Meeting Pool
After earlier albums that focused on the Australian didgeridoo and Central African Pygmy chant (later discovered by Deep Forest), Aussie Martin Craddock has broadened his scope for a truly global world beat fusion album. African beats are at the heart of these eight songs, but Gypsy, Arabic, jazz, and Celtic influences swirl through standout tracks like "Meeting of Tribes" and the techno remix of "Booma Lena." Cameroon water drums on "Ancestor's Voice" are like nothing you've ever heard.--Jeff Bateman