The Dharohar Project

Title: Mehendi Rachi
Culture of Origin: Northern Indian, English "nu-folk" music
Performers: Laura Marling, Mumford & Sons, The Dharohar Project
Instruments: Female English Singing (Laura Marling), guitar, Indian Vocals (A man, a women, a whole chorus of people) banjo/mandolin, traditional Rajasthani instruments (dhol drum, dhal, Sarangi [chordaphone], a flute), fiddle?

I LOVE Mumford and Sons, so I'm pretty much using this as an accuse to listen to Mumford. No, but I was actually thinking about this in terms of our authentic argument and how that effects music in the crossover genre.

This recording meets two of the guidelines of absolute music provided by Abril. It is performed on traditional instruments and in the original language. However, at the same time these aren't true. A traditional Indian song wouldn't contain the English that is heard, nor the traditional English folk instruments. The same is true of the English. The album was recorded by Laura Marling and Mumford & Sons and was probably intended to bring this music to their fans, both in England and all over the world. I would imagine The Dharohar Project had similar intentions, as this album would bring their music to a broader scope of people. This rules out Palmer's idea that authentic music is performed for the culture it comes from. As for setting, this was definitely recorded in a studio, not the typical setting determined by the teacher. So does all this inauthenticity make this blending of cultures and cross-over bad example to utilize and listen to? I feel that they offer access to music that students might not otherwise be exposed to. Also, Abril mentions that authenticity stems from the idea that music is static and unchanging. This recording demonstrates that music is clearly not static, but flowing and ever changing. One could argue that maintaining authenticity hinders the growth of music itself and kills opportunities for music like this to come about.

Wow...I this came out a lot more preachy than I intended...
I also, must obviously like the blending of cultures considering my last example was a cross-over too.

Homeless

Title: Homeless from Paul Simon's African Concert
Performers: Ladysmith Black Mambazo
Instrumentation: 10 men with one solo voice
Culture: It is a South African Zulu song.

This album was a particular favorite of mine growing up. My original intention was to use this song as a springboard, but as I was watching I found myself thinking a lot of various readings we've done. My first thought was to this week's reading. One of the ethnomusicologist issues Campbell discussed was the globalization of music. This album is a perfect example of this. Simon came to South Africa to record his album which gave many of the songs on the album an African sound. He collaborated with such artists as Ladysmith Black Mambazo, which gave more people and opportunity to experience their music and lead to their increased popularity.
If a group decided to perform this song, it would be an obvious piece for enactive listening. The style of the soloist and in some parts the background are very specific and not at all like our western classical ideas. There are many stylistic differences to listen for (my favorite was always the "he-ee-eh" percussive breathing sounds in the second half.)