Abstract Index Playlist - January 6/11

More Bollywood on the way in the next few weeks. In the meantime, you could do worse than picking this up for the generous (if tiny-fonted) liner notes. The title and cover imagery say it all.

Podcast

right way - jahdan blakkamoore (lustre kings)
people talk - etana (vp)
push push - lloyd & devon (studio one/soul jazz)
days of dub - michael rose/twilight circus (m)
terminator dub - dubmatix (7 arts)
peaceful warrior - mad professor feat sly and robbie (ariwa/ras)
who is the ruler - alpha and omega (greensleeves)
loco - atom heart & tea time vs mexican dubwiser (no label)
perfection - boogat (no label)
boha - kubo feat joyce muniz (man)
airtime - masuper star rmx by dj mpula (masalacism)
ovva - bassanovva (t&a)
dum maro dum - asha bhosle & r.d. burman (world psychedelic classics)
right on for the darkness - willie wright (numero)
funky in here - dayton sidewinders (funkadelphia)
afro revolt - afro soultet (luv n haight)
i feel the earth move - moody (sunbeam)
so be it - new york electric piano (buffalopuppy)
intensives leben - triosk (leaf)
sibanye - marilyn crispell & louis moholo-moholo (intakt)
chickle that bottom - subtle lip can (drip)
space cellar - ayal senior (inyrdisk)
paradise of ashes - andy haas (resonant)
i never learnt to share - james blake (atlas/universal)
i got a woman - nicolas jaar (wolf and lamb)
autotune - emsitka vs. gulls (no label)
tension spirit - kaly live dub (jarring effects)
kumina mento rasta - wareika hill sounds (hones jons)
dove song - nicolette (shut up and dance/k7)
business of panic - mastermind xs (lcl)

podcast coming soon....

Abstract Index Playlist - December 9/10

As I'm mostly through end of year lists it's pretty obvious to me that no one trend in music has influenced my programming more this year than the abstract electronics coming from the west coast of the United States. As epitomised by Flying Lotus, the Dilla inspired beats of last decade have been folded into new generations. There's too much talent coming from California to reduce to one subgenre or a movement. Teebs makes beautifully melodic, crystalline beats whereas Ras G pursues Arkestral ir-rythmia. Still, a creative DJ should have no problems playing both back to back to an open minded audience (seem to be more of those around these days?).

Salva is the latest bright light from out west. Proprietor of San Francisco's Frite Nite label, he tends towards the funkier end of these abstract beats. If you're into Dam Funk but wished he'd wake the fuck up with a handful of caffeine pills, Salva's your man. Dubstep can't help but be an influence on these beats as it explores similar frequency ranges and tempos, and Complex Housing mixes well with the angular head nodding required by the form, though with less obsession with bass sculpture: Salva keeps things predominantly funky. He's like a futuristic Lakeside; always searching for a more epic synth riff.

The album drops in February, though you can get the advance single "Blue" here.

Podcast

pek - sally nyolo & la voix du cenacle (riverboat)
african do round - zuzuku rmx by mexican dubwiser (no label)
ananas tornillo - frente cumbiero (names you can trust)
afrodesia - afro soultet (luv n haight)
playing with stones - bunky green/rudresh mahanthappa (pi)
229 - gordon grdina trio feat mats gustafsson (drip audio)
cut form crush: be human pt 1 - mophono (cb)
icey - salva (friends of friends)
full disk - man made hill (inyrdisk)
sin gas - la ola criminal (dutty artz)
garabato - ku bo (man recordings)
el rockers - augustus pablo (pressure sounds)
music dub - horace andy/prince jammy (blood and fire)
page one - carlton patterson (hot pot)
trod natty - odel (ohm grown)
the phantom (om unit dub) - computer jay (no label)
dubliners - nicolas jaar (wolf and lamb)
tonight - elgato (hessle audio)
dubcuttin' - resoe (echochord)
push am - banana clips (bersa discos)
maybe a dream - amenta (no label)
lam tung wai - chaweewan dumnern (soundway)

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 - July 15/10

What makes one obscure album worth reissuing and another worth blogging about?

Playing the Zorro Five next to the excellent (is there any other word?) new reissue of Lee Scratch Perry dubplates by Pressure Sounds is a study in similarities and contrasts. Of course, any new material by Scratch has automatic commercial potential, and it's a bonus that this collection covers the Black Ark era of 1973-79 with its numerous classic rhythms. The sound of these well-worn dub plates only adds to the appeal: Pressure Sounds never fails to deliver splendid remasters, and Scratch's high frequencies, distorted loudness and woofy bass become even more surreal when given this digital polish. Vinyl rips of the dubplates would not likely have resulted in such ear-opening sounds, to say nothing of the biographical material and new graphics that complete the package.

On the other hand is the Zorro Five. Apparently they once had a skinhead-era chune called Reggae Shhhh which indicated to the British public that this was an anonymous band hopping on the early reggae bandwagon (not unlike the Mohawks, who had their dalliances with reggae). If you recall the first couple of years after rock steady, the initial reggae sound was quite sprightly and achieved a fair bit of chart success in England - this was the commercial peak for Scratch's Upsetters who had a UK top 5 hit in 1969. However, it turns out that the Zorro Five were actually from South Africa. There are no liner notes to this vinyl rip - just a JPEG, some music and a brief but tantalizing writeup on the rarity of the album. A little searching reveals another site with comments including someone who confirms the label (licensed by EMI) was from SA, and that the band was most likely bi-racial (in the late 60s!) which is why there are no photos and scant information. Even though the album reputedly fetches a decent price, I'd reckon this would be just about impossible to license due to this fact, although perhaps the "Brigadiers" label owner still holds the rights, but not the artist. Nevertheless, the vinyl rip does a perfectly satisfactory job of representing the music for the perusal of sonic archaeologists.

Still though, like the Mohawks, there are some superior R&B funky grooves even if the grasp of reggae is a little rudimentary. They probably were imitating Scratch's sound of the time, and were pitched to the same skinhead market. What intrigues me is the track played on this show "Bacarolle" sounds like it's got a whiff of mbaqanga.

As is so often the case, two related sounds separated by great geographical distance come together back to back on the Abstract Index.

Podcast

midnight sun - air (candid)
ikoko - eppio fanio (soundway)
kalima shop titi - poirier feat boogat rmx by uproot andy (ninja tune)
bailemos esta cumbia - mr iozo feat caballo (no label)
mshni wam - spoek mathambo (bbe)
wine up - baobinga vs killa benz (steak house)
naramidou poita - dadub feat quilo rmx by arogalla (les cristaux liquident)
adidas to addis - cut chemist (mochilla)
bacarolle - zorro five (emi/brigadiers)
my luv 2 u - cinister cee (neferiu)
chim cherie - lee scratch perry (pressure sounds)
limits - freddie joachim (organology)
falling far - nite jewel (big love)
isle de joie - mandre (rush hour)
raga malkauns - charanjit singh (bombay connection)
in the ghetto - ljx (no label)
jah children dub style - heptones (lagoon)
is it because i'm black - ken boothe (trojan)
mamy blue - juan torres y su organo melodico (musart/balboa)
estilo ricky ramirez - satanique samba trio (amplitude)
unnameable dance - justin haynes/jean martin (barnyard)
ganjil - gamelan madu sari (songlines)
64 fire damage - isan (morr music)
brown recluse - annie whitehead/barbara morgenstern/bill wells/stefan schneider (karaoke kalk)
in a salient way - moondata (moondata)
electricone - lloyd miller & the heliocentrics (now again)
la la la (hard version) - segun bucknor (vampisoul)

Abstract Index Playlist - June 3/10

As the days get nicer, thoughts most definitely do not turn to blogging for this average Canadian... This compilation's a couple of months old, but when you're talking about tracks that have been gathering dust for thirty-odd years, a couple of months is no big deal.

This is another entry in British label Jazzman's Sufjan Stevans-ish Funk series: Texas Funk, Florida Funk, etc. Apparently it's been in the works for several years; it certainly sounds as though a great deal of attention was paid to sequencing, mastering, and ultimately, selection. Unlike the midwestern funk comps that Jazzman has put out, this one sounds smoother to me. One would have to figure that these West Coast musicians were in a better situation.

Based on population alone in L.A. and San Francisco, there would be more opportunities for musicians to work and better their craft/chops - add to that all the film and TV work in L.A., and being a musician was a decent profession. There was more of everything else, too: studios, entrepreneurial labels/hustlers and radio stations to play the finished product. Of course, more competition guaranteed that some music would get left behind, but certainly this music sounds like even the most obscure acts had talent.

Stylistically, this comp is fairly diverse, from Chicano funk to jazzy one-offs to spacy studio confections. All of it hits hard.

Podcast

BTW, tomorrow is my final edition of Funky Fridays - I just can't hack the turnaround from a Thursday night time slot.

sweet jamaica - anthony b (no label)
king's highway - jah marnyah & vibronics (scoops)
the door - prof (otnorot)
dust on a white shirt - william parker violin trio (thirsty ear)
what if - nicole mitchell black earth strings (delmark)
the falling leaves - ramachandra borcar (semprini)
onda - cassiano (polydor)
revolucao organico - marcos valle (qdk/normal)
funky fire - billy larkin (jazzman/now again)
limits - freddie joachim (mellow orange/organology)
cirandar - seu jorge & almaz (now again)
espuma negra - helado negro (asthmatic kitty)
aroro - petrona martinez rmx by nate mars (no label)
angel echoes - four tet rmx by caribou (domino)
little miss echo - raymond scott (basta)
timely buck/anon - john oswald (fony)
space elements 5 - rafael toral (staubgold)
bang - elektrik toboggan (victo)
wellen und felder 1 - atom tm (rune gramofon)
4:04 AM - brent larner/joelle leandre/kazunori uchihashi (spool)
thread's first stitches - jyoti (someothahship)
altered states - high tone (jarring effects)
illuminations - hungry ghost rmx by marcellus pittman (international feel)
u.p.c. - franck biyong & massak (colored inc)
eliza we - yinguica (arc music)
two steps to latin - los charlys orchestra (imagenes)
yes - mgo (bongo disco mix) (out here)
stepping in hq - morwells/king tubby (blood and fire)

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)

Abstract Index Playlist - October 7/09

Don't believe the hype! It's actually 54'05"! Those bonus tracks, you know...

Hold on to your world music hats here, people. Collage comes correct representing Soviet SSR Estonian experimentation wherein folk forms are fused to funk, jazz and bossa nova. A medium sized choir of men and women spin circular phrases around spare musical accompaniment, often just a rhythm section and an electric guitar. What results is somewhere between Marcos Valle, Charlie Haden and Lambert Hendricks and Ross with a penchant for odd time signatures. Even with this wild mix of influences, it was released on the only record label in the country - Melodiya - thereby becoming a curious but official cultural statement.

The bassline from the track played this week sounds like it could have been on Haden's Liberation Music Orchestra record from 1969. Moreover there's another track on the record which features the band playing along to a scratchy old vinyl recording of Estonian folksong, as the LHO does with Spanish patriotic music on their disc. This album was recorded the following year, so perhaps it's not a coincidence. There's some lovely Herbie Hancock style piano on this cut as well - in fact the whole approach to fusion on this disc sounds is of a mostly acoustic, pre-In A Silent Way vintage, despite some tasty wah guitar here and there.

The disc runs out of ideas about two thirds of the way through, but since you're guaranteed to have heard nothing like this before, that won't stop me from recommending it.

Podcast

As far as statements of progressive folklore
chimera - radian (thrill jockey)
story telling - ganesh anandan/hans reichel (ambiances magnetiques)
arpeggio - tony wilson sextet (drip audio)
don't gild the lily - harris eisenstadt (clean feed)
takemorsja - collage (wool)
ti fala ou te mapali -anzala dolor vero (soundway)
manita uribe - toto la momposina (astar)
gigante - the binary cumbia orchestra (no label)
bah - scott (fluid ounce)
nou de ma gnin te fe deme - orchestre poly-rhytmo de contonou (analog africa)
nhemamusasa - tinashe chidanyika (arc)
trois - the seasons (towerblock)
a good day to play - prof fingers feat eleanor mante (5 1/4)
shackled soul - the slew (ninja tune)
cabaclo - nsista (no label)
shiverman - fat freddy's drop (no label)
babylon ambush - dubkasm (no label)
leaving dub - gregory isaacs (trojan)
dance on the corner - jah thomas (roots)
big shot rhythm - major banks (no label)

Abstract Index Playlist - September 16/09

Asthmatic Kitty's Library Music Series is everywhere you want to be. The website claims that this album is to be used for "accompaniment to cooking, eating, sculpting, exercising, high stakes poker, soaking, panoramic landscapes, cuddling, car chases, drawing, knitting, bandaging, romance, playing chess, or planning the rest of your life, of which this is the first day."

One thing's for sure, Volume 3: Music For Drums, composed and performed by Casey Foubert and James McAllister brings the funk. It also brings the Partch, but definitely this week's selection is more conventionally grooving.

As with so much library music, it's recorded in a most awesome manner - believe me if I'd had my Incredible Bongo Band disc with me at the time I'd have continued with the theme of immaculately slamming drum sounds.

Fortunately there is a real sense of flow and composition to the album as well as being a collection of wonderful noises. Foubert and McAllister are great players who maintain a balance between individual personal style and utility for a variety of different (licensing) purposes. In this age where sales from CDs bring diminishing returns, it's cool to see people reviving the idea of creating music for licensing first - arguably the single most lucrative area of music today - and retail second.

There are two other volumes in the series: Music for Lubbock (1980) and Music For Measuremtents (also featuring Foubert). I haven't heard either of them, but understand the latter also has the funk.

Asthmatic Kitty continues to surprise!

Podcast

whatever - rob clutton (rat drifting)
walk tall - hiroshi suzuki (columbia)
there in, theatre - on ka'a davis (live wired)
i'd advise you not to miss your train - bobby previte & the new bump (palmetto)
neva hicaz gazel - ayda sonmez (kein & aber)
lelita floare - dona dumitru siminica (asphalt tango)
give you action - dunklebunt (piranha)
eyes of mine - shantel (essay)
holidays in congo - rainbow arabia rmx by myd (no label)
alaniaris - alaniaris (no label)
eastside pride - casey foubert/james mcallister (asthmatic kitty)
devil dub - chezidek (tabou)
give thanks and praises - dubmatix rmx by citizen sound (vx)
sod's law - noiseshaper (cat and roof)
from the foundation - dubkasm feat ras judah (dubkasm)
down town - the dynamics (pressure sounds)
ayatollah - jackie mittoo (basic replay)

Abstract Index Playlist - August 19/09

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

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

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

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

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

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

Podcast

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

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 27/09

Taking a break from the latest and greatest releases, I'd like to go back 25 years to the late great Sweet Basil in NYC. This was the recording locale of Urban Blues by Leroy Jenkins' (no affiliation with World Of Warcraft!) funky, crowd-seeking Sting.

I figure I brought it with me because of a conversation I had with Torontonian culture maven El Machetero last week about the decline and fall of soul jazz clubs. I'm not talking about the many DJs who still play it, but situations like the one which produced this Lonnie Smith album - where an inner-city bar which catered to many generations of patrons required its bands to know jazz standards, blues dirges, new R & B joints and pop songs to entertain a crowd. The Trane Studio in Toronto comes closest to that vibe... Yonge St. used to be full of such places.

This superb appreciation of Jenkins' album on Bagatellen describes how 'of its time' it is, and that Jenkins was trying to reach into that bag to draw an African American crowd to his edgy music. He wasn't alone - in my early days of jazz appreciation, I remember seeing guys like Jean Paul Bourelly and even James Blood Ulmer to an extent doing similar things - melding avant and popular forms for broad appeal. But the mix of this album, Alonzo Gardner's popping bass style and Brandon Ross' guitar treatments situate this recording firmly in the 80s - and not the kind of arpeggiated-synth, TR-808/909/303 kinda 80s that have been so revived so thoroughly that I wish that page would turn again. I don't know if this sound is ever coming back; I don't know if the social conditions that produced it are coming back. But after that Wicked Witch reissue earlier this year, maybe anything is possible...

One thing is for sure, multi-generational music events are almost always a good time and we're heading into the right season to celebrate en famille, however you define your family.

Podcast

tubarao de bacia - buguinha dub (les cristaux liquides)
rothaus - lindstrom & prins thomas (eskimo)
love in harar - invisible system & yeteleye fikir (harper diabate)
sarama - vieux farka toure (six degrees)
field trip - shuta hasunuma (western vinyl)
keet - icarus rmx by badun (rump)
the return of chickchi - loop 2.4.3. (music starts from silence)
l'ecole penetencier - torngat (alien 8)
sahara - justin adams & juldeh camara (real world)
leo - respect sextet (avant)
lapis blue - nostalgia 77 feat. keith & julie tippet (tru thoughts)
looking for the blues - leroy jenkins sting (black saint)
play fool get wise - johnnie clarke (justice)
dub is the time - namo jama (ja-maker)
strictly rockers - big youth (geggie)
jah is the maker - jah woosh (original)
dread lion - kenny knotts/hydroponics (hydroponics)
look to the east - bush chemists (conscious sounds)
jah disciple - daweh congo (sip a cup)
seal 2 - meditative sounds (meditative sounds)

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 - May 13/09

More on the Hypnotic Brass Ensemble soon in print form...

But on a more personal level, sometimes I just get music fatigue and records like this are the cure. I'm constantly chasing after new music. I've been doing it for decades. Sometimes it feels like a chore; I don't have the multitasking ability I once did. I'm grateful that the brain work of writing isn't my only game, if I couldn't DJ and actually FEEL the healing vibes of upfull music at a high volume, I don't know what my spiritual state would be.

When something comes along which is truly soul-restoring, it's worth celebrating. I don't think it's an accident that the HBE release is timed for a late May release. As the flowers bloom and everyone's winter-weary postures relax for good, a soundtrack is necessary to commemorate the changing of the seasons. The HBE's brass band sound strikes a major chord within the body and the mind - this is party music with rounded tones, not sharp ones. Yet there's more than enough hip hop breathe-and-stop edge to keep an audience alert and fully focused.

I can listen to this album several times a day. It's like medication which needs to be consumed every few hours. I can't even decide on album highlights yet - the whole thing flows so, so nicely that I don't want to over-analyze it.

However, the slowest and most uplifting track may just be the invocation with which I started the show: "Jupiter". Download the podcast and see if you are able to breathe easier after listening to it.

I'm glad new music can still do this for me.

Podcast

jupiter - hypnotic brass ensemble (honest jons)
fafa - vieux farka toure (six degrees)
the antidote - mr. something something (world)
turtle eyes & fierce rabbit - torngat (alien 8)
dreams - the duncan brothers (soundway)
firebirds/birds of fire - don sebesky (cti)
tabey tarate - tartit (crammed)
tree to tree - jayme stone & mansa sissoko (no label)
icegirl - ayal senior (inyrdisk)
small king of taungdyone - sein moota (sublime frequencies)
mobutu #2: katanoa boma ye - za (acuarela discos)
kicking stones - offonoff (smjz)
glazin - black dice (paw tracks)
natural selection - martyn rmx by flying lotus (scape)
bankable dub - twelve (jarring effects)
step by step - dubosmium feat. dubzoic (fresh poulp)
dub it today - rootical sound (guidance)
can't stop natty dread - linval thompson (blood and fire)

Return To The Valley Of Uma Nota

Short notice on this... sorry.

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

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

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

Abstract Index Playlist - May 6/09

The El Michels Affair have made one of the most interesting funk-like records of the year so far. Funk-like? This is zombie funk, risen from 12 bit digital carbonite reanimated a decade and a half later....

Though the Roots are the undisputed champs of live hip hop grooves, this bizness throttles back the liveness a notch. It's a simple concept - a live, instrumental version of Wu Tang Clan's Enter The Wu Tang (36 Chambers). This is the work of a full band, but the collective effort is admirable in its restraint. All the tonal elements are quite correctly secondary to the sheer consistency and relentlessness of the drums, which is exactly the way a hip hop cover record ought to sound. There is no hot blood in the band at all, this is entrancingly clinical, perfectly capturing the forlorn Stax abstractions that were the RZAs signature at the time.

It's such a relief not to have some crazy baritone sax solo break out (but you know I love them - the very next song was a little taste of the new Budos Band EP), and just look forward to simply, perfectly executed changes in the music. But El Michels doesn't get carried away with the mechanical nature of hip hop, these are big band arrangements rather than intimate imitations the original samples (a la Alarm Will Sound).

Their combination of severe discipline pulled back from the precipice of historical obsession makes for a successful aesthetic. Bring your own tunes to the next Hip Hop Karaoke...

Podcast

obama dub - hermanos borachos (no label)
phooey - we can and we must (wcawm)
untitled 7 - box (rune gramofon)
dance of the three fours - qua (mush)
seafoam green - last step (planet mu)
black and tan fantasy - sex mob feat john medeski (thirsty ear)
platin tundra - burnt friedman (nonplace)
tangente finale - fanfare pourpour (ambiances magnetiques)
moosamin, eh? - tim posgate horn band (guildwood)
ballicki bone - hypnotic brass ensemble (honest jons)
bring the ruckus - el michels affair (truth and soul)
hidden hand - budos band (daptone)
radio nufonia - kid koala (ninja tune)
continue to call - nino moschella (ubiquity)
can't get away - rodriguez (light in the attic)
psychedelic afro soul - orlando julius (vampisoul)
yunduya weyu - garifuna women's project (cumbancha)
coat of arms - nosaj thing (alpha pup)
good over evil - daily bread dub (fresh poulp)
chrome optimism/oxygen pt. 4 - dubblestandart feat. david lynch (collision cause of chapter 3)
deeper dub - big bass theory (sir bassa)
(r)evolution - pandadub (fresh poulp)

Abstract Index Playlist - April 15/09

How can I not blog about this album now that the nice weather seems to have settled in for good?

Ubiquity Records are on a tear, IMO. A mere couple of weeks after writing about NOMO (more to come on them soon...) I am compelled to share my love for the surprisingly incredible new record by Nino Moshcella. I've always liked the dude's sweet falsetto and quirky phrasing, but his music has plunged into a deeply psychoactive soul stew which blows the doors off his previous work.

Seemingly no moment goes undubbed as the stereo spectrum expands and contracts with every beat. Guitar lines in particular seem to push and pull against the beat, creating a truly funky tension which is so often sacrificed for a steady breakbeat-derived pulse in so much of today's funk. Moschella is still sounding like Prince and Sly, but the settings in which he couches his appealing voice are much more audacious, with multiple changes in song structure occurring over relatively scant track times.

"Stella", heard this week, starts with a humourous synth bass and harp duet before moving in to a live, lurching approximation of the synthetic groove behind Timmy Thomas' "Why Can't We Live Together?". While Moschella's breathy vocals and the track's overall feel tend more towards Shuggie Otis here, the subtle clashes in the orchestral arrangement hint that something else is coming up just around the corner. Part 2 hits with a full on psychedelic blast of booming cymbals, multiphonic synth noodles and guitar soloing that barely holds together. It's very Beatlesque but it's double dipped in that ol' California Soul.

Podcast

oasis - bruce freedman african groove band (now orchestra)
das wesen aus der mille strassen - burnt friedman (nonplace)
utility music - gyratory system (hansard/angular)
shinelight - ras g (brainfeeder)
stella - nino moschella (ubiquity)
time for us all to love - bullion (one handed)
ana dellali - cheb zergui (sublime frequencies)
evil - howlin wolf (cadet)
inflation - chocolate snow (numero)
the mercy beat - echologist feat spaceape (resopal red)
digital haircut - dd/mm/yyyy (we are busy bodies)
pajdusko - storsveit nix noltes (fat cat)
pulse - sam rivers (tomato)
voodootronics - james harpham (trunk)
lucky man - courtney john (no label)
don't go - horace andy (17 north parade)
babylon you lose - horace andy/ashley beedle (strut)
musical revolution - version xcursion feat ammoye (vx)
freedom - catrat featt yah meek (best seven)
africa - mighty diamonds (virgin)
going home to mt. zion (inst) - kwesi selassie (no label)

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!

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 4/09

No doubt this is one of the better known albums I've blogged about. Discerning readers of this site should already know a little about Monsieur Gainsbourg, the brilliant and controversial dirty old man of French chanson and beyond.

This masterpiece is finally getting its first ever domestic release in North America, courtesy of Light In The Attic. LITA has always sought out rock solid beats within kaleidoscopic orchestration, and this is a brilliant addition to their catalog. A tip of the hat goes to Finders Keepers records, with whom they've partnered in the project. Hopefully the intended domestic audience to this hasn't already torrented this disc into uncommercial oblivion - maybe the outstanding and thorough liner notes will justify purchase.

I'm tempted to say that this is a lush remastering job, but the arrangements and mixing are so deep and delicious that this album would still sound good even if it were dubbed off a cheap cassette. Jean Claude Vannier is a key player here - at a time when orchestras in pop music were getting ever more massive, Vannier knew when to use huge choirs and churning strings judiciously. Beyond Gainsbourg's proto rap vocals (and you keep thinking that some MC with a convoluted, metaphysical flow is gonna start spitting at any minute), the orchestration actually amplifies the power of the beats rather than submerging them in a thick layer of honey. The rock n roll nastiness of his crack session team never got any deeper than this, either, with great, jagged invention in the guitars and non-stop funk in the rhythm section. The disc never overstays its welcome at a mere 28 minutes.

"Melodie", which led off the show this week, combines all the elements into seven and a half minutes of tension and (partial) release - you have to sit through another 15 minutes before you get to the tickle-gasm sounds, though. And that brief section is, er, anticlimactic, because it reminds the listener just how sleazy the concept is: Ol' Serge sexing up a 13 year old after nearly running her over with his car.

BTW, Gainsbourg's muse Jane Birkin is four months pregnant in the salacious cover photo, hence her unbuttoned pants. Why did you think they were unbuttoned, ya big perv???

Podcast

melodie - serge gainsbourg (light in the attic)
tics - lars horntveth rmx. by four tet (domino)
anchors (by design) - jon irabagon's outright (innova)
african escape - alexis baro (no label)
family galaxy - tim exile (planet mu)
rehux - rumpistol (rump)
varashan - ziya tabassian (ambiances magnetiques)
mono hum - humcrush (rune gramofon)
orange peel - reuben wilson (blue note)
sidewalk doctor - jackie mittoo (soul jazz)
addis ababa dub - wackies allstars (wackies)
two face - ticklah (easy star)
hanky's panky - shirley scott (charly)
champion of the arena - jackie mittoo (blood and fire)
hot milk - jackie mittoo (blood and fire)
darker shade of black - jackie mittoo (blood and fire)
warrior - jason wilson (no label)
soul bird - jackie mittoo (light in the attic)
reggae magic - jackie mittoo (soul jazz)
black wax - pablove black (soul jazz)
dub rock - soundstorm (soul jazz)
trouble - citizen sound (VX)
truths and dub - improvisators dub (vicious circle)

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.