Abstract Index Playlist - August 19/09

When I interviewed Sublime Frequencies' Alan Bishop a few months back, he expressed continued admiration for the incredible sonic hybrids of the 60s and 70s, which he considered to be far more vital and fearless than anything coming out today, hence that label's continued fascination with music from all points related to that era.

The more reissues I collect, the more I find myself wondering whether I'm more attracted to their inevitably titillating exotica, or the familiarity of certain elements. It's the latter characteristic which is predominant for me.

The Sound Of Wonder catalogs "Lollywood" music from 1974-80. These productions are similar to their Bollywoodian cousins of the same era, though the massive studio orchestras are downsized by about a third. I'm completely unfamilar with the Lahore, Pakistan based film industry and its accompanying music, so I'm not going to make any pronouncements about its overall sound based on one collection. However this is yet another anthology of seventies music with drum sounds, analog synths, and guitar sounds made around the world (in half-decent studios, that is) over at approximately the same time. Thus, I think there's a lot more to love about the similarities between the Thai funk of SF comps like Thai Pop Spectacular and Soundway's Disco Funk Special than getting a momentary chuckle from the shallow curiosity about funny sounding music from hot-weather climates.

I can't see how anyone would fail to notice the incredible, world class pop ingenuity in this collection. The way in which massed orchestration, vocalese and synthetic sounds come together is innovative by any yardstick of seventies music. True, the occasional English lyrics add a certain mysterious allure, but with a soundtrack, creative liberty is much greater than with a two minute pop song. According to the liners, the sound of Lollywood was more budget than its Indian cousin, and I wonder whether that contributes to the greater use of synthesizers and vocal scatting as inexpensive substitutes for orchestral elements (though there is quite a long tradition of intricate, percussive vocal styles in Pakistan and Northern India). But again, that's just the liners, and advertising something as "rougher" to a Western audience is a code word for coolness.

No matter how you choose to groove to this collection, it's another winner from Finders Keepers.

I'm on vacation for two weeks, and I'll be back in September.

Podcast

na teef know de road of teef - pax nicholas & the nettey family (daptone)
blue monsoon - sonny stitt (cadet)
soulful illusion - soulful illusion (bbe)
dein brief - vicki leandros (bureau b)
kad ley wey - tafo feat nahid akhtar (finders keepers)
notorious b.a.g. - magilla funk conduit feat cadence weapon (no label)
rising 5 - hudson mohawke (warp)
no apologies - caballo & the mothafu kings feat relic (no label)
white cloud - sa-ra creative partners (ubiquity)
what you know about this - jahdan blakkamore (gold dust)
neuropastic south step dub - huelepega vs cooptrol (inyrdisk)
ekim - michael urbaniak (bbe)
untitled track 4 - not the wind not the flag (no label)
chimo - david sait & glen hall (apprise)
exit choke chamber - john hughes/lars scherzberg/nicholas wiese (schraum)
dub for dennis - manasseh & praise (interchill)
each is their own - gisto (historical records)
wanna feel more - noiseshaper (visions from the roof)
can't take it easy - bim sherman (century)
imitator - systemwide (bsi)
judgment come dub - slimma (universal egg)
trod with jah - barrington levy (auralux)
sir niney's rock - niney the observer (trojan)