Hailu Mergia is selling car air fresheners that come with a digital download: https://hailumergia.bandcamp.com/album/yene-mircha"Pine-scented air freshener, feel as fresh as Hailu while you cruise in your car or hang in your house. Comes with free download of the new album Yene Mircha!"(Surely this is a reference to his job as a taxi driver? https://www.theguardian.com/music/2018/mar/01/hailu-mergia-the-ethiopian-jazz-legend-who-jams-in-his-taxi)
― ernestp, Saturday, 13 June 2020 01:51 (four years ago) link
lol, yeah it absolutely is!
curmudgeon, I've been following washburn's work for like 15 years now back when she was in Uncle Earl. She's got a kid with Bela Fleck.
― Fuck the NRA (ulysses), Saturday, 13 June 2020 02:29 (four years ago) link
I bought some really good South African jazz records this week:
Marcus Wyatt and the ZAR Jazz Orchestra - Into Dust/Waltz For Jozi and One Night In The Sun (big band jazz with vocals in English and, I think, Xhosa)Thandi Ntuli, Live At Jazzwerkstaat (piano, guitar, bass, drums, four horns, and a string quartet)Benjamin Jephta, Homecoming and The Evolution Of An Undefined (Jephta is a bassist; the first album is acoustic post-bop, the second adds elements of electronic music and funk)Keenan Ahrends - Narrative (mostly guitar-bass-drums, but a saxophonist appears on three tracks and a pianist on a couple of others)
They're all on Bandcamp.
― but also fuck you (unperson), Saturday, 13 June 2020 02:41 (four years ago) link
x-post to Ulysses- Doh, just remembered my wife is a bit of a Washburn fan and she remembers seeing her at one tent at a festival while I was seeing another act at a different tent.
― curmudgeon, Saturday, 13 June 2020 05:06 (four years ago) link
Congolese band Les Bantous De La Capitale’s (The Bantus of The Capital) founding member Nganda Edo dies aged 87 in Congo Brazzaville. He was the only surviving founding member of the band.
The musician, born Edouard Nganga, is described as the dean of Congolese music. Nganga lend a hand to popular bands such as Ok Jazz with Franco Luambo Makiadi and Vicky Longomba, he replaced Philippe Lando Rossignol who had quit, He also performed alongside Négro Jazz which was his first outfit and the Bantus of the capital.
― curmudgeon, Saturday, 13 June 2020 05:44 (four years ago) link
i ordered a Hailu air freshener!
― alpine static, Saturday, 13 June 2020 06:50 (four years ago) link
i should do that too
― curmudgeon, Tuesday, 16 June 2020 13:49 (four years ago) link
Watched a crazy, disturbing doc about young and middle aged Kenyans blaming their problems on elderly Kenyans and calling them witches and in some situations killing them. The doc briefly showed a cool Kenyan brass band but I didn’t get the name, alas. The movie doc is called The Letter
― curmudgeon, Tuesday, 23 June 2020 13:45 (four years ago) link
I like the advance of this Awesome Tapes reissue coming in August. The Afrobeats/ Afro thread folks will like this too
Penny Penny—the South African singer who made it from janitor squatting in the studio to pan-African superstar in the space of a couple years back in the mid-90s—released his second album in 1996 amidst stadium tours and nonstop promo in the aftermath of his breakthrough debut "Shaka Bundu.” After our reissue of "Shaka Bundu” in 2013 gained notice from outlets including Fresh Air and Rolling Stone, Penny Penny played the Sydney Opera House for the first time and built a larger following overseas (he was meant to play Dekmantel this summer). Now, his curiously hard-to-find follow-up that leans on message-laden songs with his familiar banging sound—an amalgam of House and Shangaan music production behind anthemic vocals—comes out 14 August on Awesome Tapes From Africa LP/CD/Tape/Digital.
― curmudgeon, Sunday, 28 June 2020 22:44 (four years ago) link
Cool! See also our wonderfulOld School Afropop thread, where he was recently highlighted.
― No mean feat. DaBaby (breastcrawl), Monday, 29 June 2020 09:59 (four years ago) link
Hachalu Hundessa, a prominent Ethiopian singer, songwriter and activist, has been shot dead in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, in a killing that risked heightening tensions in a nation taking stuttering steps toward establishing a multiparty democracy.
Mr. Hundessa, 34, was shot late on Monday night in the Gelan Condominiums area of Addis Ababa, the city’s police commissioner, Geta Argaw, told the state-affiliated broadcaster Fana on Tuesday. The singer was taken to a hospital after the attack, but died later of his wounds. It was not immediately known who was responsible for the shooting. from NY times obit
― curmudgeon, Tuesday, 30 June 2020 14:14 (four years ago) link
https://afropop.org/articles/ethiopia-erupts-following-killing-of-oromo-singer-hachalu-hundessa
Sad
― curmudgeon, Saturday, 4 July 2020 04:31 (four years ago) link
the buscabulla album (Regresa) gives me some v chill helado negro vibes and then i discover they've worked together <3
― Mordy, Wednesday, 8 July 2020 14:13 (four years ago) link
This was released this year, and is blowing my mind right now: funeral songs from northern Ghana.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8-JEhZ52sAw
― blue light or electric light (the table is the table), Friday, 10 July 2020 19:20 (four years ago) link
here's my halfway 2020 top 10 for this thread
Obongjayar - Which Way is ForwardMulatu Astatke, Black Jesus Experience - To Know Without KnowingSven Wunder - Eastern FlowersHailu Mergia - Yene MirchaTony Allen, Hugh Maskela - RejoiceBuscabulla - RegresaNihiloxica - KaloliMajid Bekkas - Magic Spirit QuartetPacific Breeze Vol 2: Japanese City Pop, AOC & Boogie 1972-1986Selam Seyoum - Grace
― Mordy, Friday, 10 July 2020 19:31 (four years ago) link
That Nihiloxica record is incredible.
― blue light or electric light (the table is the table), Friday, 10 July 2020 21:53 (four years ago) link
Those Ugandan drummers in Nihiloxica are relentless
― curmudgeon, Sunday, 12 July 2020 23:58 (four years ago) link
I need to listen to that new Mulatu Astatke and few others on Mordy’s list that I haven’t heard yet.
― curmudgeon, Monday, 13 July 2020 17:17 (four years ago) link
big Mulatu fan but was disappointed by this one
― A True White Kid that can Jump (Granny Dainger), Monday, 13 July 2020 17:19 (four years ago) link
This is a French band, but this song feels like it might be at home here. I like it a lot:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zqLX3t9G6CAKolinga • Nguya na ngai
― No mean feat. DaBaby (breastcrawl), Friday, 17 July 2020 20:19 (four years ago) link
not sure why this gem is not included on Yene Mircha https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WNByVSLcR4U
― corrs unplugged, Friday, 24 July 2020 11:05 (four years ago) link
It is only on the CD version of "Yene Mircha" - not the vinyl LP, nor the Bandcamp download. Similarly, the CD of "Lala Belu" has (unlisted) bonus tracks that aren't on the vinyl LP nor download.
― ernestp, Saturday, 25 July 2020 07:21 (four years ago) link
That New Astatke one has A lot going on. Can’t decide if I like it yet , after 1 quick listen
― curmudgeon, Monday, 27 July 2020 13:59 (four years ago) link
Just learning about Astatke’s collaborators on this : from a Guardian review—- Melbourne’s Black Jesus Experience, a collective of singers, rappers, and jazz improvisers of Moroccan, Zimbabwean, Maori, Ethiopian and Australian origins.
― curmudgeon, Tuesday, 28 July 2020 16:35 (four years ago) link
Yeah, gotta admit the raps on that Astake record sound pretty corny to me, well intentioned and all but...
― Daniel_Rf, Thursday, 30 July 2020 14:29 (four years ago) link
Balla Sidibé, founder member, lead singer, percussionist and composer of Orchestra Baobab passed away
― curmudgeon, Friday, 31 July 2020 01:18 (four years ago) link
Aw man RIP
― A True White Kid that can Jump (Granny Dainger), Friday, 31 July 2020 01:21 (four years ago) link
That sucks. Covid related?
― Fuck the NRA (ulysses), Friday, 31 July 2020 04:49 (four years ago) link
So this guy, the producer, is English but his sound and his collaborators are African so I feel I can mention it on this thread (if only under the "some exceptions" caveat to thread title). Need to listen again but really liked it on 1st pass:
Skinshape - Umoja
― A True White Kid that can Jump (Granny Dainger), Friday, 31 July 2020 18:37 (four years ago) link
The heavy metal scene in Botswana.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p02rc6xl
― Sonny Shamrock (Tom D.), Sunday, 2 August 2020 10:10 (four years ago) link
Orquestra Baobab member Balla Sidibe’s death has not been attributed to COVID in the articles I saw.
I haven’t listened to Botswana heavy metal. I have been listening to UK based Nigerian Obangjayar who raps and sometimes uses old-school rooted afrobeats rhythms.
2018 interviewhttps://pitchfork.com/features/rising/get-to-know-obongjayar-who-makes-otherworldly-spirituals-for-the-modern-soul/
― curmudgeon, Sunday, 2 August 2020 20:13 (four years ago) link
Obangjayar has his own thread! He’s great live too, saw him just before lockdown
― No mean feat. DaBaby (breastcrawl), Sunday, 2 August 2020 20:57 (four years ago) link
here's that thread: up like sun, down like sun - a thread for obongjayar
(Obongjayar is the correct spelling)
― No mean feat. DaBaby (breastcrawl), Monday, 3 August 2020 21:13 (four years ago) link
Thanks
― curmudgeon, Wednesday, 5 August 2020 18:08 (four years ago) link
There’s Only like 2 comments on his thread!
― curmudgeon, Wednesday, 5 August 2020 18:12 (four years ago) link
Oumou Sangare is on Beyonce’s visual Black is King album and Burna Boy and Beyonce holding a Robert Farris Thompson book on Yoruban art. Lots of other cool guests too. It’s a bit flawed but I like the ambition.
― curmudgeon, Friday, 7 August 2020 20:10 (four years ago) link
Just noticed I have missed out on some new Mdou Moctar mixtapes plus new Saharan Whats App ones
― curmudgeon, Saturday, 8 August 2020 15:36 (four years ago) link
https://m.huffpost.com/us/entry/us_5807750
Some Hassan Hajjaj photos of Moroccan musicians and others
― curmudgeon, Wednesday, 12 August 2020 03:40 (four years ago) link
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/09/arts/hassan-hajjaj.html
The ongoing series “My Rock Stars” is Mr. Hajjaj’s homage to his cosmopolitan crowd. (A sampler: the American artist Hank Willis Thomas; the Moroccan filmmaker Meryem Benm’Barek; the French-Algerian musician Rachid Taha, who died last year.) Some are famous, but styled by HajjajIn the Shoreditch shop, the grime M.C. Afrikan Boy, the Gnawa drummer Simo Lagnawi & the soul singer Bumi drifted in to rehearse. Mr. Hajjaj was developing a multimedia stage show, “My Rock Stars Experimental,” w/ video projections & live performance by musicians styled by him
― curmudgeon, Wednesday, 12 August 2020 03:43 (four years ago) link
Buscabulla’s tropical Puerto Rican synth pop w/ some r’n’b is nice enough
― curmudgeon, Thursday, 13 August 2020 01:07 (four years ago) link
Whatever the fuck is going on here is the best:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vLF7JzUeVOY
― Josh in Chicago, Tuesday, 18 August 2020 22:32 (four years ago) link
They definitely have a vision:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LHOcJIIU_5I
― Josh in Chicago, Tuesday, 18 August 2020 22:33 (four years ago) link
okay, i am very into this
― Fuck the NRA (ulysses), Wednesday, 19 August 2020 14:58 (four years ago) link
perhaps predictably.
They play all the hits! Mainly Brazilian ones, but some foreign ones as well, including a mean “Billie Jean”:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WHSEJpsquisThey are Fundo de Quintal OFC btw(please tag your musical links for searching and Posterity reasons, folx!)
― No mean feat. DaBaby (breastcrawl), Wednesday, 19 August 2020 15:37 (four years ago) link
ha that's classic
― Fuck the NRA (ulysses), Wednesday, 19 August 2020 15:38 (four years ago) link
their YT channel has dozens of videos! they’re basically called The Backyard Boys.
― No mean feat. DaBaby (breastcrawl), Wednesday, 19 August 2020 15:42 (four years ago) link
https://tab.uol.com.br/noticias/redacao/2020/07/23/fundo-de-quintal-ofc-jovens-do-maranhao-conquistaram-brasil-na-quarentena.htm
GoogleTranslating this key quote:
“The name Fundo de Quintal was given in reference to the very scenario in which the quintet originated, and not in honor of the famous pagoda group of the 1990s. According to Simão, the inspirations for recording the first videos came from the boys' own will, and not from any prior influence of anything they have seen. The originality of Fundo de Quintal also caught the attention of producers and major YouTube players. On July 13, the video of the group interpreting the song "Na Raba Toma Tapão" by MC Niack, the most viewed of the channel - with almost 5 million hits -, was used on Kondzilla's Instagram to celebrate the 30 million hits views of the original version. The channel, by the way, is today the third largest in the world in the music segment on the platform.”
― No mean feat. DaBaby (breastcrawl), Wednesday, 19 August 2020 15:43 (four years ago) link
(icymi that Niack track is one of ILM's official Summer Jams of the year)
― No mean feat. DaBaby (breastcrawl), Wednesday, 19 August 2020 15:45 (four years ago) link
Brilliant bit of historical context, again through GoogleTranslate:
“This structure, created by the boys from Centro dos Rodrigues, also finds parallels in other artistic movements of great importance, such as the so-called "happenings" - a term used for the first time in 1959 by the American artist Allan Kaprow, and defined by the composer John Cage as " spontaneous and plot-free theatrical events ". In this type of scenic work, some element of spontaneity or improvisation is incorporated, which never happens in the same way with each new presentation. Considered performances, happenings were very popular during pop art in the United States.”
― No mean feat. DaBaby (breastcrawl), Wednesday, 19 August 2020 15:47 (four years ago) link