The Meeting Pool | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | 1995 | |||
Label | Hannibal [1] | |||
Baka Beyond chronology | ||||
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The Meeting Pool is an album by Baka Beyond, released in 1995. [2] [3] It was a collaboration between British musicians and the Cameroonian Baka. [4] Martin Cradick, the founder and guitar player for the group, decided to make a second album after the success of the first, Spirit of the Forest. [5]
The album sold more than 50,000 copies in its first year of release. [6] Cradick set up a foundation to distribute royalties to the Baka people, for the songs that were considered traditional. [7]
The album is based on field recordings made in Cameroon in 1994, with Baka percussionists and vocalists; Cradick then took the recordings to the studio. [8] [9] Cradick used more Celtic musical styles, compared to the first album. [10]
Review scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
MusicHound World: The Essential Album Guide | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
The Toronto Star determined that the attempt "to merge gentle Celtic themes and original music of the Baka people of Cameroon's forests ... just doesn't work." [13] The Santa Fe New Mexican stated: "Occasional Irish overtones emerge from this strange brew; the overall feeling is one of a pulsing dreaminess, grounded by a happy percussive underbeat given heart by recurring female vocal tonings." [14] Music & Media called The Meeting Pool "a lush, complex and richly rewarding album," noting the "beautiful melodies and haunting rhythms." [15]
AllMusic wrote that "Meeting Pool has moments of real piquancy, as on 'Ohureo', a traditional from the Western Isles of Scotland... This macabre lullaby, dressed up with African drums and [Paddy] LeMercier's fiddle commentary, is achingly entrancing." [11] World Music: Africa, Europe and the Middle East deemed the album "a truly inspired cultural mish mash that defies categorisation." [16]
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "Woosi" | |
2. | "Ancestor's Voice" | |
3. | "Lupé" | |
4. | "Ohureo" | |
5. | "Meeting of Tribes" | |
6. | "Journey" | |
7. | "Ndaweh's Dream" | |
8. | "Booma Lena" |
The Meeting Pool | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
![]() | ||||
Studio album by | ||||
Released | 1995 | |||
Label | Hannibal [1] | |||
Baka Beyond chronology | ||||
|
The Meeting Pool is an album by Baka Beyond, released in 1995. [2] [3] It was a collaboration between British musicians and the Cameroonian Baka. [4] Martin Cradick, the founder and guitar player for the group, decided to make a second album after the success of the first, Spirit of the Forest. [5]
The album sold more than 50,000 copies in its first year of release. [6] Cradick set up a foundation to distribute royalties to the Baka people, for the songs that were considered traditional. [7]
The album is based on field recordings made in Cameroon in 1994, with Baka percussionists and vocalists; Cradick then took the recordings to the studio. [8] [9] Cradick used more Celtic musical styles, compared to the first album. [10]
Review scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
MusicHound World: The Essential Album Guide | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
The Toronto Star determined that the attempt "to merge gentle Celtic themes and original music of the Baka people of Cameroon's forests ... just doesn't work." [13] The Santa Fe New Mexican stated: "Occasional Irish overtones emerge from this strange brew; the overall feeling is one of a pulsing dreaminess, grounded by a happy percussive underbeat given heart by recurring female vocal tonings." [14] Music & Media called The Meeting Pool "a lush, complex and richly rewarding album," noting the "beautiful melodies and haunting rhythms." [15]
AllMusic wrote that "Meeting Pool has moments of real piquancy, as on 'Ohureo', a traditional from the Western Isles of Scotland... This macabre lullaby, dressed up with African drums and [Paddy] LeMercier's fiddle commentary, is achingly entrancing." [11] World Music: Africa, Europe and the Middle East deemed the album "a truly inspired cultural mish mash that defies categorisation." [16]
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "Woosi" | |
2. | "Ancestor's Voice" | |
3. | "Lupé" | |
4. | "Ohureo" | |
5. | "Meeting of Tribes" | |
6. | "Journey" | |
7. | "Ndaweh's Dream" | |
8. | "Booma Lena" |