Deserted Island / Concrete Jungle

Marco Romano, the sharp and inquisitive mind behind one of that new essential read, AnimaMundi, described as "a blog about food, wine, travel, books, music, humor, my French bulldog Aldo's exploits et al," has a seriously killer sense of style, especially in the realm of musical taste (and dogs).

In our regular email correspondence, Marco's always turning me on to some fabulous group I should have discovered years ago. Well, it's never too late, and this week I asked him to contribute a list of his Top 10 Songs for A Deserted Island (or the Concrete Jungle) to share with you.

Says Marco: "These tracks always do something for my spirits. Some are new, some are old, but they all convey a sense of freedom, period. Not freedom from something but freedom and expanse in their own right."

As he also notes, many are "unfortunately somewhat obscure even with the Internets churning. Most of the cd's from the French Antilles and Cape Verdean community are in print for 6-12 months max, unless it's an instant classic for which demand continues to drive sales and production. Luckily, reissues are becoming more frequent. If anyone is interested, I can point to some sources for some of these."

Marvelous. Well, dig in, darlings -- as every song on this list is well worth tracking down:

icole / oliver n'goma / (bane)
okaman / monique seka / (okaman)
musica en verite / africando / (gombo salsa)
n'guxi / paulo flores / (vivo)
cantos de esperanca / sam mangwana / (cantos de esperanca)
d'nhirim reforma / cesaria evora / (cesaria)
passod e presente / jean claude gomes / (mae)
didi / pedro rocha / (didi)
kabwes / marce & toumpak / (pe epi koute)
anvi viv / patrick st. eloi / (plezi)