World Party's Karl Wallinger On World Cafe

Karl Wallinger is best known as the brains behind the Britpop band World Party. A Welsh singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and producer, Wallinger displayed an early obsession with all things folk and pop. After experience directing The Rocky Horror Show on stage and working in music publishing, he played keyboards for the Scottish folk-rock band The Waterboys. By 1986, Wallinger struck out on a solo-ish career under the name World Party. Writing and recording each part on his own, he was able to exhibit his formidable talent in such a controlled setting. Though he suffered a brain aneurysm in 2001, Wallinger was able to resume his career in 2006; he's just returned with his latest collection.

Arkeology is a five-CD set which pulls from Wallinger's entire World Party career. With 70 tracks — including new songs, B-sides, interviews, demos and covers — the enormous release also comes with a 142-page, full-color day calendar. The result is a goldmine of pop gems for fans old and new.

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