Yeah, the label they're recording for - Mar & Sol - has a fair bit of hipster cachet in Portugal, very happy to see digger culture get behind something like this - alleviates the culture vulture guilt a bit.
My mum was friends with a guy from Angola, played a lot in our area doing mostly covers of current hits and showbiz tunes. He moved back a while ago and last we heard he was complaining that all people listened to there now was Kizomba.
― Daniel_Rf, Thursday, 18 April 2019 09:53 (five years ago) link
On their website, Ifriqiyya Electrique introduce their new album with an Adorno quote, in German. I'm pumped.
― pomenitul, Thursday, 18 April 2019 10:35 (five years ago) link
First impression: it's on par with their debut but the closer, 'Mabbrooka', sounds like they relistened to 'Inertia Creeps' and found it… wanting. Incredible.
― pomenitul, Thursday, 18 April 2019 12:44 (five years ago) link
I like their semi-traditional chanting more than their industrial electro rhythms, but that’s just me.
― curmudgeon, Saturday, 20 April 2019 04:43 (five years ago) link
Saw 88-year old Omara Portuando from Cuba last night. She sounded strong on some ballads, but wasn't onstage for very long. Her band led by pianist Roberto Fonseco played Latin jazz fusiony tracks while she was resting. It's billed as her farewell tour.
― curmudgeon, Wednesday, 24 April 2019 13:05 (five years ago) link
Had read hype for Ethiopian singer Chelina, but her reggae didn't wow me on first listen. Still artists on Mordy's March 31 post I need to listen to (or listen to again)
― curmudgeon, Wednesday, 24 April 2019 13:06 (five years ago) link
Pakistani singer Ustaad Sami , on Mordy’s list, is impressive. I need to listen more. His record company bio says he’s the last practitioner of his very old school rooted sound
― curmudgeon, Thursday, 25 April 2019 13:41 (five years ago) link
yeah I really liked that one back when tangenttangent posted it
― rob, Thursday, 25 April 2019 14:47 (five years ago) link
Yes, back in February! You are right.
― curmudgeon, Friday, 26 April 2019 20:51 (five years ago) link
Ustaad Sami album is so good!
― calzino, Friday, 26 April 2019 20:55 (five years ago) link
Sourakata Koite is a skilled, Paris living Senegalese kora player who recorded an album back in 1984, & thanks to awesome tapes from Africa you can hear him in multiple formats
― curmudgeon, Tuesday, 30 April 2019 23:44 (five years ago) link
Youssou Ndour’s voice sounds great on new album History, but I am not crazy about the loungey jazz fusiony backing on some cuts
― curmudgeon, Friday, 3 May 2019 03:17 (five years ago) link
haven't given a listening update lately but i wanted to share about this Altin Gün - Gece album which is turkish psych w/ female vox that i'm digging (Apr 26 release)
― Mordy, Sunday, 5 May 2019 15:24 (five years ago) link
I am listening to Ethiopian singer Jacky Gosee now. Album is called Balambaras. Listening now to a ballad called “Hiyaw” with bluesy soul guitar licks and Gosee’s vocals here which are auto tuned on this cut but remind me slightly of Van Morrison if he was younger and lived in Addis. The other cuts I have heard so far are more standard 2019 Ethiopia-pop but slightly less syrupy than some. Less schmaltz is good in my book. A DC Ethiopian Promoter was asserting on FB that Gosee is the man these days for Ethiopians.
― curmudgeon, Sunday, 5 May 2019 20:47 (five years ago) link
don't know where to put this, since i can't find a Middle Eastern electronic thread....feel free to point me to a more appropriate thread
but this is a really lovely track from one of my favorite records of 2019 thus far:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E1ajEvZdUWM
― blue light or electric light (the table is the table), Monday, 6 May 2019 01:14 (five years ago) link
I wonder if Saudi act Msylma who did the above song live in Saudi Arabia or abroad?
― curmudgeon, Friday, 10 May 2019 13:46 (five years ago) link
Intriguing; brings to mind Björk/Arca – I'll have to check out the rest.
― pomenitul, Friday, 10 May 2019 13:52 (five years ago) link
That Nigeria 70: No Wahala comp mentioned above awhile back is wonderful classic afropop
― curmudgeon, Thursday, 16 May 2019 03:30 (five years ago) link
xpost to Curmudgeon, apparently Msylma is based in Mecca. ZULI, his producer (who also has a record out, from last year), is from Cairo.
The remainder of the record is just as interesting as that track, i think.
― blue light or electric light (the table is the table), Thursday, 16 May 2019 20:59 (five years ago) link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xxdf8TBSkdU
I like this video for Iranian fiddler and electro musician Saba Alizadeh
― curmudgeon, Wednesday, 22 May 2019 04:14 (five years ago) link
love that, thanks curmudgeon!
― blue light or electric light (the table is the table), Friday, 24 May 2019 22:07 (four years ago) link
Hadn't considered the possibility of melding ambient with traditional Persian music before hearing Saba Alizadeh's album. As a side note, his father is the incredible shurangiz player Hossein Alizadeh.
The Msylma LP is sounding incredible so far. I mentioned Björk and Arca upthread but this holds my attention with more flair than anything the former two have released in years.
― pomenitul, Wednesday, 29 May 2019 19:51 (four years ago) link
Saw Youssou NDour again . Great live. For one of the encores he said the song had a current Senegalese rhythm that he noted is being heard everywhere there. Alas, I didn’t catch the name. Doh.
― curmudgeon, Saturday, 1 June 2019 23:37 (four years ago) link
Liking some of Cochemea album Mordy listed back on March 31, but other times the sax player gets too fusion jazz/ Kenny G for me
Listening now to Houssam Gania folkloric Mid East Northern Africa instrumentation with Call & response chanted vocals. It’s good , doesn’t completely wow me but yeah still good
― curmudgeon, Sunday, 2 June 2019 01:35 (four years ago) link
Kings Aibologa from Mordy’s list is classic old-School afrobeat
― curmudgeon, Sunday, 2 June 2019 01:37 (four years ago) link
I keep coming back to Mdou Moctar's latest album
― curmudgeon, Tuesday, 4 June 2019 15:53 (four years ago) link
On the Ethiopiques thread I wrote about the very good Hailu Mergia gig I saw last night in DC
― curmudgeon, Monday, 10 June 2019 12:40 (four years ago) link
Yeah great show
― Heez, Tuesday, 11 June 2019 13:35 (four years ago) link
I saw him earlier this year, thought it was a jam for sure.
― Fuck the NRA (ulysses), Tuesday, 11 June 2019 21:13 (four years ago) link
I like Hailu better with his DC Ethiopian rhythm section from the Feedel Band, than with the jazz guys
― curmudgeon, Wednesday, 12 June 2019 00:26 (four years ago) link
Went to a local Afghan restaurant near me last night and I discovered the large main room was closed to the public for a graduation party. They sat in a side room where we could still hear the loud upbeat Afghan traditional with a modern twist music from. Good stuff. Occasionally we’d see little Afghan kids come out of the hall, and dance in the restaurant’s foyer, or play games on phones & tablets.
― curmudgeon, Monday, 17 June 2019 15:00 (four years ago) link
The restaurant sat us in a side room I mean
― curmudgeon, Monday, 17 June 2019 15:01 (four years ago) link
https://wmce.de/
World music chart of what’s being heard in Europe
― curmudgeon, Tuesday, 18 June 2019 15:34 (four years ago) link
Am revisiting latest Ifriqiyya Electrique album that is a bandcamp 2019 fave . This (mostly I think) Tunisian band is too industrial at times for me.
― curmudgeon, Sunday, 30 June 2019 19:58 (four years ago) link
I find this oddly grating, but maybe it's because I've been in a cloud of ambient music due to the poll....
― blue light or electric light (the table is the table), Sunday, 30 June 2019 23:12 (four years ago) link
Saw Helado Negro the other night. Interesting alt Latin bolero meets alt Brazilian bossa meets wispy Pitchfork indie set ( new album plus older cuts). He’s backed by a woman who plays sax, violin, and keyboards plus a man who plays sax and keyboards while he plays electric guitar or doesn’t use an instrument. They also had pre-programmed sounds up there. He was friendly and talkative between songs. Some of crowd got too chatty at times. I read a Latinx grad student on twitter complaining that Anglos were talking loud during songs in Spanish.
― curmudgeon, Monday, 1 July 2019 19:08 (four years ago) link
His newest is one of my fave albums of the year - so chill
― Mordy, Monday, 1 July 2019 19:12 (four years ago) link
Chill but more than that I say defensively ( or at least more than my interpretation of “chill” in 2019). Live the saxes brought a jazzy feel at times ( not a smooth jazz one), the violin was kinda avante-chamber music, and his vocal melodies were tuneful and more than background soothing.
― curmudgeon, Monday, 1 July 2019 20:30 (four years ago) link
I wrote about Ifriqiyya Electrique back in May; I like them a lot. Maleem Mahmoud Ghania meets Treponem Pal. I bet they're a blast live.
― shared unit of analysis (unperson), Monday, 1 July 2019 20:32 (four years ago) link
His reminiscing about his 2014 DC gig that was promoted by a female alt-Latino collective also was friendly and down to earth.
Yes, I like the new album too. My ILM search alas does not turn up too much for him. Oh well.
― curmudgeon, Monday, 1 July 2019 20:35 (four years ago) link
Oops. I am referring to Helado.
Unperson , yeah I can see you liking Ifriqiyya Electrique more than me. More your style
― curmudgeon, Monday, 1 July 2019 20:38 (four years ago) link
you're right that it's not just chill moods but those are the ones that open up all the other stuff (about longing + belonging + wistfulness) it's just an extremely pleasant listening experience that reveals itself upon repeated listens but without being too demanding is all i really mean by chill. my fave track is "pais nublado" which is bilingual.
― Mordy, Monday, 1 July 2019 21:10 (four years ago) link
RIP Folk Roots magazine/website aka fRoots that covered international music
― curmudgeon, Friday, 5 July 2019 18:00 (four years ago) link
The great Fally Ipupa and band from the Congo will be in DC @ the Howard Theatre Friday the 12th (alas I will be at the beach)
― curmudgeon, Wednesday, 10 July 2019 14:50 (four years ago) link
Saw some video clips on Instagram of Ipupa and band and dancers at their Friday gig @ the Howard, and Saturday at the Apollo in NYC. Looked and sounded great. Congolese afropop
― curmudgeon, Sunday, 14 July 2019 15:24 (four years ago) link
They're gonna be in Raleigh next
― curmudgeon, Sunday, 14 July 2019 15:25 (four years ago) link
I used to go on an Afropop music forum chatboard dominated by Congolese ex-pats. I wonder what they’re saying now that Nigerian afrobeats ( & similar sounds from other locales) controls the interests of most; and their poor country still struggles with post-genocide issues, Ebola and more. It’s all very sad. Fally Ipupa is trying to bridge the old Congolese era with the newer sounds.
― curmudgeon, Thursday, 18 July 2019 17:18 (four years ago) link
No other Fally Ipupa fans on this thread I guess. Maybe I should try the afropop/afrobeats one.
Listened to Youssou Ndour’s latest again. Uneven but his voice is still gorgeous
― curmudgeon, Tuesday, 23 July 2019 16:21 (four years ago) link
BKO Quintet from Mali are gonna be back in North America. In DC August 1 at Millennium Stage. Their electrified-ngoni player makes them rock and groove in a more than traditional way
― curmudgeon, Wednesday, 24 July 2019 18:26 (four years ago) link
Great old-school meets new school Congo band Jupiter & Okwess are @ Newport Folk Fest today Saturday, and in Brooklyn early next week then head out west. Not seeeing any DC gigs on this tour, but if there's one near you, see them. They were just in Europe & UK I think and will be returning there also
― curmudgeon, Saturday, 27 July 2019 13:10 (four years ago) link