4 December 2013, World Cafe

1 Jupiter & Okwess International – Yaka (Out Here Records/Proper)
Album: Hotel Univers

Jupiter & Okwess International have been going in Kinshasa from early 90s but only just brought out their first international release.  They’re being marketed as part of the Congotronics scene – Staff Benda Belili, the Kasai Allstars, Konono No1 - the music of the multiple rural ethnicities of Kinshasa played on amplified instruments on the street at distorting high volumes.  The hype goes that Jupiter Bokondji got his edgy chops playing in East Berlin rock bands in the early 80s – he’s diplomat’s son. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2 Owiny Sigoma Band – Jonny Ra Ha (Brownswood)

Album: Power Punch

Continuing with more new edgy African sounds this time from Kenya: the Owiny Sigoma Band are teaming British post-rock musicians, the Elmore Judd Collective, and nyatiti player (the nyatiti is kind of lyre) and teacher Joseph Nyamungu and drummer Charles Owoko who met and recorded their first album in 2011 in the village of Owiny Sigoma (hence their name) under the auspices of “Art of Protest”, a voluntary organization promoting local music.  Their new album called “Power Punch” and was recorded in London and it’s definitely a punchier affair than their first. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

3 Joe Driscoll & Sekou Kouyate – Tanama (Localization Records)

Album: Faya

Rounding off our little look at the noisier side of African fusion is the wah wah kora playing of Sekou Kouyate, the Guinean who plays with Ba Cissoko and London-based New Yorker rapper-guitarist Joe Driscoll. 

4 Vieux Farka Toure – Kele Magni (Six Degrees)
Album: Mon Pays

Turning things down a notch, Vieux Farka Toure, like most Malian musicians contemplates the recent events in his country on his new album.  He’s from the Timbuktu area – pretty much of the epicenter of the fundamentalist take over.  Sidiki Diabate, a kora player like his father Toumani Diabate’s son, features heavily on the album. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

5 Etran Finatawa – Ahewalen  (Riverboat)

Album: The Sahara Sessions

The fundamentalist incursion into Mali occurred on the back of some kind of nationalist Taureg uprising – one of many that have occurred in the region over the years.  Etran Finatawa, from Niger have both Taureg and Wodaabe members – the Wodaabe being another historically nomadic group with its own language, history and traditions – and their reaction was to head for the desert and record a set of subdued fireside largely acoustic jams that reflect a cross-cultural solidarity of people stuggling in the face of modernity, conflict, poverty and arbitrary national borders.  On a sadder note, one Etran Finatawa’s co-founder, Bagui Bouga, died recently on tour in Switzerland.   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

6 Tamikrest – Itous (Glitterbeat)

Album: Chatma

 Tamikrest, although a relative young band, are emerging as one of the greats of Taureg rock.  After the incursion they are living in Algeria and their album, Chatma (sisters), deals the courage of Tuareg women and the suffering of the past year.  The magnificent singer Wonou Walet Sidati, who cut her teeth in Tinariwen, is in full flight and they conjure a wonderfully heavy, dubby sound. 

7 Sons of Kemet – Going Home (Naim)

Abum: Burn

Global fusionists with their set up of double drums, tuba and various reeds - the great Seb Rochford is one of the drummers. 

8 David Buchbinder – La Roza Dos (Tzadik)

Album: Walk to the Sea

Trumpeter David Buchbinder is from Canada and for the Ladino song “La Roza” he teamed up with the Cuban pianist, Hilario Duran.  It comes from a lovely album out on the label Tzadik called “Walk to the Sea”.

9 Gabriele Coen Jewish Experience – Leena from Palestinab (Tzadik)
Album: Yiddish Melodies in Jazz

Staying with the label Tzadik, but exploring the nexus of Jewish music and jazz a bit more overtly, the Gabriele Coen Jewish Experience with the 1920’s Con Conrad and J Russel Robinson tune, “Leena from Palestina”.  Gabriele Coen plays various saxes and clarinet.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

10 Sezen Aksu – Kacincam Seni… (World Village)

Album: Optum

Sezen Aksu is one of the greats of Turkish pop music.  She became ultra famous in the 70s when she performed songs she had written herself and since then has apparently sold more than 20 million albums. She is also known for her daring – singing in Kurdish when it was officially banned in Turkey. Optum was release in 2012. 

11 Monsieur Doumani – The Forest Ranger (Monsieur Doumani)
Album: Grippy Grappa

Monsieur Domani are a young Cypriot trio who play guitar, bouzouki-like tzouras and variety of woodwinds and do fabulous free-wheeling arrangement of traditional songs. 

12 Rena Stamou – Bed of Pain (Mississippi/Change Records/Tompkins Square)

Album: Bed of Pain: Rembetika 1930-55

“Bed of Pain” -  an absolute classic rembetika tune recorded in 1950 by Rena Stamou, one of the most famous rebetisses, who was 19 at the time, and written by the great bazouki innovators in the genre – Vassilis Tsitsanis.  The song was apparently inspired by a rich married women with whome Tsitanis had an affair and who died of TB shortly after.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

13 Cigdem Aslan – Pane gia to praso (Asphalt Tango Records)

Album: Mortissa

The combined Turkish and Greek origins of rembetika have been much discussed, and Cigdem Aslan, a Turkish Kurd who now lives in London, celebrates these origins together with Jewish and Armenian ones on her album.

14 Cuneyt Sepetci and Orchestra Dolapdere (LM Dupli-cation)
Album: Behriye Ciftetellisi

Orchestra Dolapdere is named after a Roma area of Istanbul and clarinet player Cuneyt Sepetci is main star.  They play modern takes on classic Turkish Roma music as well as folk songs from Albania, Macedonia and Spain.  They have a collection called “Bahriye Ciftetellisi” out on A Hawk and A Hacksaw’s own label called LM Dupli-Cation.

15 Meridian Brothers – El Jazz Del Chupasangres (Staubgold)

Album: Devocion (Works 2005 – 2011)

The Median Brothers is basically mainly Eblis Alvarez (although he’s helped by fairly constant group of musicians) and he’s appeared on a bunch of international releases recently, but he did three albums of quirky, experimental electronically based re-inventions of classic urban Columbian music between 2005 and 2011 not available outside of Columbia until now.  “Devocion” is a collection of that stuff.

16 Chico Cervantes y su Conjunto Internacional – Cumbia de la paz (Caliente)
Album: En la Onda de Chico Cervantes

The tune is from 1973.  The singer is Cesar Cerventes.

17 Nana Vascencelos – Berimbando (Far Out Recordings)
Album: 4 Elementos

Heading further south to Brazil, Nana Vasconcelos is one the most famous percussioinists and folk-jazz musicians of the last 45 years and he’s still going strong.  One of his best instruments is the berimbau – a bow with the resonator and hitting stick – basically the same as the instrument found in Southern Africa (called an uhadi here) and most famously played by Madosini.  This is a berimbau piece as its name would suggest. 

18 Bessie Jones – O Day (Mississipi Records)

Album: Georgia Se Island Singers: Join the Band

The Georgia Sea Island Singers are from the island of St Simon, one of string of islands that run from South Carolina to Florida.  This a 1960’s recording made by Alan Lomax of “O Day” with singer Bessie Jones at the forefront.  There’s some fabulous fife playing and voices used in lieu of drums, which were banned when this music was being forged in the 19^th century.

19 Brushy One-String – Chicken in the Corn (RiseUp Original Version) (RiseUp Entertainment)

Album: The King of One String – Acoustic

Sticking in the same sonic neck of the woods and in the general geographic neighbourhood - Brushy One-String is from Jamaicia and as his name suggests plays a one-string guitar (the low E string in case you were wondering). He mashes things up nicely.  His most well known tune is “Chicken in the corn” – a sort of highly jaunty country-blues rap reggae.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

20 The Lee Thompson Ska Orchestra – Fu Man Chu (Axe Attack Ltd)

Album: The Benevolence of Sister Mary Ignatius

Lee Thompson and Mark Bedford from the ska-revival Madness convened some sessions to have a go at playing the ska and early reggae tunes that inspired them in their youth.  A pretty great album resulted.  “The Benevolence Of Sister Mary Ignatius” named after a teacher at the Alpha School for Boys in Kingston, Jamaica, where the first ska musicians received their music education.  Desmond Dekker song “Fu Man Chu” was first recorded in 1968.  Rootsy dub producer of the moment, Mike Pelanconi – aka Prince Fatty – does the production honours.

21 The Abyssinians – Declaration of Rights (Studio 1 Records/Jamrec Music)

Single

Speaking of roots reggae, one of the best exponents were The Abyssinians and one of their best songs is Declaration of Rights. 

22 Hannah Martin & Phillip Henry – The Nailmaker’s Strike, Pt 2 (Dragonfly Roots)

Album: Mynd

Devon-based Hannah Martin and Phillip Henry’s fabulous intertwining of the Declaration of Rights and trad classic Poverty Knock.  They call it The Nailmakers Strike and it commemorates an 1862 worker march in Bromsgove. 

23 Linda Thompson – Never put to sea boys (Topic Records)

Album: Won’t be long now

Linda Thompson has new album out and she’s enlisted most of her family in its making – Jack, Kami, Muna, Teddy and ex-husband Richard.  “Never put to sea boys” is a tradish sounding shanty she co-wrote. 

24 Qetiq – Qizdar (Dreyer Gaido)
Album: Qetiq: Rock from Taklamakan Desert

Qetiq are a Uyghur band from Xinjiang in NW China and have come up with a rather fetching mix of rock and traditional music from the region.  “Rock from Taklamakan Desert” is their first international album.

25 German Khatylaev, Claudia Khatylaev – The Sacred Bird (L’Oiseau sacre)

Album: Arctic Spirit (Music from the Siberian North – Sakha People)

From way north - Sakha or Yakutia which is part of Siberia – German and Claudia Khatylaev have been on a mission to preserve the music of Sakha and been collecting songs and instruments and creating ensembles and repertoires for years now.  Artic Spirit: Music from the Siberian North is a fairly epic sounding collection of some of their work. 

26 Spiridon – Ajanyum Artyha (Cinq Planetes)

Album: Guimbardes

The khomus, a kind of jaw’s harp, is the national instrument of Sakha and Spiridon Spiridonovich is a key player.  This should blow your head off. 

27 Kelompok Kampungcan – Hidup Ini Seperti Drama (Light in the Attic)

Album: Mencari Tuhan

Kelompok Kampungcan were a sort of psychedelic folk band using instruments of their own making and operating in the late 70s and early 80s in Indonesia --- and were banned at the time for their effort.  The re-issue label Light in the Attic released their almost impossible to find album “Mencari Tuhan”. 

28 Arve Henriksen – Saraswati (Rune Grammafon)

Album: Place of Worship

A cracking track off Norwegian trumpeter Arve Hendriksen’s new album.