Interview - Telmary - Jan 28 -7PM

I'm pleased to welcome Cuban singer-'rapera' Telmary to the AI next Wednesday at 7PM.

She has spent a good deal of time in Toronto soaking up all the musical vibes this fine city has to offer. She moves easily between hip hop, jazz, freestyle poetry and many, many modern Cuban grooves. Telmary will be playing a gig on Jan. 30 at Lula Lounge with fellow vocalist Alberto Alberto, who has a sympathetic take on 'alternative' Cuban sounds.

Please tune in, I've been looking forward to speaking with this dynamic artist for some time, it should be an engrossing conversation.

Abstract Index Playlist - February 27/08

Chicha Libre is the sound of the other shoe dropping from the continued success of Olivier Conan's "The Roots Of Chicha" compilation which exposed the twangy Peruvian versions of cumbia to the world last year. Conan's band is less acid-fried and more country-loungey. Still though, the dub is strong with this one, and each of the mixes mutates considerably over their three to four minute spans.

There is a pronounced Perrey/Kingsley vibe to Chicha Libre - an album highlight is their version of "Popcorn", whcih works surprisingly well as a cumbia. This may be because of Conan's French heritage, which also plays into "Six Pieds Sous Terre" and the hilarious deep space cover of Satie's "Gnosienne".

One point of reference would be the underrated Ry Cooder and Manual Galban's Mambo Sinuendo, in which duelling surf guitars toil in the fields of 'verbed tremolo. It's too bad that rather whacked out record has been caught in the slipstream of Buena Vista Social Club backlash, but at least now there's something to mix it with in a DJ set. Moreover, Galban's Los Zafiros, were tuning into many of the same ideas that influenced Chicha in the 60s - electric guitars, North American pop and a youthful energy.

Chicha Libre can't be packaged with a hot-stepping salsa band on the same bill. They demand a different combination - something with a cooler tempo, whether Latin or otherwise. Why yes, I am thinking a dub showcase would be just about perfect - how did you know??

Hour 1 podcast

Hour 2 podcast

maha shakti - debashish bhattacharya (riverboat)
micerino alap/micerino tema - alejandro franov (staubgold)
tour - bernard falaise (ambiances magnetiques)
walk 3 - doppelmoppel (intakt)
pregonceito - yvette (far out)
tres pasajeros - chicha libre (barbes)
aghmar n nanna - etran finatawa (riverboat)
insane - esg (soul jazz)
night rhythms - robert strauss (bbe)
lost luggage - deadbeat (scape)
tom tom workout - baby dodds (atavistic)
rocking horse - rob brown (aum fidelity)
abba zabba - radio i ching (resonant)
babylon burning - sylford walker (heartbeat)
no more friend - meditations (greensleeves)
hell a go pop - cultural roots (greensleeves)
dub it to me - dee sharp (greensleeves)
tom drunk - u roy (treasure isle)
you don't care - techniques (treasure isle)

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 - August 8/07

Los Destellos, image courtesy Barbes Records
Paging Mr. Tarantino, the soundtrack for your next film is ready... No joke, The Roots Of Chicha is all that and a bag of banana chips. Chicha is urban cowboy music from Peru in the late sixties and early 70s. According to compiler Oliver Conan, this music was never taken seriously on a critical or an official cultural level, and this volume represents the first (international) collection devoted to it. In the press release, Conan waxes enthusiastically about the demography, socioeconomic milieu and the resolutely pop dynamic of the music. He relates that the ingredients in Chicha are almost entirely foreign (like Canadian music?? I kid, I kid because I love...). The main ingredient is Cumbia - for my money, Colombia's most addictive export - mixed with Cuban rhythms, twin surf guitars, greasy wah pedal sounds and a smidgen of vintage Moogery. One track even has a lazy tape echo floating through the mix, which combined with the Andean melodies of the vocals sounds like the Rotary Connection. This comp is badass all the way through, with fascinating approaches to electric guitar which speak to Afro-American influences and to the tradtion of Peruvian guitar virtuosity. This is yet another example of the worldwide youth culture of the 60s manifesting itself through druggy pop hybrids (RIYL all the Vampisoul Peruvian grooves of the same period). I'm looking forward to Conan's band Chicha Libre dropping their debut in January '08.

If you like your psychedelia without grand theoretical analysis, head on over to Sublime Frequencies. Their two new comps Thai Pop Spectacular and Molam: Thai Country Groove From Isan Vol. 2 feature a slightly more beat oriented selection of Thai rock, funk, disco, electro-folk and comedy styles than previous SF comps - with exciting results! As for enriching liner notes about context and whatnot, they offer this: "For assistance decoding or reducing Molam and its makers to a scientific nothingness, please contact the appropriate authorities".

chaos breeds 1 - burnt friedman (scape)
stranger comforts have slipped by (pt1 & pt 2) - qua (mush)
goodbye au revoir - tim posgate hornband (guildwood)
riot of light - the respect sextet (roister)
beva ai laeo bo - thongmark leacha (sublime frequencies)
si ompong - ariesta biwara (shadoks)
mae kha som tum - onuma singsiri (sublime frequencies)
carinito - los hijos del sola (barbes)
cucaraca maraca - the harvery averne band (acid jazz)
liberation song - shirley scott (cadet)
are you there - josh roseman unit (enja)
black stacey (remix) - deadbeat (scape)
mainoo ole bai ke pee lain de - gaudi feat. nusrat fateh ali khan (six degrees)
plummer park - pete jolly (a & m)
rezos - miguel 'anga' diaz (world circuit)
bana - kocassale dioubate (beresanke)
winter in seney - echospace (baked goods)
champion - the dub project (m)
championsound - radio citizen (ubiquity)
forward ever - zion train feat. lua
milk and honey - prince fatty feat. holly cook (mr. bongo)
bring back real reggae music - andru branch (crw)
selassie - k.c. white (city line)