http://afropopshop.org<img src='http://files.afropopshop.org/images/54484/gold_wax.jpg'>After five years, Ethiopian singer Gigi returns with her much anticipated album, Gold &amp; Wax, an organic blend of African songs mixed with elements of Jamaica, India and America.<br /><br />Featuring a stellar roster, bassist Bill Laswell has assembled an eclectic array of musical talent for Gold &amp; Wax. India's great sarangi player/vocalist Ustad Sultan Khan, tabla player/drummer Karsh Kale, funk keyboard maestro Bernie Worrell, African multi-instrumentalists Abesgasu Shiota, Moges Habte, Aiyb Dieng and Assaye Zegeye; digital futurists MIDIval PunditZ and Skizz Fernando, and avant-guitarist Buckethead all contribute to this incredible album.<br /><br />From the opening strains of &quot;Semena-Wrock,&quot; a jazz-inspired, kit drum-led, up-tempo number, Gigi returns to old form. Surrounded by punchy saxophones and Laswell's signature low-end, Gigi's golden voice remains the driving force of the next 66 minutes. Backed by a tasteful landscape of drum 'n bass and resonant guitar echoes, the second track, &quot;Anten&quot; proves much more aligned with her work with Tabla Beat Science. The light textures of &quot;Jerusalem,&quot; organ-led dynamics of &quot;Salam,&quot; and the only English language song here, &quot;Utopia,&quot; call for a spaciousness allowing the listener to invest time and emotion.<br /><br />With the release of the long awaited Gold &amp; Wax, Gigi is ensuring her place as an ambassador of ancient sound with modern sensibilities.Fri, 29 Aug 2008 21:42:31 -0500http://gigi.afropopshop.org/#album_54484<img src='http://files.afropopshop.org/images/6944/illuminated_audio.jpg'>A contemporary Ethiopian artist has never sounded so progressive while keeping her music firmly rooted in its original culture. &quot;Gigi's modal melodies and urgently questioning voice rise out of grooves that swirl jazz and funk into the complexities of Ethiopian pop,&quot; said Jon Pareles in the New York Times, &quot;broadening the music without Americanizing it.&quot; <p><br /></p>Fri, 29 Aug 2008 21:42:31 -0500http://gigi.afropopshop.org/#album_6944<img src='http://files.afropopshop.org/images/6916/gigi.jpg'>Gigi's album is an organic flowering of ancient Nile rhythms, contemporary jazz virtuosity, pan-African rhythm, and dub-reggae studio wizardry.Fri, 29 Aug 2008 21:42:31 -0500http://gigi.afropopshop.org/#album_6916