domingo, dezembro 31, 2006
2006 >>> 2007
The year has come to an end and I know it's a shame to complaint but lookin' back, we really gotta have a lot more lovin'...
I spent the last few days in Helsinki with a dear friend. Time magazin's cartoon of the year was rather appropriate for the trip and so was global warming.
In the following days I'm going to post some of my favourite records of 2006 in a radio format. Some of these tracks where posted before as a normal link but I found this mp3 player just recently and me like it. It's fun. They're nice to look at and very easy to use.
Comments and pictures will follow as soon as posting is over.
sábado, dezembro 23, 2006
John Davis Revisited
A while back, in July, I posted a compilation of the music of John Davis but I removed the links because of protest from the label owner. Now that I found a fairly convenient and satisfying broadcast system for mp3, I finally bring you back the music of John Davis as a teaser. If you like it, buy it.
A while back, in July, I posted a compilation of the music of John Davis but I removed the links because of protest from the label owner. Now that I found a fairly convenient and satisfying broadcast system for mp3, I finally bring you back the music of John Davis as a teaser. If you like it, buy it.
sexta-feira, dezembro 22, 2006
quinta-feira, dezembro 21, 2006
Lil' Chris
I heard this band? or Kid? - is this for real? - on the radio just the other day as a request from a listener [check out the banner above] and boy, is sounded really great!
The requested song in question was Checkin' it out... so check it out.
I heard this band? or Kid? - is this for real? - on the radio just the other day as a request from a listener [check out the banner above] and boy, is sounded really great!
I first found some promo stuff [an autoplayin' videopromo] but Youtube is also serving separate quality video's.
The fist one is Gettin' Enough with some funny double entendres on the facts about puberty and sex before they head off for infection island.The requested song in question was Checkin' it out... so check it out.
quarta-feira, dezembro 20, 2006
Planningtorock
Every once in a while you stumble across something completely different. Some artist or a group of people who do somethin’ - music wise - that you haven’t heard before or not quite in that way. There are still people out there who create highly original music. Planningtorock is somethin’ different. It’s a one-woman band called Janine Rostron who lives in Berlin like so many young starting musicians and artists today. She performs solo but surrounded by her own larger-than-life video projections. The music, the images and the performance enhance each other in order to create a total live experience.
I learned about this lady by checking the programme for the Noorderslag / Eurosonic festival in Groningen and 20jazzfunkgreats is also in to it.
The festival and the City have a long tradition of this type of independent music. She’s performing there in January.
I found her name, did some googling and bingo some amazing music! She has a debut album out this year which I recently bought online at eMusic and it’s really amazing. Highly original but still pretty enjoyable and accessible [still this is just my judgment].
I found a description of her style by Matmos’ Drew Daniel… ‘barrelhouse boogie-woogie pianos with ridiculous xylophone trills, honkytonk horn sleaze, bluesy growls, and creepy coos’ in a Pitchfork review. I read some other articles that compare her music with good old Residents, the Knife and Björk. The first for the avant-garde with strong roots and the lather for the kaleidoscopic vocal style.
References that I didn’t find anywhere but which are aparant to me are Laurie Anderson [there’s a link on her home site], as always offcourse Kate Bush and especially Danielle Dax. Dax is a solo artist, Indie Queen and former member of the Lemon Kittens. She’s also heavy into Old Man’s Blues and visual performance [to say the least]. Other names that maybe ring a bell are Diamanda Gallas, Lydia Lunch and Foetus. All of them make pretty dark music, kind of twisted stuff but with a certain sense of black humour. Plannigtorock is the same, but only different…
Some proof [be carefull with this, it was the eighties, ya know…]
Or maybe it sounds more like this…
all time favourites Les Rita Mitsouko [Hey, Bollywood wasn’t rediscovered yesterday, ya know]
Planningtorock – Have It All
Every once in a while you stumble across something completely different. Some artist or a group of people who do somethin’ - music wise - that you haven’t heard before or not quite in that way. There are still people out there who create highly original music. Planningtorock is somethin’ different. It’s a one-woman band called Janine Rostron who lives in Berlin like so many young starting musicians and artists today. She performs solo but surrounded by her own larger-than-life video projections. The music, the images and the performance enhance each other in order to create a total live experience.
I learned about this lady by checking the programme for the Noorderslag / Eurosonic festival in Groningen and 20jazzfunkgreats is also in to it.
The festival and the City have a long tradition of this type of independent music. She’s performing there in January.
I found her name, did some googling and bingo some amazing music! She has a debut album out this year which I recently bought online at eMusic and it’s really amazing. Highly original but still pretty enjoyable and accessible [still this is just my judgment].
I found a description of her style by Matmos’ Drew Daniel… ‘barrelhouse boogie-woogie pianos with ridiculous xylophone trills, honkytonk horn sleaze, bluesy growls, and creepy coos’ in a Pitchfork review. I read some other articles that compare her music with good old Residents, the Knife and Björk. The first for the avant-garde with strong roots and the lather for the kaleidoscopic vocal style.
References that I didn’t find anywhere but which are aparant to me are Laurie Anderson [there’s a link on her home site], as always offcourse Kate Bush and especially Danielle Dax. Dax is a solo artist, Indie Queen and former member of the Lemon Kittens. She’s also heavy into Old Man’s Blues and visual performance [to say the least]. Other names that maybe ring a bell are Diamanda Gallas, Lydia Lunch and Foetus. All of them make pretty dark music, kind of twisted stuff but with a certain sense of black humour. Plannigtorock is the same, but only different…
Some proof [be carefull with this, it was the eighties, ya know…]
Or maybe it sounds more like this…
all time favourites Les Rita Mitsouko [Hey, Bollywood wasn’t rediscovered yesterday, ya know]
Planningtorock – Have It All
terça-feira, dezembro 12, 2006
Daktaris
040 Daktaris – Soul Explosion – Musicawa Silt
041 Daktaris – Soul Explosion – Musicawa Silt Part 2
Old dictator Mengistu of Ethiopia has been condemned in absentia for genocide today by the supreme court of Ethiopia. Chance that he will be prosecuted is rather small, since he’s living in exile in Zimbabwe after the fall of his regime back in 1991. But one never knows.
As a way of commemorating this fact of justice, some music from the heyday of Ethiopian popmusic, the early 70’s, just before Mengistu liberated Ethiopia from that other tiran, Haile Selassie.
Musicawa Silt was originally written as Muziqawi Silt by The Wallias Band, but I recently found a nice cover version by The Daktaris on their album Soul Explosion. The original version, you can find on the compilation album Ethiopian Groove which is part 13 in the amazing ongoing series of Ethiopiques. I have an older version of that compilation which was released by Munich Records under the same name and almost the same list of songs.
The Wallias Band was founded by Mulatu Astatke and is led by Johannes Tokola. They have backed many of Ethiopia's leading stars and still perform in the Addis Ababa Hilton today.
The Daktaris are formed by members of the Afrobeat Aficionados Antibalas. Their version is in 2 parts whereas the original has only one part. So two for the price of one. Fair Deal.
Read more.
040 Daktaris – Soul Explosion – Musicawa Silt
041 Daktaris – Soul Explosion – Musicawa Silt Part 2
Old dictator Mengistu of Ethiopia has been condemned in absentia for genocide today by the supreme court of Ethiopia. Chance that he will be prosecuted is rather small, since he’s living in exile in Zimbabwe after the fall of his regime back in 1991. But one never knows.
As a way of commemorating this fact of justice, some music from the heyday of Ethiopian popmusic, the early 70’s, just before Mengistu liberated Ethiopia from that other tiran, Haile Selassie.
Musicawa Silt was originally written as Muziqawi Silt by The Wallias Band, but I recently found a nice cover version by The Daktaris on their album Soul Explosion. The original version, you can find on the compilation album Ethiopian Groove which is part 13 in the amazing ongoing series of Ethiopiques. I have an older version of that compilation which was released by Munich Records under the same name and almost the same list of songs.
The Wallias Band was founded by Mulatu Astatke and is led by Johannes Tokola. They have backed many of Ethiopia's leading stars and still perform in the Addis Ababa Hilton today.
The Daktaris are formed by members of the Afrobeat Aficionados Antibalas. Their version is in 2 parts whereas the original has only one part. So two for the price of one. Fair Deal.
Read more.
domingo, dezembro 10, 2006
Don’t stop the Black Gold
Asha Bhosle on Saturday was really great, I’m glad that I didn’t miss that one but more of that later on...
I'm listening to Gilles Peterson World Wide show right now so Black music is still going strong down here. I’m posting an update of some recent favourites. I recently found a compilation album that I’ve been looking for a long time. Funky Drops. Nothing special, just a fine collection of some rare and less rare tracks.
034 Fabulous Counts - Lunar Funk
This a great Fuzz Rock/Funk crossover track from 1970. The Fabulous Counts or Counts are best known for their classic first single Jan Jan b/w The Girl From Kenya recorded in 1968 for the Detroit based Moira label but I’m still lookin’ for that one. The single contains all of the trademarks that would make up the bands sound: wailing Hammond, two saxes in unison and funky, slightly off-centered guitar. Particularly Jan Jan is a floor-shaker.
Their last Moira 45’s are Get Down People b/w this Lunar Funk before they got more slick and started to record for Westbound of Funkadelica and Parliament fame. I found the track on the compilation Funky Drops volume 2 from 2002. It’s a fast moving tune with lots of wah-wah and echo effects in the break.
It's interesting to note that unlike many of their contemporaries, the Fabulous Counts manage to stay away from the influence of the Meters, the premier instrumental funk band of the era. Their sound has a harder, city edge to it and a much more conventional (and often less interesting) approach to funk than the Meters. But the lunar space sounds makes it still stand out.
Read more here.
035 The Twilight Clone – Herbie Hancock
From Magic Windows, Herbie Hancock’s 1981 break away from generic dance music and Disco into the homeland of 70’s funk. It’s basically an R&B record with funkier, more flexible rhythm sections, more intriguing electronic instrumental decorations by Hancock and some first-class instrumental contributions by the Brothers Johnsons, the Escovedo family and Michael Brecker.
Closing title The Twilight Clone is Hancock’s spooky foretaste of 80’s techno-pop and it sounds to me that he listened very well to The Talking Heads futuristic electrofunk sound from 1980’s Remain in Light.
036 Karawane – Escort
I found this track on the Bumrocks blog while they’re off on safari apparently. I do hope them come back because they post great stuff. I didn’t know anything about this percussive deep disco house gem complete with afro chanting inspired by Hugo Ball’s dada sound poem of the same name.
This psychedelic percussion-driven journey recalls the likes of Was Not Was and Kid Creole. It’s perfect for all fans of Rong Music, Idjut Boys, Prins Thomas and Lindstrom, Metro Area, Putsch 79 and Chicken Lips.
Escort was formed in early 2005 by Dan Balis, Eugene Cho, and Darius Maghen out of a desire to bring detail, depth, and perhaps most of all, the R&B songwriting tradition, back to underground dance music. Some may find their records shamelessly nostalgic: a blast of unadulterated and symphonic disco but for the members of Escort, this is not about the past. This is about a fervent belief that certain things are timeless: musicianship, songwriting, and production. No samples, no loops, just well crafted songs and great performances. Karawane is Escort's second release.
jolifanto bambla o falli bambla
großiga m'pfa habla horem
egiga goramen
higo bloiko russula huju
hollaka hollala
anlogo bung
blago bung blago bung
bosso fataka
ü üü ü
schampa wulla wussa olobo
hej tatta gorem
eschige zunbada
wulubu ssubudu uluwu ssubudu
tumba ba-umf
kusa gauma
ba - umf
037 Kansas City Funk – Roy Hargrove
This track’s from Hargrove’s last album Distractions. Roy Hargrove is probably one the finest Jazz musicians at this moment but more important, he’s very eclectic and open minded. He mixes many styles and works with a lot of contemporary soul artist like Erika Badu, D’Angelo,… This track is rather short but nevertheless has it all in terms of funk.
038 The Bombers – Get Dancin' (12'' Version)
The Bombers is a project of Pat DeSerio and from the same producer of Kebekelektrik and Rational Youth. It’s a Canadian group fronted by the vocals of Tamara Lorincz and Mack Jones that burst on the disco scene in 1978. The group's first album on Mel Cherren's West End label was simply-titled Bombers and contained an album version of this track. In 1979 West End issued the album to DJ's as a 2-12" singles package. This practice was originated by Prelude Records and copied by Salsoul. This commercial 12" remix of (Everybody) Get Dancin' went top ten in the clubs and also propelled sales of the album.
039 Yarbrough & Peoples - Don't Stop The Music
This singing duo from Dallas was discovered by Charlie Wilson of the GAP Band. Don't Stop The Music was their biggest hit single back in 1981 and a sinewy slab of synth-based R&B/funk that was way ahead of its time and had a far-reaching influence in the following years.
Read more.
And now for somethin’ completely different…
Work on you – MSTRKRFT
MSTRKRFT or Masterkraft are Jesse F. Keeler of Death from Above 1979 and his group’s producer, Al-P, gone electro house and they sound like what Daft Punk should sound like today if it wasn’t for the fact that they’re human after all and not man-machines. I like this opener and highlight of their album The Looks, especially the hyped-up vocoder and way that drive builds up and up. A real floor-filler that makes one live up to the phrase… dance as if no one is watching you.
I’m gonna work on you
Until you’re feeling right
I’m gonna make you right
Under the disco lights
Asha Bhosle on Saturday was really great, I’m glad that I didn’t miss that one but more of that later on...
I'm listening to Gilles Peterson World Wide show right now so Black music is still going strong down here. I’m posting an update of some recent favourites. I recently found a compilation album that I’ve been looking for a long time. Funky Drops. Nothing special, just a fine collection of some rare and less rare tracks.
034 Fabulous Counts - Lunar Funk
This a great Fuzz Rock/Funk crossover track from 1970. The Fabulous Counts or Counts are best known for their classic first single Jan Jan b/w The Girl From Kenya recorded in 1968 for the Detroit based Moira label but I’m still lookin’ for that one. The single contains all of the trademarks that would make up the bands sound: wailing Hammond, two saxes in unison and funky, slightly off-centered guitar. Particularly Jan Jan is a floor-shaker.
Their last Moira 45’s are Get Down People b/w this Lunar Funk before they got more slick and started to record for Westbound of Funkadelica and Parliament fame. I found the track on the compilation Funky Drops volume 2 from 2002. It’s a fast moving tune with lots of wah-wah and echo effects in the break.
It's interesting to note that unlike many of their contemporaries, the Fabulous Counts manage to stay away from the influence of the Meters, the premier instrumental funk band of the era. Their sound has a harder, city edge to it and a much more conventional (and often less interesting) approach to funk than the Meters. But the lunar space sounds makes it still stand out.
Read more here.
035 The Twilight Clone – Herbie Hancock
From Magic Windows, Herbie Hancock’s 1981 break away from generic dance music and Disco into the homeland of 70’s funk. It’s basically an R&B record with funkier, more flexible rhythm sections, more intriguing electronic instrumental decorations by Hancock and some first-class instrumental contributions by the Brothers Johnsons, the Escovedo family and Michael Brecker.
Closing title The Twilight Clone is Hancock’s spooky foretaste of 80’s techno-pop and it sounds to me that he listened very well to The Talking Heads futuristic electrofunk sound from 1980’s Remain in Light.
036 Karawane – Escort
I found this track on the Bumrocks blog while they’re off on safari apparently. I do hope them come back because they post great stuff. I didn’t know anything about this percussive deep disco house gem complete with afro chanting inspired by Hugo Ball’s dada sound poem of the same name.
This psychedelic percussion-driven journey recalls the likes of Was Not Was and Kid Creole. It’s perfect for all fans of Rong Music, Idjut Boys, Prins Thomas and Lindstrom, Metro Area, Putsch 79 and Chicken Lips.
Escort was formed in early 2005 by Dan Balis, Eugene Cho, and Darius Maghen out of a desire to bring detail, depth, and perhaps most of all, the R&B songwriting tradition, back to underground dance music. Some may find their records shamelessly nostalgic: a blast of unadulterated and symphonic disco but for the members of Escort, this is not about the past. This is about a fervent belief that certain things are timeless: musicianship, songwriting, and production. No samples, no loops, just well crafted songs and great performances. Karawane is Escort's second release.
jolifanto bambla o falli bambla
großiga m'pfa habla horem
egiga goramen
higo bloiko russula huju
hollaka hollala
anlogo bung
blago bung blago bung
bosso fataka
ü üü ü
schampa wulla wussa olobo
hej tatta gorem
eschige zunbada
wulubu ssubudu uluwu ssubudu
tumba ba-umf
kusa gauma
ba - umf
037 Kansas City Funk – Roy Hargrove
This track’s from Hargrove’s last album Distractions. Roy Hargrove is probably one the finest Jazz musicians at this moment but more important, he’s very eclectic and open minded. He mixes many styles and works with a lot of contemporary soul artist like Erika Badu, D’Angelo,… This track is rather short but nevertheless has it all in terms of funk.
038 The Bombers – Get Dancin' (12'' Version)
The Bombers is a project of Pat DeSerio and from the same producer of Kebekelektrik and Rational Youth. It’s a Canadian group fronted by the vocals of Tamara Lorincz and Mack Jones that burst on the disco scene in 1978. The group's first album on Mel Cherren's West End label was simply-titled Bombers and contained an album version of this track. In 1979 West End issued the album to DJ's as a 2-12" singles package. This practice was originated by Prelude Records and copied by Salsoul. This commercial 12" remix of (Everybody) Get Dancin' went top ten in the clubs and also propelled sales of the album.
039 Yarbrough & Peoples - Don't Stop The Music
This singing duo from Dallas was discovered by Charlie Wilson of the GAP Band. Don't Stop The Music was their biggest hit single back in 1981 and a sinewy slab of synth-based R&B/funk that was way ahead of its time and had a far-reaching influence in the following years.
Read more.
And now for somethin’ completely different…
Work on you – MSTRKRFT
MSTRKRFT or Masterkraft are Jesse F. Keeler of Death from Above 1979 and his group’s producer, Al-P, gone electro house and they sound like what Daft Punk should sound like today if it wasn’t for the fact that they’re human after all and not man-machines. I like this opener and highlight of their album The Looks, especially the hyped-up vocoder and way that drive builds up and up. A real floor-filler that makes one live up to the phrase… dance as if no one is watching you.
I’m gonna work on you
Until you’re feeling right
I’m gonna make you right
Under the disco lights
segunda-feira, dezembro 04, 2006
Helsinki, tähän i-kirjain johtua
Well, wouldn't you know... I'm going to Helsinki. I never ever thought I would one day end up there - way up north - Of all places but nevertheless, I'm going. And I'm pretty excited. I know absolutely nothin' about Finland except the fact that they have these choirs of shouting men, 'mieskuoro huutajat', and that they like tango. But who doesn't. So I'm going with an open mind and with the intention to enjoy myself.
You won't hear me complain about cold weather or anything... not like these people from Finland in a film from Youtube. It's actually pretty funny. If it's exemplary for the Finnish state of mind to make jokes like that, I'm pretty sure we're going to get along pretty well.
Well, wouldn't you know... I'm going to Helsinki. I never ever thought I would one day end up there - way up north - Of all places but nevertheless, I'm going. And I'm pretty excited. I know absolutely nothin' about Finland except the fact that they have these choirs of shouting men, 'mieskuoro huutajat', and that they like tango. But who doesn't. So I'm going with an open mind and with the intention to enjoy myself.
You won't hear me complain about cold weather or anything... not like these people from Finland in a film from Youtube. It's actually pretty funny. If it's exemplary for the Finnish state of mind to make jokes like that, I'm pretty sure we're going to get along pretty well.
sexta-feira, dezembro 01, 2006
Hi di ho
The Bollywood funfair's still going on. This time Belgian danceproducer and DJ Buscemi. He used to make all sorts of electrobossa and lounge type of music which I like but after a while it all starts to sound the same. He's got a new album out and it sounds more diverse this time. Some Balkan Beats, which are gettin' popular around these parts, and yes, Bollywood Beats with some fine results. This track really kicks.
Buscemi - Bollywood Swing King
The Bollywood funfair's still going on. This time Belgian danceproducer and DJ Buscemi. He used to make all sorts of electrobossa and lounge type of music which I like but after a while it all starts to sound the same. He's got a new album out and it sounds more diverse this time. Some Balkan Beats, which are gettin' popular around these parts, and yes, Bollywood Beats with some fine results. This track really kicks.
Buscemi - Bollywood Swing King
quarta-feira, novembro 29, 2006
Ze French Touch
Some early French disco this time. Many people associate France and dance music with the French Touch of Motorbass, Etienne De Crécy, Air, Daft Punk, … but there has always been great dance music comin’ out of France. As a form of proof some early stuff from the heyday of Disco, somewhere around 1978 and early 80’s.
The opener Got To Have Loving is a major classic, a tour de force of imaginative synth textures, rhythmic variation and hypnotic girl vocals framing Don Ray's powerful voice and bitter lyrics. It’s From the only album from Don Ray (Aka Raymond Donnez and with a significant input by the famous Cerrone). His earliest known work is with Serge Gainsbourg in 1968 and Françoise Hardy in 1971 prior to the disco revolution. His jump into the disco world came with his keyboard work on friend and fellow Frenchman Cerrone's landmark Love In C Minor and Supernature albums.
Got To Have Loving – Don Ray
Next some classics from Cerrone. There’s more than enough info about this guy circulating on the world wide web so I just stick to the music.
Supernature – Cerrone
Give Me Love [original radio edit] – Cerrone
Striptease – Cerrone
* Some of the female backing vocals and lyrics on these tracks by Don Ray and Cerrone are by Lene Lovich.
Timing, Forget the Timing and Follow Me are part of a Rephlex label re-release of a classic disco record by French producers Bernard Fevre and Jackie Giordano from 1978. This EP is one of the most sought-after collector items of all time and a true disco masterpiece, a dark but rewarding piece of electro-disco that inspired both Metro Area and Luke Vibert. Even though this music is from the late 70's it still sounds fresh and new. Some people thought that the re-release was actually a joke and instead a current release of Luke Vibert. Black Devil Disco Club is for real and an all time favourite!
Timing, Forget the Timing – Black Devil Disco Club
Follow Me – Black Devil Disco Club
About the last one I hardly know anything. It’s French and from an album called L`Integrale by Five Letters and it’s from the early 80’s.
Magnifico Mambo – Five Letters
Some early French disco this time. Many people associate France and dance music with the French Touch of Motorbass, Etienne De Crécy, Air, Daft Punk, … but there has always been great dance music comin’ out of France. As a form of proof some early stuff from the heyday of Disco, somewhere around 1978 and early 80’s.
The opener Got To Have Loving is a major classic, a tour de force of imaginative synth textures, rhythmic variation and hypnotic girl vocals framing Don Ray's powerful voice and bitter lyrics. It’s From the only album from Don Ray (Aka Raymond Donnez and with a significant input by the famous Cerrone). His earliest known work is with Serge Gainsbourg in 1968 and Françoise Hardy in 1971 prior to the disco revolution. His jump into the disco world came with his keyboard work on friend and fellow Frenchman Cerrone's landmark Love In C Minor and Supernature albums.
Got To Have Loving – Don Ray
Next some classics from Cerrone. There’s more than enough info about this guy circulating on the world wide web so I just stick to the music.
Supernature – Cerrone
Give Me Love [original radio edit] – Cerrone
Striptease – Cerrone
* Some of the female backing vocals and lyrics on these tracks by Don Ray and Cerrone are by Lene Lovich.
Timing, Forget the Timing and Follow Me are part of a Rephlex label re-release of a classic disco record by French producers Bernard Fevre and Jackie Giordano from 1978. This EP is one of the most sought-after collector items of all time and a true disco masterpiece, a dark but rewarding piece of electro-disco that inspired both Metro Area and Luke Vibert. Even though this music is from the late 70's it still sounds fresh and new. Some people thought that the re-release was actually a joke and instead a current release of Luke Vibert. Black Devil Disco Club is for real and an all time favourite!
Timing, Forget the Timing – Black Devil Disco Club
Follow Me – Black Devil Disco Club
About the last one I hardly know anything. It’s French and from an album called L`Integrale by Five Letters and it’s from the early 80’s.
Magnifico Mambo – Five Letters
terça-feira, novembro 28, 2006
Hurray for Bollywood
It seems that after twelve years of waiting and being totally devoted to old Bollywood soundtracks the ultimate best-of-collection is released. The label Bombay-connection has released 2 volumes of Bollywood Rare Grooves & Beats and it seems that more splendid stuff is on the way. Sure, their have been great samplers of this type of music before but what sets this collection apart, apart from the fine taste of choice and extensive liner notes, is the enhanced sound quality. I’ve been listening for years now to bad audio cassettes which I bought in India and some rare CD’s back home but without exception the sound quality is pretty awful. Now, I don’t mind it a lot, because it ads to the charm of the music, but since I’ve heard some of these tracks in a far better quality I know that they’re meant and better this way.
This great collection finally sets my mind to peace because 12 years ago, on arriving back from a first trip to India, I planned to pay a visit to Munich Records in Groningen to urge them to release this stuff. Back then they were the only ones I knew who would be crazy enough to do so. I never made the trip – for many reasons – but now I no longer have to.
Caesartjalbo is sharing this music for the moment and I’ve found some movin’ images from the singer Mohammed Rafi in order to make some publicity for the music but also for a hopefully fine concert that’s taking place in the near future. On the 9th of December the great playbacksinger Asha Bhosle is payin’ a visit to Brussels for the very fist time and probably also for the last time – knowing her age and everything. So enjoy!
It seems that after twelve years of waiting and being totally devoted to old Bollywood soundtracks the ultimate best-of-collection is released. The label Bombay-connection has released 2 volumes of Bollywood Rare Grooves & Beats and it seems that more splendid stuff is on the way. Sure, their have been great samplers of this type of music before but what sets this collection apart, apart from the fine taste of choice and extensive liner notes, is the enhanced sound quality. I’ve been listening for years now to bad audio cassettes which I bought in India and some rare CD’s back home but without exception the sound quality is pretty awful. Now, I don’t mind it a lot, because it ads to the charm of the music, but since I’ve heard some of these tracks in a far better quality I know that they’re meant and better this way.
This great collection finally sets my mind to peace because 12 years ago, on arriving back from a first trip to India, I planned to pay a visit to Munich Records in Groningen to urge them to release this stuff. Back then they were the only ones I knew who would be crazy enough to do so. I never made the trip – for many reasons – but now I no longer have to.
Caesartjalbo is sharing this music for the moment and I’ve found some movin’ images from the singer Mohammed Rafi in order to make some publicity for the music but also for a hopefully fine concert that’s taking place in the near future. On the 9th of December the great playbacksinger Asha Bhosle is payin’ a visit to Brussels for the very fist time and probably also for the last time – knowing her age and everything. So enjoy!
domingo, novembro 19, 2006
Herbert
The last one for today. A BBC documentary about Matthew Herbert. What can I say, I’m a fan. I got almost all his records. For me, it started with the remixes he made for others. He also produced former Moloko singer Roisin Murphy’s solo debut Ruby Blue. He has a very personal approach towards electronic music. If I remember well, he also had a kind of dogma pamphlet about the proper use of samples but I’m quit sure he’ll be the first one to sin against his own rules. I’ll leave the rest of talking to Herbert himself. Just watch how he builds up nice tune in a couple of minutes with some politically correct groceries.
Esme’s Waltz
BBC Collective interview [never mind the error announcement, just proceed…]
PS
Somethin’ wonderful just popped up in my mailbox. Since I’m a registered Bleep member –check out their site – I get updates about new releases and general news. The last version had a link to a free download of the band Grizzly Bear. They were scheduled for touring Europe this winter but because of misfortune that tour is cancelled. As a way of saying sorry, they give away a free song of their last album Yellow House.
On a Neck, on a Spit
Grizzly Bear - The knife
Somethin’ wonderful just popped up in my mailbox. Since I’m a registered Bleep member –check out their site – I get updates about new releases and general news. The last version had a link to a free download of the band Grizzly Bear. They were scheduled for touring Europe this winter but because of misfortune that tour is cancelled. As a way of saying sorry, they give away a free song of their last album Yellow House.
On a Neck, on a Spit
Grizzly Bear - The knife
Harper's Bizarre
Just some random stuff this time. I wondered whether the weather is still better, for this time of year because of the soundtrack I’m playin’. I’ve been listening all week now to the new CD Ys [pronounced Lies] of Joanna Newsom, and it’s still growin’ on me. I think it’s pretty timeless stuff. Critics call this New Weird Freakfolk; it’s not something you’d play an awful lot but I know I’ll still be to listening to it 10 years from now.
I liked her music before but I like it even more so now. Her voice matured and gained more flexibility over the years but the bonus of this album is the collaboration with other great musicians like Van Dyke Parks, Jim O'Rourke and Steve Albini.
Van Dyke delivered some great symphonic arrangements which ad a kind of old school musical fairytale appeal to it. O’Rourke and Albini both trembled the knobs and delivered the right at your face production. The arrangements really soften things, because the lyrics are heavy stuff - medieval imagery ad old English vocabulary are not exactly my expertise [but with a little help from an online dictionary I can pretty well master it].
The melodies are still typically home-made and one of a kind. The songs are really long for a pop song – an average 10 minutes – but are like little symphonies with a great flow and still hummable as I discovered to my own surprise.
Cosmia – Joanne Newsom [Ys 2006]
when you ate I saw your eyelashes
saw them shake like wind on rushes
in the corn field when she called me
moths surround me - thought they'd drown me
and I miss your precious heart
dried rose petal, redbrown circles
framed your eyes and stained your knuckles
and all those lonely nights down by the river
brought me bread and water (water, in)
but though I tried so hard my little darling
I couldn't keep the night from coming in
and all those lonely nights down by the river
I was brought my bread and water by the kith and the kin
now in the quiet hour when I am sleepin'
I cannot keep the night from comin' in
why've you gone away?
gone away again?
I'll sleep through the rest of my days
if you've gone away again
sleep through the rest of my days
why've you gone away, away
seven suns, seven suns
away, away, away, away
can you hear me? will you listen?
don't come near me, don't go missing
in the lissome light of evening:
help me, Cosmia; I'm grieving
and all those lonely nights down by the river
brought me bread and water (water, in)
but though I tried so hard my little darling
I couldn't keep the night from coming in
and all those lonely nights down by the river
I was brought my bread and water by the kith and the kin
now in the quiet hour when I am sleepin'
I cannot keep the night from comin' in
beneath the porch light we've all been circling
beat our dust hearts, singe our flour wings
but in the corner, something is happening!
wild Cosmia, what have you seen?
water were your limbs, and the fire was her hair
and then the moonlight caught your eye, and you rose through the air
well, if you've seen true light, then this is my prayer:
will you call me when you get there?
and I miss your precious heart;
and miss, and miss, and miss,
& miss, & miss, & miss, & miss, & miss your heart
but release your precious heart
to its feast, for precious hearts
Video – Sprout and the Bean – Joanne Newsom [The Milk-Eyed Mender 2004]
What’s more?! As an antidote for all this delicate softness. The Albini link brings me to Fugazi. This band really saved Indie music for me in those dreadful grunge years when everybody listened to Nirvana and Pearl Jam. I never saw the fun of it. While surfing on the net this afternoon and posting this message, I found some live material from Fugazi on some other weblogs, namely http://detectiefvanzwam.blogspot.com/ and Zen and the Art of Face Punching. As ever on Youtube, this punch in yer face is great stuff. I wish I was there, because I only saw the live once. Enjoy.
Fugazi - Shut the door
Some other image footage from another band, Broken Social Scene. I got acquainted with this band when I heard this song on the radio. At first I thought, what a really nice new song from Dinosaur Jr. but then I remembered that they split-up. I learned that they’re a Canadian collective of musicians and that this song, Cause=Time is from a second album called You Forgot It In People. It was out of print but about a year or two ago it was re-released. I bought it and it’s really great. An all time classic. The other older albums are rather obscure and noisy. This makes me think that I should check whether they’ve got a new one out.
domingo, novembro 12, 2006
King Kong
On the 4th of December it will be 13 years since Frank Zappa past away after a long period of fighting cancer. I still remember what day it was when someone at school brought me the news. I was doing a final exam at the moment just before the winter break at college. It didn’t got trough to me right away. I knew he was ill but dead was the last of my thoughts.
Anyway, here's some advanced romance since it still being November and all…
King Kong Itself (As Played By The Mothers In A Studio)
King Kong II (Its Magnificence As Interpreted By Dom Dewild)
King Kong III (As Motorhead Explains It)
King Kong IV (Gardner Varieties)
King Kong V
King Kong VI (Live at Miami Pop Festival)
for the rest… Anything, Anytime For Absolutely No Reason At All
Mike Nesmith and Frank Zappa on ‘The Monkees’ show
This is probably my favourite version of the band doing Florentine Pogen
The same, doing Approximate (1974) – I only wish music classes were like that in my days
Rollo
The Ensemble Modern playin’ A Pound for a Brown at the Frankfurt Opera
And of course… King Kong again
sábado, novembro 11, 2006
The return of Pop that smells funny
............................[Marilyn Monroe reading Ulysses]A while ago I posted a bunch of vocal popsongs in an electronic era. There's plenty more where those came from. So, here are some oldies and some brand new ones. In A Manner Of Speaking – Tuxedomoon
Dreiklangs Dimensionen – Rheingold
Some Guys Have All The Luck – Robert Palmer
Git – Skeletons and the Girl-Faced Boys
In The Morning – Junior Boys
Girl And The Sea – The Presets
domingo, outubro 08, 2006
Michel Gondry
I’m a fan of Michel Gondry and there’s a new film of him in the movie theatres right now, The Science of Sleep. I haven’t seen it yet but what I’ve heard is that it doesn’t leave one cold. You either love it or hate it.
Before he became a well known director and darling of ze rich and famoz like Björk, The White Stripes, The Chemical Brothers and many others, he made video clips for little known French bands and artists. A remarkable one from his early period is La Tour De Pise which he made for a French singer-songwriter Jean François Cohen. I found it – as always – on youtube. In this clip he makes clever use of the city landscape of neon’s, billboards and traffic signs to write the lyrics. It’s all done with split screens which pop up and fade out to the rhythm. The choreography very nicely follows the flow of the song. It’s a nice tribute to the city and city life in the wee small hours and early morning.
Something similar was done in a mid-'70s episode of an old American children's TV programme called The Electric Company.
I’m a fan of Michel Gondry and there’s a new film of him in the movie theatres right now, The Science of Sleep. I haven’t seen it yet but what I’ve heard is that it doesn’t leave one cold. You either love it or hate it.
Before he became a well known director and darling of ze rich and famoz like Björk, The White Stripes, The Chemical Brothers and many others, he made video clips for little known French bands and artists. A remarkable one from his early period is La Tour De Pise which he made for a French singer-songwriter Jean François Cohen. I found it – as always – on youtube. In this clip he makes clever use of the city landscape of neon’s, billboards and traffic signs to write the lyrics. It’s all done with split screens which pop up and fade out to the rhythm. The choreography very nicely follows the flow of the song. It’s a nice tribute to the city and city life in the wee small hours and early morning.
Something similar was done in a mid-'70s episode of an old American children's TV programme called The Electric Company.
sábado, setembro 23, 2006
Marcos Valle
I’m back again. Posts have been scarce lately. Why, was it…
A. I’ve been to busy workin’
B. I’ve been out of love, in love and out of love again
C. Lost interest in the medium and the wonderful world of blog
D. Out of upload/download credits
E. None of the above
F. All of the above
Who knows…
Fact is that the great singer/songwriter/producer and icon of brazilian music Marcos Valle is comin’ to Ghent for a concert on the 27th of October. I wasn’t aware of it until friends of mine, who had tickets, invited me to come along.
Humble thanx to thee, thy noble fair hearted friend.
A funny thing was that they didn’t know who Marcos Valle was, so for them I offer this introduction and warm-up for the concert.
Marcos Valle is part of the second wave of bossa nova composers, following in the footsteps of the great and both late Gilberto and Jobim.
In 1964, at the age of 19 he was named brasil's leading composer of the Year. So he made a quick start. His great strength is the melodic power of his songs. He basically wrote the tunes and his brother Paulo Sergio Valle wrote the lyrics.
The highlights of his musical output are from the sixties and the early seventies but he’s currently busy with a kind of a comeback since he was rediscovered in the late eighties by the rare-groove scene and the drum ‘n bossa and chill-out movements from the nineties. He subsequently released a couple of superb records over the last years.
Over the years he changed his style regularly to stay in tune with the changing times and applied as a true renaissance man with great results his melodic prowess to the following trends of brazilian popular music. As a result his music is one of the building blocks of MPB. Which is short for musica popular brasileira, the main musical songbook and cherished heritage of brasil.
Starting with standard bossa tunes like Samba de Verão, better known as So Nice and made famous by the likes of Astrud Gilberto, Walter Wanderley, Sinatra, Stan Getz, and many more, and Os Grillos better known as Crickets Sing For Anamaria wherein Valle's wife Anamaria cheerfully fills in for Astrud Gilberto as the obligatory blasé-voiced Bahian chanteuse.
In 1966 Walter Wanderley took Valle's song So Nice (Summer Samba) into the US Top 40. The international success of So Nice enabled Valle to move to the United States, where he worked as a composer for several years. In 1968, his Verve debut Samba '68 became a brazilian classic thanks to simple, infectious pop songs like Batucada. That same year, the brazilian-only Viola Enluarada with arrangements by Dori Caymmi, Eumir Deodato and Oscar Castro Neves, and back-up of The Jovem Guarda [which brought rock & roll to brasil] on a couple of tracks, became a big hit in South America, thanks in part to the title track [with vocals by a young Milton Nascimento].
The rock & roll era that had already influenced Tropicalistas like Os Mutantes, Caetano Veloso, and Gilberto Gil really began inspiring Valle on his return to brasil. He then promptly recorded several albums that arguably stand out as his greatest work.
With albums like the 1971 classic Garra, he moved away from native brazilian forms of bossa nova and samba into a rock and funk influenced sound that played upon groove-heavy bass and a smooth fusion-soaked sound.
My favourite one is Previsão do Tempo which means something like weather forecast but can also mean forecast or sign of the times [in my opinion]. During the late sixties and seventies brasil was under a military leadership and many artists (un)voluntary fled their country. The ones who stayed had to be very cautious not to be too critical. As a result many lyrics of that era have double entendres and so can be (mis)understood in many ways. Chico Barque da Hollanda’s song Calice is the best example of a sweet innocent message on top and bitter message underneath. The people understood this and loved them for it. On the other hand Valle was also clearly just out to have a good time with his band Azymuth on this goofy, funky album singing super-hummable tunes like Mentira and Previsão Do Tempo.
In the late seventies and eighties he finally moved to the US and continued to record solo albums, adding electronics and an smooth production techniques and started to produce music for film and tele novellas, including the theme to brasil's version of Sesame Street.
In the late 80’s dozens of rare-groove compilations started to appear which featured Valle’s crucial, overlooked tracks from the 60’s and 70’s.
In 1995, the British label Mr. Bongo released a two-volume series [The Essential Marcos Valle] dedicated to his work. This was my personnel introduction to his music.
One year later, Valle appeared on the jam-session compilation Friends from Rio, and in 1998 returned with a new album, Nova Bossa Nova. That same year, the Lumiar label released The Marcos Valle Songbook, Vols. 1-2, including new versions of Valle standards by Gal Costa, Caetano Veloso, Maria Bethania, Edu Lobo, Joyce, Chico Barque, João Bosco, and Azymuth, among others.
The new millennium heralded the studio album Escape and Contrasts.
His last album came out this year and is the reason for the current tour around Europe. I haven’t heard it yet but it’s apparently mainly light-jazz instrumentals. I hope the concert will not focus too much on this record and that he also plays some of his classic songs.
Samba de Verão / So Nice [Summer Samba]
Os Grilos
Crickets Sing for Anamaria
Batucada Sergiu
Viola Enluarada [Marcos Valle e Milton Nascimento]
Revolução Orgánica
Mustang Cor de Sangue
Azimuth
Democústico
Garra
Mentira
Previsão do Tempo
Sei Là
Bicicleta
Samba de Verão 2
Samba de Verão [Caetano Veloso]
On Line
Bar Ingles [roc hunter mix]
Poweride
Fundo Falso
Parabens
I’m back again. Posts have been scarce lately. Why, was it…
A. I’ve been to busy workin’
B. I’ve been out of love, in love and out of love again
C. Lost interest in the medium and the wonderful world of blog
D. Out of upload/download credits
E. None of the above
F. All of the above
Who knows…
Fact is that the great singer/songwriter/producer and icon of brazilian music Marcos Valle is comin’ to Ghent for a concert on the 27th of October. I wasn’t aware of it until friends of mine, who had tickets, invited me to come along.
Humble thanx to thee, thy noble fair hearted friend.
A funny thing was that they didn’t know who Marcos Valle was, so for them I offer this introduction and warm-up for the concert.
Marcos Valle is part of the second wave of bossa nova composers, following in the footsteps of the great and both late Gilberto and Jobim.
In 1964, at the age of 19 he was named brasil's leading composer of the Year. So he made a quick start. His great strength is the melodic power of his songs. He basically wrote the tunes and his brother Paulo Sergio Valle wrote the lyrics.
The highlights of his musical output are from the sixties and the early seventies but he’s currently busy with a kind of a comeback since he was rediscovered in the late eighties by the rare-groove scene and the drum ‘n bossa and chill-out movements from the nineties. He subsequently released a couple of superb records over the last years.
Over the years he changed his style regularly to stay in tune with the changing times and applied as a true renaissance man with great results his melodic prowess to the following trends of brazilian popular music. As a result his music is one of the building blocks of MPB. Which is short for musica popular brasileira, the main musical songbook and cherished heritage of brasil.
Starting with standard bossa tunes like Samba de Verão, better known as So Nice and made famous by the likes of Astrud Gilberto, Walter Wanderley, Sinatra, Stan Getz, and many more, and Os Grillos better known as Crickets Sing For Anamaria wherein Valle's wife Anamaria cheerfully fills in for Astrud Gilberto as the obligatory blasé-voiced Bahian chanteuse.
In 1966 Walter Wanderley took Valle's song So Nice (Summer Samba) into the US Top 40. The international success of So Nice enabled Valle to move to the United States, where he worked as a composer for several years. In 1968, his Verve debut Samba '68 became a brazilian classic thanks to simple, infectious pop songs like Batucada. That same year, the brazilian-only Viola Enluarada with arrangements by Dori Caymmi, Eumir Deodato and Oscar Castro Neves, and back-up of The Jovem Guarda [which brought rock & roll to brasil] on a couple of tracks, became a big hit in South America, thanks in part to the title track [with vocals by a young Milton Nascimento].
The rock & roll era that had already influenced Tropicalistas like Os Mutantes, Caetano Veloso, and Gilberto Gil really began inspiring Valle on his return to brasil. He then promptly recorded several albums that arguably stand out as his greatest work.
With albums like the 1971 classic Garra, he moved away from native brazilian forms of bossa nova and samba into a rock and funk influenced sound that played upon groove-heavy bass and a smooth fusion-soaked sound.
My favourite one is Previsão do Tempo which means something like weather forecast but can also mean forecast or sign of the times [in my opinion]. During the late sixties and seventies brasil was under a military leadership and many artists (un)voluntary fled their country. The ones who stayed had to be very cautious not to be too critical. As a result many lyrics of that era have double entendres and so can be (mis)understood in many ways. Chico Barque da Hollanda’s song Calice is the best example of a sweet innocent message on top and bitter message underneath. The people understood this and loved them for it. On the other hand Valle was also clearly just out to have a good time with his band Azymuth on this goofy, funky album singing super-hummable tunes like Mentira and Previsão Do Tempo.
In the late seventies and eighties he finally moved to the US and continued to record solo albums, adding electronics and an smooth production techniques and started to produce music for film and tele novellas, including the theme to brasil's version of Sesame Street.
In the late 80’s dozens of rare-groove compilations started to appear which featured Valle’s crucial, overlooked tracks from the 60’s and 70’s.
In 1995, the British label Mr. Bongo released a two-volume series [The Essential Marcos Valle] dedicated to his work. This was my personnel introduction to his music.
One year later, Valle appeared on the jam-session compilation Friends from Rio, and in 1998 returned with a new album, Nova Bossa Nova. That same year, the Lumiar label released The Marcos Valle Songbook, Vols. 1-2, including new versions of Valle standards by Gal Costa, Caetano Veloso, Maria Bethania, Edu Lobo, Joyce, Chico Barque, João Bosco, and Azymuth, among others.
The new millennium heralded the studio album Escape and Contrasts.
His last album came out this year and is the reason for the current tour around Europe. I haven’t heard it yet but it’s apparently mainly light-jazz instrumentals. I hope the concert will not focus too much on this record and that he also plays some of his classic songs.
Samba de Verão / So Nice [Summer Samba]
Os Grilos
Crickets Sing for Anamaria
Batucada Sergiu
Viola Enluarada [Marcos Valle e Milton Nascimento]
Revolução Orgánica
Mustang Cor de Sangue
Azimuth
Democústico
Garra
Mentira
Previsão do Tempo
Sei Là
Bicicleta
Samba de Verão 2
Samba de Verão [Caetano Veloso]
On Line
Bar Ingles [roc hunter mix]
Poweride
Fundo Falso
Parabens
Assinar:
Postagens (Atom)
Quem sou eu
