Abstract Index Playlist - August 19/10

What a long, strange trip it's been for Marcos Valle.

Sometimes called the Brazilian Brian Wilson, who'd have thunk he'd produce one of the great albums of his career some forty-plus years down the road.

He set the standard for breezy Brazilian pop with Samba 68. That effort (apparently his last album to be released domestically in America!) was the epitome of deft melody combined with just enough funkin' backbone to stick with you - as if Burt Bacharach decided to make a play for the dancefloor, or at least the beach. And yet, just 3 years (like Brian Wilson's troubled post Pet Sounds years) later he was in a weird prog-samba-funk-rock zone with albums like Vento Sul and Previsao Do Tempo . Throughout his stylistic changes, he's always maintained an ear for good hooks.

Even his most recent albums for Far Out are greater than the sum of parts. To describe them as a grizzled bossa vet (this old beach bum has hit a few bumps along the road) combining his stock-in-trade with drum machines and electronics would make most people run screaming. But damned if he didn't succeed with that template as well, though it helped to have pals like 4 Hero doing remixes.

I thought this latest album, his first in five years, would be in that mold. It's actually a wide-screen affair with deft string, horn and rhythm arrangements. The songs are evergreen, light yet substantial, and the moods change frequently though always logically. I like how, despite the care in the arrangements, it doesn't sound perfect. There are little inconsistencies in the playing, and some of the synth sounds are used once too often, but these elements humanize the music that much more. This has every bit of the feeling of his grand, late 60s work; if a little more mellow. But the funk is still there, implicit in everything, and the strings especially bring a dramatic edge that hasn't been present in his most recent work.

I'm not done with Mr. Valle, I hope to interview him soon in anticipation of this album's release in October - stay tuned for updates.

Podcast

yamba - amadou balake (sacodis)
abuelo regalame - dogliotti (vampisoul)
extraordinary woman - psychedelic aliens (academy)
which way - the presidents (vampisoul)
leave it in the hands of love - phyllis dillon (trojan)
kings and queens - patrick adams institute (p&p)
deep dark dub - dubmatix (seven arts)
call gyptian - gyptian (vp)
night shade - matt shadetek (dutty artz)
stars - system (rump)
duhaney park - john horniak (no label)
eu vou - marcos valle (far out)
agua - manzanita y su conjunto (barbes)
nwa gezani my love - zinja hlungwani (honest jons)
ghana lady - appietus feat mframa (akwaaba)
la revolucion del cuerpo - havana cultura rmx by michael cleis (brownswood)
the nervous track - nuyorican soul (talkin loud)
zut alore - zorch (no label)
dropoff - christine jensen jazz orchestra (justin time)
blinks - the rent (ambiances magnetiques)
makena - embassadeurs rmx by mark ernestus (nonplace)
jasmine - islet/dam mantle dub (no label)
loituma - erick rincon 3ball experimental version (no label)
novias - el guincho (xl)
constant raw - the dirty sample (nefariu)

Interview - Poirier

photo by May Truong

Today is the official release date of Poirier's new album, Running High. It marshals previously released EPs with new material and remixes, which makes it more of a long form compilation of his work of the last couple of years. I've only listened to the double disc twice in sequence but it certainly holds up as an album, in part because hearing all the EPs jumbled together on the first disc underlines the central aesthetic of 90s dancehall sounds anchoring the various cultural and technological streams running through the mix. Disc two changes up the sounds and rhythms with remixes - two which I'm feeling right now are by Uproot Andy and Maga Bo.

Having been a guest on the show before, I'm sure Poirier and I will have an interesting conversation about where he's at compositionally and as a DJ - and that's just for starters. Tune in at 7PM tomorrow.

Abstract Index Playlist - January 13/10

I won't lie - I didn't play any full length albums this week that blew me away. This week's edition was further evidence that sometime last year this show has reached a tipping point favouring downloaded single tracks as opposed to selections from full length physical promo copies. It's kind of funny that this just happened last year (when others are proudly giving up their entire collection of CDs), but given my interests in jazz and reissues, I held out longer than most! What a Luddite. That said, there's much to say about the audacious new Gil Scott-Heron album and I'll be getting to that in due time.

My fave track this week came from expat Torontonian Moonstarr. His newest creation is a limited edition 7" called Farfisa 45 whose A-Side is "Hav' em". It features typically tasteful and funky drums garnished with vocal scat samples, but the main attraction is the keyboards of Tony Ezzy. Though the keyboard sound is a little thin (yes, it's a Farfisa, but it might have been mixed differently to showcase its unique character), the soulfulness and urgency comes through loud and clear. A nice and slippery tune, can't wait to drop it on Funky Fridays.

Podcast - sorry about the sound quality this week, adjustment to CIUT's new facilities is ongoing.

me and the devil - gil scott heron (xl)
two peas in a pod - interceiving (no label)
actuator - ergo (cuneiform)
in search of truth - lonnie liston smith (bluebird)
raw - james rolfe (musicworks)
monolith - cfcf (paper bag)
hav'em - moonstarr & tony ezzy (ptr)
gps - randolph (still)
keyzer - grupo batuque (far out)
gato cor de cafe - luanda jones (no label)
darkheart - mapstation (scape)
almost black - james white & the blacks (ze)
56% proof - belleruche (tru thoughts)
one armed bandit - jaga jazzist (ninja tune)
version the dread - sugar minott (quality)
dancing dub - bunny wailer (solomonic)
concrete sunrise - roots tonic (ROIR)
love needs expression - chet singh (no label)
imperial stepper - disciples (jarring effects)
bang bang - jimmy riley (heartbeat)
feel like jumping pt. 2 - marcia griffiths (soul jazz)
ital natty dread - prince jazzbo (jackpot)

Abstract Index Playlist - January 6/10

I don't want to say too much about this landmark release yet. In a nutshell, though, this record takes in a wide swath of Caribbean, American and African rhythms, filters them through Mississauga-style multiculturalism and compresses them into futuristic, psychotically entertaining inducements to acute butt whiplash.

But don't take my word for it, download your own free copy. What a great beginning to the twenty-tweens.

Podcast

switch - chris mcgregor & the castle lager big band (gallo/teal)
canto oneguine - david murray & the gwo ka masters (justin time)
chairmaster - henry threadgill's zooid (pi)
la frontera - lhasa (wrasse)
dila dushdu - latife cheshmeri (smithsonian folkways)
btan - alejandro franov (nature bliss)
loitering with intent - bill wells/annie whitehead/stefan schneider/barbara morgenstern (karaoke kalk)
like a ship - pastor t.l. barrett & the youth for christ choir (numero)
in my life - dr. music (unidisc)
choo choo beep - south rakkas crew feat deerhoof (mad decent)
cherie lo - vieux farka toure rmx by sabbo (six degrees)
ya yo se - chico mann (no label)
el gozon - caballo & kinky electric noise (no label)
belly off - peter pozorek (no label)
chupchik - schlachthofbronx feat kein vorspeil (disko b)
love in a higher region - king shiloh feat peter broggs (uwe)
david and goliath - ranking joe (m10)
righteousness - cultural warriors (uwe)
samfie man - morphy (nerve)
outta space - king midas sound (hyperdub)
tell me - bitty mclean (peckings)
ganjaman - friendlyness & human rights (no label)
africa we want to go dub - stephanie samuels (channel one)

Abstract Index Playlist - June 17/09

So often I blog about discs that are yet to be released or difficult/expensive to find (yeah, I know, I'm a total hipster snob). Here's something we can all enjoy.

Buguinha Dub released his album Vitrola Adubada on the Les Cristaux Liquident netlabel earlier this year. In one sense, this is just another soundman cobbling together grooves that he's worked on over a number of years while toiling with different bands. However, when the main band is Brazil's mighty Nacao Zumbi, things get interesting in a hurry. This band is unfortunately still best known for its deceased front man, Chico Science, who left this plane some 12 years ago, leaving an Jimi Hendrix-like hole in the modern era of Brazilian experimental pop in his wake.

Of course, Brazil, especially its northern reaches, has been under reggae's spell for decades, and there you'll find just as many half assed Marley knockoffs as anywhere in the world. Fortunately, so many imitations have given way to some truly distinctive sounds which fuse traditional north-easterly Brazilian grooves with nationally-approved samba, African elements from just across the pond, a variety of Caribbean elements and the latest music technology. While Nacao Zumbi were part of the Mangue Bit/Beat movement - not unlike tropicalia or Native Tongue era hip hop in its breadth of influence - Buguinha Dub is based in Sao Paolo, not Recife, the home of some of the more interesting musical mashups in the world at present.

This album covers everything from Afrobeat to illbience to disjointed samba melodies and is of course slathered in a thick layer of dub. But this doesn't sound Jamaican, it's more reminiscent of European style dub -fast and fierce, with sharp, not billowy, delay settings. Last week's track featured a very traditional sounding trombone line and abstract crowd noise giving way to a "Shine Eye Gal" groove which somehow didn't smooth out the essential bumpiness of its folkloric foundation. This is utterly urban music but has ample space for pastoral influences. And it's free - FREE I tell you! Just go here.

undefined behavior - zebra wood (no label)
a short time to sing - john butcher (emanem)
nina tusuna - lulacruza & mj greenmountain (uji)
sherbrooke - biosphere (touch)
every april - naw (noise factory)
let me see you tonight - our theory (nublu)
donsu - oumou sangare (nonesuch)
liyanzi ekoti ngai na motema - syran mbenza & rumba congo (riverboat)
hypnotic brass - hypnotic brass ensemble (honest jons)
cowboy - the nite liters (rca/dusty groove)
nootropics - jesse zubot (drip audio)
air dub I - kanada 70 (no label)
toxine (live) - brain damage (jarring effects)
troca abudaba - buguinha dub (les cristaux liquides)
kingston dancehall dub - dubblestandart feat. ari up (collision cause of chapter 3)
almasti - omfo (essay)
the cyclops - 10 ft ganja plant (roir)
one and only one - adrian miller & earth roots and water (light in the attic)
bond street rock - tommy mccook and the supersonics (pressure sounds)

Return To The Valley Of Uma Nota

Short notice on this... sorry.

If you're looking to kick off the weekend sometimes known as May 2-4 (when it actually lands on May 24 - what is up with this coo coo bananas calendar year??), samba on down to the Gladstone.

I'm opening up the set with some tasty party starting vibes. Stick around for the dynamic duo of DJ Nana and maestre General Eclectic.

Liveness is provided by the super deluxe version of Samba Elegua getting horny with my old buddy Rich Underhill.

Uma Nota Presents Uma Festinha

Just picked up a DJing gig this week - it'll be a fun one! Well, they're all (mostly) fun, but I love spinning at the Gladstone.

This is an offshoot of the Uma Nota night which occurs bi-monthly. It's a smaller scale event, hence "festinha", but your attendance can embiggen the night!

Here's the details:

Uma Nota presents Uma Festinha
(a little party!)

Featuring:

Samba Elégua -- all percussion set
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=2238767139
http://sambaelegua.com/
http://myspace.com/sambaeleguatoronto

Repercussions (Roots Soundsystem)
Led by Alkiks Bordokas
(of Maracatu Nunca Antes:
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=12472148709 )

DJ General Eclectic (Footprints, Freedom Time)
http://www.djgeneraleclectic.com/
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=12472148709

DJ David Dacks (Exclaim! magazine, CIUT's Abstract Index)
http://abstractindex.blogspot.com/
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=12472148709

Gladstone Hotel (ballroom) 1214 Queen St.W
$5 at the door all night long!

More Info TBA - facebook event is here:
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=59140145890

Abstract Index Playlist - December 10/08

One of my favourite all time artists is Jorge Ben, so I was very pleased to cop the early Christmas present of "Tudo Ben", issued by the keepers of the Brazilian flame (London-style), Mr. Bongo. I get very excited when they delve into the past, such as their compilations on Joyce and their Brazilian Beats series which sequenced new and old tracks together.

Tudo Ben features a motherlode of 26 covers of Jorge Ben tunes, including some songs the master himself never got around to releasing. Can't tell the recording dates exactly, but the sound hits that late 60s-early 70s sweet spot of MPB meets funk again and again. Though some artists are duplicated, I'm not going to complain about Wilson Simonal being represented seven times. Every one of these selections expands Ben's samba soul in interesting directions: some rootsy, some psychedelic, and others just plain funky.

This comp is actually a good place to start for the novice Ben fan - though he doesn't appear on it, the breadth of his songwriting and the many influences he wove together at his peak are very well represented. But, as I've written before, Ben's hard to find classics are slowly becoming more widely available.

Podcast

cantemos - willie colon/hector lavoe (fania)
fuutu toro - orchestra baobab (oriki)
nalekaki na nzela - de wayon (crammed)
cosa nostra - os mutreteiros grilados (mr. bongo)
with the wind - brother jack mcduff (cadet)
broken bossa - moonstar (ptr)
dfd - lowfish (noise factory)
roots and wire - deadbeat (wagon repair)
camote - nova lima (cumbancha)
that ain't too cool - johnny pate (mgm)
georgia's after hours - richard popcorn wylie (abc)
the way we live - raw soul express (compost)
or not - john geggie (ambiances magnetiques)
five heroes - hanggai (riverboat)
endangered species - galerie stratique (statik)
reluctance - debashish sinha (eema)
hokus pocus - walter murphy (emperor norton)
christmas a come - eek a mouse (greensleeves)
every day and every night - heptones (17 north parade)
sweat for you baby - tamlins (17 north parade)
good times in the dancehall - prince blanco (mojobrand)
black i am - fe me time allstars (pressure sounds)
the way it is/version - ricky storm (pressure sounds)

Abstract Index Playlist - March 12/08

I'm kinda busy with something very big coming up in the next three weeks (details to come!!!) so I'll just link you to my review in Eye Weekly about this disc.

Eye Weekly uses a star system, so I gave it 4/5. I review so many fantastic reissues and compilations that I'm tempted to give out a lot of perfect scores. And why not? The ratings deck is kind of stacked against new releases... how can a new disc of original compete against the best of a decade's worth of material, as on this disc? Moreover, as mentioned in the review, you'd have to be severely musically challenged to compile a bad bossa nova comp.

So what's to criticize here? I think I'm more likely to assign a perfect score to 'game changing' compilations, like the kind that Soundway and the Numero Group put out. These labels find extraordinarily rare and unissued material and make it available for the first time ever to a mass audience. Their liner notes and depth of research is tremendous and truly helps advance global musical knowledge. Viagem is damn good, great even, but I wouldn't say that global knowledge of bossa nova and jazz samba has taken a giant leap forward, unlike the impact of Talkin Loud's Brazilica compilations of a decade and a half ago. But this is a very, very welcome compilation and I envy Mr. Conte's crates.

Hour 1 Podcast
Hour 2 Podcast

invisible wind - jackie stoudamire (numero)
inside my world - robert owens (compost)
bad girl version - eva be (sonar kollektief)
baldamore - hadouk trio (naive)
cumbia poder - celso pina (warner musica latina)
la corriente - charanga cakewalk (triloka)
sticks - burnt friedman/jaki liebezeit (nonplace)
(sometimes) believe in yourself - roy ayers (compost)
bande lo - edgard & os tais (far out)
plaza de toros - larry young (blue note)
perception - nick ayoub (do right)
the pepper drinkers - canefire (no label)
going overdrawn - playgroup (on-u sound)
nia njia - les embassadors (nonplace)
manu - mighty popo (tamba)
mr. brown - gregory isaacs (blood and fire)
peace and love in the ghetto - johnnie clarke (moll selekta)
tribulations - earth roots and water (light in the attic)
extended spirit - sista riddim (best seven)
the message - henry and louis (bsi)

Abstract Index Playlist - Sept 26/07

Grupo Folklorico Y Experimental Nuevoyorquino is quite the mouthful of a name, but the two albums they produced in the mid 70s represent a startling diversity of Latin rhythms, all played by folks who had something to prove. Loosely centered around the Gonzalez brothers Jerry (conga) and Andy (bass), and veteran timbalero Manny Oquendo this group of radical traditionalists sought to go back to the roots of the rhythms then-newly minted "salsa" with a fresh, daring perspective. The caliber of playing is incredibly high on both Grupo releases, with some players like veteran trumpeter Chocolate Armenteros seeming to twist time with his oblique yet powerful phrasing. "Ao Meu Lugar Voltar" from their second album in 1976 sees them take a run at samba for the first time. This sort of Cuba/Puerto Rico/Brazil crossover was not considered cool at all in some quarters due to national, cultural and linguistic rivalries - the great Brazilian keyboardist Joao Donato faced similar criticism for experimenting with Cuban rhythms. It's a strange tune with cascading marimbas and old school horn lines in the background giving it a bit of a dubby feel in the first half until the whiplash tempo change kicks in and powers the song to its funky finale. The ensemble coalesced further into Libre, led by Oquendo and still active today pumping out some (dare I say) authentic 50s bop powering unflashy but deep dance grooves.

I always figured there would never be an opportunity to see this ensemble live, however, I read that they reunited for a show very recently...


8.6 - supersilent (rune gramofon)
awakening - vancouver chinese music ensemble (vcme)
romeo heart (slight return) - sandro perri (constellation)
old times roll, new times goal - wadada leo smith, gunter baby sommer (intakt)
nta dima - habib koite (cumbancha)
ao meu lugar voltar - grupo folklorico & experimental nuevoyorquino (salsoul)
jammin with joey - joey pastrana (fania)
el nego esta cocinado - pedrito calvo (egrem)
get yr freak on - shawn lee's ping pong orchestra (ubiquity)
sun - nadja (alien 8)
beat the dead horse - timber timbre (zunior)
food good - nublu orchestra (nublu)
run come dub - g.g. allstars (heartbeat)
life on uranus (tee hee hee....) - prince jammy (greensleeves)
round trip - high tone (jarring effects)
turbo autodrive - badawi (ROIR)
every tongue shall tell - wayne jarrett (wackies)
a yah we deh - barrington levy (trojan)

Abstract Index Playlist - June 20/07

So I just bought some more discs. Under the spell of the summer solstice, my free spending mojo and strong Canadian dollar has convinced me to loosen the purse strings. So off to Dusty Groove I went, and was pleased to see Jorge Ben's difficult-to- find "Forca Bruta" on sale for a very reasonable price. A few clicks and a few days later it was mine, and upon closer inspection, Dusty Groove was the label as well as the retailer.

Having interviewed their head buyer Rick Wojcik last year, I was very familiar with their mutually beneficial, collaborative relationship with their customers, and a private label seems like the ideal way to please both parties. Each of the six entries in the series is expensive in LP form and it's likely that customer feedback had an impact on these particular reissue choices (including Dorothy Ashby and the Chakachas). Dusty Groove can in turn aggregate the most attractive audience that the rights-holder of these discs might ever reach. It's the kind of eBusiness relationship that benefits everyone. Occurences like this make me think that perhaps it is indeed possible for the internet to enable a music seller to find the right buyer and transact at a rate that's fair to everyone.

I'm not a Dusty Groove employee, just a very devoted customer tripping out on Jorge Ben's first album with Trio Mocoto during these longest days of the year.

scorpio-libra - eddie henderson (bbe/rapster)
nothing but a casablanca slideshow dinner - jef neve trio (universal)
sneaky red - mice parade (fat cat)
o telefone tocou novamente - jorge ben (phillips)
mr. right now - apollo nove (crammed)
se liga nelas - digitaldubs (verge)
estoy contigo - plan c (issi)
junio '73 - willie colon (fania)
dubbaq - legion of green men (post contemporary)
melbourne round midnight - deadbeat (scape)
jumping master - mikey dread (heartbeat)
the slightest shift - kris davis (new sound fresh talent)
suspended head - nels cline singers (cryptogramophone)
hamdouchi - joachim kuhn/majid bekkas/ramon lopez (ACT)
it ain't easy - syl johnson (hi)
let's try (extended mix) - the heptones (heartbeat)
natty never get weary - culture (virgin)
herb man skank - gg allstars (heartbeat)
come around - collie buddz (columbia)
done suh - version xcursion meets ammoye (vx)
don't know who to trust - aggrovators (moll-selekta)