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Barcelona Raval Sessions 2 Satélite K

It's all about the mestiza on this second set of bangers from various acts who've come to the boil in Barcelona's musical melting pot, as the soundtrack to the Catalan city is now as diverse as the people who call it home. Of course, Barcelona has always attracted immigrants (during earlier times, it was economic migrants from Andalusia who flocked north) and today's newcomers are just as free and easy with their music. What it means is that the troubadours and musical heralds lodging in the Raval part of the city are mixing flamenco and Latin sounds with Punjabi wails, Arabic rap and international roots-reggae - and that's just a musicological breakdown of one track. You may not recognise many of the names (Ojos de Brujo are perhaps the most widely travelled), but you'll dig the spirit that propels such tracks like Tabaco y Ron from La Kinky Beat, the delirious Ghetto Girl from Dilemma, and the thrilling Trompetas Al Anochecer from Barnabasstars. www.kindustria.com Jim Carroll