Boddhi Satva - African Rhythm Master

When it comes to music production, everyone in the underground global dance music scene is talking about one man - Boddhi Satva. He's pioneering his own sound, what he calls "Ancestral Soul", and the world is watching and listening with anticipation and excitement.

Born and raised in the Central African Republic, Boddhi's first introduction to music production happened in 1994 when he was writing, singing and rapping in a Hip-Hop group called Gbekpa Crew. In 2000 he moved to Belgium to further his education, and was slowly seduced by the sounds of Deep House. He began to fuse the native sounds from his homeland in Africa, with the deep rhythm and pace of house music, and created his signature "Ancestral Soul" vibe.

In 2006 he began an extremely influential collaboration with the internationally acclaimed producer Osunlade, and through this mentorship, Boddhi released the Satva Varti Ep under Osunlade's label Yoruba Records. From there, Boddhi caught fire and has won the hearts of the global house underground.

Now signed by world-renowned and Grammy Award winning Louie Vega, Boddhi is set to release his debut album - a double disc jam packed with new material - with Vega Records later this year. In the meantime, you can check out new tracks being released through his own label - Offering Recordings. Offering just released the song On My Way from singer Priss which is currently a top 10 track on Traxsource.

Boddhi himself is a gifted DJ as well, playing all over the world it top party destinations such as Milan, Paris, Amsterdam, New York City, Johannesburg, Ibiza, Tokyo and our very own Miami! If you're in Europe, you can check him out at Stereo Six in Antwerp on Febraury 18th. And after that he'll be back in Miami for WMC 2011!

Our very own Miss Angelina is currently in Belgium working with Boddhi Satva on her debut EP set to be released later this year. Together they are fusing the sounds of Africa, House, Hip Hop, Soul and more global influences to bring you a never-before-heard sound that aims to crossover that deep club sound to the mainstream audience.

Here's a video of a collaboration Boddhi did back in 2008 with the singer/rapper Yuba over in Mali.

Giovanca - Netherlands Neo Soul

The Netherlands is amazing. This wonderful country has given us legal drugs, tulips, Heineken, and now Giovanca - the ravishing and charming model turned soul singer.

After starting out in a modeling career, Giovanca started singing back-up vocals for some of Europe's biggest acts. She soon realized that this was her true calling, and released her first solo album - Subway Silence - inspired by her travel experiences on the subways of Amsterdam, New York, and Paris.

For her second album, While I'm Awake, Giovanca has focused more on travelling within herself. She says "While I’m awake... I realised that I have two lives: a night one and a day one. The resulting fatigue goes deep down in my head and my heart. It gives me an insomniac’s view of the world—and that forms the inspiration for this album.”

Last year she received a Zilveren Harp (Silver Harp), a Dutch award for young artists who "have already made a significant contribution to Dutch music while still having a huge future ahead of them." We agree! We love her style of jazzy R&B, and want to see much more from this soul sister! Check out this video shot in her native Netherlands...

IshQ Bector - "Hinglish" Bollywood Bboy

What do you get from a Canadian rapper, of Indian decent, who rises to fame in Bollywood? You get IshQ Bector - the "Hinglish" Hip Hopper...

Yes, "Hinglish" means that IshQ is singing and rhyming in both Hindi and English, while also fusing musical styles from both the East and West. He started out in Canada in the popular Hip Hop group Frek Sho (pronounced Freak Show), but as the only Indian in the group, he decided to fly the coop and try his luck at making it in Bollywood.

But breaking into Bollywood as a westerner wasn't easy. IshQ got his start as an MTV VJ, but was told that he wasn't "Indian" enough for their viewers. However, a producer that he worked with at MTV wanted to shoot his video, and from there, IshQ was able to really start to emerge with his breakthrough album, IshQ De.

We love this guy's charisma - his presence on camera is super fun and energetic, yet sexy and slick. And his music is super catchy and party-friendly. Check out this amazing video he did with Rakhi Sawant, a famous Hindi dancer/model/actress. The entire video plays in reverse...cool concept executed exceptionally well!!

Teddy Afro - Ethiopian Hip Hop

Ethiopia stand up! Teddy Afro is in the building!

From the capital city Addis Ababa, Teddy Afro has been making a splash in the Ethiopian Hip Hop scene since the release of his second album, Abugida, in 2001.

But it was his third album, Yasteseryal, that has made Teddy Afro legendary. Released in 2005, this album coincided with elevated political tension surrounding Ethiopia's 2005 general election. His politically and socially inspired songs acted as a call for unity and peace, but also made the ruling party in power concerned.

The most popular song and title track of the album, Yasteseryal, claims that there is no real change in Ethiopia and accuses the government of military junta. Consequently the government banned four songs including from playing on radios and TV. However, the album sold more than a million copies within a few months after its release, and become the biggest selling Ethiopian music album to date.

All of that controversy aside, when it comes to the music - Teddy Afro kills it on the mic! Here is one of his less politically motivated tracks...in fact, this is a straight club banger! We love Teddy's flow, and the Ethiopian dancers are KILLIN IT!

Martin Solveig - Parisian Pop Electro House

Paris has long been at the forefront of the electronic music scene worldwide. And DJ, producer, recording artist Martin Solveig is right at the helm...

Martin Solveig has been one of the leaders in an elite group of electronic DJs for over 10 years now. He came up in the scene playing alongside legendary DJs such as Bob Sinclair, Todd Terry and Roger Sanchez. Now he has been named one of the top 50 of DJ Mag’s prestigious Top 100 poll. He was also awarded the Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres, a prestigious French award for artists given by the French government, and also the Artiste de Musiques Electroniques de l’Année at the French Victoires de la Musique (the French Grammys).

Currently, his most popular hit is a song called Boys and Girls, which was inspired by a chance meeting between Martin and fashion icon Jean-Paul Gaultier. Through a shared admiration for each other’s work, they shot the video for the track at Gaultier’s Maison de Couture.

The song is crazy catchy and the video is so stylish and fun! The track features an international collaboration with Dragonette, an electro group from Canada. The combination of slick choreography with that signature Gaultier style and fun pop electro sound makes this video a must see!

Shakira - La Loca

Oh Shakira, you're crazy! But we like it... ;)

Yes, everybody's favorite Colombianita is still churning out hits worldwide. This time she's shaking those hips that's won't lie in Barcelona for the making of one of her latest videos, Loca. Wow - one of our favorite global artists, in one of our favorite cities on the globe! You know this is gonna be good...

Because Shakira is soooooo GLOBAILE, she, of course, has an English and a Spanish version of the song. The English version features UK emcee Dizzee Rascal, while the Spanish version boasts El Cata, whose song Loca Con Su Tiguere was the original version of this song that has now been remixed by the Latina loca.

Check out the Spanish version of the video here...loca loca loca!!!

EE - Seoul Electro Funk

Now here's a sound coming out of Korea that is definitely NOT K-Pop...

Meet EE - an experimental electronica duo out of Seoul. The crazy creative twosome made up of members E. Hyun Joon and E. Yunjung (hence EE), are pushing the boundaries of art and music to a super artistic level, something they call "Total Art Performance".

E. Yunjung (the female member) says "Because Korean music today is dominated by pop music, there aren’t many chances for indie music to be heard. Hongdae was the only place that the indie scene was happening." And that's where the two met and decided to meld their two worlds of art and music.

EE has recently released an album, Imperfect, I'mperfect and Yunjung goes on to say this about their music in opposotion to the usual sound coming out of Korea: "We were trying to reflect the sad reality of the flawless idol singers and celebrities we see in Korea these days, whose dance movements and lip-syncing must be perfectly timed and are never allowed to get one single note out of tune. We wanted to make a statement that this kind of striving for perfection is bad for music." And EE is doing just that - taking risks and striving to evoke cathartic reactions through thought-provoking, artistic performance.

To read more from their interview, check out TheCreatorsProject.com. In the meantime, to get a taste of their perfectly imperfect electronic art sound, check out this stylish video:

Zowie - New Zealand Pop Diva

Watch out Lady Gaga - there's a new pop diva on the rise, and she's nipping at your designer heels...

Gaga, meeet Zowie. Hailing all the way from New Zealand, this Auck singer is also known for her edgy, futuristic fashion sense, and her electronic pop sound. She's generating a buzz around the globe, and her album hasn't even dropped yet!

So which diva will reign supreme...? Check out this Zowie video and uou be the judge...

Boogat - French Canadian Latino

We thought Canada was too cold for Latinos...but not for super-cool emcee Boogat...

Meet Boogat - a rapper/producer from Montreal, Canada. As a Spanish-speaking Latino growing up in a French Canadian city, Boogat learned to blend languages, cultures, and sounds at a a young age. Therefore his sound is firmly rooted in the fusion of styles, combining latin worldbeat rhythms with post hip-hop production and rap. His tunes are catchy, dancefloor-friendly bangers with multi-lingual raps and hooks.

He's been making mixtapes, and just put out a new download produced by Geko Jones and N-Ron. Boogat is set to release his first official solo album later this year - so keep an eye and and ear out for it!

In the meantime, check out this party video with lyrics in Spanish, English, and French! That's so GLOBAILE! This looks like a Miami fiesta...in a land of hockey and snow, who knew Canadians could bring the heat?!

Spoek Mathambo - Afro-futurism

Meet Spoek Mathambo - the leader of the Afro-futurism movement.

According to his website, Spoek sees himself as a part of a new wave of energy in Africa, which is intent on nurturing a sense of progressiveness while maintaining a pride in culture. Through this journey into the new wave, Spoek Mathambo has become a increasingly prominent figure in the international music scene over the last couple of years.

Hailing from South Africa, Spoek started out as front man for electrorap outfits SWEAT.X and PLAYDOE, but most recently, he finished recording his solo album, Mshini Wam, a bold step forward in African progessive electronic music. The title “Mshini Wam” is from a famous Zulu song called Umshini wami, (English: My Machine), often sung by members of the military - it means: “Bring Me My Machine Gun”. Yet for Spoek Mathambo Mshini Wam has quite a different meaning: “My Machine…A way to express a new wave of electronic African music!”.

He's calling this new wave of music "Township Tech" and has risen to become one of the foremost recognised exporters of this new South African club music. He has gathered widespread attention as far afield as the New York Times and Fader Magazine, and he scored an interview with our friends at Passport to Global Sound.

We expect to hear a lot more from this young pioneer! Check out this video off the Mshini Wam album.

Little Dragon - Swedish Puppet Claymation

Why are Swedish singers soooooo good?

We've featured Robyn and Lykke Li - 2 of our faves! And now we bring you another Swedish gem..Little Dragon.

Little Dragon is an electronic band from Gothenburg, Sweden. The group was formed by Swedish-Japanese singer Yukimi Nagano and 3 of her close high school friends. Yukimi would often become frustrated during recording sesions, which earned her the nickname "Little Dragon". And when the band decided on a name to go by, the nickname stuck.

They have released 2 studio albums to much critical acclaim, and collaborated with the Gorillaz on their album Plastic Beach. And they are set to release their 3rd album in the Spring.

Their sound is pretty eclectic, fusing electronic, ambient, ethereal sounds that create their own unique sound. It's like you want to take a bubble bath and dance all at the same time...

And their videos are super original as well. Check out this one - their latest from their most recent album Machine Dreams. It's claymation. No, it's puppetry. No, it's robots. Wait...it's all three...

Jolin Tsai - Taiwan's Mandopop Star

Jolin Tsai may be petite, but this Taiwanese pop singer has enough star power to deliver a TKO!

Tsai first broke into the Taiwanese entertainment industry at age 18, winning first place in an MTV singing competition with a cover of the Whitney Houston song The Greatest Love of All. The performance earned her a record deal with Universal Music Taiwan, and the nickname "Teenage Boy Killer". Her debut album sold over 400,000 copies throughout Asia, and was released in multiple formats in several countries.

She released a couple more albums with Universal but started having troubles with the label and with her record sales, and consequently moved to Sony Music. Once she changed labels, her fame sky-rocketed back to the top. Sony changed her look from the student to a sexier young woman. This transformation totally established her as the new Queen of the Pop in the younger generation in Taiwan.

Now 10 albums deep, Tsai is a superstar in Asian countries such as China (including Hong Kong and Taiwan), Malaysia, Singapore, and she has fans worldwide. As of 2010, Tsai was ranked 2nd of all Taiwanese Singers, earning $14.51 million. And she is the top Female Singer earner in Taiwan. Now that's a a lot of power in a petite little frame!

Yelle - La Musique de France

Look at this crazy picture. It says it all. We ♥ Yelle.

You remember Yelle - she's the French electro pop diva leading the Tecktonik movement that we featured earlier on the blog, and on the GLOBAILE podcast. We love her party beats and her ultra bright, cartoony retro fashion sense!

Now she's back with a new album that will be dropping in March, Safari Disco Club. This album is said to be taking a more tribal approach to electro music, but we've been assured that it maintains the same upbeat club-friendly pop fun that is her signature sound.

We can't wait for this project to drop - sounds like it is very GLOBAILE! In the meantime, here's a video for a single she just released, La Musique. We love the quirky, weirdo creativity! And this animation from the guys at We Are From LA is some next-level type stuff...!

Egyptian songstress - Sandy Star

Move over Cleopatra - there's a new queen in Egypt. And her name is Sandy Star.

Sandy, as she usually goes by, is the new talented pop diva in the Arab music world hailing from Cairo, Egypt. She released her first album Kol Ma Arrab in 2006. Distributed by Star Label, the album included the single Kol Ma Arrab, and put Sandy on the map with her sultry voice and sexy beats.

But it wasn't until 2009 that Sandy really blew up. She achieved her first bonafide hit with Shoftoh W Makalemneish. That single came off of the release of her second album Lessa Soghayarah on the extremely popular Arab label, Melody Music. She is currently working on her new album Ad Eltahady that will also be distributed by Melody Music.

Here is her video for the song Eyak off her latest album. We love the Arabic drums in this riddim, and her voice is so smooth and alluring...She's not too hard on the eyes either... ;)

Robot Zonda - Argentina's Guerilla Rockers

Robot Zonda is "trying to let flow its feelings and instincts, achieving an original sound different from that dominating the actual musical scene".

At least that's what it says on their website.

But these guys have put their money where their mouth is - and carved out their own unique path in the "actual music scene"...

After getting their start with their first album in Buenos Aires in 2006, Robot Zonda made a splash with the NO TE MATES TOUR ("Don't Kill Yourself" Tour). The band performed a series of live street performances at the gates of several Buenos Aires High Schools to experiment with the freshness of live guerrilla style performances. The Tour consisted of 44 appearances, and had a great impact on the young students who suddenly realized that a rock band was performing live the other side of the street where they were attending classes...BAD ASS!!

You can definitely feel that raw, youthful, nutty energy in this video...but you may also feel yourself slipping into a seizure...you've been warned.

Akshay Kumar - Hindi Hunk is Back

OK, we've featured some gorgeous Bollywood Babes for all the fellas in the past...now here's a Hindi Hunk for all the ladies...!

Meet Akshay Kumar - Bollywood superstar who has starred in over 100 Hindi films. Yes - OVER 100! WIth that many film credits, you know this guy has range! He got is start in action flicks, but went on to comedy, romance, and drama. And since this is Bollywood - you know that all includes a heavy dose of singing and dancing! This guys does it ALL.

In 2009 he was awarded the Padma Shri by the Indian government for his contribution to Indian cinema. It is awarded to citizens of India to recognize their distinguished contribution in various spheres of activity including the Arts, Education, Industry, Literature, Science, Sports, Medicine, Social Service and public life.

We first fell in love with Akshay in the film Hera Pheri, which contains our favorite Bollywood music video of all time - Tun Tunak Tun. This 2009 film, De Dana Dan, reunites the trio of Akshay Kumar, Sunil Shetty and Paresh Rawal with Priyadarshan, who directed them in the first Hera Pheri film.

Miss Angelina + Dennis Ferrer = Sound of the Underground

Are you ready to discover the Sound of the Underground...?

Yes - that's right. Our GLOBAILE host Miss Angelina is here to bring you some new flava for the new millenium. This is the first track off od her new mixtape, HOUSE HOP 2011, called Sound of the Underground.

Sound of the Underground is a remix of a Dennis Ferrer track. You may know Mr. Ferrer from his smash hit single Hey Hey that took over the clubs worldwide in 2010. Miss A has taken his song, Sinfonia Della Notte, remixed the beat, and added her own vocals for a song that aims to introduce the underground house sound to the mainstream audience.

Check out the single here, and you can download it for FREE at http://missangelina.com

Baloji - Beats from Belgium to the Congo

Baloji heard the call that so many artists hear when exploring their roots - it's time to go home. But when you live between 2 worlds, what is home?

Baloji is a Belgian rapper with Congolese roots. He was born in Lubumbashi in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, but it was Liège where he started his career in the early 1990s as an MC in Starflam, a hip hop group from the frenchspeaking southeastern part of Belgium.

After leaving Starflam in 2004, he decided to leave the music business for good. After 25 years without any contact, he received a letter from his mother. As they spoke on the phone she asked him what he had done in all those years. After a lot of reflexion he finally answered: with a biographic album titled Hotel Impala.

That was the kickstart Baloji needed to start his prosperous solo career. From there, he knew he had to revisit his roots in the Congo to record his next project. When asked about working and living between his two countries, Baloji says "I prefer the term "Afropean." ... At the end of the day I guess I'd say I’m a guy who lives between two worlds."

Here is one of his songs of that solo debut. Despite what your native tongue may be, you can feel the raw emotion in Baloji's rhymes.

KPop stars + Diplo deliver a Knock Out

It seems like wherever we go in the world, Diplo is not far behind...

We featured his video from Jamaica, we featured artists he discovered from Brazil and Baltimore USA, and now we're featuring a collaboration he did in Korea. Diplo is so GLOBAILE!

Here is GD & Top - and guess what - we've featured them before too! They are South Korean artists that are part of the larger KPop boy band, Big Bang. We featured Big Bang on the GLOBAILE podcast a few months back...

Well now the boys from Big Bang and our globetrotting hero Diplo have teamed up to bring you their tune Knock Out. The song is crazy catchy and fun, but has been controversial in Korea. The music video for Knock Out has been banned from being performed at 3 of the major broadcasting stations in Korea- KBS, MBC, and SBS. The lyrics to the song are considered inappropriate by these stations. Apparently, the lyrics in question refer to camel toe, and telling someone to shut the f*ck up...

Did we mention Diplo seems to be a magnet for scandal, too?

Anyway - this video is HOT! And we can still watch it on the trusty Internet - so check it out!!

Yellow Fang - Thai Tiki Party Music

Beach party!!!

Yep, these 3 Thai chicks are taking the good times and good tunes to the sand with their garage rock surf sound. Reminiscent of another Asian female trio, the 5 6 7 8's, Yellow Fang keeps their songs simple, catchy, groovy and fun. And they definitely have a sense of humor...(their MySpace page lists their sound as Afrobeat/Black Metal/Emo)

They've been rockin out in Thailand at various music festivals, playing tunes off their EP, Fang. It's always fun seeing an all-female band rock out - we can't wait for more from these ladies!

In the meantime, escape your winter blues and hit the surf with Yellow Fang...

Sonido San Francisco...from Mexico?

Yup, their name may mean "San Francisco Sound", but Sonido San Francsico is from Mexico...and Mexican music just got a serious update with this electro-cumbia band and their funky sound.

Mexico has its own distinct national flavor of cumbia, but Sonido San Francisco picks up on that and takes it in its own trippy, fun direction. While other new wave electro cumbia acts, such as Bomba Estereo, are taking South American rhythms and super-concentrating them and splicing them with hip hop and club beats, these guys are marrying the accordion to the synthesizer and creating a quirky, silly, and very awesome sound of their own.

After almost eight years working as a laptop project, creating songs, collaborating with different voices of the city, or creating cumbia versions of popular music such as the Beastie Boys' Intergalactic or the infamous Ice Ice Baby, Sonido San Francisco is ready to take the rest of the world by storm, in the same the way they have become the toast of Mexico City.

You'll see...watch this video and you may end up at a dance party in the middle of a cornfield with these guys too...