Unblocked

The end of the Cold War and the dissolution of the Soviet Bloc has opened a floodgate of communication with the nations of Eastern Europe, allowing access to their long sequestered heritage of music and culture. This collection ranges from ethereal church chorales to earthy peasant dances to modern fusions with Western rock, pop and jazz. The instrumentation includes fiddles and accordions, brass bands and bagpipes, cimbaloms and utogaardons, jew’s-harps and hurdy-gurdies, with vocals that range from the sensual to the sublime. Accompanying ''Unblocked’s'' three CDs are essays on Eastern Europe’s tangled web of languages, tribes and religions, as well as photos and extensive track notes. ''Unblocked documents diversity and the survival of local forms against the pressures of homoginazation and globalization.'' [NY Times]