Rolling Global Outernational Non-West Non-English (Some Exceptions) 2023 Thread (Often African bands)

This thread is mainly for polyrhythmic, international sounds that aren't big enough to get threads of their own (and often include use of old-school non-programmed instrumentation). I lean toward south of the equator sounds here that are sometimes less club-oriented than those of artists highlighted on Afrobeats, dancehall, soca, etc. threads. Sometimes, but not always, the artists are older than those on those other threads. More old-school bands too. Often less digital programming but if it includes such playing/programming it is usually less popular

Still trying to use this as a catch-all thread for music that is not quite popular programmed "afropop"

Rolling Global Outernational Non-West Non-English (Some Exceptions) 2022 Thread (Often African bands)

Last year's thread

thanks curmudgeon, going to make an effort to actually keep in touch with this thread this year!

guess i should've posted this in 2022, but i absolutely adored this tune from last year, from Ghananian Frafra singer Florence Adooni:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZU9M4Rz55CM
Florence Adooni - Fo Yelle

Now I have to learn more about fra fra gospel. Here's a short 2021 article about Florence Adooni

https://pan-african-music.com/en/florence-adooni-mam-peela-suure/

i don't know much about frafra either i'm afraid, but I knew about Florence Adooni because i think she's one of the singers on this lovely tune (video gives a bit of context to the gospel nature of this music):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YdIvasx8CrE
Alogte Oho & His Sounds Of Joy - Mam Yinne Wa

Not sure if this thread is the right place and also not sure if it has been covered elsewhere, but this new site seems like a big deal:

https://syriancassettearchives.org

That Syrian cassette site looks very cool.

https://nyadiff.org/

For those who can be in NYC January 13 to 16, the Brst of the African Diaspora Film Fest will include Twist in Bamako about a 1962 story, and doc Mali Cuba Connection. These had short runs in DC last August and I was unable to attend. Seen some favorable reviews

Interesting there's also a group called Fra Fra from Ghana, they came out with a really amazing record of Funeral Songs in 2020.

https://thequietus.com/articles/28205-fra-fra-funeral-songs-review

globalFEST was a great time! Major highlights were NY Arabic Orchestra (surprisingly deep and beautiful performance with some knockout vocalists), Maria Jose Llergo (I could see her being a beneficiary of Rosalia's popularization of pop flamenco and becoming a big star), Dengue Fever (they sound great as ever and the new material was great), Meridian Brothers (absolutely batshit set, amazing band to see on the stage where the NY Phil plays) and the marimba-focused punk cumbia combo Son Rompe Pera, who i solo moshed to and unreservedly love.

I loved Funeral Songs, will always remember it as a soundtrack of that time for me

I loved Funeral Songs, will always remember it as a soundtrack of that time for me

x-post to Forks-- I enjoyed Meridian Bros. DC gig, and saw punk cumbia band Son Rompe Pera awhile back and share your enthusiasm. Nice to hear Dengue has new material and I want to check out NY Arabic Orchestra.

Coming in April to DC and proabably NYC and elsewhere too --
April 7 _Basekou Kouyate at Kennedy Center Millenium Stage in DC (will also be video streamed online)

April 24 -Sona Jobarteh @ Howard Theatre in DC (Gambian kora player)
--------------------------------------------

Kokoko Saturday, April 22, 2023
Doors: 7 PM | Show: 8 PM
Public Records - 233 Butler St, Brooklyn
Tickets: $25 Advance | $30 Day of Show
Co-presented with Public Records

Following an electrifying performance at (le) poisson rouge during WMI's 2019/2020 season, the groundbreaking Congolese group KOKOKO! is back in NYC. Best known for creating a contemporary and unique style of music using instruments constructed by upcycling cans, engine parts, plastic containers, and other trash found on the streets of Kinshasa

https://www.nprpresents.org/tinydeskglobalfest2023?fbclid=IwAR3h96TiX2S4VCMNoL0vZMnNUJ2A_Rs0u3ddLvS8HYbX6-qjkcGqb9XAvTI&mibextid=Zxz2cZ

NPR Tiny Desk meets NY Global Fest starting tonight Tuesday US Eastern time. Bands and times on link

KHADIJA EL WARZAZIA’S BNAT EL HOUARIYAT
& ESRAA WARDA From Algeria is one of tonight’s online acts

https://robertchristgau.substack.com/p/deans-list-2022

Christgau has some albums here that go with this thread

19 of the picks are pre - 2022 ones that got his attention for first time in 2022

Meridian Brothers were fucking great. NY Arabic Orchestra were shockingly good; utterly killer vocalists.

LPR on Bleecker Street in downtown NYC have some good global shows forthcoming:
2023-03-05 Os Mutantes - $40 - https://lpr.com/lpr_events/osmutantes23/
2023-03-25 Amadou and Mariam - $45 - https://lpr.com/lpr_events/amadoumariam/
2023-05-03 Ak Dan Gwang Chil - $35 - https://lpr.com/lpr_events/adg723/

https://moussatchingou.bandcamp.com/album/tamiditine-ep

“Sahel Sounds proudly presents the debut EP by Nigerien guitarist Moussa Tchingou from Agadez. His sound varies from the classic Agadez guitar virtuoso twang to more heady, heavy fuzzy vibes and also highly melodic pieces that sound incredibly fresh, bringing hypnotic polyrhythms, cybernetic Autotune, and smashing drum programming.”

Etran de L’air desert rock US tour starts in late March

@GroundControl__

— sahel sounds (@sahelsounds) February 6, 2023

liking that Moussa Tchingou you posted, thank you

Every time I tell myself I don’t need to hear more Agadez, Niger guitar, I hear something subtly different that interests me. That’s the case with the Moussa Tchingou release on Bandcamp

I’m a broken record touting the movie doc Elders Corner about old school Nigerian musicians. But you should see it ( and no it is not perfect)

African Film Festival Screening | Elder's Corner
Wednesday, February 22 | 6:30 PM | Schomburg Center
Elder's Corner is a musical voyage of rediscovery. Filmmaker Siji Awoyinka pays tribute to the countless Nigerian musicians whose vibrant music—Juju, Afrobeat, and everything in between—formed the cultural and political backdrop of the country's march toward independence through the 1950s and '60s. In English and Yorubá with English

That’s a NY screening

In association with the upcoming posthumous Ali Farka Toure release, this video of Toure with Oumou Sangare has been released

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ru0JGaroX-s

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2023/02/09/nyregion/live-music-nyc.html

The New York City Mixtape

An interactive with video piece by David Gonzalez showing music from many nationalities living in NY

Kennedy Center in W Dc is streaming National Arabic Orchestra Friday 8 pm eastern time; and Saturday night Emad Batayeh ( who sings in Arabic) at 6 eastern us time from Kennedy Center Millennium Stage

https://www.kennedy-center.org/whats-on/millennium-stage/2023/02-february/taking-back-our-narrative-national-arab-orchestra/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zDOIvj2ACkk

they were awesome live as noted above, highly recommended if you can see them in person

Enjoying the preview tracks for the forthcoming Yalla Miku album, which are a marriage of North African and western indie rock sounds:

https://yallamiku.bandcamp.com/album/yalla-miku

Will check that . Musicians are associated with Bongo Joe records in Geneva Switzerland I see .

https://www.projectspace-efanyc.org/mafer

Venezuela joropo llanero plains folk music in NYC

https://syrianmusic.org/events/earthquake-relief/?fbclid=PAAaYviml5QtMb_xXUpehWcp5MxgjREWTRnNiqyCLhKGKbnyUXsxKKQJHm1nQ

Syria & Turkey earthquake relief event in NY

enjoying Dost 2 by Derya Yıldırım & Grup Şimşek this morning

https://deryayildirimandgrupsimsek.bandcamp.com/

2022 release

Listening to Kaleta and Super Yamba Band who are NYC based and they've got a retro 70s african sound down. They're opening a sold out DC gig tonight @ 930 Club for the Dip (daptone retro soul)). If you just take it as it is, and don't expect original touches it's fun stuff.

I went to a house party this past weekend and saw DC band Chopteeth do Orchestra Baobab, Fela, and covers of more obscure 70s African sounds, plus some of their own songs in those veins. It was fun also (12 piece band with horn section, organ, and more), albeit not that original .

Etran de L’air bring their desert rocking sound March 30 to Washington DC at Songbyrd

x-post -- I like Derya's vocals on tracks that Coors posted Tuesday

Corrs

“Bal” off that album is a jam and a half

Malian ngoni player Bassekou Kouyate and his family band will be back in the US of A on tour in April . April 7 free 1 hour gig at Kennedy Center Millennium Stage will also be streamed on their Youtube and Facebook

https://www.bbc.com/news/live/world-africa-64393766?ns_mchannel=social&ns_source=twitter&ns_campaign=bbc_live&ns_linkname=6411c4bfff51f554d28c14c4%26Congolese%20guitar%20supremo%20Lokassa%20ya%20Mbongo%20dies%262023-03-15T14%3A23%3A10.359Z&ns_fee=0&pinned_post_locator=urn:asset:8d72c2f8-b507-40a4-a1db-a650c9cb659a&pinned_post_asset_id=6411c4bfff51f554d28c14c4&pinned_post_type=share

Congolese rhythm guitarist Lokassa ya Mbongo has died, his long-time friend and fellow guitarist Ngouma Lokito has said.

Lokassa, who was 77, died on Tuesday night at a hospital in Nashua in New Hampishire, US, where he had been living since 1996.

Late last month, fellow guitarist Dally Kimoko told the BBC that Lokassa's health was fragile as he was battling diabetes and complications from a mild stroke he suffered in 2020.

Born Denis Kasiya Lokassa in 1946, the rhythm guitarist, arranger and composer was one of the founders of Soukous Stars alongside fellow guitarists Ngouma Lokito (bass) and Dally Kimoko (lead), and vocalists Yondo Sister, Ballou Canta, Neil Zitany and Shimita.

The band, formed in Paris in 1989, battled for attention during the Soukous explosion of the 1990s with Aurlus Mabele’s Loketo.

A Schengen visa is a short-stay visa that allows a person to travel to any member of the Schengen Area (lots of European countries) , per stay up to 90 days for tourism or business purposes. Just saw this January article about African musicians struggles to get visas for Europe and elsewhere if they're flying through Europe on their way.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/jan/21/african-music-stars-struggle-to-get-visas-to-europe?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email

Emma Nzioka, a Kenyan performer and DJ known as Coco Em, was looking forward to the Terra Sagrada festival in Cape Verde for nearly a year. Some of her favourite African artists, such as Boddhi Satva, would be playing.

But Nzioka did not make it to the festival last month, or out of the country, for that matter. At the check-in counter in Kenya, she was told she could not board her flight unless she bought a return ticket with the same airline (she had one with another airline) to “prove” she would return home. Although Nzioka was going to Cape Verde, she was transiting through Amsterdam....

Earlier this year, Nigerian Afropop star Yemi Alade’s requests for a Schengen visa reportedly went unanswered. The artist, who has several world tours under her belt, was also denied a Canadian visa for the International Africa Nights festival. The co-founder of the festival, Suzanne Rousseau, told CTV news in Canada she understood that the refusal was due to “financial reasons” and fears that the artist would “not want to leave Canada”.

Travel to, and transit through, Europe is difficult for Africans. The top three countries with the highest Schengen visa rejection rates are from the continent: Guinea-Bissau had 53% of its applications rejected, Senegal 52% and Nigeria 51%. Most African countries are in the bottom half of the global passports ranking, and with few exceptions, people from African countries need to obtain visas for more than 100 countries.

Old-school African acts who were able to get visas and tour US again (and play in Washington DC area tonight) :

Amadou & Mariam @ 930 Club (Afropop)

Ladysmith Black Mambazo @ Barns of Wolf Trap (South African)

Have seen em several times plus had family responsibilities tonight so didn't go

New Altin Gün album sounds good. Not a huge fan of the vocals but the music is great.

A review of that Amsterdam-based Anatolian Turkish psych-rock band Altin Gun

https://www.popmatters.com/altin-gun-ask-album-review

I have been listening to Bassekou Kouyate & Ngoni Ba from Mali today. Old albums. He was working on a new album before he and his band just came to the US for a tour

Saw Etran de L’Air in DC a night or two before they played Big Ears fest. Solid Saharan desert rockin with a great encore that featured a faster tempo and one musician doing some lively dancing and swaying with his guitar.

Winey praised them over on the Big Ears fest thread

https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/reconsidering-the-ordinary-on-andrew-simons-media-of-the-masses/?fbclid=IwAR1t-JHVvbThjsl50LIchrfgxvYk1WyzmdGK_wOQiHCLxHHyFGyB88V9Ua8&mibextid=Zxz2cZ

Marc Masters review of a book about Egyptian cassette culture

Watched some of the Bassekou Kouyate & Ngoni Ba set at Kennedy Center that's on their Youtube. Good, but more laidback than one I recall seeing in DC many years back. Maybe new one picks up energy in second half. Saw some folks praising their Big Ears set

Nice old school Congolese rumba playing on that

Kahanga Dekula, nicknamed ‘Vumbi’, is a Congolese guitarist who has been playing with a range of other artists such as Makonde Band and Orchestra Maquis for more than forty years and has, only now, got round to releasing his first solo album

https://daily.bandcamp.com/features/onipa-off-the-grid-interview

UK- Ghana act Onipa try to blend traditional and modern afropop

Listened again to this year’s Baba Maal album and it sounded strong.

On 3 November, Hailu Mergia releases Pioneer Works Swing (Live) on LP, CD, Tape, Digital and Deluxe Edition, which includes 3-color vinyl, poster, OBI strip and a bonus 7” (limited to 500 copies). The first single “Belew Beduby” is available today on all digital platforms. Mergia fans may recognize the tune in a drastically different arrangement from Hailu Mergia & His Classical Instrument.

Finally, we have a recorded document of the keyboard player’s powerful DC-based trio—which practices each weekend in his basement—featuring Kenneth Joseph on drums and Alemseged Kebede on bass. Beautifully captured at one of their fiery live shows at the venerable Brooklyn non-profit cultural center Pioneer Works on July 1, 2016, the concert was recorded by PW staff and mixed by Ted Young with mastering by ATFA’s expert audio extraction collaborator Jessica Thompson.

big Hailu fan, not sure I need this live album but happy it's there for posterity

what I need is to see him play again

great band

Hailu was a Real nice guy when I met him . He lives not far from me in DC area but doesn’t gig a lot . Practices every week though with his band in his basement.

He is going to do some tour gigs shortly

Where Israelis, Palestinians and Iranians Must Listen to One Another
Students from the Middle East come to Berlin to study music with the star conductor Daniel Barenboim. Now the Israel-Hamas war is testing their ideals

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/10/31/arts/music/israeli-palestinian-barenboim-peacemaking.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare

https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/un-retreat-mali-disarray-violence-surges-2023-11-03/

The situation in northern Mali is a mess

I saw Rawanda duo The Good Ones do their only (!) US gig last night at a small 50 seat room in Washington DC. There were about 40 people there. One member stood and strummed acoustic guitar and the other guy sat and tapped on a large tambourine. Both delivered Beautiful vocal melodies and harmonies. Despite Not enough tempo changes for non-folky me, I still enjoyed show. They don’t speak much English so no chatter between songs. The percussionist banged together a pair of boots rather than using his tambourine drum on one song. On the encore they marched down the aisle there and used their feet and handclaps as percussion for their soothing vocals. These guys are survivors of the 1994 genocide in Rwanda and live in a rural area there . Might also be farmers. Their lyrics might deal with heavy subjects. They are recording an NPR Tiny Desk today. They were supposed to play NY the other day, but got blocked somehow from flying out via Amsterdam the other day and had to wait an additional day. Their American producer spoke last night and was blaming Rawanda and Dutch authorities for the delay

Is anything from this thread on best rolling albums 2023? It seems to me that both old-school style and new school afropop, as well as Spanish language music still seems to be labeled niche music in these polls in a manner that US and UK pop , rock, r’nb , and rap isn’t

Ignored as niche music I mean while Tubs get so much love for their Richard Thompson meets punk approach

BCUC mentioned upthread were just in the Boston area recently as a writer pal of mine from that way posted a photo on social media.

Asake, Baaba Maal, Mokoomba all sound as worthy to me as ilx rock fave the Tubs (who i kinda like too)

Grammys nominees for Feb 2024 awards

Best Global Music Performance

For new vocal or instrumental Global music recordings.

Shadow Forces
Arooj Aftab, Vijay Iyer & Shahzad Ismaily

Alone
Burna Boy

FEEL
Davido

Milagro Y Disastre
Silvana Estrada

Abundance In Millets
Falu & Gaurav Shah (Featuring PM Narendra Modi)

Pashto
Béla Fleck, Edgar Meyer & Zakir Hussain Featuring Rakesh Chaurasia

Todo Colores
Ibrahim Maalouf Featuring Cimafunk & Tank And The Bangas

Grammys nominees for Feb 2024 awards

Best Global Music Album

For albums containing greater than 75% playing time of new vocal or instrumental Global Music recordings.

Epifanías
Susana Baca

History
Bokanté

I Told Them...
Burna Boy

Timeless
Davido

This Moment
Shakti

https://pan-african-music.com/en/egypt-cassette-culture/

1970s Egyptian music on cassettes

Uncut albums of the year 2023- 31. Baaba Maal – Being

Yay

First heard by global audiences on Sahel Sounds’ Music from Saharan WhatsApp series, Malian guitar hero Bounaly (the stage name of Ali "Bounaly" Traore) makes his full-length debut with “Dimanche à Bamako” (“Sunday in Bamako”). Recorded live on location, the music on "Dimanche à Bamako" is a mix of regional favorites, traditional standards, and originals. Long songs with looping rhythms, pounding kick drums, and electric shredding guitars, punctuated by shout-outs to the guests of honor. A raw and frenetic take on Northern Mali desert sound, playing for the diaspora at a Bamako wedding. …

Bounaly is on Bandcamp. Cool Malian guitar sound. Sahel Sounds has a vinyl version

El Khat trio’s Yemen music sounds great live tonight in little Bossa club in DC . They are on a short tour. Were in NY last night. Chanted Arabic vocals, drummer uses kitchen pots and a drum kit, lead vocalist uses a stringed instrument. Not sure what the instrument is called that other guy is using

Final night of their us tour. This gig didn’t get much media attention, but small enthusiastic crowd for El Khat

I need to catch up on El Khat recorded efforts. I think they have a few or 3 albums out. They toured here as a trio , but I see photos with 4 guys and mentions of middle eastern horn instruments (they didn't have any of those last night)

RIP Sara Tavares, Cape Verde/ Portuguese singer/ guitarist dead from a brain tumor at 45

FUCK

Her eurovision entry was a big song of my childhood and she was an important element of representation for the Afro-Portuguese community at a time when all sorts of racist bullshit still flew on tv (tbh I can't say that it doesn't still).

Terrible news. I have seen similar reactions on Instagram and twitter (many from those in the Afro-Portuguese community), and must confess that for American suburbanite me my exposure was just hearing about her playing Globalfest in NY in 2007 and similar "world music" marketing. I wasn't even aware of the Eurovision entry. She's gone way too soon.

53. Tinariwen – Amatssou

From Uncut magazine best 2023 albums

wtfffffff

https://www.instagram.com/p/C0HuZH0P1mL/

i'm gutted. one of the best shows i've seen in years.

Yes . terrible news. Mamadou Sanou (Baba Commandant) passed away in his home town of Bobo-Dioulasso, Burkina Faso yesterday. All we know at the moment is, a fatal bout of malaria was the reason.

Saw he and his band in DC and in Baltimore this year. Damn malaria....

Christopher Silver is the founder and curator of the website Gharamophone.com, a digital archive of North African records from the first half of the twentieth century. His first book Recording History: Jews, Muslims, and Music Across Twentieth Century North Africa was published in June 2022

Not familiar with his website or book but gonna look into them

Banning Eyre loves the 2023 Mokoomba album and I do too

https://afropop.org/articles/mokoomba-tusona-tracings-in-the-sand

Okwy Osadebe and Highlife Soundmakers International: Igbo Amaka (Palenque)
Nigerian, the son of Chief Stephen Osita Osadebe (1936-2007), an Igbo highlife star in Lagos from his first album in 1958. During the 1970s, highlife was eclipsed by juju and afrobeat, but I always found the early stuff especially charming, as is this slight update. **- Tom Hull review

just reading a reference to : Gouyad music and I see that:

Kompa gouyad is a popular Haitian music genre that blends African rhythms with Caribbean influences. It features a fast tempo and upbeat melodies, accompanied by percussion instruments like drums and tambourines.

Here's a konpa gouyad 2023 mix . I see mixes of konpa gouyad going back to 2021.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MN_h2STVOGU

Part of Ted Gioia list not paywalled

It includes Blick Bassy
Mádibá
Soulful Electropop Sung in the Baasa Language of Cameroon

Various Artists
Ears of the People: Ekonting Songs from Senegal and Gambia
Traditional African Music Performed on the Ekonting, a Three-Stringed Gourd Lute

This from Ted Gioia ‘s honorable mention list

Listened to Baaba Maal 2023 album Being again . It's a best of. Mokoomba 2023 one is good too, plus afropop/afrobeats and more Asake

Bounaly: Dimanche à Bamako (Sahel Sounds)
Guitarist Ali Traore, from Niafounke in north Mali, recorded live at a wedding bash in Mali's capitol city, a haven for many refugees from the jihad in the north. With vocals, drums, and calabash, the recording a little crude but powerful

I need to listen to this Tom Hull favorite again

is he playing Amadou & Mariam tunes? or is Dimanche à Bamako a kind of standard/expression?

He’s not playing their songs . It has apparently become a common expression. He’s a north Malian who moved down to Bamako as the jihadists up north have made it nearly impossible for musicians.

Plus Bounaly recorded this live on a Sunday, and that expression means “Sunday in Bamako” I think

It does yeah.

https://afropop.org/articles/afropop-top-videos-2023-the-final-seven

Congolese, Senegalese and more afropop band and solo videos

https://theatticmag.com/news/2456/staff-picks-_-november-and-december-2023.html

Some cool stuff here

60 Minutes did a 20-minute piece on Gnawa music last night:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ti1Nqaju4lY

Cool. Thanks , always wondered how to pronounce “gnawa “

Yeah, that was my big takeaway — "Oh shit, I've been pronouncing this word wrong for 30 years!" I always just pronounced it "nah-wah" with a silent G. Fortunately, that was mostly in my head as I almost never had to say it out loud. Except for the time I interviewed Bill Laswell about recording in Morocco, of course. And he didn't correct me...

I guess the Master Musicians of Joujouka who were Not in that 60
minutes segment are Sufi musicians but their music is not considered Gnawa

I still have to watch those 7 videos linked above in the afropop. Org list. That website usually posts a “Stockings stuffer” end of year list by now, but I am not seeing one.

I also need to dig into that attic one

Saw Tinariwen show up on someone’s 2023 list . Had forgotten about that one

Just saw elsewhere 2 best of 2023 references to Piconema: East African Hits on the Colombian Coast . I haven’t heard it yet and haven’t seen references to it elsewhere here on ILM

I heard it. It was an OK compilation of mostly early 80s guitar jams — if you like rumba (the African style) and that sort of thing, you'll probably enjoy this. I'm more of a highlife and juju person so it didn't do much for me.

It's 2024, time for a new thread

Rolling Global Outernational Non-West Non-English (Some Exceptions) 2024 Thread (Often African guitar led bands)