Afropop Worldwide

Geko Jones is a New York based DJ and artist. He records for Dutty Artz, as well as hosting the party Que Bajo?! along with Uproot Andy.   New York City as a melting pot has always made for some interesting fusions.  The new song Moner Alo from Brooklyn Shanti ft. Anoura out last week on Dutty Artz covers more mileage than most. The instrumental track composed by Chief Boima and Oro 11 as Bananaclipz in San Francisco nodded its head toward Sierra Leone until Brooklyn Shanti took it to the studio and waxed Bengali poetics on it along with Anoura, who invokes her own ethereal en español. http://youtu.be/wMXq_yhgl2Y Moner Alo translates as "the light of my heart" in Bangla, the indigenous language of Kolkata, India and Bangladesh. New York-based Bengali artist Brooklyn Shanti found the inspiration for the song while speaking with collaborator Anoura about the state of his heart. The instrumental version of the song, originally released as Talking Drum, came on the computer and within minutes Shanti and Anoura were downstairs in the studio laying down the arrangement and vocals for this beautiful new collaboration. Committed to bringing new and challenging material to his demographic, Brooklyn Shanti has been a part of south Asian fusion projects such as the Dum Dum Project and Func Spec, starred in Bollywood film in 2012 called "To Sydney with Love," and has even been dubbed "The India Bambaata" by Afrika Bambaata himself. Growing up here in the states has given him a world of artistic cross pollination, and this new flower may just be one of the most delightful things to bloom from his studio. The song is also a debut for the featured artist, Anoura. Of Cuban-American descent, not much is known about the mysterious new artist but we're looking forward to hearing more from her. The new release features remixes from San Antonio-based recording artist Sonora, from the Peligrosa All-Stars in Texas and  legend composer A.R. Rahman's protege, AKS.