aarbor

Musicians of The Nile – Charcoal Gypsies – [Realworld]

aarbor   10/16/2019   CD, International

The Musicians of the Nile were discovered in 1975 and performed at the 1st WOMAD festival in 1983. They are apparently a part of the gypsy tradition. Listening to them the link to gypsy music is less clear. The tracks on this album are flutes and buzzy reed instruments which remind me of a homework assignment I had in an Ethnomusicology class once: to listen to a piece like this and transcribe it into musical notation. AArbor

Master Musicians of Jajouka Feat Bachir Attar – "Apocalypse Across The Sky" – [Axiom]

aarbor   10/16/2019   CD, International

William S. Burroughs (who wrote the liner notes for this album) first heard the Master Musicians of Jajouka at Brion Gysin’s restaurant “The 1001 Nights” in Morocco in 1957. Gysin claimed that if the Master Musicians of Jajouka ever stopped playing legend holds that the world would end. This album was produced by Bill Laswell in 1992. AArbor 

Reflection – Morerroronus World, The – [Clear Records]

aarbor   10/16/2019   A Library, CD

On the Clear label out of the UK, Reflection is 2 Japanese brothers: Ichiro and Kenji Taniguchi. Their debut album in 1996 was Erroronus World, this album from 1997 is the remix album with offerings from such heavy hitters as Plaid, 4 Hero and Morgan Geist among others. Check out tracks 2,3,4,6 and 7. AArbor 

EEDIO – Hero – [Device Recordings]

aarbor   10/16/2019   12-inch, A Library

Bertrand Alix is EEDIO. He’s a producer from Chilhac, France. This EP is his 2nd from 2003. He claims that his influences include: Depeche Mode, Boards of Canada, Sigur Ros and Massive Attack. Check out B2 Modulation.

AArbor 

Tejada, John – “Matrix of Us, The” – [deFocus]

aarbor   10/9/2019   A Library

John Tejada was born in Vienna, Austria, but now operates out of L.A. From 2000 this is his 2nd release. “Summer Spell” [1] has a warm, electro shuffle, while the spoken word and vocals on “Genetical Love” [2] act as a counterpoint to the piano and looped string section before the beat kicks in. “Disappear” is stringy synths w/ electro beats, and the deeper bass of “Can’t Tell Time Anything” continues the easygoing vibe. “reach for the Lights” [8] is a fun boogie. I liked this album better than some of his others.

Afro-Peruvian Classics: The Soul of Black Peru [coll] – [Luaka Bop]

aarbor   10/9/2019   A Library

Afro Peruvian music is a blend of Spanish, Andean and African traditions. The language comes from Spain  along with the preference for the guitar, and poetic forms like the decimaand the copla. From the Andes melancholy musical forms. From Africa the dance rhythms. Pantheistic religious are common to both the Andes and Africa. In addition to the guitar, 3 instruments are important to this music: the cajon and the cajita – both musical boxes and the quijada de burro – a jawbone with loosened teeth which vibrate when struck.  The instrumental intro of each track gives you a clue as to what to expect. Try 2,3,4,8,9,12, 13  You may want to compare the renditions of the songs of the same name. 

KHORSHID, OMAR – “Belly Dance with Omar Khorshid and His Magic Guitar Volume 2” – [Parlophone]

aarbor   10/9/2019   A Library

Omar Khorshid is my very favorite composer of belly dance music (in the Egyptian style). We own plenty of his music including the 1st volume in this series, but not these tracks. All tracks good, I preferred the B side.

FESTIVAL IN THE DESERT [coll.]

aarbor   10/9/2019   A Library

The Festival au désert or “Festival in the Desert” was an annual concert in Mali, showcasing traditional Tuareg music as well as music from around the world. The first Festival took place in 2001 in Tin Essako, then in Tessalit in 2002, and in Essakane from 2003 to 2009. From 2010 to 2012 it was held on the outskirts of Timbuktu because of security concerns which have prevented it from taking place since. This is a recording from the 2003 festival. It is a veritable Who’s Who of African artists, many of whom we have in our collection including: Tinariwen (who became known largely due to this festival), Afel Bocoum, Oumou Sangare, Ali Farka Toure… Robert Plant also appears on track 4.  Of the less well known players I liked tracks 5,6,10, 12-14, 16,18, 19                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                AArbor 

MACHITO AND HIS ORCHESTRA – Afro-Cubop

aarbor   10/9/2019   A Library

From 1979 this is an excellent example of the merger between New York’s jazz scene sound with an Afro-Cuban sound. Machito, who was born Frank Grillo in Tampa, FL in 1912 moved to Cuba in his youth, returning to the U.S. in 1937 and played with Xavier Cugat and Noro Morales. He founded his own band around 1939-40 which married Latin music and American music. Don’t miss Charlie Parker on tracks B1-3 (Mambo, Lament for the Conga, and Reminiscing at Twilight). Harry Belafonte appears on B6 (Lean on Me). AArbor 

JEANNEAU, LAURENT – Music of Southern and Northern Laos

aarbor   10/9/2019   A Library

This is Laotian music from the ethnic minorities of both the Northern and Southern parts of Laos. In the South the Molam tradition is central to the popular music (as it is in Cambodia). A mouth organ (Khene) accompanies the singing. The type of Molam varies by the geographic regions. Northern Laos is a mosaic of ethnic minorities and sounds. Check this out!  AArbor

PRAED – Doomsday Survival Kit

aarbor   10/9/2019   A Library

Praed is Raed Yassin and Paed Conca of Lebanon. Their sounds is a mixture of Arabic popular music, free jazz and electronics. The Doomsday Survival Kit their latest release from 2018, is 4 relatively long tracks which are definitely worth playing. AArbor 

CINEDELIC SOUND: Music for Advertisements [coll.]

aarbor   10/9/2019   A Library

Upbeat music for ads, TV, soundtracks A delightful 2 CD compilation of upbeat music which could be used for ads, TV, soundtracks …  You can definitely dance to a lot of these tracks especially on CD1. The sounds come from various parts of the world: Brazil, India, Italy – and various styles: rock, surf, funk, jazz, space age bachelor pad. Just enjoy – it is definitely great music to donate by.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                

AArbor 

Congos, The – “Feast” – [Kingston Sounds]

aarbor   1/26/2011   12-inch, Reggae

The Congos are best known for their masterpiece Heart Of The Congos, which they recorded with Lee “Scratch” Perry in 1977. Since the release of that collection they have put out very few albums, most of them lacking the brilliance, the beauty and the quality of the debut set. Despite using the name The Congos these albums weren’t recorded by the original trio Watty Burnett, Roydel Johnson (a/k/a Congo Ashanti Roy) and Cedric Myton, but rather solo efforts from the latter.

Their 2006 album called Cock Mouth Kill Cock — which is a Jamaican proverb that essentially means: “watch what you say, it could be your undoing was released in Europe as FEAST it contains the fruits of sessions conducted between Cedric Myton and vintage producer Bunny “Striker” Lee. These are new songs voiced by Cedric “Congo” Myton over original recordings of classic reggae riddims from the seventies and early eighties, like Johnny Clarke’s “Crazy Baldhead”, “Satta Massa Ganna”, the original “Stalag”, Alton Ellis’ “Breaking Up Is Hard To Do” and others. This set recalls the spirit captured by the Heart Of The Congos set. Vocally Cedric Myton is joined by the late Brent Dowe (a member of the Melodians) for a powerful set of harmonized vocal statements with a strong Rasta message. Cedric Myton’s inimitable falsetto shines bright. This is classic roots reggae with an impressive all star lineup of backing musicians. AArbor

Senor Coconut – “Yellow Fever” – [Nacional Records]

aarbor   1/12/2011   CD, International

Yellow Fever is Uwe Schmidt’s (a/k/a Atom Heart, ATOM TM etc.) tribute to Japan’s Yellow Magic Orchestra. He’s upgraded to a full sized big band instead of just samplers and computer gear. Accompanying him are various artists including vocalist Argenis Brito, Deelite’s DJ Towa Tei, Mouse On Mars, and YMO’s Ryuchi Sakamoto. Essentially he’s transmogrphying the work of Yellow Magic Orchestra into classic Latin style pop songs. Atom Heart’s aim is to invent a super eclectic style of music and as usual, his cosmic sense of humor is a key part of the mix. Play, laugh, dance!  AArbor

Ahmad, Raashan – “Push, The” – [Om Records]

aarbor   1/5/2011   CD, Hip Hop

Raashan Ahmad is from Trenton, NJ ??? he???s known as the MC for the Crown City Rockers. Here???s what he has to say about this album which is his first solo album: ???I have been in a live band for the last 8 years and have learned so much about different rhythms, genres, methods, and musicality??? But this album is a return to basics, that good ol’ boom bap, the beats and rhymes. I needed to get in touch with the other side of me, the side of me who loved Run DMC, BDP and the 808 machine. It was where I started as an M.C. and I needed to touch that again. As an M.C. in Crown City Rockers I try to be as varied as the music that we create. My writing is for myself as well as an audience as diverse as our crew. It is a challenge that I love; one that pushes me out of my comfort zone and inspires me to improve my talent. Without the skills I acquired from being in a group with such talented musicians I never could have made a solo album that is, in a word, selfish. This is a non-collaborative effort born out of my own fears, insecurities, observations, triumphs and tragedies. It is therapy over beats.???
Raashan???s little son sings on track 11. AArbor
Don???t Miss: tracks 8, 13
Language on Tracks: 2, 5, 7, 10 12

Die Antwoord – “$O$” – [Cherry Tree Records]

aarbor   1/5/2011   CD, Hip Hop

Die Antwoord (which means the Answer) is a hip hop group from Capetown, South African. The three members are: Ninja, Yo-Landi Vi$$er and DJ Hi-Tek

Die Antwoord performs music which incorporates many Zef elements and references. Zef is a South African counter-culture movement. They describe Zef as ???modern, trashy and out of date discarded cultural and style elements.??? Zef is, you’re poor but you’re fancy. You’re poor but you’re sexy, you’ve got style.”

The word “Zef” is a contraction of the name of the Ford Zephyr, a car that was popular worldwide from the 1950s to the 1970s. In South Africa, these cars at that time were more often than not owned by working-class people especially from the then-upcoming East and West Rand areas of Johannesburg (due to gold mining activity and the rising price of gold after it was de-coupled from a fixed US Dollar price of USD30 per fine ounce) and when Ford was seen as a high-quality product to aspire to as a car to own. The most distinctive and well-known feature of these cars were their horns that made a peculiar and amusing “A-hooo-haahhhhh” sound.
The music is fun, it???s sung in English, Africaans and Xhosa ??? (Morris Minor says ??? and I agree) ???don???t miss their online videos to get the full sense of this band.???
AArbor

FCC Language on all tracks.

Russell, Gene – “Talk to My Lady” – [Black Jazz]

aarbor   1/5/2011   CD, Jazz

Originally released in 1972 this is funky jazz from pianist Gene Russell who was the head of the Black Jazz label. Tracks 1, 2 and 6 are original Gene Russell tracks (and definitely worth playing 2 is my favorite), the others are covers. AArbor

Singh, Charanjit – “Ten Ragas to a Disco Beat” – [Bombay Connection]

aarbor   1/5/2011   CD, International

Charanjit Singh is a veteran of countless Bollywood soundtrack orchestras in the Hindi film industry of the 1960s and ???70s. Singh would turn up at sessions with the latest new synthesiser, acquired at great expense from London or Singapore. He was not, however, widely regarded among his country folk as someone “pushing things forward”. His band, the Charanjit Singh Orchestra, made their rupees touring weddings, performing the hits of the day, and even though he played on many popular Bollywood recordings, Charanjit Singh was never a household name.

In 1982, though, Singh did something unusual. Inspired by the sound of disco imports from the west making waves among Bombay’s hipster cognoscenti, he went into the studio with some new kit ??? a Roland Jupiter-8 keyboard, a Roland TR-808 drum machine and a Roland TB-303 ??? and decided to make a record that combined western dance music with the droning ragas of Indian classical music. Recorded in two days, Ten Ragas To A Disco Beat garnered some interest, excerpts finding their way on to national radio, but it was a commercial flop and was soon forgotten.

In 2002, record collector Edo Bouman came across Ten Ragas in a a shop in Delhi. “Back at my hotel I played it on my portable player, and I was blown away. It sounded like acid house, or like an ultra-minimal Kraftwerk.” But it was the date on the record that shocked Bouman. Released 1982, it predated the first acid house record. AArbor

Sounds of Siam, The [coll] – [Soundway Records]

aarbor   1/5/2011   CD, International

This collection is an outstanding fusion of Thai folk with western funk and rock. It???s the result of years of crate digging in Bangkok???s Chinatown by UK DJ and producer Chris Menist. Luk-thung (“country song”) was the music of the poor, its wavering ??? often female ??? voices tell tales of hard work and heartache over beats borrowed from James Brown or the Stones, and Bollywood-tinged arrangements. A very cool example is track 9. For a taste of Molam, from the Laotian north, try Sodsri Rungsang, (track 16) wailing over a blues bass line, fiddle drone and twanging surf guitar. Don???t miss track 12 which has a wonderful Jumpin??? Jack Flash riff. A standout! AArbor

California Funk: Rare Funk 45s From The Golden State [coll] – [Jazzman]

aarbor   1/5/2011   CD, Soul

KFJC owns others in this series: Midwest Funk, Texas Funk, Carolina Funk, and this one is as good or better than the others. The compilers Malcolm Catto and Gerald ???Jazzman??? Short examine what happened to the independent ensembles who gigged during Sly and the Family Stone???s Bay-area renaissance. It tells the stories of musicians who worked alongside LA???s Charles Wright and the Watt???s 103rd Street Rhythm Bands. Along with pictures and stories about the artists you???ve got thunderous drums, fuzzy wah-wah, fat basslines, blistering horns and exhortations akin to James Brown and his many disciples. No filler here all tracks are worthy! AArbor