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