Abstract Index Playlist - December 16/10

I was all set to write about how this funny little project takes the hatchet to a wide range of pop songs past and present, but then Lonely Island's "I Just Had Sex" dropped and arguably did an even better job of lampooning today's hottest hits. Its silly, positive spirit is more evocative of what sex is actually like than Katy's limp double-entendres and Xtina's bionic coochie music.

That video was a fitting way to end a year in which I spent more time listening to Top 30 pop music I don't like than ever before. Sure, I enjoy and play my fair share of pop music (if not usually chartbusters - except from Jamaica...), but it's part of my job to keep in touch with what's going on outside of the music I tend to write about. How can any self-respecting World Music 2.0 journalist write about the brave new sounds around the world without familiarity with how North American hip hop, dance and power pop influences travel throughout the globe? How can I write about jazz without acknowledging what the Bad Plus, Jamie Cullum and Vijay Iyer have done with contemporary pop songs as an update of the Miles and Trane transformations of Broadway standards in the 50s? More tellingly, how can I be taken seriously as a music critic if I high-handedly dismiss this era's "in da club" generation while lionizing previous ones?

I only wish that some of my professional peers would have the same courtesy to explore beyond their comfort zones as I have been trying to do for years since "poptimism" legitimized the scholarly analysis of pop music half a decade ago. But since there's no easy money writing about world music and experimental traditions around the world, I shouldn't be surprised. It still bugs me when the musical territory to which I gravitate most is dismissed out of hand as irrelevant (not enough hype, clicks n' cash behind it), when such criticism is coming from a fundamental lack of curiosity of what's going on in the wide world beyond pop and rock being produced in North America and the UK (to be fair, the editors I work with most frequently do not think this way). With the music industry in tremendous flux, sudden popularity can come from the most unlikely sources, and to dismiss genres and continents as irrelevant is simply bad journalism.

Anyways, I'm happy to have received Pop Massacre: a Christmas gift which combines freeform electronic exploration with hits from yesterday and today: I've always been Hooked On Plunderphonics. Last week's track "La Bamba" was once a radical reinvention of a world music classic, and this version by Mexicans With Guns accomplishes much the same thing more than 50 years later. Starting with a creaky, slowed down representation of the main guitar riff, it quickly collapses into a burbling mess of electronics and reconfigures itself into the Low End Theory glitch-shuffle that Friends of Friends have done such a great job of showcasing to the world this past year. By song's end, it's gone double time, getting into modern day nuevo-tropical beats at the cutting edge of 'global South' dance music. And so it goes elsewhere: the many, many hooks and cultural signposts of these songs are pureed into tongue and cheek remixes which nonetheless hold up for repeated listening. The best parts of Pop Massacre go several steps beyond Girl Talk's serial money-shot shtick, while still tickling those pop music taste buds. Here are empty calories and expert cuisine folded together then cooked until well done.

Save some room for Lonely Island's affectionate satire as dessert.

Podcast

kifo - remmy ongala & orchestre super matimala (real world)
dr. j abuya - daniel owino misiani & shirati band (earthworks)
gborei adesai - psychedelic aliens (voodoo funk)
threeball jazz - yelram selectah (no label)
moon pupils - boxcutter (kinnego)
hot gyal - tnt rmx by bassanova (t & a)
get on downz - switch rmx by le freak selector (no label)
mountains to climb - jahdan blakkamoore (lustre kings)
let it up - empresarios (fort knox)
gusto a nada - les reyes del milanga rmx by teswuino & dj linterna (cabeza)
fulaninha - luisa maita rmx by maga bo (cumbancha)
silbando - los riberios rmx by grc (barbes)
herencia rumbera - roberto roena y su apollo sound (fania)
mr. freedom x - miles davis (columbia)
latin power - eero koivisitoinen (porter)
treehouse - peripheral vision (no label)
no rest for the wicked - a hawk and a hacksaw (lm duplication)
snakes at the euxine - rembetika hipsters (no label)
track 3 - french kiss orchestra (no label)
la bamba - richie valens rmx by mexicans with guns (friends of friends)
bandwagon - kotchy (done right)

Abstract Index Playlist - November 4/10

I don't know how to love you, Rita Indiana.

This is my second blog post about this incredible talent in the past year. Her album "El Juidero" dropped last month with pretty much no notice. Though she maintains a healthy presence in New York, all the tastemakers were blindsided by the sudden appearance of a brilliant, genre-melting album. Considering all I do all day is comb the internet for music news (yes, I'm available for parties) the notion that someone with any kind of profile would release an album with no advance promo is simply unheard of.

Now that it's out there, you'll want to read Club Fonograma's excellent blog post which sings the praises of this album in depth. It's got 160 BPM dance workouts heavily garnished with metalloid guitars. It's got rambling dub workouts for days. It's got those sour, one-finger synth lines. It's got a neo no-wave posture that drives the hipsters wild. But I don't pretend to be able to fully appreciate her. I don't speak Spanish, and with this artist, that's a real liability. This music is far more than "A Bailar, A Gozar".

I can't enlighten you about the specific political issues she gets into this album. Heck I couldn't even do that if she were singing in English (which she apparently can quite well, judging from abut 5% of the album). Even if I could speak Spanish, there's a great deal of slang at play and a heaping dose of Dominican reality & personal backstory in the works. Lyrics are crucial to this album, and in failing to understanding them even after Google Translate, I'm missing a significant part of the art.

Admittedly, this is a problem in writing about non-English and French music. So often I'll hear music whose words I can't understand, and I'm in a position of critical authority in writing about it. Often there's a press release or liner notes to give some context, but that can only be partially helpful at best and totally misleading at worst.

But, hey, I've never staked my reputation on my analysis of English lyrics either. My brain condemns me to seize on the music rather than the lyrics of a song, though I totally respect my music critic peers for which the opposite is true. Nor do I think that being an outsider to her music is categorically a bad thing. This was a strong theme in Yo Soy Cumbia which aired a couple of weeks ago. Uproot Andy observed "I come to almost all music styles living in an immigrant city for more or less my whole life, the different music that I’ve been exposed to, have always been brought to me from different places. I think, more and more, that is a natural situation for a lot of people, I mean, whether we grow up rooted in some musical tradition or not, we’re all much more exposed to music of different parts of the world now. So I think that it’s only natural that we like those things, and take those influences when we make music and as listeners, you know, listen to those things".

From my standpoint Rita's music is trading in a number of elements that I, and most urban dancefloor guerillas throughout the world are familiar with. That's where my appreciation starts. In her case, I just stand back and marvel at how she's brought severely danceable elements together with such substantial lyrics. That's an explosive combination.

I'm really hoping to interview her. No doubt a short, staticky conversation won't be a wide open window to her soul. However she's someone whom I would love to hear explain where she's coming from in her own words; the words I can't get to in her music. Do I understand exactly what she's all about? No. Can I write about her music intelligently? Let's hope so.

Podcast

o aetnos - alaniaris (trio)
traducteur de tradition - glenn kotche vs. konono no. 1 (crammed)
impulse - gaslamp killer & daedalus rmx by teebs (brainfeeder)
dance music - r.d. burman (nascente)
build to last - dubblestandart (visions from the roof)
dear heartbeat - darkstar (hyperdub)
pasame a buca - rita indiana y los misterios (premium latin music)
chacarerada del engano - semillo vs. elpidio herrera vs. tremor (zzk)
regresara a cali - greenwood rhythm section (names you can trust)
cinnamon sugar - danuel tate (wagon repair)
riddim box - nb funky (soul jazz)
ruby (live at berghain) - mount kimbie (hotflush)
khalija pt 1 - khalija (force intel)
pressure in the air - dark bird (under see)
the tribe of triclops - lori freedman (ambiances magnetiques)
bicycle - tania gill (barnyard)
brother b - arthur jones (byg)
leaves and smoke - opsvik & jennings (rune framofon)
el farrah - aisha kandisha's jarring effects (barbarity)
eki attar - huun huur tu (world village)
massani cisse - quartete sextette (syllart)
ena eye a mane me - african brothers dance band (afribos)
tirogo - tirogo (qdk)
pichito - frente cumberio (names you can trust)

Yo Soy Cumbia - A CBC Radio Documentary

Maybe not the most flattering picture of Benoit Liard and Sergio Elmir...

At long last, Yo Soy Cumbia, the documentary I've been working on with Sergio Elmir, Mr. Dos Mundos Radio, has been given an air date on CBC Radio's Inside The Music.

More information is coming but here are the details.

There are release parties in the works for Toronto and Montreal; I will blog and blog again as details firm up.

Meanwhile...

-----------------------------

Yo Soy Cumbia traces the journey of Cumbia from the Caribbean coast of Colombia to become one of the most popular rhythms in the world. This is more than just a documentary about music; it explores how Cumbia has shaped the identities of some of this generation's leading figures in the genre.

Featuring interviews with:

Ruben Beny Esguerra: Toronto based percussionist and professor of music at York University

Mariano Franco: ringleader of Montreal's Psychotropical Orchestra and part of Sonido Nordico DJs

Andy Gillis: aka Uproot Andy, Brooklyn-based Cumbia producer and DJ

Roberto Ernesto Gyemant: compiler of Colombia! and Panama! series for Soundway Records

Benoit Liard: aka DJ Bendude, host of Masala radio on CISM-FM and co-founder of Masalacism Records

Yo Soy Cumbia was produced for CBC Radio's Inside The Music.

Hosted and co-written by Sergio Elmir
Produced, edited and co-written by David Dacks

Yo Soy Cumbia airs on Inside The Music Sunday October 17 at 3PM Eastern Time on Radio 2 and 9PM on Radio 1

How to listen:

In Canada:

On FM radio: find your frequency here: http://www.cbc.ca/frequency/
On Sirius satellite Channel 137: http://www.cbc.ca/sirius/index.html

Everywhere else:

Online: http://www.cbc.ca/listen/index.html

Or: http://www.cbc.ca/radio2/programs.html?INSIDE_THE_MUSIC - go to "listen now" in the right-hand column

http://www.cbc.ca/radio2/programs/insidethemusic/

Abstract Index Playlist - August 12/10

I gladly drink the Dutty Artz Kool Aid. Sometimes there's an aftertaste I don't like so much, but the NYC label/DJ collective/party starters are always striving.

In this case, though, they've met a kindred spirit, a true individual who hopefully will gain much deserved exposure in the US as a result of this partnership.

First, a little background.

Mambo, Dominican Republic-style is the most exciting music I've heard in the last several years (all praises to Dos Mundos Radio). Basically, it's really fucking fast merengue. I remember the first time I heard merengue back in the day, I thought its jerky 2-beat skank was simple and unswinging compared to salsa. Nowadays, the tempo has been upped, certain traditional instruments have been retained (notably the tambora), and the international vocabulary of dance-oriented synth sounds has been imprinted on the music. And it rocks.

Omega ("Y Su Mambo Violenta") is the music's main man, and he's totally awesome (and regrettably NOT performing in Toronto this Saturday). His slack, gravelly voice evokes Shabba Ranks, but he's a more capable singer and, no doubt, a swaggering stage presence. While there are plenty of techno-y remixes of his work, I like him best with in his post-West End groove mode with jack-your-body style keys.

Rita Indiana, on the other hand could become an even greater international pop sensation. Her music pushes speed merengue further ahead artistically and maybe tempo wise as well. A former model, she cuts a striking figure, and is a powerful singer with excellent melodic sense. With her close cropped hair and out and proud attitude she has been described as "being able to play her looks, her sexuality, her music and her openness to full advantage in a country not necessarily known for being that open".

I'm not usually a fan of big, bland power chords, but damned if her single on Dutty Artz "No Ta Llevando El Diablo" doesn't totally succeed in spite/because of them. Rita is the center of attention with her heroic vocals (and a great little double time rap!), but the ravey sounds, post-punk drum machine, metallic chord changes, and double time guira add up to 185BPM of non-stop fun. One of the singles of the year, no doubt. Can't wait for a full album - or at least many more singles.

Podcast

something wicked this way comes - the herbaliser rmx by roots manuva (ninja tune)
footsteps - hidden orchestra (tru thoughts)
someday we'll all be free - miguel atwood ferguson feat bilal (mochilla)
sincope joaobim - tom ze (luaka bop)
lero lero - luisa maita (cumbancha)
latinizer - tremor (zzk)
baara - donso (comet)
chaskalanga - mohammed aidu & the bizung family (no label)
silbando - los riberenos (barbes)
siboney - los llamos (waxing deep)
i can't sing - bernard bonnier (oral)
formulas and functions - circle research (urbnet)
birds pt 1 - monster rally (no label)
get it - actress (honest jons)
no ta llevano o el diablo - rita indiana y su misterios (dutty artz)
amampondo with zulu fists - louis moholo viva la black (ogun)
electronic dimensions - madlib (stones throw)
kobana - alnubia band (piranha)
bumps - morphono halftone society (bastard jazz)
the return of dst - de la soul (sanctuary)
cuts it up - grandmixer dst (celluloid)
lock down - dubmatix & ammoye (7 arts)
zero dub - process rebel (no label)
two house department - leon & the revolutionaries (thrillseeker
leave the badness alone - singie singie (silver camel)
ticking time bomb - ljx (no label)
stumble - bonjay (no label)
moving on - luciano (vp)

Upcoming Interviews

image via timeoutsingapore.com

In honour of groovy tastemaker emeritus Gilles Peterson's upcoming Toronto appearance, I will be broadcasting part of a recent interview I did with a man who has influenced my DJing career greatly.

Not sure what part I'm going to air. It was a pretty great interview from top to bottom, but I'm not going to foist all 30 min of it on you. Not just yet, anyways - there may be a feature article coming out of this, so stay tuned for that. Tune in tomorrow (Thursday Aug 19) at 11PM.

Next week on the 26th, I'll be joined by Toronto reggae singer LJX, whose sophomore album "Brighter Days" comes out in early September. Check the release party at Lula Lounge on Sept. 10.

Finally, after a week off, on September 9, I welcome Rat Drifters Eric Chenaux and Ryan Driver to the program to talk about their respective new albums. They also collaborate on each others albums. It's confusing; we'll straighten it out.

Mas Tigre! Mas Accion!

Mas Tigre! is Sergio Elmir's latest epic throwdown. This one promises to be a showcase for Toronto's freaky-Latino scene.

Of course, you can't throw a party like that without Huelepega Sound System. Joining forces with us will be the dynamic Lido Pimienta, and the all-international Caballo. The not so mysterious Bakanchido DJs (aka Sergio & El Intern from Dos Mundos) will be supplying the sonic connective tissue for the affair.

It's just five bucks, so don't sleep. Denise Benson says it's a Best Bet.

Abstract Index Playlist - March 31/10

An early contender for album cover of the year.

I suspect Very Be Careful wouldn't stand for too much analysis of their music, though they boast a two page press release.

This is some heavy duty vallenato delivered with a slack, alcohol friendly lope. On the one hand,this is absolutely traditional music delivered as it was intended to be performed (albeit often with new lyrics). But it's all about the 'tude. It's as if the Pogues hailed from northern Mexico via L.A., but were able to remain a bit more upright after many consecutive nights of revelry. The accordion is so rheumatic it ought to be quarantined.

I can't decide whether the similarity in BPMs through most of the album is a blessing or a damper, but it makes for a steady rolling hip hop aesthetic that keeps heads nodding hypnotically. Nobody rushes tempos, but everyone sounds like they could instigate a bar brawl with a chord change. The term "punk vallenato" has been thrown around this band, but to me it sounds like a slower burn with equal parts festiveness and menace.

Escape Room comes out April 13.

Podcast

yekermo sew - mulatu astatke rmx by te'amir (mochilla)
taj mahal - gilberto gil & jorge ben (philips)
departure - kieran hebden & steve reid (domino)
dunya - bibi tanga & le professeur inlassable (nat geo)
throat IV - little women (aum fidelity)
the root - tommy meier (intakt)
el viajero del tiempo - very be careful (downtown pijao)
onu kwulunjo - chief stephen osita osadebe (phonogram)
umtshi tshimbo - dark city sisters (gallo)
wha la la lent - poirier feat. face t rmx by uproot andy (ninja tune)
song for the solstice - out to lunch (accurate)
auterzonik - calamalka (plug research)
bigfoot dub - echo (in tha chamber)
harmoniser dub - dennis bovell (pressure sounds)
black foundation - gussie clarke (motion)
natty bring the cochi - lion youth (virgo stomach)
wa do dub - citizen sound feat ammoye (vx)
coulda never - solo banton & jahtari rhythm force (jahtari)
down town - the dynamites (pressure sounds)

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 - February 3/10

Checking in on nueva cumbia these days yields fantastic, diverse results. In the whole spectrum of global urban/booty/whatever beats, cumbia always stands apart because there's no mistaking the classic guacharaca skank. The midtempo-ness to cumbia always appeals to me as well. This is not a music to spastically bounce to, you have to ease into it and grind just a little bit harder.

Though the digicumbia revolution wrought by Argentina's ZZK is still going strong, the continued hybridization of cumbia means that a steady stream of cumbia innovation continues to make its mark around the world. Sergio Elmir of Dos Mundos Radio and I are digging into the growth and spread of cumbia for a documentary to air on CBC Radio's Inside The Music some time this year. Check back to this blog for updates on our progress...

As always, there's a ton of music to be checked out at Generation Bass, and that's where I was introduced to Mexican Dubweiser. He's from Monterrey (the home of rebajada, aka the sound of Huelepega Sound System) and, based on the freely downloadable album/compilation at GB, Sonidos Hoy Y Siempre, he isn't content to plow the same furrow twice.

As the name would suggest, there are quite a few airy and psychedelic touches to his productions, it's not all about concisely slamming beats at all time. The Jorodowsky-graced track heard this week plays out over Policarpo Calle's rootsy, accordion-driven vallenato, a subtle breakbeat and shimmering delays. Tunes by other artists broaden out the sonic space - Texan El Cumbiampiro brings a slow, minimal synth driven collage to a surprisingly grungy guitar conclusion, and Dubweiser's "cumbiastep" mixes pretty much speak for themselves, but thankfully aren't over-wobbled. Not everything is gold here (Double-time Celso Pina? He slows down better than he speeds up...) but you can't argue with the price.

Podcast

the road to nowhere - john heartsman and circles (jazzman)
monday morning - spiteri (vampisoul)
zila - dudu pukwana (jika)
jamana de diya - bassekou kouyate (sub pop)
lay back (in the cut) - anthony shakir (rushhour)
vildgolia (deaf dumb and blind) - gil scott-heron and brian jackson (arista)
cucumelo - juan data & dub snakr rmx by fungus (no label)
cumbia del mexicano artista - mexican dubweiser vs policarpo calle feat alejandro jodorowsky (no label)
el abanica - wganda kenya (discos fuentes)
el diablo - dave da gato (tru thoughts)
mikono kweney hewa - muthoni (penya africa)
(s)cream - saidah baba talibah (sony)
lotus flower - souljazz orchestra (strut)
emmanuel god is with us - dennis brown (blood and fire)
right right time - johnny osborne/earth, roots & water (light in the attic)
luv n liv - subatomic sound system feat u roy (no label)
antigravity - shlomo (friends of friends)
acheron - fleck (no label)
rasta man chant (live) - bob marley & the wailers (island)

Tribute To Lhasa

Today in Eye Weekly I've written an appreciation of the singular talent that was Lhasa de Sela. She died far too young from breast cancer this past Friday.

I didn't play her music all that much on the Abstract Index, but I respected and admired the work she did. Judging from the interviews I did for the article, she never failed to leave a strong, positive impression on those she touched with her music or in her personal life.

You can read the article here.

Abstract Index Playlist - October 28/09

Over at Eye Weekly, I've written a feature about the totally original musical life force that is David Amram. He's still going strong more than five decades into a career which delves deeply into jazz, European classical, First Nations music, Cuban rhythms and all sorts of Asian influences. No doubt all of these musical interests will be on display during his guaranteed-to-be-anarchic performance at Toronto's Revival club this coming Tuesday (November 3).

I spent an hour on the phone with him. Asking him a question is like looking at a comet: he starts his answer from millions of miles beyond this planet, but as he zooms in, you can see it’s going to be brilliant. Then he loops back around for another tangential approach.

For someone on the cusp of eighty (the title of his next book is "David Amram: The First 80 Years"), he's super-sharp, perceptive and most of all incredibly enthusiastic about music. Reading the article, one might think that he is too much of an idealist to be believed, but damn, it comes from his unique life experience and we should all be so lucky at that age.

I got this album, a document of the US-Cuban rapprochement of 1977, a few years ago from my aunt. Killer Latin jazz of some complexity dominates the recording - just look at those players, they're up to the challenge. My fave track remains Broadway Reunion, which I played this week. It's a live recording of Amram's flutes alongside the legendary Los Papines drumming group captured live on Broadway (literally).

He's bound to bring that vibe to Revival; the one time I saw him live, he captivated with his mix of Rahsaan Roland Kirk-like free musical association and rambling storytelling style. Don't miss this gig.

bumble rumble - han bennink (atavistic)
new york - franck vigroux (d'autres cordes)
ochlophobie - galerie stratique (archipel)
people's republic - gold sparkle trio feat ken vandermark (squealer)
paper thin - viviane houle/coat cooke (drip audio)
slinger - muskox (standard form)
shromis simghera - darbazi (no label)
algodao - quarteto novo (odeon)
barely breaking even - universal robot band rmx by john morales (bbe)
broadway reunion - david amram (flying fish)
mario - franco & tpok jazz (rough guides)
elsa - sonido martines feat fefe (soot)
desacarga tiburona - los tiburones (tropical)
francophonie - canaille (standard form)
dock boggs - canaille (standard form)
sabotage - carlton patterson & king tubby (hot pot)

Abstract Index Playlist - October 21/09

This week I got a wonderful anthology of the music of groundbreaking mambologist Tito Rodriguez accompanied by a press release that said the Fania catalog has changed hands once again, this time to a company called Codigo (can't find a link, hmmm...). Fania titles had suffered from poor remasters and inconsistent distribution for years.

Three years ago, Emusica, an affiliate of the then mighty V2, acquired the rights to the catalog (which put the brakes on Spain's Vampisoul from distributing *its* Fania collections in the USA for the most part) and began an ambitious program of proper remasters, well informed compilations and issuing much unreleased material beyond the 4000 official albums in the catalog.

I'm speculating here, but since V2 underwent a restructuring in 2007 and merged with Fontana later that year, perhaps the Fania catalog somehow shook out of that deal. Here is a blogger with some other questions. In any case, this collection is up to the recent standards.

This is prime fifties and sixties dance fever stuff. You'll feel like you were at the Palladium. There is some fine Latin jazz Mark 1 when first rate bebop players were guest starring in orchestras like this one, and those of Machito and Tito Puente. Rodriguez' sound was a huge inspiration to the musicians who would become the Fania All Stars. They recorded an entire album in his honour following his untimely death in the early 70s. The All Stars version of his "Mama Guela" was a big hit (with jazz dancers in England, too) - it's represented here in a live version.

I'd never heard this week's cut "Esta Es Mi Orquestra" - it's a wonderful, imaginative audio treat from 1968. It's "A Young Person's Guide To The Latin Orchestra", in which Rodriguez salutes each member of his band and gives them solo breaks in which to strut their stuff. It's paced like a suite and dominated by Rodriguez' narration. He explains the purpose and personal context of each member of the orchestra - Cachao, of course, is a highlight. Rodriguez assumes on the role of master strategist, psychologist, coach, friend and above all musical director to these many men. For someone whose music preceded most of the 'progressive salsa' of the early seventies, this is as experimental a track as I've ever heard from him.

Take good care of the catalog, Codigo!

Podcast

esta es mi orquestra - tito rodriguez (fania)
de la timba a pogliotti - pupy y los que son son (egrem)
margarita - toto la momposina (astar)
music - titi (unknown)
conjoined - demdike stare (modernlove)
combat rhythm - two fingers (ninja tune)
di trees - aidonia & tarrus riley (no label)
love and special dub - autonon (fresh poulp)
sound killer - liquid stranger (interchill)
wild (remix) - meat beat manifesto (thirsty ear)
deft - phantom orchard (mego)
ducheng - david sait/ladonna smith (no label)
new day - leroy gibbon (dakarai)
pollution - john clarke (wackies)
time tuff - i roy (unknown)
get our own piece - gisto (wassabi)
black madonna dub - dubmatix (interchill)
mr. money man - pulshar (phonobox)
make it with you - pat satchmo (high school)

Abstract Index Playlist - July 8/09

Waxing Deep main man Dan Zacks turned many heads with his "Si Para Usted" compilation a couple of years ago. Most of the appeal came from the sheer funk factor of these tracks: it's vintage music, but not Buena Vista Social Club vintage. More eyebrow raising was the fact that Zacks' radio show (which led to his label) hailed from Fredericton New Brunswick.

I'm not a big fan of the "how could X music have possibly come from unlikely Y location?" trope. If anything, in this case, a dancefloor oriented collection of Cuban sounds is a perfect fit for a Canadian entrepreneur as I opined in my Exclaim review. For one thing, I can't see too many American DJs being able to get around their country's restrictive laws about USA/Cuban initiatives to put something like this together. I've always thought that a Canadian (or a Brit) would be the ideal compiler for such a project. Though the licensing didn't come easy according to Dan, that's what happened.

This second volume is even better than the first. It remains full of obscurities and relatively well known names (like Juan Pablo Torres and, for us Canadians, Hilario Duran) but the overall pacing and quality of the individual tracks makes for an even more involved listen than the first time around. Here's hoping that Zacks lends his discerning ear to compilations in the future, or at the very least, puts together some killer blog playlists.

Podcast

el sueno y andria - mirtha & raul (waxing deep)
idhagbe - fred fisher (vampisoul)
wanto doke - cheik hamala diabate (grigri)
jinju dervish - john kameel farah (drosstik)
cottonmouth lothario - deru (mush)
zom zom - elias da kimuezo rmx by mauricio pacheco & dj cris (out here)
misterio stereo - curumin (quannum)
linda moreno - quantic y su combo barbaro (tru thoughts)
miarches - forest swords (leftist nautical)
rough out there - noiseshaper (tokyo tower mix) (select cuts)
check dis - daddy rings (african glory)
dem mad - busy signal (life time)
marijuana marijuana - jah thomas (roots)
traveling dub - debra keese & the black five (trojan)

Abstract Index Playlist - May 20/09

Do I really need to sell you on this beyond the cover art?

OK, well how about a shitkickin' accordion take on Willie Colon's "La Murga"?

How about the finger shredding guitar funk of the Duncan Brothers "Dreams"?

How about the reggae/calypso naughtiness of Sir Jablonsky (couldn't make up that name if I tried) "Juck Juck"?

How about yet another burning rendition of Bill Withers' evergreen "Ain't No Sunshine?

How about everything that Panama Uno did well, Panama Dos does better?

And how about I get the hell away from my computer and enjoy a warmer than usual spring day with this comp loaded up on the ol' iPod, cruising down the bike trails on Toronto's waterfront.

It's like that, and that's the way it is.

Podcast

samarpan - debasish bhattacharya (riverboat)
petit coup - hanuman sextet (resonant)
lucky charms 2 - geoff youngers sandbox (now orchestra)
agricola & sarah - gypsophilia (no label)
gypsy queen - gabor szabo (impulse)
diaraby magni - vieux farka toure (six degrees)
another man's thing - joe king & kologbo (soundway)
na mi do gbe hue nu - honore avolon (analog africa)
descaraga superior - los supperiores (soundway)
la feria - tierra (follow me)
do something - batman samini feat amingo (out here)
spanish fly - zulu & david last (staubgold)
i will make a trap - omar souleyman (sublime frequencies)
mashallah - zeb (wonderwheel)
tumbala - nova lima rmx by chris franck (cumbancha)
smoke gets in - budos band (daptone)
cool steppin - riddim conference (fresh poulp)
stop it right now - sizzla (greensleeves)
african symbol - willi williams (drum street)
life is not easy - meditations (makasound)
one draw - love joys (wackies)
far over yonder - tommy mccook (blood and fire)

Abstract Index Playlist - April 29/09

While this blog has focused almost exclusively on writeups of full length CDs, music distribution is more complicated these days (duh...). Even the way I format my playlist (song, artist, label) is becoming problematic, what with the decline of the "label" as a necessarily informative tag.

One recently launched blog that supplied two tracks for this show (Doc Shebeleza, Costuleta) is Generation Bass, which is the work of Vincent Koreman. It's a popular site, "generating" (pun intended) some 50,000 hits in 2 months since its launch.

GB specializes in "non Western (dance) music and influences thereof" - that's an interesting way to put it. I've grown increasingly dissatisfied with the term "Western" (though I use it sometimes) to describe North America & Europe. Given that the music hosted on the site blurs the line between Euro/North American and, say, African or South American producers, it's hard to make that kind of distinction anymore. I've often made the point before that "Western" countries aren't as Western as they used to be, thanks to immigration patterns and international travel and communications.

Case in point: Huelepega Sound System, who GB were gracious enough to post about a few days ago. I mean, who are we anyways? You've got a Jew, a Colombian/Ecuadorian dude who was born and raised in arid Mississauga, and a pair of brothers from El Salvador living in the 519/905 GTA hinterland. Of course, we're proudly Canadian but we remix and overdub stuff from South & Central America via Europe via the USA. In our case, I'd say we're more Western than non-Western, but it's pretty loose (just like our sound...). I imagine it doesn't get any easier to figure out with many of the artists repped by the site.

Moreover (to rehash some of my State Of The World article from a couple of months ago) "non-Western" artists represented on GB are likely using similar software and pursuing local and international audiences simultaneously via indie methods. And lets face it, the blessing and the curse of this kind of DIY global dance music is its sonic, if not rhythmic, similarity. On the one hand, it's relatively easy to mix this stuff together into a banging DJ set without resorting to wild EQ fluctuations and compensating for beats that might not sit where you'd like them to. On the other hand, that same sonic similarity (limited dynamic range in the music, poor MP3 compression, of-the-moment soft synth and drum sounds) is taxing on the ears after a while IMO.

But this is barely a criticism at all, I'm just stirring the pot a little bit. I love the enthusiasm of this site, they never lean on the hipness of the music too much; they are genuinely interested in finding out more about musical ideas from around the globe and sharing them. Even if they aren't stone cold experts on a given track/genre, they won't posture like they do - that's an honest way to go about it, and one I can relate to. But there's loads of knowledge to be gleaned from this site - posts and comments alike - for young and old disciples of the sensibility once known as world music. Only this time, thanks to the interactivity of the internet, more people get to enjoy and participate in this world of music.

Podcast

angels and demons at play - respect sextet (avant)
banners on high - nomo (ubiquity)
la sidounak sayyada - omar souleyman (sublime frequencies)
take the bus - afrobutt (electric minds)
show you my love - goldie alexander (unidisc)
directions in rhythm - rise ashen (no label)
sun people - deadbeat (wagon repair)
akogo - mr. tunes (no label)
ufana ukheza - doc shebeleza (ccp)
den of drumz - kode9 vs badawi (roir)
one bible - asher senator (soul jazz)
wegue wegue - buraka som sistema (enchufada)
so ca to - costuleta (no label)
i don't know why - ziggi (vp)
iron curtain man - odel (ohm grown)
try hard - courtney stone (no label)
bad boy - 994 crew (out here)
black eye boy - renegade soundwave (mute)
message of hope - abassi all stars (universal egg)
bashment dub - mossman vs. mr. tsunami (dispensation)

Basking In The Shade Of Ghetto Palms

Ernesto Ventura, our conguero - taken from my vantage point at the Huelepega Sound System CD release

The Fader magazine's Ghetto Palms thinks we're freaky. Nice to have that validation.

This Huelepega Sound System thrill ride gets curiouser and curiouser....

That Must Be The Good Shit, Man...

Thanks to Sergio Elmir for hosting the show this week.

Since it's been two weeks without a podcast, I thought I'd dig into the archives and podcast a good'un from 1992.

This broadcast was recorded on May 24 of that year, at about 12:15-1:30 AM. A whole crew of us was filling in an overnight show, and as was the style at the time, we brought some effects to get freaky with the mixing. CIUT still had a reel to reel deck in the on-air booth which generated tape echo, and we borrowed a digital delay pedal (from a beloved veteran of Toronto's experimental music community, William A. Davison) to make more noise.

This first hour or so featured us just getting the sound together and setting the tone. The mix itself is about 90% the work of Paul E. Lopes . If you're used to Paul E.'s smoothly mixed boogie sets, this will be quite a surprise. He's a very diverse guy, but we were all seriously tripping (not literally) on how to mix with two turntables which lacked pitch control, so the selection and transitions are quite imaginative and hilarious. He brought the spoken passages, and we each had a copy of Ray Barretto's "Acid" which he cut up in surreal fashion despite the technical limitations.

Certainly, this is one of those mixes which epitomizes the golden age of CIUT - funky and fearless. This was recorded on my trusty JVC PC 5 - the radio tuner gradually drifts throughout the hour, so the sound gets scratchier, not that that's a bad thing.

Enjoy!

Here It Comes...

A Myspace Of One's Own

Here is the cover image of the forthcoming release by Huelepega Sound System entitled "En Los Ojos De Dios Todos Somos Ilegales". His eyes follow you around the room... It's coming out on Inyrdisk, esteemed purveyors of noisy sounds from the T Dot.

We've jumped on the Murdoch train and set up a Myspace page, where we'll be loading up bits and pieces of new stuff on the regular. Look out for more live appearances in months to come!

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.