Listen To The Banned CD MP3 Review

The album is tagged - MUSIC THAT MAKES DICTATORS TREMBLE & FUNDAMENTALISTS ANGRY. It really does just that! The album is filled with 14 songs from artists who have been persecuted, taken to court, and imprisoned just because of their music. The artists come from all over the world: Iran, Afghanistan, Cameroon, Lebanon, Zimbabwe, Cote D'Ivoire, Sudan, Israel, Palestine, Uighuristan, Turkey, Western Sahara and Pakistan.

One artist, Lapiro De Mbanga, is currently being detained in a Cameroonian jail. His song "Constitution Constipée" became the unofficial anthem of protests in 2008 spurred by a constitutional change that would allow the president to stay in power indefinitely. He has served 2 of his 3 year sentence for allegedly taking part in the anti-government riots by "inciting youth unrest". He was also ordered to pay a fine equivalent to US $640,000 for damage caused during the riots. Lapiro believes that music can be used as a strong tool against corruption and power abuse. He has become a symbol of peaceful resistance to the erosion of democracy in Cameroon.

Just this past Tuesday (September 14, 2010) in Afghanistan, a bomb exploded and thirteen people were wounded by the explosion in the capital of the western province of Herat after another one of the artist's concerts - Farhad Darya.

"Listen To The Banned" is presented by Freemuse, an international organization advocating freedom of expression for musicians, and Deeyah, a Pakistani-Norwegian singer and activist, the compilation is a unique musical statement by artists who are united in one single, important issue - the protection of the freedom of musical expression, a freedom many take for granted.