No One Knows About Persian Cats (OST) - 2010

«No One Knows About Persian Cats is a film from Iran that blurs the line between documentary and drama. Briefly put, the film follows Negar and Ashkan, indie pop musicians trying to put together a band to play danceable pop/rock in an '80s American new wave style. Since Western music is outlawed in Iran, the actors, musicians, and filmmakers put themselves at considerable risk while making the film. (People can receive 80 lashes and a fine of $2,000 U.S. for possessing Western DVDs and CDs.) The music in the film hints at varied Western and Persian styles, and shows that the underground scene in Tehran is healthy, despite the official repression. Hamed Seyed Javadi sings an emotional power ballad that blends metal guitar pyrotechnics, Persian scales, and his ululating Farsi vocals. Negar and Ashkan make dance-pop as Take It Easy Hospital and contribute four tracks with both English and Farsi lyrics, including the bright and bouncy keyboard-heavy tracks "Human Jungle" and "Me and You" and Negar's affecting solo ballad "My Sleepy Fall." Rana Fahran sings the jazzy Farsi torch song "Mast-e Eshg" (Drunk with Love) with a smoldering sexuality while the band lays down a subdued Latin-flavored groove that brings to mind Sade. The Free Keys grind out "Dreaming," a guitar-heavy thrash anthem; Mahdyar Aghajani and Bahman Ghobadi combine electronica and traditional music on a short rap interlude; the Yellow Dogs play garage meets surf rock on "New Century"; and Ash Koosha (Ashkan) shows off his guitar prowess on the ambient instrumental "They Sing." Interestingly enough, most of these musicians don't dream of escaping to the West and making it big. They're struggling for the right to play their music in Tehran, a town where even playing traditional Persian music can land you in jail if the audience includes men and women grooving together.»

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Eugenio Finardi - Anima Blues (2005)

A masterpiece of Italian blues.

«Anima Blues è il capolavoro di Eugenio Finardi, è un canto offerto alla sorgente del Mississippi, un’invocazione che sale ondeggiando come una lingua di fumo sui campi delle terre del sud, è un amore che esplode e travolge, la lunga strada verso casa del cantautore milanese. C’è una voce straordinaria in Anima Blues, una voce che avvolge come le onde dell’oceano e in cui ci si può perdere per sempre, e una spiritualità profonda che svela magie “annegate” nei caldi colori della musica nera. Come in Heart of Darkness, Eugenio Finardi risale il fiume della vita e, arrivato alla fine della sua ricerca, trova finalmente il disco che aveva perduto, quello inseguito per tanti anni, da tenere stretto a sé come un figlio, e c’è una purezza che commuove in questo, un dolce conforto dopo tanta amarezza per aver dovuto nascondere, come un cospiratore, un amore assassinato tante, troppe volte: l’immenso, appassionato amore per il blues.

Troverete tutto questo nell’ultimo, straordinario lavoro di Eugenio Finardi, autore sensibile e colto, spesso poco capito, tiranneggiato da un sistema che gli ha chiesto, a tratti, un’italianità ostentata a costo di farne una gabbia in cui soffocare l’anima preziosa della sua musica. “La vita comincia a cinquant’anni” diceva Bukowski e anche se Finardi ha in effetti una carriera importante alle spalle, forse solo ora, che canta in inglese dalla prima all’ultima nota, riesce a liberare la forma pura, intatta di un’arte germogliata in silenzio, lontano dai vacui clamori di un palcoscenico italiano che somiglia sempre più a un’arena, un circo, un mercato in cui fondamentale è vendersi. Anima Blues nasce dalla musica suonata, dalle jam fatte con due pards di lunga data come Vince Vallicelli e Pippo Guarnera a cui si è unito il giovane e talentuoso chitarrista Massimo Martellotta.
Con lui Eugenio Finardi firma undici delle dodici canzoni di Anima Blues, fatto questo che ha dello sbalorditivo se si pensa che l’autore milanese non scriveva canzoni di proprio pugno dai tempi di Accadueo. Si tratta fra l’altro di creazioni davvero felici che evidenziano in modo superbo la favolosa vena di Finardi: si va dal blues acido e tinteggiato di hard rock di Mojo Philtre ai profumi latini di Estrellita, dalle preghiere intrise di gospel di Holyland agli accenti sacrali di un country-blues visionario come Heart of the Country. Efficace e scintillante nelle musiche, con liriche personali e segnate da una matura dolcezza, Anima Blues consacra la rinascita artistica di Eugenio Finardi e ne fissa l’ampio respiro culturale prendendo le distanze dalle piccole miserie di un mercato italiano che assomiglia sempre di più a una piccola, malata colonia dell’Impero.» (bluesguitar.it)

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Insingizi - Spirit of Africa (2007)

«"Mbube" music, regarded as dating back in Zulu tradition to King Shaka, was originally royal music to be sung to honor the Zulu King by his male supporters. The style—a rich a cappella male choral approach usually sung in Zulu, appeared in the early 20th century as "Ingoni Ebusuku," meaning "night music." Popular with Zulu and Swazi laborers, in the early 1940s one of the Ingoni Ebusuku groups recorded a song called "Mbube" (the lion), which became a model for the international hit "Wimoweh" (the Lion Sleeps Tonight), and since then this type of music has become known as Mbube. The three talented men of Insingizi, Vusa, Nqo and Ramadu, have deep Mbube roots and performing experience, and they have created a special, powerful collection of 17 songs here. The rhythmic gem "Amasango," the gospel-based "Jerusalem," "Ungangidluli Jesu" and "Siyabonga," the complex "Isiqholo" and "Mama," and "Uzoyidela" are favorites. Beautiful, extensive liner notes. Authentic, wonderful "night music" from Insingizi.» (http://www.singers.com/)

Official website: http://www.insingizi.net/

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The Beginner's Guide to Bollywood (2003)

«Bollywood music has been loved in the West for the way it Cuisinarts different styles together, mixing and matching like crazy in the same song. This extensive collection places a great emphasis on that side of the music, which makes for an easy introduction to the myriad styles that have made up Bollywood over the last 50 years. There’s plenty of music from the’70s (one whole disc is devoted to it, plus part of another), which was a golden era for Bollywood, and the development of the music – which comes from the soundtracks of the gloriously successful Bollywood films – is well laid out here, both by example, and in the excellent booklet. While some might feel too much emphasis has been placed on the eclectic side of the music, that’s the big drawing card, as composers and arrangers constantly seek new things. The “playback singers”, as Bollywood vocalists are called, are, along with the composers, the real stars, and the big names all get an airing. While more space could have been devoted to the '50s and '60s, and the '80s and '90s, which have seen such a rich development in the form with composers like A.R. Rahman showing the full possibilities of Bollywood music, greater exposure would have been nice. But with just three CDs on which to try and capture the madness and the melody, the compilers have done an excellent job of putting together this beginner’s guide.» (AMG)

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The Festival in the Desert / Le Festival au Désert (2003)

«It’s the unlikeliest place to imagine a festival, in the Sahara, not far from the Malian town of Timbuktu. But that’s the home of the Festival in the Desert, which celebrated its third anniversary in 2003. While it attracts international talent, the real focus is on artists who make their homes in the area, often of the nomadic Tuareg people. But there are others who live locally, like the legendary guitarist Ali Farka Toure, whose village of Niafunke lies just 40 kilometers away, and whose “Karaw” here is a masterpiece of desert funk. But so many of the bands here mine a wonderfully dark, spare, bluesy groove, like Tindé, or Tinariwen, whose “Aldachan Manin” has a muscular suppleness. Oumou Sangare, one of the great singers from Mali’s southern Wassoulou region, brings plenty of raw soul to “Wayena”, and kora genius Ballake Sissoko collaborates with Italian pianist Ludovico Einaudi for a fascinating piece. America’s Blackfire connect the dots between the Sahara and the Arizona deserts, although their punk-inflected rock is a little out of place, but still powerful. Lo’ Jo, one of the festival’s instigators, team up with Malian Django for a storming version of their “Jah Kas Cool Boy”, and with “Win My Train Fare Home”, Robert Plant and Justin “Scarecrow” Adams offer a circular blues that fits in perfectly with the other artists. Every performance is outstanding, but even more, they communicate the open nature of the festival, the feeling of what it was to be there on those nights and days in January 2003. And that is what makes this very special indeed, lifting it far above most live albums. This one definitely has the magic, making it simply one of the best live albums ever released.» (AMG)

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Laila Orient by Saatchi (2004)

«The concept lying behind this album is the same one that brought the “Buddha Bar” CD into existence - an album that was recorded by the musicians performing at the Parisian Buddha Bar. Owners of the popular Laila bar in Istanbul decided to do the same with live music their bar featured.

Laila Orient is thus a collection of songs, mostly recorded only for this particular album. Among others, the album features the French version of Mirkelam’s song “Unutulmaz” (“Inoubliable”). Mirkelam's very popular song has been recorded in French version for this album only.
Another popular song is “Husan” recorded by “Bhangra Knights vs. Husan.” Husan has been a big hit and has been played over and over in a number of clubs in Istanbul during this summer.
The album also features Elissa’s catchy song Baada from his album “Avshalak”. Elissa is a rising star in the Arabic music world. Musa Göçmen’s two songs are also in this album: “Sufi” and “The End.”

Laila Orient has sold 100,000 worldwide, a figure considered very high in its category.» (From the Net)

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Bruce Peninsula - A Mountain Is A Mouth (2009)

«Dreamt up by Misha Bower and Matt Cully in the summer of 2006, Bruce Peninsula has slowly mutated, elaborating on the Alan Lomax archives that initially inspired them and taking a new turn every time a new member or instrument is added to the mix. Since their second show, Bruce Peninsula has ballooned out to include a large cast of hoot-and-hollerers. The band mutates often but the last couple of years has seen contributions from Neil Haverty, Andrew Barker, Steve McKay, Leon Taheny, Kari Peddle, Daniela Geshundheit, Katie Stelmanis, Caseey Mecija, Maya Postepski, Isla Craig and Doc Dunn (the latter two no longer perform with BP but are honourary members for life).

The instrumental elements have expanded into new terrain (unlike most folk bands, prog isn't a dirty word for this band), but Bruce Peninsula's focus is devoted to the singing, first and foremost. Singing from the gut, singing with gusto, singing the way we were made to sing… The early, simple call-and-responses have given way to more elaborate harmonies and compositions over time, but the teachings of those timeless old recordings from the American south remain in tact. There is no denying the power and conviction of old spiritual singers like Vera Ward Hall or Washington Phillips. And while each member of the band may have their own take on the powers that be, the words those legends sang (and, more importantly, the way they sang them) have forever converted Bruce Peninsula into devotees of the church of song.
The surge of experimental music in Toronto has been equally important for Bruce Peninsula, bestowing upon them a wide-eyed, anything-goes mentality. Purists may argue that the blues or folk tradition can't be properly expressed without an old steel string and a slide, but this band has never been too concerned with trying to crack open closed minds. And so, a march of metalophone, lap-steel, zithers, and bells. Of drums and sticks and any other oddities of interesting and pleasing tone. Voices blaring all the while. A Mountain Is A Mouth is their debut LP.» (Canadian Music Wiki)

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Les Têtes Brulées - Hot Heads (1990)

«Les Têtes Brulées (the name means the hot heads or the burnt heads, but implies, more pointedly, the mind-blown) are truly hard to miss in a crowd. The five-man lineup sport neatly torn t-shirts, elaborate dots-and-bars body paint over most of their skin, retro mirror shades, Afro mohawks, huge sneakers, and trademark day-glo book bags that they wear through their electrifying stage shows.

The brain child of journalist turned musician Jean-Marie Ahanda, the well-named band blew the minds of many in hard-to-shock Cameroon. When the singer, who was serving as arts critic at the Cameroon Tribune, founded Les Têtes Brulées in 1986, he wanted to present an alternative to the zouk and makossa music that was dominating the country at the time. Combining the Bituksi rhythm of the Beti tribe with electric instruments, Ahanda’s band brought something very fresh to Cameroon’s music scene. The band’s image was as surprising as its music – while many zouk and makossa artists went for costumes and a very Western look, Les Têtes Brulées sported tribal body paint.

Les Têtes garnered international attention to match their local fame after members appeared in two documentaries: Man No Run, which recorded their first tour of France, and Bikutsi Water Blues, which featured band guitarist Zanzibar discussing the politics of water in Cameroon. […]

Consistently inspired, Hot Heads underscores the band’s resilient nature. Les Têtes Brulées had suffered a major loss in 1988, when guitarist Zanzibar committed suicide. But in 1990, this solid effort proved that the outfit still had a lot to offer. What truly sets Les Tetes apart is their pioneering attempts to bring a punk mentality to a highly traditional art form.» (AMG)

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Musics & Musicians of the World: Mongolia (1990)

«The UNESCO Collection of Traditional Music of the World included more than a hundred pioneering audio recordings of the world’s traditional music published from 1961 to 2003 on a number of different recording labels. The series was launched in 1961 in collaborariginal context. Each recording was accompanied by scholarly annotations and photographs. Together, these disks are a reflection of the immense variety of music making and of the position music holds within cultures around the globe.

From the beginning of the 1990s, most of these recordings were reissued on CD by the label Auvidis, which later became Naïve. Until 2003, a total of 115 CD titles were released. These reissues, new issues and compilations were made available under five new series: Music and Musicians of the World, Anthology of Traditional Music, Traditional Music of Today, Celebration Collection and Listening to the World.

In 2005, the collaboration with Naïve ended, and the titles are currently not available for purchase. However, a new partnership is in preparation in order to make the titles of the Collection available again to the general public. In addition to the previously released issues, some 15 unpublished titles will finally be released. More information will be posted on this internet page when it becomes available.» (Unesco)

For more info about this specific release, see the explanatory booklet included.

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Mandingo - Watto Sitta (1984)

«Foday Musa Suso is an internationally recognised Kora playing Mandingo griot who was born in 1950 in the Gambian village of Sarre Hamadi, a village in the Wuli District, in the Upper River Region. He is a virtuoso master kora performer and composer from a hereditary lineage of other Jalis. […]

In 1977, Suso flew to Chicago in the US where he began his recording career as well as forming a group, Mandingo Griot Society, with the percussionist Adam Rudolph. […] Since then, he has taught and recorded with many well known jazz artists, including the trumpeter Don Cherry, and Herbie Hancock, with whom he recorded the album Village Life while on their tour of Japan. The group opened new ground in what is known as World Music in numerous other collaborations, such as with Ginger Baker using Suso’s skillful and heavenly playing of the West African lute in a number of pieces.

After the band broke up they Suso re-united with its members Rudolph and Hamid Drake in 1984 to create the album Watto Sitta. The album was produced by Bill Laswell, and was a milestone of modern African music, skillfully and effortlessly merging Suso’s cutting-edge kora playing with an effortless equilibrium of natural and synthesised tunes.» (accessgambia.com)

For more Foday Musa Suso’s projects on Babe(b)logue click here.

Enjoy!

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Fawzy Al-Aiedy - Oud Aljazira (1999)

«The ancient music of the Middle East has been given a modern twist by Iraq-born and Paris-based oud (lute) and oboe player and vocalist Fawzy Al-Aiedy. Affectionately known as the "Sultan of swing," Al-Aiedy continues to bridge the traditional music of the East and the improvised sensibility of the West. Hailing from the Iraqi harbor city of Bassorah, Al-Aiedy studied violin and singing at the age of 14. His dreams of studying music abroad seemed to dissolve after the Ba'ath took control of Iraq and issued an edict prohibiting Iraqi citizens from leaving the country. Pleading to Saddam Hussein for permission to leave, he instead found himself drafted into the Iraqi army. After three months of basic training, he was transferred to the military's music division. Allowed to travel to Europe in 1971, Al-Aiedy settled in Paris and began to study the oboe. He released his debut album, Silence, five years later. His subsequent releases have focused on interpreting the music of the era depicted in the book 1001 Arabian Nights. While most of his albums have been directed at a general audience, Al-Aiedy has recorded several albums for children.» (AMG)

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Moussu T e Lei Jovents - Home Sweet Home (2008)

«Co-founder of Massilia Sound System, Moussu T, returns with Home Sweet Home, the third studio album recorded with Lei Jovents [Blu on guitars, banjo and Ciotadin viola, Zerbino on drums, washboard and percussion, and Jam de Silva on percussion and berimbau]. As with previous recordings, this new album features several Moussu T tracks with more personal themes [La Cabussada, Le Divan, Il fait beau…]. It's a safe bet that had Jali, Gari and Lux B not left the group this summer, the name of the album would not be what it is. Calling it Home Sweet Home in English marks this album out from Massilia productions, but the lyrics and the music hold true to the original spirit of the group. The rhythm may be more discreet, more minimalist and it does flirt with the blues, but the feel is the same. Massilia played with their whole neighbourhood in mind, whereas here, the focus is just the road, Moussu's road 'the one we leave to head for the horizon, but since the world is round, we end up right where we started!' he sings in the intro to Ma Rue N'est Pas Longue. As always with Moussu T the local and the global dance together. A dance with clear African-American influences, a dance which pays tribute to the Marseilles of the 1920s, the Marseilles of Banjo – the novel by Jamaican author Claude McKay. This Marseilles, which before its love affair with ragga and hip hop began, had long absorbed the music of the new-world sailors, largely descendants of slaves, who came ashore and passed their time in the old part of town, by Panier. A Marseilles which embodies all the passion of Moussu T, the free-spirit who has chosen to live in La Ciotat, all the better to gaze upon Marseilles, his beloved city.» (Mondomix)

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Spiteri - Spiteri (1973)

«An amazing band that recorded in London in the 1970’s and had the British all excited about Latino Rock. But of course, it was one of those items nobody could get hold of, despite asked for it in every store you ever went to.

Even in London where, by chance I came to live, nobody had heard of them. I never got the chance to hear the record either in Venezuela where most people get rid of their vinyls as soon as the cd player appeared (a Venezuelan tendency: new always means better!!), or in the country in which it was recorded. And then, a decade and a half later, I open the usual padded envelope holding a CD to review and it that word that had escpaed my lips so often but I'd never seen in print: Spiteri. At first I thought I'd misread it, but there it was, the very same band that has been evading me all this time, that magical cd, recorded in London, by two Venezuelan brothers (Charlie and Jorge). This album, originally recorded in 1973, released in Venezuela but never in England, has now been re-released by one of the most exciting Latin Music labels today: Vampisoul.

It would be too good to be true that this album lived up to the legend, but the bare truth is that it does. It's a beautiful combination of psychedelic rock with Venezuelan folk music, a sound so fresh, so unique, so vibrant, that it is pure Spanglish bliss in a totally insane way that could only have been produced in the 1970s. It was way ahead of its time in terms of musical vision, a true fusion album when only very few musicians were daring to attempt it. It combines Afro-Venezuelan rhythmns with English melodies in a daring way, enhanced by a musical understanding and skill into something truly innovative and rare.

According to the CD booklet Spiteri was Britain's answer to Santana. Unfortunately, while Santana's appearance at Woodstock launched his career into the maintream music market, Spiteri never played at Glastonbury. They also only ever recorded one album. After listening to it, it leaves you wondering what would have happened if they had been given the exposure or stayed together as a band. One of those things we'll never know. And so this one gem makes its mark in history as a collectors' 'must have' and an album that could have been.... but never was. Still, never too late to enjoy it!» (Candelalive)

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Nathalie Natiembé - Sankèr (2005)

«The raw songs of Nathalie Natiembé are typical of the Reunion island. Adopted by Possession after a youth spent in the streets of the center of St-Denis, Nathalie Natiembé cannot remember not singing. In 1998 she throws herself body and soul into writing. Nathalie Natiembé works in depth with the creole language. She draws strong emotions from words, digging deep into their essence. This exercise has in fact brought her around to her Mozambican origins in March 2001, during a tour that became significant on a personal level.

When Nathalie Natiembé crosses many people bearing her name in Catembé, in the south of the country, she finds out that her family extends outside of Reunion to the lands of Africa. With the Sankèr album, Nathalie Natiembé delivers her vision of what Maloya could become. Surrounded by musicians from the Indian Ocean (Reunion, Mauritius and Madagascar), she confronts this genre typical of Reunion and opens it to new horizons... thus finding the heart of it.» (Mondomix)

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Kassav' - Nou La (2000)

«The story of Kassav’ (the name comes from cassava, which is a mixture of manioc paste and coconut) began in 1979 when Pierre-Edouard Décimus, a member of a dance orchestra since the sixties, decided to revamp and modernize the music he had always played along with Freddy Marshall, another musician from the Antilles. They adored popular carnival music, and so Decimus tried to adapt it to modern musical techniques. They also recruited Jacob Desvarieux, an established studio guitarist, and Georges Décimus, Pierre-Edouard’s brother, a bass guitarist, together with other studio musicians. The group built up as it went along. The first formation went in to the recording studios in the November and brought out the first Kassav’ album, entitled Love and Ka Dance, a couple of months later. A new musical genre had been conceived: Zouk. New sounds, particularly bass, keyboards and brass wind instruments, gave this music a modern, festive air, both lively and foot-tapping. This was when Kassav’ began writing the history of Zouk. […]

Released in June 2000, Nou La (short for "Nou la, nou byen la" – We're here, really here!) featured 15 tracks recorded in Toulouse and mixed in Paris. But it was clear that the songs had been written and lovingly prepared in Martinique, the group’s eternal source of inspiration.» (RFIMusique, click here for full bio)

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Baba Zula - Roots (Kökler) (2007)

«Turkey is a nation in the midst of a dramatic transition. It’s pushing forward with social and economic reforms as it pursues membership in the European Union. During the process, it’s casting an eye to the rear view mirror, pondering and situating the impact of centuries of history stretching back to its pre-Islamic, Shamanic roots on its current hybrid Islamic-secular nation state. It’s a multi-layered country that blends Eastern and Western influences into its cultural mix – a fact that’s particularly apt given its geographic location straddling Europe and Central Asia.

Baba Zula, Turkey’s most beloved alternative music purveyors, provide an ideal soundtrack for this region in flux. The Istanbul-based band combines dub and reggae influences, traditional Turkish instruments, and electronica into a truly one-of-a-kind psychedelic sound. Comprised of electric saz player and vocalist Murat Ertel, electronics and percussion maestro Levent Akman, and darbuka player Coşar Kamçi, the three-piece band creates an enormous sound bathed in myriad melodies and polyrhythms. In concert, Baba Zula is a quartet that also features the talents of Ceren Oykut, a renowned graphic artist that creates and renders projected digital images in real time.

While it is relatively unknown in the West, the saz is the foremost stringed instrument used in Turkey. With three-to-12 strings on a bouzouki-like body, it possesses a distinct, bright, and ringing high-pitched sound that’s pleasing to the ear. It’s at the core of the group’s sound and that of many other contemporary and traditional Turkish acts.

Baba Zula just released Roots, its sixth album. It’s a stripped down affair that represents the essence of the group’s trio interaction. Previous discs featured many special guests, as well as outside producers, but the band was intent on keeping things in the family for its latest outing. The album features 25 mostly short pieces that largely came out of studio improvisations, as well as three dub mixes by noted Japanese producer Naoyuki Uchida.

Listeners abroad may have been previously exposed to Baba Zula in Crossing the Bridge, a remarkable documentary by Fatih Akin now available on DVD worldwide. The film takes viewers through Istanbul's contemporary and avant-garde music scenes with a level of depth and intrigue rarely found in musical travelogues. The documentary has helped elevate Baba Zula’s international profile considerably. Don’t be surprised if they hit your local scene in the near term...» (Anil Prasad, Innerviews, click here to read the interview)

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Pela Simba - Pela Simba (2006)

Hello everybody, Babe(b)logue goes on holiday, so this will be the last post for a while. See you soon, and stick around!

Radu.

P.S. As far as I know, this somewhat mysterious CD collects two beautiful Pela Simba’s albums originally published during the first half of the 80’s, Pela Simba and Sambara. If you discover more info, please leave a comment here. Cheers!

«Pela Simba, chanteur-guitariste d'origine congolaise, fondateur du groupe Thu Zahina, neveu de Tabu Ley (l'un des pères de la musique africaine moderne), vous propose une musique ethno-urbaine où s'enroulent tout en couleur poésie, rythmes, chants et joie de vivre.
Thu Zahina” est le nom d’un groupe musical qui fait parler de lui au Zaïre dans les années soixante dix. C’est le premier groupe composé uniquement de lycéens. Parmi les cofondateurs de “Thu Zahina” il y a Pela Simba.
Très vite populaire chez les jeunes, ce groupe, avec son style nouveau, fait naître dans son sillage d’autres groupes de lycéens tels que “Zatko”, “Bella Bella”, “Stukas” et bien d’autres.
Dès le départ, “Thu Zahina” se trouve un parrain de choix en la personne de l’artiste Tabu Ley (Rochereau). En effet ce dernier: chanteur et auteur-compositeur, est l’une des plus grandes stars du Zaïre et d’Afrique. Quelques temps plus tard ce groupe de lycéens est produit par Luambo-Makiadi dit “Franco”, une autre grande star du pays et du continent africain. L’arrivée de “Thu Zahina” et de tous ces autres groupes est sans conteste le départ d’une nouvelle musique zaïroise. C’est le début des artistes comme Papa Wemba, Pépé Manuku, Evoloko. Nyoka Longo,...
Après son départ du groupe “Thu Zahina”, Pela crée les “Saphirs” et ensuite rejoint Pépé Kallé, Vata Mombassa dans le groupe “Myosotis”.
En 1977, Pela arrive à Paris pour des études d’audiovisuel et de journalisme qu’il terminera quelques années plus tard avec succès. Mais ses études ne l’empêchent pas de continuer de vivre sa passion: la musique. C’est ainsi qu’il consacre ses heures de liberté à la création de l’une des premières formations musicales, d’étudiants d’Afrique Centrale.
Avec Jean-Faustin Missamou et Aimé Kobo ils fondent les “Mongali”.
Quelques années plus tard, avec Maika et Bony Bikaye, Pela joue aux côtés de Ray Lema dans le groupe “Carma” sponsorisé par Jean-François Bizot et son journal “Actuel”.
Puis toujours avec Maika, c’est la naissance du groupe “Malaika” avec des musiciens comme Denis Hekimian, Manou Lima ou le saxophone Jimi Mvondo.
En tant qu’auteur, compositeur, arrangeur ou interprète, Pela participe à un grand nombre de disques avec des artistes de renom tels que Tabu Ley, Mbilia Bel, Franco, Tchounou Bowen...
En 1986, on lui confie la direction artistique du “Kiss Club”. Il en fait très vite un haut lieu de la musique black et métisse à Paris. On s’y presse tous les soirs pour y rencontrer des artistes connus ou inconnus; et danser et chanter sur des rythmes de toutes les couleurs.
Pendant deux ans Pela et son groupe le “Mouvement AYE” s’y produisent tous les soirs. Et les invités pour “taper le boeuf” seront pas les moindres: Higelin, Eric Serrat, Alpha Blondy, Rido Bayonne, etc.
Pela s’est produit dans de nombreux lieux réputés de la nuit parisienne tels que “Le Bataclan”, “La Chapelle des Lombards”, “Le Rex Club”, “L’espace Cardin”, etc. et dans un grand nombre de villes hors de Paris.» (EspaceConcert)

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Yengi Yol - De Seville à Boukhara (2003)

«Yengi Yol means “new way”, in Turkish as well as in Uzbek. The “Yengi Yol” Ensemble was born a few years ago when European musician E.H. During went to meet young musicians his age in Uzbekistan. Back then, when his flamenca guitar met their traditional Uzbek music, the result was convincing straight away. The band was born and several concerts and recordings were rapidly done, so that a new sound could be heard in European and Oriental countries.

Today, “Yengi Yol” has set off again, towards a new, totally original adventure where Turkish Ottoman music meets Uzbek music. The four European musicians (A.Espinouze, S.Halaris, A.Morineau et E.H.During) who took up the challenge already had sound experience of Ottoman high culture music, but they had never tackled high culture tradition from Central Asia.
The meeting occurred in May 2007 in Uzbekistan when three concerts were given (in Samarqand, Bukhara and Tashkent) to an audience dumbfounded by the new tones brought by “Yengi Yol” to their music. A few videos and some recordings give an account of what had probably never happened in centuries.
In the 15th century, exchanges were still flourishing between the door to Europe and the heart of Asia. Thus, musicians from Samarqand or Bukhara were able to play at the Ottoman court of Istanbul and vice versa. The works of the repertoire would travel over thousands of kilometres, from one end of a chain of transmission to the other, and were organized into a both refined and complex codified knowledge: the Maqam or the art of high culture music, shared by the elite of musicians from the Maghreb to China. With the passing of centuries and due to the setting up of political borders, the Maqam was progressively divided and interpreted in accordance with local claims, each region developing its own style and repertoire.
Yengi Yol proposes to go in the reverse direction. While keeping the specificities proper to each culture, they want to play Ottoman and Uzbek pieces having obvious similarities by drawing from the ancient – up to 15th century – repertoires of the court as well as Sufi brotherhoods.
As obvious and natural as the result may appear, such a meeting has never happened before.» (Yengi Yol’s MySpace page)

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Blo - Chapters and Phases: The Complete Albums 1973-1975 (2009)

«Blo fused the Afrobeat rhythms of their native Nigeria with the mind-expanding psychedelia and funk of late-'60s Western rock to forge a wholly original sound embracing the full spectrum of black music. The roots of the group lay in the Clusters, already one of the most popular Nigerian highlife acts of the mid-'60s even prior to a stint as the support band for the Sierra Leonean pop superstar Geraldo Pino, once dubbed "the West African James Brown." In 1970, guitarist Berkely "Ike" Jones, bassist Mike "Gbenga" Odumosu, and drummer Laolu "Akins" Akintobi left the Clusters to join Afrocollection with twin sisters Kehinde and Taiwo Lijadu (featured a decade later on the British television show The Tube), moving away from their highlife roots to explore a more pronounced Afro-Rock approach. While performing at the Lagos club Batakuto, Afrocollection jammed with Ginger Baker, the renowned drummer from the British blues-rock supergroup Cream; in late 1971, the members of Afrocollection joined Baker in forming the jazz-rock ensemble Salt, making their live debut the following year alongside the legendary Fela Kuti.

Despite a series of well-received live appearances throughout Western Europe and North America, the Salt project proved short-lived, and in late 1972, Jones, Odumosu, and Akintobi formed Blo, touring relentlessly in the months to come, prior to recording their EMI Nigeria label debut Blo: Chapter One. Drawing equally on the pioneering Afrobeat of Fela and Tony Allen as well as the American psych-rock of bands like the Grateful Dead and the Byrds, the record failed to live up to EMI's commercial expectations, and after signing to Afrodisia, Blo resurfaced in 1975 with Phase 2, pushing further into funk and R&B territory. Grand Funk Railroad and the Isley Brothers were the primary influences on the trio's third LP, Phase 3, but as lackluster sales continued to dog the group, Blo faced greater corporate pressure to reflect contemporary musical trends – specifically, disco, a shift culminating with 1980's Bulky Backside, recorded in London. Blo dissolved following the 1982 release of Back in Time.» (AMG)

«One of the hippest groups of the Nigerian scene of the 70s – presented here in two classic albums, back to back on a single CD! Chapter One is a landmark set of African grooves – very unusual in both conception and execution – with a feel that's unlike anything we can think of! There's definitely a rock influence in the set, but the music isn't rock at all – it's a very dark, almost dubby groove at points – and a bit more straightforwardly funk at others – almost a post-colonial style that clearly comes from a London influence, given to the group by a previous association with Ginger Baker. Rhythms are quite tight, and the bass is as strong as the drums – mixed up nicely with riffing guitar, and moody vocals that color the whole thing nicely. […]. Phase II is a critical next step for the group – music that's even deeper than before, but a bit funkier too! There's clearly some touches here of other African funk of the time – especially in the way the guitar parts groove with the rhythms – although those heavy Blo basslines from before are still nicely in place, as are some of the fuzzier production elements too.» (Dusty Groove America)

Check also RPM Records’ Blo page.

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Ancient Future - Asian Fusion (1993)

«Ancient Future was formed in 1978 by guitarist Matthew Montfort, who was interested in combining ancient musical traditions with modern technology. The band's inviting melodies, exotic instruments, and ethnic textures helped popularize of world-music fusion.

In Asian Fusion, Jim Hurley and Matthew Montfort's shared violin-and-guitar-line leads catch hold of a strong melody and bite down hard. But despite Zhao Hui's Chinese gu sheng board zither, Bui Hui Nhut's dan bao Vietnamese one-stringed lute, and assorted ethnic percussion, vernacular instruments don't share equal weight with the band's folk-classical thrust, and the cuts that are carved from indigenous music – "The Dusk Song of the Fisherman" or the lovely Indonesian degung of "Sunda Strait" – tilt somewhat toward the generic. Still, the disc's got plenty of fire, and its loveliness often surprises.» (AMG)

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Pete Rodriguez - El Rey del Boogaloo (1966-69)

«Massive Boogaloo album, with loads of catchy grooves all the way through! Pete & his band were one of the best of the Latin soul era, & this album's certainly one of their strongest. Includes 'Guagaloo', 'Pete's Boogaloo', & 'Do the Boogaloo'. Hard funky & very upbeat all the way through. If someone asked you what the definition of Latin Soul was, this would be the album to play for them! A fantastic little album of Latin Soul -- a perfect example of why Pete was known as the 'King Of The Boogaloo' during the 60s! The group's having a non-stop party on the album -- breaking it hard with heavy piano lines, rumbling bass underneath the grooves, tight timbales, & some shouted lyrics in English that are always very catchy. The cut, 'I Like It Like That', is the sort of groover that you'll be singing for years -- even after hearing it only once -- & the album's filled with all great cuts. 14 tracks in all, packaged in digipak format. Vampi Soul. 2003.» (Amazon)

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Opa - Goldenwings / Magic Time (1976-77)

«Hugo Fattoruso, born in Montevideo, Uruguay, began his musical career as a prodigious and somewhat reluctant piano student at the age of four. By the time he was nine his father Antonio formed El Trio Fattoruso by drafting Hugo’s younger brother Jorge on drums, with Hugo on accordion and Antonio on "inverted bucket bass" (using a broom as the neck, and a cord as the instrument’s single string). This trio performed in street festivals, covering the variety of styles used in Uruguay’s carnivals (boleros, murgas, tangos, etc.), giving Hugo an education in the rich harmonic stuff of disparate musical styles.
At the age of 16 Hugo moved to the upright bass and began his tenure as the under-aged member of The Hot Blowers, a swing band that toured throughout Latin America in the late 1950s. This period could be seen as a second important milestone in Hugo’s harmonic education, hammering home the concepts of improvisation and musical interplay.
By the early 1960s, rock’n’roll began to shake the world’s foundation, and Hugo set out to express himself in that medium by forming Los Shakers, where he and his brother shared song writing, singing and guitar responsibilities. Los Shakers were a huge success throughout Latin America, as they were able to mold the complexities of bossa’s harmonies, Uruguay’s urban song style, candombe rhythms and the backbeat of rock into a new and contagious form.
By the late 1960s the influence of jazz, and of the Afro-Uruguayan rhythm of candombe, took Hugo to New York City, where he formed the group Opa. In Opa Hugo played keyboards and sang, while his brother played drums, and childhood friend Ringo Thielmann played bass. Opa’s mixture of jazz, rock, Brazilian harmonies and rhythms, and Uruguay’s African-flavored music (candombe) gave this band a distinctive voice, and garnered them recognition among musicians in the then growing "Latin jazz" scene. Opa released two albums on their own, Goldenwings and Magic Time. Opa’s music served to influence the next generation of Uruguayan musicians, continuing the Fattoruso’s impact on Uruguayan musical culture. From that point on Hugo travelled the U.S. and worked with a variety of artists.» (bigworldmusic)

Osvaldo Fattoruso and Blbs drinking mate.

«In 1997, it came as a quite a surprise when Fantasy reissued Opa’s albums Goldenwings (1976) and Magic Time (1977) on a single 74-minute CD – surprising because this fusion trio had only a very small following; its albums were far from big sellers, and the original LP versions were in print for only a few years. If one notices some similarity between the melodic blend of jazz, rock, funk, pop and Brazilian music heard on this disc and Airto Moreira’s CTI dates of the 1970s, it’s no coincidence – Moreira produced and played percussion on both albums. Opa members Hugh Fattoruso (keyboards, vocals), George Fattoruso (drums, vocals, percussion) and Ringo Thielmann (bass, vocals) often worked with the percussionist and his wife Flora Purim in the 1970s, and his influence clearly rubbed off. It’s regrettable that Opa was never as commercially successful as either Moreira or Purim, although this CD points to the fact that it wasn’t due to a lack of rewarding material». (AMG)

Many thanx to Blbs (see pic) for this post.

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