Rolling Global Outernational Non-West Non-English (Some Exceptions) 2020 Thread (Often African bands)

Unfortunately, I'm gonna be at the Jazz Gallery tonight.

i've had the flu for about a week - mildly unpleasant. more unpleasant has been taking care of 3 sick kids who also are sick and being mostly cooped inside. today i was feeling better but w/ some cabin fever so i took reggie for a long walk outside. it had rained in the morning and was still cold and the air was sharp but there were lots of birds and small mammals about. i listened to the new afropop worldwide episode about the field recordings of High Tracey who did a lot of fieldwork in traditional communities in Africa in the 1950s particularly in Malawi. i had not heard these before but many are extraordinary + strange lots of inventive vocal and instrumental sounds, some things that reminded me of reading feld's sound and sentiment, really some wonderful things to listen to and especially on a chilly, somewhat wet walk after spending all week ill and indoors.

Hugh* Tracey but i guess that's a little easter egg there

Mordy, did you study ethnomusicology? Not doing so has always been a minor regret of mine. I did take an intro anthropology course and the prof would start each class by playing music and asking us to guess where it was from

Sorta - I did a Performance Studies grad degree but worked with ethnomusicologists and on topics that had a lot of crossover so I ended up studying + reading a lot of ethnomusicology and took a few classes in the discipline. I was mostly interested in religious + liturgical music and wrote about Jewish music primarily but I also wrote about other things. I also did a course in Sound Studies that was very interesting.

Ah that's interesting. A good friend of mine is doing a PhD in performance studies at CUNY right now and all his classes sound great--he's a playwright & director but is also taking a lot of music-related courses. When I worked in academic publishing I promoted ethnomusicology books but never had time to do much more than skim them (I wish I'd kept copies of them all now!). Sound studies is closer to my own academic field (media/comms) but I haven't had a chance to get seriously into yet.

Shakira At Super Bowl halftime used the the Congo instrumental song Icha by Syran Mbenza. The guitar solo is by Lokassa Ya Mbongo I am reading on twitter. Colombian champeta is drawn from Congolese rumba in part.

She also drew a bit from her Lebanese heritage. Zaghrouta is the tongue thing she did.

Maybe some university classes are discussing that today!

Plus the myriad other elements and the guests Bad Bunny & J Balvin

I didn't see it, but that does sound like a rich text!

can't wait to talk about this w my students!
they love bad bunny

Others on twitter are saying Shakira’s tongue ululations are part of traditional carnival roots in Barranquilla in Colombia.

On Facebook the discussion is more re whether the dancing was too raunchy, and is it or not empowering for 43 & 50 years old women to dance like that ( and for children to see it)

ugh! put down your pearls, folks

the NFL still has cheerleaders, no?

this looks great - i don't know much about Apala music but acc to the description "Apala: Apala Groups in Nigeria 1967-70 is the first ever collection of Apala music to be released outside of Nigeria. The album focusses on a wide selection of recordings made in Nigeria in the 1960s, a time when Apala music was at the height of its popularity. Apala is a deeply rhythmical, hypnotic and powerful musical style that combines the striking nasal-style vocals and traditions of Islamic music, the Agidigbo (thumb piano), and the equally powerful drumming and percussion rhythms and techniques of the Yoruba of Nigeria."

https://www.strandedrecords.com/collections/soul-jazz/products/various-apala-apala-groups-in-nigeria-1967-70-2xlp

release 2/21

interesting!

cheerleaders are young though

and they know their place.

(i'm being sarcastic. i trust you realize this but i feel like i have to clarify.)

Christopher Kirkley's Sahel Sounds imprint (Mdou Moctar, Les Filles de Illighadad, Ahmedou Ahmed Lowla) jumpstarts 2020 with its catchy new "Music from Saharan WhatsApp" series: "Every month, we'll be releasing an EP from a musical group in the Sahel. Every album will be recorded on a cellphone, and transmitted over WhatsApp, and uploaded to Bandcamp - where it will live for one month only. Available for pay as you want, 100% of the sales will go directly to the artist or group. After one month, the album will be replaced by another one, until the end of the year."

First off is Etran de L'Aïr (which translates to 'Stars of the Aïr', a mountainous region in Northern Niger), a group hailing from Agadez that established itself as a wedding band, playing three guitars simultaneously, "pushing their instruments to the extreme, soloing over one another and creating a dreamy cacophony of sound." Originally the band formed back in 1995...

X-post - NY Times editorial by Jennifer Weiner re pearl clutchers vs butt shakers takes on Super Bowl

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/04/opinion/jlo-superbowl-performance.html

Now I'm sorry I skipped that Ballaké Sissoko show. This is totally fucked:

Malian musician & renowned Kora player Ballaké Sissoko says USA Customs have destroyed his custom-made Kora.
Statement reads ‘In Mali the jihadists threaten to destroy musical instruments - yet ironically US customs have managed to do this’ pic.twitter.com/4uwvkhoHPa

— Samira Sawlani (@samirasawlani) February 5, 2020

Terrible how they pulled it apart

The destruction of Ballaké Sissoko's kora by TSA agents of 'Homeland Security' is a reminder that cultural barbarism flows from political barbarism. They are not worthy of him, of his instrument, or of the beautiful sound he produces on his kora. https://t.co/vFwD3j1Zhr

— Adam Shatz (@adamshatz) February 7, 2020

shatz otm

Burna Boy and Koffee at least made ilm top 77 albums, but not Mdou Moctar or others discussed here. :(

No mention anywhere on ILM of djeuhdjoah & lt nicholson. Liked that album more than African-ish that made the top 77, except Samthing prob.

Must admit I never heard of that duo. French Afro-Soul singers it appears. Will check them out.

Mdou Moctar got 7 votes in ILM album poll 2019

love sissoko, very much bullshit from customs

https://homerecordsbe.bandcamp.com/album/sissoko-sissoko

this sissoko & sissoko album with (Baba) features some beautiful playing. I suppose -ruined instrument aside- the upshot is that this ugly incident brought him lots of sympathetic publicity and attention that he thoroughly deserves.

https://www.npr.org/2020/02/11/804788290/joseph-shabalala-ladysmith-black-mambazo-founder-dies-at-78

RIP. Pioneering act. Saw em a few times ( although they used to come to DC every February and I got tired of em and wanted to see other South African old school acts but that rarely ever happened. Wasn’t their fault)

Fatoumata Diawara only has 2 US east coast gigs on current tour- Philly on February 19 & NYC on the 21st. Then she heads out to Chicago and west. She’s great live

Listened to the reissue of an Issam Hajali album today - Lebanese Acid Folk from the 70's with touches of orchestral pop, prog, bossa nova. Killer album, Habibi Funk is such a great label.

― Daniel_Rf, Friday, January 24, 2020 1:11 PM (three weeks ago)

this album is incredible, an absolute gem

https://pitchfork.com/news/victor-olaiya-highlife-icon-dead-at-89/

gonna catch diawara this week. she's been great everytime i saw her.

mdou moctar doing a neat late night NYC show at an extremely funky brooklyn room
https://thesultanroom.com/events/#event=91208474001

whatsapp #2 is out

https://sahelsounds.bandcamp.com/album/music-from-saharan-whatsapp-02

This month we present mother and son duo, Oumou Diabate and Kara Show Koumba Frifri (Youssouf Drame), from Bamako, Mali. Playing traditional Mandingue music, these lowkey recordings are a snapshot from a griot family home.

saw Dawda Jobarteh yesterday, feel like there should be a dedicated kora thread, what a wonderful instrument

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cWsXjw37Jwg

Kora does sound great

This month, Autotune the World goes to Senegal, digging into the past decade of Mbalax & Sabar. Some deep youtube finds and some well known classics.
MBALAX

https://www.nts.live/shows/christopher-kirkley/episodes/autotune-the-world-w-christopher-kirkley-13th-february-2020

Haven’t heard that yet, or latest Afropop worldwide, or recent Sahel Sounds whatsapp related release. Shame on me

Finally listening to the Islam Hajali , Lebanese acid-folk pop album mentioned upthread. Nice, pleasant sounds for an early Monday morning

posted this on another thread but might be interesting to some here. I started a Facebook community to discuss new music from around the world https://www.facebook.com/groups/terrainsound/

X-post - ah autocorrect- that’s Issam Hijali

I listened to an Afropop Worldwide episode about chutney soca. I want to go to a Carnival in the Caribbean some year. I have done Brazil ( Rio and Salvador) which was amazing .

x-post - listened to some of the Autotune the World Senegal thing and it’s worth hearing but it’s just music, no talking like the Afropop Worldwide podcast. But maybe you knew that.

75 Dollar Bill are opening for Mdou Moctar on Monday March 23 at Ottobar in Baltimore. Not sure if they’re playing together elsewhere. A bit of a drive for me to get up there on a work night but it’s tempting

https://tuskisbetter.substack.com/p/when-and-where-music-of-guineas-authenticit?utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&utm_source=copy

Nice video at end of guinea band plus discussion of music history there

MP3 download too

wow, what's that language? those qh like aspirations remind me of Greenlandic

it’s Zulu (and she’s South African). the same people made one of the big global hits of this year:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fCZVL_8D048
Master KG ft. Nomcebo Zikode • Jerusalema

excellent, thanks

Skeleton Move is one of my all time faves, but that's light on lyrics (although maybe that first phrase "uaneetamos"? is Zulu)

really like his/their melancholy/inspirational/banger vibe

In fairness, it's very hard to keep up with the ridiculously high volume of great music coming out of South Africa right now.

we’ve got threads for that!

Albums from Ted Gioia list I am curious about (with his little descriptions; artist name is listed on top):

Bab L’ Bluz
Nayda!
If Motown Had Existed in North Africa...

Chouk Bwa & The Ångstromers
Vodou Alé
Haitian Drumming and Singing with Touches of Electronica and Dancehall Music

Contours
Balafon Sketches
Gamelan, Percussion and Traditional Instruments Meet Synthesizers, Software and Pedal Effects

André Mehmari and Danilo Brito
Nosso Brazil
Mandolin and Piano Duet Performances of the Works of Brazilian Choro Composers

Penya (with Msafiri Zawose)
Penya Safari
East African EDM/Call-and-Response Tanzanian Pop

Various Artists
Apala Groups In Nigeria 1967-70
First Collection of Apala Music Released Outside Nigeria

more from Ted's honorable mentions:

Caixa Cubo: Angela
Electric Brazilian Jazz-Rock-Pop

Dumama + Kechou: Buffering Juju
African Traditional Song Meets Synthpop

Seu Jorge & Rogê: Night Dreamer Direct-To-Disc Sessions
Acoustic Brazilian Popular Music

Matthew Joseph: Mood Masala
Funk Influenced by Indian Music and Fingerstyle Guitar

the Bab L’Bluz is great, not sure what Motown has to do with it tho

I wish the movie doc Elder’s Corner was available for streaming. It is now only visible via certain movie festivals. It’s about a NYC based Nigerian who goes back home to find the old school musicians he heard as a kid

Gonna start a 2021 thread

Here's to 2021

Rolling Global Outernational Non-West Non-English (Some Exceptions) 2021 Thread (Often African bands)