Rolling Global Outernational Non-West Non-English (Some Exceptions) 2017 Thread Once Known as World Music

Awesome Zimbabwe band Mokoomba have a new album out and are coming back to North America this summer.

Got to look for that Mokoomba album. Great live band (charismatic, strong singing and dancing) and pretty strong in the studio too

New Vieux Farka Toure album and North American tour happening in April

playing bk on the 6th
http://www.bricartsmedia.org/events-performances/vieux-farka-tour%C3%A9-innov-gnawa

Never heard of this guy, who is, in addition to the below, an NYU professor. Looked up his name because I saw he is going to be speaking at the Library of Congress on May 4th

Martin Scherzinger, composer

Martin Scherzinger is a South African-born composer and media theorist, who works on and engages with the music of Africa. African Math is a recording of piano trio music that "africanizes" these western instruments (flipping the typical appropriation of indigenous instruments on its head). Piano, violin, and cello are used as conduits for material originally intended for mbira, or kalahari, or Ugandan xylophone.

Martin Scherzinger explores some elements of African dance music through the lens of Zimbabwean matepe and mbira music, bringing cultural and mathematical insights to bear in an engagement with this vital music.

Speaking of Zimbabwe, listened to some Mokoomba and they are great.

You folks who like 70s reissues should check out Mokoomba. They're not retro but their live band feel is analogous to the great stuff from those times

Their first release had more energy. The latest one has more acoustic but still rockin instrumentation and some old-school South African like harmonies.

http://www.npr.org/2017/03/23/521001534/first-listen-orchestra-baobab-tribute-to-ndiouga-dieng

Almost a decade after the group's last album and nearly 50 years since its founding, Senegal's Orchestra Baobab is swaggering back onto international dance floors with its silk, sultry songs, layering Afro-Cuban sounds with local traditions and pop styles from across Senegal and elsewhere in West Africa.

I think Nguea La Route is from Cameroon. This is a wacky video. She's doing some US shows

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g-i_6etL50Q

Not seeing a lot about her online

new albums I haven't heard yet:

Les Amazones d'Afrique is a contemporary world music supergroup formed in Mali in 2015 featuring Kandia Kouyaté, Angélique Kidjo, Mamani Keita, Rokia Koné, Mariam Doumbia (of Amadou & Mariam), Nneka, Mariam Koné, Massan Coulibaly, Madina N'Diaye, Madiaré Dramé, Mouneissa Tandina and Pamela Badjogo.

Mamadou Kelly

Tamakrest

Listened to new Tinariwen one this morning. At least one cut has a guest singing in English

new tamikrest is really good

It is nice. With less members in the group than Tinariwen, and a bit of a different vocal style, it has a slightly different feel than the latter. Been listening to both. Was also reading Tinariwen's translated into English lyrics on their label's website. They have both poetic and straightforward lyrics about the sad condition of Northern Mali, as well as a few love songs.

Saw Mali's Salif Keita and band tonight. A good show. Although he did occasionally coast and let his strong-voiced female backing singers take the leads, most of the time he showed why he is called the "The Golden voice of Africa." Slight resemblance in technique and note-hitting to Senegal's Youssou N'dour. Band had a keyboardist whose job was to also play the bass parts; the group also had a great percussionist; guitarist; & trap drummer

https://noisey.vice.com/en_us/article/the-western-sahara-isnt-big-enough-expert-witness-with-robert-christgau

The Dean gives an A- to Mariem Hassan: La Voz Indómita (Nubenegra) and the new Orchestra Baobab, a B+ to another Hassan, and honorable mentions to Tamikrest and Tinariwen

I need to listen to the new Janka Nabay album more. I liked the synthesized bubu dance rhythms on it, on first listen.

Have not dug into those Hassan efforts mentioned above. The Baobab is good

ILM's 2017 Rolling Outernational Thread Spotify Playlist

Liking Janka's album...His squeaky folky melodies over modern beats

This is from last year but I don't see any mention of it on ILM, and it's not something I noticed last year. Sounds promising so far:

http://www.popmatters.com/post/zmei3-rough-romanian-soul-album-stream-premiere/

Pretty impressive. Near zero critical attention. The title probably didn't help. Shades of Putumayo CD covers.

Wow , that review is pretty enthusiastic about the singer.

Haha, yeah. A little over the top. I naturally found it while googling "Umm Kulthum" news from the last year, largely out of boredom while at work.

This is something you might like from last year. Worth hearing anyway. Has only been mentioned in connection with the remix by ILM cult figure DJ Q, Swindle Ft. Ricardo China - Connecta:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TA9vpVdu7ng
DJ Q Remix

Not convinced the singer from Zmei3 is as great as billed in that review (!), but the music is still good for what is, from what I've heard so far.

I like the vibraphones and electric guitar on this album, in particular. The instrumentation is not consistent from track to track though.

Anyway, it's a quote from the producer that makes the more extreme claims.

Incidentally, and yes going off topic a little, I think I first heard that DJ Q remix as part of this Q set (to hear how it would be put into context):

https://soundcloud.com/rinsefm/djq210117

(Secretly trying to get curmudgeon into DJ Q.)

It might work....

Discovered late last night that Rhizome DC, a small co-op type place that usually just has experimental music (and doesn't have a budget to publicize their calendar that is at least now on a website) is having Ian Nagoski talk tonight about Arabic, Armenian, Turk, and Kurd records released in the US from 1893 to 1950, as a benefit for the International Rescue Committee. Alas, already have other plans

http://www.rhizomedc.org/new-events/

http://thequietus.com/articles/22217-new-amadou-mariam

First new music in years (is on the link). Tour dates for UK, Europe and US

http://thequietus.com/articles/22127-king-ayisoba-1000-can-die-album-review

From Ghana

most significant European patron – Arnold de Boer, who you may know under his musical title Zea or as latterday frontman of The Ex. De Boer has released two previous King Ayisoba albums, Modern Ghanaians and Wicked Leaders, on his Makkum imprint, as well as a multi-artist compilation, 2016’s outstanding This Is Kologo Power!.

So guitarist Bruce Langhorne who recently died is well-known for playing with Bob Dylan, but I see he also played on Hugh Masekela albums like "The Promise of a Future," and "Reconstruction," and on Olatunjii albums

Lots of stuff to listen to and to catch up on (for me)

More on ZMEI3, from their website:

When the world-leading vibe player Gary Burton came to Germany to give a workshop, he asked Oli (Bott): “Tell me, do you want to be a postman?” “No. I want to be a musician.” “OK, then you come with me now to the US.” Gary Burton gave Oli a scholarship at Berklee, and his trust was soon rewarded: Oli finished in just two years, summa cum laude.

http://www.zmeitrei.com/artists.html

This is definitely one of my favorite albums of last year and I still haven't listened to it that much. I would say it gets maybe too rough for me toward the end. But overall, it's fantastic.

Tonight I am seeing Tinariwen and Dengue Fever. It's a little outside of my comfort zone as some of you might surmise. However I saw Tinariwen on the Colbert Report a few years back and one of my best friends played me Dengue Fever when I last saw her and I am looking forward to seeing them live!

Oh, and I already picked up Elwan earlier this year. It's quite good.

great double feature there; you should have a wonderful time.

Yes that should be great. Seeing just Tinariwen Wednesday night with no opener at a sold out gig near Washington D.C.

Listened to a bit of that ZMEI3 group that Rudiph mentioned above. Eh, some of the vocals are too dramatic feeling for me. Plus I am not that crazy about East European music. Sorry.

Actually did like a few songs on it.

I have to admit the vocals are a little too dramatic for me at times (then again, I like Oum Kalthoum, so maybe it's about the particular variety of drama). I'm not big on East European music either, generally speaking.

At least you tried. "All that we ask is that you try," as my dickheaded high school gym teacher used to say.

I still think it's very good, but I need to listen to more. There is maybe a quarter of it that I'm not so fond of. I think I am just bored right now and need something to be enthusiastic about, so I'm having trouble letting it come into focus and arriving at a real opinion. I like the vibraphonist best, to be honest.

Enjoyed Tinariwen live last night. Have seen 'em a number of times now. Despite the similarity of the arrangements of some of their songs, there were enough subtle differences (plus different lead vocalists on different cuts) to keep it interesting.

Jonathan Bogart has been writing for Medium and elsewhere a bit about Angolan pop. Here's his latest talk at the Pop Conference

https://medium.com/@jonathanbogart/look-at-the-boy-doll-look-at-the-girl-doll-the-radical-wit-transgressive-populism-of-dce66fb6461d

I think I posted his Pop Angola 2016 last year

My review of the Tinariwen and Dengue Fever show in Philly last week.

http://agitreader.com/wp2/tinariwen-and-dengue-feverunion-transfer-philadelphia-april-18

This kind of music is outside of what I usually listen to so I hope I did the band's justice.

really enjoying this today
https://nyegenyegetapes.bandcamp.com/album/gulu-city-anthems

"Nyege Nyege Tapes proudly announces the first international release of electro acholi pioneer Otim Alpha's incredible body of work recorded over a period of 11 years. Otim Alpha together with his early producer Leo Palayeng began in 2001 taking traditional Acholi 'Larakaraka' wedding songs and reinterpreting them with music software on computers. The results are a fast paced poly-rhythmic music ready for dance floor madness."

A bunch of things on bandcamp I need to catch up with, including that

http://www.afropop.org/34186/fresh-cuts-vol-three/

a selection of newly released tracks and videos from across Africa and the diaspora, featuring established and up-and-coming artists and everything in between. Today we’ve got, among other things, rhymes and beats from London, Ghana, Dominican Republic and Cameroon, some entrancing electrified Ugandan folk music and slick electro-pop from Namibia