Abstract Index Playlist - December 2/10

I'd like to see mbalax get its due by the deejay-reissue industrial complex.

Since the Buena Vista narrative has recently been retold with the release of the Afrocubism project, it's an opportune time to point out the Senegalese similarities. Barthelemy Atisso is guitarist for Afrocubism and more importantly Orchestra Baobab. Baobab's Cuban style was submerged/swept away by the Senegalese new wave of mbalax, at whose forefront was Youssou N'Dour and his Etoile De Dakar. Over the past decade and a half, it was quite the turn of events to see Baobab and Buena Vista experience great success with outdated (though lovely) styles instead of the more contemporary, urban, complex forms of timba in Cuba and mbalax and its descendents in Senegal.

Mbalax at this point is both popular and historical music. Even with the growth of rap in Senegal, there are many stars in this style. Contemporary mbalax retains the shape shifting sabar drumming rhythms of the music, smoothing the impact only with stock synth pads.

Super Diamono's glory years came before digital synths swept Africa (and African productions in Paris and London), but electronics were common tools nonetheless . It sounds like a Prophet 5 winding its way through "Diallo Dieri" this week which ties the whirlwind drumming, electric piano and incantatory singing together. It's undeniably funky, but you have to work a little bit to catch the groove. It's a song for dancing, not bouncing. If James Brown had just kept going further out after "I Got The Feeling" he might have hit these Senegalese shores.

Despite Youssou N'Dour's global stature, it's unlikely mbalax will cross over further. It's just not easy to mix this groove into today's more rigidly metered dancefloor requirements. If dance music is just starting to come to grips with the syncopations of soca, cumbia and kuduro, mbalax represents a whole new level of rhythmic information to process. Nonetheless, as speed metal proves, it's possible for complex, less accessible music to find a global audience. Super Diamono's sound can be seen/marketed as an extension of the psychedelic Africa reissue movement, or RIYL tradi-moderne Congotronics. Well known labels like Sterns have kept this music in circulation but even the recent Etoile De Dakar re-evaluation never really made it out of the world music 1.0 media.

Then again, I live in Ontario, not Quebec, where Senegalese music enjoys a much higher profile and maybe has the same kind of DJ ubiquity as Nigerian and Congolese music have in Toronto. Maybe our friends at Masalacism Records are busy grooming Montreal nu-mbalax artists and waiting for just the right moment to strike!

Podcast


people suite - sweet maya (riverman)
crystals - ron forella (luv n haight)
mr. clean - richard groove holmes (blue note)
whitehouse - aeroplane trio (drip audio)
fuma - dimba diangula (analog africa)
diallo dieri - super diamono (dakar audio diffusion)
cumbia invasiva - monareta rmx by huracan (nacional)
coupe cumbia - banana clips (bersa discos)
seven chirp - kingdom (night slugs)
bobo (dub) - hunee (rush hour)
beautiful dreamer - justine & the victorian punks (dfa)
jurame - helado negro (no label)
pegwee power - maylee todd (do right)
rain horses - szilard mezsei ensemble (red toucan)
fax shadow - toro y moi rmx by shlomo (no label)
brown eyed girl - shigeto (brainfeeder)
saativaa - kenlo craqnuques (no label)
mainne kaun koi kya jane - anuradha paudwal (nascente)
brimstone & fire version - atarra (pressure sounds)
you don't have to know me - milton henry (wackies)

Abstract Index Playlist - April 28/10

A.B. Crentsil is one of the first names I encountered when shopping for African music a long time ago. This is likely because he and other Ghanaian stars like Pat Thomas and Jewel Ackah were based in Toronto for a while, which represented the first wave of African music in Canada. One of his LPs, Sweet Elizabeth, was released through World Art And Decor on Queen St. This was once just about the only place to find African music (downtown) outside of a big chain store, like Sam's or A & A. I think I scooped my copy of Sweet Elizabeth at the Canadian National Exhibition "multicultural marketplace" when the store was trying to unload all its vinyl! After checking into Crentsil, I discovered he was the lead singer of the Sweet Talks, one of Ghana's most popular highlife bands of the 70s. That's part of the reason I'm chuffed about this reissue.

Soundway of course has done a great job of exposing obscure music from Nigeria, Panama, the French Caribbean and so forth, but it's nice to see them reissue music by better known artists like the Sweet Talks and Hedzoleh Soundz (later of Hugh Masekela fame). For funk-and-beyond collectors, obscurity is a virtue. In one sense, the Sweet Talks are obscure, with only one prior international release to their name, but they were one of the biggest bands in Ghana during the seventies. It's welcome news to hear the kind of music which was critically and commercially successful during that era. Soundway paints a clearer picture of West African sounds with releases like these, and I don't even have the liner notes which are no doubt up to the usual informative standard.

The Kusum Beat, from 1974, finds the Sweet Talks in a distinctly Afrobeatish mood with its heavy funk riffs and driving rather beat. According to the Soundway site this was far from typical of their output, and from what I've heard this is indeed much heavier music than I thought it would be. Here's hoping this reissue raises their profile.

Podcast

escape the night - root 70 (nonplace)
the opposite - steve raegele (songlines)
the thing - the minotaurs (saved by vinyl)
akampanye - sweet talks (soundway)
wartef jigen - orchestre guelem de banjul (syllart)
zol - blk jks (secretly canadian)
tuareg goosi jam in tent - tuareg nomads & kiah keya/nomadic remix (kiahkeya productions)
fishsticks - samiyam (all city)
skip - out to lunch (accurate)
me gusto - mexicans with guns feat. chico mann (friends of friends)
can't feel nothing remix - high places (thrill jockey)
thunder soul - kashmere stage band (now again)
victory - the soul messengers (numero)
come with me - jahdan blakkamoore rmx by sabbo (gold dust)
blackmagic - jose james (brownswood)
heavenly hash - ufallani (no label)
no entry - gussie clarke (17 north parade)
brimstone and fire version - atarra (pressure sounds)
mr. universe dub version - mos def (no label)
fight you down - jah cutta (stomp)
love song - skeat (akwaaba)

Abstract Index Playlist - March 24/10

Full marks to Jonny Dovercourt for pegging my taste so perfectly. Tzadik released the magnificent Afrikan Machinery in 1998, and I slept on it.

In truth, I haven't listened to this whole album yet. But I'm smitten: in a few hours I'm off to the Music Gallery to see Lukas Ligeti live.

This music is a beautiful marriage of marimba and electronics. Ligeti (son of Gyorgy) plays an instrument called the marimba lumina. It was invented by Don Buchla, whose interfaces for electronic instruments (i.e. something other than a piano keyboard) have always been creative and versatile. Once this interface is married to Ligeti's compositional digestion a wide range of African and European rhythmic strategies, the sky is the limit. These songs seem to continuously unspool new melodies and variations: "polyrhythmic" seems too tame a description. But it's no mere math exercise, Ligeti has a ear for good hooks too, as in the pervasive whistling that enlivens "Great Circle's Tune I". No doubt this will yield new delights live.

Podcast

balafon dance system - lukas ligeti (tzadik)
velvet paws - move d & benajamin brunn (smallville)
see mi yah - willi williams/rhythm & sound (basic channel)
charlie - cafe neon (station 55)
alon basela - avishai choen (emi)
helelyos - zia (finders keepers)
africa - amanaz (qdk media)
rejoice pt. 2 - souljazz orchestra (strut)
anything worse - gaslamp killer (brainfeeder)
goodmorning sun - qua, rmx by aoi (mush)
tanga pa katanga - joe cain (time)
shanty song - bruce peninsula (bruce trail)
the beginning of the end - chris corsano/mick flower (vhf)
a story told - professor fingers (5 1/4)
dark and lovely - sub oslo (sueno)
musically dub - irie invaders feat adubta (step 4i)
riddim culture - citizen sound feat. richard underhill (vx)
shreveport shuffle - john frum (jahtari)
squadron face - fredo (tru thoughts)
yard music - joe gibbs & the professionals (lighnting)
wall street - jackie mittoo (soul jazz)

Bassekou Kouyate Interview

photo: Thomas Dorn

In this month's issue of Exclaim I wrote about ngoni master Bassekou Kouyate. His recent album I Speak Fula is a joy to behold, and he's about to undertake a major tour through North America (with only one Canadian date scheduled so far, I believe).

Thanks to his manager, Violet Diallo, I was able to send some questions to him in French, and she transcribed his answers. A few quotes appear in the story, but here's the whole interview. It wasn't intended as a conversation, rather I wanted to ask him questions about the state of Malian music, its infrastructure, and how he fits into it - not to mention his views on the international perception of his music.

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Were you mindful that this disc would be the most important in your career thus far? Did you feel pressure? Was the recording process the same as always or was it more complicated?

Yes I was aware. Our first album (Segu Blue, Out Here Records 2007) laid the groundwork for raising awareness of the sound of the ngoni in Africa and elsewhere, which was little heard before then. After that, and a tour that started in Portugal in 2006, people caught on to the ngoni and now with this second album, it’s up to us to showcase how the ngoni can link traditional music to modern sounds, and be danceable ! I Speak Fula was therefore a big challenge. I definitely felt it. But we are all professionals who have been playing this music since childhood: the challenge was also a pleasure.

The recording process was normal with producers and guests who knew the music like we did: people like Toumani Diabate, Zou Tereta, Kasse Mady Diabate and Vieux Farka Toure. It was the same studio where (the previous album was made) – Studio Bogolan in Bamako - with the same producers and engineers. I don’t think it was any more expensive than last time. All the same, there was a tense period around the end of the recording process and the mixing sessions in England, and the release date in September 2009. We held our breath, but mercifully, critics were even more enthusiastic than they were for Segu Blue. We thank the public who took the time to get used to our music.

Do you think more people are aware of Malian music these days?

I think so, there’s such a huge richness of Malian music. Before Ngoni Ba, the ngoni music of the Bamana people was little known. There are still musical discoveries to be made about this country!

In Bamako, there’s a good deal of hip hop and rap – do you listen? Is it much of an influence on the city (and the country’s) music? What about your own music?

Yes, like everywhere, it’s the music of youth, and more than 50% of the population is younger than 24. Sure, I listen to it sometimes, just as the youth listen to Ngoni Ba. It’s clear that this music is everywhere in the city and inspires youth, and even very good musicians, to play. But to say that it influences the country’s music, I don’t think so, because we know and love our own styles too much.

During the 80s, Malian musicians traveled to Ivory Coast or Paris to record or tour – is it still like that?

Some still go to Ivory Coast, Paris or London, but we have many good studios in Bamako – Bogolan, Sedona, etc. What’s changed now is that with the internet, we can change the results of recordings once there are parts that are too tricky to finish. We can work in synergy with specialized studios in Europe and North America.

Do Europeans and Africans react differently to your music?

Yes! Africans throughout the west and centre (of Africa) know different styles of music. Once one plays "Jonkoloni" or "Jaro", for example, the Malians understand it all, and are connoisseurs of our way of treating these songs. On the other hand, Europeans or North Americans generally don’t know our music, and it takes a little time to react to the same songs. We had the chance to play Zanzibar and that was interesting because East African folks had a hard time figuring out Ngoni Ba because it was African, but not their tradition. But everybody loves music.

You seem to want to make an impression on rock audiences. Is that why you added the wah pedal to your setup?

I noticed during Ngoni Ba’s first tour that kids enjoy dancing, what better to dance to than rock and roll? I added the wah wah pedals to get into that ambience! But not on every song, and we are always holding on to traditional music, even if it’s got modern lyrics.

You are part of a griot family, how do you balance playing traditional songs and styles with innovation? It seems to me that most of the reaction has been positive, have you ever faced criticism?

My father was an innovator; he introduced a four-stringed ngoni and more, but remained a leading figure of Bamana traditional music. I’ve also experimented with innovations, such as picking the ngoni up instead of resting it on the ground, but I’ve stayed anchored in Malian music. It’s therefore a family affair and poses no problems for me.

In fact, I’ve never heard any criticism or a less than positive reaction about these innovations! The old griots, the guardians of our ngoni instrumental tradition, congratulated me for drawing attention to this music which was slowly dying. It would be interesting to talk about this with critics – I’d very much like to meet some!

In North America, we tend to hear a lot about musicians who are griots. Are there famous Malian musicians who aren’t griots? Is it more difficult for them to find success?

Yes there are certainly some major Malian musicians who aren’t griots: Fula singer Saly Sidibe, and big stars like Salif Keita and Oumou Sangare. At first they faced difficulties because for the Malian public, anybody who sings in public is marked as a griot, and it wasn’t cool when the family name showed that they weren’t. The solution was to adopt the term artist which legitimized a singer’s career

But it’s still not acceptable for non-griots to sing the sacred music of these families in public gatherings or in (non-griot) family ceremonies. That is the exclusive province of griots!

How did Toumani Diabate help shape your attitudes towards your music, and how has he helped Malian music in general?

Toumani is an instrumentalist par excellence. He has changed public attitudes by placing emphasis on instrumental prowess. I’m have benefitted from his success. He also created a habit of visiting modest spaces which are part nightclub and part cultural space, where the Malian public and visitors to Bamako can listen to very good music and provides an environment for very good musicians to play in front of an informed audience. In a basic, kind of rustic looking space, with Toumani as the MC, the public danced and fraternized with artists. This space was the Hogon: it was open air and ran every weekend, it was one of the best memories of the 90s and a gift that Toumani offered to a generation of musicians, in that he popularized them and they were appreciated on a social and artistic level.

Are you excited about your upcoming US tour? Not many African musicians have toured this extensively in the US.

I know it's a great opportunity. It will be a pleasure to meet audiences well known for their generosity and their taste for African music.

Abstract Index Playlist - December 30/09

My favourite album of last year, and possibly my most frequently played disc, was On Ka'a Davis' "Seeds Of Djuke".

I'll point you to the interview/review I did for Exclaim back in May to run down what I enjoyed most about the album - basically, this was one of the greatest ever fulfillments of the promise of Ornette Coleman's harmolodic concept.

After compiling a million and one best of lists to close out last year, I'm pleased to discover that this album, though far out, isn't in a universe of its own. The end of the first decade of the new millenium produced a bumper crop of profoundly experimental music from Black America.

Years ago, fearless trombonist Tom Walsh told me "Hip-hop music and samplers came along and most of that music has more than one tonal area at the same time. If you analyse it, it's basically harmolodic — it's new ways of finding harmony." Some of my favourite albums from 2009 bore this out: Shafiq Husayn, Ras G, Georgia Anne Muldrow and others all went into deep space to find their funk with varying degrees of coherence. I've always loved funk that pushes and pulls at regular rhythms but I think we are at a new peak (or a serious upswing) in witnessing some tremendously creative artists from different musical backgrounds who trade in the reconfiguration of rhythm, harmony, melody and electronics.

Now I've got to get a hold of On Ka'a Davis' other disc from last year: "Djoukoujou", on John Zorn's always excellent Tzadik label.

Podcast

uheskoos - collage (wool)
kad ley wey - tato feat nahid akhtar (finders keepers)
mon du don - johnny guitar (sublime frequencies)
ha fang khang kan - teun jai boon prakasa (sublime frequencies)
jet beguine - les loups noirs de haiti (soundway)
la escoba - alfredo y su salsa montanero (soundway)
ahouli vop yelli - orchestre poly rytmo de contonou (analog africa)
pagadeja - tamale (soundway)
fancy dancer - wicked witch (em)
elsa - sonido martines feat fefe (no label)
the birds - telefon tel aviv (bpitch control)
bitrate sensors - filastine (jarring effects)
combat rhythm - two fingers (paper bag)
tarantula - zomby (hyperdub)
one - moritz von oswald trio (honest jons)
bebey - gang gang dance rmx by matt shadetek (gold dust/k7)
helicopter (radio mix) - edalam feat dj lauralee (no label)
na na not me - on ka'a davis (livewired)
you liked me five minutes ago - fire (rune gramofon)
potential things - canaille (standard form)
he looks just like her – st. dirt elementary school (barnyard)
the gaze - bell orchestre (arts & crafts)
pajdusko - storsveit nix noltes (fat cat)
can't stop now - major lazer feat. mr. vegas (downtown)
gimme gimme - bonjay (no label)
sala malpapitando - caballo & the mothafu kings (no lable)
tired of the war - vibronics & macka b (interchill)
rope on in - cornell campbell (joe gibbs/vp)
get on up - babylon system (no label)
red moon - the dynamites/king tubby (pressure sounds)
do good - delroy wilson (pressure sounds)
10 ft. ganja plant & weed - 10 ft. ganja plant (ROIR)

Abstract Index Playlist - December 9/09

I suppose I could have been more ruthless in my search, but here's an album I had coveted for more than 10 years before finally purchasing it last week.

It's kind of remarkable that Fuji music isn't more popular in Toronto given the city's populous and relatively well established Nigerian community (though heavyweight artists Sir Shina Peters & Adewale Ayuba, aka the artist at the heart of this week's disc, have both come to town in the last few years). Moreover, the music hasn't impacted the global dancefloor DJ set as profoundly as one would think, considering it moves along at a quick-stepping 150 BPM.

I suppose it's just too damned funky to be easily transitioned from dance beats of similarly high tempos. Fuji is the exciting sequel to highlife/juju music. But whereas King Sunny Ade and Chief Commander Ebenezer Obey's styles can be described as gently spacey, most fuji I've heard is way, way faster and intended for serious rump shaking.

However, there's an obstacle - lack of backbeat. Though there may be as many as four talking drums chattering away at the same time, and a kit player who would make Bernard Purdie blush, there isn't a consistent thump in the music. Nothing to tell the average North American dancer "shake your ass.... HERE andtwoandthreeandfour". The drum kit dances on top of the aggregate rhythm established by the talking drums, like a set of timbales. Like my other obsession this year, (urban) mambo , there's no emphasis on a repetitive, grounding bassline upon which to latch either.

That's why this disc always intrigued me. It reduces the music to nothing but percussion, vocals and dub effects. I found a quote on NatGeo's site from Iain Scott, the founder of Triple Earth records "The idea behind this was that I was fed up with all the various dance albums which used African or Arabic samples as a bit of exotic fluff on the top of a purely conventional (and boring) four-on-the-floor dance beat. Why not do it the other way round? Use African music as the meat beat and studio dub techniques as the exotic bit." No wonder this has such great appeal for me - it's a kindred spirit to Huelepega Sound System.

Anyways, this disc is more than ten years old and still sounds absolutely fresh. Even the Laswellian track (19 minutes!) with which I started this week's show has a great compositional arc. Fuji Dub is more available now that ever before. It's well worth buying, cause it's only 5 tracks long. Those sites which calculate an album's price as the aggregate of the number of tracks make this a bargain.

Podcast

fuji chaman - adewale ayuba & fuji dub (triple earth)
musow - bassekou kouyate & ngoni ba (sub pop)
roller skates - samiyam (hyperdub)
doobie down - georgia anne muldrow (ubiquity)
misdemeanor - the cbs (jam city)
hot thursday - bei bei & shawn lee (ubiquity)
rework - a made up sound (clone)
747 dub - yoshinori sunarha (ki/oon)
los ninos de fuera - luciano (cadenza)
please let us know if we may be of further assistance - parkdale revolutionary orchestra (no label)
waris dirie - nicole mitchell black earth strings (delmark)
35 cents - kris davis (new sound fresh talent)
spying glass - horace andy (wackies)
jah no dead - burning spear (pressure sounds)
love and iverstanding - sabbatical ahdah (i grade)
do you see what i see? - friendlyness and human rights (no label)
positive roots rock - mnolo (collage)
come to me - black seeds (easy star)
nuff bread on your table - heptones (lagoon)

Abstract Index Playlist - November 18/09

One of the world's great guitar bands is back with album number 2 (for Western markets).

Sublime Frequencies has compiled another collection of Group Doueh's recordings, and it's another crunching set of noise-funk/rock. As with the first Doueh album, it's pretty difficult to mix this with other funk because of the midrange-and-up focus of the grooves, not to mention the ebb and flow of tempo. Most funk enthusiasts just don't care for this much REAL funk with their funk; there is no smoothness here - just raw, tense rhythm.

All this makes the sound more distinctive and rewarding for those who can devote forty something minutes to opening up to the vista of harsh sounds on display here. The sidelong "Tazit Kalifa" explodes the style into a 20 minute psyched-out ramble.

I was very fortunate to have secured an email interview with them courtesy of Hisham Mayet at SF. It has just been published as a Conversation at Exclaim.ca.

Podcast

nasil? na zaman? - hardal (shadoks)
times reprise - giant panda dub squad (no label)
crank two - johnny trunk (trunk)
all dead - shafiq husayn (spectre)
i can't sit and wait - 100 proof aged in soul (invictus)
is it love or desire - betty davis (light in the attic)
bang tik-a tik-a - etaoin shrdlu (standard form)
ragsa jaguar - group doueh (sublime frequencies)
atiadele - mangwana all stars (otrabanda)
victory - soul messengers (numero)
gimmee gimmee - bonjay rmx. by grahm zilla (no label)
untitled 3 - cracker and shoe (no label)
untitled 3 - ghostlight (inyrdisk)
tune for wind dog - lucky dragons (marriage)
pure love in your heart - andru branch and halfway tree (no label)
low dem - willi williams (drum street)
spliff long - baijie (truckback)
no cigarettes - mr. williamz (greensleeves)
strength in numbers - matt shadetek (gold dust)
dub missle - liquid stranger (interchill)
cara de no yo fui - ocote soul sounds rmx by ancient astronauts (esl)
move on up - greyhound (compost)

Samini At CIUT

A couple of posts ago, I included a picture of Ghanaian hiplife/reggae/soca singer (Batman) Samini and myself at Afrofest. We met and did a spontaneous interview. At the time, his manager Jake told me about a show that took place this past Saturday. I invited everyone down to CIUT last Wednesday to talk about the event.

A film crew from Soul360 TV came along and combined the footage with a rehearsal Samini had done earlier in the day. Here's the result - with cameos from DJ Chocolate and Patrick Roots:

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)

Abstract Index Playlist - April 1/09

Ususally fundraising shows aren't the best time to focus on music, hence the lack of podcast this week. A major thank you to everyone who pledged - you can still do so at CIUT's website .

One welcome addition to the stack o' discs has been the unexpected new disc by NOMO, Michigan's Afro-avant groovologists. Coming at us less than a year after Ghost Rock, my first few spins have me preferring this to the previous album, which was quite strong in its own right. Both albums were recorded during the same sessions, so there shouldn't be a huge degree of difference, but I find that everybody seems to be more comfortable with the change in direction undertaken on their last album. Their Krautrock structures are even more driving and the percussion is nearly impenetrable but exquisitely tuned, which makes for some lovely raw material to be dubbed out by producer Warren DeFever.

I'm hoping to write further about the disc; I'm sure there will be much more to add as I listen more closely to another complex and funky record by one of the most played artists in the history of the Abstract Index.

invisible cities - nomo (ubiquity)
pulo pulo - jorge ben (bbe)
break out - arnie love and the lovettes (numero)
i like the way - roy ayers (bbe)
food stamps - leaf (bbe)
x rated - wicked witch (em)
mess call - pigeon funk (risque disques)
nanfulen - abdoulaye diabate & super manden (smithsonian folkways)
bizarre love triangle - occidental brothers dance band international (no label)
mujer hillandera - juaneco y su combo (barbes)
yerro mama - justin adams & juldeh camara (world village)
tour to africa - tariq abubakar & the afro nubians (rough guides)
elenska rachenista - storsveit nix noites (fat cat)
driving me backwards - parkdale revolutionary orchestra (no label)
on the road to algeria - radio i ching (resonant)
one - david mott quintet (music as energy)
church mouse - chris mcgregor trio (fledg'ling)
planetary groove - free pop electronic experience (vampisoul)
dub is my desire - fe me time allstars (pressure sounds)
let's try - heptones (heartbeat)
one more draw - friendliness & human rights (no label)
peace and love - dubmatix feat. linval thompson (7 arts)
tornado - dubmatix feat. ranking joe (7 arts)

Abstract Index Playlist - March 11/09

I unfortunately didn't get to speak with Sublime Frequencies' Alan Bishop when conducting interviews for my recent "state of the world" article. The quotes in the article came from a detailed email interview which was quite interesting. He is rightfully cynical about the methods and motives of many players in the 'world music industry' while maintaining his admiration for the pioneers of the category: labels such as Folkways, Nonesuch Explorer, and Chant Du Monde.

While it is impossible to act completely transparently as an agent bringing musical obscurities to North American audiences, Sublime Frequencies does not over- mythologize its artists by lingering on exotic backstories that make for great editorial copy. One of Bishop's quotes in the interview cuts to the quick of the dilemma of the 'world music journalist' - it's impossible for any one person to have a strong critical knowledge of every single one of hundreds of genres which might end up on one's desk, so the backstory and the circumstances surrounding a recording tend to be written about disproportionately. Bishop said "most journalists are hardly qualified to discuss the music (we put out) simply because they’ve never spent any time listening to/researching it before. They tend to focus on the label itself; its methods, aesthetic, marketing, business practices, etc—or the personalities of those behind the label. This is due to the fact they are not remotely qualified to discuss the music itself seriously. Rarely are we impressed by a journalist’s knowledge of music."

Any music journalist will encounter music they can't get a handle on and one of two things will happen: they'll embrace the challenge and try to find out more about it to convey a more considered opinion, or they'll reject it because they can't understand it and won't try, usually for fear of looking stupid. I'll always take the former path, even if I run the risk of getting it wrong. I'm also guilty as Bishop charged - I haven't said jack about this music yet, I've only written about issues surrounding its distribution. In my experience, music nerds crave this kind of analysis, though it's easy to tip the balance too far in this direction.

As for the disc in question, Group Bombino, from Agadez in Niger, is even more live and lowdown than boogie shuffle of Tinariwen, and the presence of a drum kit reminds me of some of the more successful blues-rock-funk crossover sides of John Lee Hooker or Bo Diddley. Unlike Tinariwen, the recordings are super-saturated with noise which creates sympathetic (or wildly aggressive!) droning throughout the music, occasionally compressing other instruments lower in the mix. At times, as on this week's track, the guitars get into a nearly heavy metal thunder, which makes me wonder whether any Black Sabbath cassettes made it out to the Sahara.

SF wisely pressed this title on LP - Side B is electric, side A is acoustic but no less intense. I'm no vinyl acolyte, but this music sounds so sweet coming off wax... This label continues to do great work not just in celebrating underexplored sounds of the world, but in striking a balance between information and mystery.

Podcast

blues for c - aki takase/konrad bauer (victo)
perdido - the clarinet summit (black saint)
counter vibes - the uncommitted (no label)
they - ddmmyyyy (we are busy bodies)
jardim dos deuses - joyce, mauricio maestro, nana vasconcelos (far out)
bulgun - ervena orgaeva (smithsonian folkways)
cafe svetlana - ahilea (essay)
ragga mami - shukar collective (eastblok)
broken jazz hands - biblio (5 1/4)
(re) produktiv - professor psygrooves (jarring effects)
eronafene tihoussayene - group bombino (sublime frequencies)
mrs. morris - charles spearin (arts and crafts)
brown dog - pau torres (testing ground)
shrugging into spring - clive bell/sylvia hallett (emanem)
sun cycles - nicole mitchell (delmark)
loonich - radikal dub kolektiv (no label)
one more draw - friendliness & human rights (no label)
to them - smoke (echo beach)
travelling man - digitaldubs & ras mcbean (digitaldubs)
breaking down the pressure - singers and players (on-u sound)
you don't care - cornell campbell (moll-selekta)
the world needs love - tommy mccook (treasure isle)

Rich Medina Interview - January 21 - 7PM

image from richmedina.com

It's my pleasure to speak with Rich Medina this coming Wednesday about his upcoming Toronto "Black President" edition of Jump n' Funk at Revival on Friday Jan. 25.

Medina hails from Philly, but is generally based in NYC these days. He's a DJ, poet, and producer who has worked with Jill Scott, IG Culture and many others. The Jump n' Funk jams are a tribute to Fela Kuti and his music.

I'm looking forward to asking Medina a wide range of questions about Afrobeat, African music in the USA and the topics at hand surrounding this momentous week in American history...

Go to www.ciut.fm at 7PM tomorrow and check it out.

Abstract Index Playlist - January 7/09

This is hard for me to admit, but I finally bought my first digital music device this past Tuesday. Now I join the rest of North America's music consumption habits. My wife is laughing at me, and rightly so.

I'm looking forward to how this MP3 player will change the Abstract Index. Although I get lots of physical promo, there's always more digital stuff to be had. For someone who loves to go off on tangents, it's amazing that I've been such a luddite for so long.

Back in the world of CD promo, though, I recently got Femi Kuti's long awaited disc. I was looking forward to seeing him in Toronto next week, but then word came that the entire North American tour had been cancelled.

The album is interesting, especially in light of younger brother Seun's recorded debut this past summer. As with most of Femi's oeuvre, he strains against Afrobeat, often with imaginative results - though it must be said that the retro vibe which Femi had always eschewed is more prevalent here than ever before.

At worst, as on the title track's waltz time, his ideas seem forced. But at its frequent best - like this week's "You Better Ask Yourself" - the pacing is masterful, with an unfolding energy that his younger half brother has yet to discover. Femi sounds troubled throughout the disc, not in the sense that he is confidently denouncing the evils in the world today, but that he's just hanging in there making his points though he's suffering and hurting too. That's a different point of view from many Afrobeat practioners who often posture themselves as proud, righteous and invulnerable. I really enjoy where this album is coming from, though I'm sure some will take issue with exactly those qualities I find praiseworthy.

Podcast

the birds - telefon tel aviv (bpitch control)
intense love - sultan peppa rmx. by naw (pawn shop)
xberg ghosts - deadbeat (wagon repair)
union hall (rexxa remix) - juba dance (audio 8)
you better ask yourself - femi kuti (mercer st)
djanfa magni - tidjani kore & orchestra poly-rhytmo (analog africa)
coba guarango - novalima (cumbancha)
dakar pockey - incubator (ptr)
got to get your own - reuben wilson (cadet)
stop and make up your mind - arnie love and the lovettes (numero)
happy fingers - barnyard drama (barnyard)
oriente - galerie stratique (statik)
dancando no escouro - curumin (quannum)
the blue bus - pigeon funk (risquee)
cumbia limatronica - dj negro (no label)
black sabbath - venetian snares (planet mu)
jah goddess - auresia (moonsplash)
dread reckoning dub - dubmatix (7 arts)
dub mission - big bass theory feat. jornick jahnick (sirbassa sounds)
i'm just a dread - jacob miller/trinity (joe gibbs)
ordinary version 3 - impact all stars (17 north parade)

Wranglin' Ernest

It's going to be an upfull night of interviews on the Abstract Index radio show.

I am sincerely looking forward to speaking with one of the greatest musicians ever to come from Jamaica: the truly legendary Ernest Ranglin. Live - IN PERSON. For those who don't know - Ranglin is a founding father of Jamaican pop music. He was present for its birth in the late 50s, was a major part of Studio One and later the Black Ark, and now has forged a unique jazz reggae sound which has led to great acclaim at this august stage of his career.

He's in town to help out Jason Wilson with the CD launch of Wilson's new disc "The Peacemaker's Chaffeur" on Sept 25 at Hugh's Room. Tune in at 7PM this Wednesday!

It's going to be a busy night coz I'll also be speaking with Carolinian kora crew Toubab Krewe at 6:30. Actually, they're not focused on the kora exclusively, but that description kinda rolls off the tongue. They will be playing on Sept 28 at Revival.

Both shows are part of the Small World Music fall festival.

Abstract Index Playlist - July 2/08

I took the Abstract Index on the road for the first time last week. It was a fortuitous combination of circumstances that CIUT happened to be broadcasting Harbourfront’s sole Wednesday event of the summer right after my show. And this was no minor event: it was a wildly energetic show by Seun Kuti and Egypt 80, with kora experimentalist Seckou Keita opening up.

Last week was an all-African show – the first one I’d ever done. It was pretty easy to put together. I wouldn’t go so far as to say I’m a “Specialist in All Styles” – I’d leave that description for the following night’s main stage performers, Orchestra Baobab (have I mentioned that Harbourfront rocks?). Still, there are numerous Afro-Canadian discs to choose from, and any number of ways to chart a course through the continent.

Being an Afrobeat-oriented night, I brought a new double disc collection of Fela’s earliest work, from 1963-69. It’s a solid collection, courtesy of those dynamic Spaniards at Vampisoul. The sound quality is variable, although its harsh, lo-fi funk could appeal to certain audiences, if not the dancefloor. The music itself ranges from forgettable to tantalizing. Fela plays trumpet throughout the two discs, and plays well, soloing concisely in contrast to his sprawling saxophone statements of later years. Much of the material before Tony Allen comes along is derivative highlife and jazz, without originality or much spirit in the playing. Once the Allen starts putting some Nigerian Clyde Stubblefield action into Fela’s light jazz, things start to heat up. By the end of disc 2, where his Koola Lobitos band is recorded live at the then-recently established Afro-spot, all the Afrobeat characteristics are in place.

Overall, this is a disc for Fela-philes (and there are many), but the liner notes are excellent. Often, biographies of Fela focus on his time in the USA in 1969 as a key point in the transformation of Afrobeat from party music to political force. These liners concentrate on his formative years in London starting in the late fifties. In particular, the bio paints a picture of yet another above average musician in London trying to hustle work, and getting down at late night jam sessions at the Flamingo Club (with Ginger Baker, who would be an important part of Fela’s life later on). This freelance musical culture would end up being very useful in synthesizing the ingredients that would become Afrobeat later in the decade.

Podcast (three instances of - yikes! - dead air near the beginning as we were getting our s*** together)

Bougouni sou – lipitone rmx. By jeff sharel (frikyiwa)
Segun adewale – segun adewale (rounder)
Oya – lekun babaola (mr. bongo)
Directions in rhythm – rise ashen (no label)
Bouba – kakande (jumbie)
Ade – xalam (syllart)
Love affair – s-job movement (soundway)
Nyirabisabo – mighty popo (tamba)
The bride – brotherhood of breath (arkana)
Thunder in our hearts – jabula (counterpoint)
Shemegi – adam Solomon and tikisa (no label)
Waka waka – fela ransome kuti (vampisoul)
Fire in soweto – steel an skin (be)
African – H20 feat. Subz (out here)
Fanga dem – manjul feat tiken jah (discograph)
Lalogo – alpha blondy (Putumayo)

More Africa In Us

Afrofest yesterday. Roger Humbert of The Live Music Report sizes up the ever-increasing crowd.

Thanks for the post title, Eccodek... it's true.

My favourite weekend of the year - Afrofest weekend - started yesterday. As an early celebration, I was very pleased to write about the festival's 20th anniversary for Eye Weekly.

As I've said many times before, Music Africa has overcome many, many struggles to succeed as an arts organization. Other arts groups can learn a lot from their story.

Afrofest is on the short list of things that make Toronto special. You'll never encounter another crowd like this anywhere. What makes this festival different from, say, Harbourfront, is that it's a ground-up festival. I love Harbourfront's programming, but it's well-funded with a lot of human resources and strong links to the biggest media in this town. Afrofest has none of these, and as a result a strong community feeling pervades Queens Park every year; it's a sense that everybody there makes the festival better by their mere presence.

It's the only event I've been to which is equally fun for families, couples and singles. Moreover, I always dug the family vibe long before I had a daughter - kids and adults groove to the same music, and usually the kids set the pace for the whole experience by being the first dancers in front of the stage.

P.S. Best food EVER this year. Srsly. Make sure you wash it down with some fiery ginger juice from Amazones.

Once again, I'm looking forward to helping out with CIUT's broadcast today from 1-7PM. Come by and say hello.

Abstract Index Playlist - June 18/08

This is one of the few "drum machine" sounds that I've encountered that sets everyone to dancing straight away. Although 2562 contains subtle and sophisticated sound design, it's all in the beats. They're everything that's been great about London dance music for the last decade (even though Dave Huismans is Dutch), but they also seem to reference almost every African-derived polyrhythm of the last 50 years. This week's track, "Tekno Dread", has a soukous feel not far beneath the surface dread. These beats are light years away from the slow-motion dubstep of a few years ago.

Unlike so many micro-genre dance musics which position themselves against slightly more popular genres like so many "you can't possibly understand my music" rock and rollers, 2562's sound is refreshingly inclusive. I dropped another track from this album at the last Funkabelly dance, and the 90% female bellydancing crowd was quite receptive to these synthetic yet persuasive rhythms.

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As of this week, my podcasting is going to be located at CIUT's website. It won't be downloadable, but the stream is higher quality audio and very easy to navigate. You can find it here.

tekno dread - 2562 (tectonic)
skeng - the bug feat. flowdan & killa p (ninja tune)
bohemian mud strut - munk (compost)
delivery - kanada 70 (inyrdisk)
ghost rock - nomo (ubiquity)
mukuba - kasai allstars (crammed)
i let my mind wander - the reveries (rat drifting)
somebody come and play - jacob sacks/yoon sun choi (yeah yeah)
yorubonics - paul carlon octet (deep tone)
marioneta - la cumbiambe eneye (chonta)
salsa na ma - fruko y sus tesos (soundway)
all i need - al green (emi)
echo vamp 1976 - billy bang/don cherry (ptr)
fonding ke - seckou keita quartet (world adventures)
one spliff a day - billy boyo (greensleeves)
sensi dub - roots radics/king tubby (greensleeves)
give thanks and praises - dubmatix/ranking joe (7 arts)
works of h.i.m. - mossman vs. vander (dispensation)
praises to the most high - king ujah (king ujah)
the plane land - richie spice (vp)
nothing to smile about - morgan heritage (vp)
i've got to make it - larry marshall (soul jazz)
hunting - keith hudson (basic replay)

Abstract Index Playlist - April 9/08

No podcast this week - it was fundraising, and those shows don't make for good repeat listening. Thank you very, very much to everyone who contributed, especially my advance donors. If you'd like to donate to CIUT you can do so here.

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Steel an’ Skin was composed of Africans and Carribeans in Britain bringing the sounds of African diasporic culture to young Britons of all ages to combat racism in the late 70s. Their mission is explicitly outlined by front man Peter Blackman on the incredible 35 minute DVD documentary included in this package. The doc is the main reason to buy this collection: grim streetscapes of British inner cities contrast with joyous scenes of little white kids jumping up and participating in the irresistible grooves.

As for the music, there’s one main reason to buy this: the superlative “Afro Punk Reggae (Dub)”. This smoking dub mix is basically LCD Soundsytem with steelpan – utterly contemporary despite having been recorded in 1979, and one of those magic tracks that gets everyone out on the floor. The other tunes are nice, especially a steelpan version of Sonny Okuson’s massive African reggae hit “Fire In Soweto” and the bonus track “Acid Rain” from 1984. Although the quantity of music is slight, the overall package is well worth buying.

This page contains a sample of Afro Punk Reggae (Dub)

afro punk reggae (dub) - steel an' skin (EM)
mere liye too bani - kazi arindam (sublime frequencies)
makaya and the rain - tommy meier (intakt)
koyaya - colin fisher/jean martin (barnyard)
you already are - brownout (freestyle)
GPS - randolph (still)
going places - kid creole and the coconuts (strut)
something wicked - rise ashen (no label)
innulamane - toumast (real world)
proletariado - dj dolores (crammed)
oshogbo - adam rudolph (justin time)
pluk a dub - amsterdam klezmer band (essay)
i shall be released - freddie mcgregor (studio one)
i don't need nobody killing me - ljx (no label)
the love illusion - ljx (no label)

Abstract Index Playlist - March 19/08

Here's the review of Toumani Diabate's latest disc I wrote for Eye Weekly. There should be another star attached, making it a solid 4.

Two things I didn't get to in the review:

Nick Gold's production is wonderful. He still takes a fair amount of post-Buena Vista Social Club blowback from certain quarters, but fuck those haters. The kora sounds positively four-dimensional on this recording, as if he and engineer Jerry Boys had found new ways to manipulate the audio constraints of the 16-bit quality of the compact disc. This is not overpolished music, but it still has a touch of the surreal to it, like a particularly good demo video in HD quality. For those listeners who get bogged down on whether the reverb is set at low or medium strength during the mixdown sessions and to what degree that bears on the supposed authenticity of the sound, I suggest you sit back and focus on the challenges presented by the music. Toumani Diabate would be more than capable of finding another producer if he thought Gold was diluting or otherwise messing with his what he wanted to do.

Also, the retro-Nonesuch cover art is super stylin'.

Hour 1 podcast
Hour 2 podcast

kaouding cissoko - toumani diabate (nonesuch)
pitch black - prism quartet (innova)
untitled 11 - box (rune gramofon)
what's the deal - ex pro ovo (bbe)
springtime for chillun - burnt sugar (nugroid)
fakarouni - radio i ching (resonant)
roots and culture - mikey dread (music club)
we've had enough - arnie love and the lovettes (numero)
wedged under the front of 0.99 - evan shaw/jean martin (barnyard)
tragic magic - nathan davis (acid jazz)
i heard it through the grapevine - bar kays (stax)
live it up - james k-nine (vampisoul)
reggae riff - jackie mittoo (heartbeat)
less problem - sound dimension (soul jazz)
soul call - jackie mittoo (heartbeat)
park view - sound dimension (soul jazz)
one heavy duba - santic & king tubby (pressure sounds)
dub voyage - twilight circus (m)
my jamaican guy - grace jones (strut)
willow dub - black uhuru/prince jammy (csa)

Abstract Index Playlist - January 23/08

I had 120 words to state my case on Adam Rudolph's Moving Pictures - Dream Garden in Eye Weekly. I could have used more.

This is highly accomplished world music fusion. I firmly believe that "world fusion" is better than it used to be, despite the profound uncoolness of the term. Those words evoke an image of a bliss-faking, unstructured jam session between random instrumentalists overwhlemed by poorly conceived electronics. But people have been working on this shit for years, learning from past indulgences and post-colonial aesthetics. Or at least paying more attention to these matters.

My interests in free music and "world music" converge on those musicians, like Zakir Hussain, or Rudolph, who are able to create a wide array of of tonal and rhythmic possibilities beyond the musical conventions in which they were educated. Blended with years of experience communicating with other master musicians in diverse genres, the level of improvising can become extremely high and engaging.

But hardly anyone has the nerve to call themselves world fusion anymore....

What would have been hesitant, technically underwhelming and poorly thought out 40 or even 20 years ago have been succeeded by hybrids which are far more robust. Why? Rudolph, for example, has gained 30 years experience since his early days with the Mandingo Griot Society, and that shit was pretty hotttt to begin with.

I would cite several factors in the general amelioration of world fusion:

-Musicians in general have a better idea how to actually compose for and intergrate the sounds of differently-scaled instruments than ever before. This album is a perfect example, I simply can't imagine anyone with enough knowledge, chops, recording know-how and sympathetic musical comrades to have produced this music decades ago -

(Although this is pretty cool... from '82 and re-released last year: Norway's Bitter Funeral Beer Band)

-The interaction of musicians is at a higher level. On this record, the big names in the band are Hamid Drake (drums), Steve Gorn (ex-ECM, on bansuri flute and other woodwinds), Graham Haynes (son of Roy, often plays with electronics but can dig into the microtones just as easily without them), and Ned Rothenberg (minimalist, kinda atonal and super-rhythmic in many languages). They've all worked very, very extensively with global palettes of sound, and more importantly, in different contexts in which to exchange ideas. While jazz is at the heart of this mix, I never know where the exact sources of the rhythms are - which highlights my ignorance as much as it underlines the unique grooves made possible by an ensemble of sintir, cajon, bendir to name but three memebers of the rhythm section. The rhythms may be in complex time signatures, but one never gets the sense that the musicians are counting out beats - everyone of them can lean into the grooves or float on top. The harmonic combinations of say, bansuri flute, shakuhachi and electric guitar, are frequently breathtaking, not just an attempt to show off.

-Engineers around the world, especially in Europe and North America, have a better idea how to record and mix a variety of different instruments thanks to decades of experience. The physics of sound haven't changed much in the last 20 years, but what might have sounded thin and cluttered at the same time in 80s fusion is much more "realistic" - a loaded term, sure, and very much based on personal aesthetics. But although electronic world fusion is still happening in earnest, its no longer the same kind of painful soundclash that it used to be; the parts are more integrated.

-The scope of world fusion has changed. 25 years after world fusion was first marketed as such, sometimes the most effective fusions are under the radar. One of my fave discs of the last few months is Sandro Perri's Tiny Mirrors. It's clearly indebted to Brazilian singer-songwriters and to the flourishing improv scene in Toronto, but is considered neither "world music" nor anti-populist. This album is indicative of the wider range of instrumentation, rhythms and geographic inclusivity in the ever-expanding sphere of popular music than ever before. Looking into past fusions, global funk and global psych continue to kick ass reissue-wise... going forward there's global ghettotech; don't even get me started...

If you're looking for good world fusion, check out one of Toronto's most valuable resources.

And with that, here's my playlist:

olive - colin fisher/jean martin (barnyard)
via l4 norte - nemeth (thrill jockey)
cousin of the moon - adam rudolph's moving pictures (justin time)
bavarian calypso - globe unity orchestra (intakt)
phleeng khuk phaat pt. 2 - thewapasit ensemble (dust to digital)
reluctance - debasis sinha (eema)
already there - shuta hasunuma (western vinyl)
aminata santoro - toumani diabate (hannibal)
untitled saw 2 cd 1 track 2 - aphex twin remixed by four tet (domino)
tell it like you hear it - quantic (ubiquity)
music is ruling my world - kutiman (melting pot)
sweeter than a plastic pipe - jean martin/evan shaw (barnyard)
moses on call waiting - john rapson (9 winds)
los ejes de mi carreta - quinteplus (vampisoul)
sarko east - eddie senay (vampisoul)
moving on - ray camacho (ubiquity)
quimbamba - dr. harvey (home records)
uptown jungle - avatars of dub (select cuts)
hotter claps - ja man allstars (blood and fire)
rock vibration - yabby you /king tubby (blood and fire)
shoulder to jah wheel - claudius linton (sun king)
blue dub - irie band (no label)

Hour 1 Podcast

Hour 2 Podcast