NEW WORLD

AFRICA

OLD WORLD (Asia, Arabia, Europe)

Always time for a blast of the great Nico Kasanda.

Greetings, Platterbugs!

Gigs

Khaira Arby & her Saharan rock band will perform in Oakland on May 16 at The New Parish, 579 18th Street; Tix: $10.00/15.00, Doors Open: 8 pm, Show: 9 p.m.

On Cinco de Mayo, California Institute of Integral Studies presents GS Sachdev on flute and Swapan Chaudhuri on tabla, in what should be an exciting evening of classical Indian music. Tickets start at $25, Palace of Fine Arts, SF, 8 p.m.

The story of a label dedicated to Indian traditional music can be heard here on NPR.

Jacob Edgar made it to Benin after Angola on his cruise to Africa. Here's his blog report.

I'll be on the road for a few weeks so I will not be doing a June update, but expect to be back in July with loads more great new sounds.

ISSA JUMA & SUPER WANYIKA STARS
WORLD DEFEATS THE GRANDFATHERS vol 2
MORE SWINGING SWAHILI RUMBA 1982-6 (Sterns download* in 320 bitrate from 7digital)

This is a download-only album you nevertheless have to own, and to satisfy your need to have something in your hands to look at while listening, you should pull out the booklet from Volume 1 and reflect that Sterns' East African series is now up to 5 discs and is catching up to the essential Guinea sets put out from 2007 onward (which is up to 5 double-disc sets). Don't worry there's plenty more great East African music & this disc is no less impressive than Volume 1. "Teresia," which was a smash hit single in the mid 1980s is included, as is "Sauda," a killer cut from the Mpita-Nija album (three of the four tracks from that album were on Volume 1, so completists will be thrilled!). The stellar "Sarah," another long-time favorite, which was included on Sigalame 2 is here, along with the title cut which may be the one Issa Juma track you know if you had that Discafrique album that came out in Europe in 1990. That was their breakthrough album to Western ears & I am glad it has been digitized because I played mine so much it skips now. It's a good thing Sterns decided to include it here because it is truly one of the great East African songs and, after 22 years, there may be some people who missed Les Wanyika Stars then. "Selemani" & "Pole Issa" are here with a few other tracks previously unknown, even to the congnoscenti! And if you recall the first volume ended with "Ma Eliza" in an unreleased version with a sax solo; this one ends with a different take of that same tune. In it you can hear Omar Shabani trying out some Franco-style staggered guitar licks. Interestingly Sterns still haven't got to their early work as Les Wanyika, songs like "Sina Makossa," "Pauline" and a few others from the late 70s that maybe will be on Volume 3. Doug Paterson writes: "It just speaks to the largely unrecognized talents of Issa Juma that practically everything he did for AIT still sounds great: great rumba with a Tanzanian sensibility with the benga pulse; and often, perhaps unintentionally, a raw / gritty sound that I find quite appealing." Though the good songs are all now collected on these two volumes, Stern's has also released two of the Wanyika LPs --Bwana Musa and Pole Pole -- with their original track lists, and you can download those Golden Oldies separately if you prefer. (*Ken A, who has more experience than I in these matters, reports that amazon and iTunes generally encode their files at 256 kbps; with emusic you never know what you're going to get -- sometimes half of that -- but other than 7digital, othermusic and dancetracksdigital sell music for the same price as amazon and iTunes.)

LE SUPER BORGOU DE PARAKOU
THE BARIBA SOUND (Analog Africa AACD071)

Samy Ben Redjeb continues to carve out a niche as one of the most adventurous explorers of African music since Guenter Gretz. In addition he hasn't made a false step yet. His latest is another monster from Benin, the former French colony of Dahomey (now established as a major musical nation thanks to Ben Redjeb's efforts). The first eight bars of the opening cut, "Gandigui," reminded me of Beefheart's Magic Band--now that's far out! Then it turns into a soul jam. Most of the 15 selections on here are 3 or 4 minute pop singles for the jukebox or radio market, but they manage to pack musical surprises into each song. Super Borgou were previously heard on African Scream Contest with the song "Congolese Benin Ye," which tells you a bit about their main influence. But if they were listening to Congo it was more Trio Madjesi than OK Jazz: they have a rapid-fire intensity in their guitar work and a pounding rhythm section. The band did in fact start out in the mid-60s as an OK Jazz cover band. They also incorporated elements of highlife after an early stint in Ghana, but evolved into an original outfit in the 1970s, adding an Islamic lyric strain to the music. By track 3, "Me ton le gbe," I was entranced. Not only is this another version of "El Manisero," the guitarist has been listening to Dr Nico's spiralling runs on his Latin sides. This is a pachanga with a kick. The other tracks romp from Afro-Beat to Soul with a lot of variety, but there are a few other styles, including boucher and cavacha to mix it up and keep it interesting. There's also an organ played with gusto. A Bariba folk tune gives us some insight into the group's backgrounds. The people of Northwestern Nigeria migrated outwards to Benin, Togo and Northern Ghana, an area Ben Redjeb calls "the Islamic funk belt." It's in this traditional music that we hear the germ of what became their own Parakou sound: a drum-driven groove with a melding of Nigerian Afrobeat and Congolese guitar that goes straight to the dancefloor. Dendi Folklore is the basis for "Sembe Sembe Boudou" which leans more to the Malian guitar-band sound. It's only 4 minutes long but really stretches out and as far as I am concerned could go on for an hour. Accompanied by the usual AA detailed full-color booklet, this is an incredible discovery. It seems like Analog Africa will unearth for us a royal flush of new Orchestre Baobabs before they are through!

THE BOMBAY ROYALE
YOU ME BULLETS LOVE (Hope Street 007CDUS)

It's my fervent hope that while Asha and Lata are still alive they will re-record some of their greatest hits, not in new arrangements, but with the original instrumentation so we can really hear them, as opposed to the low-fi quality of much of their work from the 60s and 70s. Now, for something completely different, I have a review of an Indian film soundtrack where I have not seen the film. In fact I doubt there is a film: although it's billed as a soundtrack album, I think it's only a music video. This is an interesting idea: a "Bombay the Hard Way"-style soundtrack written largely by an Australian composer (Andy Williamson), heavy on the references to RD Burman and those 70s guys like Shankar-Jaikishan & Kalyanji/Anandji who sexed up the screen musically while Amitubby, Rishi Kapoor & co were beating each other up in their flares & paisley shirts with big collars. There are at least two bona feedy oldies in here: "Jaan penechan ho," from 1965's Gumnaam, is routed in a blistering 4 minutes and 28 seconds. "Sote sote adhi raat" was in a Horror B-movie, anthologized on the Bollywood Bloodbath CD, and the new version does it credit. Apparently the original singer, Salma Agha, formed a band with her sister Sabina called AGHA and performed ABBA hits in Hindi! While I can't say I am a fan of disco, the "otherness" filter added by its transformation into Hindi filmi dance music makes it really charming. Other tracks definitely sound like they were in some classic films. In fact a bit of poking about on YouTube indicates the Bombay Royale seem to have started out as an RD Burman tribute band, even if sometimes they fail to live up to the originals. But what they have is a crispness and energy abounding, plus some great chops to create a hi-fi thrill-a-minute ride into Bollywood's Golden Age. While I am sure Burman was listening to Herb Alpert (and you can hear that here), I doubt he was into the B-52s, though who knows. But Bombay Royale's rhythm section surely were. I bet they can pack a dancefloor too. This is a lot of fun and, given that many of the old Bollywood soundtracks are in poor condition sonically, it's great to have a full booming complement of guitars, strings and brass when you crank it up. This goes beyond groovy into the realms of fab.

THE FUNKEES
DANCING TIME (The Best of Eastern Nigeria's Afro Rock Exponents 1973-77) (Soundway Records CD039P)

ROB
MAKE IT FAST, MAKE IT SLOW (Soundway Records CD040P)

Dancing Time is a cut above most West African funk reissues. In their mid-70s career the Funkees covered a lot of British and American pop tunes like War's "Slipping into Darkness" or Marley's "Get up, stand up," and wrote originals that sound like Kool & the Gang, but added solid drumming and percussion and acid-washed lead guitar. It's poppy as well so among the 18 cuts collected here there's bound to be something to tickle your fancy. That being said, there seems to be no end in sight for the Afro-funk craze. There are reissues, as well as bands trying to sound like Egypt 80. If I don't notice some of the reissues people will think I am prejudiced against it, but the truth is I am a bit sick of it. The half-hour Rob album, Make it fast, make it slow, includes that cut which was on the first Soundways CD Ghana soundz. Now Soundways has released the entire album for anyone who wants to gobble the whole pie. The album came out on Essiebons in Ghana in 1977 but did not fare well. It was Rob's second release, more religious, and more contemplative than his first (also reissued on Soundways), and featuring an army brass line-up known as the magnificent second battalion. Frankly, "Make it fast, make it slow" is the best track on here, and only completists or fantatics will want it all. But now that I think of it, I have the same feelings towards Rocksteady remakes of Motown ballads that some people clearly have for Afro-funk. The Funkees' Dancing Time is an example of the curious parallel-universe of American songs that are mutated by culture and enhanced by age. So yes: more Afro-Rock from the 70s for those who can't stop 'til they've had enough.

MUCCA PAZZA
SAFETY FIFTH (Electric Cowbell ECR703)

This ensemble is a Midwestern marching band, which means they are big on drums and beats, have the odd triangle or glockenspiel note, and massed horns. More than that, they having cool arrangements, bringing in slide guitar, & other guest sounds that give great variety to the set. At times they remind me of Ennio Morricone and at other times of Carl Stalling which is high praise from me. While predominantly a marching band they have a "freak section" which includes mandolin, accordion, violin and the aforementioned guitarist to add variety. Apparently in concert they have head-mounted amplifiers (for the freaks, not normally audible while walking and playing) and cheerleaders who yell surrealistic algebraic formulae. They key here is tightness and they have the chops to start and stop on a dime and not let the massed brass get away from them. It's half circus act and half punk band masquerading as a marching band. It would be great to see them in a parade, and they will be touring the US this summer.

MAGA BO
QUILOMBO DO FUTURO (Post World Industries PWI105)

The "new thing from Brasil" always seems to start in the Northeast, up by the Amazon, and spread south, through Pernambuco to Bahia and thence eventually to O Rio. This is batucada meets electronica, or capoeira meets dubstep. Whatever it is, it has the determination of groups like Chico Science's Naçao Zumbi to break out of a small category (like "Brazil-slash-world" or "exotica") and embrace a wider mix. Maga Bo has worked with Ethio jazzer Mulatu Astatke, Malian techno-whiz Issa Bagayogo, and mixed for Bomba Estereo ("Fuego"), Systema Solar, Spy from Cairo, and Luisa Maita, so he knows the ropes. Or rather which little sliders to push up on the console. "Quilombo," as I recall from the movie, is about resistance. I am glad to say the Afro-Brasilian roots part is more dominant than the drum 'n bass, which I usually equate with slackness. The rhythm tracks are great. Bo (who is an American living in Rio) laid them down with João Hermeto, a real Carioca. Then each track has a different vocal interpretation, from MC Zulu -- a Panamanian now based in Chicago -- to Jahdan Blakkamoore -- a Guyanese dancehall arteest now based in Brooklyn -- to a bunch of emergent Brasilieros, like Mestre Camaleão who sings and plays berimbau. You can check out the first single, "No balanço da canoa (Don't tip the canoe)," on YouTube.

LOS MITICOS DEL RITMO
LOS MITICOS DEL RITMO (Soundways SNDW 036CD)

Will "Quantic" Holland is back with a new album of Cumbia, recorded "live" in the studio in Cali, Colombia on analog equipment and sounding, for all that, like a classic lost album from the 1960s, the heyday of the sound. It's all instrumental, with cover versions being the highlights. These include "Otro muerde el polvo (Another one bites the dust)" which, come to think of it, was remade once before on accordion as "Another one rides the bus" by Weird Al! There's an entertaining remake of the Abyssinians' reggae classic Satta, called "Satta Massa Cumbia," and a Michael Jackson entry: "No pares hasta tener lo suficiente (Don't stop 'til you get enough)." There's a fair bit of variety in here, the horns on "La Libanesa" are exceptional, and "Quantic" has obviously been immersed in this for some time; he recently produced the double-CD The Original Sound of Cumbia for Soundways, after spending 5 years looking for old porro and cumbia albums in dusty Barranquilla basements. Gildardo Montoya's "Fabiola," which was collected there, is covered here, if you want to comparison shop. (In answer to Soundways' foray, WorldCircuit have reissued their two cumbia comps from 1989 as Cumbia Cumbia vol 1-2, which I highly recommend.)

SIDI TOURE
KOIMA (Thrill Jockey)

Sidi Touré comes from Gao in Northern Mali, a region currently in crisis as armed mercenaries, ejected from Libya, are battling it out with the regular army for control of resources (Not to mention the armed battles for the rest of the country). Sidi started out with Songhaï Stars, which was the regional orchestra of Gao, but last year went solo and embarked on a US tour with a very laid-back album which I found excellent. His follow-up is not a super-session with a bunch of Western rockers and bluesmen jumping in to prove their connection to roots, but rather a highly accomplished set of real Malian traditional music. Sure you can detect the blues and R&B strains than were familiar in Ali Farka Touré's music, but for the most part it is natural and heartfelt and a great sequel to Sidi's 2011 Sahel Folk. The album consists of ten original compositions played on two guitars, calabash, drums, and the sokou which is a traditional fiddle. It's sparse, clean and quite magical. It's also uptempo enough to get you moving and shaking. Koïma is a giant pink sand dune on the banks of the Niger with wet toes and its head in the sky; literally the word means "go listen," and I suggest you do. Preview here.

JAAKKO LAITINEN & VÄÄRÄ RAHA YÖ ROVANIEMELLÄ (Helmi Levyt)

There's a picture of the band with their instruments in the booklet to this new CD that shows button accordion, upright double bass, trumpet and a Turkish hand drum. There are also skis and alcohol: two important elements for those who live in Lapland. This is the second album I have heard by this outfit and I must say it's really fun. It sounds like gypsy music so is either an abnormal manifestation from the frozen north or else there is a Slavic-Romany bond. I also hear bouzouki & kit drums on here. These guys have a lot of zest, which as you can imagine is required if you want to survive that close to the North Pole (though as the rest of us succumb to global warming, the Gulf of Finland will become quite the resort). But don't take my word for it, you can check them out on YouTube and see for yourself how hot they are!

KOTTARASHKY AND THE RAIN DOGS
DEMONI (Asphalt Tango CD-ATR3312)

Kottarashky (real name Nicola Gruev) built a reputation as the Balkan beatmeister, DJ-ing with folk samples and a stripped down sensibility and now he has taken the next logical step: gotten himself a live band. The Rain Dogs are made up of old friends and musicians from the club scene in Kottarasky's native Sofia. They are more blues than gypsy, more Tom Waits than Ivo Papazov, yet they still have that Balkan groove underpinning their sound. As befits a mix-master, the bass and drums are heavy: here held down by Yordan Geshakov and Atanas Popov. The stars are clarinetist Aleksandar Dobrev, who flies like a bird, and guitarist/keyboard player Hristos Hadziganchev. The leader is still compulsively sampling old singers and flute players on his travels, so there is still that drum-n-bass + mumbling atmosphere -- but the Rain Dogs bring his music to a whole new level. I thought Opa Hey! was pretty sterling and this lifts the bar up even higher (especially challenging for alcoholic dwarves). (The album comes out in the US on June 12th.)

RAMZI ABUREDWAN
REFLECTIONS OF PALESTINE (Riverboat TugCD1061)

It was a hard road to the top for Ramzi Aburedwan. He was raised in a refugee camp in Ramallah, on the West Bank in his native Palestine. His grandfather had lived his life amid orange groves in a village dotted with eucalyptus and other perfumed trees until he was forcibly evicted in 1948 to the poverty-stricken concrete jungle where his grandson was born and raised. As a child Ramzi threw rocks at Israeli tanks: he was lionized, but no David and Goliath triumph ensued. But then as a teen he took up bouzouk, a stringed instrument not unlike the Greek bouzouki, or the Turkish saz, and proved to be so proficient he was awarded a scholarship to study in France (His time there is celebrated in the tune "Bordeaux"). Thus music took charge of his passions and he now leads the Palestine National Ensemble of Arabic Music. This album is his own project, featuring his deft fretwork and accompanied by clarinet, oud, accordion, and two vigorous percussionists. It's a mellow, meditative set, emanating peace. There is an uptempo number called "Tahrir" in the middle. As we know from world events that is the Arabic word for "Liberation," but it's also the name of Ramzi's cousin who was intrigued by his instrument and soon took up violin herself. Ramzi's ideal of rebuilding Palestinian culture through music rather than aggression seemed to work here and he hopes his music will effect more positive moves like this.

2012 reviews, so far...

(click on maps at the top of the page to get to continent of choice)

April 2012:
The Cheb i Sabbah Tribute album Samaya is filed under USA
So is Chicha Libre's pan-American extravaganza Canibalismo
Ravi Shankar's latest, Living room Sessions, is filed under India
The Kahaani soundtrack is filed under Bollywood, part 2

March 2012:
Ndigal by Karantamba from Gambia is filed in Senegal and Gambia part 2
Bondi Blaster went to Colombia
Kayhan Kalhor is filed in Arabia
Rough Guide to Psychedelic Africa is filed in Nigeria pt 2

February 2012:
Zemelewa by Zieti is filed under Ivory Coast
Taga Sidibe's Wassolou Foli is filed in Mali part 2
Cartagena! is filed in Colombia
Baba Ken Okulolo's African Drum Songs is filed under Nigeria part 2
Debashish's Bhattacharya's Live in Calcutta is filed under India & Pakistan
Baloji's is filed in Congo part 3

January 2012:
Batsumi is filed in South Africa
Novalima's Karimba is filed under Peru

My Top Ten of 2011 can be found HERE.

My Top 9 of 2010 is online HERE

Click HERE for my top 10 of 2009

Click HERE for my top 9 of 2008

Click HERE for my top 10 of 2007

Click HERE for my top 11 of 2006

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A DISCOGRAPHY OF DOCTEUR NICO
By Alastair Johnston

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