When Paul Simon went to Graceland it inspired him to trace the roots of rock & roll back to Africa, where he assembled a cast of South African musicians. Idan Raichel, who is an international world music star himself (and a mega-star in his native Israel), followed Simon’s (and Peter Gabriel’s, for that matter) lead, even though his tapestry of world sounds is comprised of chance meetings as much as it is any pilgrimages. His albums started out as a sonic Middle East peace conference, but the tongues gathered here (from France to Germany to Ethiopia and Mali, where special Six Degrees Records guest, "Vieux" Farka Touré, is from), Raichel is on his way to forming a United Nations of Music. The lyric sheet is in English, but where the Idan Raichel Project takes you, you won’t need to understand words, only music. - Daniel Siwek
