Rolling Outernational Non-West Non-English (Some Exceptions) 2016 Thread Once Known as World Music

Same title as last year, but new year. You know the drill-

this is the thread for funky, bluesy, new + reissued music from lots of different places that may include ghana, congo, kenya, niger, mali, south africa, syria, lebanon, israel, iraq, iran, turkey, and other places that make cool music that doesn't always get enough press in the west. some labels that might be relevant here: sublime frequencies, honest jons, sahelsounds, light in the attic, voodoo funk, awesome tapes from africa, analog africa, kindred spirits, soundway.

Plus I like to hear about live music. Last year's thread: Rolling Outernational Non-West Non-English (Some Exceptions) 2015 Thread Once Known as World Music

Last year's thread--Rolling Outernational Non-West Non-English (Some Exceptions) 2015 Thread Once Known as World Music

http://www.voanews.com/content/bamako-downloaders-guide-mali-music-scene/3107338.html

Update on a situation that was described earlier in 2015--

excerpt below

Katarina Hoije
December 17, 2015 1:51 PM

BAMAKO—
For practically no cost, young men on the streets of the Malian capital, Bamako, will put the latest hit songs onto your cell phone or memory stick. They are called “telechargeurs,” or “downloaders.” With limited means to stop the pirating of their songs, musicians are now using the downloaders to promote their work.

When Sidiki Diabaté, the son of Mali’s kora-master Toumani Diabaté, wanted to promote his latest release he did not bother with radio or TV spots. Instead, he sent his manager to Fankélé Diarra Street to see the “telechargeurs.”

The young men crouch over their laptops. They transfer tunes to mobile phones and USB sticks for as little as four cents a song (25 CFA). Sidiki is the most asked for artist.

Playing his music on slow days can draw dozens of customers.

"The street is like a market. If you want to reach people, this is where you go. You can’t sell cassettes and CD's any more. Everyone uses memory cards," said Downloader Alfouseyni Ballo.

Frequent power cuts and a spotty internet that is still too expensive for many Malians have created a niche for the city's tech-savvy youth.

"We know the popular songs, the tunes that make people dance. People are always looking for the latest songs. If I like a particular song, I’ll recommend it," said downloader Aboubacar Coulibaly.

The most popular request is Malian rap.

These days rappers are the only ones, besides religious leaders, who can sell out Bamako’s big stadiums.

And the internet is pushing the African music industry toward new business models, ones that are turning mobile phone companies into the new record labels.

Malian rapper Mylmo recently signed a lucrative sponsorship deal with the mobile provider, Orange Mali. His new releases are only available from Orange, bought by way of Orange mobile money. Other artists have signed up with Malian mobile companies, Malitel or Sotelma.

But not all artists are happy to see their records ripped and shared on the street. The street downloaders do not share their profits.

I'll be doing this MUCH differently this year, but if you want to listen along:
ILM's Rolling Global / Outernational Thread 2016

It's literally the worst day of the year to be looking back at 2015 but... my last Middle East and North African column for the Guardian published late on New Year's Eve, was a best of last year and my final for that publication. I'll be resurrecting it on the Quietus (with their blessing).

Digital remixes of Bolivian Quechua-language singer Luzmila Carpio:

Luzmila Carpio Meets ZZK
https://f1.bcbits.com/img/a2787331170_16.jpg

bump

http://www.frootsmag.com/content/critpoll/

Folk Roots Critics poll

1. Stick In The Wheel From Here (From Here)
2. Anna & Elizabeth Anna & Elizabeth (Free Dirt)
3. Bassekou Kouyate & Ngoni Ba Ba Power (Glitterbeat)
4. Sam Lee & Friends The Fade In Time (Nest Collective)
5. Canzoniere Grecanico Salentino Quaranta 40 (Ponderosa)
6. The Rheingans Sisters Already Home (RootBeat)
7.=Emily Portman Coracle (Furrow)
Leveret New Anything (RootBeat)
9.=Simpson, Cutting & Kerr Murmurs (Topic)
Vieux Farka Touré & Julia Easterlin Touristes (Six Degrees)
11. Mbongwana Star From Kinshasa (World Circuit)
12. False Lights Salvor (Wreckord)
13.=Olivia Chaney The Longest River (Nonesuch)
Jackie Oates The Spyglass & The Herringbone (ECC)
Songhoy Blues Music In Exile (Transgressive)
Spiro Welcome Joy And Welcome Sorrow (Real World)
The Unthanks Mount The Air (Rabble Rouser Music)
18.=Ballaké Sissoko & Vincent Segal Musique De Nuit (No Format!)
Blick Bassy Akö (No Format)
Kandia Kouyaté Renascence (Stern’s)
Tom & Ben Paley Paley & Son (Hornbeam)

NPR are streaming the new Baaba Maal album
http://www.npr.org/2016/01/06/462154178/first-listen-baaba-maal-the-traveller

It's last year, but the EEK album is really awesome. If you like North African dance music and hardcore techno, jump in

maybe I should say "nuum" instead of hardcore techno... I'm a big fan of MENA dance music, so I was kinda suspicious at first (wire, fact, etc) but it really kicks ass.

https://sahelsounds.bandcamp.com/album/mali-kady

http://globalfest.org/gf2016/wavelengths/

marketing global music conference has been going on in NYC since yesterday.

Speakers announced shortly, but will include colleagues from National Sawdust, Modiba, Brooklyn Raga Massive, Rumblefish, Kennedy Center, NYU Abu Dhabi Arts Center, Bonnaroo, rock paper scissors, and more

NYer Forks should be there telling them, to follow this thread

x-post--

I still need to listen to this one mentioned above--

Maal collaborated with producer and multi-instrumentalist Johan Hugo (from the London Afropop band The Very Best) on The Traveller, and they sometimes struggle to reach a comfortable balance between ancient and modern sounds, African and global themes.

Two great compilations coming out via the Now-Again label this spring (April, I think): Wake Up You! The Rise and Fall of Nigerian Rock 1972-1977, Vols 1 and 2. Really fried stuff from the Hygrades, the Funkees, OFO the Black Company, and a bunch of similar/related acts. Each comes packaged in a 100-page hardcover book with tons of rare photos, really informative liner notes, etc.

Worth sharing here i suppose; would love to know if anyone has ever seen a compilation of Semantron playing in album format.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=44gggoAk3XY

That closing song on the Baaba Maal album with the guest rapping and pretentious spoken word vocals is terrible. Whole album is uneven.

I don't mind the autotune on another track, btw.

new bombino single

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LWv1ASUNWJI

i'm excited i'm going to see him in march

https://soundcloud.com/awesometapesfromafrica/dj-katapila-cocoawra

interesting stuff here i want to check out: http://www.jta.org/2016/01/27/arts-entertainment/meet-the-israeli-composer-of-indian-muslim-music-who-collaborates-with-radioheads-guitarist

Last February, Greenwood visited Ben-Tzur — a Jewish composer of Sufi Muslim Qawwali, or religious devotional music — in the Rajasthan region of northwest India, where Ben-Tzur has written and performed his songs for more than a decade. For three weeks, they and a 19-member Indian band, The Rajasthan Express, recorded an album of Ben-Tzur’s songs in a picturesque 15th-century Indian fort.

“We wanted to spend time playing together, not just go into a studio and record an album,” Ben-Tzur told JTA. “Recording the album was maybe the excuse in order to experience the music rather than the other way around.”

Anderson captured the entire process — from the tensions of nailing perfect takes to the pigeons that perched on the soundproofing boards. His film, “Junun,” which translates to “the madness of love,” premiered at the New York Film Festival in October. The director’s first documentary release, it eschews dialogue and wider context for an immersive, behind-the-scenes look at crafting the sprawling album.

The record, produced by longtime Radiohead producer Nigel Godrich and also called “Junun,” was released on the American label Nonesuch Records in November. More than half the songs contain lyrics in Ben-Tzur’s native Hebrew, which supplement the rest sung in Urdu and Hindi.

http://indiefiend.com/2015/10/09/video-johnny-greenwood-rocked-dir-paul-thomas-anderson/

trailer here for the PTAnderson film of the album Mordy just mentioned. Plus it says in this October 2015 posting: Greenwood’s new album will be entitled Junun and is expected on the shelves next month. However, PTA’s album documentary of the same name (Junun) is available now exclusively through streaming service Mubi. I’ve honestly never heard about Mubi before today, but apparently they cost $5 a month to subscribe; and considering you can watch a brand new PTA film for $5 then cancel right after that’s not too damn bad.

Kiran Ahluwalia

Kiran Ahluwalia sings ghazals and Punjabi songs from India but she has also collaborated with Tinariwen. I've been listening to her 2014 album lately

Am guessing her husband, Pakistani guitarist Rez Abbasi's event this past weekend got cancelled because of snow--

Saturday, January 23, 2016 at 8PM
Asia Society, 725 Park Avenue (at 70th Street), New York City

Asia Society is delighted to present the New York premiere of Invocation, Pakistani-born jazz guitarist Rez Abbasi's quintet featuring pianist Vijay Iyer, saxophonist Rudresh Mahanthappa, Johannes Weidenmueller (acoustic bass), Dan Weiss (drums), and Elizabeth Means (cello). In this special performance, the group unveils a new project that explores Carnatic classical music from Southern India through the idiom of jazz.

Titled Unfiltered Universe, this is the final installment in a trilogy that puts a jazz lens on the musical traditions of South Asia. Their 2009 debut, Things To Come, employed Hindustani North Indian music and featured Indian vocalist Kiran Ahluwalia. DownBeat magazine chose the album as one of the decade's best. Suno Suno was released in 2012. Featuring compositions that were influenced by Abbasi's long time love of Pakistani Qawwali music, it also received many accolades.

I need to hear the album with Ahluwalia on it

Rez and Kiran Ahluwalia

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F1ZeVicy5PE

This looks good---but I am not in NYC

Pioneer Works Residency Launch Party: Africa/India Series
February 3rd, 2016, 8pm

Africa/India Series, Residency Launch Party!

Brooklyn Raga Massive will launch its Pioneer Works residency with a special concert celebration, a retrospective of it’s popular and joyful Africa/India Series.

Awa Sangho “Golden Voice of Mali”, featuring BRM All-Stars
Orakel – duo featuring Kane Mathis (kora) & Roshni Samlal (tabla)
Africa Meets India – Kevin Nathaniel (mbira) and Eric Fraser (bansuri)

Pioneer Works
159 Pioneer Street
Brooklyn, NY 11231

Kiran Ahluwalia & guitarist Rez Abassi will be there March 23 and they'll be in DC on March 4th

love this > https://sahelsounds.bandcamp.com/album/tumastin

Lush studio compositions with rolling rhythms and wistful melodies from Northern Mali’s standout Tuareg guitar band. Disrupted by political conflict in the Sahara, Amanar’s follow up is years in the making. Soulful call and response in a charged reclamation to the origins of Tuareg guitar: messages to a people divided. Songs about change, nostalgia, and hope from Mali’s band-in-exile.

I will be curious to hear that Amanar album.

playlist is updated.

ILM's Rolling Global and Outernational Thread 2016 Spotify Playlist

Posted this on the Modern Brazil music thread, but in case you miss that---

Just got back from an incredible trip to Brazil (Rio and Salvador, Bahia). Alas, a connecting flight got cancelled and then our luggage got misplaced on the way there, so We missed a free Romulo Froes gig. But we did hear that MC Joao cut "Baile de favela" everywhere (that Rob mentioned upthread). Mostly a remixed version (the light remix I think its called). Thousands were chanting the words to that in a Carnival bloco parade we attended at Copocabana beach. The song certainly got stuck in our heads.

We saw a late-night Maria Rita gig, a number of bands playing Carnival gigs on various streets, the 2nd night of the Sambadrome event with samba schools composed of 1,000 or so folks, plus the amazing Salvador Campo Grande Carnaval circuit with afro-blocos like Olodum and Ilie Aiye.

― curmudgeon, Saturday, February 13, 2016 5:49 PM (0 seconds ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

there's a new rokia traorè out

She's gonna tour the US again too.

On her upcoming 2016 release, Rokia turns to friends John Parish (PJ Harvey, Eels), John Paul Jones (Led Zeppelin), and Devendra Banhart to help her express her deep sadness at the state of turmoil in her native Mali. Lamenting her homeland’s loss of life, culture, and traditions, Rokia will draw audiences in with a striking translation from emotion to song, including transcriptions of some of Toni Morrison’s prolific writings.

x-post-Saw some bands in Brazilian carnival events in various neighborhoods of Rio and Salvador that I enjoyed but alas, I never figured out their names. Gonna see what I can figure out online and via some carnival newspaper guides I picked up.

In Salvador da Bahia, we were the only customers twice at Cana Brava Records, a store run by an American ex-pat who knows everything about Brazilian samba, bossa nova, jazz, and more. He mostly just sells cdrs of hard to find Brazilian vinyl. He is pals with various old Brazilian musicians and would like to help them record some more, but he doesn't have the money to do so himself. Here is his website

http://www.salvadorcentral.com/guide/index.php/salvador/cana-brava-records

http://www.afropop.org/27401/afropop-returns-to-mali/

Rokia Traore album sounds good on first listen

Angelique Kidjo, one of Africa's most prominent musicians, won her third Grammy on Monday, this time together with Luxembourg's Philharmonic Orchestra under well known Luxembourg musician Gast Waltzing.

Kidjo dedicated the "Best World Music Album" award to aspiring artists on the continent of Africa.

x-post--that afropop.org Mali article is worth a read

The Dogon Festival listed Oumou Sangare as the final night headline, but apparently she dropped out and accepted a gig in China. We can’t blame her. For all the ambition and richness of these festivals, the crowds were not large. Money is scarce, and despite appearances, people we spoke with report that there is a reluctance by some to gather in large outdoor crowds.

....
One of the biggest changes in Mali in the decade since we were last here has been the dramatic rise of young rappers, who now draw bigger crowds than nearly all the old-school stars, and wield more influence over youth than any politician. When Master Soumi took the stage at the Dogon Festival, the energy lifted palpably. Teenagers and 20-somethings surged forward, shouting affirmations to his boldly barbed raps. Soumi gave us a hard-hitting interview on the roof of his humble home where he still lives with his parents. Even a rapper of his stature still can’t get rich in Mali.

...One exception to that rule may be Sidiki Diabaté, the charismatic 24-year-old son of Toumani Diabaté. Their 2014 kora duo release Toumani and Sidiki (Nonesuch) showcases the son’s fidelity to the family tradition. But Sidiki is also a huge pop star—“more popular than me!” says Toumani with a mixture of pride and pique. We saw Sidiki perform as headliner at a 4,000-seat sports center, packed with teenagers swooning and screaming for his pop rap. When Sidiki hit the stage at around 3 a.m., the place went berserk

I wanna go to Mali, but...

same

http://www.afropop.org/27604/afropop-returns-to-mali-part-2/

Noura Mint Seymali's on the west coast soon. I should go, right? Anyone seen her this time around?

I haven't but yes 100% gogogo

She's been great in years past live-- her powerful voice and her band's nearly psychedelic sound

DJ Katapila's Ghanaian Ga dance music on Awesome Tapes from Africa now

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/22/arts/music/spinning-tunes-in-ghana-with-the-world-on-his-mind.html?ref=arts

. Mr. Shimkovitz found two bootleg tapes of Katapila’s music, including “Trotro,” and began trying to track the musician down immediately.

“I was really excited because it reminded me of the kind of electronic music we like back home, Chicago- and Detroit-type stuff,” Mr. Shimkovitz said. On closer listen, however, Mr. Shimkovitz said he realized that Mr. Abbey’s music was full of “bell patterns, drum patterns, clap patterns and vocalizing that are all total one-to-one connections with Ga dance music.”

Mr. Shimkovitz said that Mr. Abbey stood out among his Ghanaian peers, most of whom play soukous-influenced Francophone club music or the highlife-derived local hip-hop known as hiplife. “In the context of Ghana,” Mr. Shimkovitz said, “where electronic music in the form of dance music like house or techno has never had a foothold, it’s quite interesting that there’s something that sounds like that being made there.”

Might be a little too programmed dancey for this thread, but DJ Katapila does offer some qualities that readers of this thread might like

Noura Mint Seymali is amazing live. Highly recommended.

I've transferred my playlist of Middle Eastern and African music to the Quietus from the Guardian if anyone's interested.

Yes! Thanks, nice coverage of the ethical issues involved for those of us interested in such music.

Now I just have to listen to the music

So a few folks over the years on ilx have praised German producer Mark Ernestus for his remixes of African music and more. I somehow missed out, but see his new Senegalese remix effort got a nice review from Andy B*ta . I think the "Yermande" track from this may have come out in 2015

http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/22461-yermande/

César Lacerda & Romulo Fróes – O Meu Nome é Qualquer Um (google translate says that means in English): My Name is Anyone

Nice, quiet & folky yet bossa-samba-mpb inflected duo effort from Brazil

playlist updated with songs from those best of lists; probably another 80 or so tracks.

Thanks

My quick look at the year-end 2016 thread shows very few non-Western world albums...

I think I saw Bombino on one list & maybe Noura Mint Seymali on another, but no afropop/afrobeats, nothing from Central or South America....

Ben Ratliff, former NY Times writer, usually includes a Brazilian album in his list, but his 2016 list (in Esquire) doesn't have any.

Maybe I'm not looking in the right places.

NPR picked A-WA as their #23rd best album of the year!

I like some of that Yemeni pop, but not sure about the whole album

they put on a fantastic show. i really like them.

Noura Mint Seymali at #76 on Quietus list. Hoped she would have finished higher. I think the guitar playing on her album is as or more interesting than that on many of the rock and experimental albums that finished above it on that list

Afropop.org "stocking stuffers" list

The complete list of this year’s recommended records, and where to find them:

Bitori, Legend of Funaná: The Forbidden Music of the Cape Verde Islands (Analog Africa)

Elage Diouf, Melokàane (DEP)

Tiwa Savage, R.E.D. (Mavin)

Bisa Kdei, Break Through (BLMC)

Yishak Banjaw, Love Songs Vol. 2 (Terenga Beat)

Debo Band, Ere Gobez (FPE)

Various Artists, Bobo Yeye: Belle Epoque in Upper Volta (Numero Group)

Various Artists, Urgent Jumping! East African Musiki Wa Dansi Classics (Sterns Africa)

Le Tout-Puissant Orchestre Poly-Rythmo, Madjafalao (Because Music)

Vaudou Game, Kidayu (Hot Casa)

Bossacucanova The Best of Bossacucanova (Six Degrees)

Gilberto Gil and Caetano Veloso, Dois Amigos: Um Século de Música (Ao Vivo) (Nonesuch)

Elza Soares, A Mulher do Fim do Mundo (Mais Um Discos)

Los Hacheros, Bambulaye (Chulo)

Ibrahim Maalouf, Black Light (Impulse)

Tiken Jah Fakoly, Racines (Universal)

Vieux Kanté, The Young Man’s Harp (Sterns Africa)

Bombino, Azel (Partisan)

Noura Mint Seymali, Noura Mint Seymali, Arbina (Glitterbeat)

Mohamed Abozekry, Karkadé (Jazz Village/Harmonia Mundi)

Osei Korankye, Seperewa of Ghana: Emmere Nhyina Nse (Akwaaba Music)

Richard Bona, Heritage (Qwest)

The Pedrito Martinez Group and Román Díaz, Habana Dreams (Motema Music)

Harold Lopez-Nussa, El Viaje (Mack Avenue)

Zomba Prison Project, I Will Not Stop Singing (Six Degrees)

Fatou Seidi Ghali & Alamnou Akrouni, Les Filles de Illighadad (Sahel Sounds)

Sahra Halgan Trio, Faransiskiyo Somaliland (Buda Music)

Aziza Brahim, Abbar el Hamada (Glitterbeat)

Rocky Marsiano, Meu Kamba Vol. Dois (Akwaaba)

Graveola E O Lixo Polifônico, Camaleão Borboleta (Mais Um Discos)

La Yegros, Magnetismo (Soundways)[i]

I couldn't give it my full attention, but this Digital Zandoli comp sounded great: https://antillesseries.bandcamp.com/album/digital-zandoli

― rob, Monday, November 21, 2016 3:25 PM (two weeks ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

love this

Los Hacheros, Bambulaye (Chulo)

This is fun retro Latin dance music (from NY I think)

http://www.nationalgeographic.com/travel/photography/finding-indias-lost-musicians/?utm_source=Twitter&utm_medium=Social&utm_content=link_tw20161210travel-indiamusic&utm_campaign=Content&sf45735326=1

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fe7-MYliEzM

Got the Music of Morocco box yesterday finally and don't feel like I've come up for air since -- disc 1 on repeat, read the deets of disc 1 contents while waiting for band practice, learned tons already. And the package itself is pure delight to look at and anticipate. I'm saving the major essay for later.

Yeah, it's an astonishing collection. Worked my way through three times and each time a different disc is my favourite.

Haven't dug into Music of Morocco yet, but I did dig into some albums on that afropop.org list--

Vaudou Game, Kidayu (Hot Casa) was a fun listen. This is a band based in France I think, led by a guy from Togo who go for a Seun Kuti meets Orlando Julius afrofunk-afrobeat sound most of the time, but suddenly sound Ethiopian on a track or 2.

Richard Bona, Heritage (Qwest) -- he's a studio vet from the Cameroon who has played bass with African, Latino and jazz groups alike. He has played with a who's who of artists in Paris and NY. Also plays balafon and guitar. Its pleasant and sometimes more. A few cuts play up the clave beat more.

Listened to these too: Elage Diouf, Melokàane (DEP)-- kinda all over the map, I need to hear it again; one song sounds like Springsteen kinda

Tiwa Savage, R.E.D. (Mavin)-strong afropop/afrobeats that I listened to earlier this year and again recently

Bisa Kdei, Break Through (BLMC)--Ghanaian funky afropop sorta. I like it and need to hear again

Thanks to folks on this list for some of the great finds throughout the year. I've only been lurking on this thread, but I appreciate it.

http://fastnbulbous.com/lucky-16/#breakdown

01. Thiago Nassif – Três
02. Dele Sosimi Meets Prince Fatty & Nostalgia 77 – You No Fit Touch Am in Dub
03. Noura Mint Seymali – Arbina
04. Abayomy Afrobeat Orquestra – Abra Sua Cabeça
05. Anthony Joseph – Caribbean Roots
06. Fumaça Preta – Impuros fanáticos
07. Bombino – Azel
08. Alma Afrobeat Ensemble – It’s Time
09. Mark Ernestus’ Ndagga Rhythm Force – Yermande
10. Saulo Duarte e a Unidade – Cine Ruptura
11. Mulatu Astatke + Black Jesus Experience – Cradle Of Humanity
12. Ukandanz – Awo
13. Céu – Tropix
14. Elza Soares – The Woman At The End Of the World
15. Rokia Traoré – Né So
16. Imarhan – Imarhan
17. Negro Léo – Água Batizada
18. A-Wa – Habib Galbi
19. Tom Zé – Canções eróticas para ninar
20. Metá Metá – MM3

didn't realize there was a new mulatu astatke project! thx for heads up.

Nor did I. The other Ethiopian pianist legend Girma Beyene has been sticking around on the east coast of the US for a bit. He's gonna do a January showcase gig in NYC for US arts promoters I think, plus more gigs there and a New Years Day one with Feedel band again backing him in DC. Someone needs to get them a show up your way Mordy.

i guess it's the time of making lists so i think this is my top world albums 2016 list:

1. A-WA - Habib Galbi (shocking I know) (Israel)
2. Noura Mint Seymali - Arbina (could've been #1 easily) (Mauritania)
3. Fatou Seidi Ghali, Alamnou Akrouni - Les Filles de Illighadad (Niger)
4. Imarhan - Imarhan (Algeria)
5. Sahra Halgan Trio - Faransiskiyo Somaliland (Somalia)
6. Volta Jazz, Coulibaly Tidiane & Dafra Star - Bobo Yéyé: Belle Epoque in Upper Volta (Upper Volta)
7. VA - Space Echo: The Mystery Behind the Cosmic Sound of Cabo Verde Finally Revealed (Cape Verde)
8. Luka Productions - Mali Kady (Mali)
9. Aziza Brahim - Abbar el Hamada (Algeria)
10. Sunburst - Ave Africa: The Complete Recordings 1973-1976 (Tanzania)
11. Bombino - Azel (Niger)
12. Afrobeat Makers - Nu Guinea: The Tony Allen Experiments (Paris)
13. VA - Turntables on the Caribbean (Caribbean)
14. Debo Band - Ere Gobez (Ethiopia)
15. Naftule's Dream - Blood (Boston)
16. Africaine 808 - Basar (Berlin, Lagos, NY)
17. Ukandanz - Awo (Ethiopia)
18. Hailu Mergia, Dahlak Band - Wede Harer Guzo (Ethiopia)
19. Abayomy Afrobeat Orquestra - Abra Sua Cabeça (Brazil)
20. Malawi Mouse Boys - Forever is 4 You (Malawi)

subject to change, order is loose, etc etc, apologies for any errors, did not split original releases + reissues this year

With you on Noura....

x-post

Ah, So Astatke recorded with an Australian band

that mouse boys album is a quiet heatseeker it's true
they're secretly one of my fave live shows of all time

Osei Korankye, Seperewa of Ghana: Emmere Nhyina Nse (Akwaaba Music)

Nice, pleasant acoustic Ghanaian music

Was also listening to the Dele Sosimi Afrobeat Orchestra - Too Much Information - Laolu Remix on Spotify. That's a Dec. 2015 afrobeat goes club thing that is popping up on some 2016 year-end track lists.

Elza Soares – The Woman At The End Of the World

This seems to be the Brazilian effort getting the most crossover attention. But sometimes this is too avante-noisy for my tastes, and she sometimes shrieks too much. Romulo Froes who I like, wrote a song on this and Soares is hailed by many, so ignore my nitpicking if you want.

yeah I listened to a bit of that and it was pretty good, but it seems obvs that her life story is key to the attention it's getting. This is a reissue from 1970 but it was on bandcamp's list and is quite nice: https://josemauro.bandcamp.com/releases

Was also listening to the Dele Sosimi Afrobeat Orchestra - Too Much Information - Laolu Remix on Spotify. That's a Dec. 2015 afrobeat goes club thing that is popping up on some 2016 year-end track lists.

It makes no sense to me to list that rather than the dub album, but it's good -- I found a FLAC version from some comp and just appended it to the dub album.

Afrobeat Makers - Nu Guinea: The Tony Allen Experiments (Paris)

Is this a compilation of the two volumes, which came out in 2012 and 2014?

Abayomy Afrobeat Orquestra - Abra Sua Cabeça (Brazil)

I love this and am trying to find a way to officially buy it (lossless files or CD) with no luck so far.

Here's a few others that were just outside my top 20 or on other genre lists:

Mohammed Lamouri – MOMOstLAMOURI tape (Lamouri) | Algeria
Baaba Maal – The Traveller (180 Proof) | Senegal
Konono No. 1 & Batida – Konono No. 1 & Batida (Crammed) | Congo
Douglas Germano – Golpe de vista (Digitalize) | Brazil
Hailu Mergia & Dahlak Band – Wede Harer Guzo (ATFA) | Ethiopia
Susso – Keira (Soundway) | UK
Wardruna – Runaljod: Ragnarok (Norse Music) | Norway
Steve Lehman – Sélébéyone (Pi) | US & Senegal
The Eternals – Espiritu Zombi (New Atlantis) | US
Melt Yourself Down – Last Evenings On Earth (Leaf)
Luisa Maita – Fio de memória (Cumbancha) | Brazil
Horse Lords – Interventions (Northern Spy) | US
The Dwarfs Of East Agouza – Bes (Nawa) | Egypt
Laraaji & Sun Araw – Professional Sunflows – Professional Sunflow (W.25th) | US
Shabaka and the Ancestors – Wisdom Of Elders (Brownswood) | South Africa
Idris Ackamoor & The Pyramids – We Be All Africans (Strut) | US

Ah, it's actually Volume 3:

https://afrobeatmakers.bandcamp.com/album/nu-guinea-the-tony-allen-experiments

yeah i like it a lot

Was also listening to the Dele Sosimi Afrobeat Orchestra - Too Much Information - Laolu Remix on Spotify. That's a Dec. 2015 afrobeat goes club thing that is popping up on some 2016 year-end track lists.

It makes no sense to me to list that rather than the dub album, but it's good -- I found a FLAC version from some comp and just appended it to the dub album.

They sound different-- the "Too Much Info" single is faster-tempoed and more funky goes clubbing while that album is dub. They both have their virtues.

César Lacerda & Romulo Fróes – O Meu Nome é Qualquer Um (google translate says that means in English): My Name is Anyone

Nice, quiet & folky yet bossa-samba-mpb inflected duo effort from Brazil

― curmudgeon, Saturday, December 3, 2016 6:23 AM (two weeks ago) Bookmar

This is really growing on me. Froes wrote a song (or more) on the Elza Soares album that gettting lots of love. He and Lacerda can do straight-ahead Brazilian samba stuff with nice melodies, and sometimes they add rock aspects to it.

They sound different-- the "Too Much Info" single is faster-tempoed and more funky goes clubbing while that album is dub. They both have their virtues.

I was just thinking in terms of it's a single 7:13 track (no one seems to be including the Rainy City Music Version) released in 2015, whereas the dub album is a full album from this year.

The Folk Roots magazine "world" and folk music critics poll is in their new issue, but is not on their website

that Dhafer Youssef album is growing on me, maybe a bit jazz for this thread but it does feature a Tunisian oud master.

Anyone hear some 2016 Congolese music you can recommend?

Was kinda underwhelmed by Brazilian rock group Meta Meta album on only listen, but I see it got nominated on ilx poll. Maybe I should give it another shot

this was a great podcast about congo music and NGOs: http://www.afropop.org/26411/congo-goma-music-conflict-and-ngos/

this Tswe song is pretty cool: https://soundcloud.com/thesongwriteredition/tswe-feat-patexx-we-let-it-flame-c-imsgllc

also the new Konono N1 meets Batida album: http://open.spotify.com/album/0dz2NmWVZ6XaFtFIGxQ0Lc

Thanks.

Oh, in another news I see that the fRoots crit poll is now on their website:

1. Shirley Collins Lodestar (From Here)
2. Kristi Stassinopoulou & Stathis Kalyviotis Nyn (Riverboat)
3. Jim Moray Upcetera (NIAG)
4. Aziza Brahim Abbar El Hamada (Glitterbeat)
5. The Gloaming The Gloaming 2 (Real World)
6. Josienne Clarke & Ben Walker Overnight (Rough Trade)
7.= Maarja Nuut Une Meeles (Maarja Nuut)
Refugees For Refugees Amerli (Muziekpublique)
9. The Furrow Collective Wild Hog (Hudson)
10. Leyla McCalla A Day For The Hunter, A Day For The Prey (Jazz Village)
11. Elza Soares A Mulher Do Fim Do Mundo (Mais Um Discos)
12. Calypso Rose Far From Home (Because)
13.= Leveret In The Round (RootBeat)
Noura Mint Seymali Arbina (Glitterbeat)
15. Afro Celt Sound System The Source (ECC)
16. Bombino Azel (Knitting Factory)
17.= Lady Maisery Cycle (RootBeat);
Lakou Mizik Wa Di Yo (Cumbancha)
19.= Kris Drever If Wishes Were Horses (Reveal)
Orkesta Mendoza ¡Vamos A Guarachar! (Glitterbeat)

runner-ups are also listed

Pretty sure I listened to 4. Aziza Brahim Abbar El Hamada (Glitterbeat) but I have forgotten it

Kristi Stassinopoulou & Stathis Kalyviotis' Nyn has some good things going for it, but it doesn't quite seal the deal for me. I think they need to intensify the guitar and bouzouk lines. It sounds like they could put more tension into the music by cutting loose a bit more (?). Worth checking out though. YMMV.

glad to see shirley collins on that list!

Pretty sure I listened to 4. Aziza Brahim Abbar El Hamada (Glitterbeat) but I have forgotten it

― curmudgeon, Thursday, 29 December 2016 17:55 (yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Ha same, I went back to it the other day to see whether it was EOY-worthy and it's definitely nice while it's on but it didn't make much impact on me

Looks like Mordy liked Aziza Brahim more than we do, as I look back on the thread

Listened again to Brazilian Carlinhos Brown's latest (on Spotify)-- it's uneven. Some songs start strongly with Carnival like drumming and then change gears; others use guest vocalists including kids; there are ballads that work and some that incorporate too much melodramatic American pop-rock movie flavor

it's v listenable imo

New thread for 2017:

Rolling Global Outernational Non-West Non-English (Some Exceptions) 2017 Thread Once Known as World Music

Cleaned up playlist and added some 100+ tracks; mostly via these year-end roundups but plenty of stuff just switched onto the service over time. It's finalized for the year.

ILM's Rolling Global Thread 2016 Spotify Playlist

digging this https://nyegenyegetapes.bandcamp.com/album/afromutations

whole label is cool