The "Boom Book" was a project carried out during 2007 as a commemoration of Portugal's Boom Festival's 10th anniversary. The goal was is to independently release a book about Boom but also to highlight its main contribution to today's world - as leader in incorporating novel approaches to entertainment and providing experiences lived through a festival which can pioneer new perceptions and visions, enhancing all of us and our relationship with the world we live in.

This book is a collaborative project put together by anthropologists, journalists, designers, illustrators, poets, musicologists, and photographers to capture the essence of the Boom Festival. The Boom Book includes essays, interviews, visionary art by Alex Grey, Robert Venosa or Android, and innovative texts about psy-trance. It is a cultural record of striking importance, capturing the beauty of Boom and also the role of subcultures in a modern world.

visit http://www.boomfestival.org/boombook/ for information about the Boom Book, or http://www.boomfestival.org/ for details about the festival.
the 2008 Boom Festival will be held from 11-18th August. you can virtually visit the Boom Festival location in google earth.

Olam Qatan is a spiritual books and world music store in Emek Refaim St, Jerusalem, Israel. I spoke briefly with it's owner Ya'qub ibn Yusuf, who explained some of the music and books available in his store. Sounds like there's a fusion of East meets West happening in Israel and Turkey, which is really interesting to hear. It's great to speak with Independant store owners - their passion for music & books is contagious and it's great to discover new sounds and genres.

If you can't make it personally to the store, take a look at their website, http://olamqatan.com/. From September (2007) the music will be available to preview online. The Articles and About Us sections are of particular interest as they explain more about the store and it's history. They used to run classes after hours, at the "Olam Qatan School" at the store, where people could hear lectures, attend workshops and listen to concert performances. Now the store is branching out to publishing books and spreading the word of the local music releases and performers. So if you're not familiar with Israeli, Turkish and Middle Eastern sounds, check them out.

The videos below are of Ya'qub ibn Yusuf, the store owner, explaining the music & books that can be found in the store. He also gives a brief summary of independent music in the region today which is interesting to hear. And he gives plenty of recommendations if you're looking for some sounds to listen to or books to read.

There are 3 videos discussing music and some of the music releases, and one discussing the books.

(I had to lower the video quality slightly to make the file sizes more managable so apologies for the quality of the video. I have higher res versions)

You can find out more about these books & music albums by visiting the Olam Qatan website or emailing info@olamqatan.com

video part 1 : music

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RPc_RyRjw0w

video part 2 : music
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y5hkF6BtnJ8

video part 3 : music

http://youtube.com/watch?v=CG3m5GS4Wrc

video part 4 : books

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jffklfWlL-4

here's some artists/music I've found (so far) from checking out a
nearby music store Music House (mostly classical & jazz, but a smaller
section on other styles) in Jerusalem

Mixing It has long been celebrated as a bastion of experimental music radio. It covers a wide range of styles, including left-field areas of modern classical, dance, rock and world music. Hosted by Robert Sandall and Mark Russell.