"Lloyd McNeill is a multidisciplinary artist – a painter who lived in Paris in 1965 and was a friend of Picasso, a musician who has worked with Nina Simone, Nana Vasconceles, Ron Carter, Cecil McBee and many more and a music anthropologist, poet and teacher. In the 1960s he was involved in the civil-rights movement and produced music for ballet, paintings and installations. His music mixes jazz with Latin, Brazilian and African rhythms that McNeill learnt was studying anthropology in his travels through much of Africa and Brazil (where he joined with Dom Salvador, Paulinho da Viola, Paulo Maura and Martinho da Vila)."---Souljazz Records
Transcendent 70's spritual jazz delicacy. Flautist Lloyd McNeill & bassist Marshall Hawkins offer their improvised musical tribute to African American artist Henry Ossawa Tanner at the Smithsonian National Gallery Of Art on July 20th, 1969. Released in a mono edition of 1000 on McNeill's own private imprint, Asha Records, of Washington DC. The mighty Souljazz Records just gave its welcome treatment to Asha #1. All thanks to Innerspace for the 320 rip & Just Jazz Art for the image scans. FYI- there's a routine click at the start of Black Expatriate. All just part & parcel of the rare territory we're in here, folks. Enjoy.
Honey smooth soul from Nassau with a chunk of influence from the Carribean (as the cover promises, reggay). You can hear a little Junakoo percussion too, but mostly just sweet funk guitar & creamy vocal harmonies. Frankie has a wonderful soft falsetto, & when he's being tough, he seems to unearth a secret connection between Rodd Keith & Sammy Davis Jr...(Weirdo Records)
By request (sort of): Frankie Zhivago's debut LP. A charming, oddball Bahamian reggae-soul outing backed by the great Boris Gardner Happening. 320 vinyl rip by yours truly. Sourced from the 2010 Superfly Records reissue.
A1 Flying High A2 Unhappy Man A3 All Around The World A4 I'm Yours A5 Someone Stole Your Love A6 Hello Stranger B1 Pretty Blue Eyes B2 My Eyes Adore You B3 Mr. Bogangles B4 The Last Tear Drop Falls B5 No Woman No Cry B6 Someone Stole Your Love (Part 2)
A major star in Afghanistan in the 70s until his death, and a legend today, Ahmad Zahir has something impressive to offer to all Western ears open to exotic rock & pop sounds. Compiled from his vast discography, here’s a selection with some of his best tracks, an astounding set showing his unique, distinct psychedelic sound. All moving around his deep voice, and with the use of electric guitar (incl. some wah- wah), stunning reverbered drums, some sitar and tabla, organ, flutes and bass, he made it to record some incredible folk- pop tunes that will now meet another world. First time ever out of Afghanistan, listen to the hypnotic, psychedelic folk- pop sounds of Ahmad Zahir! Remastered from the original mastertapes and including extensive linernotes. (Guerssen)
Classic Afghan psychedelic groove. Talk about a lost genre... Ahmad Zahir's voice is all soul and elegance. A heartbreaker. And his band is smoking hot! An incredible new LP from Guerssen Records. Right up there with the best of Sublime Frequencies. While clearly a very different song style, the overall vibe is somewhat reminiscent of their Algerian Proto-Rai release. This is the kind of thing I live for. A total must. 320 vinyl rip by yours truly.
A1 Instrumental
A2 Dar Kunj Dilam Eshqi Kasi
A3 Uoba Darta Rawarem
A4 Laily Laily
A5 Awaleen Eshqam Tu Boodi
B1 Che Kelaf Sar Zad Az Mah
B2 Nishe Garzom
B3 Qawl Qarar
B4 Az Tangna E Mahbas Tarrikey
Colloborative summer mixtape no. 2. The next round of ill goodness from the Ghostcapital and सølγ שаябlɛş camps. A groove-heavy 90 minutes of musical intensity. Keepin' things fresh for our peoples. As our selector styles seem to vibe so well, this could well become a quarterly effort. Do enjoy.
"Guitarist Loren Connors was born in New Haven, Connecticut in 1949. Best known as a composer and improviser, Connors has issued over 50 guitar records on his own imprints (Daggett, St. Joan, Black Label) since the late 1970s and over two dozen on other labels across the globe. He has recorded under the names Guitar Roberts, Loren Mattei, Loren MazzaCane Connors and other variations. Connors' singular adpation of the blues is a distinct personal vision combining the Delta bottleneck sound and the ancestral blues voice (appearing as distortion, baying hounds or multi-tracked guitar), with hauntingly unexpected sounds..." (fvrec)
"It was on [the Bluesmaster] recordings that [Loren Connors] first played with his future wife Suzanne Langille. Together they performed Langille-adapted traditionals and gospel standards, slowing them "down to a crawl." Two albums were released on his own St. Joan label under the moniker Guitar Roberts with Suzanne Langille, entitled BLUESMASTER 1 and BLUESMASTER 2...
In her spare and "deeply considered" arrangements for these songs, Suzanne allows all the room necessary for their collective personality to shine through, making for truly timeless performances. These recordings were Suzanne's first to be released publicly. They showed a singer who was unafraid to push herself to lay claim to these folk tunes and make them her own, particularizing them with her own experience and thus imbuing them with a rare vitality. These recordings layed the groundwork for the work they would later do on the albums COME NIGHT, THE ENCHANTED FOREST, LET THE DARKNESS FALL and with their new group Haunted House." (source)
Bluesmaster 2 is a live set from Connors and Langille's Dome Room Concert of August 26, 1988. It was released on vinyl in an approximate edition of 200-300 copies. Some of these tracks were sourced for an eventual Connors/Langille 1987-1989 collection on Secretly Canadian. This is yet another rare specimen of fine of " exploratory guitar" recently lent to me by my pal David. Muchas gracias, amigo. 320 vinyl rip by yours truly. Enjoy.
"...[A] few guitarists took the flame [John Fahey] had lit and brought it to new places, discovering new territories for the guitar just as he had. One of those was Peter Finger. With about 85 pounds of technique in his namesakes, this man could play the shit out of the guitar. And such a restless spirit, continually challenging himself and looking for new sounds to draw out of the guitar" (Wrath of the Grapevine)
The excellent first LP from German-born guitarist Peter Finger, recorded for Kicking Mule Records when he was just 19. Teutonic or not, I'm inclined to file this one under the banner of "American Primitive", as his bottleneck sound is lyrical & authentic. Then again, authentic is a mighty loaded word, so let's just settle on honest. Finger plays it honest, with a cadence and expressive flair unbothered by plain virtuosity. Not too Windham Hill either. Big thanks to David H for putting this one on my plate. 320 vinyl rip by yours truly.
A1 Blues For The Rhine 3:00
A2 Rattlesnake Shake 1:46
A3 Newborn Yet To Come 2:23
A4 The Fox Hunt 1:32
A5 Homecoming 1:25
A6 Dancing In The Streets 2:05
A7 Barn Dance 1:48
A8 Night Falls While The Day Breaks 3:58
B1 Told You So 2:11
B2 Desert Trot 3:09
B3 Tribute To Jellyroll Baker 1:20
B4 Karen's Blues 2:00
B5 Second Love 3:02
B6 Hard Road To The Left 1:58
B7 Transeuropean Express 1:55
B8 Don't Cry For You Baby 2:40
"Yoon Youn Sun's beautiful, brooding vocals breathe hope where before there was despair; there are retro-'60s touches that are reminiscent of French yé-yé music of the François Hardy, France Gall type -- sultry, yet nurturing a languid innocence; this album by Yoon Youn Sun was released in Korea in 1972, which makes Yoon Youn Sun a contemporary of Kim Jung Mi, which is a good reference point; the record has several modes: there are duets with a male singer; the songs that groove the best (tracks 5 & 6) occur when the Farfisa organ gets involved; the second half of the record features complex arrangements (a few strings find their way into the mix)." (promotional)
Ethereal 1972 downer-folk outing from Korean chanteuse Yoon Youn Sun 윤연선. Sourced from the 2007 World Psychedelia reissue. This is one from the hard-drive archives, folks. Ripped at 160kbps before I knew a thing or two about bit rate. Sounds good to me!
‘As we bring about this recording we understand that Sri Alathur Srinivasa Iyer has attained “Videhamukti” – salvation attained by the realized soul after shaking off the physical sheath. He was one of the few musicians who had realized the truth of life through his devotion to classical Carnatic music. Oriental Records is indeed proud and priviledged to present to connoisseurs the one and only long-playing recording of this great Maestro…
...Dr. L. Subramanium, whose concert career commenced at the age of ten, is today, although only in his early thirties, recognized as “Violin Chakravarthi” (Emporer of the Universe of the Violin), a title conferred on him by the Governor of Madras….
Palghat T.S. Mani Iyer, a Maestro non pareil on the Mridangam, is a disciple of Tanjore Vaidyanatha Bhagavatar. Recognized as India’s greatest living percussionist, he started playing the Mridangam from the age of seven. He is the acknowledged Grand Master of this authentic Indian instrument, to which he has devoted his life….’(from the liner notes)
1983 double LP from three deeply heralded legends of the Carnatic classical world. 320 vinyl rip by yours truly.
"...L’Orchestre Nationale was the first modern Mauritanian musical troupe. In 1967, the young president Moktar Ould Daddah sent Hadrami along with 14 other musicians to Guinea Conakry for musical training in what would be the first experiment in modernization — incorporating a brass section and electric guitars — but retaining the Hoddu and finding a particularly important place for the Mauritanian flute, the Neyfara, featured prominently on a number of tracks. Returning to Nouakchott, a town of no more 20,000 in the pre-drought Mauritania, the L’Orchestre National was the official band of the new country, playing in official capacity for the president in all social events, and providing a soundtrack of post-colonial aspirations..."
This is my slightly de-clicked 320 rip of this outstanding recent 7" reissue from Mississippi Records and Sahel Sounds. A hypnotising find by Christopher Kirkley. And..pssst...the best way for an out-of-towner to buy mailorder from Mississippi Records is from Little Axe.
"The Rail Band was founded in 1970, in Mali, with the sponsorship of the railway administration and the Ministry of Information. The National Railway Company secured a permanent venue at the Buffet Bar in the Station Hotel in Bamako. The band was formed with the hope of safeguarding and developing Malian music. The general idea was that weary travelers would tumble into the Buffet Bar where the Rail Band would perform real Manding music. Singing in Bambara, a Manding language spoken not only in Mali, but also in Guinea, the Gambia, and parts of Senegal, the band adopted traditional kora and balafon songs and rhythms mixing in an Islamic-influenced vocal style to what was becoming modern urban pop music.
Salif Keita began singing lead for the Rail Band at it's inception, when he was only twenty-one. Instruments and equipment were government-owned and band members were considered government employees. The Rail Band quickly became a sort of rite-of-passage for Malian musical talent. As mentioned, Salif Keita got his start with them, as did guitarist Kante Manfila (who both soon left the Rail Band to start Les Ambassadeurs), and singer Mory Kante (who assumed lead vocal responsibilities after Keita left).
The Rail Band's music was Manding-influenced, latin-tinged, with with lightness and swing, and despite the modern instruments you can clearly hear the strains of the original Manding music." (African Music Encyclopedia)
Rail Band manifests the haunting pinnacle of Malian 1970s popular dance music. Theirs is a transcendent, twinkling sound. I'd reckon that "Duga" is one of my all-time favorite grooves. With their discography, its somewhat difficult to discern whether this is, in fact, their 2nd or 3rd LP. Many thanks to Les Mains Noires for the exquisite streaming audio selections of early RB (below), starting with "Bajala Male". 320 vinyl rip by yours truly. 2011 Superfly Records LP reissue. Buy it.
FYI, Missippi Records has recently reissued Rail Band's 1970 debut (sometimes called Sunjata) : Bärenreiter-Musicaphon. BM 30 L 2606. Another essential. Should hit distros soon enough.
A Nigerian 70's deep funk classic. My 320 vinyl rip from a fine quality bootleg pressing out of France. You can grab more great Ikenga Super Stars over at Global Groove, of course....Enjoy!
This one is crazy hot! Wild & loose Nigerian(?) funk with freaky synth tendencies. Super dancing sounds. I just borrowed this gem from my new friend Jason. Miki Jaga & His Dance Band is incredibly great and fairly unknown. Nigerian pressed. A total must.
So, Jason is new to Portland. He will likely be keeping this Miki Jaga jam in the same crate as his William Onyeabor once he gets to spinning at the just-opened Beech St Parlor here in NoPo. With this record and a Tumblr as essential tokens of his dj steez, I can tell you--- I'ma be there, wearing bells and shit. Dig it!
"Belfast, where David Hammond was born, is an industrial city flanked by green hills and looking out eastwards on a quiet sea-lough. For the last three centuries it has drawn its life-blood from the surrounding countryside and very few of its half-million inhabitants are more than two generations removed from the soil. In such surroundings David in early boyhood picked up a vast store of traditional songs—from the children playing with dim on the streets, from factory workers chanting and singing on the way home from their daily tasks and from old men and women who remembered in their city pent-houses the songs of the green fields of their youth.
Not all these songs were of Irish origin, for in Ulster's history, English and Scots colonists brought to the province their own particular cultures, and their songs in time have become part of the Irishman's tradition. He has modified them, of course, and dressed them frequently in the garb of Irish melody, so that only a skilled musicologist would dare to say they are not native to the soil. Belfast's traditional songs are a most fascinating admixture of Irish, English and Scots elements.
In his early youth David, who spends a large part of his leisure time walking in the countryside, came to know and love the songs of rural Ulster. On his journeys through six of Ireland's fairest counties, round by the shores of Lough Neagh and over the mountain passes of the Sperrins and the Mournes, he has collected for your entertainment and interest songs from shepherds, weavers, cobblers, fishermen and tinkers—songs of occupation and idleness, songs of love, sorrow and jollification, and even a few of those unblushingly senseless trifles that have amused simple folk all over the world since men first began to sing.
These native airs are not debased by alien graces and they are sung simply, with a minimum of accompaniment, in a traditional style which is not a carbon copy of anybody else's. He has been described by a shrewd critic as a "creative traditionalist," an entirely appropriate phrase. The personality of the singer shines through." (sleeve notes)
I'm forever spellbound by the gentle tone of David Hammond's voice. The sadder the ballad, the more sublimely expressive his delivery. The Wee Falorie Man is an Irish traditional classic, with a healthy handful of ultimate stunners therein. Big thanks to my brother Zack for putting "All Around the Loney-O" into my heavy rotation in the first place. Highly recommended. 320 vinyl rip by yours truly.
Side One B for Barney All Around the Loney-O Green Gravel Doffin Mistress Maid of Ballydoo I Know My Love Dark Eyed Gypsie Wild Mountain Thyme Tis Pretty to Be in Ballinderry Cruise of the Calabar
Side Two As I Roved Out Wee Falorie Man Old Man Rockin' the Cradle I'll Tell My Ma I Wish I Was a Maid Again Gallant Forty-Twa Early, Early in the Spring/Morning I'll Go with Her Irish Girl Fan-a-Winnow
Contemporary gospel's preeminent group, the Mighty Clouds of Joy carried the torch for the traditional quartet vocal style throughout an era dominated by solo acts and choirs; pioneering a distinctively funky sound which over time gained grudging acceptance even among purists, they pushed spiritual music in new and unexpected directions, even scoring a major disco hit. The Mighty Clouds of Joy were formed in Los Angeles during the mid-'50s by schoolmates Joe Ligon and Johnny Martin; while still in their teens, the original group -- which also included brothers Ermant and Elmo Franklin, Leon Polk and Richard Wallace -- made their recorded debut in 1960 with "Steal Away to Jesus," cut for the Peacock label. Their debut LP Family Circle arrived a year later. In the years that followed, the Mighty Clouds earned a reputation among gospel's greatest showmen; one of the first groups to incorporate choreographed moves into their act, their nimble footwork and bright, color-coordinated outfits earned them the sobriquet "The Temptations of Gospel." More importantly, they were the first group to add bass, drums and keyboards to the standard quartet accompaniment of solo guitar, resulting in a sound which horrified traditionalists but appealed to younger listeners -- so much so, in fact, that the Mighty Clouds became the first gospel act ever to appear on television's Soul Train, where they performed their disco smash "Mighty High." (Allmusic)
The debut LP from the Mighty Clouds. If Allmusic has its release year ship-shape, then my copy would be a 1973 repress for ABC/Dunhill. Label scans twill follow, maybe tonight. 320 vinyl rip by yours truly. Enjoy.
1. Family Circle 2:49
2. Lord Hold My Hand 2:27
3. Judgement Day 2:31
4. By Faith 2:59
5. My Precious King 2:35
6. Glory Hallelujah 2:52
7. I Came To Jesus 2:26
8. Nearer to Thee 3:00
9. Meeting Tonight 2:32
10. How I Found the Lord 2:19
11. Amazing Grace 3:03
12. You'll Never Know 3:05
Greetings freedom lovers! Here's a little something specially curated, no doubt, for your summertime bbq enjoyment. This latest Ghostcapital Mix happens to be an ecstatic 90-minute collaboration betwixt yours truly and Maestro Owl- that unstoppable force behind the indefatigable Holywarbles imperium. We've whipped up "a joyful noise" for you, our chosen people, imbued with nothing less than that ever-loving Holy ☆ Ghost Power! Enjoy....
01. Lehakat Tsiley Haud - Me Afula Hanale
02. Grazia - Rampi Rampi
03. Cymande - Brothers On The Slide
04. Keith Hudson - Turn The Heater On
05. Cyril Diaz Orchestra - Serenade
06. Toolshed - Love In Outer Space
07. All Saved Freak Band - 100th Psalm [Edit]
08. Small Island Pride - Taxi Driver
09. The Royals - Pick Up The Pieces
10. Watty Burnett - Rainy Night Dub
11. Iko - Approach On Tokyo
12. IRT - Watch The Closing Doors
Side B (Ghost)
13. Cyril Diaz Orchestra - Voodoo
14. Baden Powell y Vinicius de Moraes - Canto De Ossanha
15. Felix Quintana - Ladrona
16. Hemsley Morris & Phil Pratt - Little Things
17. Howard Nishioka - Carnivorous Dogaramus
18. Abner Jay - My Middle Name Is The Blues
19. Fritz & Jerry - Pad
20. The Jive Bombers - Bad Boy
21. Mystery Salsa Group - Mystery Salsa Track
22. Los Silvers - Sueño Amazonico
23. The Lovejoys - All I Can Say
24. Leland - I've Got Some Happiness
25. The Sound Dimension - Moon Hop
"Lloyd McNeill is a multidisciplinary artist – a painter who lived in Paris in 1965 and was a friend of Picasso, a musician who has worked with Nina Simone, Nana Vasconceles, Ron Carter, Cecil McBee and many more and a music anthropologist, poet and teacher. In the 1960s he was involved in the civil-rights movement and produced music for ballet, paintings and installations. His music mixes jazz with Latin, Brazilian and African rhythms that McNeill learnt was studying anthropology in his travels through much of Africa and Brazil (where he joined with Dom Salvador, Paulinho da Viola, Paulo Maura and Martinho da Vila)."---Souljazz Records
