5 May 2010, World Cafe

1 Orchestra Poly-Rythmo de Cotonou – Minkou E So Non Moin (Analog Africa)

The soaring 6-voice chorus, the precision drumming, the deft guitar playing of Papillon, driving brass section and the hugely powerful tenor voice of Lohento Eskill are just typical of songs that Orchestre Poly-Rhythmo recorded in the mid 70s. Poly-Rhythmo went over the border to Lagos to make those recordings in state-of-the-art studios for the Beninese label Albarika Store – and they still sound fabulous today. Lohento Eskill, who wrote that tune, is known in Benin as “Le Rossignol” – “the nightingale” – which can only refer to his fluency and agility, rather than delicacy. There’s much more of that kind of stuff on Analog Africa’s Orchestra Poly-Rhythmo’s collection, “Echos Hypnotiques” which came out last year.

2 Rail Band – Sinsimba (Styllart)

The Rail Band was home to three of the greatest modern Malian musicians: Salif Keita, Mory Kante and Djelimady Tounkara. In 1977, Mory Kante was singing for the band; Tounkara has been their lead guitarist all along. The song is a tribute to Fela Kuti’s Afrobeat – but instead of the tight and super tuned brass typical of afro-beat, the brass section is bracingly ramshackle and flat. The message of the song is celebratory – “When things go well, why we should we hide our happiness?”

3 Celestine Ukwu & His Philosophers National – Okwukwe Na Nchekwube (Soundway)

Nigerian Celestine Ukwu has an achingly soulful voice, very apt for what his songs are usually about – this song is titled “Faith and Trust” and was extremely popular when it came out in 1974. His Philosophers National was his backing band – a name that also echoes his concerns. The style of music is Highlife – and in this song you heard the Palmwine roots of Highlife strongly. Palmwine was a much earlier guitar and percussion based style that evolved in drinking holes of various kinds, as the name suggests, along the west coast of Africa. Celestine’s promising career was cut short in 1977 when he died in a car accident. The song comes off the Soundway collection “Nigeria Special: Modern Highlife, Afro-sounds and Nigerian Blues 1970-6”.

4 The Sweet Talks – Akumpaye (Soundway)

The Sweet Talks were one of the most popular bands in Ghana in the mid 70s. In short the song comments “the chief is in a position to grant the requests of his subjects, but mostly he doesn’t”. Perhaps it is a critique of chiefly power, but it sounds too joyful for that. The really swingingly inventive drumming was supplied by one J Y Torty – according to those in the know the best drummer in Ghana at the time. The song comes from another Soundway compilation – “Ghana Special: Modern Highlife, Afro-sounds & Ghanian Blues 1968-81”.

Benga is a regional guitar-based music style from western Kenya. The style came to prominence in Kenya during the political and economic malaise of the 70s. Here are two fine examples - one over 20 years old, the other a little over a year old.

5 Daniel Owino Misiani and Shirati Jazz Band – Honourable Horace Owiti Ongili (Earthworks)

Daniel Misiani and his band, Shirati Jazz, are considered the kings of the Benga style. They played “Honourable Horace Owiti Ongili”, which was dedicated to a murdered MP from Western Kenya. The song comes from the Earthworks collection, “Benga Blast”, which came out in the mid-80s. The whole album can be downloaded from the Global Groove blog – and you can get there by following the links from this show’s blog.

6 Extra Golden – Ukimwi (Thrill Jockey)

The band, Extra Golden, is a mix of Kenyans and Americans who play and record in both countries. They’re on their third album now – “Thank you very quickly” – out on the American post-rock label “Thrill Jockey”. The band is saying thank you to American fans for helping its Kenyan members who couldn’t perform during the 2008 post-election violence in Kenya and thus couldn’t earn a living.

Back to the 70s. Last month we played you a bunch of tunes from mbaqanga’s golden age. Here are two more which are followed by a maskanda track. All the tunes come from either the Electric Jive blog or its sister blog, Matsuli – both accessible from this show’s blog.

7 Indoda Mahlatini & Mahlatini Band – Siyekeleni (Soweto Records)

The B-side of the single we heard last month, called “Siyekeleni”.

8 Makgona Tsohle Band – Diperekisi (Mohotella)

I love the tight jerky intertwining of mouth organ, guitar, bass and sax.

9 Abalandeli – Unogwaja (Rashid’s Red Label)

I know nothing about Abalandeli other than that they recorded that for Rashid’s Red Label. Matsuli blog are planning a bunch of vinyl re-issues from Rashid’s Red Label starting very soon. I’ll keep you posted.


There is a fine tradition of spiritual singing within reggae – vocal groups like the Abyssinians and the Congos moved away from a US soul style to a more sombre, hymnlike feel.


10 Abyssinians – Tenayistillin (Clinch Records)

From the 12 inch orginally released on their Clinch Records label.

11 Yabby U – Homelessness (Blood and Fire)

Jamaican producer Yabby U developed a particularly stripped down dub sound.
A committed Christian, he disputed the divinity of Haile Salassie, and for that reason was known as “Jesus Dread”. I guess Yabby U is getting to know something about his maker – sadly for us still in the land of living, he died a few weeks ago.

12 Ian King – Black Eyed Susan (Fledg’ling)

Ian King has teamed up with the great English dub producer, Adrian Sherwood, to come up with a concoction of traditional balladry and dub. Not exactly unprecedented – Sinead O’Connor and Sherwood did something similar for Irish music some years back. Ian King is also a dry stonewaller who plies his trade in Yorkshire. There’s a whole album of the stuff called Panic Grass and Fever Few – and it’s mostly fabulous.

13 Davy Graham & Shirley Collins – Proud Maisrie (Fledg’ling)

No less innovative is Shirley Collins – one of Ian King’s champions, as it happens. With Davy Graham she created one of the touchstone albums of the early folk revival – “Folk roots, new routes”. Combining rhythmically and harmonically inventive guitar playing with unaffected, unadorned traditional singing, the album set the template for generations of singer-guitarists working the seam of tradition – like Martin Carthy, Bert Jansch, Nic Jones, Dick Gaughan, Martin Simpson.

14 Fairport Convention – Genesis Hall (Rykodisc)

In 1969 Fairport Convention brought out “Unhalfbricking”, a breakthrough album on the English folk scene, maybe the first one to seamlessly join folk and rock without any trace of feyness or rumpty tum tum tum ness. Richard Thompson, Fairport’s guitarist, also started writing killer songs on that record. “Genesis Hall” is one.

15 Darko Rundik & Cargo Orkestar – Ista Slika (Piranha)

In the 90s Darko Rundik, a Croatian singer, actor and theatre director, emigrated from Zagreb to Paris to escape the Balkan wars. His 2004 concept album involves inter alia a cargo ship, Cuba, French theatre, and immigration …

16 Albert Kuvezin & Yat-Kha – In a gadda da vida (Yat-Kha Recordings)

Iron Butterfly’s troglodyte bash – “In a gadda da vida” – as done by Yat-Kha - sounding only slightly more elegant than the original.

17 Uyghur Musicians from Xinjiang – Mudan Khan (Globe Style)

Just south of Tuva, Yat-Kha’s homeland is the Xinjiang region of China. From a great record by a collective calling themselves “The Uyghur Musicians from Xinjiang”, this is Mudan Khan. According to the sleeve notes, it’s a tragic love song.

18 Mulatu Astatke – Mulatu (Strut)

The biggest name in Ethio-jazz is probably pianist, vibes player, composer and band leader - Mulatu Astatke. Coming up is one of his most classic tunes, “Mulatu”, from the 1972 album, “Mulatu of Ethiopia”. Strut Records have re-issued this and other Astatke tracks from the period on the collection “

19 Maurice El Medioni – Ahla Ouassala (Piranha Musik (GEMA))

Maurice El Medioni’s astonishing fusion of latin and algerian rai – that was called “Ahla Ouassala”. El Medioni was the first to introduce the piano into rai, but he always did it with more than just a tinge of latin, betraying his musical rights of passage - playing to American soldiers and learning American styles from them in the 40s in the coastal town of Oran. The track comes from the relatively recent album Oran Café produced for Piranha Records.

20 Kalahari Surfers and Greg Hunter – Garuda Express (Electric MELT)

From a 2009 Kalahari Surfers album, “Turntabla”, which is co-credited to Greg Hunter who is part of the electronica experimentalists, the Orb. All kind of things bubbling up from the mix there – including a massed pizzicato onslaught from the UCT string quartet.

21 Bask – Arabiskan (X Source)
Bask are from Sweden – and as you’ll hear they like to explore the resonance between fiddle, sax, flute and percussion. “Arabiskan” is a “springlek” – a kind of Swedish dance tune.

22 Hoven Droven – Myhrpolska (North Side)

Sweden is home to pretty unhealthy sounding heavy metal – that was decidely more wholesome, founded as it is on a folk dance tune – “Myhrahalling”. Recorded live on Hoven Droven’s tour of the US a few years ago, it is on the record “Jumping at the Cedar”. The Cedar is in Minneapolis, in case you’re wondering.

23 Imagined Village – Rosebud in June (Proper Records)

The Imagined Village have moved their sound on from a multi-cultural re-invention of traddish ballads to something perhaps a little less contrived. Their latest album “Empire and Love” has just been released; from it we’ll listen to “Rosebud in June” – a traditional song which was given a recent airing by Steeleye Span – recent in traditional terms being about 40 years ago.