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

Damn, the s/t Nacao Zumbi is really impressive. Only thing (currently) keeping it off my P&J Albums list: the male lead vocalist seems a little too reserved, though if I were Lusophone, might well not think so (my ignorance doesn't keep me as far from xpost Jucara or especially Noura, though). Guest Marisa Monte/s sole guest appearance draws him out, but mainly can't help wishing NZ would hitch themselves to another front person (not "another" Chico Science, can't ask that much). Gotta find room for one of these tracks among my P&J Singles...

The way they use assertive noise, nuanced melodies, tight,flexible mix of rhythms & beats---all seems like, "Of course we do this, now this is what we have to say," but I haven't quite caught enough of the last yet, given limited P&J openings---for my Outernational Top Ten, OHellYes.

I need to find time to listen to those Brazilian efforts. Oh, Jon Pareles from the NY Times did put this song in his top songs list for the NY Times:

Angélique Kidjo “M’Baamba (Kenyan Song)” (429)

Just posting stuff like that because I like to point out when artists from this thread get non-niche attention.

Speaking of, Ann Powers at NPR has the Noura Mint Seymali album in her top 15.

Haven't made my way through it yet (listening to the Criolo album now, it's good!) but Sounds and Colours' best South American albums of 2014 list looks pretty cool:
http://www.soundsandcolours.com/articles/brazil/best-albums-of-2014/

Need to go through more of that list plus these African efforts:

Hassan Hakmoun, Unity: “Zidokan (Just Go)” - Healing Records

Thomas Mapfumo and the Blacks Unlimited, Danger Zone: “Chikonzero”

Chigamba, Yangu Ndega: “Gandanga / Tinovatenda”- Available on CD Baby

Ladysmith Black Mambazo, Always With Us: “Mamizolo” - Ladysmith Black Mambazo Records

Mamani Keita, Kanou: “Djalal Kibali” - World Village

Not seeing the latest Mapfumo album on Spotify US right now, but found the Mamani Keita which I like alot. Her voice reminds me of someone...hmmm, Oumou Sangare maybe. A classic Malian afropop approach.

ROMPERAYO!!!!!!!

http://romperayo.bandcamp.com/

is there a name for this kind of music?

I guess it might just be run-of-the-mill cumbia

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.