Multi GRAMMY winning UK independent label World Circuit Records celebrate twenty years of recording with the release of this 28 track, 2CD retrospective. From the Buena Vista Social Club to Ali Farka Touré via Ibrahim Ferrer and Rubén González, `World Circuit Presents...' is packed with classic performances from all their top artists: Ali Farka Touré , Rubén González, Ibrahim Ferrer, Buena Vista Social Club, Orchestra Baobab, Toumani Diabaté, Omara Portuondo, Oumou Sangare, Cheikh Lô... the list goes on!
Yet the album also sheds light on lesser known aspects of World Circuit's output. Digging deep into their vaults, they've uncovered half-forgotten masterpieces and previously-unheard live performances, great songs from long-unavailable albums and material from `pending projects'. From the Buena Vista anthem `Chan Chan' to hard-core Moroccan trance grooves straight from the dusty boxes in our archive, `World Circuit Presents...' offers a kind of informal secret history of the best-known world music label.
Unreleased gems from the archive include super-intense Moroccan trance rhythms from gnawa master Mustapha Baqbou and a slow-burning epic from Mauritanian griot Dimi Mint Abba, who wowed Womad this summer. Great live moments come from Buena Vista Social Club's legendary Carnegie Hall concert and Ali Farka Touré's majestic 2005 Brussels show - performances that played a major part in the World Circuit story. Finally, a taste of things to come is provided by an excerpt from the as yet unreleased follow up to Ali Farka Touré & Toumani Diabaté's GRAMMY-winning `In the Heart of the Moon'.