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

That Robson Banda and the new black eagles reissue has those zimbabwean and south african guitars from the 80s that I like

. BLK JKS - Abantu/Before Humans

Saw this and Mdou Moctar on a best of 2021 album list in that thread of them

Omar Souleymane now being held in a Turkish prison is bad news.

https://www.passionweiss.com/2021/11/16/afro-jams-of-the-week-november-16-2021/

Hmmm have I ever heard Sona Jobarteh who’s gonna be on cover of December Songlines and has a gig in London soon

That BLK JKS album is very busy with lots of sounds coming at you at once, sometimes I like it while other times it’s too jazz fusion/ prog busy for me.

learned recently that demola adepoju also played pedal steel on paul simon's "graceland" (the song). his solo album is amazing. any/all other nigerian/african pedal steel tips always totally welcome! https://t.co/PUnQ9dyfvF

— jesse jarnow (@bourgwick) November 20, 2021

https://www.billboard.com/music/awards/arooj-aftab-grammy-nomination-best-new-artist-things-to-know-1235001996/

Pakistani music for the masses. I like her but it’s interesting how she has managed to reach ilx, indie hipsters, and the Grammys

I think it's because it's very good

https://www.elderscornermovie.com/

This doc about Older Nigerian musicians looks promising

Jon Pareles listed some additional albums that didn’t make his NY Times top list and he has Omar Sosa and East African Journey on it. Cuban pianist Sosa went to a number of countries and recorded with local musicians there.

Pareles has Bomba Estereo, Mon Laferte, & Mdou Moctar in his top albums plus in his 15 more deserving albums -Arooj Aftab, “Vulture Prince”

Khaira Arby, “New York Live” and Omar Sosa

Kumera Zekarias, a DC based Ethiopian singer/ guitarist who grew up in Texas , released a great record in April called Biyya Chonta that he recorded in Colombia with musicians from that country.

He hasn’t gotten huge Bandcamp or Spotify attention and doesn’t have a pr team ( he’s now studying ethnomusicology in Boston) but he’s worth checking out . I highlighted him earlier this year and his effort is one of my fave 2021 releases https://medium.com/seventhirty-dc/on-biyya-chonta-kumera-zekarias-creates-a-heady-blend-of-ethiopian-and-colombian-grooves-353a460a9beb

Les Filles at Pioneer Works is showing up on a few lists too

Afropop. Org list isn’t due out till later. Anyone aware of some good lists involving old school or new school sounds from the global south or elsewhere?

Saw Elder's Corner movie doc last night . A love letter to Nigeria focused on highlife, but also juju and afrobeat. Haven't seen the new Velvets or Beatles docs yet, but I saw this 2020 effort. The artists are enthused that the Nigerian musician/ director (first time film-maker I think) is taking them into recording studios as so many have been ignored for years. Ebenezer Obey, Sir Victor Uwaifo, the Lijadu Sisters, Tony Allen and many more previously unknown to me like EC Arinze and the Empire Rhythm Band. Spoiler alert- suddenly in the closing credits you learn that since the filming began for this effort and was completed that nearly 15 of the artists shown and talked to have passed.
When a young London-born Nigerian music fan makes the shocking discovery that many Nigerian musical icons don’t possess copies of their own recordings, he returns to Lagos to re-record them. This film chronicles the music—from juju to Afrobeat and everything in between—and its parallels to Nigeria’s socio-political evolution from the colonial 1950s through the nationalist movement and independence in the ’60s. Rare archival footage colors this performance-rich tour through the history of the nation’s music.

Filmmaker Siji Awoyinka and producer Ade Bantu for Elder's Corner.

That sounds really great! hopefully it will show up somewhere I can see it soon

It has been at some fests but Siji A, a first time director has little budget for marketing. I enjoyed it but it helps to have some background on Nigerian music when seeing it. The film kinda jumps around a bit, he mentions King Sunny Ade's importance but doesn't have an interview with him. He covers Fela but the Tony Allen interview is sorta short. The host of the post showing panel last night was a Nigerian woman whose name I did not catch. She was glad the film not only included the Lijadu Sisters, but also other women involved in Nigerian music like Mary Afi Usua. Plus Lijadu sisters mentioned Batila Alatke. That aspect was a strong part of the film. The director would need more hours than the 1 1/2 he had to cover everything fully. Record geeks may be wowed by an early scene where the director is flipping through his friend's big collection of old-school African vinyl

Pareles has a Teddy Afro Ethio- reggae song on his top list of 2021 tracks. It’s apparently a political one re the sad civil war like status of Ethiopia today

I saw Afro some years back. Pretty good

Ok I only found this because it had a track of mine on it, but I'm discovering lots of really incredible west and north African music on this mix (complete with Bandcamp links):

https://soundcloud.com/no-exotik-no-turistik/no-exotik-no-turistik-radioshow-5122021

from above soundcloud

1. Cheb - Sma' Balak -
cheb.bandcamp.com/album/sma-balak
2. Cheb - Sma' Balak -
cheb.bandcamp.com/album/sma-balak
3. Super Somali Sounds from the Gulf of Tadjoura - ostinatorecords.bandcamp.com/album/djib…f-tadjoura
4. Chants - Poly Pointillism - chants.bandcamp.com/album/poly-pointillism
5. Senyawa - Alkisah - senyawaofficial.bandcamp.com/album/alkisah
6. Meril Wubslin - Alors Quoi - merilwubslin.bandcamp.com/album/alors-quoi
7. Lavender Hex - Bunch of Flowers - lavenderhex.bandcamp.com/album/bunch-of-flowers
8. Witch Camp (Ghana) - I`ve forgotten now who i used to be - witchcampghana.bandcamp.com/
9. De la Crau - Temperi
10. Khlab & M`berra Ensemble - M`berra - djkhalab.bandcamp.com/album/mberra
11. Futur Antérieur: Bongo Joe 5 Years - lesdisquesbongojoe.bandcamp.com/album/fut…e-5-years
12. Comorian. We are an island, but we are not alone - comorian.bandcamp.com/album/we-are-a…e-re-not-alone
13. Sufyvn - Pseudarhythm, Vol. 3 - sufyvn.bandcamp.com/album/pseudarhythm-vol-3
14. Maral - On your way - maral.bandcamp.com/track/on-your-way-ft-panda-bear
15. Orchestre Tout Puissant Marcel Duchamp - We`re OK. But we are lost anyway - otpmd.bandcamp.com/album/were-ok-b…ere-lost-anyway
16. Amami - Soleil - amami.bandcamp.com/album/soleil
17. Kasai Allstars - Black Ants Remixes - kasaiallstars.bandcamp.com/album/black…nts-remixes
18. ZEA - Witst noch dat d'r neat wie - zeamusic.bandcamp.com/album/witst-no…at-dr-neat-wie
19. Tout Bleu - Otium - toutbleu.bandcamp.com/album/otium

This is a really great record: https://hassanwargui.bandcamp.com/album/tiddukla

Hassan Wargui is a self taught musician, composer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and an expert in the songcraft and poetry of the Tachelhit speaking Amazigh tribes of the Anti-Atlas mountains in the south of Morocco.

He was born in 1985 in the rural community of Issafen, which lies between Taroudant and Tafraoute in the Anti-Atlas mountains of Southern Morocco. His music draws from the deep well of Amazigh, or Berber, cultures that have long been suppressed across North Africa after the region underwent a process of Arabization following the Arab invasions of the 7th Century.

Hassan grew up in an isolated mountain community in which art and music is embedded into daily life. This allowed him to develop an excellent musical sense, a deep understanding of the complex poly-rhythms that underpin Amazigh music, and time to become proficient on the banjo which, since the ascendency of the popular modern folk movement involving groups such as Nass El Ghiwane and Jil Jilala in the late '60s and early '70s, has been the preferred instrument of the region. Like many musicians from the region, Hassan built his first instruments himself, and it wasn't until he moved to Casablanca in his teens to find work which was scarce in his local community, that he was able to save for his first real banjo.

Since then Hassan has been active in the Amazigh musical community and has worked with a number of groups, notably Groupe Lbouchart, Imanaren and Etran Tiznit, as well as recording prolifically as a solo artist using Fruity Loops as a home studio. In 2009, Jace Clayton (DJ/Rupture) stumbled across a CD by Imanaren on a stall in Casablanca medina and this led to a fruitful series of collaborations in 2009 and 2011 (you can learn more about their work together here: www.dublab.com/archive/louder-than-the-noise-jace-clayton-hassan-wargui)

Tiddukla (which translates to Friendship) is one of Hassan's numerous group projects and he recorded the album with friends in 2015 and self released it through YouTube due to the lack of music infrastructure in Morocco. The Tiddukla album is raw and hypnotic and sees Hassan and his group channeling the deep and contemplative sounds of classic Amazigh groups such as Izenzaren, Archach, Izmaz, all of whom risked their freedom by daring to sing in Tachelhit at a time when the language was still forbidden, and when Amazigh people were fighting for their rights to be recognised.

Just had a really great phone call with South African jazz drummer Ayanda Sikade, who's on a ton of Nduduzo Makhathini's albums, has worked with trombonist Siya Makuzeni and bassist Herbie Tsoaeli, was in Zim Ngqawana's band (with Makhathini), and has two albums of his own, including one that came out just the other week. I'm working on a piece about him for Bandcamp.

Cool.

Connecting with Makhathini in 2019-2020 has really opened a ton of other doors this past year. I've interviewed a ton of other South African artists, some of whom have reached out directly to me through him — I was even able to help get saxophonist Linda Sikhakhane signed to Ropeadope; his new album will be coming out next year. It's such an incredibly fertile scene, and/but I seem to be one of the few US journalists paying any real attention to it.

Interesting. I wonder if there are aging mbaqanga musicians in South Africa still playing? Or maybe their children have picked it up?

https://afropop.org/articles/2021-picks

Here’s the Afropop. Org list of African and diaspora albums

cool to hear that news, unperson

I thought about starting a dedicated thread, but maybe I'll just mention it here. The new Fimber Bravo album Lunar Tredd is very good: https://fimberbravo.bandcamp.com/album/lunar-tredd

He's a Trinidadian steelpan player who was in the 20th Century Steel Band and Steel an' Skin. On this one he collaborates with a bunch of people (striking context collapse moment for me: hearing the singer for Vanishing Twin pop up in the middle of the album), particularly a group of Senegalese musicians.

xp
afropop list looks especially rich this year

https://pan-african-music.com/les-50-meilleurs-albums-de-2021/

Just saw this on the thread for 2021 critics lists

Came to post about Falle Nioke but I see he's already been mentioned a few months ago. If anyone one could recommend some simile stuff, I'd be much obliged.

3. Group Doueh & Cheveu: Dakhla Sahara Session (Born Bad ‘17)

― curmudgeon,

listening to this on bandcamp now. c'est incroyable.

xp
wow, the Falle Nioke EPs are fantastic!

Granny, maybe try the Wau Wau Collectif album? https://wauwaucollectif.bandcamp.com/album/yaral-sa-doom. Not quite the same (it's less "electronic" for one), but the feeling is similar and it also manages to do fusion/intl collaboration right.

Thanks rob, I'll check it out

Lol went to add it to my iTunes library and it already has been. Don't remember having done that!

Falle Nioke does sound great

A fantastic South African record — Philip Tabane's _The Indigenous Afro-Jazz Sounds Of..._, from 1969 — is being reissued on LP only (boo, hiss) next month. Bandcamp link🕸

It's a duo disc, just guitar and percussion for most of it, but Tabane occasionally plays flute and the percussionist, Gabriel "Sonnyboy" Thobejane, plays thumb piano. Tabane's guitar style is somewhere between Grant Green and John Lee Hooker, really raw-sounding but technically quite skilled. If you can find a digital version, or own a turntable, snap this one up.

yeah that is a gem

Listening to Femi Kuti & his 25 year old son Made on their album Legacy + , that came out earlier this year. Good not great

None of the Kuti kids has ever done anything that's impressed me. Most of it just slides in one ear and out the other.

Same

Seun has made some great records imo, Many Things is my fave

For me a lot of it is the production/engineering, and that holds true for nearly all modern afrobeat. It's too clean-sounding, the drums in particular.

I've had a blast seeing Femi live, as a substitute for Fela who I'll never get to see. But have never had much use for his albums

New 2022 thread-

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