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

Speaking of Congo musicians

https://f4.bcbits.com/img/a1370979743_16.jpg

ALBUM OF THE DAY
Lady Aicha & Pisko Crane’s Original Fulu Miziki of Kinshasa, “N’Djila Wa Mudujimu”
By James Gui · October 25, 2022

yes, it sounded very good on first encounter. Chris L mentioned it on the 2022 AOTY So Far thread and I forgot to otm them.

(otm them for it being a vg album - way too early for me to make any aoty announcements)

I liked it a lot; I was already in a mood to trust the label because they put out the Phelimuncasi album, which is definitely an AOTY candidate for me. I can definitely tell they're using home-built electronics, junk percussion, and even some power drills and stuff (like a West African Einstürzende Neubauten). This video really lets you see what they do:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ri2oK4gApMU

Nyege Nyege doesn’t put out bad stuff afaic— it’s all interesting if not really great. Their companion label, Hakuna Kulala, does more dance oriented stuff, and is also excellent

do we not have a Nyege Nyege thread? I could've sworn dog latin started one

Maybe .

For those interested in the history of Congolese music (that laid the groundwork for the experimental methods of the musicians on Nyege Nyege), the documentary Rumba Kings that I mentioned above is definitely worth seeing. It's available just through Monday for free. It covers the roots of Congolese rumba and covers the period of 1940 through 1980, with a focus on musicians Grand Kalle, Dr Nico, and Franco with lots of old footage mixed in with newer interviews with musicians from the bands as well as African music historians. It also covers the ugly colonialist history , the segregation, and the exploitation. The doc shows shows how a small but star-filled Congolese Orchestra flew to Belgium in 1960 the night when Congolese and Belgians were negotiating independence there, and how the music helped the transition to independence. Someone in the film says about the Grand Kalle and African Jazz song "Independence Cha Cha " that it even made the colonizer dance.

that twitter thread on genres you got into this year had some interesting recommendations, was not familiar with freebeat / cruise but it's nice:
https://daily.bandcamp.com/features/nigerian-cruise-freebeat-feature

Yep, didn’t know that Nigerian one either

I should pay a lot more attention to this thread.

Few things I've been enjoying:

CRRDR - DAMNBOW
I don't understand this but I love it. Dembow and Reggaeton tunes sped up and gabba'd-up

Anti-General
If you liked that Birdy Island by Howie Lee, check this out

xpost

McQuaid points to the success of the track “Zazoo Zehh” by Portable—which features established singer/rapper Olamide, and which is now approaching 10 million streams—as a sign that vocalists are becoming more willing to jump on the uptempo beats, bringing the music further into Nigeria’s mainstream.

this song was the first post on rolling afropop this year! not that I claim to know much about the genre in general

Cool.

http://davidbyrne.com/radio/the-heart-of-arabia

David Byrne list of songs in Arabic, Farsi, & some African languages that he is listening to now. Says most are within last 10 years.

if you’re going to include artists from places like Senegal, Iran, Pakistan and… the Netherlands (by way of Iran), why call your playlist From the Heart of Arabia for crying out loud? given his age and experience Byrne *really* should know better than that

The Heart of Arabia, sorry. but this kind of stuff just pisses me off

https://ethiopianstoday.com/2022/11/06/legendary-ethiopian-artist-ali-birra-passed-away/

RIP Ali Birra, Ethiopian Oromo vocalist. Ethiopian twitter and Facebook and elsewhere is seriously mourning his passing

Ali Birra was on an Ethiopiques comp and last year was on a duet song that got attention from younger Folks who listen to Ethiopian music

On the heels of his already critically acclaimed (yes, already!) forthcoming retrospective, World Spirituality Classics 3: The Muslim Highlife of Alhaji Waziri Oshomah, Alhaji Waziri Oshomah — the Oyoyo King, the Godfather of Afemai Music, the Etsako Super Star, Mr. Please Please Please, Mr. Dynamite — returns with his complete Volume Series, compiled for the first time in a 5 LP box set.

Waziri hails from a small part of Edo State in southern Nigeria called Afemailand, known for being a harmonious region where Muslims and Christians live — and dance — together. And there, as a devout Muslim and an exemplar of religious piety, Waziri fuses Etsako/Afemai folk styles with pan-Nigerian highlife and pop to create a sublime vehicle for his Islamic philosophy that gets everyone — Muslims, Christians, whoever — on the dancefloor.

This 5 LP set, Vol. 1-5 (1978-1984), focuses on Waziri’s illustrious mid-career output — the music he created during the years leading up to and after he performed his first hajj (you might recognize some of the hits from The Muslim Highlife) — and includes a copy of The Journey So Far, a limited-edition book written and designed by his children, to celebrate Waziri’s remarkable life and career.

lots of streaming etc. options here:
https://linktr.ee/luakabop

New Wau Wau Collectif: https://wauwaucollectif.bandcamp.com/album/mariage

Not quite as mesmerising as Yaral Sa Doom (so far anyway) but it's good!

ha I had the exact same reaction. It is very good though, just not quite as magical, possibly because now I know what to expect

Another quality Natalia Lafourcade release (De todas las flores). It's not fully out of the demonstrative homage territory (which she was acing tbh), it's probably a little bit too impeccably in place, the backing band is definitely very comfortable behind a singer so in command, but she's so good at it. And it's closer to a songwriter album, with plenty of latin jazz arrangements and more thrown in.

I like Natalia Lafourcade a lot, but the presence of Marc Ribot on guitar is about the only thing keeping me awake. It's just so...gentle. It doesn't get revved up until about 3/4 of the way in.

Thanks for heads up on Lafourcade latest.

I am listening to the more pop 2022 effort by Jorge Drexler who with his band impressed me last Friday night in Washington DC. Uruguayan born, and living in Spain for over 2 decades, he has some lilting melodies that sound Brazilian, folky pop numbers with various Latin influences, and some polyrhythmic cuts with dashes of Brazil, Spain, rock en espanol from Mexico, & Talking Heads .

only learning of Lafourcade today

world sure is full of music

ty curmudgeon for alerting me to the new Jorge Drexler, very excited to check it out

Just read that Jorge Drexler was on a song with Gal Costa on her final album before she passed

Drexler won song of the year at Latin Grammys for “Tocarte”.

Saw Oumou Sangare on a best of 2022 list

So much to listen to , so little time

Caramanica NY Times list has Nigerian Asake and Pareles list of additional top albums has Malian Rokia Kone ( w/ Jackknife Lee) And Jorge Drexler

Brad Luen (stumbled on a retweet of his) posting on various intenational things he is listening to including South African

https://bradluen.substack.com/p/odds-and-ends-125?r=2ck1y&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web

not sure Etran de L'Aïr have been mentioned here? found on ted gioia's honourable mentions, very nice on first listen

https://etrandelair.bandcamp.com/album/agadez

I feel like they were once mentioned but maybe in a prior year. I recall liking Etran de L'air

Etran de L’air and Oumou Sangare are both on Ted Gioia list of 50 other albums he liked ( that didn’t make his top list that will be on his paywalled part of his substack)

Brad Luen just wrote about Montparnasse Musique album “Archaeology “
MM are the French-Algerian Nadjib Ben Bella and South Africa’s Aero Manyelo, and are a DJ/production duo who met in Paris. They like Konono #1 style Congolese music and South African club stuff too.

Montparnasse Musique didn't wow me on first listen, but its clubby approach to melding various African genres may grow on me.

https://www.theafricareport.com/265333/why-kenyans-are-not-listening-to-their-own-music-and-the-eric-omondi-factor/

Some random article I saw on twitter

Aboogi by Imarhan is very nice, not a lot of fire but full of nuance and gripping in its own contemplative way. Well produced without being polished.

Yes to Imharhan too

AFRICAN PYSCHEDELIC ROCK ENSEMBLE ORCHESTRA GOLD TO RELEASE THEIR THIRD STUDIO ALBUM "MEDICINE" JANUARY 20, 2023

RIYL: ANTIBALAS, SONGHOY BLUES, BUDOS BAND, GOAT

Oakland, CA-based ensemble Orchestra Gold offers a kaleidoscope of sound deeply rooted in the Malian tradition while introducing a genre-bending nod to the future through their rare and artful fusion of African Psychedelic Rock. This original sound with a retro feel results from a decade-long collaboration between Mariam Diakite of Mali and Erich Huffaker of Oakland. The music of Orchestra Gold represents this powerful intersection, transcending borders and boundaries to be a force of healing within the community.

OG’s vibrant sound is spearheaded by the dynamic Mariam Diakite, whose raw, hypnotic vocals deliver heartfelt and thought-provoking lyrics in the highly symbolic Bambara language. While paying homage to Malian musical traditions, this fierce new sound thrives with heavy swinging rhythms, a funky fresh brass section, and cosmic guitar licks. With the January 2023 release of their third album, Medicine, this profoundly spiritual and dance-inducing ensemble continues their pursuit of spreading healing and community through the universal gift of music.

Just last month OG opened for Afrobeat living legend Ebo Taylor at The UC Theatre, and they've performed live at Treefort, Oakland Museum of California, Bandcamp, Commissioned for Yerba Buena Gardens Festival, and Joshua Tree Music Festival.

Orchestra Gold’s new studio album Medicine will be available on vinyl, CD and all digital/streaming platforms on January 20, 2023.

“The new single ‘Keleya’ by African psychedelic rock group Orchestra Gold hits you with a certain level of profundity, cosmic swirl, and Fela-like groove. Mariam Diakite delivers raw, mesmerizing vocals. Attacking saxophone charts, measured bass lines, and galvanic meter serve as the ideal foundation for expanding guitar lines that squall through. In a nutshell, it’s dope.” - John-Paul Shiver, 48 HILLS

"'Keleya (Jealousy)' combines brass horns along with cosmic guitar licks to a hypnotic effect. This is the kind of music you can truly get lost in." - Ken Sears, IF IT'S TOO LOUD

"Orchestra Gold’s latest single 'Koniya (No Benefit to Envy)' features shuffling rhythms, scorching feedback and distortion-driven riffs serving as a lysergic and sinuous bed for Diakite’s gorgeous vocal. The end result is a song that arches upward towards the cosmos while rooted in earthly matters." - William Ruben Helms, THE JOY OF VIOLENT MOVEMENT

“They are grounded in tradition and moving the conversation of African diasporic music forward. The album implores the listener to join in and get lost in the magic.” - CHICO MANN, ANTIBALAS / HERE LIES MAN

“Mali’s musical heritage is vast…and Mariam’s voice channels that history.” - BANNING EYRE, SENIOR EDITOR AFROPOP WORLDWIDE

“I am impressed at the delicate balance Mariam has struck between paying homage to the roots music of the ancestors and looking to the future - STEPHEN KENT, PRODUCER: MUSIC OF THE WORLD KPFA RADIO

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Website | Instagram | Facebook

FOR BOOKING REQUESTS:
Hannah Rouwhorst
Hannah.Rouwhorst at gmail.com

FOR RADIO AND INTERVIEW REQUESTS:
Tony Bonyata
Pavement PR
p: 262.903.7775
e: tony at pavementpr.com
http://www.pavementpr.com

Saw table give it a shout-out way upthread, but I'm just now getting to that Sirom record and can confirm that it is indeed fantastic. Lengthy free and avant-folk jams from a trio of Slovenes.

I just listened to new single from Fally Ipupa , Congolese rumba artist. He had a new album out too. Single was just ok but am still cute hear the album

good luck with that lol, it’s 31 tracks, 3h30 playing time - has he gone amapiano, is what I’d like to know

good question! Latest single/video was pretty long in fact

https://f4.bcbits.com/img/a1721707611_10.jpg

From 2018; a friend just now sent it. African Victime's shrewd studio presentation got more attention and was enjoyable, but I found it a hair too slick for full engagement. Here he just lets fly, w/o getting too self-indulgent, and band is usually groovy, esp. on finale.

Recorded in the spring of 2017 over 3 evenings. These raw, unedited, live recordings were fueled by laughter, and Azawad gunpowder tea.

https://elitebeat.bandcamp.com/album/mdou-moctar-meets-elite-beat-in-a-budget-dancehall

Azawad gunpowder tea

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/12/23/arts/music/tshala-muana-dead.html

RIP Congolese singer Tshala Muana at too young an age. I liked her album Mutuashi

Looks like this new release of his early work has some of that xxpost Budget Downhall appeal, and maybe more:

https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/mdou-moctar-niger-ep-vol-1-and-vol-2/

I just listened to new single from Fally Ipupa , Congolese rumba artist. He had a new album out too. Single was just ok but am still cute hear the album

― curmudgeon, dinsdag 20 december 2022 17:21 bookmarkflaglink

good luck with that lol, it’s 31 tracks, 3h30 playing time - has he gone amapiano, is what I’d like to know

― the shaker intro bit the shaker outro in the tail, hard (breastcrawl), dinsdag 20 december 2022 17:58

listened to the entire album over the course of this last day of 2022. I’ve never listened to Ipupa (or Congolese music in general) much, so can’t compare it to (his) other/earlier stuff, but I enjoyed this (I mean, I stayed the course until the end!) - the quality level stays comfortably high throughout. don’t expect modern beats, amapiano or otherwise, the whole thing is relentlessly old-school.

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

2023 thread here