MUSIC

Born and raised in the deep outskirts of Mexico City, the Gama brothers are keeping alive the rich legacy of marimba music running through their family with their latest project, Son Rompe Pera. While firmly rooted in the tradition of this historic instrument, their fresh take on the folk icon challenges its limits as never before, moving it into the garage/punk world of urban misfits and firmly planting it in the 21st century. Originally performing alongside their father at local events as kids, they now find themselves at the forefront of the contemporary international cumbia scene with their sonic explorations of the classic marimba. Their absolutely unique blend comes from a typical youthful rebellion, when as teenagers they left behind their upbringing and began to play in various punk, rockabilly and ska bands. Now they’ve gone full circle with the return of the marimba on lead, and mixing all of their influences together with an energetic take on the popular instrument, giving it a new twist never before seen in Mexican folk music. Formed in 2017, Son Rompe Pera broke onto the potent cumbia scene of today as the marimba duo of brothers Jesús Ángel and Allan Gama (Kacho and Mongo), who inherited this tradition from their father, Batuco. A marimba player by trade, he taught them to play and understand the marimba, which they first used to revive old folk songs for their friends, family, and passers-by on the street. They then incorporated it into the performance of popular Mexican cumbia songs, while spicing things up with an animated identity of their own, creating rhythms of an imaginary repertoire that grows, spreads, and connects the Americas with every passing year. In their own words: “The basics of Son Rompe Pera have been developing since we were kids, and the music and streets are in our blood. We found the markets flooded with old, forgotten folk music, and so as kids we decided to carry the marimba with us and create this musical project from our own roots, mixing in rhythms which we thought would never be musical brothers, like cumbia, punk, and the sounds of our barrios and our everyday lives.”

Umeko Ando (1932-2004) recorded "Iuta Upopo" in 2003, the original track has been produced by Oki Kano (Oki Dub Ainu Band). “Upopo” is the name of a particular singing style which involves repetition, while “Iuta” simply means song. Umeko Ando performs this minimalistic vocal in a brittle, emotional manner which is framed by a slow, percussive pulse and Oki’s Tonkori patterns (the Tonkori is a string instrument of the Ainu). When Pingipung’s Andi Otto toured Japan in 2017, he came across this enchanting, folkloristic and danceable song in a DJ set of a friend. He made contact with Oki Kano who agreed to license the track from his own label Chikar Studio. It is pressed on vinyl for the first time. This single is part of Pingipung’s ongoing Concentrical Series of 7inches. We are very pleased to have a M.Rux Remix on the B side. He is not only a brilliant original producer, as his EP “In the Hold” (YNFND 2016) has proved; his claim to fame is a sublime collection of edits & cuts (for free on his bandcamp) which skillfully takes classics by Nina Simone, Townes Van Zandt and others to the slowhouse dancefloor. His remix adds a gliding subbass, a kickdrum and occasional claps to the enhanced percussive structures of the original. Umeko Ando’s vocals adapt seamlessly to M.Rux’s powerful electronic production.

The second part of the famous collaboration between two UK based electronic pioneers: John Bolloten aka The Rootsman and Bryn Jones aka Muslimgauze. For this album the original The Rootsman material from his albums “Into The Light” and “52 Days to Timbuktu” was remixed and deconstructed by Muslimgauze. As always with Bryn Jones, all material is inspired by Arab culture. We hear distorted dub rhythms, sawn-off loops, traditional music, male and female voices and then distorted rhythms again. Closing your eyes, you can find yourself in the middle of an eastern city, walk along its noisy streets, admire the ancient architecture. This noise can tell amazing stories! First vinyl edition. Originally in 1999 on CD by Third Eye Music.

For their first multi-artist compilation, Music From Memory take us on a trip to the heart of the Amazon rainforest. Outro Tempo: Electronic and Contemporary Music From Brazil, 1978-1992 is a double LP that explores the outer reaches of Brazilian music, where indigenous rhythms mix with synthesizers and where MPB mingles with drum computers. As Brazil faced the last years of its military dictatorship and transition to democracy, a generation of forward-thinking musicians developed an alternative vision of Brazilian music and culture. They embraced traditionally shunned electronic production methods and infused their music with elements of ambient, jazz-fusion, and minimalism. At the same time they referenced the musical forms and spirituality of indigenous tribes from the Amazon. The music they produced was a complex and mesmerising tapestry that vividly evoked Brazilian landscapes and simultaneously reached out to the world beyond its borders.
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The product of extensive research, this compilation is a unique introduction to this visionary music and features many fresh discoveries in a country well trodden by record diggers. It gathers tracks from obscure albums that have for too long been neglected by even the most avid collectors of Brazilian music. It includes now highly sought after music by Andréa Daltro, Maria Rita, and Fernando Falcão, as well as unknown gems like those of Cinema, Carlinhos Santos, and Anno Luz. This is an essential release that reveals a broader spectrum of Brazilian music, striking a unique sonic signature that is full of innovation, experimentation, and beauty.

Compiled by John Gómez and featuring extensive liner notes, Outro Tempo showcases this overlooked corner in Brazil’s rich music history for the first time.

This project, Massif and Archipelago, is a field recording project initiated by Japanese sound artist Yasuhiro Morinaga, documenting traditional gong music by different Southeast Asian ethnic groups. The project aimed to examine the impact of the natural and social environment on the gong music culture of Southeast Asia. During the project, he visited over 50 different ethnic groups and made hundreds of recordings. This album presents a selection of the unique gong music from different ethnic minorities. The selected music has been divided into two broad sections: one focussing on the music from the Massif, i.e. mainland Southeast Asia (Central Highland of Vietnam and Northeast Cambodia), the other on music from the Archipelago, maritime Southeast Asia (the Luzon Islands of the Philippines, Borneo, Sulawesi, and the Flores Islands of Indonesia).

His second album is similar in tone to his debut, featuring original compositions based on Nubian folk traditions, masterful oud playing, and soothing vocals. Serene and haunting, this was among the first world music recordings to make an international impact.

Hamza El Din (July 10, 1929 – May 22, 2006) was an Egyptian composer, oud player, tar player, and vocalist. Performing on the oud (the Arabian short-necked lute) and the tar (the ancient single-skinned frame drum of the upper Nile), along with his gentle voice and original compositions, Hamza combines the subtleties of Arabic music with the indigenous music of his native Nubia. He has single-handedly forged a new music, essentially a Nubian/ Arabic fusion but one in line with both traditions and informed by Western conservatory training. His music has captured the interest of listeners worldwide. Here’s the debut session from 1964 featuring eight songs

LP reissue from this 1970 album, originally out on Phillips. Totally brilliant. A unique blend of samba and soul, that apparently transformed Brazilian music from the release of this record onwards. Trio Mocoto joins Jorge Ben on this album, and it's their percussive sound, Jorge's voice and the light string arrangements that create pure magic... Highly recommended!

A series of pivotal music projects during the early 1980s led to an explosion of authentic South African sounds sweeping the Western world. Among those projects were collaborative albums such as Malcolm McLaren’s “Duck Rock” (1983), Lizzy Mercier Descloux’s “Zulu Rock” (1984) and Paul Simon’s “Graceland” (1986); and reissues and compilations of essential African recordings on the UK-based Earthworks Records label, headed up by white South African expatriates Jumbo Vanrenan and Trevor Herman. The common denominator linking these releases was the genre that Earthworks famously referred to as “The Indestructible Beat of Soweto” – mbaqanga music. It was therefore inevitable that the foremost exponents of that genre, Mahlathini and the Mahotella Queens, would achieve international stardom before the decade ended. Their international ‘discovery’ was actually the latest chapter in a collective career that had already spanned some 30 years. In June 1988, Mahlathini and the Queens made their first visit to the United Kingdom. Hoping to ride the crest of a wave, concert promoters conceived a package show named after the seminal 1985 Earthworks compilation, “The Indestructible Beat of Soweto”. This would give British audiences a revealing insight into African music as never before – in addition to the headline performers were Philip Tabane and Malombo, Nothembi Mkhwebane and her backing chorus The Siblings, Sipho Mchunu, accordion player Mzwandile David and acrobatic dancer Lucas ‘Rubber Boy’ Kau. The rapturous reception led to an invitation back to the UK in November for further Indestructible Beat concerts. It was off the back of these shows that Mahlathini and the Queens – the undoubtable standouts of Indestructible Beat – undertook their first standalone tour of the UK in early 1989. Their stage act rarely dipped below excellent. Dressed in their original attire as young Zulu girls – but with red izicholo on their heads to signify they were now grown women – Nobesuthu Shawe, Hilda Tloubatla and Mildred Mangxola would fly onto the stage to the strains of “Awuthule Kancane” (Be a bit quieter), heralding the start of a very special evening of music and dance. The formidable Mahlathini, billed as “The Lion of Soweto”, emerged from the stage wings with both arms raised in the air for the start of the next number, “Re Ya Dumedisa” (We greet you all). The humble and soft-spoken performer always lived up to the expectations set by his billing – his roaring introduction to “Lilizela Mlilizeli” (Ululate/applaud) audible proof of the more extroverted alter ego he metamorphosed into on stage. Numbers like “Uyavutha Umlilo” (Music inferno), “Jive Makgona”, “Thokozile” (a girl’s name) and “Melodi Ya Lla” (There‘s a sound ringing out) were used primarily as vehicles for the Queens’ trademark mgqashiyo choreography, punctuated with whistles, hand claps and chants of “yebo!” (“yes!”) and “thatha!” (“take it!”). Mahlathini prowled around the stage imitating the ladies or simply stood aside, clapping and allowing them to take the spotlight. “Duduzile” (a girl’s name), however, was where the great groaner came alive, contorting, convulsing and leaping through an exaggerated Zulu dance routine. Then in “Nina Majuba” (Fly away, you doves) and “Sengikhala Ngiyabaleka” (I‘m crying and running away), the foursome competed in a magnificent display of showstopping, uninhibited jive, bringing the show to a close and the audience clamouring for an encore. The Indestructible Beat of Soweto shows have long since passed into gig legend. None of those landmark concerts were ever made commercially available. Now, some 30 years later, Umsakazo Records proudly presents Mahlathini and the Mahotella Queens’ entire Indestructible Beat set of 16 songs, handpicked from a number of different UK venues and all remastered from newly discovered cassette recordings. These were made at the mixing desk by David Barton, a photographer and music fanatic who travelled with the performers as they descended on unsuspecting audiences across the UK. “Music Inferno: The Indestructible Beat Tour 1988-89” shines the spotlight once more on a truly joyous and frenetic concert experience, one that without question established Mahlathini and the Mahotella Queens as forever one of South Africa’s greatest musical exports.

"A New Guinea Journey" is Dr. Ragnar Johnson's 289 page manuscript concerning his ethnomusicology research in Papua New Guinea during the 1970s. Ideologic Organ has released three double LP/double CD titles of recordings from these extensive, immersive and assimilated research trips. This is the definitive writing on the topic.

A new title in the series of full-album reissues that Vampisoul (co-produced in collaboration with Little Butterfly Records) is releasing as a valuable addition to our largely acclaimed compilation “América Invertida”, focusing on the obscure leftfield pop and experimental folk scene from ‘80s Uruguay, making some of these elusive and essential albums available again.

Hugo Jasa aimed to merge the glamour of the 80s (drum machines and Yamaha DX7 and Roland D50 synthesizers command the timbre of the album) with Uruguayan Afro-candombe sound in his songs. A deep bench of national talent, as Eduardo Mateo, Hugo Fattoruso, Jorge Galemire or Mariana Ingold, took part in these sessions.

The album was originally released in 1990 with a single pressing of 300 copies, and then recently rediscovered by new generation of DJs, musicians and hardcore record collectors around the world thanks to the internet, reaching a cult status and becoming a top want.

Hugo Jasa’s “Estados de ánimo” is reissued here for the first time, in its original artwork with an extra OBI and including an insert with liner notes by Uruguayan music writer Andrés Torrón.

Recorded and originally released only in Argentina in 1972, the album shows an exquisite and delicate dialogue between the guitar of Sebastião Tapajos and the percussion provided by Pedro Dos Santos that generates ambiences of unusual beauty and depth.

It is a necessary addition to the much-hailed Pedro Dos Santos album “Krishnanda” in the collection of anyone with an interest in the most adventurous sounds of Brazil and also an essential work in the discography of Sebastião Tapajos.

Includes the killer afro-samba 'Mungangá' and the hypnotic groover ‘Sorongaio’.

AYA Records presents: Humazapas’ debut with 'Sara Mama', homage to the land and Kichwa tradition. The concept of “getting back to your roots” rarely has such a literal meaning, or at the same time such an ancestral meaning, as in the case of the Ecuadorian group Humazapas. Usually in the music industry this concept is used when an artist returns to a past sound, going back to that moment of newness, exploration and ingenuity, perhaps. But not Humazapas. These natives of the Kichwa communities of the Ecuadorian Andes, who have been working on this project for a decade, see “getting back to your roots” as a profound connection with their cultures, language, dance, the rituals that connect them to their deities and, of course, music. Humazapas was formed in 2010, when twelve teenagers from the Kichwa communities of Turuku, San Pedro, Jatun Topo and Anrabí decided to salvage the sounds and ritual dances of the Kichwa communes at the foot of the Tayta Imbabura and Mama Cutakachi volcanoes. The group explores an ancestral exercise translated into the fusion of native musics and contemporary structures, proposing the continuity of the art of the ancestral peoples and nationalities of Ecuador in future generations. Like a sound document, it also ties in dance and the audiovisual arts to translate an experience through the journey of a seed that is born from the earth, sprouts from it and whose fruit has fed, and will continue to feed, generations for centuries. After over a decade of research and interest in returning to ancestral knowledge, the group made up of eight musicians and four dancers, weaving in their discourse the cosmovision of community life with people, nature and the world of the deities, finally release their debut record 'Sara Mama', which translates as “Mother Corn” in English. Corn is one of the sacred grains that conceals knowledge in its crop and the magic of the rituals of raising, nurturing and celebrating life, from preparing the earth to harvesting the dry grains. The record has twelve songs about the relationship between humanity, nature and the world of deities. It varies between traditional rhythms like the churay, which prevails in songs like “Tamiajun”, “Pugyu”, “Adiós Mamita”, “Romero Llullu Sisa”, “Pacho” and “Sara Tipi”, and the saruy in such compositions as “Rosa Kitumba” and “Warmi Razu Chakigupi.” Also present are the bambuco, the danzante, the yumbo, the capishka, all rhythms featuring bass drums, the Kichwa harp, guitars, mandolin, violin, cununo, djembe and high, festive voices to match these celebratory rhythms. The lyrics are in Kichwa, to preserve this language. They speak about the rains that herald the corn growing cycle and the preparation of the earth, such as in album opener “Jatun Mama Pacha,” and also in “Pugyu,” about the water that falls to the heart of the land, from which springs emerge, sacred places that keep life alive during times of drought. Other lyrics are more connected with mysticism, such as “Chichu Burru,” whose ritual sound is used to awaken the gods and spirits represented as mountains, volcanoes and lakes in the province of Imbabura. Their permission is needed to begin the corn growing cycle. This debut record is ultimately a thematic work, whose narrative takes in the cycle of life like those roots that grow to form shoots, leaves and fruits, but also the cycle of death as that space in which life springs forth again, thanks to those beings who have departed and who surrender their energies for the community. Sara Mama was composed, produced, arranged and recorded by Jesús Bonilla at ANTA Records in the Kichwa community of Tutuku. It was mixed by Paul Cotacachi and Esteban Farinango (MalaFama), with collaborations by renowned Ecuadorian artists such as Danilo Arroyo and Matías Alvear. The album was mastered by the celebrated Ecuadorian DJ and producer Nicola Cruz.

In 2003, Pisco Crane assembled a six-piece band from motivated and talented like minds in the Kinshasa slums where he grew up. Pisco had been involved with a handful of local rap acts when he was younger, but after meeting legendary instrument builder Bebson De La Rue, he was inspired to follow a new path. He set about building instruments from the discarded trash that surrounded his city: bits of old computers or oil cans were fashioned into bass guitars and drums, and keyboards were bashed together using springs, metal pipes, and offcuts of tubing.If there was a core philosophy that guided Pisco at this stage in his journey, it was that everyone should have access to instruments, no matter where they come from or what their budget might be. And following in the footsteps of Bebson, Pisco locked into a Congolese tradition that touches on the eccentric genius of globally lauded artists like Konono Nº1 and Staff Benda Bilili. Over the years, Fulu Miziki's notoriety grew in the Kinshasa underground – their utopian vision of the future was infectious. Eventually, they were joined by performance artist, sculptor and fashion designer Lady Aisha, who offered the band unique colour and a soulful central focus.Influenced by Kinshasa's street performance scene, Aisha helped the band devise vivid masks and costumes that were as electric and singular as the instruments they played, and the scene was set. In 2020, as the world was plunged into lockdown, footage of Fulu Mziki went viral and their star began to grow exponentially, with a video of the band preforming the track ‘Tikanga’ racking up millions of views on Facebook. The band used this opportunity to work on documenting their sound, and shored up at the Nyege Nyege studios in Kampala for a year to assemble a definitive album. Recorded by HHY & The Macumbas' Jonathan Saldanha, this record captures the band's furiously innovative mixture of industrial sonics, spiritual jazz, punk, and Congolese soukous pressure.At their best, Fulu Mziki sound almost completely out of time, curving pounding rhythms around microtonal clanks, rousing chants and spiky sonics. On 'Mutangila', there's a hint of disco in the 4/4 stomp, but it's been shifted into a post-punk ritual, adorned with complex bell percussion and overlapping vocals. 'Congo' is even harder to define; electrified buzzes form a bassline, but it's the mindboggling rhythms that shuttle the track into psychedelic realms, led confidently by Lady Aisha's limber rhymes. Fulu positively slither on the sultry, industrial-influenced 'Sebe', while 'Tikanga' reminds of Congo's rumba-derived soukous traditions, materializing the sounds into the future with tight, pounding percussion and head-melting fx.The story of Fulu Miziki is sprawling and complex and constantly evolving, with various offshoots and band iterations. Two members left the band in 2016 to form KOKOKO! with French producer Débruit. Not long after they recorded this magnum opus album, several other original members left to form a similarly named outfit currently based in Europe. This other incarnation recently released an EP of electronic productions without the band founder Pisko Crane and lead vocalist Lady Aicha, on the UK based Moshi Moshi records. Pisco and Lady Aicha currently lead a different outfit in Kinshasa made up of completely new musicians. This full-length is the remaining proof of Fulu Mziki at their most vital and most complete – it won't be repeated – and can never be recreated. It's an essential portrait of one of the Democratic Republic of Congo's most innovative contemporary outfits, and some of the most surprising hybrid music you're likely to hear.

Dewa Alit, Bali’s master of contemporary Gamelan composition, returns to Black Truffle with Chasing the Phantom, presenting two recent works played by the composer’s Gamelan Salukat, a large ensemble that performs on instruments specially built to his designs, using a unique tuning system that combines notes from two traditional Balinese Gamelan scales. Alit explains that the ensemble’s name suggests “a place to fuse creative ideas to generate new, innovative works” and both compositions demonstrate the composer’s ability to wring stunning new possibilities from variations on the traditional Gamelan ensemble. While using familiar elements of Balinese Gamelan music, such as unison scalar melodies and stop-start dynamics, Alit’s music is overflowing with harmonic, rhythmic, and timbral inventions, the latter often facilitated by unorthodox playing techniques. “Ngejuk Memedi”, an English translation of which gives the LP its title, results from Alit’s reflection on the complex relationship between tradition and modernity in Balinese culture, particularly in the way that belief in the phantoms or spirits known as ‘memedi’ are shared through social media using digital technologies. Embodying this uncanny co-existence, the opening passages of the piece are at once immediately recognisable in their use of the metallophones of the Gamelan ensemble and strikingly reminiscent of electronics in their timbre and movement. At points, what we hear seems to have been fragmented with digital tools, or even to originate in some incessantly glitching DX7. Short melodic figures loop irregularly, with the ensemble splintering into polyrhythmic shards before unexpectedly recombining for intricate unison passages. After several minutes of this manically tinkling metallic sound world, the metallophones are joined by drums for a meditative passage of lower dynamics, as the uniformly high pitch range explored in the opening sections gradually opens up to include resonant low gong hits. Recovering some of the manic energy of the opening, but now enhanced with the full range of percussion, the piece weaves through a series of tempo changes to a stunning passage of rapid-fire melodies and ringing chords that sweep across the metallophones, their unorthodox tuning creating complex clouds of wavering harmonies. “Likad”, written during Covid-19 lockdowns, channels anxiety and uncertainty into musical form, resulting in a piece that, even by Alit’s standards, is stunning in its complexity and the virtuosity it demands of Gamelan Salukat. Its opening section is perhaps most remarkable for its mastery of texture, with rapid transitions between dry, muted strikes and metallic shimmers calling to mind the use of filters in electronic music. At points, the complex irregular repetitions of short melodic patterns, where the music seems to get stuck or be suddenly interrupted by a skip, recall the mad sampler works of Alvin Curran or the skittering surface of prime period Oval more than anything familiar from acoustic percussion music. Moving through a dizzying series of twists and turns, the piece ends with a majestic sequence of chords possessing an almost hieratic power. A major statement from a radical contemporary composer, one cannot help but agree with Alit when he sees Chasing the Phantom as an answer to the “question of the future of Gamelan music”.

 Zia Mohiuddin Dagar : rudra veena
Manik Munde : pakhawaj
Gayathri Rajapur & Annie Penta : tanpuras

Recorded by unknown at the University of Washington, HUB Auditorium, Seattle, Washington 15 March 1986 ; concert co-sponsored by the UW Ethnomusicology Division and Ragamala.
Original digitally processed audio recording made with Panasonic PV-9000 VCR, Sony PCM-F1, PZM mics. Mastered & Cut by Rashad Becker at Dubplates & Mastering 1117 & 0318.

Liner notes by Renaud Brizard, edited by Ian Christe.
Front and back cover photos by Niranjan B. Benegal, Seattle Center Folklife Festival 1979. Elizabeth Reeke & Annie Penta on tanpuras.
Inner gatefold photography by Niranjan B. Benegal & Ira Landgarten.

Around ten years ago, deep into a cozy and hazy night following a concert with my sound brothers Daniel O'Sullivan and Kristoffer Rygg in London (as Æthenor), they graciously introduced me to a recording of rudra veena (a kind of noble deeper bass relative to the sitar, in a way) as performed by dhrupad master Zia Mohiuddin Dagar.

Dhrupad, for those who do not know, is a branch of Hindustani classical music said to "show the raga in its clearest and purest form". It's pacing concentrates heavily on the slow, contemplative alap section and works with specific microtonal gestures and deep characteristics of resonance ... in short I was hooked on this new (to me) and ancient form of music from the first listen, and feel that a more or less continual listening & reviewing of Zia Mohiuddin Dagar's recordings in the years that followed have influenced my own approach to music quite heavily (if, albeit, indirectly).

In early 2015 I was able to make contact with Zia Mohiuddin Dagar's son Bahauddin and some of his American students/disciples, primarily Jeff Lewis. Over time we developed a friendly and educational exchange, access a massive archive of recordings and developed these two paired titles for my label. It's been a long path to arrive at actually releasing them but also probably in many ways one of the most significant releases I've worked on. And I'm proud to be able to reveal these to date unreleased archival recordings of one of the masters of dhrupad, Z. M. Dagar, to the public for the first time.

Zia Mohiuddin Dagar was the nineteenth generation in a family tradition known as Dagar gharana, a rich lineage which continued and performed the musical form of dhrupad (Bahauddin Dagar continues the lineage as a master rudra veena dhrupad player of note today). Initially, dhrupad was a rigorous, austere, devotional genre that was sung in Hindu temples. But between the 16th and the 18th centuries, it became the preeminent genre in royal courts in North and Central India, and the Dagar gharana developed and continued publicly following the eventual loss of court patronage for dhrupad in the 19th century. The French ethnomusicologist Renaud Brizard covers the story of Zia Mohiuddin Dagar's life and teaching (a long story also in Seattle, my hometown!), the Dagar family and gharana, the rudra veena and more topics in an extensive set of liner notes in this release.

Raga Yaman was recorded at a public concert in Seattle at the HUB Ballroom at the University of Washington in March 1986 (the week after the accompanying release SOMA028 Ragas Abhogi & Vardhani was recorded) at the end of his last tour of the United States. Yaman was a special raga for Zia Mohiuddin Dagar, one of his signature raags. For centuries, Yaman has been considered as one of the most fundamental ragas in Hindustani music and is one of the first ragas which is taught to students. A deep knowledge of Yaman gives a key for understanding many other ragas. It's filled with tranquility, contemplation, pathos and spiritual yearning. .

-Stephen O'Malley, March 2018, Paris, France

Comet Records present the new reissue, Dilijans by Ayizan. A mind-blowing session of Spiritual Jazz recorded in NYC in 1984 led by Haitian genius Alix Pascal blending traditional Ra Ra elements with modal/spiritual melodies. The result was like nothing else coming out of Haiti or the Haitian exile community in the US at the time. Dark, mystical, lyrical and abstract, with its otherworldly shifting rhythms, Dilijans came off like a Haitian version of Bitches Brew. The album sounds less like a stylish mini-jazz performing in a hotel dancehall than like a cry of ancestors emanating from the spirit world to lament over the complications of modern Haitian society.

There is perhaps no woman more cherished in modern Ethiopian history than Asnakech Worku. As a musician, actress, dancer and cultural icon, Asnakech inspired and challenged society for decades, until her death in 2011. From her beginnings as Ethiopia’s first theater actress in 1952 to her acclaimed film appearances to her days as a club owner-turned-master musician, Asnakech’s inimitable confidence and charm made her a household name. She earned endless accolades across the artistic spectrum.

She made seminal recordings of unforgettable original compositions, as well as legendary renditions of traditional songs, that became national staples. With a singular sense of style, glamour and sex appeal that sometimes stunned mainstream society, Asnakech wore clothes no one else wore and said things no one else said. Staid notions of how women should dress and behave didn’t apply to her. Battling a mentality that until the early 1950s had men wearing dresses to play female roles in the theater, Asnakech became a national treasure on her own terms.

Her family wasn’t pleased with Asnakech becoming an azmari—an itinerant praise musician who sings, often in bars, for tips—and didn’t bother her, especially after Emperor Haile Selassie I began to emphasize theater and music in society, officially legitimizing her career. Asnakech became an internationally-celebrated performer of Ethiopia’s ancient harp, the krar, making her one of the most visible female musicians of the 20th century. All this while leaving controversy, broken hearts and a changed cultural landscape in her wake.

In 1975, keyboardist and bandleader Hailu Mergia got a call from the owner of Misratch Music Shop to do a recording with Asnakech and he went for it. This recording is a nearly-forgotten artifact of the remarkable icon’s singular legacy, remastered and available outside Ethiopia for the first time. It also provides a rare glimpse into Mergia’s work as a arranger-sideman in the Addis Ababa music scene.

The Krar

The krar is one of the oldest and most iconic traditional instruments in Ethiopia and Eritrea. A lyre, or harp, with 6 strings attached to a cloth-wrapped wooden crossbar, the sound emits from a resonator bowl covered with animal skin. The instrument comes in a variety of sizes and has relatives in the Middle East and Mediterranean as well as other parts of East and Central Africa. Used for secular music, the krar is normally accompanied by at least one vocalist and plays monophonic melodic lines using the region's traditional pentatonic scales, called kignit. These characteristic scales form the basis of the sound listeners worldwide now recognize. They are also the names of well-known songs: tizita, bati, ambassel and anchi hoye lene, of which there are numerous recorded versions. The krar has been around for centuries, likely introduced to the Kingdom of Axum in Northern Ethiopia via the Nile River a little less than 2000 years ago.

Memories of Asnakech
by Hailu Mergia

Asnakech had a club uptown—in Dejach Wube area, a popular part, there were a bunch of clubs. It was the late 1950s in the Ethiopian calendar, so probably the mid-1960s. I saw her there for the first time, not in the theater. She used to perform for friends there, sometimes we stayed there after hours. She would play krar. Back then she was very young, haha. Whatever you would request, she would play, many traditional songs, solo. Sometimes some guys would come there and play with her.

Someone took me there just to have fun. I was not a known guy back then, she was a famous lady. So I introduced myself but I was just a fan. I knew her name but hadn’t seen her but I’d heard her music on the radio. She said, “Oh you’re a new guy, good for you,” the kind of supporting things she usually said to a young musician. After that, when I used to play in Zula club or next door to her club at Patrice Lumumba club (Acegedech Nightclub), she used to come and dance with her friends once in a while.

After so many years, in the mid 1970s, the owner of this music store contact me and he told me that he is planning to have a cassette with Asnakech. So I made a handshake deal and we started the recording.

I’m proud that I played with her, that we did this album. It’s nice to play with somebody you admire, to be able to say, I played with Asnakech when she was great. She was a very polite person, always talking good about other people. In particular, to me she was a very modern lady. If you’re not a dead person your heart is gonna beat, young or old, when you see that lady dressing, any kind of dress western dress or traditional dress. She was a modern lady, dressed in the latest designer dresses, more than anyone else back then. Oh! That lady was different. She was a dancer and an actress. At the same time she was very beautiful and everybody talked about her. She had a style when she smoked, the way she took the cigarette in her fingers, it was an art. Her hair was so beautiful, long hair. Asnakech? Forget it, man.

Some of the songs are traditional, some are her compositions. You can listen to songs like these at home with family, while sitting or reading, in the after-hours at the club, while you’re washing the dishes. When you’re driving, a bunch of people listen while driving. It depends what time when you want to listen. Some people they listen to this kind of love music when they have a good relationship, somebody passed away or somebody stopped dating each other and have emotional flashbacks to what happened in their lives. Sometimes I listen to this music while I sit by the fireplace and I take some whisky, during the holiday time for relaxation. You can listen to this music any time. Especially for lovers.

*On the occasion of the first anniversary of her passing, Asnakech's family and friends held a memorial. This is the text accompanying that event, composed by Asnakech's biographer, Getachew Debalke.

We would like to present our greetings. Please, be present with your spouse as we mark one year of grieving for the artist Asnakech Worku on September 6, 2015 E.C. [Ethiopian Calendar], at 12:30 in Kidst Selassie Cathedral church.
Address :- 6 kilo near Egypt Embassy
Short Biography
Ethiopia lost a great queen of art. Today marks one year since our loss of the famous and respectful artist who combines music and theatre for the first time. This day marks a year of deep grief. Yes, both of them lost Asnakech. They lost their biggest blessings. From now on she will not be there. But, her children will be with us forever. This is the short biography of this great artist.
Artist Asnakech Worku was born in 1926 E.C., in Addis Ababa, Gedam Sefer, near Sidst Kilo. She was only three years old at the time her mother passed away. Due to this, her godmother took her and raised her.
At that time getting education nearby was impossible. There was no other choice than spending time with religious clergymen. Due to this, Asnakech started to learn letters and she was able to finish the book of David.
Her biography tells that, starting from a young age, Asnakech grew up singing living with her godmother. Singing sad songs when she felt low, singing alone when she felt happy, and dancing when singing were her natural gifts. Memorizing songs was also one of her gifts.
Her hope was to start learning in the only school found nearby called Etege Menen girls’ school. After she tried hard to get in, she was asked to shave her head for a medical checkup. But she refused and didn’t start studying there.
She sang a song about the horrifying truth of migration. Asnakech got the admiration of German journalists.
On January 27, 2000, there was a ceremony for women in the arts. Asnakech was the only Ethiopian representative. She performed an amazing show using only one instrument, the krar. She got an award for that.
Asnakech Worku, the woman of love, the talented artist, the symbol of talent, has performed her plays in various countries. A few are stated below:
-“Aris," a play by a French director
-“Agote Banya,” a play at Alliance Française
-On a play called “Zetegn Fetena” et cetera…
In 1991, Asnakech received a lifetime achievement award from the media.
Asnakech used to dance to traditional music, she used to sing, she used to perform in plays, she used to dance to modern dance, and she was just gifted. Art is created by mankind. These harmonious and beautiful memories of Asnakech were created by her. Her beautiful works will be remembered forever.
Birth and death are God’s power. Mankind has only a right to live the short time given to him. Even when we are alive, we live on the verge of death. This kind, generous and talented artist Asnakech, was sick for a long time. She was battling death. Her generous friends, her co-actors, were also part of the battle. They were by her side for years. They were fighting with her. But today, by the will of God, they and Asnakech lost the battle.
On September 4, 2004 E.C., while receiving her treatment, the 78-year-old Asnakech passed away.
On September 5, 2004 E.C, her funeral was held on Kidst Sellasie Cathedral ye Arbegnoch mekane mekabr. We would like to give our condolences for her family, her friends, her co-actors and her fans.

Songs

A1. ጅንዬው Jinyew — A proud person, macho guy, always proud of himself. The kind of guy some women like.

A2. ቼ በለው Tche Belew — Tche Belew refers to making your horse or mule speed up, used for going into battle. Giddy-up! The scale is different from the other versions I’ve done. This is not a pentatonic scale, this is bati scale. It’s a patriotic song.

A3. አውቄው በነበር Awkew Beneber — If I had known him earlier. When he came to her, he was nice and then when she became closer to him he became a bad guy. I wish I had known he had this kind of character, is what she is saying.

B1. ባይኔ ላይ ይሄዳል Bayne Lay Yidal — I always see him walking around in my mind. She daydreams about this guy while she is sitting by herself.

B2. ምንጊዜም የኔ ነው Mingizem Yene New — He is mine forever.

C1. ተው በጊዜ ግባ Tew Begize Giba — It’s too late, don’t stay out too late, come home early. In the old days sometimes women would refer to their husband as a friend or brother or family member. So I think she is talking about her brother.

C2. ሣቅ ብለህ አስቀኝ Sak Bleh Askegn — Laugh and let me laugh. Say something to make me laugh, don’t be boring. She wants to hear the man say something to make her smile.

C3. አብዮተኛው ጀግና Abyotegnaw Jegna — The hero of the revolution. She is singing in appreciation of the heroes and fighters who protect the country’s borders. If she didn’t have this song, this cassette wouldn’t be released. Because at that time the government [Derg Regime] and the army were supposed to get some kind of feedback from musicians and listeners to make them feel special, to boost morale.

D1. ካንድ የረጋ ደግ ነው Kand Yerega Deg New — It’s good to stay with one person. In life, if you jump from one person to another, it is not as good.

D2. መች አልኩኝ ሌላ ሰው Mech Alkugn Lela Sew — When did I say I want another person? I want you, I don’t need another person. After we finished the whole recording it was only nine songs so the guy wanted to balance the tape and he probably recorded this song with her at a separate time. Or he could have picked it up from a previous session, I don’t recall now… It was a long time ago! 

Jali Nyama Suso was known and loved throughout his native Gambia and renowned the world over as one of the greatest kora harp players. This recording was the first release of a solo kora and griot music album anywhere. Jali Nyama, whose real name was Mohamadu Lamin Suso, was the eldest of four brothers, and the only one who took up the kora to follow the profession of traditional music and oratory of the Mandinka people, known as jaliyaa. A practitioner of jaliyaa is known as a jali (or if a woman, jali muso). Jaliyaa is multi-faceted, requiring the jali to be a singer, oral historian, genealogist and praiser, with emphasis on one or more of these depending on ability, interest and circumstance. The kora is a 21-string harp, strung today with nylon, but in the past with rawhide. The body is made from a large half calabash covered with cowhide and pierced through by a stout neck of rosewood that also forms the tailpiece. This manner of construction identifies it as a spike harp, a type of instrument unique to West Africa. The traditional role of the kora in jaliyaa is to accompany singing. The kora player himself may sing, or he may accompany a vocal soloist, male or female. In addition, kora players create solo pieces from songs by varying the basic ostinato, by adding improvised passages called birimintingo, and by playing the vocal line on the instrument.

This CD is devoted to the third phase of these ritual nights –the Mlouk (“the possessors”)– and offers a sample of an ecstatic moment of the lila when, moving through the seven colours, the maâlem and the community around him occupy the sanctified space.

An ambitious compilation album of rare early recordings of "calypso," which originated in Trinidad at the beginning of the 20th century and developed into its modern form, has been released in analog format. In the 1920s, when calypso was in its infancy, singers and composers called "calypsonians" performed in "tents" (tarpaulin-covered gardens and union halls) for the people of Trinidad and tourists. This album is a compilation of all of these calypso classics!

Coming from the city of Gao, on the edge of the Saharan desert, Malian producer Baba ‘’Babsy’’ Konate is one of the key figures in the development of "Gao Rap", a regional genre of modern autotuned Songhoi music. After presenting some of his work on our Gao Rap compilation from 2018, Tounga is the first release of the artist’s solo work, gathering a decade of tracks that merge sweet autotuned vocals, crunchy drum loops and plucked digital harpsichord, in a playful testament to 2000s PC music, with the sample packs of a modest FruityLoops project. The result is familiar yet otherworldly, drawing from an abundance of distinct cultural expression: folkloric takamba from the Songhai, Hausa film soundtracks from Northern Nigeria, Hip Hop from Bamako and Ragga from Niamey. After relocating to Bamako and learning the art of production from his brother (the acclaimed guitarist Oumar Konate), Babsy traveled to Gao with a mobile studio, setting up shop in the center of town, soon inundated with rappers wanting to record. These ephemeral studios laid the foundation for the emergent new genre, shaped by Babsy's signature sound of fluttering melody lines and lush vocals. His productions soon became synonymous with the regional style of modern Gao music. Global audiences might place Babsy's compositions alongside trap or soundcloud experiments, with collaged pastiche, hyper kitsch, and lo-fi aesthetics. This mix of disparate influences is best heard on tracks like the upbeat ‘’Erness Fassa’’, a dedication to a close friend, that sports a vaguely Caribbean flavor with elastic, highly addictive spacey beats, or the hypnotic programming and quivering synth pads of "Tounga", where Babsy asks Malians in exile to remember home and to their families they left behind. Though the sound may converge with familiar genres, Babsy's tracks are soulfully earnest, with love ballads, praise songs and advice. Tounga perfectly illustrates his ability to take whatever's around and experiment in free-form innovations, forging a style that’s both his own and a new direction for Songhai music.

Rudra is Lord Shiva and an absolute truth. Music for meditation ... The amazing sound that fascinates Stephen O'Malley is here! "Dhrupad" is a type of North Indian classical music that is considered to be the oldest form of classical music and has a form found in the tradition of South Indian carnatic music, and is said to show raga in its clearest and purest form. Unknown masterpiece!

Zia Mohiuddin Dagar (1929 – 1990), an Indian classical master famous for playing Rudra Veena, also known as ZM Dagar, and an American who was fascinated by Dhrupad music and studied Indian classical music for 30 years. An unreleased live recording by two Dhrupad classical singer and tabla player Annie Penta has been released from the prestigious Ideologic Organ under Editions Mego in a way miraculous!

Recorded a concert at the homes of Shantha and Niranjan B. Benegal in Seattle, Washington in 1986. It was Rudra Veena by Zia Mohiuddin Dagar that they introduced to Stephen after a 10-year-old London concert with Æthenor members Daniel O'Sullivan and Kristoffer Rygg. It is said that it was a recording of. The heaven of spiritual music. Knowing "ask the old and know the new" is exactly the encounter with this music. The intimate and elegant sound of the resonance of Rudra Veena and Tampura, which is also known as an extreme meditation state, is a masterpiece of dope that just sinks into the depths of the spiritual world. This is a transcendental recommendation as the best, best and best record of 2018 along with Ragnar Johnson the other day! Mastering & cutting is done at Dubplates & Mastering by Rashad Becker, a purveyor to our label. Includes liner notes by Renaud Brizard and Ian Christe.

After receiving regional praise for his 1976 debut Abrabo, Dan Boadi set his sights on leaving Ghana and bringing his highlife sensibilities to an American audience. Recorded at Paul Serrano’s namesake studio on E. 23rd St. in Chicago, Boadi’s U.S. debut showcased the true scope of his musical range; weaving in and out of funk, highlife, afrobeat, and reggae. The title track immediately demands the listener’s attention with a chugging drum lead by The African International’s King Tuch, setting the pace for Boadi’s colorful orchestration to follow. Money Is The Root of Evil claims it’s own space as a musical melting pot and reflects the excitement Boadi was learning to harness as a musician in his newfound home of Chicago.