Tuesday, June 30, 2009
calling the 'Spill police
Hello, Spillers all. Hmmm... I received a $25 gift card from iTunes for my birthday. Now, I haven't bought a thing from iTUnes since a certain McFlah said he'd never paid for an mp3. But this seems like an interesting opportunity, because there are things it's hard to find elsewhere. So what should I get? I can tell you I've spent the day listening to spotify, and the force of Saneshane, Nilpferd, Ejay, Mnemonic and others is strong with me. I listened to a lot of Aesop Rock (can you recommend an album, SS?) Cannibal Ox, Eddie Harris (I love Listen Here, what album would you recommend, Nilpferd?) Colette Magny, DJ Mehdi (Can't find a full album), Tabu ley Rochereau... And this last is where the real questions start, because I read a bit about Tabu Ley Rochereau (Can you recommend an album, ejay?) and then I started listening to Wendo Kolosoy (and I love it)... Can ejay, or goneforeign, or anybody else that knows these things tell me where to go next with all this? Ahem. I suppose I'm asking for some direction with the vast vast vast afropop universe.
But even if you have no interest in that--if you had a $25 iTunes gift card, what would you do with it? (It's pretty large, you could probably use it as the base for a lego skyscraper.)
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Hello Steenbeck,
My instinctive reaction is to dropbox the Tabu Ley and Wendy Kolosoy, but that's not the point o fthis exercise. I have a Tabu Ley collection called The Voice of Lightness, and I'm recently dicovering Wendo Kolosoy after I borrowed two fairly recent albums from my father called The Kinshasa-Abidjan Sessions. If I had a iTunes gift card, I would probably only buy single songs, the kind I've only heard on youtube. It's a tricky one.
Ejay!! That was like magic--like I used the bat signal.
Hope you had a good trip.
I was thinking about that single song thing--just hanging onto it, and waiting till there's a track I just can't find anywhere else. It does happen.
It was a beautiful trip, tiring but worth it, and to top it off it was wonderful to see two friends getting married.
Also, continuing with the single song thing, try to avoid songs out of albums you might buy later, it's very annoying. To be fair, you might not know if you'll feel like buying the album until you listen to that song.
Glad you had a beautiful trip.
Ahem, speaking of Dropbox--the one thing I would very much like to have, but either cannot find, or can find but it's strangely pricey, is Bisso Na Bisso.
D'oh, that came out as "welcome home, now hook me up with some music, would you?" Sorry. Please feel free to take some time to unpack and catch up on some sleep first. And then...
And I was thinking I'd save the gift card for those moments when I want to put a song on my 'Spill list for a certain subject, but I only have it on vinyl or cassette, or in my memory...
OK, if you like Wendo Kolosoy, particularly the 'Amba' CD, you'd probably like others from the same region and era, Kinshasa in the 60's. I've got quite a few of those. His band on that CD is the Victoria Bakolo Miziki Orchestra, it's composed of a group of veterans, those who originated the original Congolese rumba. I think I also have a DVD of them somewhere.
Another guy who's wonderful is Papa Noel Nedule, listen to his CD Bel Ami or on a nice compilation ;Rumba Congo - Kekele, that's got 14 cuts all with different 'greats'. Another good one is Rumba Congolaise - El Congo, it features Wendo Koloysoy with the Rumbanella band. All of these are typical of the pure early Congolese rumba.
An interesting way into Tabu Ley would be through M'Bilia Bel, he discovered her, she became the singer in his most successful band and they performed together often and made a lot of records, she's wonderful.
Try her CD Bameli Soy, it's with Tabu Ley. On vinyl I have her 'Dans Phenomene' and ', Boya Ye', another Tabu Ley album. Then there's 'Rochereau' - Tabu Ley , featuring M'bilia Bel. Another I enjoy by Tabu Ley is 'Man from Kinshasa' and also Franco & Rochereau 'Omona Wapi'.
There's a good Rough Guide to Franco and possibly another to Rochereau.
All of these I've played endlessly for years, next to BMW it's my favorite music [except for jazz, Mali, Brazil...]
Hope some of these help.
The Kasai Allstars album from last year was good. GHE knows his stuff too if he's still around?
Thank you! Extremely helpful, Goneforeign--exactly what I was looking for. I read about M'bilia Bel. It seems they were married? And I'll check out the Kasai Allstars as well.
Steen, looks like you need my Eddie Harris compilation.. he is a bit frustrating, to be honest- a very eclectic player, which has the result that his albums are extremely mixed; from the 5 albums I have there are no more than two tracks from any one album I'd really recommend, although taken together, the "best of" is awesome. OK, I'll make one exception- the concert album Swiss Movement, incidentally recorded 9 days and 40 years ago. And there's still a lot of his output I don't know, it needs to be added. Afrobeat wise I recently obtained a couple of great compilations called "Nigeria 70" and "Nigeria 70- Lagos Jump", which explore the eponymous scene, one or two Fela tracks you probably have but the rest is very obscure and brilliant. Both are available on iTunes Germany. I recently reactivated iTunes to buy EJ's Detroit Experiment Think Twice track, otherwise I hardly ever use it, mainly because of the hassle with my non-Apple, non-ipod setup (and my distrust of the Apple media-industrial complex)
You could just pick a young artist you like and buy $25 worth of their stuff even if you don't really need it. Not like MP3's are overpackaged.
In the same vein, you could see if buying tracks by Skip James or someone like that gets money to his kin or just to a record company.
(And then there is always option3, which is repurposing. Mum got a birthday coming up? Daddy?)
That reminds me, I need to put the songs from the podcast in the dropbox!
I think you might like Sam Amidon
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rw7pZvQPvcg
His voice has been described as "eerily deadpan" and I've had the "All is Well" album for about 8 months now and I'm still playing it almost every day. I'll probably put a track on the forthcoming social CD but it is something that creeps up on you rather than being instantly amazing.
I'll dond the Sam Amidon. I've been listening since someone nominated him on here (I think), and he's the beast (as the kids say or said)
I recovered my Bisso Na Bisso CD not too long ago, but seem to have misplaced it again. TO answer Japanther's thread, I have no system.
Oh, I do like the Sam Amidon. It's almost too pretty but his voice balances it perfectly. I like the video. I want to see that movie on the bus, with the cowboy and the librarian looking woman and the amazing light. Wonder what it was? I also like Adem a lot from my birthday comp. In fact I like everything from my birthday comp--amazing collection of songs.
CD found, BNaB in the dropbox.
Hooray! Thank you thank you thank you.
I don't have a system either. That's why I didn't answer the question. Too embarrassed. In fact we don't have any way to play CDs at the moment, other than our computer, so all my CDs are in boxes (ahem, from IKEA) in no particular order. With Shoegazer's toppling pile of recently bought/listened to CDs on top. So it's a daunting task trying to find a particular CD.
I think this is new:
http://www.kanyeuniversecity.com/blog/?em3106=235618_-1__0_~0_-1_7_2009_0_0&em3298=&em3282=&em3281=&em3161=
I like the video. I have to give the track a few listens. I think I'd read that Hi Tek and Kweli were coming out with a new album.
I've been listening to the Bisso Na Bisso--love it.
And that was Roy Shirley on your podcast, right? not desmond dekker. D'oh. I HAVE that track. It is superlatively summery, isn't it?
Steen, being as I can't really help with the afropop question (much as i would like to, and much as I am making notes of all the names zinging around herein...), how about another suggestion?
Do you have any great 'lost' albums? It may sound weird but there are at least five albums I have LOVED and lost which I can either not bring myself or am not able to buy in physical form again. Often i think of re-purchasing Underworld's Beaucoup Fish, or the first Secret Machines album, but I always think the money would be better spent. Your money could go some way to filling in a few holes but then, I don't know, is that maybe what cheeky downloads are for?...
That is absolutely what cheeky downloads are for. I could possibly help you out with the first Secret Machines.
I agree with that idea Snadfrod. This year I've bought three great but out of print CDs by obscure Canadian artists that I've been moaning for years about not having anymore and not being able to find anywhere except at collector prices.
Yes, it's what cheeky downloads are for. It's much easier to justify them if you've already bought the CD/LP/Cassette. But some things are hard to find even as cheeky downloads, but are available on iTunes (Drink Me, for instance) Good idea, Snadfrod.
Do you think the phrase "cheeky downloads" is going to get us a sudden surge in hits?
TITS!!!
arse!
I've lost the ability to post..
and nearly lost 10,500 songs earlier..
aaaarrrrrrggg.
I bought a CD by an obscure Canadian artist just the other day.
Snadfrod, please don't get your tits out on the blog- it's Wednesday evening, ffs.
Shane- hope your crisis is over. Meanwhile this side of the Rhine, the BIG laptop has expired and I've put it UP ON TOP OF THE WARDROBE.
If anyone's mourning the recent lack of Nilpferd posts.
Only the wailing and rending of garments was, you know, getting on my nerves a bit. What's that, Snad? Oh, sorry, as you were- nothing like a bit of garment rending, is there. You go right ahead, of course I don't mind, even if it is Wednesday.
I got a £10 Amazon voucher for Fathers' Day, and my plan is to use it for odd downloads - eg. something I want to 'Spill or take on my commute, but don't have on CD. It saves using a credit card for a 69p download. But I think it would be good to buy one thing with it, which you really really like, so you can say to whoever gave you the voucher, that that's what you got with it. Even if you could've got it for free somewhere ?
Hey "downloads discussors".
I would immediately recommend
Music & Rhythm by Mighty Sparrow - on the very first WOMAD LP (A double) along with Peter Gabriel, Rico Rodriguez and Peter Hammill (!) and never to be seen again. That album as far as I know never made it onto CD. It was my last download. The Sparrow track is one of the highlights of my life pure and simple I put it on first thing on my birthday the other day. Just dropped it for ya.
As far as Africa and Congo are concerned - as you may have gathered - I'm something of a Franco aficionado, and a wonderful new collection appeared last year called Francophonic beautifully packaged and lovingly compiled it includes all the great tunes (well actually not all at all - it's a comp!!) including Azda which is actually an advert for volkswagon in Lingala! Marvellous stuff. In the early years Franco played with Joseph Kabasele and his "Independence Cha Cha Cha" is a must too. You can get an early "Grand Merveilles du Passe" (greatest hits) CD of his at Amazon etc. Later almost every great Congolese musician came through his or Tabu Ley Rochereau's bands - these are the two giants of the genre, called rumba in Congo, soukous elsewhere in Africa.
M'bilia Bel is great, especially Boya Ye: Pablo Lubadika Porthos is great too, Papa Wemba you may have heard of based in Paris for many years now, the great "young" band in the 70s was Zaiko Langa Langa, not forgetting Kanda Bongo Man, and Koffi Olomide too coming up to date.
Much of this is documented on Rough Guide to Congolese Soukous available for less than four English pounds on amazon currently and well worth the shekels. All classic tracks.
This is the music that all of Africa from Mali to Cape Town dances to ! Happy hunting !!
And enjoy Mighty Sparrow - it's not a million musical miles away...
Magic: In total agreement and thanks for introducing Zaiko, Kanda and Koffi, all donded.
The Rough Guides are generally ALWAYS excellent whatever the theme, great compilations and excellent sleeve notes, I've got quite a stack.
I have an Aesop Rock album I like somewhere, I'll check the name.
Just to dond the Rough Guides - I have ones for Thailand, Rai and Pakistan, all amazing.
As a tangent, I've been listening to a lot of Bollywood music lately, not exactly sure how it happened, but you could do a lot worse.
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