Given the multi-million copy-selling success of Sacred Spirit: Chants and Dances of the Native Americans, its follow-up, Sacred Spirit II is bound to have a built-in audience. Like its predecessor, the collection mixes chant and song with dance beats and electronic instrumentation. While tracks like "Dela Dela" and "Yane-Heja-Hee" meld these elements most effectively, the overall ...
This album combines modern production with the unselfconsciousness of a field recording. The sophisticated music features rich arrangements and the encompassing voice of Downs, who sings in Spanish, Zapotec, Mayan and Mixtec. Born in Oaxaca to a Mexican mother and an American father, she grew up between the two countries, and her music blends blues, gospel, ranchera, bolero and opera. You can feel ...
Annie Humphrey could be herded into the singer-songwriter stereotype-soft-spoken, building her sound on the common 2/4 strum of an acoustic guitar. But lie down with that voice and you'll feel it for a long time. Humphrey sings partly to overcome the stagnation she found on the rez, but her Native American heritage is part of her work, not a label or a crutch. Two songs were inspired by American ...