Rolling Outernational Non-West Non-English (Some Exceptions) 2014 Thread Formerly Known as World

I assume so. I saw Facebook postings about events from the night before, and references to daytime panels.

Bombino · Nomad 10 19
Bassekou Kouyate and Ngoni Ba · Jama Ko 10 8
Matana Roberts · Coin Coin Chapter Two: Mississippi Moonchile 10 8
Rachid Taha · Zoom 10 7

Tal National · Kaani 10 5
Rokia Traoré · Beautiful Africa 10 4

These albums received some Village Voice Critics poll votes-- the number on the right is the number of people who voted for these albums

votes for these tracks:
Bunji Garlin (ft. Nigel Rojas) · "Differentology" 3

Mafikizola (ft. Uhuru) · "Khona" 0

listening to this minimal (+ folky + electronic) Ukrainian pop record on ilxor dan m's tip: http://dakhabrakha.bandcamp.com/album/light

They were just at the Kennedy Center in DC (video of the 1 hour show is streaming there). Upthread I said Portishead/new wavey outfit in the bits I saw though they bill themselves as "ethnic chaos" Sounds like more your type of thing than mine

That's not meant to be snarky, just a difference in taste

heh no offense taken

the pretty tracks work way better than the hip-hop ones imo

http://www.npr.org/blogs/allsongs/2014/01/16/263070114/discoveries-from-globalfest-2014

some of the groups we've been mentioning.

Was i the only person to go to globalfest?

I always do a double-take when I see this:
http://sahelsounds.com

because it looks like my username

Maybe I'm behind the times, but did anyone listen to/pick up the vol. 2 of the saharan cell phones comp?

x-post --Forks you probably were. I've seen some of the acts here in DC and others I'm gonna check out videos(on Youtube, Kenn. Ctr. site & NPR)

I'm behind and haven't listened to Saharan Cellphones 2 comp either.

i heard that comp - it's not my fave of what they do (tho if you like it they did release a full-length pheno s. album last year)

http://sahelsounds.com/2014/01/rain-the-color-of-blue-with-a-little-red-in-it/

http://www.djrocard.com/tag/serge-beynaud/

I like the song (via video) on this site by this Sierra Leonian dance pop guy. He's gonna be in DC on Friday

that sahel kickstarter got funded btw

I can't stop listening to this old record of my Dad's - Ariel Raminez's 'Misa Criolla', an Argentinian folk chorale which is just incredible, a mix between Latin folk music and choir worship music.

the new tinariwen comes out soon - recorded in joshua tree bc of the conflict at home

Touring the US too

http://www.kennedy-center.org/explorer/videos/?id=M5714&type=A

The Bombay Royale's novelty Bollywood shtick is entertaining at times, but its mostly too cute for me

I couldnt deal with them at all honestly

Christgau likes African acts Tal National, Sidi Touré, Mariem Hassan, Tamikrest, & Bassekou Kouyate in year-end piece http://alturl.com/aj6o5

a better link to his essay which also contains the link to his list

http://bnreview.barnesandnoble.com/t5/Rock-Roll/The-Consensus-Has-Consequences/ba-p/12189

He likes Rachid Taha too, which I need to listen to. I wonder if its on Spotify?

http://bnreview.barnesandnoble.com/t5/Rock-Roll/The-2013-Dean-s-List/ba-p/12191

(English captions available.)

Hamza Namira - Wa Ollak Eh

http://obengerecordings.bandcamp.com

OBENGE RECORDINGS is a collection of field recordings by Roger Peet, recorded in the Congo in a now vanished village called “OBENGE”. It has since been burned to the ground by military. The village was very small, and unfortunately neighbor to a ruthless ivory warlord who terrorized them and put them in harms way. EWE OF NOW was fortunate enough to capture these songs on cassette for your listening enjoyment. They are full of life, from a place where life is more real than we are accustomed to. All proceeds from the sales of this cassette go to Roger’s relief work in the in the Democratic Republic of Congo, and hopefully this isn’t the last volume.

Plenty of listening to do. With Congo calming down a bit, hopefully we'll start hearing more music from there again.

x-post to myself
Spotify does have Rachid Taha's Zoom album plus I see he did songs for a movie Cheba Louisa, and that's on Spotify too.

Freaky Trigger's Pop World Cup has started: http://freakytrigger.co.uk/pop-world-cup-2014/2014/01/pwc-14-group-a-match-1-brazil-mexico-cameroon-croatia/

Looks more interesting than the Grammy winners

Reggae Album
“Ziggy Marley in Concert,” Ziggy Marley

World Music Album
“Savor Flamenco,” Gipsy Kings
“Live: Singing for Peace Around the World,” Ladysmith Black Mambazo (tie)

lol, I had no idea you could tie for a Grammy

Dunno if this is the thread where we talk about archival releases but the new Haiti Direct comp on Strut is a very good time.

this is def a thread for discussing archival releases!

x-post--I've seen Tabou Combo who are on that Strut comp, who I think are still together, and I have an album or 2 of theirs; so I bet this is great. Will have to check it out. They meshed together trad Haitian sounds with funk and more

They meshed together trad Haitian sounds with funk and more

yeah that description fits most of the comp

Haitian music (classical, folk etc. (guitar works preferred)) s/d

The Haitian thread never gets many posts

just heard this segment on npr and thought it was pretty brilliant (+ beautiful) - excuse me while i crosspost it to the 2014 china thread too:
http://www.npr.org/blogs/codeswitch/2014/01/28/265468566/remaking-all-that-jazz-from-shanghais-lost-era

i love this track:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2LLMBJntfV8

oh, that's not the one i thought it was - it's this one:
http://open.spotify.com/track/04cPsJ4iXU5JHspgdwdXOc

Would love to get hold of this "electro chaabi" release but it's vinyl-only (and expensive!): http://thequietus.com/articles/14300-eek-islam-chipsy-dj-sardena-review

Short YouTube sample sounds absolutely banging:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O8Z7MegmZH4

wow no kidding

Ester Rada lp out!!!

http://esterrada.bandcamp.com/album/ester-rada

http://f0.bcbits.com/img/a2047931644_2.jpg

She was on my list of folks I should listen to, and I still haven't gotten to her yet. But I will.

I'm liking the new Angelique Kidjo album

http://www.theguardian.com/music/2014/jan/30/ibrahima-sylla

RIP. 57 is too young. That's horrible. Dude was an awesome producer. I once wanted to interview him and it never happened and now never will.

A case in point was his nurturing of the collaboration between the Senegalese singer Thione Seck and Indian and Egyptian orchestras on the album Orientation (released in 2005, but recorded a few years earlier), an idea later taken up with equal success by N'Dour.

This was a great cd as were the Africando albums he worked on. He loved Latin clave sounds as well as West African ones and nicely made them work together.

And on the Thione Seck one showed he could work with Egyptian & Indian sounds as well

A couple of listing on my P&J Top Ten, perhaps right for this thread--from P&J comments archived inhttp://thefreelancementalists.blogspot.com/2014/01/ive-seen-bootage-pazz-jop-13-pt2.html
Orchestre Poly-Rythmo De Cotonou, Volume Three---The Skeletal Essences of Afro-Funk 1969-1980 is
Analog Africa's third collection of tracks from Benin's primo movers of "traditional Voudon rhythms to funk, sato, Latin, sakpata, psychedelia, and Afro-beat" includes reel-to-reel, one-or-two mic recordings in houses, and even outdoors: conditions which might have suggested the "Skeletal Essences" advisory. Still, the reel-to-reel was a Nagra, the outdoors settings were gardens, the sessions often nocturnal; the results are fully charged. They seem like a response to late-night Bay Area FM and UK pirate stations, who maybe turned on those trendy Voice of America and BBC World Service headz to Hendrix, Santana, Meters, James Brown, Sly & The Family Stone, then dialing in electric Miles, P-Funk, Stevie Wonder, the expanding Talking Heads: trace elements, as filtered/reduced by these gray rockhead American ears, of Cotonou's ricochet path around the encrusted periphery of textbook popular music history. Peripheral visions, flickering lightning, skeletal filaments: like Miles slipping in, stealing the scene on his own records, as the background becomes the foreground---not in a New Age sense, or anything rarefied; more like oops upside the head, as the searchlight and spotlight merge. Back in the day, these guys are still re-writing the books, the future----as now, Daddy-o. Keep 'em coming, Analog Africa! (Cotonou's founder passed in 2012, but think there have been some reunion shows in the fairly recent past?)

Jazz didn't make the list this year, in terms of obvious titles, but as usual (always?), it was a crucial ingredient of several selections---made a difference with Cotonou, the way I hear 'em, and Guerilla Toss even, as we shall see--but right now should mention the inclusively, still inadequately-titled Underground Sounds of Modern Brasil: Hip-Hop, Beats, Afro & Dub. The excursions that first swept me up were the penultimate-to-ultimate grooves cruising off Disc 1, both very reliably informed by kosmic Krauts and Miles Davis (most likely). And all of Disc 2 has something to do with various kinds of jazz, as only the Brasilians/Brazilians can iterate ( yes, getting essentalist with it, but there's your classy 2013 buzzword or meme or whatever it is, too).

This was in the Top Ten too:
Key point in the p.r. pitch for Rough Guide To African Disco: "Creative scenesters put their own spin on the disco sound, mashing together the rhythmic pulse of funk, soul and Latin with African grooves; soukous, Afrobeat, township jive and more." Yes! There are a few let-downs, like the very first track, I think, but mostly amazing. Some of my faves are ones I wouldn't have thought to tag as disco, but no prob.

That's all old stuff on that Rough Guide to African Disco, or recent stuff? I can google later but thought I'd ask since you like it. Either way, its of interest, just curious re more details.

It's all older, don't remember the cut-off date. Def check the two-disc version (on Spotify).And a couple of Right Hon. Mentions:

National Wake---Walk In Africa 1979-1980: Music made by young South Africans, of various RSA racial classifications: punk-funk-reggae-dub, reminding me of Australia's Us Mob, No Fixed Address, Coloured Stone, early live Police, some of Tom Robinson's combos, Bad Brains kinda. The finale, a dub workout, is over 17 min long, like over three times as long as any other, but despite my habitual editorial fantasies, wouldn't part with a particle so far. Would have Top Tenned this set, but already got all those reissues on there already….

Bombino---Nomad: None of Tinariwen's occasional late-night campfire acoustic ruminations, which is okay by me. Electric and maybe acoustic guitars, always plural, over and around bass, drums (usually a full kit), an organ, which is sometimes almost subliminal, but always at least flickering; I'd miss it. First few tracks have a distractingly buzzy, grainy midrange squeeze; whether it's the quality of the source, the stream, my usually okay headphones showing their limitations, I dunno. But then the mix of desert harshness times deftly. sometimes boldly applied fluidity kicks in, the latter taking over quickly enough, but never complacently. Some tracks seem a little, brief, ending abruptly; I'll have to check his concert links from this page too. Closes with maybe a little mellotron on the Garcia/Costello-ish voice, def hand drums and steel guitar, at times like uh T.Rex jamming on "Lively Up Yourself", ha comparisons. Wild set still here: http://www.npr.org/event/music/204500938/bombino-live-in-concert-newport-folk-2013

Rolling Outernational Non-West Non-English (Some Exceptions) 2015 Thread Once Known as World Music

New thread time

at the risk of spamming the board, here's the lineup of pertinent shows at NYC's SummerStage for the upcoming season:

FREE SHOWS featuring (in alphabetical order) ANGELIQUE KIDJO, BOMBINO, BUNJI GARLAN, CESÁRIA ÉVORA ORCHESTRA, DIEGO GARCIA, DJ GILLES PETERSON, EBONY HILLBILLIES, EMMANUEL JAL, FANTASTIC NEGRITO, GYPTIAN, HELADO NEGRO, IBEYI, LA IAIA, MAXI PRIEST, MAYRA ANDRADE, NAÇÃO ZUMBI, NATION BEAT, NOT TE VA GUSTAR, OQUES GRASSES, SYSTEMA SOLAR, VICENTICO, YIDDISH SOUL, and many more

• Sunday June 7 - Central Park - 3pm - Angelique Kidjo + Emmanuel Jal + Rich Medina
• Sunday June 14 - Betsy Head Park, BK - 4pm - Brooklyn Family Day with Martha Redbone + Ebony Hillbillies
• Tuesday June 16 - Central Park - 7pm - Yiddish Soul featuring Cantorial and Chassidic virtuosos
• Saturday June 20 - Central Park -7pm - Jungle + Ibeyi
• Saturday June 27 - Central Park - 3pm - VP Records 35th Anniversary with Maxi Priest + Gyptian + Bunji Garlin and Fay Ann Lyons + Massive B (Bobby Konders and Jabba)
• Sunday June 28 - Central Park - 3pm - Catalan Sounds On Tour with Oques Grasses + La Iaia + Silvia Perez Cruz + DJ Guillamino
• Sunday July 5 - Central Park - 3pm - Global Family Day with Shine and The Moonbeams + The Noel Pointer Youth Orchestra + The Red Trouser Show + Batoto Yetu + Ziporah Roney and Collaborative Artists
• Wednesday July 8 - Central Park - 6pm - LAMC presents Systema Solar + Compass + Helado Negro
• Thursday July 9 - St. Mary’s Park, BX - 7pm - Cano Estremera
• Saturday July 11 - Central Park - 3pm - LAMC presents Vicentico + Ximena Sariñana + No Te Va Gustar
• Sunday July 12 - Central Park - 3pm - Cesária Évora Orchestra + Mayra Andrade + Dino D'Santiago
• Sunday July 12 - St. Mary’s Park, BX - 7pm - Gerardo Contino y Los Habeneros + Film Screening: Celia - The Queen (2008)
• Sunday July 19 - Central Park - 7pm - Jorge Drexler + Diego Garcia + Danay Suarez
• Saturday July 25 - Highbridge Park, MN - 7pm - Jose Peña Suazo y La Banda Gorda
• Saturday July 25 - Central Park - 3pm - Bombino + Young Fathers + Fantastic Negrito
• Sunday August 2 - Central Park - 3pm - Brasil Summerfest with Nação Zumbi + Nation Beat’s Carnival Caravan with Cha Wa + DJ Vinil Pompéia
• Saturday August 8 - Central Park - 6pm - SummerStage 30th Anniversary DJ Celebration with Afrika Bambaataa + Gilles Peterson + Quantic

This is last year's thread, dude

lol, whoops.

Really liking this: African-Scandinavian folk-jazz, with mostly female solo vocals (and a few occasional guests), mbira and acoustic bass pretty much the constants, times effective varieties of reeds and percussion. More shading and intrigue in the second half, like she's leading us further in---To Be Continued.
Distributes by Worldisc/AKA worldmusic.net
Press sheet:

Monoswezi "Monoswezi Yanga"
Riverboat Records
May 26, 2015

Monoswezi weave traditional African songs and instruments with cool Scandinavian jazz. Zimbabwean mbira and vocals are enriched with Mozambican percussion and embellished with Nordic sax and sympathetic rhythm section.

Monoswezi bind themselves together on Monoswezi Yanga , gently singing reworked folk songs and whispering vivid tales. Hope Masike’s dulcet tones guide the album. She assumes the role of storyteller, underpinned by smooth unobtrusive accompaniment. As listeners we are invited to gather round, to sit at her feet soaking up the illuminated myths and legends of her childhood.

Monoswezi Yanga is the group’s second album on Riverboat Records, following the critically acclaimed 2013 release The Village . The recording took place at bass player Putte Johander’s home studio on the Koster Islands in Sweden. The islands are remote and free from cars; the native silence is punctuated by the sound of surrounding waters lapping against rocky coastlines. As the cosmopolitan band live across three countries (Norway, Sweden and Zimbabwe), meeting up in full is a treasured but rare occasion. Studio time is precious and experimentation the order of the day.

Often tracks are laid down in one take and then post-produced by the Scandinavian-living members Hallvard, Erik, Calu and Putte. Mixes are then bounced across the globe to Hope who contributes feedback from her home in Zimbabwe. Though unconventional, this working method imprints their music with a beautifully loose and open aesthetic. The music is not over-thought or preened to pretension. The music is fluid,
organic, and free.

The name Monoswezi is an amalgam of the four nationalities represented in their line-up – Mozambique (Mo), Norway (No), Sweden (Swe), Zimbabwe (Zi) – and the influence from each culture is audible. Hallvard’s Scandi-jazz saxophone approach is round of tone and melodically minimal. The role of the Zimbabwean mbira is paramount to Monoswezi’s style. Hope raises the flag for female mbira players everywhere, unlocking rhythmic routes through the sound on every track. Monoswezi Yanga also experiments with the use of a bass mbira as heard resounding low on last track ‘Nhetembo’. The result is entrancing: a slowly revolving, other-worldly fantasia for mbira .

A reading of the lyrics reveals a rich tapestry of traditional Zimbabwean folk songs and stories. ‘Matatya’ is a plea for a new lover from a young girl tired of ‘kissing frogs’. ‘Lobola’ and ‘Wadadisa’ are songs to celebrate marriage. ‘Dande’ is a prayer asking for protection over family and friends. ‘Mhondoro’ is a cautionary tale, imploring listeners to care for their environment. Each one is reshaped, performed anew and given a unique Monoswezi slant. Hallvard commented that often during the compositional process, he won’t be working with prior knowledge of the folk song in its original form, whereas Hope will have grown up with the tune and lyrics moulded into her musical consciousness. This difference in approach means the creative process can spin off in new uncharted directions uninhibited by a sense of what’s right or appropriate to the original.
The tracks ‘Povo m’povo’ and ‘Nhetembo’ are about fighting for what’s yours and an mbira is used to symbolically illustrate the tale: it is stolen in the first track and returned at the close of the album providing a satisfying symmetry to the work.
Haven't seen the booklet yet, so don't know if the lyrics are translated, but the vibe is vivid.