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

--Jagwa Music ( Dar es Salaam, Tanzania street band

Listened to some of this on Spotify. Promising but a tad uneven. Its all about the rhythmic grooves

Saw Mali's Vieux Farka Toure and a small band (bass and Drummer) Saturday for free at a Festival in 95 degrees F heat. Probably the 4th or 5th time I have seen him. I like his upbeat, more danceable songs better than the more leisurely ones he started with. Although one quiet-tempoed song was more ballad than slow groover, and his vocals and playing took on a more mournful and dramatic feel.

That Kenya Special comp is one of my all time favourites, which is by the by... but there's a new edition in the series coming out soon on Soundway. This month I think.

The Dhol Foundation are embarking on their first North American tour. Kinda hit or miss with their blend of bhangra and other genres though

searched for an antibalas thread but didn't find one so i will post this here
saw them last night, they totally slayed and it was so fun
crowd was somewhat thin but the venue was sort of medium-large

they're pretty much undeniable live. just a super solid party band imo.

yeah it was a top notch good time, and for a chicago crowd it felt very alive. and it was free! people were more friendly than usual by a wide margin.

arbina = a+++

unrelatedly seeing A-WA this wednesday!

Looks like I missed A-Wa in DC awhile back opening for Balkan Beat Box, I'm just seeing NY & Philly and West coast dates now for current tour.

I should listen to Noura Mint Seymali new album -Arbina, as have liked her sound in the past.

Been listening to Kenya Special comp a bunch.

yeah a-wa is at the Knit tomorrow night. $20!

A-Wa played in Chicago last week same night as Antibalas but I missed it -- my friend went and said the show was top notch

also meaning to ask does Antibalas always cover that Rockwell song? They said it was for all the old sexy people, lol ;)

youtube suggests yes, as of last year
anyway, it was good even if i felt a hint of unwanted pandering

Saw a free gig from Tanzania's Jagwa Music last night at the Kennedy Center (video of the show should be up on the Kennedy Center's Millennium Stage website in a day or so, or maybe today). Pretty good but not great. They have one guy who uses a mini Casio keyboard, 2 percussionists, a woman tambourine player/dancer and a singer. Plus they have a megaphone on a pole, and some of their sounds get filtered through that. The rhythms are often speedy, and the dancer is adept, I just wasn't completely wowed by the singer's mix of singing and chanting.

Currently touring North America, but not together: Ifrikya Spirit from Algeria; and the late great Congolese singer Tabu Ley Rochereau's band L'Orchestre Afrisa International.Looking forward to the latter. They always impressively backed Tabu Ley when I saw him perform over the years.

Glad to see old-school Congolese musicians touring (at I assume that is who is in L'Orchestre Afrisa International)....

at least I assume...

I used to go look at an African music forum/chatboard that a bunch of Congolese ex-pats living in Europe and the US used to contribute to. They were so proud of 70s and 80s Congolese music, and expressed their takes that it was superior to everything else. Not sure if that board or a similar one still exists, but I wonder. Plus, that defunct magazine called The Beat, used to have a Brit contributor who also worshipped that era of Congolese sounds. Ah, the glory days of Congolese rumba & soukous--Franco, Tabu Ley, Zaiko Langa Langa, Kofi Olimede

I hope you New Yorkers saw Tanzanian band Jagwa Music. I'm liking their DC show even more in hindsight (plus looking at some video clips I made that showcase their great dancer/tambourine player)

missed that one sadly but caught Canzoniere Grecanico Salentino beforehand and they were awesome

I know nothing about traditional Italian music and dance, but will check them out later

they're kind of ridiculously good live
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E-IfNJyxA8w

I am looking forward to old-school Ethiopian pianist Girma Beyene live. He is doing gigs in DC & NYC with the DC based Feedel Band, that includes a couple of old-timers who played with Girma in the 1980s.

Beyene came to DC in the 80s, but then quit music for a bit after his wife died(his musical inspiration he said) and worked here as a gas station attendant. Later he moved back to Ethiopia and began playing music again.

Lol, you and i basically go to the same shows only separated by a few states

xxp - I've been caning Tabu Ley in the car recently. Namely the two Voice of Lightness comps on Sterns but also some of the Syllart albums / comps. He worked with some amazing guitarists.

Loads of Congolese album recommendations on this site: http://www.muzikifan.com/africaframe.html

Thanks. I am hoping that Tabu Ley's band who were just touring, will be the first of many old-school Congolese bands with great guitarists touring.

Although after I watched video of Afrisa International (that I now told only includes some members of Tabu Ley's band) I was slightly less wowed. Some good moments though.

So this past Friday I saw Ethiopian piano legend Girma Beyene with DC based Ethiopian group Feedel Band. Despite an arrogant soundman who wouldn't make Girma's gorgeous, melancholy voice and piano louder in the mix, the show was very nice. Ethiopian singing star Mahmoud Ahmed was in the crowd, and Girma's producer, Francis Falceto, the curator of the Ethiopiques series was also there.

A short US tour for Girma, who had lived in DC from 1981 to 2010. NYC show coming up. He's been just hanging out in DC.

Girma Beyene told me he enjoyed seeing Cuban jazz pianist Harold Lopez-Nussa at the Kennedy Center earlier this month.

Modern Brazil - s/d

Brazilian postpunk samba mentioned in recent posts

Merasi Musicians of Rajasthan India are kinda interesting (chanted vocals over harmonium and table and handclaps and finger cymbals)

Gonna have to miss Ethiopian singer Mahmoud Ahmed tonight live. Have seen him before, and he lives not far from me, but he rarely performs live locally

Saw video of Ahmed's gig last night, on Facebook. He sounded great and is using a band that has DC and Either/Or band members together. They're at Carnegie Hall in NYC tonight

Just saw this amazing video by Indonesian experimental duo (hand-built custom instruments and unearthly vocals) Senyawa. They've got 4 albums and a couple of EPs and live discs.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ZnzJIYsJ7s

Playlist is updated with lots from Mordy's haul of world music comps; it's 125+ tracks and 10 1/2 hours of whirled peas

ILM's Rolling Global Thread 2016 Spotify Playlist

Lots of songs to hear. I've been listening to Music from Saharan Cellphones Vol 2 .

Was also impressed live hearing an old-school Ethiopian guitarist trying to keep pace with a younger Ethiopian synth keyboardist pumping dance beats

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T5kcOPDbkCs

hey, i can see myself in that video ^^

i am the bassist in KSA's band

j/k i am one of the schlubby dudes in the audience

I like the title track a lot of the recent Noura Mint Seymali album Arbina.

Here's an interview (below the review) from back in September someone did that's interesting

http://thequietus.com/articles/20886-noura-mint-seymali-arbina-lead-review-interview

Drawn more and more and more to Rough Guide To Ethiopian Jazz, though some of it took a while. Also intrigued by this news from Numero:

By now you know that we’re very good at making box sets. Look across your living room and you can probably see one of those 2” wide spines peering at you from the shelf. Whether it’s a complete overview of an under-recognized Chicago soul singer or an omnibus of 45s, we pride ourselves on our ability to exhaust ourselves and your wallet. We’ve been nominated, and have won several awards since we issued our first box, 2009’s Light: On The South Side, and we think our latest offering is an unlikely sequel to that crowning work.

When Florent Mazzoleni approached us a few years ago with a stack of photos from the former West African nation of Upper Volta, we were immediately intrigued. Just as Michael Abramson captured nightlife on the South Side of Chicago in the mid-1970s, a world away Sory Sanlé was doing the same. Bobo Yeye: Belle Epoque in Upper Volta provides an intimate look into the landlocked nation's pop culture explosion of the me decade. A melange of community elders and emboldened youth spill from the brightly lit confines of Sanlé's Volta Photo into the dimly lit nightclubs of Upper Volta's cultural capital as their nation transformed from colonial foothold to cosmopolitan oasis.

And just as Light was accompanied by a double album of the kind of funky blues spilling from Pepper’s Jukebox, we’ve drawn together Bobo Dioulasso’s sonic titans Volta Jazz, Dafra Star, Echo Del Africa, and Les Imbattables Léopards to form a triple album soundtrack. Don’t own a record player? Don’t worry, we made a compact disc version with all the same material.

So let’s recap: For $70 ($35 on CD) you get three albums, a 120 page monograph (176 pages for the CD), a discography of Voltaic 45s and LPs, and a gorgeous slipcase to bind them all together. For Numerophiles ordering directly from our site we’ve also pressed up a limited edition replica LP of Echo Del Africa’s Récit Historique de Bobo-Dioulasso. The whole box is limited just 3000 copies on each format, and they will disappear.

Bobo Yeye: Belle Epoque in Upper Volta is out today in finer record stores everywhere and is always available on our website. Reminder: We no longer insert digital download cards into our LPs, but offer an instant download from our site upon check out.

http://www.afropop.org/32445/womex-2016-recommendations/?platform=hootsuite

fave acts at this European based, international music conference (more details at womex.com)

Rob Lokin, Artistic Director, Afrika Festival, Netherlands

Trio Da Kali (Mali)
Jupiter and Okwess (DR Congo)
Nakany Kanté (Guinée)
Derek Gripper (South Africa)
Mali Blues (film directed by Lutz Gregor)

Simon Broughton, Editor of Songlines magazine

Puerto Candelabra (Colombia)
Narf and Timbila Muzimba (Mozambique)
Tuuletar (Finland)
Derek Gripper (South Africa)
Black String (South Korea)

Paula Abreu, Associate Director, Programming, SummerStage, NYC

Delgres (Guadeloupe and France)
Bargou 08 (Tunisia)
Jupiter and Okwess (Democratic Republic of Congo)
H.A.T. (Morocco)
DJ Satelite (Angola/Portugal)
Anelis Assumpção (Brazil)

Jon Kertzer, radio host, “Music of Africa” KBCS-Seattle

Trio Da Kali (Mali)
Jupiter and Okwess International (Congo)
Calypso Rose with Kobo Town (Trinidad/Tobago/Canada)
Derek Gripper (South Africa)
Quinteto Bataraz (Argentina)

Jacob Edgar, President of Cumbancha Records and the head of research at Putumayo World Music, among other things.

Calypso Rose (Trinidad)
Xabier Diaz (Galicia) Spain
H’Sao (Chad)
Gisele João (Portugal)
Bixiga 70 (Brazil)

Bill Bragin, Executive Artistic Director, NYU Arts Center, Dubai; co-founder of globalFEST

Bargou 08 (Tunisia)
Vassnik (Sami artist from Norway)
Niño el Beche (Spain)
Delgres (Guadeloupe and France)
Oligarkh (Russia)

Slowly going through above acts...

Trio da Kali 's singer--Hawa Kasse Mady Diabaté, daughter of legendary Kasse Mady Diabaté, is the singer of the trio, one of the finest griot voices in Mali and often compared to Mahalia Jackson. At home, Hawa performs mainly on the wedding circuit, singing at parties held on the streets of Bamako (the main context in which most musicians in Mali make a living

http://fliartists.com/artists/global-roots/trio-da-kali/

Derek Gripper is gonna be doing a free gig at the Kennedy Center this month (and maybe in your town too). He's a white South African who melds classical, Malian kora and South Asian sounds together

Here's a list--- w/ Noura Mint Seymali at #1

http://worldmusiccentral.org/2016/11/01/transglobal-world-music-chart-for-november-2016/

still lots I haven't heard on these lists, but I have heard the recent Noura Mint Seymali and its a good one

I think me and the missus are gonna go see Seu Jorge doing his David Bowie songs in Portuguese tomorrow night at the Howard Theatre instead of watching election results at home

good call! pottery for me.

Seu Jorge did a nice if short set, an hour plus 2 encores of songs he had done earlier ("Rebel Rebel" and "Oh You Pretty Thing"). A certain non-David Bowie song got all the Brazilians in the crowd excited. Alas, I spent some of the time staring at twitter and 538 on my phone in disbelief and disgust and sadness.

Is it going to be harder for international musicians to come to the US now? Will have to see how this all plays out. Plus what will change with Cuba (or change back)?

Modern Brazil - s/d

Lots of Brazilian stuff for me to catch up on, plus some of those acts from that list I posted above on Nov. 1st

Brazilian singer Mahmundi's electro r'n'b pop with a touch of reggae is nice enough but only wows me on a few cuts. She's on Spotify.

I listened to Jupiter and Okwess (DR Congo) on Spotify. Despite being from the Congo, this band sounds more like Seun Kuti--sped-up afrobeats with horns.