Rolling Outernational Non-West Non-English (Some Exceptions) 2014 Thread Formerly Known as World

From what I have read the visa situation is better, but the artists and those who help them have to plan way in advance and still jump through countless hoops at both ends--the embassies in their home countries as well as with the official folks here.

http://www.afropop.org/wp/11332/john-collins-ghana-then-and-now-part-1/

he's the guy who released, among other things, this amazing palmwine collection: http://www.allmusic.com/album/vintage-palmwine-mw0000796847

Then I played with student bands (like the Deep Blues Feeling of Achimota School), more pop music. And I met and recorded with Koo Nimo [the great palm wine maestro of Kumasi]. And then I met E.T. Mensah, who was a dance-band musician, and I played with his second band, and he and I became very friendly and he took me around and introduced me to a lot of old-time musicians and I started interviewing people. This would be around about 1973. So around then, I began accumulating information about the background of highlife music. And I went to the university, and only one or two people at the university were interested in it. They were basically antagonistic to highlife. They said it was “a hybrid music,” and that the only genuine types of music were European classical music or African traditional music, and that nothing could exist in between. So I sort of fell out with these people for a while, although things are different now. The university actually teaches highlife. But that’s only since 5 or 6 years ago.

They had these groups in the ‘70s called cultural groups, which were basically highlife musicians going acoustic, going back to their roots. And a lot of Europeans actually, in recent years, when they see a cultural group, they think it is a forerunner to highlife, but it’s actually highlife gone back to its roots.For instance, there’s this borborbor music that we were recording today in the studio. If you see a borborbor group, like the one I was recording, it’s all drums, and all highlife rhythms. So you might think this is ancestral to highlife music, but it’s quite the reverse. It was a traditional Ewe music that was influenced by highlife, and incorporated highlife elements.

So these cultural groups were the Ga equivalent to borborbor groups, and they played music like kpanlogo, which, again, looks like traditional music, but it has been modernized with highlife elements, and even elements of rock and roll, there are elements of the twist in there that came in through Chubby Checker in the early ‘60s.

konkoma on soundway in 2012 had a "Kpanlgo" track + i was able to find a borborbor track on soundways too but there isn't a ton out there. i'm really excited to hear what he's recording now.

oh that bit was from the 93 interview now he's

[Fast forward twenty years. John’s Bokoor archive has withstood a devastating flood in 2012, caused in large part through bad land management by a neighboring saw mill. John is a senior professor at University of Ghana now, no longer involved in music production, he co-runs the Local Dimension highlife band (with Aaron Bebe Sukura) but is still a savvy observer of a scene that has completely transformed itself since our first meeting. Meanwhile, Ghana’s popular music has been reinvented in the era of “hiplife” (a blend of highlife and hip hop that has now diversified into several subgenres) and the Azonoto dance craze. We start by listening back to John’s 1993 comments about the voice “sinking into the mix.”

also i haven't watched this but i heard the radio segment on bbc today - it's about ebo taylor who we were just talking about on the highlife thread:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-25657461

The northern Ghanaian Sahelean traditional culture is quite distinct from the southern forest culture in its singing, its instruments—everything. Even after independence, you don’t get any significant northern Ghanaian popular music until about 10 to, 15 years ago. There were just a few exceptions. But now, the big reconnect is happening. And it’s because Jerry Rawlings put electricity into the north 15 or 20 years ago, and you’ve now got the beginning of a northern Ghanaian popular music, industry, recording wise. You’re getting a massive flood of music from the north, artists like Atongo Zimba and King Ayisoba and, Sheriff Ghale. And this includes hip life, reggae, local music. Samini, the hiplife artist, for instance, is a northerner, as is the reggae star Rocky Dawuni.

didn't hear this until npr put it on their top 10 world album list but it's pretty great - at least atm:
http://bandamagda.bandcamp.com

I like the Ghanaian stuff more than Bandamagda, although some of it I recall liking. John Collins nicely explains the recent history of highlife and gospel highlife and more.

http://sahelsounds.com/2014/01/mariam_ahmed/

http://www.npr.org/event/music/260458710/kcrw-presents-rokia-traore?ft=1&f=10004

And it’s because Jerry Rawlings put electricity into the north 15 or 20 years ago

When I spoke with Jamie Carter, producer of Tal National from Niger, he was telling me how folks there still struggle with intermittent electricity and that bands have to deal with getting shocked on occasion onstage due to poor wiring & stuff, inadequate studios and unavailability of good portable recording equipment, and no Guitar Center stores that one can easily walk into and buy the latest gear

I wonder if Rudiph has heard the following singer. The press release email I got has me interested:

Called “Arabic music’s modern voice” by The New York Times, we are proud to announce Lebanese singer/songwriter Yasmine Hamdan’s debut album Ya Nass, which will be released in the US on March 25th via Crammed Discs

In addition to Ya Nass, Yasmine will be appearing as herself in the new Jim Jarmusch film Only Lovers Left Alive. She will be singing her song “Hal”, from Ya Nass, in the film featuring Tilda Swinton that will be released April 2014.

She's doing 3 gigs in NYC over the weekend, starting tonight.

http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/roads/2014/01/cambodia_punk_rockers_the_southeast_asian_country_is_home_to_a_new_hardcore.html

I don't know Yasmine Hamdan, curmudgeon. I have not checked in with Jim Jarmusch's films for a while, but that has my interest.

I watched some Youtube videos of her over the weekend. I liked the more trad-sounding ones better than the ones where she incorporated more Western pop, but I haven't seen and listened enough to make more informed comments.

Wish I could have made it to NYC for that APAC conference and associated events and seen her and many others

so did globalFest happen?

I assume so. I saw Facebook postings about events from the night before, and references to daytime panels.

Bombino · Nomad 10 19
Bassekou Kouyate and Ngoni Ba · Jama Ko 10 8
Matana Roberts · Coin Coin Chapter Two: Mississippi Moonchile 10 8
Rachid Taha · Zoom 10 7

Tal National · Kaani 10 5
Rokia Traoré · Beautiful Africa 10 4

These albums received some Village Voice Critics poll votes-- the number on the right is the number of people who voted for these albums

votes for these tracks:
Bunji Garlin (ft. Nigel Rojas) · "Differentology" 3

Mafikizola (ft. Uhuru) · "Khona" 0

listening to this minimal (+ folky + electronic) Ukrainian pop record on ilxor dan m's tip: http://dakhabrakha.bandcamp.com/album/light

They were just at the Kennedy Center in DC (video of the 1 hour show is streaming there). Upthread I said Portishead/new wavey outfit in the bits I saw though they bill themselves as "ethnic chaos" Sounds like more your type of thing than mine

That's not meant to be snarky, just a difference in taste

heh no offense taken

the pretty tracks work way better than the hip-hop ones imo

http://www.npr.org/blogs/allsongs/2014/01/16/263070114/discoveries-from-globalfest-2014

some of the groups we've been mentioning.

Was i the only person to go to globalfest?

I always do a double-take when I see this:
http://sahelsounds.com

because it looks like my username

Maybe I'm behind the times, but did anyone listen to/pick up the vol. 2 of the saharan cell phones comp?

x-post --Forks you probably were. I've seen some of the acts here in DC and others I'm gonna check out videos(on Youtube, Kenn. Ctr. site & NPR)

I'm behind and haven't listened to Saharan Cellphones 2 comp either.

i heard that comp - it's not my fave of what they do (tho if you like it they did release a full-length pheno s. album last year)

http://sahelsounds.com/2014/01/rain-the-color-of-blue-with-a-little-red-in-it/

http://www.djrocard.com/tag/serge-beynaud/

I like the song (via video) on this site by this Sierra Leonian dance pop guy. He's gonna be in DC on Friday

that sahel kickstarter got funded btw

I can't stop listening to this old record of my Dad's - Ariel Raminez's 'Misa Criolla', an Argentinian folk chorale which is just incredible, a mix between Latin folk music and choir worship music.

the new tinariwen comes out soon - recorded in joshua tree bc of the conflict at home

Touring the US too

http://www.kennedy-center.org/explorer/videos/?id=M5714&type=A

The Bombay Royale's novelty Bollywood shtick is entertaining at times, but its mostly too cute for me

I couldnt deal with them at all honestly

Christgau likes African acts Tal National, Sidi Touré, Mariem Hassan, Tamikrest, & Bassekou Kouyate in year-end piece http://alturl.com/aj6o5

a better link to his essay which also contains the link to his list

http://bnreview.barnesandnoble.com/t5/Rock-Roll/The-Consensus-Has-Consequences/ba-p/12189

He likes Rachid Taha too, which I need to listen to. I wonder if its on Spotify?

http://bnreview.barnesandnoble.com/t5/Rock-Roll/The-2013-Dean-s-List/ba-p/12191

(English captions available.)

Hamza Namira - Wa Ollak Eh

http://obengerecordings.bandcamp.com

OBENGE RECORDINGS is a collection of field recordings by Roger Peet, recorded in the Congo in a now vanished village called “OBENGE”. It has since been burned to the ground by military. The village was very small, and unfortunately neighbor to a ruthless ivory warlord who terrorized them and put them in harms way. EWE OF NOW was fortunate enough to capture these songs on cassette for your listening enjoyment. They are full of life, from a place where life is more real than we are accustomed to. All proceeds from the sales of this cassette go to Roger’s relief work in the in the Democratic Republic of Congo, and hopefully this isn’t the last volume.

Plenty of listening to do. With Congo calming down a bit, hopefully we'll start hearing more music from there again.

x-post to myself
Spotify does have Rachid Taha's Zoom album plus I see he did songs for a movie Cheba Louisa, and that's on Spotify too.

Freaky Trigger's Pop World Cup has started: http://freakytrigger.co.uk/pop-world-cup-2014/2014/01/pwc-14-group-a-match-1-brazil-mexico-cameroon-croatia/

Looks more interesting than the Grammy winners

Reggae Album
“Ziggy Marley in Concert,” Ziggy Marley

World Music Album
“Savor Flamenco,” Gipsy Kings
“Live: Singing for Peace Around the World,” Ladysmith Black Mambazo (tie)

lol, I had no idea you could tie for a Grammy

Dunno if this is the thread where we talk about archival releases but the new Haiti Direct comp on Strut is a very good time.

this is def a thread for discussing archival releases!

Also (I think Mordy was the first to mention this album on here? Thanks)

Noura Mint Seymali's Tzenni is maybe even more amazing than xpost Jucara Marcal's Encarnado, because while the latter fits the highwire soul post-tradition of post-Tropicalia, almost post-avant (Arto/Ribot) melody x mutation---in other words, new configurations of known elements and urges---Seymali's sound expands my ears and vocabulary. Although, while reading the bio after listening, I did have a few associations reinforced by mention of colleagues Tinariwen and especially Bassakou Kouyate & Ngoni Ba, 'cause I sometimes had fleeting flashbacks to Jama Ko while spinning in Seymali's wake. Even tried to say it on Twitter:

Noura Mint Seymali, Tzenni: Her voice ripples soars dips pivots around sinewy subtle elec 4tet griot Arabclassical psychfunkoid Sahel system

― dow, Sunday, December 14, 2014 8:08 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

xpost oh yes curmudgeon, def Tom Ze---another Twitter attempt:
Tom Ze, Vira Lata na Via Lactea: Tropicalia sorcerer & friends in fine vox, tight & tuneful, unfazed by maze (gtrs snares etc customize it) Not one of his big avant etc projects, but contemplative and witty, in that seemingly casual, but always on point A to Ze way.

I've seem him called the Beefheart of Brazil(!), but in sets like these, if there must be a comparison, Cole Porter as socio-poitical (incl sexual politics) pop-rocker (of Brazil!) would be a relatively closer fit.

Some Tom Ze is too out there for me, but not all.

A number of us have been talking up Mauritanian Nora M. Seymali (i've seen her live 3 times), and I am convinced in the critics poll thread, that Burning Ambulances Ph*l has confused her with someone else.

Yes, she's gotten a good amount of discussion here, but Mordy's post with her album cover included was the first to catch my eye.

I admit it—I did have her confused with someone else. I was thinking of Aziza Brahim, who also put out an album this year. That's the one that I thought was a Putumayo version of Saharawi music.

Ha, ok. Thanks

I know there's a separate Afrobeats thread for African dance stuff, but since I like both old-school and new, here's something from ilxor Deej

http://pitchfork.com/thepitch/603-the-most-essential-nigerian-afropop-tracks-of-2014/

Joe Tangari used to review stuff like Tinariwen for Pitchfork but i don't see a ballot from him in the Pitchfork staff list of top 10s for the year. 2 Ilxors do vote for afrobeats/afropop including this: DJ Neptizzle: Ultimate Afrobeats 2014

Damn, the s/t Nacao Zumbi is really impressive. Only thing (currently) keeping it off my P&J Albums list: the male lead vocalist seems a little too reserved, though if I were Lusophone, might well not think so (my ignorance doesn't keep me as far from xpost Jucara or especially Noura, though). Guest Marisa Monte/s sole guest appearance draws him out, but mainly can't help wishing NZ would hitch themselves to another front person (not "another" Chico Science, can't ask that much). Gotta find room for one of these tracks among my P&J Singles...

The way they use assertive noise, nuanced melodies, tight,flexible mix of rhythms & beats---all seems like, "Of course we do this, now this is what we have to say," but I haven't quite caught enough of the last yet, given limited P&J openings---for my Outernational Top Ten, OHellYes.

I need to find time to listen to those Brazilian efforts. Oh, Jon Pareles from the NY Times did put this song in his top songs list for the NY Times:

Angélique Kidjo “M’Baamba (Kenyan Song)” (429)

Just posting stuff like that because I like to point out when artists from this thread get non-niche attention.

Speaking of, Ann Powers at NPR has the Noura Mint Seymali album in her top 15.

Haven't made my way through it yet (listening to the Criolo album now, it's good!) but Sounds and Colours' best South American albums of 2014 list looks pretty cool:
http://www.soundsandcolours.com/articles/brazil/best-albums-of-2014/

Need to go through more of that list plus these African efforts:

Hassan Hakmoun, Unity: “Zidokan (Just Go)” - Healing Records

Thomas Mapfumo and the Blacks Unlimited, Danger Zone: “Chikonzero”

Chigamba, Yangu Ndega: “Gandanga / Tinovatenda”- Available on CD Baby

Ladysmith Black Mambazo, Always With Us: “Mamizolo” - Ladysmith Black Mambazo Records

Mamani Keita, Kanou: “Djalal Kibali” - World Village

Not seeing the latest Mapfumo album on Spotify US right now, but found the Mamani Keita which I like alot. Her voice reminds me of someone...hmmm, Oumou Sangare maybe. A classic Malian afropop approach.

ROMPERAYO!!!!!!!

http://romperayo.bandcamp.com/

is there a name for this kind of music?

I guess it might just be run-of-the-mill cumbia

Rolling Outernational Non-West Non-English (Some Exceptions) 2015 Thread Once Known as World Music

New thread time

at the risk of spamming the board, here's the lineup of pertinent shows at NYC's SummerStage for the upcoming season:

FREE SHOWS featuring (in alphabetical order) ANGELIQUE KIDJO, BOMBINO, BUNJI GARLAN, CESÁRIA ÉVORA ORCHESTRA, DIEGO GARCIA, DJ GILLES PETERSON, EBONY HILLBILLIES, EMMANUEL JAL, FANTASTIC NEGRITO, GYPTIAN, HELADO NEGRO, IBEYI, LA IAIA, MAXI PRIEST, MAYRA ANDRADE, NAÇÃO ZUMBI, NATION BEAT, NOT TE VA GUSTAR, OQUES GRASSES, SYSTEMA SOLAR, VICENTICO, YIDDISH SOUL, and many more

• Sunday June 7 - Central Park - 3pm - Angelique Kidjo + Emmanuel Jal + Rich Medina
• Sunday June 14 - Betsy Head Park, BK - 4pm - Brooklyn Family Day with Martha Redbone + Ebony Hillbillies
• Tuesday June 16 - Central Park - 7pm - Yiddish Soul featuring Cantorial and Chassidic virtuosos
• Saturday June 20 - Central Park -7pm - Jungle + Ibeyi
• Saturday June 27 - Central Park - 3pm - VP Records 35th Anniversary with Maxi Priest + Gyptian + Bunji Garlin and Fay Ann Lyons + Massive B (Bobby Konders and Jabba)
• Sunday June 28 - Central Park - 3pm - Catalan Sounds On Tour with Oques Grasses + La Iaia + Silvia Perez Cruz + DJ Guillamino
• Sunday July 5 - Central Park - 3pm - Global Family Day with Shine and The Moonbeams + The Noel Pointer Youth Orchestra + The Red Trouser Show + Batoto Yetu + Ziporah Roney and Collaborative Artists
• Wednesday July 8 - Central Park - 6pm - LAMC presents Systema Solar + Compass + Helado Negro
• Thursday July 9 - St. Mary’s Park, BX - 7pm - Cano Estremera
• Saturday July 11 - Central Park - 3pm - LAMC presents Vicentico + Ximena Sariñana + No Te Va Gustar
• Sunday July 12 - Central Park - 3pm - Cesária Évora Orchestra + Mayra Andrade + Dino D'Santiago
• Sunday July 12 - St. Mary’s Park, BX - 7pm - Gerardo Contino y Los Habeneros + Film Screening: Celia - The Queen (2008)
• Sunday July 19 - Central Park - 7pm - Jorge Drexler + Diego Garcia + Danay Suarez
• Saturday July 25 - Highbridge Park, MN - 7pm - Jose Peña Suazo y La Banda Gorda
• Saturday July 25 - Central Park - 3pm - Bombino + Young Fathers + Fantastic Negrito
• Sunday August 2 - Central Park - 3pm - Brasil Summerfest with Nação Zumbi + Nation Beat’s Carnival Caravan with Cha Wa + DJ Vinil Pompéia
• Saturday August 8 - Central Park - 6pm - SummerStage 30th Anniversary DJ Celebration with Afrika Bambaataa + Gilles Peterson + Quantic

This is last year's thread, dude

lol, whoops.

Really liking this: African-Scandinavian folk-jazz, with mostly female solo vocals (and a few occasional guests), mbira and acoustic bass pretty much the constants, times effective varieties of reeds and percussion. More shading and intrigue in the second half, like she's leading us further in---To Be Continued.
Distributes by Worldisc/AKA worldmusic.net
Press sheet:

Monoswezi "Monoswezi Yanga"
Riverboat Records
May 26, 2015

Monoswezi weave traditional African songs and instruments with cool Scandinavian jazz. Zimbabwean mbira and vocals are enriched with Mozambican percussion and embellished with Nordic sax and sympathetic rhythm section.

Monoswezi bind themselves together on Monoswezi Yanga , gently singing reworked folk songs and whispering vivid tales. Hope Masike’s dulcet tones guide the album. She assumes the role of storyteller, underpinned by smooth unobtrusive accompaniment. As listeners we are invited to gather round, to sit at her feet soaking up the illuminated myths and legends of her childhood.

Monoswezi Yanga is the group’s second album on Riverboat Records, following the critically acclaimed 2013 release The Village . The recording took place at bass player Putte Johander’s home studio on the Koster Islands in Sweden. The islands are remote and free from cars; the native silence is punctuated by the sound of surrounding waters lapping against rocky coastlines. As the cosmopolitan band live across three countries (Norway, Sweden and Zimbabwe), meeting up in full is a treasured but rare occasion. Studio time is precious and experimentation the order of the day.

Often tracks are laid down in one take and then post-produced by the Scandinavian-living members Hallvard, Erik, Calu and Putte. Mixes are then bounced across the globe to Hope who contributes feedback from her home in Zimbabwe. Though unconventional, this working method imprints their music with a beautifully loose and open aesthetic. The music is not over-thought or preened to pretension. The music is fluid,
organic, and free.

The name Monoswezi is an amalgam of the four nationalities represented in their line-up – Mozambique (Mo), Norway (No), Sweden (Swe), Zimbabwe (Zi) – and the influence from each culture is audible. Hallvard’s Scandi-jazz saxophone approach is round of tone and melodically minimal. The role of the Zimbabwean mbira is paramount to Monoswezi’s style. Hope raises the flag for female mbira players everywhere, unlocking rhythmic routes through the sound on every track. Monoswezi Yanga also experiments with the use of a bass mbira as heard resounding low on last track ‘Nhetembo’. The result is entrancing: a slowly revolving, other-worldly fantasia for mbira .

A reading of the lyrics reveals a rich tapestry of traditional Zimbabwean folk songs and stories. ‘Matatya’ is a plea for a new lover from a young girl tired of ‘kissing frogs’. ‘Lobola’ and ‘Wadadisa’ are songs to celebrate marriage. ‘Dande’ is a prayer asking for protection over family and friends. ‘Mhondoro’ is a cautionary tale, imploring listeners to care for their environment. Each one is reshaped, performed anew and given a unique Monoswezi slant. Hallvard commented that often during the compositional process, he won’t be working with prior knowledge of the folk song in its original form, whereas Hope will have grown up with the tune and lyrics moulded into her musical consciousness. This difference in approach means the creative process can spin off in new uncharted directions uninhibited by a sense of what’s right or appropriate to the original.
The tracks ‘Povo m’povo’ and ‘Nhetembo’ are about fighting for what’s yours and an mbira is used to symbolically illustrate the tale: it is stolen in the first track and returned at the close of the album providing a satisfying symmetry to the work.
Haven't seen the booklet yet, so don't know if the lyrics are translated, but the vibe is vivid.