Monday, December 22, 2008

Do they know it's Kwanzaa time at all? African xmas mix

Tracklist

“Obama” – Extra Golden

“Ma Jaiye Oni” – King Sunny Ade & His African Beats

“Obere nwa n’amu irienu” – Oliver de Coque & his Expo ‘76

“Sou” – Les Messagers du Mali

“Afufu uwa” – Prince Nico Mbarga & Rocafil Jazz

“Nduranga Ngwetereire” – Queen Jane

“Yèqondjowotch Mendèr” – Hirut Beqele

“Aykedashem lebe” – Tlahoun Gessesse

“Almaz Men Eda Nèw – Mahmoud Ahmed

“Chérie Sylla” – Theo Blaise Kounkou

“Guitar Boy” – Sir Victor Uwaifo & His Titibitis

“Goodbye Hully!” – Brother Charlly Computer & the Gloria Kings

“Oualahila Ar Tesninam” – Tinariwen

“Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa” – The Very Best (Esau Mwamwaya & Radioclit)



part 1

part 2

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

Repi Multimedia - Fishing With Dynamite (2008)
















From my favourite Albanian DJ team and/or band Repi Multimedia we get this new collection of "can i get a w00t w00t"-remixes.

From last.fm:
Repi Multimedia formed in 2006 in an upstairs rehearsal room on George W. Bush Street (formerly Barrikada Street) in Tirana, the capital of Albania. The group consists of ex-members of Tirana-based electronic punk band Rexhep Versus Meidani Versus Rexhep (who have been described as 'Atari Teenage Riot on herbal tea') and the Shkodra-based Albanian folk music collective Gjirocasta Cyclops. This musical clash is made obvious when you hear this unprecedented and original blend of traditional tunes from Albania, Egypt and elsewhere with hard and unpredictable breakbeats: the danciest music ever!

The three members of Repi Multimedia are Sali Troja, credited with 'electric chiftelia and 5 other instruments' (although it is unclear whether he really plays these instruments, seeing as so much of their music is made up of ultra-modern remixes of folk artists), Petrika Berisha, sampler and sequencer (but is credited on the album as 'stereo left channel'), and Petrika's sister Roza, sampler and sequencer (but is credited on the album as 'stereo right channel').

They run their own club night in Tirana called Oum Oum Oum Oum Oum and granted the media only one interview, when they appeared on Tirana's TAR FM radio station in January 2008, to promote their album 'Fishing with Dynamite'. In this interview, Sali and Petrika did not speak at all, and Roza, instead of answering questions, merely proclaimed 'Magnets have souls and everything is made of water' five times. That's according to the Albanian newspapers - maybe someone out there has a recording of the interview?

repi_1

repi_2

Saturday, November 15, 2008

Juju treats: Chief Commander Ebenezer Obey vs. King Sunny Adé vs. Theophilus Iwalokun



















Just in case you need more than just a little juju, here are some useful links. King Sunny Adé and Chief Commander Ebenezer Obey are both kings of juju. There´s an equal power sharing situation, although King Sunny may be more widely known because of the international success of the 1982 album Juju Music. These records are usually 2 x 20 minute long jams of mellow slinky guitar sounds and supersoft singing. Here's some of the right juju stuff that you can find out in de blogosphere.

Chief Commander Ebenezer Obey & his Inter-Reformers Band- Eda to mose okunkun (1975)
@ worldservice

Chief Commander Ebenezer Obey & his Inter-Reformers Band - Joy of Salvation (1981)
@no condition is permanent

King Sunny Ade & his African Beats - Juju Music of the 1980s (1981)
@ global groove

King Sunny Adé & his African Beats - Bobby (1983)
@ no contiotion is permanent

(keep looking at no condition is permanent and you find still more King Sunny albums.)

... And then when you start to think juju is exclusively about these two guys, the worldservice blog throws us a surprise, this guy Theophilus Iwalokun who sounds just as cool as the others, and can provide som well deserved variation after hearing King Sunny and Ebenezer for hours and hours.

Theophilus Iwalokun - Philosopher (year unknown)
@ worldservice

Monday, September 22, 2008

Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan & Party - Devotional and Love Songs (1993)



















OK it´s time for the Sufi master of Pakistan. This album features the song "Yaad-e-nabi gulshan mehka", famous in some circles for its repetetive insisting line "Ja, den har vi", as if surprisingly fulfilling some obscure request.

Kind of lame cover, i dont know what its supposed to depict. Those rainbow colours signify that the album has something to do with Peter Gabriel somehow.

yoink

Youssou N´dour - Nothing´s in Vain (Coono du réér) (2002)

















I guess y´all know who Youssou is, master of the mbalax, humanitarian leader, african ambassador to the world. This album, like 2007´s "Rokku mi rokka", is superb.

yoink

Jorginho do Império - Viagem Encantada (1975)



















Dont blog it if you dont mean it, so the saying goes. This time it´s already been blogged by the mighty global groove blog, so the yoink gonna be redirectin´ you there. I never thought samba would sound so right.

yoink

Takashi Hirayasu & Bob Brozman: Jin Jin / Firefly (2000)

















More music power from Okinawa, this is more acoustic and mellow than Mr. Kina. If you go ask wikipedia about Bob Brozman thay will tell you he is an american ethnomusicologist and guitarist and has collaborated with all sorts of different people.

yoink

Shoukichi Kina - Peppermint Tea House (1994)



















Crazy Kacharsee! Googling this album I discovered that it´s a kind of best-of compilation, that it was released on Luaka Bop, David Byrne´s label, and that Ry Cooder plays on several tracks. It is happy because it is from Okinawa!

yoink

Sunday, August 17, 2008

Chief Stephen Osita Osadebe - Sound Time (1970-75)



















Chief Stephen made great nigerian highlife music for you to chillax to. "Hello folks... Long time, no see... Now it´s sound time."

yoink

Saturday, August 16, 2008

Lord Invader - Calypso in New York (2000)















Recordings from Rupert Grant aka Lord Invader from the 1940s and 1950s.

She walked with such elegance
And spoke with such feminine eloquence
I introduced myself as Lord Invader
The object said, "my name is Madame Erica"
Surpisingly it turned out to be
That the object was of de same specie as me
Man dancin with man
I cannot tell a man from a woman
I caught myself walking hand in hand
Wit a man dressed in woman on de Reeperbahn

yoink

The Boll Bedd Wedding Tape

Boll Bedd has got married! Congratulation´s! This mixtape of african party tunes was used in some kind of crazy batcheleorette party scheme for Boll Bedds lovely wife.

yoink

The Incredible String Tape - best of the incredible string band











The music of The Incredible String Band is phantastic. Heres a few of my favourites, picked from The Incredible String Band (1966), The Chealsea Session (1967) The 5000 Spirits or Layers of the Onion, Wee Tam (1968), The Hangman´s Beautiful Daughter (1968), and Liquid Acrobat as Regards the Air (1971).

yoink

Sunday, August 3, 2008

Exuma (1970) & Exuma II (1970)



















yoink




















yoink


Exuma, aka the obeah man, aka Tony McKay, aka Macfarlane Gregory Anthony Mackey, was raised in the district of Exuma in the Bahamas. As a young guy he moved to New York and had some success as Exuma. This music is off the hizzle. There´s a lot of voodoo religiosity in there, and maybe some acid. It doesnt sound like he´s kidding when he tells us of the vision he had last night, where he met the devil and the angels and the obeah man.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exuma_%28musician%29

Friday, August 1, 2008

Zanzibara 2: 1965-1975 - Golden Years of Mombasa Taarab



This sweeet taarab music from zanzibar sounds to me more like greek or turkish music, but is actually from the island east of tanzania and kenya.

yoink

King Sunny Adé & His African Beats - Juju Music (1982)



















This is probably the best known ´juju´ album. Juju music is mellow and experimental at the same time, and the result is the laidbackest afropop you can imagine

get it at babeblogue

Opiyo Bilongo & Extra Golden - When I Was in U.S. (2008)
















This is probably my favourite album of 2008 so far. Extra Golden is a half kenyan half american band. Their music is primarily based in the ´benga´ genre.

It is an online only release, go and buy it instantly for a couple of bucks from kanyokanyo.com

here

If you like it, get "Hera ma nono" (2007) too, which also features Bilongo. Extra Golden is a great band no doubt, and with Bilongo it is an even greater band - let's hope he can be involved in the future as well!