A passion for world music has fueled the work of British guitarist, mandolinist, and vocalist Martin Cradick. A founding member of the didgeridoo-led band Outback, Cradick fused the music of Australia with rock and jazz influences. Following the disbanding of Outback, in 1992, Cradick and his wife, Su Hart, traveled to the rain forest of Cameroon, where they spent six weeks playing music with Baka pygmies. The experience yielded three albums. While Spirit of the Forest focused on the Pygmies' traditional music, The Meeting Pool and Journey Between represented true cultural exchanges with Cradick's Cornish roots combining with elements of West African music. In 1995, Cradick and Hart formed a multi-cultural band with former Outback fiddler Paddy LeMercier, Senegalese percussionist Sagar N'Gom, keyboardist Tom Green, drummer Sam Pope, bassist Marcus Pinto, and vocalist Kate Budd Hardy. In a 1997 interview, Cradick explained, "My aim was to try and create music that has the energy of rock music but is acoustic.. Cradick formed Outback in 1988, with Graham Dr. Didg Wiggins, an American didgeridoo player he met in Oxford, England. After releasing a self-produced cassette, Didgeridoo and Guitar in 1988, the two musicians were overheard by Joe Boyd, producer for Hannibal Records, while performing in the streets of London. Boyd was so impressed by what he heard that he signed the duo to a record contract. Their first album, Baka, released in 1990, was followed by Dance the Devil Away, in 1992, featuring an expanded quartet, version of the group. Shortly after the breakup of Outback, Cradick and his wife were inspired by a BBC television documentary to visit the Pygmies of the Baka Forest of Cameroon. Armed with a tent, a guitar, and recording equipment, Cradick and Hart absorbed the Pygmies' culture, which had been relatively untouched by western influences. ~ Craig Harris, Rovi