1 Ozlem Ozil and Guler Duman – Bir olursak hur oluruz (Duygu Muzik)
Ozlem Ozil and Guler Duman are both saz players. There’s nothing I can find on the web about these musicians, but their 2008 “Yollarina kar mi yagdi” is a terrific affair, if you can overlook some production overkill here and there. It’s a fine example of Turkish folk music built on Ottoman court music. There’s a vast scene of this sort of stuff in Turkey, and a tiny sample of it on this playlist.
2 Orchestre National de Barbes – Jarahtini-Marhba-Jibouhali (Le Chant du monde)
Orchestre National de Barbes take their name from the “Barbes” neighbourhood in Paris, near the Sacre Coeur – a sort of African enclave, which they imply is almost its own country. The members of the band are Algerian, Moroccan, Tunisian, Portuguese, and French. From their latest album, “Rendez-vous”.
3 Cheikka Remitti – Annaini annaini (MLP)
Barbes was the home to many African exiles, including famously Cheikka Remitti, the grande dame of rai, who started her career during WW2, but only really became famous in the 50s. Although rai is often associated with a kind of fast hip-hop rock fusion-type sound, this sound only emerged in the 80s and 90s. It was the subject matter and language that really defined rai – it focused on taboos like the pleasure of sex, love, alcohol, friendship, and the hardships of war - in a slangy creole language, much to the annoyance of orthodox religious authorities in Algeria.
4 Hasna el Becharia – Rabi lik (Lusafrica)
Hasna el Becharia is another taboo breaker from Algeria, but from a different background to Cheikka Remitti. El Becharia comes from a Berber community in the south of Algeria, where she started playing wedding music, but broke out in the early 70s with a solo career. She started writing her own songs and playing in public, string instruments only usually played by men. “Rabi lik” comes from her 2010 CD “Smaa Smaa” (which means “Listen Listen”). Some of the singers and players on this album she started out with in the beginning of her career.
5 Saadoun Al-Bayati - Gypsy II (Songs of Iraq) (Samar Industries)
Saadoun Al-Bayati was born in Iraq, but has been living in the US for a long time, where he studied acting. He has had a successful movie and stage career – he wound up in the movie “Passage to India”. But he is also an incredible musician, who had a good dose of Sufi music in his childhood in Iraq, sang in the mosque, and, much later in his life he also trained under the oud player Hamza El-Din. Here he is with something off an LP he put together in 1973, “Songs of Iraq”, playing all the instruments and singing. This is called “Gypsy II”, and is his take on ghajar music (or Iraqi gypsy music).
6 Hanggai – Xig Xile (World Connection)
The leader of Hanggai, the Beijing-based inner Mongolia inspired folk band, started his music career in a punk band – and I guess his origins shine through on the tune “Xig Xile”. A bit like the Tuvan band, Yat Kha. The tune comes from “He who travels far”, Hanggai’s new CD, just out.
7 Jah Wobble and the Nippon Dub Ensemble – K Dub (30 Hertz Records)
From Chinese folk-rock, to Japanese folk-dub.
8 Keith Hudson – Satta (Blood and Fire)
Utterly bleak, stripped dub from Keith Hudson in 1974: one of the earliest examples of dub being developed and released as a stand alone form, not linked to sound systems, deejaying or toasting. Remarkably, it’s a dub version of the Abbyssians-penned classic reggae tune, “Satta Amassagana” - the original version as released 2 years after this one, and recorded in 1969 for Studio One, but not released by Clement Dodd at the time for some reason. For those who’ve been wondering, “Satta Amassagana” is mispronounced and misspelled Amharic, meaning something along the lines of "Give thanks to God continually".
9 Junior Murvin – Roots Train (Island Music)
10 Junior Murvin – Roots Train Number Two (Pressure Sounds)
Junior Murvin and Lee Perry worked together on the LP “Police and Thieves” released in 1977. “Roots Train” is the opening track. The “Number Two” version is a dubplate version culled from the thoroughly wonderful collection of Lee Perry dubplates, “Sound System Scratch”, that’s just come out.
11 Baba Zula – Sevsem Oldururler Sevmezsem Oldum (Doublemoon)
Baba Zula are from Istanbul and have been going since the mid 90s. They are into all kinds of things – dub, folk, bellydancing music, rock and psychedelia. This is a slow dubby lope shot through with shards of electric saz.
12 Cengiz Ozkan – Feraye (Kalan)
Cengiz Ozkan is another famous Turkish folk musician with a serious pedigree, and years of teaching and performing experience. The tune comes from a nice collection of various Turkish folk music called “Remains of Anatolia” out on the Kalan label.
13 Syriana – The Great Game (Real World)
Nick Page or Dubalah, the driving force behind the Ethio-jazz-dub project, Dub Colossus, has a new project – this time with English bass player, Bernard O’Neill and Syrian qanun (81 string Arabic dulcimer) player, Abdullah Chhaden, and a bunch of London-based musicians from the Middle Eastern diaspora.
14 Hosam Hayek – Samaee in Maqam Huzam (Doublemoon)
Palestinian oud maestro, Hosam Hayek, plays here with Istanbul’s Taksim Trio and other musicians. Hayek teaches Arabic music in the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and is a fabulous composer.
15 Asmara All Stars – Ykre Belni (Outhere)
The Asmara All Stars are Eritrea’s answer to Dub Colossus, with Paris-based producer, Bruno Blum, taking the part of Nick Page. There are some differences: their entire LP “Eritrea’s Got Soul” was recorded on site, in the Admas Studio in Asmara with no post recording additions. Although even more dormant than the current scene in Ethiopia, the Eritrean one turns out to still have some major talent brewing – in fact, many of the musicians from the 70s Addis scene were Eritrean.
16 Getatchew Mekurya – Gedamay (Ethiopiques)
A recording from the early 70s channeling Albert Ayler, the 60s American free jazz sax player. Mekurya says he had never heard the free American players at the time of making this music. If you’re a regular listener (and reader), you will know that Mekurya is still going strong.
17 Orchestre Poly Rythmo De Cotonou – Malin Kpon O (Analog Africa)
From the Analog Africa collection of Poly Rythmo, “Echos Hypotiques”.
17 De Frank Professionals – Afe Ato Yen Bio (Analog Africa)
Analog Africa released a new collection of 70s obscurities a few months ago, this time from Togo and Ghana called “Afro-Beat Airways”. From Accra here are De Frank Professionals. The track is basically a pretty obscure one-off – a session drummer playing with a session backing band – the kind of nugget we’ve become reliant on Samy Ben Redjeb to dig up. And appropriately for this time of the year, the song’s title translates as “We lived through another year”.
18 Samy Izy – Maro (Network)
Samy Andriamalalaharijaona’s first band was Tarika Samy, from the 80s, when he was in his 20s. “Maro” is from his new band, Samy Izy (pronounced “easy”) – in which he explores the music he’s always been into – vintage rural music from the remote reaches of Madagascar. He is aided by a great of band of youngsters, although he does have some veterans guesting. On “Maro” it’s Rageorge (or Ranaivoson Georges, more fully), a lovely flute player who’s never recorded before, despite his iconic status in Madagascar.
19 Inzintombi Zasi Manje Manje – Awufuni Ukulandela Na (Strut)
20 Mahlathini and Mahotella Queens – Umkhova (Strut)
A pair of tunes by two rival groups off Volume 1 of Strut’s 3 volume collection of SA music, “Next stop .. Soweto”, which deals with mbaqanga and mqashiyo.
21 Emily Portman – Bones and Feathers (Furrow Records)
Concertina player and singer, Emily Portman from Newcastle, mostly writes her own songs on the first album under her own name, “The Glamoury”, which came out earlier this year. Her songs are largely inspired by the darker, more mysterious side of the English and Scottish traditional canon. “Bones and Feathers” is a fine example. In the song, a woman at a busstop suddenly turns herself into a bird type creature. Christi Andropolis, who plays with Portman in the band, Rebus, supplies some stunning viola playing on the track.
22 Justin Townes Earle – Halfway to Jackson (Bloodshot Records)
Justin Townes Earle, Steve Earle’s son, has been building up a solid profile over the last few years. “Halfway to Jackson”, some kind of a theme song for him and the name of a website dedicated to him, comes from his 2009 LP, “Midnight at the Movies”.
23 CW Stoneking – Brave son of America (King Hokum Records)
CW Stoneking comes from the town of Katherine, in the Northern Territory, Australia. “Brave son of America” is a wonderful old timey jazzy take on an old calypso tune by Wilmoth Houdini. CW Stoneking actually spent some time bumming around the Caribbean.
24 Cath and Phil Tyler – Long Time Travelling (No-Fi Recordings)
Cath and Phil Tyler are an American-Anglo, wife and husband group, who seem to be based in Newcastle upon Tyne at the moment. “Long Time Travelling” is a song they cobbled together from various sources. Cath Tyler puts it this way: “Phil Tyler wrote the tune, the verses are by Isaac Watts and the chorus is from possibly an 1810 book called Dobell's Selection, but its has been folked around with for ages...” By the way, Dobell’s Selection can be found on Google Books, if you simply Google it.
25 Taksim Trio – Ussak Oyun Havasi (Doublemoon)
The extremely competent Taksim Trio plays a composition by Skru Tunar, which they’ve arranged. This has an incredible interplay between saz and qanun, the likes of which I’ve never heard before.
Monday, November 29, 2010
Thursday, October 28, 2010
3 November 2010, World Cafe
1 Abigail Washburn & the Sparrow Quartet – Kangding Qingge /Old Timey Dance Party (Nettwerk)
Four great American string players fusing old timey Americana with Chinese music. Round about 2005 Abigail Washburn, banjo player and singer from old timey, bluegrass band, Uncle Earl, who, amazingly sings on the tune in Madarin without skipping a beat, got together with some virtuoso string players, Bela Fleck also on banjo, Ben Sollee on cello and Casey Drissen on fiddle, to form the Sparrow Quartet to tour China. Washburn had been in China on and off since finishing high school in ’96 during her years as an Asian Studies student and picked up Mandarin there pretty quickly. The track came from their 2008 album, when they went back to China with the band to perform during the Beijing Olympics.
2 Le Thu – Sao Bien (Sublime Frequencies)
“Saigon Rock”, out on the somewhat cultish label “Sublime Frequencies”, is proving to be one of the best crate digging exercises of the year. The tunes were all recorded in makeshift studios (and even US army facilities) while the Vietnam War raged. During this period, only a handful of Saigon record companies were involved and only 45s were produced. Much of the stuff was done by leading Vietnam crooners who used 60s pulp ballads as a template, but drew on traditional forms too.
3 Pumpuang Duangjan - Sao Dok Kum Tai (Lady From a Flower) (Sublime Frequency)
The fusion of 60s pop rock with traditional forms was certainly not confined to Vietnam. From another Sublime Frequencies CD “Thai Pop Spectacular”, that was Pumpuang Duangjan with “Lady from a flower”.
4 Rokia Traore – Tchamantche (Nonesuch)
Rokia Traore brings a kind of quiet, folkish meditative sensitivity to traditional Bamana griot music from Bamako and surrounds. “Tchamantche” means “Balance”, and is the title track from her 2008 release. She plays guitar and belaphone.
5 Orchestra Baobab – Adduna Jural Naawo (Buur Desques)
In the title track of Orchestra Baobab’s 1975 album, “Adduna Jural Naawo”, singer Ndiouga Dieng remembers the nights after his father’s death, in which he sees the true meaning of time as being disappointment and cruelty. Barthelemy Attisso supplies the truly wonderful guitar.
Orchestra Baobab reprised the song as “Dee Moo Woor” on their 2002 album, “Specialist in all styles”.
6 Hedzoleh Soundz & Hugh Masekela – Languta (Blue Thumb Chisa)
In 1973 Hugh Masekela moved to Ghana after having been based in NYC since the mid 60s. He hooked up with Hedzoleh Soundz, who we’ve heard on this show before, to record an LP in Lagos, “Masekela introducing Hedzoleh Soundz”.
7 Tony Allen and Jimi Tenor – Selfish Gene (Strut)
Tony Allen has just turned 70. In concerts in NYC and London to celebrate this, he chose several collaborators. One of them was Finnish tenor player, Jimi Tenor, who he actually worked with last year in a studio outing for Strut Records. On the Strut record they brought some Nigerian, Finnish and American musicians with them to Paris, Berlin and Finland. Tenor added some retro keyboard sounds. “Selfish Gene” was written by Allen and sung by Tenor.
8 Dub Colossus – Ophir Dub (Real World)
Dub Colossus was at first a studio creation laid down in a makeshift set-up in Addis and smoothed out in the Real World Studios in Wiltshire under the driving force of Dubalah – the bass playing producer from Transglobal Underground. But last year Dub Colossus actually got together as an entity to tour Europe. Over the course of the last 2 years I’ve played nearly every track from their fantastic record, “Town called Addis”. This is another one. In future shows we’ll hear from their 2009 EP.
9 Unknown (Sublime Frequencies)
Another unknown title by an unknown band from Iraq during the rule of Saddam – brought to you by Sublime Frequencies on perhaps their best collection, “Choubi Choubi – Folk and pop sounds from Iraq”.
10 Group Doueh – Min binat omum (Sublime Frequencies)
From the 2009 Sublime Frequencies release “Treeg Salaam”, culled from home-made recordings of the singer, guitarist and writer for Group Doueh, Salmou Doueh Baamar. Baamar also plays the tinibit, some kind of string instrument not pictured or described in detail anywhere on the web.
11 Ella Jenkins – Wade in the water
Ella Jenkins is probably best known for her children’s songs. Here she is with a traditional gospel track “Wade in the water”, probably recorded in the 1960s with the Goodwill Spiritual Choir. One theory about the song is that it gives coded instructions to slaves about how to escape. I got the Jenkins version off the rather fantastic CD that came with the September edition of UNCUT. The song was apparently first published in 1901.
12 War – Slipping into darkness (Rhino)
From 1971, off WAR’s second LP “All Day Music”. According to them the song’s about standing on the brink of self-destruction and wondering which way to go.
13 Carl Bradney – Slipping into darkness (Blood and Fire)
The little-known Carl Bradney from a collection of reggaefied soul and funk tunes “Darker than blue: Soul from Jamdown 1973–1980” on the Blood and Fire label.
14 The Heptones – Serious Time (Island)
One of the greatest reggae vocal groups, the Heptones, with something from their Lee Perry produced 1977 album, “Party Time”.
15 The Heptones & the Observer – Way of life (Heartbeat)
Dub maestro and producer, the Observer (or Winston Niney), also worked with the Heptones. This is from his reworking of Heptones’ songs largely removing the vocals called “Heptones – Observer’s Style”.
16 The Toreadors – Gwinyitshe (Mavuthela Music Company)
Speaking of inspired collections, this year Strut put out a 3 volume collection of SA music, “Next Stop … Soweto”, covering mbaqanga, township funk, pop and r’n’b and jazz. This Toreadors song comes from volume 2, which covers pop and organ rock music from the late 60s to the late 70s.
17 The Mgababa Queens – Akulalwa Soweto (African Music Publishers)
“Akulalwa Soweto” means “‘We-don’t-sleep’ party in Soweto” and it’s also from volume 2 of the same Strut collection.
18 Malombo Jazz Makers – Vukani (Continental)
Phillip Tabane split from Malombo to form Malombo Jazz Men in 1967. The remaining Abbey Cindi, Lucky Ranku and Julian Bahula called themselves the Malombo Jazz Makers. This is from the Jazz Makers’ second album, “Volume 2”, released in 1971.
Check out the Electric Jive blog for some nice stuff on Tabane, including a link to a PhD thesis on the man.
19 African Brothers International – Ahyewa and Asaadua (Ambassador)
African Brothers International was one of the greatest Ghanaian highlife bands. “Ahyewa and Asaadua” comes from the LP “Afrohili” and is a kind of reworking of traditional Akan music using a modern rock instrumental line-up. The Akan people controlled the West African gold trade from the 17th century, but were colonized by the British and the French in the early 1900s. Their music is called Ashewa.
20 Mahmoud Ahmed – Bekifir Atkelidg (Mahmoud Records)
In 1974 Mahmoud Ahmed put out a number of singles on his own Addis-based label, Mahmoud Records. Thanks to the Oro blog, here is “Bekifir Atkelidg”. As far as I know, this stuff has yet to be reissued.
21 Tarika Samy – Fanaon’ny ankizy (Shananchie)
That was Samy’s Group, or Tarika Samy, off Volume 1 of the David Lindley and Kaiser collection of Madagascan music “A world out of time”. When Samoela (or Samy for short) Andriamalalaharijaona left them they became just “Tarika”.
22 James Blackshaw – White Goddess (Tompkins Square)
Twelve-string guitarist James Blackshaw started out as the British answer to the “New American Primitive” scene. The American scene includes musicians like Jack Rose (deceased earlier this year), whom I’ve played before, who were inspired by John Fahey and Robbie Basho. But Blackshaw quickly expanded his palette to include piano and voice and widened his musical scope to include early music and minimalism.
23 The Poozies – Planxty Colonel (Greentrax)
The Poozies were started by harp players Patsy Seddon and Mary MacMaster in the 1990s. They added a guitarist, fiddler and accordionist to the line-up to form the Poozies. MacMaster in fact plays the Camac electro harp – a harp that the Breton harpist Alan Stivell helped develop in the early 70s. The French company, Camac, was one of first to market the electro harp.
24 Richard Thompson – Here comes Geordie (Proper)
Richard Thompson in fine sardonic form, off his latest album, “Dream Attic”. No prizes for working out to whom he’s referring?
25 Karan Casey & John Doyle – False Lover John (Compass)
From their magnificent 2010 collection “Exiles Return”, recorded in Nashville.
26 Chris Smither – Miner’s Blues (Signature Sounds)
Chris Smither has been producing gruff, finger-style folkish blues and ragtime for many years. This is his version of a Frank Hutchison tune, and comes off his 2009 album “Time Stands Still”. Frank Hutchison played something the aficionados call “white country blues”. Hutchison died in 1945 and first recorded this song in 1928.
27 Eliza Carthy and Norma Waterson – Bonaparte’s Lament (Topic)
Norma Waterson and Eliza Carthy, mother and daughter English folk royalty, with a traditional tune popular on both sides of the Atlantic. Check out the demon triangle playing.
Elisabeth Higgin Null’s notes on Peggy Seeger’s recording of the same song say: “The song contrasts the loneliness of Boney’s exile with his former grandeur, advising those with wealth to beware of ambition as fate is unpredictable”. Null goes on to point out that there were lots of songs sympathetic to Boney around about the mid 19th century. Boney was a symbol of hope for Irish nationalists who seemed to prefer French dictatorship to their home-grown variety.
28 The Handsome Family – Fallen Peaches (Carrot Top Music)
Brett Sparks singing a chilling song set in the American Civil War written by his wife, Rennie. The song is about death on battle fields and the ghosts of the Confederate dead. It comes from a CD accompanying the August edition of Mojo.
Four great American string players fusing old timey Americana with Chinese music. Round about 2005 Abigail Washburn, banjo player and singer from old timey, bluegrass band, Uncle Earl, who, amazingly sings on the tune in Madarin without skipping a beat, got together with some virtuoso string players, Bela Fleck also on banjo, Ben Sollee on cello and Casey Drissen on fiddle, to form the Sparrow Quartet to tour China. Washburn had been in China on and off since finishing high school in ’96 during her years as an Asian Studies student and picked up Mandarin there pretty quickly. The track came from their 2008 album, when they went back to China with the band to perform during the Beijing Olympics.
2 Le Thu – Sao Bien (Sublime Frequencies)
“Saigon Rock”, out on the somewhat cultish label “Sublime Frequencies”, is proving to be one of the best crate digging exercises of the year. The tunes were all recorded in makeshift studios (and even US army facilities) while the Vietnam War raged. During this period, only a handful of Saigon record companies were involved and only 45s were produced. Much of the stuff was done by leading Vietnam crooners who used 60s pulp ballads as a template, but drew on traditional forms too.
3 Pumpuang Duangjan - Sao Dok Kum Tai (Lady From a Flower) (Sublime Frequency)
The fusion of 60s pop rock with traditional forms was certainly not confined to Vietnam. From another Sublime Frequencies CD “Thai Pop Spectacular”, that was Pumpuang Duangjan with “Lady from a flower”.
4 Rokia Traore – Tchamantche (Nonesuch)
Rokia Traore brings a kind of quiet, folkish meditative sensitivity to traditional Bamana griot music from Bamako and surrounds. “Tchamantche” means “Balance”, and is the title track from her 2008 release. She plays guitar and belaphone.
5 Orchestra Baobab – Adduna Jural Naawo (Buur Desques)
In the title track of Orchestra Baobab’s 1975 album, “Adduna Jural Naawo”, singer Ndiouga Dieng remembers the nights after his father’s death, in which he sees the true meaning of time as being disappointment and cruelty. Barthelemy Attisso supplies the truly wonderful guitar.
Orchestra Baobab reprised the song as “Dee Moo Woor” on their 2002 album, “Specialist in all styles”.
6 Hedzoleh Soundz & Hugh Masekela – Languta (Blue Thumb Chisa)
In 1973 Hugh Masekela moved to Ghana after having been based in NYC since the mid 60s. He hooked up with Hedzoleh Soundz, who we’ve heard on this show before, to record an LP in Lagos, “Masekela introducing Hedzoleh Soundz”.
7 Tony Allen and Jimi Tenor – Selfish Gene (Strut)
Tony Allen has just turned 70. In concerts in NYC and London to celebrate this, he chose several collaborators. One of them was Finnish tenor player, Jimi Tenor, who he actually worked with last year in a studio outing for Strut Records. On the Strut record they brought some Nigerian, Finnish and American musicians with them to Paris, Berlin and Finland. Tenor added some retro keyboard sounds. “Selfish Gene” was written by Allen and sung by Tenor.
8 Dub Colossus – Ophir Dub (Real World)
Dub Colossus was at first a studio creation laid down in a makeshift set-up in Addis and smoothed out in the Real World Studios in Wiltshire under the driving force of Dubalah – the bass playing producer from Transglobal Underground. But last year Dub Colossus actually got together as an entity to tour Europe. Over the course of the last 2 years I’ve played nearly every track from their fantastic record, “Town called Addis”. This is another one. In future shows we’ll hear from their 2009 EP.
9 Unknown (Sublime Frequencies)
Another unknown title by an unknown band from Iraq during the rule of Saddam – brought to you by Sublime Frequencies on perhaps their best collection, “Choubi Choubi – Folk and pop sounds from Iraq”.
10 Group Doueh – Min binat omum (Sublime Frequencies)
From the 2009 Sublime Frequencies release “Treeg Salaam”, culled from home-made recordings of the singer, guitarist and writer for Group Doueh, Salmou Doueh Baamar. Baamar also plays the tinibit, some kind of string instrument not pictured or described in detail anywhere on the web.
11 Ella Jenkins – Wade in the water
Ella Jenkins is probably best known for her children’s songs. Here she is with a traditional gospel track “Wade in the water”, probably recorded in the 1960s with the Goodwill Spiritual Choir. One theory about the song is that it gives coded instructions to slaves about how to escape. I got the Jenkins version off the rather fantastic CD that came with the September edition of UNCUT. The song was apparently first published in 1901.
12 War – Slipping into darkness (Rhino)
From 1971, off WAR’s second LP “All Day Music”. According to them the song’s about standing on the brink of self-destruction and wondering which way to go.
13 Carl Bradney – Slipping into darkness (Blood and Fire)
The little-known Carl Bradney from a collection of reggaefied soul and funk tunes “Darker than blue: Soul from Jamdown 1973–1980” on the Blood and Fire label.
14 The Heptones – Serious Time (Island)
One of the greatest reggae vocal groups, the Heptones, with something from their Lee Perry produced 1977 album, “Party Time”.
15 The Heptones & the Observer – Way of life (Heartbeat)
Dub maestro and producer, the Observer (or Winston Niney), also worked with the Heptones. This is from his reworking of Heptones’ songs largely removing the vocals called “Heptones – Observer’s Style”.
16 The Toreadors – Gwinyitshe (Mavuthela Music Company)
Speaking of inspired collections, this year Strut put out a 3 volume collection of SA music, “Next Stop … Soweto”, covering mbaqanga, township funk, pop and r’n’b and jazz. This Toreadors song comes from volume 2, which covers pop and organ rock music from the late 60s to the late 70s.
17 The Mgababa Queens – Akulalwa Soweto (African Music Publishers)
“Akulalwa Soweto” means “‘We-don’t-sleep’ party in Soweto” and it’s also from volume 2 of the same Strut collection.
18 Malombo Jazz Makers – Vukani (Continental)
Phillip Tabane split from Malombo to form Malombo Jazz Men in 1967. The remaining Abbey Cindi, Lucky Ranku and Julian Bahula called themselves the Malombo Jazz Makers. This is from the Jazz Makers’ second album, “Volume 2”, released in 1971.
Check out the Electric Jive blog for some nice stuff on Tabane, including a link to a PhD thesis on the man.
19 African Brothers International – Ahyewa and Asaadua (Ambassador)
African Brothers International was one of the greatest Ghanaian highlife bands. “Ahyewa and Asaadua” comes from the LP “Afrohili” and is a kind of reworking of traditional Akan music using a modern rock instrumental line-up. The Akan people controlled the West African gold trade from the 17th century, but were colonized by the British and the French in the early 1900s. Their music is called Ashewa.
20 Mahmoud Ahmed – Bekifir Atkelidg (Mahmoud Records)
In 1974 Mahmoud Ahmed put out a number of singles on his own Addis-based label, Mahmoud Records. Thanks to the Oro blog, here is “Bekifir Atkelidg”. As far as I know, this stuff has yet to be reissued.
21 Tarika Samy – Fanaon’ny ankizy (Shananchie)
That was Samy’s Group, or Tarika Samy, off Volume 1 of the David Lindley and Kaiser collection of Madagascan music “A world out of time”. When Samoela (or Samy for short) Andriamalalaharijaona left them they became just “Tarika”.
22 James Blackshaw – White Goddess (Tompkins Square)
Twelve-string guitarist James Blackshaw started out as the British answer to the “New American Primitive” scene. The American scene includes musicians like Jack Rose (deceased earlier this year), whom I’ve played before, who were inspired by John Fahey and Robbie Basho. But Blackshaw quickly expanded his palette to include piano and voice and widened his musical scope to include early music and minimalism.
23 The Poozies – Planxty Colonel (Greentrax)
The Poozies were started by harp players Patsy Seddon and Mary MacMaster in the 1990s. They added a guitarist, fiddler and accordionist to the line-up to form the Poozies. MacMaster in fact plays the Camac electro harp – a harp that the Breton harpist Alan Stivell helped develop in the early 70s. The French company, Camac, was one of first to market the electro harp.
24 Richard Thompson – Here comes Geordie (Proper)
Richard Thompson in fine sardonic form, off his latest album, “Dream Attic”. No prizes for working out to whom he’s referring?
25 Karan Casey & John Doyle – False Lover John (Compass)
From their magnificent 2010 collection “Exiles Return”, recorded in Nashville.
26 Chris Smither – Miner’s Blues (Signature Sounds)
Chris Smither has been producing gruff, finger-style folkish blues and ragtime for many years. This is his version of a Frank Hutchison tune, and comes off his 2009 album “Time Stands Still”. Frank Hutchison played something the aficionados call “white country blues”. Hutchison died in 1945 and first recorded this song in 1928.
27 Eliza Carthy and Norma Waterson – Bonaparte’s Lament (Topic)
Norma Waterson and Eliza Carthy, mother and daughter English folk royalty, with a traditional tune popular on both sides of the Atlantic. Check out the demon triangle playing.
Elisabeth Higgin Null’s notes on Peggy Seeger’s recording of the same song say: “The song contrasts the loneliness of Boney’s exile with his former grandeur, advising those with wealth to beware of ambition as fate is unpredictable”. Null goes on to point out that there were lots of songs sympathetic to Boney around about the mid 19th century. Boney was a symbol of hope for Irish nationalists who seemed to prefer French dictatorship to their home-grown variety.
28 The Handsome Family – Fallen Peaches (Carrot Top Music)
Brett Sparks singing a chilling song set in the American Civil War written by his wife, Rennie. The song is about death on battle fields and the ghosts of the Confederate dead. It comes from a CD accompanying the August edition of Mojo.
Monday, September 13, 2010
6 October 2010, World Cafe
1 Mahotella Queens - Vuka Uzibuke (Gumba Gumba/African Music Publishers, Beatrice Ngcobo)
Mahotella Queens with Makhona Tsohle Band circa 1975, this time without Mahlathini. The Mahotella Queens were one of the pioneers of the vocal style of mbaqanga called mqashiyo - which was cultivated by one of the heroes of South African music, Robert Mopape. Mopape was a producer, songwriter, arranger and talent scout who really started to get up to some interesting stuff in the mid 60s. The Mahotella Queens have played with a number of "groaners" over their careers. There's no information about who the groaner is here.
2 Hallelujah Chicken Run Band - Ngoma Yarira (Analog Africa) (Dube /Mapfumo)
The Hallelujah Chicken Run Band was one of the first bands to play a Zimbabwean pop style rooted in traditional Shona music which became known as Chimurenga - which means "liberation war" - and which was often used to conceal messages of liberation within "deep proverbs". "Ngoma Yarira" from 1972 is the Chicken Run Band's first single.
By as early as 1972, the Chimurenga sound was more-or-less fully formed with Thomas Mapfumo's high yodelling vocals, the buffed guitar rhythmic figures interlocking with mbira and the shuffling triple-time drum groove emulating Shona shaker percussion.
3 Patrick Mkwambe and the Four Brothers - Mombe Yeumai (Earthworks - Atlantic/Wea)
Jit Jive grew out of Chimurenga. Post liberation, the mbiras were thrown out in favour of a total guitar sound, and things were speeded up. The Four Brothers were one of the best jit bands. They consciously chose their name to keep rivalry between members at bay.
A track each from three great African albums released during 2009.
4 Staff Benda Bilili - Moto Moindo (Crammed Discs) (Cubain Kabeya Tshimpanglia - published: Les Editions de la Bascule/Strictly Confidential
From Kinshasa here is Staff Benda Bilili with a tune "Moto Moindo" heavily infused with a Cuban feel - perhaps some kind of a "son". The lead instrument here is a one-string electric tin can - played with astonishing ability by a teenage member of the band - an ex-street kid.
5 Bassekou Kouyate - Saro (Outhere) - published by World Circuit
"Saro" features Vieux Farka Toure, Ali Farka Toure's son, and is dedicated to Kouyate's younger brother, Saro, who was killed in a motorbike accident a few days after the song was recorded. Ironically, the song is a prayer that nothing may happen to those you love.
6 Tony Allen - Alutere (Nonesuch)
Tony Allen, the great veteran Afrobeat drummer, put out a great album last year called "Secret Agent" which draws seamlessly from a bunch of Nigerian traditions including praise singing. From that album, here is "Alutere", a Yoruba word which means "the message the drums transmit". What is that message? Allen says: "It's a message of 'get into the groove', you know".
7 Mulatu Astatke - The way to nice (Strut)
Mulatu Astatke off his very fine 2010 release "Mulatu Steps Ahead" with "The Way to Nice" - a very lush production with heavy shades of the James Bond Theme - although it stops short of the "dum di di dum dum" surf guitar bit.
There's an interesting story behind that little bit. John Barry is often credited with writing the music and he certain arranged it, but it seems that at least the signature bit was written by Monty Norman, who based it on a song from his musical version of the VS Naipaul novel "A House for Mr Biswas".
8 Im Ling and the Silvertones - Oh no! (Sublime Frequencies)
"Oh no!" comes from the Seattle-based Sublime Frequencies' collection "Singapore A-Go-Go Vol 1", of 1960s beat, pop and off-beat cha-cha, all with a heavy Singaporean twist, and sung in dialects of Mandarin and Hokkien.
Two tracks from Thailand, each from different collections of Thai pop music on the Sublime Frequencies' label.
9 Phet Potarum - Koh Phuket (Phuket Island) (Sublime Frequencies)
10 The Son of PM - Cho Cho Chan (Sublime Frequencies)
The PM here is Payong Mukda, a very well known promoter of Thai folk music, who died earlier this year at the age of 83. The style of music is called "shadow music" and its name comes from the British surf rock pop instrumental band, the Shadows. Basically, traditional Thai melodies girded by a standard Ventures or Shadows rock rhythm section - although there's also some Hank Marvin surf guitar in there too.
11 Ian King - Ah Robin, Gentle Robin (Fledg'ling) William Cornyish - 1468 to 1523 arr A wing and a prayer ltd MCPS
Ian King is from England and a part-time stonewaller, part-time singer. The tune is from the 13th century and written by William Cornyish. Adrian Sherwood produced King's album, "Panic Grass & Fever Few".
12 The Heptones - Guiding Star (L Sibbles, E Morgan, B Llewellyn) (Trenchtown)
Over the last few months we've being listening to a number of the classic vocal roots reggae groups - the Abyssians, the Congos, the Gatherers. Here is another, the Heptones, with a more updated version of a song they wrote in the late 60s - "Guiding Star".
13 The New Age Steppers - Guiding Star (On U Sound)
A number of people have covered "Guiding Star" over the years, including Horace Andy and Freddie McGregor. The New Age Steppers' version comes from their 1981 album "Action Battlefield".
The New Age Steppers were a rather short-lived collective of Jamaican and British reggae players brought together by Adrian Sherwood at the beginning of the 80s, together with singer Ari Up, who had previously been with punk band, the Slits. A number of punk musicians in the 1970s were enamoured with reggae, most famously Johnny Rotten, and there have been nice reggae-punk clashes over the years - excuse the terrible pun. The Slits' album, "Cut", produced by Dennis Bovell, is a classic example.
14 Ras Michael and the Sons of Negus - Truth and Right (RIOR)
We've also been profiling dub producers - Tommy Cowan is a lesser known producer, but produced a fabulous dub version of nyabhingi drummer Ras Michael and the Song of Negus's "Rastafari".
There seems to be some debate about when this first came out - it's been re-issued a number of times. The most likely story was that the dub was done at the same time as the album - 1972 - and released as singles etc in dribs and drabs, up until 1979. There are some great players in the band - including Tommy McCook, Robbie Shakespeare, Earl Chinna Smith and Peter Tosh.
15 Unknown artist - unknown title (Sublime Frequencies)
The singer there is unknown and the song unknown - but in typical style, this didn't stop Sublime Frequencies from releasing it. It comes off quite possibly their best release "Choubi Choubi Folk and Pop Sounds from Iraq", and much of the music comes from the time of Sadam Hussain's reign. Baghdad was actually the hot spot of Arabic music under Hussain - the Ba'ath party encouraged music albeit within the confines of cultural institutions. Baghdad music from the era continues to played across the Arabic world.
16 Omar Souleyman - Atabat (Sublime Frequencies)
Omar Souleyman is a massively popular singer from Syria, whom Sublime Frequencies has brought to the Western world in a number of releases. "Atabat" comes from "Highway to Hassake" - an overview of Souleyman's career. "Atabat" means "threshold" in Arabic.
17 Etran Finatawa - Naanaaye (trad arranged Bammo Agonla (Riverboat Records)
Sticking with desert regions, Etran Finatawa is a mixed Touareg-Wodaabe group from Niger, with a traditional Wodaabe healing song - "Naanaaye".
18 Rossy and Rokoto Frah - O isa (Sanatchie)
From Madagascar, Rossy is a multi-instrumentalist superstar who plays a variety of styles. Here he is being very folksy on the marovany together with sodina flute player, Rokoto Frah.
19 Dizzy Mandjekou - Mady motema (Papa Disco)
Over the last few months, we've also been exploring grittier 2nd generation soukous which started in the late 70s following on from the ultra smooth and sumptuous sounds of Franco's generation. Dizzy Mandjekou was the guitar wizard from Tabu-Ley Rochereau's band. The tune is from around 1980, and from the LP "Saila".
Some more from the history of groaners in South African pop music - all based around a bunch of tracks culled from a stunning collection that Electric Jive Blog posted a few months ago called "Classic South African Jive, volume 2" put together by Nick Lotay.
20 Mahlathini and Izintombi Zomgqashiyo - Okwamadoda Kuya Bhikwa (Motella, Simon Nkabinde)
21 Big Voice Jack - Vala Izwe (Smanje Manje/Gold Music)
"Big Voice Jack" (Aaron Jack Lerole), the sax player, with the tune "Vala Izwe" from the mid 60s. Aaron Lerole is, in fact, quite a significant figure in South African music. He took up playing sax in the mid-60s after he had basically destroyed his vocal chords groaning for Alexandra Black Mambazo. But his groaning had not been to no avail - he passed on his style to Zeph Nkabinde in the group, the older brother of Simon Nkabinde, or Mahlathini. Lerole teamed up with Robert Bopape in the late 60s who had set up Mavuthela Productions, part of Gallo, which mqashiyo release.
In the late 50s, Lerole had played a very important role in putting kwela on the international map. His reworking of a 1927 tune by British Theatre giant Herbert Farjeon "I've danced with a man, who's danced with a girl, who's danced with the Prince of Wales", became the theme song for a British series set in SA, "The Killing Stones". He called the tune "Tom Hark" (apparently a corruption of "tomahawk"). The tune ended up at number 2 in the UK charts, being covered by a bunch of people and being adopted by the Barmy Army.
22 Gaiteiros de Lesboa - Se eu soubesse que voando (Farol Musica)
Some fusion peasant vocal polyphony from Portugal. It comes from Gaiteiros de Lesboa's live recording "Dancahamas" recorded in Belem, October 2000.
23 Savina Yannatou - O onda (Sounds True) - G P Lanfranchi
Savina Yannatou is Greek and that tune was based on a traditional Corsican polyphony. "O wave, your silence is deeper than the grave, white as a knife blow".
24 Richard Thompson - So ben mi ca bon tempo (Cooking Vinyl)
Richard Thompson with a kind of madrigal from the 14th century Italian composer Orazio Vecchi - "I know who is carefree". Vecchi was a priest and musical director in a number of cathedrals. The track comes from Thompson's "1000 years of Popular Music".
Musicians from a number of generations of the folk revival have done versions of the ballad "Spencer the Rover". Going back in time and starting with Irish singer Cara Dillon, here is a medley of three.
25 Cara Dillon/John Martyn/The Copper Family - Spencer the Rover ( xxx /Island/Topic) --- xxx /Warlock Music Ltd
26 Utah Phillips - Hallelujah, I'm a bum (Righteous Babe Records)
Another group who had been "much reduced" and "started to roam" as a result, were the train hoppers of the Depression, although according to Utah Phillips this was not a cause for "confusion", but rather celebration. Labour activist and singer Utah Phillip's fabulous version of an Industrial Workers of the World (or Wobblies) anthem, "Hallelujah, I'm a bum".
24 Frazey Ford - Firecracker (Nettwork Records) (Ford) - Nettwork Song Publishing)
Frazey Ford, off duty from the Be Good Tanyas, with one of her own songs - "Firecracker", off her 2010 album, "Obadiah".
25 Eliza Carthy - Child amongst the weeds (Topic) -- published by Celtic Music
Lal Waterson was one of the most idiosyncratic songwriters in the English folk tradition. In 2002, a few years after Lal's death, a bunch of folk luminaries, many of them her relations, put together a tribute to the album "Bright Phoebus", which she and her brother Mike composed and performed in 1972. Eliza Carthy was Lal's niece.
26 Ditt Ditt Darium - Min Gud och Fader kare (My beloved God and Father) trad after Ander Hoas, Gammelsvenskby, Ukraine
Ditt Ditt Darium was a joint project of young Swedish and Northumbrian musicians circa 2002/2003. The song is a Ukrainian hymn-like folk song.
Mahotella Queens with Makhona Tsohle Band circa 1975, this time without Mahlathini. The Mahotella Queens were one of the pioneers of the vocal style of mbaqanga called mqashiyo - which was cultivated by one of the heroes of South African music, Robert Mopape. Mopape was a producer, songwriter, arranger and talent scout who really started to get up to some interesting stuff in the mid 60s. The Mahotella Queens have played with a number of "groaners" over their careers. There's no information about who the groaner is here.
2 Hallelujah Chicken Run Band - Ngoma Yarira (Analog Africa) (Dube /Mapfumo)
The Hallelujah Chicken Run Band was one of the first bands to play a Zimbabwean pop style rooted in traditional Shona music which became known as Chimurenga - which means "liberation war" - and which was often used to conceal messages of liberation within "deep proverbs". "Ngoma Yarira" from 1972 is the Chicken Run Band's first single.
By as early as 1972, the Chimurenga sound was more-or-less fully formed with Thomas Mapfumo's high yodelling vocals, the buffed guitar rhythmic figures interlocking with mbira and the shuffling triple-time drum groove emulating Shona shaker percussion.
3 Patrick Mkwambe and the Four Brothers - Mombe Yeumai (Earthworks - Atlantic/Wea)
Jit Jive grew out of Chimurenga. Post liberation, the mbiras were thrown out in favour of a total guitar sound, and things were speeded up. The Four Brothers were one of the best jit bands. They consciously chose their name to keep rivalry between members at bay.
A track each from three great African albums released during 2009.
4 Staff Benda Bilili - Moto Moindo (Crammed Discs) (Cubain Kabeya Tshimpanglia - published: Les Editions de la Bascule/Strictly Confidential
From Kinshasa here is Staff Benda Bilili with a tune "Moto Moindo" heavily infused with a Cuban feel - perhaps some kind of a "son". The lead instrument here is a one-string electric tin can - played with astonishing ability by a teenage member of the band - an ex-street kid.
5 Bassekou Kouyate - Saro (Outhere) - published by World Circuit
"Saro" features Vieux Farka Toure, Ali Farka Toure's son, and is dedicated to Kouyate's younger brother, Saro, who was killed in a motorbike accident a few days after the song was recorded. Ironically, the song is a prayer that nothing may happen to those you love.
6 Tony Allen - Alutere (Nonesuch)
Tony Allen, the great veteran Afrobeat drummer, put out a great album last year called "Secret Agent" which draws seamlessly from a bunch of Nigerian traditions including praise singing. From that album, here is "Alutere", a Yoruba word which means "the message the drums transmit". What is that message? Allen says: "It's a message of 'get into the groove', you know".
7 Mulatu Astatke - The way to nice (Strut)
Mulatu Astatke off his very fine 2010 release "Mulatu Steps Ahead" with "The Way to Nice" - a very lush production with heavy shades of the James Bond Theme - although it stops short of the "dum di di dum dum" surf guitar bit.
There's an interesting story behind that little bit. John Barry is often credited with writing the music and he certain arranged it, but it seems that at least the signature bit was written by Monty Norman, who based it on a song from his musical version of the VS Naipaul novel "A House for Mr Biswas".
8 Im Ling and the Silvertones - Oh no! (Sublime Frequencies)
"Oh no!" comes from the Seattle-based Sublime Frequencies' collection "Singapore A-Go-Go Vol 1", of 1960s beat, pop and off-beat cha-cha, all with a heavy Singaporean twist, and sung in dialects of Mandarin and Hokkien.
Two tracks from Thailand, each from different collections of Thai pop music on the Sublime Frequencies' label.
9 Phet Potarum - Koh Phuket (Phuket Island) (Sublime Frequencies)
10 The Son of PM - Cho Cho Chan (Sublime Frequencies)
The PM here is Payong Mukda, a very well known promoter of Thai folk music, who died earlier this year at the age of 83. The style of music is called "shadow music" and its name comes from the British surf rock pop instrumental band, the Shadows. Basically, traditional Thai melodies girded by a standard Ventures or Shadows rock rhythm section - although there's also some Hank Marvin surf guitar in there too.
11 Ian King - Ah Robin, Gentle Robin (Fledg'ling) William Cornyish - 1468 to 1523 arr A wing and a prayer ltd MCPS
Ian King is from England and a part-time stonewaller, part-time singer. The tune is from the 13th century and written by William Cornyish. Adrian Sherwood produced King's album, "Panic Grass & Fever Few".
12 The Heptones - Guiding Star (L Sibbles, E Morgan, B Llewellyn) (Trenchtown)
Over the last few months we've being listening to a number of the classic vocal roots reggae groups - the Abyssians, the Congos, the Gatherers. Here is another, the Heptones, with a more updated version of a song they wrote in the late 60s - "Guiding Star".
13 The New Age Steppers - Guiding Star (On U Sound)
A number of people have covered "Guiding Star" over the years, including Horace Andy and Freddie McGregor. The New Age Steppers' version comes from their 1981 album "Action Battlefield".
The New Age Steppers were a rather short-lived collective of Jamaican and British reggae players brought together by Adrian Sherwood at the beginning of the 80s, together with singer Ari Up, who had previously been with punk band, the Slits. A number of punk musicians in the 1970s were enamoured with reggae, most famously Johnny Rotten, and there have been nice reggae-punk clashes over the years - excuse the terrible pun. The Slits' album, "Cut", produced by Dennis Bovell, is a classic example.
14 Ras Michael and the Sons of Negus - Truth and Right (RIOR)
We've also been profiling dub producers - Tommy Cowan is a lesser known producer, but produced a fabulous dub version of nyabhingi drummer Ras Michael and the Song of Negus's "Rastafari".
There seems to be some debate about when this first came out - it's been re-issued a number of times. The most likely story was that the dub was done at the same time as the album - 1972 - and released as singles etc in dribs and drabs, up until 1979. There are some great players in the band - including Tommy McCook, Robbie Shakespeare, Earl Chinna Smith and Peter Tosh.
15 Unknown artist - unknown title (Sublime Frequencies)
The singer there is unknown and the song unknown - but in typical style, this didn't stop Sublime Frequencies from releasing it. It comes off quite possibly their best release "Choubi Choubi Folk and Pop Sounds from Iraq", and much of the music comes from the time of Sadam Hussain's reign. Baghdad was actually the hot spot of Arabic music under Hussain - the Ba'ath party encouraged music albeit within the confines of cultural institutions. Baghdad music from the era continues to played across the Arabic world.
16 Omar Souleyman - Atabat (Sublime Frequencies)
Omar Souleyman is a massively popular singer from Syria, whom Sublime Frequencies has brought to the Western world in a number of releases. "Atabat" comes from "Highway to Hassake" - an overview of Souleyman's career. "Atabat" means "threshold" in Arabic.
17 Etran Finatawa - Naanaaye (trad arranged Bammo Agonla (Riverboat Records)
Sticking with desert regions, Etran Finatawa is a mixed Touareg-Wodaabe group from Niger, with a traditional Wodaabe healing song - "Naanaaye".
18 Rossy and Rokoto Frah - O isa (Sanatchie)
From Madagascar, Rossy is a multi-instrumentalist superstar who plays a variety of styles. Here he is being very folksy on the marovany together with sodina flute player, Rokoto Frah.
19 Dizzy Mandjekou - Mady motema (Papa Disco)
Over the last few months, we've also been exploring grittier 2nd generation soukous which started in the late 70s following on from the ultra smooth and sumptuous sounds of Franco's generation. Dizzy Mandjekou was the guitar wizard from Tabu-Ley Rochereau's band. The tune is from around 1980, and from the LP "Saila".
Some more from the history of groaners in South African pop music - all based around a bunch of tracks culled from a stunning collection that Electric Jive Blog posted a few months ago called "Classic South African Jive, volume 2" put together by Nick Lotay.
20 Mahlathini and Izintombi Zomgqashiyo - Okwamadoda Kuya Bhikwa (Motella, Simon Nkabinde)
21 Big Voice Jack - Vala Izwe (Smanje Manje/Gold Music)
"Big Voice Jack" (Aaron Jack Lerole), the sax player, with the tune "Vala Izwe" from the mid 60s. Aaron Lerole is, in fact, quite a significant figure in South African music. He took up playing sax in the mid-60s after he had basically destroyed his vocal chords groaning for Alexandra Black Mambazo. But his groaning had not been to no avail - he passed on his style to Zeph Nkabinde in the group, the older brother of Simon Nkabinde, or Mahlathini. Lerole teamed up with Robert Bopape in the late 60s who had set up Mavuthela Productions, part of Gallo, which mqashiyo release.
In the late 50s, Lerole had played a very important role in putting kwela on the international map. His reworking of a 1927 tune by British Theatre giant Herbert Farjeon "I've danced with a man, who's danced with a girl, who's danced with the Prince of Wales", became the theme song for a British series set in SA, "The Killing Stones". He called the tune "Tom Hark" (apparently a corruption of "tomahawk"). The tune ended up at number 2 in the UK charts, being covered by a bunch of people and being adopted by the Barmy Army.
22 Gaiteiros de Lesboa - Se eu soubesse que voando (Farol Musica)
Some fusion peasant vocal polyphony from Portugal. It comes from Gaiteiros de Lesboa's live recording "Dancahamas" recorded in Belem, October 2000.
23 Savina Yannatou - O onda (Sounds True) - G P Lanfranchi
Savina Yannatou is Greek and that tune was based on a traditional Corsican polyphony. "O wave, your silence is deeper than the grave, white as a knife blow".
24 Richard Thompson - So ben mi ca bon tempo (Cooking Vinyl)
Richard Thompson with a kind of madrigal from the 14th century Italian composer Orazio Vecchi - "I know who is carefree". Vecchi was a priest and musical director in a number of cathedrals. The track comes from Thompson's "1000 years of Popular Music".
Musicians from a number of generations of the folk revival have done versions of the ballad "Spencer the Rover". Going back in time and starting with Irish singer Cara Dillon, here is a medley of three.
25 Cara Dillon/John Martyn/The Copper Family - Spencer the Rover ( xxx /Island/Topic) --- xxx /Warlock Music Ltd
26 Utah Phillips - Hallelujah, I'm a bum (Righteous Babe Records)
Another group who had been "much reduced" and "started to roam" as a result, were the train hoppers of the Depression, although according to Utah Phillips this was not a cause for "confusion", but rather celebration. Labour activist and singer Utah Phillip's fabulous version of an Industrial Workers of the World (or Wobblies) anthem, "Hallelujah, I'm a bum".
24 Frazey Ford - Firecracker (Nettwork Records) (Ford) - Nettwork Song Publishing)
Frazey Ford, off duty from the Be Good Tanyas, with one of her own songs - "Firecracker", off her 2010 album, "Obadiah".
25 Eliza Carthy - Child amongst the weeds (Topic) -- published by Celtic Music
Lal Waterson was one of the most idiosyncratic songwriters in the English folk tradition. In 2002, a few years after Lal's death, a bunch of folk luminaries, many of them her relations, put together a tribute to the album "Bright Phoebus", which she and her brother Mike composed and performed in 1972. Eliza Carthy was Lal's niece.
26 Ditt Ditt Darium - Min Gud och Fader kare (My beloved God and Father) trad after Ander Hoas, Gammelsvenskby, Ukraine
Ditt Ditt Darium was a joint project of young Swedish and Northumbrian musicians circa 2002/2003. The song is a Ukrainian hymn-like folk song.
Saturday, August 28, 2010
1 September 2010, World Cafe
1 Justin Adams and Juldeh Camara – Mariama Trance (Real World)
Juldeh Camara, Justin Adams and Martyn Barker’s stripped down and extended version of their song, “Mariama” (first put out on their “Tell no lies” CD). I absolutely love the immediate, raw but still crystal clear production. It comes of an EP just out on Real World called “The Trance Sessions” – so far, one of this year’s most compelling releases, I think. 3 tracks – all long, all killers.
2 Hasil Atkins – I could never be blue (Dee Jay)
Many people have pointed to the early rock and roll sound in Camara’s and Adam’s music – Bo Diddley gets mentioned a lot. Bo Diddley was a pioneer rock’n’roller, and perhaps more than others, his approach came from the blues. One of the greatest rock n rollers, in my book, Hasil Atkins, must have heard him. Atkins was from West Virginia, quite a way from Mississippi – accounting for the old timely country overlay. Atkins plays all the instruments … simultaneously.
3 Sweet Talks – Sasa Abonsam (Soundway)
Soundway re-issued the Sweet Talks’ “The Kusum Beat” originally from 1976, earlier this year. It’s mainly built on traditional rhythms from Upper Ghana. The Sweet Talks struck it big in the late 70s and in fact wound up in Los Angeles to record their biggest hit – Hollywood Highlife Party in 79. We’ll hear from that some time in the future.
4 African Brothers’ Band International – Owuo nim me (Ambassador)
The African Brothers International Band was another great highlife band from that period. They’re from Eastern Ghana – the tune coming up, “Owuo nim me” seems to be from about 1973. It’s billed as traditional, rather than Highlife.
5 Michel Boyibanda – Sassa 1 (EMI/Pathe)
Michel Boyibanda is another off-shoots from TPOK Jazz – one in long line of incredible singers in Franco’s band. In 1978, Boyibanda put out of LP of original compositions “Le retro de Boyibanda Michel”. His band probably contained many TPOK members. It’s a palpable demonstration of why TPOK Jazz was so utterly brilliant – Franco managed to attract the greatest musicians of the day from the wider Congo area.
6 Lola Martin – Edamise oh (Soundway)
The French Caribbean is one of the lesser places of origin of the Congolese rumba. Here the Congolese rumba was arguably as much of influence as the other way around. In fact the Congolese band Le Ry-co Jazz spent a number of years in Martinique in late 60s picking up and transferring sounds. From around that time, Lola Martin was based in de France in Martinique. “Edamise oh” is a traditional song that she gives a biguene treatment. The roots of Antillean biguene lie in the meeting of “hot” jazz from New Orleans and Paris, high society dance music of the capital cities of the Antilleans and African rhythms transferred through the slave trade.
7 Thai Thanh – Bung Sang (Sublime Frequencies)
From Vietnam in the early 70s that was Thai Thanh with the tune “Bung Sang”. It comes off the very recently released Sublime Frequencies collection “Saigon Rock and Soul: Vietnamese Classic Tracks 1968 – 1974”. Sublime Frequencies says of it, “a gripping soul ballad reflective of life during wartime”.
The Sublime Frequencies label have a great catalogue of all sort of things – including street and home recording and re-issues of small run lost local labels, sound collages of recordings made on the streets Syria, collages of radio stations in India, and field recordings. They call themselves “explorers dedicated to acquiring and exposing obscure sights (they also do DVDs) and sounds from modern and traditional urban and rural frontiers … not documented sufficiently through all channels of academic research, the modern recording industry, media or corporate foundations”. Check out their website.
8 Omar Souleyman – Mandel Metel Il Sukkar Ala Il Shai (I don’t like the sugar in the tea) (Sublime Frequencies)
Omar Souleyman is from Northern Syria. The song comes from an album covering 15 years of live recordings called “Jazeera Nights”. He plays Syrian Dabke (regional dance and party music), Iraqi Choubi and a bunch of Arabic, Kurdish and Turkish styles.
9 Troupe Majidi – Khoudrini (lemchaheb) (Sublime Frequencies)
Troupe Majidi recorded live in 2005 at the Jemaa El Fna, a massive, somewhat borderless square and market place area in the old quarter of Marrakech. Sublime Frequencies say: “Electrified banjos and mandolins red-lined to the max through amps powered by moped batteries”.
11 Ashimunur Kurmanjiang – The Mountain’s Pine Trees (Sublime Frequencies)
From another recent Sublime Frequencies release “Ethnic Minority Music of Northwest Xinjiang”
10 Mahaleo – Dihy (Mahaleo) (Shananchie)
Mahaleo are sometimes called the Beatles of Madagascar – although luckily the Madagascan element far outweighs the Beatles element. Rakoto Frah supplies the opening caprice on the sodina flute, Dama Mahaleo, the composition and vocals – and US string players Henry Kaiser and David Lindley are subtly in the mix somewhere. It comes off volume 1 of Kaiser and Lindley’s collection of Madgascan music, “A world out of time”. According to Tom Moon in his great book “1 000 recordings to hear before you die” the lyrics are about a very old woman dancing with a young woman symbolizing the circle of life.
11 Graham Coxon – Perfect Love (Transgressive Records)
Graham Coxon, the guitarist from the Britrock band, Blur, released an album of stuff inspired by Bert Jansch and Davy Graham in 2009 called “The Spinning Top”. Thanks to Sheer Music for supplying it.
12 The Be Good Tanyas – Scattered Leaves (Nettwork)
The Be-Good Tanya can inadequately be described a Canadian old timey folk group.
13 Tony Joe White – Rainy night in Georgia (Warner/ESP)
Like most of the music I play in this show, reggae has a good deal of its roots in American Soul and Blues, and even jazz. And reggae, even after it was fully formed, has always an affinity for soul.
Watty Burnett and Lee Perry did had a go at remaking the country-soul chestnut “Rainy night in Georgia” in the mid 70s.
Tony Joe White wrote the song in 1962.
14 Brook Benton – Rainy night in Georgia (Atlantic)
Brook Benton roasted the chestnut with a version that became a massive come back hit for him in 1970.
15 Watty Burnett – Rainy night in Portland (Island)
Lee Perry and Watty Burnett continue the roasting process with the super chilled and extended version they call “Rainy night in Portland”.
16 The Congos – Ark of the Covenant (VP Records)
Perry brought Burnett into The Congos during the recording of the LP Heart of the Congos, which many believe to be one of greatest reggae albums. Up till that point the Congos were Cedric Myton and Roy Johnson – after The Congos parted ways with Lee Perry, from what I make out Watty Burnett left the group.
17 Getatchew Mekuria, the Ex and Guests - Sethed Seketelat (Terp)
Getatchew is a veteran Ethiojazz sax player, the Ex a Dutch band and the Guest are a brass players from around the Netherlands.
18 King Tubby – Dubbing my way
Comes off a collection called “The Fatman Tapes volumes 1 and 2”
19 Tiken Jah Fakoly – L’Afrique doit du fric (Barclay)
Tiken Jah Fakoly, originally from the Ivory Coast, with his own band. The song “Africa owes money” basically posits a neo colonialist explanation for Africa’s current woes.
20 Moses Mchunu – Kuhle Ukuzenzele (Gallo)
Moses Mchunu’s maskandi infused mbaqanga. “Kuhle Ukuzenzele” has a kind of boeremusiek feel, and its certainly about life in the country. Recorded in the mid-70s for Motella (Gallo) – it has West Nkosi stamp-of-quality production. More info is available on the Electric Jive blog. Incidentally the African Music Store in Long Street, Cape Town, has some Moses Mchunu in stock and lots of other great stuff from the golden age of mbaqanqa.
21 Issa Juma and the Super Wanyika Stars – Maria (Sterns)
We’ve listened to a bit of Benga from Kenya on this show in the past. Wanyika is another modern guitar-based style from East Africa. It’s a kind of Swahili rumba, directly inspired by the all the congolese rumba bands that passed through or took up residence in Kenya, especially Nairobi, in the 70s.
Issa Juma was one of the most inventive players and composers on the scene. This year Sterns released a collection of Juma’s stuff from the 80s called “World defeats the grandfathers – Swinging Swahili Rumba 1982 – 86”. Some lyrics from Maria: “This world is big, don’t just follow people/It defeated our grandfathers, where will you be able (to have different outcome)”?
22 Trembling Bells – Ravenna (Honest Jon’s Records)
Trembling Bell off the one of the best folk releases of the year “Abandoned Love” – lovely retro folk rock from Glasgow.
23 Karan Casey and John Doyle – The Bay of Biscay (Compass Rccords)
Karen Casey and John Doyle, the Irish bits from the Irish-American group “Solas” with something from their 2010 release “Exiles Return”. Old time and bluegrass stalwart Dirk Powell produced the album in Nashville, and provided some the extra instrumental and vocal backing.
24 Joanna Newsom – On a good day (Drag City)
A short, sharp shot of Joanna Newsom. Recently in his weekly Business Day column, Richard Haslop pointed out how this 108 second tune off Newsom’s new triple LP “Have one on me” is a sort of “wondrous charming” microcosm of Newsom’s music – packed with ideas and “ideal for converting the impatient”.
Juldeh Camara, Justin Adams and Martyn Barker’s stripped down and extended version of their song, “Mariama” (first put out on their “Tell no lies” CD). I absolutely love the immediate, raw but still crystal clear production. It comes of an EP just out on Real World called “The Trance Sessions” – so far, one of this year’s most compelling releases, I think. 3 tracks – all long, all killers.
2 Hasil Atkins – I could never be blue (Dee Jay)
Many people have pointed to the early rock and roll sound in Camara’s and Adam’s music – Bo Diddley gets mentioned a lot. Bo Diddley was a pioneer rock’n’roller, and perhaps more than others, his approach came from the blues. One of the greatest rock n rollers, in my book, Hasil Atkins, must have heard him. Atkins was from West Virginia, quite a way from Mississippi – accounting for the old timely country overlay. Atkins plays all the instruments … simultaneously.
3 Sweet Talks – Sasa Abonsam (Soundway)
Soundway re-issued the Sweet Talks’ “The Kusum Beat” originally from 1976, earlier this year. It’s mainly built on traditional rhythms from Upper Ghana. The Sweet Talks struck it big in the late 70s and in fact wound up in Los Angeles to record their biggest hit – Hollywood Highlife Party in 79. We’ll hear from that some time in the future.
4 African Brothers’ Band International – Owuo nim me (Ambassador)
The African Brothers International Band was another great highlife band from that period. They’re from Eastern Ghana – the tune coming up, “Owuo nim me” seems to be from about 1973. It’s billed as traditional, rather than Highlife.
5 Michel Boyibanda – Sassa 1 (EMI/Pathe)
Michel Boyibanda is another off-shoots from TPOK Jazz – one in long line of incredible singers in Franco’s band. In 1978, Boyibanda put out of LP of original compositions “Le retro de Boyibanda Michel”. His band probably contained many TPOK members. It’s a palpable demonstration of why TPOK Jazz was so utterly brilliant – Franco managed to attract the greatest musicians of the day from the wider Congo area.
6 Lola Martin – Edamise oh (Soundway)
The French Caribbean is one of the lesser places of origin of the Congolese rumba. Here the Congolese rumba was arguably as much of influence as the other way around. In fact the Congolese band Le Ry-co Jazz spent a number of years in Martinique in late 60s picking up and transferring sounds. From around that time, Lola Martin was based in de France in Martinique. “Edamise oh” is a traditional song that she gives a biguene treatment. The roots of Antillean biguene lie in the meeting of “hot” jazz from New Orleans and Paris, high society dance music of the capital cities of the Antilleans and African rhythms transferred through the slave trade.
7 Thai Thanh – Bung Sang (Sublime Frequencies)
From Vietnam in the early 70s that was Thai Thanh with the tune “Bung Sang”. It comes off the very recently released Sublime Frequencies collection “Saigon Rock and Soul: Vietnamese Classic Tracks 1968 – 1974”. Sublime Frequencies says of it, “a gripping soul ballad reflective of life during wartime”.
The Sublime Frequencies label have a great catalogue of all sort of things – including street and home recording and re-issues of small run lost local labels, sound collages of recordings made on the streets Syria, collages of radio stations in India, and field recordings. They call themselves “explorers dedicated to acquiring and exposing obscure sights (they also do DVDs) and sounds from modern and traditional urban and rural frontiers … not documented sufficiently through all channels of academic research, the modern recording industry, media or corporate foundations”. Check out their website.
8 Omar Souleyman – Mandel Metel Il Sukkar Ala Il Shai (I don’t like the sugar in the tea) (Sublime Frequencies)
Omar Souleyman is from Northern Syria. The song comes from an album covering 15 years of live recordings called “Jazeera Nights”. He plays Syrian Dabke (regional dance and party music), Iraqi Choubi and a bunch of Arabic, Kurdish and Turkish styles.
9 Troupe Majidi – Khoudrini (lemchaheb) (Sublime Frequencies)
Troupe Majidi recorded live in 2005 at the Jemaa El Fna, a massive, somewhat borderless square and market place area in the old quarter of Marrakech. Sublime Frequencies say: “Electrified banjos and mandolins red-lined to the max through amps powered by moped batteries”.
11 Ashimunur Kurmanjiang – The Mountain’s Pine Trees (Sublime Frequencies)
From another recent Sublime Frequencies release “Ethnic Minority Music of Northwest Xinjiang”
10 Mahaleo – Dihy (Mahaleo) (Shananchie)
Mahaleo are sometimes called the Beatles of Madagascar – although luckily the Madagascan element far outweighs the Beatles element. Rakoto Frah supplies the opening caprice on the sodina flute, Dama Mahaleo, the composition and vocals – and US string players Henry Kaiser and David Lindley are subtly in the mix somewhere. It comes off volume 1 of Kaiser and Lindley’s collection of Madgascan music, “A world out of time”. According to Tom Moon in his great book “1 000 recordings to hear before you die” the lyrics are about a very old woman dancing with a young woman symbolizing the circle of life.
11 Graham Coxon – Perfect Love (Transgressive Records)
Graham Coxon, the guitarist from the Britrock band, Blur, released an album of stuff inspired by Bert Jansch and Davy Graham in 2009 called “The Spinning Top”. Thanks to Sheer Music for supplying it.
12 The Be Good Tanyas – Scattered Leaves (Nettwork)
The Be-Good Tanya can inadequately be described a Canadian old timey folk group.
13 Tony Joe White – Rainy night in Georgia (Warner/ESP)
Like most of the music I play in this show, reggae has a good deal of its roots in American Soul and Blues, and even jazz. And reggae, even after it was fully formed, has always an affinity for soul.
Watty Burnett and Lee Perry did had a go at remaking the country-soul chestnut “Rainy night in Georgia” in the mid 70s.
Tony Joe White wrote the song in 1962.
14 Brook Benton – Rainy night in Georgia (Atlantic)
Brook Benton roasted the chestnut with a version that became a massive come back hit for him in 1970.
15 Watty Burnett – Rainy night in Portland (Island)
Lee Perry and Watty Burnett continue the roasting process with the super chilled and extended version they call “Rainy night in Portland”.
16 The Congos – Ark of the Covenant (VP Records)
Perry brought Burnett into The Congos during the recording of the LP Heart of the Congos, which many believe to be one of greatest reggae albums. Up till that point the Congos were Cedric Myton and Roy Johnson – after The Congos parted ways with Lee Perry, from what I make out Watty Burnett left the group.
17 Getatchew Mekuria, the Ex and Guests - Sethed Seketelat (Terp)
Getatchew is a veteran Ethiojazz sax player, the Ex a Dutch band and the Guest are a brass players from around the Netherlands.
18 King Tubby – Dubbing my way
Comes off a collection called “The Fatman Tapes volumes 1 and 2”
19 Tiken Jah Fakoly – L’Afrique doit du fric (Barclay)
Tiken Jah Fakoly, originally from the Ivory Coast, with his own band. The song “Africa owes money” basically posits a neo colonialist explanation for Africa’s current woes.
20 Moses Mchunu – Kuhle Ukuzenzele (Gallo)
Moses Mchunu’s maskandi infused mbaqanga. “Kuhle Ukuzenzele” has a kind of boeremusiek feel, and its certainly about life in the country. Recorded in the mid-70s for Motella (Gallo) – it has West Nkosi stamp-of-quality production. More info is available on the Electric Jive blog. Incidentally the African Music Store in Long Street, Cape Town, has some Moses Mchunu in stock and lots of other great stuff from the golden age of mbaqanqa.
21 Issa Juma and the Super Wanyika Stars – Maria (Sterns)
We’ve listened to a bit of Benga from Kenya on this show in the past. Wanyika is another modern guitar-based style from East Africa. It’s a kind of Swahili rumba, directly inspired by the all the congolese rumba bands that passed through or took up residence in Kenya, especially Nairobi, in the 70s.
Issa Juma was one of the most inventive players and composers on the scene. This year Sterns released a collection of Juma’s stuff from the 80s called “World defeats the grandfathers – Swinging Swahili Rumba 1982 – 86”. Some lyrics from Maria: “This world is big, don’t just follow people/It defeated our grandfathers, where will you be able (to have different outcome)”?
22 Trembling Bells – Ravenna (Honest Jon’s Records)
Trembling Bell off the one of the best folk releases of the year “Abandoned Love” – lovely retro folk rock from Glasgow.
23 Karan Casey and John Doyle – The Bay of Biscay (Compass Rccords)
Karen Casey and John Doyle, the Irish bits from the Irish-American group “Solas” with something from their 2010 release “Exiles Return”. Old time and bluegrass stalwart Dirk Powell produced the album in Nashville, and provided some the extra instrumental and vocal backing.
24 Joanna Newsom – On a good day (Drag City)
A short, sharp shot of Joanna Newsom. Recently in his weekly Business Day column, Richard Haslop pointed out how this 108 second tune off Newsom’s new triple LP “Have one on me” is a sort of “wondrous charming” microcosm of Newsom’s music – packed with ideas and “ideal for converting the impatient”.
Sunday, August 1, 2010
4 August 2010, World Cafe
1 Thomas Mapfumo - Mukadzi wangu (My wife) (Real World Records)
Thomas Mapfumo more or less pioneered the chimurenga sound in the mid- to late-70s during the liberation war in Zimbabwe. Mapfumo has been exiled from Zimbabwe for a number of years. "Mukadzi wangu" was recorded in Oregon, in the US, about 5 years back. The tune comes from the album "Rise Up", which although not uniformly brilliant, has lots of great moments.
Chimurenga is often referred to as "electric mbira". Its tunes and rhythms are built on traditional songs, but instead of using just mbiras, chimurenga interlocks mbiras with electric guitars and electric guitars with themselves to sound like mbiras - and has a kind of yodeling vocal style and distinctive drumming based on traditional shakers.
2 Hallelujah Chicken Run Band - Kare nanhasi (Analog Africa)
The Hallelujah Chicken Run Band operated during the time that chimurenga was being developed, and Thomas Mapfumo passed through their ranks at some point. But so did quite a few other Zimbabwean players, who added their influences - Shona traditional, benga, Congolese rumba. "Kare nanhasi" is pretty unclassifiable. Just exuberant Southern African music, despite its dismal subject matter: high prices and unaffordable basics, including, horrifyingly, beer; and perhaps, unintentionally, the theme of history repeating itself.
3 Enzo Avitabile and Bottari - Tarantella bruna (Wrasse Records)
Barrels, tubs and sickles are the main instruments of Enzo Avitabile and Bottari. Avitabile originates from Naples and is a veteran of the Italian pop scene, albeit on the jazzy, crossover side. About 10 years back he started to get into 14th century peasant music. It's music based on processional rhythms and legend has it that it comes from farmers banging on barrels to chase away evil spirits from the dark corners of the cellars. Avitabile did more - he added biggish-name African musicians into the mix. On "Tarentella Bruna" Baba Sissoko supplies the ngoni. A trivial point: Parts of the album from whence this track comes were recorded in the CSR Studio in Bryanston, Jhb.
4 Gaitieros de Lesboa - Nem fraco nem forte (Sony BMG)
More music from Southern Europe - this time, Portugal. Gaitieros de Lesboa fuse rustic vocal polyphony, bagpipe music from Galicia and other parts of the old Celtic world, and medieval processional rhythms mostly on instruments they've invented or subverted.
They have a great website, where they explain why they called themselves "Bagpipes of Lisbon", when there are no bagpipes in Lisbon. From that website: "Maybe it's because in Portugal the word "gaita" has many meanings. Our bagpipes are everything we grab in search for a sound, reinventing hurdy-gurdies, finding harmonies which were until now unknown to our throats, stretching animal skins, trying to make percussion out of whatever others step on, detuning bagpipes and tuning electrical conduit pipes."
5 Orchestre Zaiko Langa Langa - Katshi (African)
Orchestre Zaiko Langa Langa is another well known Congolese rumba band - really the second wave of soukous after TPOK jazz and their followers made it big. They play music influenced by rock and the shanty town music of Kinshasa and have a slightly edgier sound. "Katshi" was record in 1978.
6 Konono No 1 - Konono wa wa wa (Crammed Discs)
Definitely from the rawer side of the current Kinshasa scene - in fact from the streets and the shanty towns - off Konono No 1's latest album "Assume the Crash Position". One of Zaiko Langa Langa's founding guitarists, Pepe Feli Manuaku, guests on the album.
Here is an apt quote from a review in fROOTS magazine about "Assume the Crash Position": "violently amplified, wildly distorted likembes - bass, middle, tremble - reverberating over a killer percussion section uniting the intricate detail of Congolese village music with the power of Tesla."
7 Kathryn Tickell - Tiger's first bird (Park)
One of Northumbrian piper, fiddle player and composer, Kathryn Tickell's, own tunes.
8 Kris Drever - The Banks of the Nile (Concord)
Kris Drever, a young Scottish traditional singer-guitarist released his second album, "Mark the Hard Earth", a few months back. Most of it I find a bit soggy on first listen, but it does have a sublime arrangement of the traditional ballad, "The Banks of the Nile". John McCusker produces and plays the fiddle and Irish singer Heidi Talbot is the other voice.
9 Ba Cissoko - On veut se marier (Totolo)
From Guinea, Ba Cissoko plays an electric kora. "On veut se marier" comes off "Electric Griot Land". No guessing who one of Cissoko's main heroes is. He teams up with probably the most popular modern African reggae star, Tiken Jah Fakoly, from the home of African reggae, Abidjan, in Cote d'Ivoire. Not afraid of speaking his mind on corruption and anti-democratic behaviour, Fakoly now lives in exile (in fact he's been exiled again from his first country of exile). But he's not exactly uncontroversial; he's been a participant in the reggae wars between rival political factions that is a feature of the broader civil war in Cote d'Ivoire. Recently, however, he seems to have mellowed and is now singing about tolerance and peace.
10 Page One and the Observers - Observers style (Carib Gems Music)
Winston "Niney" Holness, in his guise as Page One and the Observers, with a tune from 1976. He apparently calls himself The Observer to rival Lee Perry's moniker, The Upsetter. He's definitely up there with the greats.
11 King Tubby & the Upsetters - Chant down rub a dub (Live and Love)
King Tubby dubbing up the Upsetters in 1981.
12 The Gatherers - Words of my mouth (Trojan)
A Lee Perry production of the short-lived teenage vocal trio, The Gatherers, circa 1973. Lee Perry would recycle that song and its rhythm a number of times.
13 Super Eagles - Sock it to me (Decca)
14 El Rego et Ses Commandos - Feeling you got (Analog Africa)
15 Orchestre Poly-Rhythmo de Cotonou - Gbeti Madjro (Analog Africa)
I was reading the sleeve notes to Analog Africa's collection "African Scream Contest" the other day. It lays out a sort of sonic history of Poly-Rythmo de Cotonou's first hit in Benin which was called "Gbeti Madjro". "Gbeti was a "jerk" tune - and jerk is basically American 60s soul and funk, given an African workover. The story starts in Gambia with the Super Eagles' massive 1969 hit, "Sock it to me" - which is a more or less straight imitation of blues and soul-based Western pop.
El Rego basically ripped off that track for Benin with the help of Ghanaian singer Eddy Black Power, calling it "Feeling you got", and providing the template for many jerk tunes in Benin, including those by Poly-Rhythmo. It would be the launch pad for Poly-Rhythmo's distinctive sound. Poly-Rhythmo speeded things up with some funky drumming and lifted a frenetically spiky guitar to the front of the mix. Lorento Eskill's spirited singing was the final ingredient.
Those last two tracks come off two different Anolog Africa collections, "African Scream Contest" and "Legends of Benin".
16 The Mellotone Sisters - Kudude Kulezontaba (King Label)
17 Mahotella Queens - Asambeni bafana (Earthworks)
Two great vocal groups from the golden age of mbaqanga that we've heard on this show before, The Mellotone Sisters (with, strangely enough, ne'er a sisterly voice to be heard) and the Mahotella Queens.
18 Busi Mhlongo - The Crocodile (EMI)
Busi Mhlongo with an alternative to the "Click Song" - "The Crocodile".
19 Twins Seven-Seven and his Gold Carbretas - Totobiroko (Soundway)
Twins Seven-Seven got his name from being the sole survivor in a line of seven sets of twins from the Oshogbo royal family in Nigeria. He's also an actor, poet, writer and painter and a musician who is very tied up in the Yoruba culture. Probably the only xylophone player we are ever going to have on this show - and when I say xylophone, I am talking the real item. This come from the newish Soundway compilation - "Nigeria Special: Vol 2".
20 Tony Allen - Ijo (World Circuit)
Afrobeat drummer Tony Allen from Nigeria, trying to lay out a case for how great Afrobeat is. Claude Dibonque from Cameroon, who is Allen's regular guitarist, supplies one of the guitars, and keyboardist and co-producer Fixi the stellar horn arrangements. Orobiyi Adunni (AYO) is on vocals and lyrics - perhaps the element that gels the least - but the other elements more than compensate.
This is off a fabulous 2009 album, "Secret Agent", and like Bousseka Kouyate's "Speak Fula", you need to go out and get it.
21 Martin Simpson - Swooping Molly (Topic)
Martin Simpson is a finger-style guitarist, following about a half step chronologically (but not in ability) behind the guitar greats of the English folk revival: Davey Graham, Bert Jansch, Martin Carthy, Nic Jones. He has an extremely dexterous, fluid approach with an arsenal of American blues and old time techniques. Here he is with the traditional piece "Swooping Molly" off last year's "True Stories" album.
22 Julie Fowlis - Brogan ur agam a-nochd (I have new shoes tonight) - The cat and dog - Mu chuacheg's laghach thu (Spit and Polish)
Julie Fowlis, a bright singer on the Scottish folk scene, with a medley of three traditional tunes.
23 Mary Gauthier - Another day borrowed (Proper)
New Orleans-raised Mary Gauthier's new album, "The Foundling", draws on her early life story before she opened a restaurant and then became a singer-songwriter. It's about abandonment, adoption, and finding an identity without the guidance of blood parents.
Thanks to Cathy Hutchings for telling me about and letting me listen to all the Americana and Anglocana featured up to this point on this show. Much appreciated.
24 Seasick Steve - Happy to have a job (Atlantic)
Seasick Steve from his 2009 album, "Man from another time".
25 Robert Johnson - If I had possession of judgement day (Columbia)
This is a slower version than you would have normally heard. Blogger Moos from Global Groove has deliberately slowed it down, because he's of the school of thought that thinks that somehow in production, the original recording got speeded up. Could be a crock, who knows? You can weigh into the debate on the Global Groove blog.
26 Paban das Baul - Modena (Riverboat)
Earlier this year Paban das Baul released an album of stripped down spiritual songs of the Bauls, as the mystic minstrels of Bengal are called. This music features jew's harp pretty centrally.
27 Tran Quang Hai - Memories of Norway (Playa Sound)
Jew's harps are found around the world. The one found in Norway is called the "munnharp" and is metallic. Tran Quang Hai, the Vietmanese ethnomusicologist demonstrates it with the piece he calls, with much imagination, "Memories of Norway".
28 Hednigarna - Bulldog (East Side Inc)
Still in Scandanavia, Hednigarna here sound quite uncharacteristically straight up acoustic, with an arrangement of a traditional tune.
29 Christian Wallumrod Ensemble - Jumpa (ECM Records)
Christian Wallumrod is a Norwegian pianist and composer. Here he explores the linkages between early music, Scandinavian dance music and jazz. "Jumpa" comes off his 2009 album "Fabula Suite Lugano".
Thomas Mapfumo more or less pioneered the chimurenga sound in the mid- to late-70s during the liberation war in Zimbabwe. Mapfumo has been exiled from Zimbabwe for a number of years. "Mukadzi wangu" was recorded in Oregon, in the US, about 5 years back. The tune comes from the album "Rise Up", which although not uniformly brilliant, has lots of great moments.
Chimurenga is often referred to as "electric mbira". Its tunes and rhythms are built on traditional songs, but instead of using just mbiras, chimurenga interlocks mbiras with electric guitars and electric guitars with themselves to sound like mbiras - and has a kind of yodeling vocal style and distinctive drumming based on traditional shakers.
2 Hallelujah Chicken Run Band - Kare nanhasi (Analog Africa)
The Hallelujah Chicken Run Band operated during the time that chimurenga was being developed, and Thomas Mapfumo passed through their ranks at some point. But so did quite a few other Zimbabwean players, who added their influences - Shona traditional, benga, Congolese rumba. "Kare nanhasi" is pretty unclassifiable. Just exuberant Southern African music, despite its dismal subject matter: high prices and unaffordable basics, including, horrifyingly, beer; and perhaps, unintentionally, the theme of history repeating itself.
3 Enzo Avitabile and Bottari - Tarantella bruna (Wrasse Records)
Barrels, tubs and sickles are the main instruments of Enzo Avitabile and Bottari. Avitabile originates from Naples and is a veteran of the Italian pop scene, albeit on the jazzy, crossover side. About 10 years back he started to get into 14th century peasant music. It's music based on processional rhythms and legend has it that it comes from farmers banging on barrels to chase away evil spirits from the dark corners of the cellars. Avitabile did more - he added biggish-name African musicians into the mix. On "Tarentella Bruna" Baba Sissoko supplies the ngoni. A trivial point: Parts of the album from whence this track comes were recorded in the CSR Studio in Bryanston, Jhb.
4 Gaitieros de Lesboa - Nem fraco nem forte (Sony BMG)
More music from Southern Europe - this time, Portugal. Gaitieros de Lesboa fuse rustic vocal polyphony, bagpipe music from Galicia and other parts of the old Celtic world, and medieval processional rhythms mostly on instruments they've invented or subverted.
They have a great website, where they explain why they called themselves "Bagpipes of Lisbon", when there are no bagpipes in Lisbon. From that website: "Maybe it's because in Portugal the word "gaita" has many meanings. Our bagpipes are everything we grab in search for a sound, reinventing hurdy-gurdies, finding harmonies which were until now unknown to our throats, stretching animal skins, trying to make percussion out of whatever others step on, detuning bagpipes and tuning electrical conduit pipes."
5 Orchestre Zaiko Langa Langa - Katshi (African)
Orchestre Zaiko Langa Langa is another well known Congolese rumba band - really the second wave of soukous after TPOK jazz and their followers made it big. They play music influenced by rock and the shanty town music of Kinshasa and have a slightly edgier sound. "Katshi" was record in 1978.
6 Konono No 1 - Konono wa wa wa (Crammed Discs)
Definitely from the rawer side of the current Kinshasa scene - in fact from the streets and the shanty towns - off Konono No 1's latest album "Assume the Crash Position". One of Zaiko Langa Langa's founding guitarists, Pepe Feli Manuaku, guests on the album.
Here is an apt quote from a review in fROOTS magazine about "Assume the Crash Position": "violently amplified, wildly distorted likembes - bass, middle, tremble - reverberating over a killer percussion section uniting the intricate detail of Congolese village music with the power of Tesla."
7 Kathryn Tickell - Tiger's first bird (Park)
One of Northumbrian piper, fiddle player and composer, Kathryn Tickell's, own tunes.
8 Kris Drever - The Banks of the Nile (Concord)
Kris Drever, a young Scottish traditional singer-guitarist released his second album, "Mark the Hard Earth", a few months back. Most of it I find a bit soggy on first listen, but it does have a sublime arrangement of the traditional ballad, "The Banks of the Nile". John McCusker produces and plays the fiddle and Irish singer Heidi Talbot is the other voice.
9 Ba Cissoko - On veut se marier (Totolo)
From Guinea, Ba Cissoko plays an electric kora. "On veut se marier" comes off "Electric Griot Land". No guessing who one of Cissoko's main heroes is. He teams up with probably the most popular modern African reggae star, Tiken Jah Fakoly, from the home of African reggae, Abidjan, in Cote d'Ivoire. Not afraid of speaking his mind on corruption and anti-democratic behaviour, Fakoly now lives in exile (in fact he's been exiled again from his first country of exile). But he's not exactly uncontroversial; he's been a participant in the reggae wars between rival political factions that is a feature of the broader civil war in Cote d'Ivoire. Recently, however, he seems to have mellowed and is now singing about tolerance and peace.
10 Page One and the Observers - Observers style (Carib Gems Music)
Winston "Niney" Holness, in his guise as Page One and the Observers, with a tune from 1976. He apparently calls himself The Observer to rival Lee Perry's moniker, The Upsetter. He's definitely up there with the greats.
11 King Tubby & the Upsetters - Chant down rub a dub (Live and Love)
King Tubby dubbing up the Upsetters in 1981.
12 The Gatherers - Words of my mouth (Trojan)
A Lee Perry production of the short-lived teenage vocal trio, The Gatherers, circa 1973. Lee Perry would recycle that song and its rhythm a number of times.
13 Super Eagles - Sock it to me (Decca)
14 El Rego et Ses Commandos - Feeling you got (Analog Africa)
15 Orchestre Poly-Rhythmo de Cotonou - Gbeti Madjro (Analog Africa)
I was reading the sleeve notes to Analog Africa's collection "African Scream Contest" the other day. It lays out a sort of sonic history of Poly-Rythmo de Cotonou's first hit in Benin which was called "Gbeti Madjro". "Gbeti was a "jerk" tune - and jerk is basically American 60s soul and funk, given an African workover. The story starts in Gambia with the Super Eagles' massive 1969 hit, "Sock it to me" - which is a more or less straight imitation of blues and soul-based Western pop.
El Rego basically ripped off that track for Benin with the help of Ghanaian singer Eddy Black Power, calling it "Feeling you got", and providing the template for many jerk tunes in Benin, including those by Poly-Rhythmo. It would be the launch pad for Poly-Rhythmo's distinctive sound. Poly-Rhythmo speeded things up with some funky drumming and lifted a frenetically spiky guitar to the front of the mix. Lorento Eskill's spirited singing was the final ingredient.
Those last two tracks come off two different Anolog Africa collections, "African Scream Contest" and "Legends of Benin".
16 The Mellotone Sisters - Kudude Kulezontaba (King Label)
17 Mahotella Queens - Asambeni bafana (Earthworks)
Two great vocal groups from the golden age of mbaqanga that we've heard on this show before, The Mellotone Sisters (with, strangely enough, ne'er a sisterly voice to be heard) and the Mahotella Queens.
18 Busi Mhlongo - The Crocodile (EMI)
Busi Mhlongo with an alternative to the "Click Song" - "The Crocodile".
19 Twins Seven-Seven and his Gold Carbretas - Totobiroko (Soundway)
Twins Seven-Seven got his name from being the sole survivor in a line of seven sets of twins from the Oshogbo royal family in Nigeria. He's also an actor, poet, writer and painter and a musician who is very tied up in the Yoruba culture. Probably the only xylophone player we are ever going to have on this show - and when I say xylophone, I am talking the real item. This come from the newish Soundway compilation - "Nigeria Special: Vol 2".
20 Tony Allen - Ijo (World Circuit)
Afrobeat drummer Tony Allen from Nigeria, trying to lay out a case for how great Afrobeat is. Claude Dibonque from Cameroon, who is Allen's regular guitarist, supplies one of the guitars, and keyboardist and co-producer Fixi the stellar horn arrangements. Orobiyi Adunni (AYO) is on vocals and lyrics - perhaps the element that gels the least - but the other elements more than compensate.
This is off a fabulous 2009 album, "Secret Agent", and like Bousseka Kouyate's "Speak Fula", you need to go out and get it.
21 Martin Simpson - Swooping Molly (Topic)
Martin Simpson is a finger-style guitarist, following about a half step chronologically (but not in ability) behind the guitar greats of the English folk revival: Davey Graham, Bert Jansch, Martin Carthy, Nic Jones. He has an extremely dexterous, fluid approach with an arsenal of American blues and old time techniques. Here he is with the traditional piece "Swooping Molly" off last year's "True Stories" album.
22 Julie Fowlis - Brogan ur agam a-nochd (I have new shoes tonight) - The cat and dog - Mu chuacheg's laghach thu (Spit and Polish)
Julie Fowlis, a bright singer on the Scottish folk scene, with a medley of three traditional tunes.
23 Mary Gauthier - Another day borrowed (Proper)
New Orleans-raised Mary Gauthier's new album, "The Foundling", draws on her early life story before she opened a restaurant and then became a singer-songwriter. It's about abandonment, adoption, and finding an identity without the guidance of blood parents.
Thanks to Cathy Hutchings for telling me about and letting me listen to all the Americana and Anglocana featured up to this point on this show. Much appreciated.
24 Seasick Steve - Happy to have a job (Atlantic)
Seasick Steve from his 2009 album, "Man from another time".
25 Robert Johnson - If I had possession of judgement day (Columbia)
This is a slower version than you would have normally heard. Blogger Moos from Global Groove has deliberately slowed it down, because he's of the school of thought that thinks that somehow in production, the original recording got speeded up. Could be a crock, who knows? You can weigh into the debate on the Global Groove blog.
26 Paban das Baul - Modena (Riverboat)
Earlier this year Paban das Baul released an album of stripped down spiritual songs of the Bauls, as the mystic minstrels of Bengal are called. This music features jew's harp pretty centrally.
27 Tran Quang Hai - Memories of Norway (Playa Sound)
Jew's harps are found around the world. The one found in Norway is called the "munnharp" and is metallic. Tran Quang Hai, the Vietmanese ethnomusicologist demonstrates it with the piece he calls, with much imagination, "Memories of Norway".
28 Hednigarna - Bulldog (East Side Inc)
Still in Scandanavia, Hednigarna here sound quite uncharacteristically straight up acoustic, with an arrangement of a traditional tune.
29 Christian Wallumrod Ensemble - Jumpa (ECM Records)
Christian Wallumrod is a Norwegian pianist and composer. Here he explores the linkages between early music, Scandinavian dance music and jazz. "Jumpa" comes off his 2009 album "Fabula Suite Lugano".
Saturday, July 3, 2010
7 July 2010, World Cafe
Imagined Village – The handweaver and the factory maid (ECC records)
The Imagined Village with the traditional song, “The handweaver and the factory maid”, which comes from their new CD, “Empire and Love”. The Imagined Village is a teaming of the producer musician, Simon Emmerson, of The Afrocelts, a bunch of luminaries on the English folk scene, including Martin and Eliza Carthy and Chris Wood, and some other worldish types, like Johnny Kalsi of the Dohl Foundation and the sitar player, Sheema Markerjee, and some electronica types too.
Cara Dillon – P stands for Paddy (Lament for Johnny) (Charcoal Records)
Cara Dillon is a pure-voiced Irish singer, who’s been on the scene for the last 10 years. She’s just set up her own label, Charcoal Records, and this tune comes from the first album on that label, “Hill of Thieves”.
Bassekou Kouyate – Musow for our women (Out here records)
I’ve just got the new Ngoni Ba album, “I speak Fula”, that all the world music mags have been making a big fuss over. And I see why. This is the most perfectly layered and arranged album, built around an ensemble of ngonis of various sizes and the astonishing voice of Amy Sacko, a griot who happens to be married to Kouyate. Kouyate pioneered the sound, taking what is normally an accompanying instrument, the ngoni, and assembling a number of them together for ensemble and solo playing. He also invented a bass ngoni along the way. The style has grown in popularity in Mali over the last few years to the extent that everyone is setting up ngoni bands. You don’t need much, just a bunch of acoustic ngonis. The ngoni has a stick-like neck and hollowed-out, elongated, bowl-shape body covered with skin and some gut strings – a forerunner of the banjo, many believe.
Youssou N’dour – Baay Faal (Nonesuch)
Bassekou Kouyate has also been a guest musician of choice for some time. He features on Youssou N’dour’s “back-to-basics” mbalax album of 2007, “Rokku mi rokka (give and take)”.
Etoile de Dakar featuring Youssou N’dour – Tu Veras (Sterns)
N’dour has been at the forefront of mbalax since its beginning – mbalax is a combination of Cuban horns, Congolese rumba guitar styles, traditional rhythms played on the “mbang mbang” drum and some local singing styles, sung in Wolof instead of Spanish. All this was coming together in the late 70s. Sterns have released a collection of very rare recordings from that period, a number of which were only ever available on cassette. The Spanish is still in evidence on “Tu Veras”.
Orchestre TPOK Jazz – Cheri Desi (Eva Corporation)
Speaking of the Afro-Cuban, the great Orchestre TPOK Jazz continued to perform and record after the death of Franco in the late 80s. “Cheri Desi” is from a tribute LP to Franco, “Les Mayeno a Gogo”. The track really starts to cook hypnotically at minute 3 and then takes off after the “sebene” – or the pivot point between the vocal section and the instrumental dance section – a defining part of the Congolese rumba of the 70s and 80s. Long-time TPOK vocalist, Josky (Kiambukuta Londa), who composed that track, really shows that he learnt a thing or two from the maestro.
Lobi Traore – Tiekoroba (World Village)
I’m sad to report that Lobi Traore, the great Malian adventurous blues guitarist, died unexpectedly a few weeks ago. Although from central Mali, in fact near Segu, where Bassekou Kouyate hails from, Traore collaborated with a number of guitarists from the north, including Ali Farka Toure. He helped create what is called Bambara Blues – Bambara being the language of central Mali, which has more linkages to the culture of north Mali than to the languages of Maninka and Mandinka in the south west – allowing those mixings to happen. “Tiekoroba” comes off the collection “Mali Blue”, which is a kind of best of compilation of four Traore albums made in the 90s.
Kalahari Surfers – Fish Effect (Microdot Music)
From the Kalahari Surfers’ latest, “One party state”.
Tommy McCook & the Skatalites – Freedom Sounds (Heartbeat)
Last month I played some mid 70s stuff from the saxist, Tommy McCook. McCook has been around since the dawning of reggae. He helped found one of the all time great Jamaican ska bands – the Skatalites. He wrote “Freedom Sounds”, and recorded it in the early 60s, for the great label and studio of the time, Studio One, owned by entrepreneur-producer, Clement “Coxsone” Dodd. Listen out for more sounds from Studio One in months to come.
King Tubby and Lee Perry are probably the two most famous names in dub.
King Tubby – Bottom Dub (Jigsaw Music)
King Tubby’s main method was to strip tracks right down to the bass and drums and then conjure up new rhythms and moods through adding effects to the beats like reverb and echo using an effects unit often of his own invention. Bottom Dub comes from the album “Herb Dub, Collie Dub”, which is a dub of a Skatalites’ LP – utterly changed from its ska original (thanks to Mario Pissarra for telling me about this LP).
Harry Mudie meets King Tubby – Dub with a difference (Moods)
King Tubby’s collaboration with a veteran record producer, Harry Mudie, probably best known for producing Gregory Isaacs, the super star of lovers’ rock. The string section of the original has been kept.
Lee Perry and the Upsetters – Three in one (Island/Mango)
On his album “Super Ape”, Lee Perry adopted almost the opposite approach to King Tubby – adding layers and layers to the murky sonic soup – instead of stripping down and accentuating beats and bass pulses.
Staff Benda Bilili – Sala Mosala (Crammed Disc)
From the streets of Kinshasa with a very infectious reggae lope.
Getachew Mekuria and the Ex and guests – Musicawi silt (Terp)
The mighty blast of veteran Ethiopean sax player, Getachew Mekuria, with Dutch punk band, the Ex. Mekuria helped invent that style of playing – called shelelle - in the sixties. It’s derived from war chants, if you had any doubts.
Fela Kuti – Jeun ko ku (Strut)
From the raucous, to the uber-precise – here is Fela Kuti’s The Africa 70 – circa 1971 – from The Abbey Road studio, London. This is Kuti’s rerecording of his 60’s Nigerian hit “Jeun Ko Ku” or “Chop N Quench” – proto Afro-beat with the legendary drummer, Tony Allen, laying down those ultra-controlled, insistent rhythms – never losing his cool.
Steely Dan – Rikki don’t lose that number
You probably know that Steely Dan didn’t come up with the bass figure and drum pattern at the beginning of “Rikki don’t lose that number”. They lifted it from the Horace Silver tune, “Song for My Father”, which came out in the mid 60s. But they weren’t the only ones doing heavy lifting.
Horace Silver – Song for my father (Blue Note)
Mulatu Astatke – Yekermo Sew (Strut)
Seyfrou Yohannes – Yekermo Sew (Buda Musique)
Mulatu Astatke – a music student in NYC round about when “Song for my father” came out, also lifted the tune in a way that was remarkable. He converted the song, blobs and staves and all, into a pure-bred Ethiojazz tune.
Malombo – Motshile (Kijima Records)
From Phillip Thabane and Malombo’s release in the early 80s, called “Malombo”.
Trembling Bells – Adieu, England (Honest Jons Records)
Trembling Bells, built around Alex Neilson, the multi-purpose, multi-directional drummer, and trained soprano, Lavinia Blackwall, emerged last year from the Glasgow folk scene – a wonderful throwback to 70s folk rock. Neilson wrote all the songs on their new LP “Abandoned Love” – and that was one of the them, “Adieu, England”. Are you reminded of Richard Thompson circa Fairport? I definitely am – “Crazy Man Michael” for the post-oughties or whatever decade we’re living in now.
Mary Hampton – Island (Navigator)
Mary Hampton is another UK songwriter up to her neck in tradition.
Sam Amidon – How come that blood (Bedroom Community)
Amidon draws on the same well of songs as Hampton and Neilson – English and Scottish ballads – this time filtered through the Appalachians. He’s deployed a really fabulous NY based percussionist, Shahzad Ismaily, on his new album “I see a sign”.
Mari Boine – In a blanket of warmth (Jazzland)
Mari Boine, from Norway, also works with great percussionists. From her 2003 LP “Eight Seaons”.
Kalahari Surfers and Greg Hunter – What is she saying to me? (Electric Melt)
The great maskanda star and tradition-breaker, Busi Mhlonga, provides the vocals. Amapondo providing backing vocals. UCT string quartet is also in the mix. Mhlongo died on the 15th June, after battling breast cancer. Hopefully her fiesty spirit will live on.
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
2 June 2010, World Cafe
1 TP Orchestre Poly-Rythmo de Cotonou – Les djos (Soundway)
TP Orchestre Poly-Rythmo de Cotonou palpably demonstrates their affinity for James Brown and the JBs by turning an introductory bridge typical of the JBs into a whole song. Lorhento Eskill shows off his James Brown imitation shouts and screams – which he admitted he spent an inordinate amount of time honing. Check out the downloadable Poly Rythmo mix that Jam Magica put out in the second half of May.
You can also watch this...
2 Hedzoleh Soundz – Omusus da fe m’musu (Soundway)
3 African Brothers International Band – Oyonko brebo (Happy Bird, 1970)
5 L’orchestre Congolais Les Bantous – Paris-Brazza (Papa Noel) (SV 13001) – Soukous - Vogue
Les Bantous were probably the best known band from the Congo Republic and a large amount of the reason for their fame was their wizard guitarist, Papa Noel. Noel adds more than a dash of twist and twang to the Congolese rumba here. Also available on the World Service blog. The LP was recorded in Paris, although it’s not clear when, and came out in the mid 70s.
6 Mulatu Astatke – I faram gami I faram (Strut) (Ichabod Music)
7 Bassekou Kouyate and Ngoni Ba – Segu Tonjon (Outhere Records)
8 Tartit – Tabey Tarate (Crammed Disc)
9 Jah Wobble’s Chinese Dub Orchestra – L1 (30 Hertz)
17 Sunny Ade and his Green Spot Band (African Songs Ltd)
18 Mahotella Queens – Ihlokohloko
19 The Mellotone Sisters - Jabulani Bazali
20 Theodore Bikel & Socalled – (Rock the) Belz (Label Bleu) – trad arr SoCalled
22 Dirty Projectors – Two Doves
24 Pentangle – Springtime Promises (Shanachie)
TP Orchestre Poly-Rythmo de Cotonou palpably demonstrates their affinity for James Brown and the JBs by turning an introductory bridge typical of the JBs into a whole song. Lorhento Eskill shows off his James Brown imitation shouts and screams – which he admitted he spent an inordinate amount of time honing. Check out the downloadable Poly Rythmo mix that Jam Magica put out in the second half of May.
You can also watch this...
2 Hedzoleh Soundz – Omusus da fe m’musu (Soundway)
3 African Brothers International Band – Oyonko brebo (Happy Bird, 1970)
Franco often stepped back and let the vocalists and guitarists from his completely fantastic band take centre stage. The singer Ndombe Opetum wrote that song, “Youyou”, and that terrific arrangement comes off the LP “A Paris volume 1”, which came out in 1980. The whole of this LP can be downloaded from the World Service site.
5 L’orchestre Congolais Les Bantous – Paris-Brazza (Papa Noel) (SV 13001) – Soukous - Vogue
Les Bantous were probably the best known band from the Congo Republic and a large amount of the reason for their fame was their wizard guitarist, Papa Noel. Noel adds more than a dash of twist and twang to the Congolese rumba here. Also available on the World Service blog. The LP was recorded in Paris, although it’s not clear when, and came out in the mid 70s.
6 Mulatu Astatke – I faram gami I faram (Strut) (Ichabod Music)
Over the last two years we’re been extremely lucky as he’s given us two treasures – one with the British collective the Heliocentrics and now one under his own name, with the album “Mulatu Astatke Steps Ahead” - featuring the Heliocentrics and the Either/Orchestra from Boston which he’s played with over the years.
7 Bassekou Kouyate and Ngoni Ba – Segu Tonjon (Outhere Records)
8 Tartit – Tabey Tarate (Crammed Disc)
9 Jah Wobble’s Chinese Dub Orchestra – L1 (30 Hertz)
Jah Wobble’s frantic funky Chinese dub.
10 The Congos - La la bella (Cedric Myton and Rhoyde Johnson - publishers)
Tommy McCook was an original member of the Skatalites, a ska-rock steady band of star musicians set up in the mid-60s. Ernest Ranglin was probably the Skatalites’ most famous member.
17 Sunny Ade and his Green Spot Band (African Songs Ltd)
18 Mahotella Queens – Ihlokohloko
19 The Mellotone Sisters - Jabulani Bazali
20 Theodore Bikel & Socalled – (Rock the) Belz (Label Bleu) – trad arr SoCalled
22 Dirty Projectors – Two Doves
24 Pentangle – Springtime Promises (Shanachie)
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