Rolling Global Outernational Non-West Non-English (Some Exceptions) 2018 Thread Once Known as World Music

More from that interview:

People are feeling abandoned. So one of the ways to keep them up and happy, interested in the country, is music and sports. And sport is not doing too well. They didn’t make it to the World Cup. We were looking forward to it, so they could have something for 2018. But when you have people like Ferre Gola doing amazing concerts in the country, and outside, it brings pride. So it becomes, O.K., Ferre Gola represents me. That’s me ambassador. That’s my leader. That’s my role model. Fally Ipupa represents me. That kind of stuff.

Meanwhile for the Congolese diaspora:

These are kids who grew up abroad, in the Congolese diaspora, but they still want to identify with Congo. There’s one big one. His name is Maitre Gims. He’s in Paris. He is the biggest artist in France.

... So Franco would release a record, and people everywhere would do something similar. This is what’s going on right now a little bit. But it’s different now because it’s on the world stage: Paris, New York. So they do it like to do it there, but with Kinshasa stuff. And you see that in the dance moves. The dance moves that are taking over come out of ndombolo. They combine hip-hop and ndombolo, and that has driven the world crazy. You see ndombolo in Nigerian dance moves, Côte d’Ivoire, early coupé decalé. You see them dance. The kids in Europe. It’s ndombolo-based, and then you add hip-hop moves. And they become creative. If they do hip-hop moves, watch. You will see ndombolo moves coming up right after that. But the way they’ve combined those dance steps, it’s like something totally new. So really, it’s taking over. In early 2000s, nobody would think it would be what it is today.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L0CNCbNv534

^ new ebo taylor is tremendous

Lusafrica have reissued Bonga's first two albums, Angola 72 and Angola 74. Recorded in exile in Paris while Angola was still under Portuguese rule. The dude is very much a legend in the Portuguese-speaking music world, and most of the stuff by him I've heard is in Portuguese and a lot more straightforward Pop than these albums. There's a lot of the Angolan semba rhythm, which influenced the Brazilian Samba, and you can really hear it. He sings in original Angolan languages (I wish I knew a less awkward way to express that). I recommend Angola 74 particularly - he's got a lot of Cape Verdean backing musicians on that one, and even does a version of "Sodade" (better known as Cesaria Evora's signature song).

Heard one of those Bonga albums and liked it years ago. Haven't listened since, but I should.

x-post -when you said new Ebo Taylor you meant it. At 81 this Ghanaian's releasing Yen Ara, produced by Justin Admas

ebo claims it's the best record he's ever made as well

Still haven't gotten to Ebo Taylor (or re-listened to Bonga) but i heard the Afropop Worldwide “Congolese Music: The Fifth Generation.”

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.

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.

Moctar is doing a free noon-time show right now at the Library of Congress in DC

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.

These performances are mind-bending

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6W4pGMwAGIw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G4iKmXTfUv8

wow, yes!

Those Mark Ernestus performances are nice

Senegalese mbalax drummers are pretty impressive

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

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

x-post
Finally 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

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.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=yeelLtMFNg8

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.

Still so many afropop episodes for me to catch up on.

Seeing votes on that best albums of 2018 so far thread for Hailu Mergia, Tal National, and Ebo Taylor

Amadou & Mariam and then Noura Mint Seymali are gonna be in the Washington DC area on successive nights in June. Fun live acts

UK electronic dance duo Disclosure have a new single "Ultimatum" that samples and credits Malian singer Fatoumata Diawara.

Fatoumata deserves the attention.

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

went to a party yesterday with an Angolan trio jamming out, great stuff - is Bonga a good point of entry to Angolan rock?

Most of the Bonga stuff I have heard is more mellow like Brazilian samba.

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

https://www.npr.org/2011/02/02/130076680/funk-before-war-in-angola

thx!

Malian singer Kassé-Mady Diabaté died last week:
https://face2faceafrica.com/article/mali-mourns-music-icon-kasse-mady-diabate-who-died-aged-69

went to a party yesterday with an Angolan trio jamming out, great stuff - is Bonga a good point of entry to Angolan rock?

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.

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

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)

xp thanks for the info Daniel

quite digging that Bastos

https://analogafrica.bandcamp.com/album/african-scream-contest-vol-2-benin-1963-1980

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.

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?

really want to get that Africa Scream Contest album

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.

x-post -- seen some mentions of jazz organist Jimmy Smith re Hailu Mergia's style

nice, checking out some Jimmy Smith

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.

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.

Saw a video of a Noura Mint Seymali and band song at Tropicalia in DC last night plus one from the night before at
Lincoln Center in NY. A powerful voice and her husband on guitar has such a cool sound. They’re from Mauritania

Love the two Noura Mint Seymali albums I own.

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 :/

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.