WorldBeatUK (9th Show) - Broadcast Notes (27/4/11)
Tagged with: Worldbeatuk Glyn Phillips Rhubarb Sergent Garcia Show of Hands Susana Seivane Anxo Lorenzo Ojos de Brujo Gnawledge Camarao de Rama Gypsy Groovz Owiny Sigoma Tamikrest Dub Colossus Shawn Lee Quique Neira C-Sharp Ebo Taylor Imam Baildi Bongomatik Strut
WBUK9 (27/4/11) Show Notes
1 Intro-Mat (1:47) Matchatcha Nyekesse (Melodie)
Hope you’ve all had a good Easter and enjoyed the good weather; now that it’s turned a bit colder, hopefully you’ll all be thinking “Nah, bit parky this evening, think I’ll stay in and be warmed up by the groovy choonz and tropical vibes on WorldbeatUK!” So without further ado and maybe even a little bit of adon’t, we’ll kick off with El Salsamuffinero Mayor, Bruno ‘Sergent’ Garcia, and a track from his new album (“Una y Otra Vez”) out on Cumbancha. This one is called “El Baile del Diablo” - The Dance of the Devil.
2 El Baile Del Diablo (4:00) Sergent Garcia Una Y Otra Vez (Cumbancha)
Now that last tune was all about the devil’s dance that the politicians and the world’s leaders indulge in as they continue to muck our lives around - as El Sargento says: “One Step Forward, Two Steps Back”. Well this next group also wrote a song criticising those same politicians, leaders and power-hungry people - the track was called “Arrogance, Ignorance and Greed” off the album of the same name by English Folk giants Steve Knightley and Phil Beer of Show of Hands and I played that one a few weeks back.
So now another one off that same album, but this time spelling out their views (which I happen to share) about Creationism. This is called “Evolution”. With the rallying call of ‘Nail your colours to the mast’, the message is “The finger points in one direction, that’s natural selection”
3 Evolution (3:26) Show Of Hands Arrogance, Ignorance and Greed
(Hands On Music, 2009, HMCD29)
Well to show a bit of balance here’s a tune that’s related to a religious theme. It’s called “Camiño Longo” which means the ‘long route’ and is from an album (on the Do Fol Musica/Boa label from Spain) called “Cantigas de Camiño”. The album, which comes with an exquisite little hardback book, is dedicated to music based around the famous Pilgrims Route to Santiago de Compostela in Spain’s Northwestern region of Galicia. This is the beautiful singer and bagpiper Susana Seivane.
4 Camiño Longo (4:01) Susana Seivane Cantigas Do Camiño (do Fol Musica/Boa)
There’s been so much good stuff coming out of the Spanish region of Galicia that I’m including it as one of the three points of what I consider to be Spain’s Golden Triangle of Creativity (which also includes Catalunya in the North-East and Andalucia in the deep South of the peninsula).
Here’s yet another example from Galicia - the brilliant bagpiper Anxo Lorenzo and a track from his debut album “Tirán” (which also include guests appearances from Ireland’s Eoghan Neff on violin and England’s most famous exponent of the Northumbrian pipes, Kathryn Tickell). The album’s released on the Spanish Zouma Records label. This track is also called Tirán.
5 Tirán (ends at 4.10ish) (4:30) Anxo Lorenzo Tirán (Zouma)
Ok, over to the second point of my Golden Triangle: Catalunya, home to Barcelonan super-group Ojos de Brujo. They hit the scene with a bang just 10 years ago and have consistently delighted the world music fans and confounded their detractors with their very personal, idiosyncratic and uncompromising approach to music, business and life.
Word has it that they’re finally splitting up to concentrate on personal projects and so have just released what is, I suppose, their final album (which is released by Warner Brothers Spain). Some critics have accused them of laziness because it contains only two new tracks, the other 11 having all been released before on their other albums.
But the title kind of gives it away: “Corriente Vital: 10 Años” (which roughly translates as ‘the Essential Current - 10 years); it’s obviously a retrospective - but with a band of the quality of Ojos de Brujo, there’s an amazing back catalogue to choose from - so there’s definitely no fillers here!
What they’ve done is to hand all the tracks over to different producers and allow them to remix them as they want. So, yes, it is a new album - it’s like meeting up with an old friend for a last dance; they just happened to have had their hair redone and put on a new outfit - but they still move just as well as before! This track is “Todos Mortales” - originally from their 2009 “Aocaná” album - but here remixed and featuring Roldan from Orishas.
6 Todos Mortales (3:23) Ojos De Brujo Corriente Vital 10 Años (Warner Music Spain)
Staying in Spain still, we’re heading South to the final point of my Golden Triangle of Spanish Creativity, to the huge province of Andalusia on the South Coast, the jumping off point for the Moorish influx that so influenced Iberian culture.
And high up in the Sierra Nevada, the home of the amazing Moorish palace and gardens of the Alhambra you’ll find one of the most stylish, yet also most funkiest and bohemian of Spanish cities, Granada.
This is home to a brilliant band - or maybe I should call it a project - called Gnawledge. Put together by American musicologist Canyon Cody and rapper Gnotes, they fuse Andalucian flamenco with North African Gnawa music and jazzy hip-hop sensibilities and more, so much more, utilising a cast of top flight Granadan musicians including Juan Habichuela “El Nieto” on guitar, Otoman Almerabet on Laúd, Eneko Alberdi on guitar, DJ Doblegota on Scratch and loads more amazing musicians. I absolutely LOVE these guys! This is from their “Granada Doaba” album (on the Gnawledge label) and a track called “Perro Cruzado”.
7 Perro Cruzado (3:57) Gnawledge Granada Doaba (Gnawledge)
Ok, we’re going to leave Spain now, but just to show how difficult that is, this next track is a wonderful piece of maracatú-flamenco from Brazil! The band is called Banda Camarão de Rama and is based around the Miguez family: father, Gilvan, daughter, Aline and son, Daniel from Belo Horizonte, in Minas Gerais. The track is entitled “A Bala”.
8 A Bala (2:57) Banda Camarão de Rama
Complete change of pace and place now as we head back over the Atlantic to Europe and back to that Balkan Gypsy Music Festival in Guca, Serbia I mentioned a couple of weeks back. This is part of a 35 minute long jam between 75 balkan brass musicians and 10 nyabinghi drummers; the track is called “Hot Water Festival” (this is part 4) and it’s from the album Gypsy Groovz Orchestra Goes Tutti Mundi: “Night Train for Lovers and Thieves” on the German Network Medien label.
9 Festival Tople Vode Part 4 (3:10) Gypsy Groovz Orchestra Night Train for Lovers and Thieves (Network)
- - - CONTINUOUS - - -
10 Margaret Okudo (dub) (4:18) Owiny Sigoma Band Owiny Sigoma Band (Brownswood)
That last track was called “Margaret Okudo” by the Owiny Sigoma Band, and is from their forthcoming album. There’s an interesting story attached to it:
Two years ago on the eve of the inauguration of President Obama, five musician friends from London who’d know each other since school days pitched up in Nairobi, Kenya, East Africa as part of a loose, informal collaboration organised by the voluntary organisation Art of Protest to promote local Kenyan musicians and partner them with British ones to see what came out of it all.
The London lads met with the phenomenal teacher and player of the East African nyatiti - an 8 string lyre - Joseph Nyamungu, a man steeped in traditional Luo music; he in turn introduced them to drummer Charles Owoko - also steeped in Luo rhythms and the 7 piece got together to find common ground in a disused factory in downtown Nairobi - the only studio big enough to take them all - since most studios in the capital cater only for rap and RnB productions, ie a computer and one mic!
They named the band after Joseph’s grandfather, Owiny Sigoma. Next year they reconvened in Nairobi, this time as a 10-piece band and recorded the album at the Kenya National Theatre - a collection of gloriously loose afro-grooves which sway between Luo and London.
Most of the songs are written by Joseph and based on Luo folk songs. However they must have done something right, because they were picked up by Brownswood Records and championed by none other than Gilles Peterson, who’s really into the drum and bass heavy sound, and Damon Albarn of Gorillaz fame, who also pops up on a couple of the tracks on the album. The album’s also called “Owiny Sigoma Band” and is due to be released next week on the 2nd May on the Brownswood Records label.
Ok, sticking with Africa, but this time shifting over to Mali, here’s a band I’ve also played before. Part of the new generation of Tuareg Desert Rockers, this is the young band Tamikrest, from Saharan Mali, and a track from their new album released only two days ago by Glitterhouse Records. The album’s called “Toumastin” and this track is entitled “Tidit”.
11 Tidit (4:15) Tamikrest Toumastin (Glitterhouse Records)
- - - CONTINUOUS - - -
12 Wey Fikir (4:20) Dub Colossus Addis Through The Looking Glass (Real World)
Wasn’t that dreamy and beautiful! You’ve just heard the brilliant Dub Colossus, an Anglo-Ethiopian collaboration between Nick Page, aka Dubulah of Transglobal Underground and Syriana, and masses of fantastic Ethiopian musicians from the Addis Ababa scene (which includes jazz and rock and hip-hop and soul as well as traditional music).
The wonderfully delicate vocals on there were handled by Ethiopian pop star Tsedenia Gebremarkos. So much great music on that album - it really repays listening to again and again to extract all the hidden flavours! I’m absolutely loving it! That track was called “Wey Fikir” from the album “Addis Through The Looking Glass” by Dub Colossus and it too was released only two days ago on the 25th of April and is on the Real World Records label.
Well, I can only really follow that with a track by Shawn Lee’s Ping Pong Orchestra - who incidentally will be appearing at Birmingham’s Mostly Jazz Festival on Friday 1st July this year - and what else but a dark, jazzy piece called “Ethio” from the album “World of Funk” on the Ubiquity label.
13 Ethio (3:42) Shawn Lee's Ping Pong Orchestra World Of Funk (Ubiquity)
- - - CONTINUOUS - - -
14 Afrodesia (2:41) The Afro Soul-Tet Afrodesia (Ubiquity)
That last track - drenched in tropical rain storms - was an old track called “Afrodesia” from the heyday of jazzy afro-psychedelia and was by the Afro Soul-Tet from their album also called “Afrodesia”. Originally a very limited pressing of between 500-1000 on the Banyon label from Los Angeles sometime between 1968-71, it’s now been reissued by Ubiquity Records.
Something different now. This is a track I’d originally planned to play last week, but my interview and live session with Brazilian percussion genius Renato Martins overran somewhat and I had to drop it. Well, now I can reinstate this lovely piece of Chilean reggae - this is from the king of South American reggae, Quique Neira - off his album “Jah Rock” (on the German label GLM) - and a track entitled: “Dar y Recibir” (To Give and To Receive):
15 Dar y Recibir (4:35) Quique Neira Jah Rock (GLM)
And from a classic reggae style to very much up-to-date Jamaican reggae-pop with a latin-cum-RnB feel; this is C-Sharp - a band I’ve played a lot this year - and probably the most clubby commercial piece I’ve heard of their’s, with at least one verse in Spanish too! They’ve got a new album coming out this year called “The Invitation”. This is called “Dancin’ Like Crazy”.
16 Dancin Like Crazy (3:14) C-Sharp
- - - CONTINUOUS - - -
17 Calypso Cha Cha (2:52) Count Lasha & His Calypsonians Soundman Shots: The Caribou & Downbeat 78's Story (Snapper Records)
Ha ha! Bet you didn’t see that one coming did you? From contemporary Reggae pop to the sound of 1950s Jamaican mento (masquerading as Calypso) mixed with Cha Cha Cha taken from some rare 78’s! Very early fusion then!
And yet people forget that there has always been quite a bit of influence between the neighbouring islands of Jamaica and Cuba. Very many Jamaicans went to work on the sugar plantations in the East of Cuba and learnt Spanish and soaked up the rich cultural soup of Santiago de Cuba and took this back to JA; similarly I met many old Cubans who had learned English either from Jamaicans or in Jamaica themselves.
That was Count Lasha and his Calypsonians from a great compilation double album on the Snapper Records label called “Sound Man Shots: the Caribou and Downbeat 78’s Story” and a track entitled, funnily enough, “Calypso Cha Cha”.
Ok, sticking with the whole half-a-century ago feel, this is from one of my favourite labels, Soundway Records, (who recently released the excellent Colombian compilation of 1960s tunes called “Cartagena!”); this time it’s still in the Caribbean but looking at the French speaking Caribbean and an album released in 2009 called “Tumbélé! Biguine, Afro & Latin Sounds from the French Caribbean, 1963-1974”, which concentrates on the French-speaking and - to this day - still French-administered islands of Martinique and Guadeloupe. A fantastic retrospective of yet another hidden part of the Caribe.
However, the track I’ve chosen is actually by a band from Haiti who happened to spend a few years living and working in Martinique and who recorded several LPs there, mostly heavy ‘compas’ for the Hit Parade label. The band is called Les Loups Noirs de’Haïti (the Black Wolves of Haiti), the track was recorded in 1972 and is a manic biguine written by Gardner Lalanne and featuring some bizarre, almost psychedelic, approximations of a jet plane taking off, with crazy sax, distorted guitar and a rhythm section that is almost tripping over itself with excitement. Absolutely love it! This is called, appropriately enough, “Jet Biguine”.
18 Jet Biguine (3:26) Les Loups Noirs D'Haiti Tumbele (Soundways)
Wonderful madness! OK, in the last of my oldies (for the moment at least) this is a funktastic, groovalicious slice of Ghanian Afrobeat from someone who I’ve featured before on this show, Mr Ebo Taylor from the excellent album “Life Stories - Highlife and Afrobeat Classics 1973-1980” - a double album of Ebo’s work with different bands and all very, very enjoyable. It’s on the Strut Records label and was released a few weeks ago. The track I’ve selected has guitar maestro Ebo Taylor alongside Uhuru-Yenzu and a track called “What Is Life?”
19 What Is Life? (4:38) Ebo Taylor & Uhuru-Yenzu Life Stories -
Highlife & Afrobeat Classics 1973-1980 (Strut)
Did I say last of the oldies? Well, Yes and No. Those Greek brothers Lysandros and Orestis Falireas, better known as Imam Baildi (who incidentally take their name from a middle eastern aubergine dish which translates as “The Priest Faints”) - well, these inveterate mashers and mixers of rebetiko have worked their magic on yet another old Greek tune this time it’s the singer Meri Lida and a track called “Thlipsi”.
20 Thlipsi (Remix) (3:20) Meri Lida/Imam Baildi The Imam Baildi Cookbook (EMI Greece)
Ok, we’re slipping up to the last 20 minutes or so of the show, so let’s press on. This band I discovered only recently - and I’m so glad I did. They’re from the Netherlands, they’re called “Bongomatik” and they play the most delightful mix of latin, funk and pop.
This is off their eponymous debut album (and if you’re wondering why I’m using all those big words again - ‘eponymous’ is just another word for ‘self-titled’ - Aw, come on guys, there are thousands of words in the dictionary, it’s a crime not to try and use them all!).
It’s a great album, a whole lot of fun, highly recommended, not long released. It’s published by No Can Do Music on the Distribution label and this track is called “Donde” (if you like Cuba’s Omara Portuondo you’ll recognise it… eventually!).
21 Donde (5:11) Bongomatik Bongomatik (No Can Do / Distribution)
Continuing with the Cuba connection, this is a band that England’s Tumi Music label are pushing a lot. They’re called To’ Mezclao (which means “All Mixed Up”) and that reflects their musical standpoint - since the album covers salsa, latin pop, son-fusion, latin house, reggaeton, merengue, cumbia and bachata.
Naturally, the album is called “Hibrid” (or Hybrid), it’s on the Tumi Music label. They’ll be touring the UK this summer between mid-June and mid-July and promise to be a very exciting band live. The track I’ve chosen is a piece of latin pop called “Mango Bajito”
22 Mango Bajito (3:11) To'Mezclao Híbrid (Tumi Music)
Sticking with latin this is one of my all-time favourite salsa tracks. Of all the salsa dura - or hard salsa - tracks, this is one of the most ‘dura’. It’s by Mr Hard Hands himself, Ray Barretto. It’s from the double album compilation “Fania Records 1964-1980: the Original Sound of Latin New York” released this year by Strut Records. And the track is the MONSTER tune that is: “Indestructible”
23 Indestructible (4:14) Ray Barretto Fania Records 1964-1980:
The Original Latin Sound of New York (Strut)
Thanks to one and all etc…
I’m going to hand over to Olbi Iyah and his show “Version Galore” with reggae of all sorts and styles and periods. And to ease you into that, this is probably my favourite track of the night. This is LUSHNESS personified! Mr Sonny Bradshaw and the Sonny Bradshaw Seven from the Trojan Sixties Box Set 1, this is “Love is Blue”. Good night, see you next week for more worldly grooves!
24 Love Is Blue (3:19) Sonny Bradshaw Seven Trojan Sixties Box Set 1
WorldBeatUK (2nd Show) - Broadcast Notes (7th March 2011)
Tagged with: WorldBeatUK Glyn Phillips Rhubarb Courtney John Macire Sylla Sierra Leone Petrona Martinez Thornato Shawn Lee Carvalho Baba Zula Gevende Va Fan Fahre Trilhos Batucada Tabala Ophex Saf Vetex Phil Beer Hijaz Farka Toure Tango Fado
Hi everybody,
Since February 2011 our editor, Glyn, has been broadcasting a weekly world music show called “WorldBeatUK” (Wednesday 7pm –9pm, UK time) on Rhubarb Radio live from Birmingham, England. After some requests from some of our regular listeners we are going to try an experiment - we shall be posting the full show transcripts (within our WorldMusicUK Blog section) to help our listeners find references to the past shows artists and to get a feel for the vibe of the show.
It will also help any listeners that missed a particular WorldBeatUK show to catch up on all the musical gems that Glyn finds. Let us know if you find it useful, as we really do appreciate the feedback, and look forward to giving you many hours of world music pleasure. And for any agents, world music PR staff, record labels, etc, please feel free to email us with any World Music artistes you might like us to feature.
Regards, Dylan.
**********************************
So following are the notes for the WorldBeatUK show broadcast on the 7th March 2011. (We have no notes for the first one until we can transcribe the show).
Notes for Second WorldBeatUK show (07/03/11) –
1 VOICE OVER 1 [Theme music for the show is "Intro-Mat" by Diblo Dibala's band Matchatcha from the album "Nyekesse" (Melodie)]
Welcome to another edition of WorldBeatUK right here on Rhubarb Radio with me, Glyn Phillips! Coming up on the show tonight we’ve got music from Portugal, Colombia, South Africa, Turkey, Belgium, Mali, Argentina, New Zealand, Jamaica, Sierra Leone, Guinea Conakry and even some Kizomba from Handsworth Wood right here in Birmingham!
But right now let’s kick off with some Belgian Brass Band music! Well, kind of . . . !
2 "Moliendo Cafe" - Orch Int du Vetex - 'Flamoek Fantasy'
That was the huge brass ensemble Orchestre International du Vetex and their version of an old salsa hit, “Moliendo Cafe” off the album ‘Flamoek Fantasy’.
Staying in Belgium - and why not? - this next track is by a guy called “Saf”, off his album on the Zephyrus label - also called simply “Saf”. He’s been described as a sort of Belgian Tom Waits, combining Flemish wit and satire with musette, tango, waltzes, chanson and gipsy-swing. I’ve no idea what he’s singing about, - my sum total of Flemish being “Alles Kits Achter Der Rits” - but I really don’t care, because I love the way he just pulls you in to his Ghentish world. This track is called “t’Vertellement”.
3 "t’Vertellement" - Saf - 'Saf'
Here’s another face of the country that gave us Belgian chocolates, Belgian waffles and Tintin! Baloji is a rapper originally from Lubumbashi and Kinshasa in Congo and was previously the MC with Starflam. From his album “KInshasa Succursale” this is a wonderful track that goes by no less than three names: “Le Jour D’apres” (The Day After), Siku Ya Baadaye, and even “Independence Cha Cha”. Check out also the video on YouTube - B-a-l-o-j-i. Baloji!
4 "Le Jour D’Apres" - Balojji - 'Kinshasa Succursale'
Now then, if you’re into English Folk music at all, you can’t have failed to have come across the names Phil Beer and Steve Knightley of the duo “Show of Hands”. Phil was recently voted Musician of the Year 2010 in the Spiral Earth Awards, so I thought I’d play something celebrating that. This next track is off his 2010 box set album, named aptly enough, “Phil Beer Box Set One” released on his own Chudleigh Roots label. It’s the first in what should be a long series of archive material from Phil’s illustrious career, with some great fellow folk musicians thrown in to boot.
And because this is a world music show, and I like to mix it up a bit, I chose a track from the early 90s when Phil and Steve together with English accordionist and concertina player, Dave Townsend teamed up with some fine Chilean musicians Mauricio Venegas, Vladimir Vega and Sergio Avila in a project called “Alianza” (which is Spanish for “Alliance”); I was lucky enough to be able to see that show in Birmingham’s mac when I worked there - and it resonated with me on a couple of levels; firstly I was playing percussion with Birmingham based Chileno-Peruvian outfit Caliche at the time so I was very much into the folk side of Latin American music, and secondly because whilst living in South America during the mid-1980s I found out that my great-grandfather had actually lived and worked in the Atacama desert over 120 years ago.
So this connection between the British Isles and the far-flung reaches of South America, and the amazing journeys in sailing ships which Welsh, English and Chilean sailors took across the vast seas of the Atlantic and Pacific via Tierra del Fuego and the treacherous Magellan straits, up to central and Northern Chile, was brought wonderfully to life through this alliance of musicians. For landlubbers the seas are enormous barriers, but for the sailors they are merely pathways to another world. This track is called “Santiago”.
5 "Santiago" - Phil Beer (& Alianza) - 'Phil Beer Box Set One'
Now, if you board a ship in Chile’s Valparaiso, go up the Pacific coast of South America from Chile past the Atacama Desert and Peru, over the equator and past the mangrove swamps of Northern Ecuador you’ll eventually end up in the Colombian port of Buenaventura; from there go inland to the salsa city of Cali, and you might hear something like this . . .
6 "El Chontaduro" - Nancy Murillo - 'Tia Tova'
That was the sound of the Paris based caleña Nancy Murillo and a track called “Chontaduro” off her ‘Tia Yova’ album. You can find that on the French Label “Pure Son’g”.
More from Colombia later, but in the meantime I want to return to Belgium - or rather a mythical land that lies somewhere between Belgium, the Levant and North Africa. This is a jazzy track by the band Hijaz off their just released album ‘Chemsi’ on the Zephyrus label, and is named after an idyllic Tunisian town called “Sidi Bou Said”.
7 "Sidi Bou Said" - Hijaz - 'Chemsi'
And while we’re on a jazzy fusion tip, have you ever imagined Portuguese Fado mixed with jazz sensibilities? These guys have. This is the band Fado em Si Bemol (which translates as Fado in B minor) and a live track with a brazilianesque groove called “Fado Tropical”.
8 "Fado Tropical" - Fado em Si Bemol - 'Fado em Si Bemol'
Let’s leave Lisbon and sail South West to another great port, Buenos Aires, Argentina, and what else but the shimmering, soul-searching, sultry sounds of … TANGO! This is another band I had the honour of experiencing some years ago - one of the finest contemporary orchestras of Argentine tango, El Sexteto Mayor and a track off their ‘Vida, Pasión y Tango’ album (on the Intuition label): “Oblivión”.
9 "Oblivión" - Sexteto Mayor - 'Vida, Pasion y Tango'
Now, today, the 7th of March 2011, is exactly five years to the day of the death of one of Africa’s most famous and celebrated musical sons. I’m talking of course about the Malian guitar legend Ali Farka Toure. Born in 1939 and the only surviving child out of 10, Ali Ibrahim Toure was nicknamed “Farka” (which means ‘donkey’) by his parents in respect of his tenacity and stubbornness, presumably in managing to survive. He found international success relatively late in life and was still working as a sound engineer until 1980. The British record label, World Circuit (of subsequent Buena Vista Social Club fame) took him on board in 1990 and the rest as they say is history.
After the amazing success of “Talking Timbuktu” with Ry Cooder, Ali practically gave up his international career and went back to being a farmer on the banks of the River Niger, where he felt happiest. It was five years before he cut another album, 1999’s “Niafunké” and Ali refused to leave his village, let alone his country, so World Circuit built a studio on his land and recorded the album there!
A few years after that a French film crew went to find Ali in his village and shot a documentary about his life on the farm, interspersed with impromptu footage of him playing music. This absorbing film, shot by Marc Huraux and called simply “A Visit to Ali Farka Touré”, has been re-released on the Digital Classics label and can be found on their website DigitalClassics.co.uk or on Amazon, etc. It’s beautifully shot and really gives you a feel for what grounded this great guitarist in the soil of Mali. This next track was recorded not long before he died of bone cancer and is a duet with the great Malian kora player Toumani Diabate; it’s called “Ai Ga Bani”.
10 "Ai Ga Bani" - Ali Farka Touré - '2006 BBC Radio 3 Awards for World Music'
From Mali to South Africa now and probably the most famous acapella group ever to come of out Africa, the legendary Ladysmith Black Mambazo, survivors of the apartheid era who shot to fame after being featured on Paul Simon’s “Graceland”. Like Ali Farka Toure they express their love for the land and agriculture on their new album called “Songs from a Zulu Farm" (out on the Proper Records label). This track is typical of their vocal style and is all about “Uthekwane” - an ugly bird who believes in her own beauty.
11 "Uthekwane" - Ladysmith Black Mambazo - 'Songs from a Zulu Farm'
Complete change of direction now: Ever wondered what you’d get if you crossed Bach with Brazilian Baile Funk? Ophex has . . .
12 "Bach Goes Baile Funk" - Ophex
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13 "El Toche y La Cotorra" - Sexteto Tabalá - 'Con Un Solo Pie'
Ok, that last track was called “El Toche y La Cotorra” (‘The Bird and the Parrot’) by the afro-colombian palenqueros Sexteto Tabalá (it’s from their album “Con Un Solo Pie” on the OM Producciones label). They play a mix of bullerengue, porro and baile cante as well as son palenque music, which is related to - but distinct from - the more famous Cuban son: there are no guitars, or tres, and the double bass is replaced by the tumba drum and the marimbula (similar to the marumba box of jamaican mento). In fact the cultural traditions of the area of San Basilio de Palenque have been considered so important that the entire region and its traditions have been declared a “Master Piece of Oral Heritage” by UNESCO in 2005.
Now Colombia is bursting with unbelievable rhythms and musical traditions, the most famous of which is ‘Cumbia’ from the country’s Caribbean coast. So, let’s take some cumbia and drop it thousands of miles away in New Zealand in the hands of the Batucada Sound Machine and see what happens: it changes, it becomes... “Cumbia del Cambio” . . . !
14 "Cumbia del Cambio" - Batucada Sound Machine
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15 "El Choclo" - Fabricio Gatta
16 Voice Over 2
Welcome back. Before the break you heard the beautiful tango “El Choclo”, performed by the Argentinian pianist Fabricio Gatta.
Next up, just to prove that it’s not just fado that comes out of Portugal this is “Celta 1” by Trilhos off their album “Avariação”
17 "Celta 1" - Trilhos - 'Avariação'
So, a shout out going to Michael de Schryver over in Ghent - hope you’re enjoying the show so far; if not then this should buck you up: More Belgian brass madness - Va Fan Fahre’s first tune off their second album (“Zet Je Maar”): This is “Mashki”!
18 "Mashki" - Va Fan Fahre - 'Zet Je Maar'
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19 "Celick Comak" - Gevende
The last track was from Turkish psychedelic folk band Gevende entitled “Celick Comack” who sing their songs in a language they’ve completely invented themselves;
Following that, we’ve got their stablemates on Pasion Turca roster, pioneers of Turkish psychedelia and an amazing live band, Istanbul’s very own Baba Zula. Imagine if Hawkwind and Gong had been genetically transplanted into Asia Minor replete with electric saz, mind-zapping visuals and costumes, psychebelly dancers and some heavy-weight moustaches that make even Lemmy look like he’s only got teenager’s bumfluff on his top lip! Look for them on the Doublemoon record label. This track is called “Abdulcanbaz”.
20 "Abdulcanbaz" - Baba Zula
You think all world music is made elsewhere”? Then think again. Birmingham is just dripping with great musicians brimming with ideas. Handsworth’s Rob Carvalho has offered us up this Kizomba track: “One More Dance”.
21 "One More Dance" - Carvalho
Staying in Britain, London-based American composer Shawn Lee once again brings out his Ping Pong Orchestra to record another album on the Ubiquity label, this time called “World of Funk”. Featuring Clutchy Hopkins and Dengue Fever’s Cambodian singer, Chhom Nimol this is “Ghost In The Rain”:
22 "Ghost In The Rain" - Shawn Lee’s Ping Pong Orchestra - 'World of Funk'
I’m sorry, I can’t resist it anymore - I jus’ gots to go back to Colombia! Right back to the village of San Basilio de Palenque and the Thornato remix version of “Sepiterna” by the great afro-colombian singer Petrona Martinez - la reina del bullerengue
23 "Sepiterna" - Petrona Martinez (Thornato rmx)
Last week I played a strange sexy tune called “Jungle Fever” by the Belgian based afro-Colombian band, Maguaré, which got some good feedback from you guys out there. The singer of that band, Paola Marquez, is also in another band on the Zephyrus label called ‘El Sur’, but they come from a very different Latin American tradition, that of the nueva trova. This is a beautiful ballad entitled “Canción de las Simples Cosas” - Song of the Simple Things . . . Esto es para ti, Marangita...
24 "Canción de las Simples Cosas" - El Sur - 'Música con Fundamento'
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25 "Living Stone" - Sierra Leone Refugee All Stars - 'Rise and Shine'
You’ve just heard the Sierra Leone Refugee All Stars from last year’s hit album on Cumbancha, ”Rise and Shine”, and a track called “Living Stone” - geddit? We are the Living Stone? Livingstone? “Livingstone, I presume”… Well, I enjoyed the pun, thanks guys.
Swiss based, but Conakry Guinean-born chanteuse Macire Sylla’s latest album ‘Talitha’ on the French Pure Son’g label is full of bubbling grooves and catchy afro-pop. This is a new version of an older song of hers called “Aidara”.
26 "Aidara" - Maciré Sylla - 'Talitha'
Getting near to the end of the show now. I’ve been receiving some really interesting releases and pre-releases from Jamaica recently and very much ‘hot off the press’ is Courtney John’s album “Made In Jamaica” and the wonderful lovers’ rock tune (with a great video to boot - check it out on YouTube), “Lucky Man”.
27 "Lucky Man" - Courtney John - 'Made In Jamaica'
*** Well thanks for listening. See you all next week!
I’m going to leave you with this ‘interesting’ little track. Enjoy the rest of the evening!
28 "Don’t Worry, Be Happy"- Bobby McFerrin, Cobra, Beanie Man
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