ebo claims it's the best record he's ever made as well
― i'm surprised to see your screwface at the door (NickB), Saturday, 5 May 2018 06:13 (six years ago) link
Still haven't gotten to Ebo Taylor (or re-listened to Bonga) but i heard the Afropop Worldwide “Congolese Music: The Fifth Generation.”
― curmudgeon, Monday, 7 May 2018 04:49 (six years ago) link
Listened to some of that Ebo Taylor. Good stuff, Highlife with horns...
Congo has Jupiter & Okwess with the Congolese "research music" and Ghana has Ebo Taylor.
― curmudgeon, Tuesday, 8 May 2018 19:12 (six years ago) link
guitarist Mdou Moctar visited Episcopal High School in Alexandria today and there is awesome footage of him playing outdoors with kids dancing around him to the music. Don't have the link handly, but it's been shared on Facebook, Instagram and twitter.
― curmudgeon, Thursday, 10 May 2018 00:13 (six years ago) link
Moctar is doing a free noon-time show right now at the Library of Congress in DC
― curmudgeon, Thursday, 10 May 2018 16:03 (six years ago) link
Seeing more footage of Moctar at Episcopal High. Great stuff.
But I still haven't delved back into Bonga albums of Angolan music yet. Still need to.
― curmudgeon, Friday, 11 May 2018 14:28 (six years ago) link
These performances are mind-bending
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6W4pGMwAGIw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G4iKmXTfUv8
― change display name (Jordan), Friday, 11 May 2018 19:50 (six years ago) link
wow, yes!
― niels, Saturday, 12 May 2018 10:28 (six years ago) link
Those Mark Ernestus performances are nice
― curmudgeon, Monday, 14 May 2018 14:18 (six years ago) link
Senegalese mbalax drummers are pretty impressive
― curmudgeon, Tuesday, 15 May 2018 02:29 (six years ago) link
I have seen Youssou and other Senegalese leaders let their percussionist go like that live.
in non-Senegalese news, gonna see Mdou Moctar again tonight
― curmudgeon, Wednesday, 16 May 2018 13:19 (six years ago) link
Mdou Moctar from Niger and band were probably the best of the 3 times I have seen them, last night. With a guest local bass player, and the drummer powerfully propelling the beat, Moctar and the other guitarist did their electric axe magic ontop. He moves his fingers so fast and distinctively
― curmudgeon, Thursday, 17 May 2018 15:30 (six years ago) link
x-postFinally listened again to some of Bonga -Angola 72/74; on a Spotify version. His longing, melancholic voice and those understated but effective rhythms are nice.
I have not heard his most recent 2016 album Recados de Fora
― curmudgeon, Friday, 18 May 2018 14:39 (six years ago) link
http://www.hudaasfour.com
I saw DC based Palestinian oud player & singer Huda Asfour debut her new album Kouni live last night. Some classic feeling Middle Eastern pop, some rock, some jazzy as she had a guest horn section as well as string section. Ambitious.
― curmudgeon, Saturday, 19 May 2018 13:12 (six years ago) link
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=yeelLtMFNg8
― curmudgeon, Saturday, 19 May 2018 13:14 (six years ago) link
That’s Huda video someone posted on YouTube
I think Huda Asfour is gonna do some shows in Egypt and Lebanon this summer. She's on Bandcamp if you want to check out her new album. Her more traditional 2012 instrumental album Mars is also on Spotify.
― curmudgeon, Monday, 21 May 2018 14:27 (six years ago) link
Still so many afropop episodes for me to catch up on.
― curmudgeon, Tuesday, 22 May 2018 13:31 (six years ago) link
Seeing votes on that best albums of 2018 so far thread for Hailu Mergia, Tal National, and Ebo Taylor
― curmudgeon, Wednesday, 23 May 2018 17:23 (six years ago) link
Amadou & Mariam and then Noura Mint Seymali are gonna be in the Washington DC area on successive nights in June. Fun live acts
― curmudgeon, Thursday, 24 May 2018 15:53 (six years ago) link
UK electronic dance duo Disclosure have a new single "Ultimatum" that samples and credits Malian singer Fatoumata Diawara.
― curmudgeon, Thursday, 24 May 2018 19:18 (six years ago) link
Fatoumata deserves the attention.
― curmudgeon, Friday, 25 May 2018 14:46 (six years ago) link
Angélique Kidjo is releasing a full-album cover version of Remain In Light next month (She's been doing it live for a year now). Videos of some of the songs on the Talking heads classic or dud thread
― curmudgeon, Monday, 28 May 2018 05:31 (six years ago) link
went to a party yesterday with an Angolan trio jamming out, great stuff - is Bonga a good point of entry to Angolan rock?
― niels, Monday, 28 May 2018 06:14 (six years ago) link
Most of the Bonga stuff I have heard is more mellow like Brazilian samba.
― curmudgeon, Monday, 28 May 2018 19:31 (six years ago) link
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rock_music_in_Angola
Also, Congo singer Sam Mangwana lived in Angola. He did some rocking groove filled efforts
― curmudgeon, Monday, 28 May 2018 19:36 (six years ago) link
https://www.npr.org/2011/02/02/130076680/funk-before-war-in-angola
― curmudgeon, Monday, 28 May 2018 19:38 (six years ago) link
thx!
― niels, Tuesday, 29 May 2018 06:06 (five years ago) link
Malian singer Kassé-Mady Diabaté died last week:https://face2faceafrica.com/article/mali-mourns-music-icon-kasse-mady-diabate-who-died-aged-69
― breastcrawl, Tuesday, 29 May 2018 06:21 (five years ago) link
I've never really heard any Angolan artists described as Rock - keep in mind it was a Portuguese colony until '74 (the Portuguese regime being relatively hostile towards Anglo-American music; even in Portugal most of the pre-74 Rock bands were rich kids who could afford to fly off to London and buy records), and after that (which I guess would be prime Afro-Rock time in Nigeria and other places) the country was launched into a bloody, decades long civil war. I met a lot of Angolan musicians from that generation when I lived in Portugal and they certainly counted Rock bands amongst their influences, but the connection to Brazil was much stronger.
― Daniel_Rf, Tuesday, 29 May 2018 09:54 (five years ago) link
I could see classifying Waldemar Bastos as Rock, though more in a singer/songwriter vein than, like, Acid Rock.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=szTWcNFWX6s
― Daniel_Rf, Tuesday, 29 May 2018 09:55 (five years ago) link
New Yorkers should go see the great Mauritania singer Noura Mint Seymali and her band led by her husband guitarist who plays cool African psychedelic licks, for free at the Lincoln Center Atrium Thursday June 7. They’re in Washington DC the next night ( not free but not expensive)
― curmudgeon, Tuesday, 29 May 2018 20:50 (five years ago) link
xp thanks for the info Daniel
quite digging that Bastos
― niels, Wednesday, 30 May 2018 16:42 (five years ago) link
https://analogafrica.bandcamp.com/album/african-scream-contest-vol-2-benin-1963-1980
― A Box of After Dinner Comics Shipped to Your House Each Month (seandalai), Friday, 1 June 2018 00:12 (five years ago) link
Volume 1 was good. Will check this one out.
So I was in Houston, Texas and at Afrikiko restaurant I saw a poster for Zaiko Langa Langa coming to Dallas and Houston in July. So apparently that legendary Congolese band is now back together. Not sure who's in the group at this point.
― curmudgeon, Monday, 4 June 2018 17:48 (five years ago) link
had the great pleasure of seeing Hailu Mergia live this Sunday, a trio with an extremely solid rhythm section (bass player quite unbelievable really, played disco stuff, Sly Stone style, some very fast jazz things, 5 strings all used a lot) on top of which mr. Mergia did his unique thing on rhodes, digital Nord organ, melodica, accordeon
a very simple, driving soundstage, dancing music no doubt, it would be the ultimate wedding band
his style is so interesting, naive, unpredictable - who do you reckon his points of reference are? there's perhaps a bit of Monk, maybe Augustus Pablo?
― niels, Tuesday, 5 June 2018 10:18 (five years ago) link
really want to get that Africa Scream Contest album
― My name is the Pope and in the 90s I smoked a lot of dope (dog latin), Tuesday, 5 June 2018 10:28 (five years ago) link
The label does a nice job with liner notes and photos which makes me want to get a physical version of it, but I listened to it on Spotify tonight and it sounds great.
― curmudgeon, Wednesday, 6 June 2018 03:54 (five years ago) link
x-post -- seen some mentions of jazz organist Jimmy Smith re Hailu Mergia's style
― curmudgeon, Thursday, 7 June 2018 14:57 (five years ago) link
nice, checking out some Jimmy Smith
― niels, Friday, 8 June 2018 06:29 (five years ago) link
saw mdou moctar at an instore performance and really enjoyed it -- he really cranks the volume on those solos! also i heard that at the official concert performance (which i did not attend) there was some egregious and awful dancing in the audience.
― weird woman in a bar (La Lechera), Friday, 8 June 2018 13:38 (five years ago) link
The Mdou show I saw was very loud.
egregious and awful dancing in the audience.
Ha. A number of west African acts I have seen invite folks onstage to dance-- that's where I dislike the awful dancers. Invariably, some goofy dancers insist on going onstage. Thankfully they are usually balanced out by the skilled dancers, able to shake their hips and do other movements in an impressive artistic fashion.
I saw Amadou & Mariam last night in a tables and chairs sit-down place, but they encouraged everyone to get up and dance at one point. I was near the stage. I hope no one thought my movements were egregious. It was a good show too btw. I like Amadou's guitar playing and Mariam's vocals. Plus their backing singer/dancer is good. I don't know the material from their most recent album but it sounded good, along side the older cuts I do know. Last time I saw them Amadou stretched out some guitar solos in a way that was not interesting, he was more concise last night.
― curmudgeon, Friday, 8 June 2018 17:40 (five years ago) link
Saw a video of a Noura Mint Seymali and band song at Tropicalia in DC last night plus one from the night before atLincoln Center in NY. A powerful voice and her husband on guitar has such a cool sound. They’re from Mauritania
― curmudgeon, Saturday, 9 June 2018 16:29 (five years ago) link
Love the two Noura Mint Seymali albums I own.
― Daniel_Rf, Monday, 11 June 2018 09:22 (five years ago) link
saw Orlando Julius & the Heliocentrics live this Saturday
both crowd, venue and weather could have been better, but band was very groovy, and I enjoyed it
Orlando seemed quite tired, though, not strong in his solos, outshined by the young trumpeteer :/
― niels, Monday, 11 June 2018 09:52 (five years ago) link
Listened to the Turkish Ladies comp out on Sony. Gorgeous packaging and the music fluctuates between traditional styles and a more Disco take. Would've liked more of a breakdown of the scene in the liner notes - genres are mentioned but not contextualized, singers brought up within the essay but not really given their own spotlight. Translated lyrics though, which is nice.
― Daniel_Rf, Wednesday, 13 June 2018 11:55 (five years ago) link
listening to 2017 from high-pitched, slightly nasal (but in a unique good way) singer Leila Gobi from Mali. Her uptempo rhythms from her band are impressive too
― curmudgeon, Thursday, 14 June 2018 12:29 (five years ago) link
I like the Leila Gobi one a bit more than Bombino’s latest Deran. Deran is good too though. He’s got that North African desert guitarist style down.
― curmudgeon, Friday, 15 June 2018 19:26 (five years ago) link
Back in the end of May, folks were writing about Angola here. Just remembered that writer Jonathan Bogart put a guide to Angolan pop circa 2016 on Medium & he has been tweeting occasionally YouTube videos of Angolan pop.
― curmudgeon, Friday, 15 June 2018 21:07 (five years ago) link
https://www.voanews.com/a/leo-sarkisian-voa-music-time-in-africa-program-dies/4432645.html
Sarkisian who died at 97 led such a cool life. I saw him speak at the VOA in DC in 98. He traveled in the Middle East and then from the 1960s on to ? With his wife and his reel to reel tape recorder in a number of African countries. He hosted the VOA’s Music Time in Africa program that was very popular there. A nice guy who invited the audience at the talk I was at, to come back to his office and see some of the memorabilia he collected over the years.
― curmudgeon, Saturday, 16 June 2018 13:45 (five years ago) link