World Music

What do you get when you take Michael Stipe, Speech (that guy from Arrested Development), 2 British DJ's, a Mac laptop and an airplane? 1 Giant Leap.

While not brand spanking new, this collection makes my forever cool list not only because the music itself is a fascinating blend of world beat, rap, mystical lyrics and basically some jammin' tunes, but also because of how it was conceived and produced.

Two guys took a laptop, a map, and an airplane then traveled all over the world to places fairly secluded, like deep into the jungles of Africa and high up to the mountain tops of Tibet. And without a plan would seek out the village's musicians/singers. They would lay down beats, or singing or spoken word or native instrumentation, then go to another country and do the same thing. At the end, they put all of it together in various forms to make one song.

So for example, "The Way You Dream" has Michael Stipe singing with a woman from India, drum beats from Africa and so on. And the song wasn't written as one. And they didn't record in studio at the same time. And it all goes together in one kick ass tune.

They had no budget and would just ask for donations along the way and just pick their next stop randomly.

A brave, big undertaking. The goal was to show that the world is truly connected through music and that we as a race are all so similar despite our vast differences. That together, our disparate voices and sounds all harmonize with each other to create a united voice.

1 Giant Leap is not only an album worth hearing but also a documentary worth seeing. Buying it is recommended since that is the only way these guys made any money off the gig. If nothing else, you gotta admire these lads for their spontaneity.

1 Giant Leap truly is "world music".