky rhythms for a great sound. This is my favorite of all of his CDs. More info Rachid Taha - Olé Olé You can find Rachid Taha's vocal's on the track Barra Barra of the Black Hawk Down soundtrack. Most of his work I have found rough and almost too nightclub dancy. This CD however is different and has some great listenable tracks. Amazon.com This album was released in 1996, two years before the superb and rootsy Diwân, and the signs for Olé Olé are apparent from the cover, where the singer appears with trendily bleached hair. Formerly in the band Carte de Sejour (whose album had been produced by ex-Gong guitarist Steve Hillage), Rachid Taha can be political but here also tries to play heavily to the Euro-dance crowd. Heavy on the beats, and ultimately light on the Arabic content, this CD is an attempt to win as wide an audience as possible. For example, check out the surf music references on "Jungle Fiction." The disc is not without its moments (indeed, "Kelma" is a song ahead of its time as far as crossover goes), and with Hillage behind the board there is some sense of adventure. --Chris Nickson More info, listen to samples Lhasa - La Llorona Amazon.com's Best of 1998 Lhasa De Sela has distinguished herself as a singer and storyteller with her debut album, La Llorona. The 25-year-old Montreal resident, who grew up traveling through Mexico while living on a school bus, sings of her tortured heart with the accompaniment of guitarist-producer-arranger Yves Desrosiers and a cabaret-style band. Already compared to those of Edith Piaf and Billie Holiday, De Sela's haunting voice is memorable on each of the 11 songs (only 3 are nonoriginal) that range in inspiration from Mexican ranchera to Eastern European klezmer. --Cristina Del Sesto More info, listen to samples Los Umbrellos - Flamenco Funk Amazon.com Percolating in a jambalaya of musical styles are strains of Jamaican dance-hall music, Brazilian street-carnival rhythms, flaring mariachi horns and thumping hip-hop beats.... this CD will have listeners hitting the replay button to decipher a trippy hodgepodge of American pop-cultural references. More info, listen to samples