Return of the World Music Thread: 2012

http://www.montrealmirror.com/wp/2012/02/02/cover-melody-mediator/

Ethiopian-American singer Meklit Hadero is gonna be in DC Wednesday. This is an interesting Montreal newspaper piece on her and her various musical directions:

The three of us made a hip hop space opera where we use metaphors of galaxy distances and space travel to talk about diaspora and cultural connection. It’s a really exciting project. We got star sounds from NASA to use in our beats and I’m also playing an electro mix of star sounds on the guitar in live shows.

The next album after that will be a duo collaboration between myself and Quinn DeVeaux. Quinn is a soul singer based in Oakland and we’re doing covers of indie rock and art rock songs, but also some originals. But we are looking at the soul roots of indie rock and art rock. And I’m also working on new songs for my next solo record, which will be more like 2013.

Rolling African Dance / Urban Music Thread

Got an email regarding kizombo dance lessons, but the time won't work for my schedule (and I am still learning what the Angolan style kizombo is!).

Pete Margasak list of his 2011 international fave:

http://www.chicagoreader.com/Bleader/archives/2012/01/27/my-last-year-end-music-list-from-2011-i-promise

afropop.org has another Egyptian podcast.

Are you New Yorkers going to Rebel NYC

Hot African Music by Hottest African DJs: Pinguiss, Azonto, Ndombolo, Coupe Decale, Nigerian, Zouk, Reggae, Mbalax, Ethiopian, Rumba, Makossa, and more..
.
From 11pm to 4am
251 West 30th St, btn 7th and 8th Ave, Manhattan, NY 10001
.
http://www.neptix.com/events/3524/

That's on Fridays.

So both Margasak in the Reader and ILX's fastnbulbous like Brazilian singer/guitarist Marcelo Carmelo.

So much music, so little time to listen these days.

Hey world music folks, my wife loves this sound way records comp 2cd ghana special, ghanian ” high life”, I'm sure you're familiar..want to get her more in that vein, recommendations?

these are also on soundway so you might already know them: Ghana Soundz 1 and 2 are a little more afrobeat inclined that Ghana Special; Nigeria Special might be my favorite release on soundway. Lagos All Routes and Lagos Chop Up on Honest Jon's are nice and have more highlife type stuff than some other west african 70s comps which tend to go for funk or psych rock stuff.

I don't think it would be too much of a stretch to think she might like the Francophonic and Tabu Ley Rochereau (The Voice of Lightness) comps on Stern's. They're Congolese but I feel like the mood is similar and they're just beautiful.

Thanks I have nigeria special, did not know they had more ghana ones, will also check out the other suggestions, cheers :)

tabu ley seconded. it's not entirely analogue and sorta remedial matt, but have you done the ethiopiques thing?

No I don't know what that is, series or something?

Yes, Ethiopian music from the 60s and 70s. Some might be more of an acquired taste though (in my opinion)

imo, Ethiopiques #4 is the easiest one to get into first

oh shit matt, if you haven't done Ethiopiques you've got some joy in store.
4 is mulatu astatke, right? yeah that's a great inroads.
Sadly not on spotify but you can buy or pirate online easily.

yeah 4 is astatke and is sublime. I'm not sure what's on it, but iirc there's a best-of set too.

I am still behind on listening to various items highlighted in this thread. I have been listening to Persian singer Homayoun Shajarian (plus rock stuff--Cloud Nothings and old albums from the Jam). Shajarian starts his 6 city US tour in NYC at Town Hall Friday

http://www.arabist.net/blog/2011/6/22/sarah-carr-on-amr-haha.html

http://www.egyptindependent.com/node/507531

I am just catching up on DJ HaHa from Egypt who mixes chaabi, hiphop and other electro genres

the 3rd hour podcast from the afropop.org folks on Cairo covers him as well

His name is based on the breathing/words one has to say when the Egyptian police decide to ask you if you have been drinking

x-post

If I wasn't gonna be out of town I would go see Shajarian Sunday the 19th in W. DC; he is also doing shows in NYC, Chicago, LA, Berkeley and Houston

guitarist Bombino is touring the US again in April. I liked him live on his last US tour

DJ Boima's interesting piece on his stay in Liberia

http://www.theclustermag.com/blog/2012/01/2370/

digging the Nneka album - Soul is Heavy - now on spotify: http://open.spotify.com/album/2y8fPjPCWanp8VbAIycIaT

Questlove is tweeting about her and the pr push is on (plus she's on a North American tour this month)

In honor of her release, Nneka will be performing on BET's 106 & Park this Tuesday, March 6th, performing the track “God Knows Why” with Black Thought and J.Period.

The album is an effortlessly balanced combination of hip-hop beats, reggae grooves, brass riffs and African-pop

I need to check it out

Tinariwen are coming back to tour this continent also

Nneka's got a little Erykah Badu influence going.

Now I really like the kinda retro Afrop-pop album Zemelewa from Ivorian-American group Zieti. A singer and guitarist from the Ivory Coast teamed up with a guitarist from DC afrobeat band Chopteeth and a drummer plus others. The two Ivory Coast members can't get visas to come to the US (yet?), so the others are gonna be playing at little DC club Bossa on Thursday

Still liking the Zieti project--nice mix of retro and current afro-pop. Was exhausted and missed the gig last night with the DC members.

http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/blogs/artsdesk/music/2012/03/08/how-zieti-got-the-band-back-together/

Zieti getting more attention-- from Guy Raz on npr public radio

http://www.npr.org/2012/03/10/148310390/zieti-amid-brutal-conflict-a-musical-friendship-survives

and here's another piece

http://myworldmusicfriends.com/articles/03062012/beautiful-struggle-american-ivorian-trans-atlantic-band-zieti-turns-war-separati-0?utm_medium=twitter&utm_source=twitterfeed

http://www.essakanefilm.com/

movie doc coming soon about the Festival in the Desert

Has anybody else heard the new Rodrigo y Gabriela album, on which they're backed by a 13-piece Cuban band? It's pretty hot. There are also some other guests, like Anoushka Shankar and Trio Joubran, but most of it is guitars + horns & percussion. No new pieces, all re-workings of tracks from the last two studio albums, but well worth a listen if you're already a fan.

Not so turned on by Zieti, as much as I like the idea of it.

x-post--Not a fan of Rodrigo y Gabriela, but was intrigued when I read that they recorded this in Cuba with Cuban musicians.

Re Zieti, I was hesitant at first, as I'm not a big Chopteeth fan and I am not crazy about the idea that the Chopteeth guitarist stripped out the modern tech sounds created by the Ivory Coast members, but they approved the changes and I like the combination of retro afropop instrumentation and modern Ivorian vocal melodies.

rod y gab is worth a listen but it's disappointing to me in that it seems more like a grab at a tour or a nice idea executed rather than a new album

http://africasacountry.com/2012/03/11/dancing-to-the-lijadu-sisters/

Ok, not completely crazy about the flute on that one Zieti song "To Zion," but the singing and the percussion make up for that.

love the Zieti album! it's so highlife'y! my fave world album of the year so far. so breezy sounding + sophisticated.

I wonder why Sean G (upthread) does not like Zieti?

other items of interest:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sauti_Sol

I wonder if this Kenyan band that's at SxSW is doing other North American shows? Will research more later

Liking this Karantamba album a whole lot:
http://open.spotify.com/album/4kAlAPW9owLaq2SwOPWhI2

Think it's a reissue of an 80s recording. Very hypnotic and slightly murky feeling, but with guitar and horns really shining in places.

not available in the states, sadface.

Oh, that sucks! This is what it sounds like...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FQmT89440D8

It's good.

Looks good.

I not wowed though on my first 2 listens by the just released in the US (but out elsewhere for awhile) Karindula Sessions cd on Crammed Discs of Congolese banjo-like Karindula playing and percussion and such. Here's an older review

http://www.dustedmagazine.com/reviews/6538

More stuff worth listening to, I think. Actually listened to a bit of Saharan cell phones one awhile ago

Ali Ag Amoumine - Takamba

― Moka, Sunday, February 12, 2012 12:18 PM (1 month ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

hell yeah, this is fantastic. especially like the last track on the LP ("mali") and the sweet, acoustic A side of the single ("amidinine")

― Fozzy Osbourne (contenderizer), Tuesday, March 20, 2012 4:23 AM (Yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

african music has become my favorite kind lately, though i'm not sure exactly how this happened. another recent favorite:

music from saharan cell phones - various artists

also on sahel sounds, also from late 2011, technically

― Fozzy Osbourne (contenderizer), Tuesday, March 20, 2012 4:

the context behind the saharan cell phones thing is cooler than the tracks (which are great, but not as great as the story). also, i'm kinda burnt out on tinariwen atm tbh

I didn't like every single track on Saharan Cellphones but I thought the range of styles was really interesting. yeah, some desert blues rock like Tinariwen stuff but also weirder plastic-y electronic tracks too.

I wonder how the desert bands will be affected by the renewed turmoil through parts of Mali, and certain Tuareg groups fighting to establish their own homeland. There was just an in incident today in Mali's capital of Bamako

http://af.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idAFBRE82K17120120321

Heavy gunfire has been heard in Bamako and armoured vehicles sealed off the presidential palace.

It follows growing discontent among government troops as the Malian army struggles to contain advancing Tuareg rebels in the north of the country.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-17462111

Earlier this month:

Two members of North African band Tinariwen have cancelled their trip to Wellington due to an escalation in violence in northern Mali where they live.

Ibrahim Ag Alhabib, and vocalist and guitarist Elaga Al Hamid have been unable to make it out of the troubled region as conflict between the National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad and the Malian Government worsened in recent days.

The insurgency by MLNA rebels had seen many Malians die in a series of attacks since January, with around 130,000 refugees displaced in the conflict.

Ag Alhabib was now sheltering in a refugee camp near the Algerian border, and unable to get out due to crossfire between the MLNA rebels and the Malian Army, the band's management said.

http://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/culture/arts-festival-2012/6506687/Mali-unrest-prevents-musicians-from-Festival