The smooth live sounds of Mr Donny Hathaway to help you to stay cool during the latest heatwave.
"Hey Girl (Live) " - Donny Hathaway
"Little Ghetto Boy (Live)" - Donny Hathaway
"Sack Full Of Dreams (Live)" - Donny Hathaway
Competition law requires me to inform you that other Donnys are also available. If I don't Alyson and The Swede will.
Two brand new albums for you today. Both are by female artistes from West Africa. And both are splendid.
Regular readers may recall me raving about Nana Benz du Togo's debut album "AGO" and their live show at various points over the last couple of years. I'm pleased to report that their second album "SÉ NAM" (which means ‘understand me' in the Mina language) came out last month.
It is a worthy successor to "AGO". There is a bit more studio production this time round. I'm not sure they needed it but its fairly unobtrusive and doesn't detract from the general joyfulness of their sound, and hopefully the live show will still feature a man whacking big pieces of plastic tubing with a pair of flip-flops.
The second album comes from a fine singer from Burkina Faso who I had never heard of before and about whom I have been able to find out very little. Her name is Awa Guindo and the only information I have comes from her Facebook page, which tells us:
"Awa Guindo is part of the new wave of young Mandingo artists who have been shaking up the West African musical world in recent years. Originally from Banfora, in southwest Burkina Faso, she comes from a long line of griots".
So now you know. Anyway her debut album is called "Tama" and I would recommend giving it a listen. It is not on Bandcamp but you can find it on Spotify, at the tax dodgers' place and on EMusic in the unlikely event you have a subscription.
"Recycle" - Nana Benz du Togo
"Famaden" - Awa Guindo
I can't find any videos of Nana Benz performing songs from the latest album so here is an old favourite instead. It is followed by what I think is Awa's searing critique of a corrupt sporting organisation.
A couple of weeks ago we featured "Till April Is Dead ≈ A Garland of May", Lisa Knapp's 2017 album of traditional songs associated with the month of May.
Since that post I have discovered the music of Arianne Churchman and Benedict Drew thanks to a review of their new album "The Tree Of The Left Hand" in the latest edition of Uncut.
A cursory glance of their Bandcamp page and that of the Thanet Tape Centre reveals that they are obsessed with the music of May to such an extent that Lisa seems a mere dilettante by comparison. And they are clearly keen to convert others to the cause as much of their material is available on a 'name your own price' basis.
Here are a couple of examples. Together they clock in at over twenty minutes, making them suitable for inclusion in the Monday Long Song ritual by those of you who still cling to such archaic beliefs.
"The May Dew" - Arianne Churchman & Benedict Drew
"Down By The Green Groves" - Arianne Churchman & Benedict Drew
Cornwall is particularly known for May celebrations and music. Helston alone has two songs associated with its festivities that take place every year on 8 May. These are they (some liberties may have been taken with the second).
We have arrived at our second stop in our search for the musical gold of the Americas and it is quite a contrast to Argentina. From the pampas to the swamps, from one of the continent's largest countries to the second smallest in terms of both size and population. Welcome to Belize.
Squeezed into a corner between Mexico and Guatemala and 750 miles due west of Jamaica, the former British colony of British Honduras can offer the visitor delights such as a Barrier Reef, jungles and more than 450 islands. Apart from tourism the country makes its living from sugar, papaya and money laundering.
Belize is the only country in Central America where English is the main language and perhaps because of that much of the music I have dug up seems to my inexpert ears to have more in common with Jamaica and some other Caribbean countries than its mainland neighbours. But what do I know.
As far as indigenous music is concerned the best known is probably the punta music of the Garifuna, a people of mixed African and Amerindian ancestry who have a minority presence in several countries in the region - in Belize they account for around 5% of the population. The interest in Garifuna music and culture will hopefully only increase following Tavo Man's Grammy nomination, the first for a Garifuna artist.
The man who did more than anyone to promote punta and Garifuna culture more broadly was the late Andy Palacio, whose 2007 album "Watina" found worldwide success and led to him being named a UNESCO Artist for Peace and winning the 2007 WOMEX Award. Sadly he died the following year aged only 48.
The track I have selected from Mr Palacio actually comes from an earlier album ("Keimoun" from 1994) but the narrative will stick with "Watina" for now. For that album he gathered together Garifuna performers from Belize and beyond. They became known as The Garifuna Collective and some of them went on to record another album without him under that name in 2013.
Among the members of the Collective was Paul Nabor, one of the premier exponents of paranda music (a sort of speeded up version of punta). Mr Nabor himself passed in 2014 at the rather riper age of 86. The only material of his I have been able to find is on a compilation called "Paranda - Africa in Central America". Some of the other folks on there are pretty nifty too.
As well as the Garifuna, Belize has a large creole population (roughly 25%) who enjoy nothing more than a bit of brukdown on a Saturday night. Brukdown is a sort of local version of calypso and mento with some call and response chucked in and the late Wilfred Peters MBE was the king. When Mr Peters strapped on his trusty squeezebox nobody could resist his blandishments. This track comes from 1997's "Weh Mi Lova Deh".
All the albums featured so far were released on the excellent Stonetree Music label based in Benque Viejo del Carmen in Belize, and you can find plenty more goodies on their Bandcamp site. But back in the day there was only one label in Belize, Compton Fairweather's C.E.S. In 2006 the good folks at the Numero Group put together a compilation of the best C.E.S. recordings under the name "Cult Cargo: Belize City Boil Up". It's fantastic.
I have selected two tracks from "Belize City Boil Up". The first comes from Lord Rhaburn and his Combo who have been stalwarts of the local scene since the 1960s. I am very pleased to report that the good Lord celebrated his 89th birthday earlier this year. The second comes from The Harmonettes, the brainchild of one Godfrey 'D-Mack' MacGregor. You can read a bit more about him and them here.
We are heading back to Stonetree Music for our penultimate selection, and it is highbrow stuff - some dub poetry courtesy of Leroy Young (aka The Grandmaster). Mr Young kindly provides a bit of a bio in the blurb accompanying his 2003 album "Just Like That", from which this track comes. He first made his name in the late 1990s when he used to be invited on to the local TV news every Friday, as explained in this clip from 2017.
We finish up with Bredda David Obi (or Bro David as he was known to the record-buying public of Belize). His debut album "No Fear" (1984) introduced what he considered to be a new sound that he called kungo, but it sounds remarkably like Mandatory American Reggae to me. Either way it is good stuff and you might want to invest in "Modern Music From Belize" which contains highlights from "No Fear" and Bro David's other early albums.
"Mafiougati" - Andy Palacio
"Náguya Nei" - Paul Nabor
"Bilhine Mibak Dehn Taak" - Mr. Peters
"Disco Connection" - Lord Rhaburn Combo
"Can't Go Halfway" - The Harmonettes
"Same Script, Different Cast" - Leroy Young
"Experience" - Bro David
We start the videos with a little bit of politics and history from Cocono Bwai and his good friend Shamrock. Apologies to our many Guatemalan viewers for any offence caused.
On a recent visit to a charity shop I spotted a compilation CD with the dull but (mostly) factually correct title "Swedish Pop Music". Further inspection revealed that it was issued by the Swedish government in 2009 to mark the Swedish Presidency of the EU.
Not the most compelling reason to buy the album perhaps but when I saw it included the likes of Lykke Li, The Soundtrack Of Our Lives and Maia Hirasawa (whose video for "And I Found This Boy" is a thing of pure joy that has featured here many times over the years) I decided it was worth investing 50p.
Most of the tracks on the album are Noughties indie-tinged pop, some of which are included in the videos below. But there are two that really don't fit at all. Needless to say, those are the two that you are getting. And before you ask - yes, it's that Benny.
"Cirkus Finemang" - Benny Andersson's Orkester
"Leksands Skänklåt" - Kebnekasje
Last Friday I was in Beaconsfield on family business and took time out to visit Bekonscot Model Village for the first time since 1972.
We lived a few towns over for a while in the 1960s and early 1970s and I always enjoyed going to Bekonscot then. I enjoyed it almost as much as an adult and there are some aspects that I am better able to appreciate now, for example their takes on local landmarks such as the wonderful Hoover Building on the A40.
I have been to two gigs in the last week, both in churches. Maybe I should have titled this post Gigs-a-God-God. Then again maybe not.
Last Saturday we were at St John's in London's leafy Leytonstone for a lunchtime show to mark Midsummer. It was a triple header. First up was Lucine Musaelian with her viola de gamba and some baroque and Armenian folk tunes, and last up were The Memory Band. I enjoyed them both.
But it was the woman in between who were mainly there to see - Lisa Knapp. She did not disappoint. I first saw her taking part in an all star Bert Jansch tribute back in 2013, around the time of her fine second album "Hidden Seam". Her follow-up album in 2017 was a collection of May songs and given the time of year she drew quite heavily on it during her set, including today's selection.
How much she really knows is hard to judge. It may just have been the jetlag but she wasn't what you would call a Chatty Kassi. Not that it mattered. Together with her band she put on a very good show with a fine selection of songs from across her career to date. As an unexpected bonus they galloped through "Matty Groves" as an encore. Obviously nobody can match Sandy Denny and Richard Thompson but they gave it a bloody good go.
"Padstow May Song" - Lisa Knapp
"Rapture" - Kassi Valazza
"Matty Groves" - Fairport Convention
On Monday I was in Henley-on-Thames for reasons that I won't bore you with. There was lots of activity as the folks down there were preparing for the annual rowing regatta which starts next week. As a tribute to them, and in the absence of any other ideas for a post, here are two songs with "row" in the title.
The first song ties in with Walter's post from yesterday in an attempt to turn this into The Congos Week on the world of blogs (please join in). I have also bunged in a wonderfully wonky Thai version of the second as a special treat for you all.
"Row Fisherman Row" - The Congos
"The Boat That I Row" - Lulu
"The Boat That I Row" - Sodsai Chaengkij
In my previous post I made the foolish mistake of offending Alyson by taking the mickey out of Lulu's ex and his brothers and her favourite ever love song. I have no wish to be on the wrong side of the Queen of the Blogging Scene, so to make amends here are the lads with what may be my two personal favourites from their catalogue. I hope you enjoy them more than the audience in the first clip.
We have a stripped down Single Song Sunday for you today. Severely stripped down - just the Mandatory Reggae Version. It is a Lee 'Scratch' Perry production of "How Deep Is Your Love" credited to The Inamans.
I know nothing about The Inamans. There is an online rumour that this gentleman was the inspiration for their name but it seems unlikely.
According to Discogs they only ever released one side of a single, with Dillinger on the other side, and this was not it. It seems this track was only ever released on a compilation called "Black Ark Volume 2", which came out in 1981 but was reissued a few years ago by VP Records.
Confusingly the reissue credits the whole album to Black Ark Players not the individual artists and changes the album title to "Black Ark in Dub Volume 2", possibly in an effort to trick people into buying it thinking it is a different record.
"How Deep Is Your Love" - The Inamans
Here is the original version, with Swedish subtitles.
Our musical journey around the Americas is finally beginning, and as Andy Cameron might put it: "we're on the march wi' Ernie's army, we're going to the Argentine".
Unlike Ally's Tartan Army we're not off to win the World Cup, just to find musical gold. I think we have done it, although I had to sit through quite a lot of drab 1-1 draws with Iran before I found the aural equivalents of Archie Gemmill's wonder goal below.
We can't visit Argentina without taking in some tango, so we will start there. Astor Piazzolla pretty much invented nuevo tango in the 1950s, adding elements of jazz and classical music to traditional tango. He also scandalised polite society by playing the bandoneon standing up not sitting down. Today's track was first released in 1960 but can be found on plenty of compilations, and there's more Astor in the videos.
Astor may have caused a stir when he first burst onto the scene but by 1960 the hep cats in Buenos Aires were hankering for the groovy new sounds filtering down from further north. Which explains the success of Johny Tedesco whose 1961 single "Rock Del Tom Tom" is considered to be the first Argentinian rock 'n roll record. Johny went on to make bad films and country albums - if not quite the Argentine Elvis at least the Argentine Johnny Hallyday.
A few years passed and Johny suffered the same fate as Astor. The hep cats kept getting hepper and in the mid 1960s some of them formed a band called Los Gatos (presumably the word 'hep' does not have a direct equivalent in Spanish). Their big rivals locally were Los Beatniks.
We haven't got either of them. Instead we have the band that Pajarito Zaguri of Los Beatniks formed next, the mighty La Barra De Chocolate. This little sizzler can be found on their self-titled (and only album) from 1969, available on Bandcamp thanks to the good folks over at Munster Records.
As sure as night turns into day, the psychedelic rockers of the 1960s turned into weedy Cañón Laurel singer-songwriters in the early 1970s. Pre-eminent amongst them was Sui Generis. We've chosen the opening track from their 1972 album "Vida", once ranked by Rolling Stone as #11 in a list of the 100 most outstanding songs in Argentinian rock. Judge for yourselves.
Los Fabulosos Cadillacs are one of the most successful Argentinian bands, having achieved multiple gold records since they started in 1984. They also won a Grammy for their album "Fabulosos Calavera" in 1997, becoming the first Argentinian act to win a Grammy outside the classical (Daniel Barenboim) and jazz (Lalo Schifrin) categories. We have the title track from their 1989 album "El Satánico Dr. Cadillac" for you.
Next up is a singer that I was lucky enough to see live back in 2019 and would love to see again - La Yegros. Her Bandcamp blurb puts it better than I ever could: "Her incredible live concerts are a challenge thrown at those who do not have dancing feet. The singer never fails to unlock even the stiffest bodies, her energy radiating as if she was spitting balls of fire". Today's choice is from 2016's "Magnetismo" album.
Juana Molina is a rather different kettle of fish, being more at the electronic and experimental end of the pop scene in Argentina, but she can ride a groove as well as anyone when she puts her mind to it. The title track from her 2008 album "Un Dia" may well be the pick of today's bunch.
We finish as we mean to continue (if you follow me) with some MAR - Mandatory American Reggae. Los Pericos have been knocking about since 1988 when their debut album went triple platinum. We've opted for the title track from their 1994 album "Big Yuyo". 1994 was also the year they headlined at the Sunsplash festival in Jamaica, so they must have been doing something right.
"Tanguisimo" - Astor Piazzolla
"Rock Del Tom Tom" - Johny Tedesco
"Buenos Aires Beat" - La Barra De Chocolate
"Canción Para Mi Muerte" - Sui Generis
"El Satánico Dr. Cadillac" - Los Fabulosos Cadillacs
"Carnabailito" - La Yegros
"Un Dia" - Juana Molina
"Big Yuyo" - Los Pericos
We'll start the videos with a proud son of the city of Venado Tuerto in Santa Fe Province. You may prefer to skip ahead to the second video. Viewers of a sensitive nature may want to skip the last one as well.
This will be the last time you'll see me round here for a week or so. I will be spending a few days in sunny Southport with a pair of my oldest and dearest pals, and then after I get back to London I will be engaging with Uzbeks (I can say no more).
But before I go I have a couple of updates on the new series covering the music of the Americas, which will kick off shortly after I return. The first is that I have settled on a title - Ernie's El Dorado, named after the mythical city of gold supposedly located somewhere in South America not the short-lived 1990s soap opera. I can't promise that we will find musical gold at every stop on our journey, but that's the quest.
I am also able to report on developments since I petitioned the US and Canadian governments to rename Lake Erie 'Lake Ernie' for the duration of the tour. I have not heard back from the orange oligarch's acolytes yet but the Canadians have been in touch. They have politely declined for two reasons - the cost of changing all the signs and stationery, and because people might get confused if two lakes have the same name.
That's right, there is already a Lake Ernie in Canada, less well known than its near namesake but the pride of Clearwater County, Alberta. Two hours north of Calgary, or even less if you can afford to charter a flight into nearby Rocky Mountain House Airport, Lake Ernie offers plenty of opportunities for fishing. There are probably other things to do as well but the only activity anyone mentions is the fishing.
If you take a trip up there to bag some largemouth bass you will need somewhere to stay. The Voyageur Motel in the Otway district of Rocky Mountain House is a ten minutes drive from Lake Ernie and comes highly recommended.That address again:
"Halfway Hotel" - Voyager
"Middle Of Winter" - John Otway
"Rocky Mountain House" - Mouthfeel
"Someday Never Comes" - Creedence Clearwater Revival
"Distant Chores" - Alberta Beach
In the world of cheesy country music videos going fishing takes priority over anything else God, the devil or Mrs Brad Paisley might try to tempt you with.
It is time for one or our irregular round-ups of new sounds sent to me by the good folks in Promo Land. There have been some goodies in recent weeks. Here are just five of them.
We will start with a new record from some old favourites. I enjoyed Jeanines' jangle-tastic last album "Don't Wait For A Sign" very much when it came out back in 2022. Their new album "How Long Can It Last" is a worthy successor. It will be released from captivity on 27 June and can is available for pre-order on Bandcamp.
Jeanines will be touring the UK in July. I have seem them before and can heartily recommend them. I'm hoping to make their London gig and they will also be playing Brighton, Exeter, Oxford, Coventry, Manchester and Glasgow. For some gigs they will be joined by their label mates Lightheaded who are also pretty nifty. But not London unfortunately.
One band I am definitely going to see are The Thing from fashionable Brooklyn who are playing at the Shacklewell Arms in London's equally fashionable Dalston tomorrow (their only other UK gig is Nottingham on Friday). You can find the new single below on Spotify and their previous releases on Bandcamp, but the upcoming self-titled album due out in August is currently nowhere to be seen.
The PR wiz that came up with the headline "Ugandan industrial hip-hop gone psychedelic" knows exactly how to press my buttons. That is the phrase they used to describe "Magada Biwuka", the new collaboration between Ugandan MC Swordman Kitala and UK-based producer Soft-Bodied Humans which comes out on 11 July. Once you have pre-ordered it make sure to pick up a copy of their previous effort "Kaiju Kitala" as well.
Stocking with the vaguely exotic, next up we have La Banda Chuska, who describe themselves as being "Brooklyn-based purveyors of cumbia and surf". I wonder if they hang out with The Thing? Their debut album "Basic Bichos" came out at the end of May and is just what you need to get in the mood for our forthcoming tour of the Americas.
Last but definitely not least is Montreal's own Common Holly whose new album "Anything Glass" is out this Friday. The selected track is described as "a cinematic and delicate piece of lyrical imagery that unfolds like an apocalyptic folklore tale, grappling with themes like the acceptance of finality and the relentless force of mother nature". So now you know.
You should consider buying all of these records.
"Wrong Direction" - Jeanines
"The Waltz" - The Thing
"Magada" - Swordman Kitala x Soft-Bodied Humans
"La Única Sana" - La Banda Chuska
"The Wood From The Sail" - Common Holly
Speaking of gigs as we were, last night I had the pleasure of seeing the Zawose Queens at the Curve Garden, yet another venue in London's fashionable Dalston. The Queens last appeared on these pages when the African Odyssey visited Tanzania. There was just the two of them and lots of percussion but they made a splendid sound.
Yesterday Khayem a.k.a. the King of Kool treated us to another of his always excellent reggae and dub mixes, this one featuring exclusively tracks from 1975.
Tucked away in the middle of the mix was "Baby I Love You So" by Jacob Miller & Augustus Pablo. Jacob was one of the greatest reggae singers of the 1970s and as well as his work under his own name he had a parallel career as the singer with Inner Circle.
By coincidence, earlier in the day Khayem and I met in person last week I had picked up a 45 track compilation bringing together many of Jacob and the gang's finest moments. It included half a dozen tracks credited to Augustus Pablo & Inner Circle. Here a couple of them, both of which also date from 1975.
"Hillside Airstrip" - Augustus Pablo & Inner Circle
"The Big Rip Off" - Augustus Pablo & Inner Circle.
In unrelated news, 1975 was also the year The Shadows represented the UK at Eurovision with "Let Me Be The One". It came second behind "Ding-A-Dong", but haven't we all.
Following the worldwide acclaim for George's recent guest 'Single Song Sunday' I thought I should pull my finger out and do one myself. After reviewing the long list for all of a minute or two I opted for Gerry & The Pacemakers' "Don't Let The Sun Catch You Crying".
There are two reasons why perhaps I should not have done. The first is that that I had forgotten about the blues song "Don't Let The Sun Catch You Cryin'" (no 'g') first made famous by Louis Jordan. Both songs have been covered extensively and several cover artists stray onto the wrong side of the 'g/ no g' boundary, which added considerably to the amount of time required for weeding out.
The second is that you really only need Gerry's version (which I adore). But the work has been done now so we are going ahead.
We start with the original recording which, to my surprise, turns out not to be the one by Gerry and the lads even though they wrote the song. They gave first dibs to Louise Cordet, a singer who had toured with them and The Beatles, and her version came out in February 1964. It was only after Louise failed to bother the charts that the band decided to release it themselves.
Gerry's version was a relative failure in the UK when it was issued in April 1964. The band's first three singles all went to #1 and their fourth made it to #2 but this peaked at #6. However it was their first big hit in the US were it got to #4. a position they never subsequently bettered.
I am going to partially retract my earlier comment about only needing Gerry's version and add one more to my personal 'must haves'. That is the rendition by the always magnificent Rickie Lee Jones on her "Flying Cowboys" album (1989). We follow that with another iconic female singer, Ronnie Spector. Her take can be found on "English Heart", her final album that was released in 2016.
We go mildly Latin next, first with the ever reliable Jose Feliciano (from 1967) and then an obscure Latin Soul take credited to The Mumy. I have not been able to find any information about it but it sounds like it dates to the late 1960s and the label says it is produced by Pagan, Alvarez & Mingo. I suppose it is possible that Pagan is Ralfi Pagan, who performed with some success on the Fania label in the 1970s, but I have no proof that is the case.
From Latin to Continental. We commence with a super smooth French version by Lucky Blondo from 1965 followed by a marginally less smooth Greek version from 1970 by The Olympians. Lucky (real name Gerard Blondiot) later went on to record in Nashville with The Jordanaires. The Olympians did not later go on to record an album on Daptone in 2016 - that was another band of the same name - but they did churn out a lot of singles.
We end in the traditional way with some MRVs. In fact we have a double dose for you today. The first is by Dave Barker (1970), produced by Lee 'Scratch' Perry with backing by an obscure band called The Wailers. The second is from 1982 and is performed by a man who sings so smoothly he is sometimes known as "the Jamaican Lucky Blondo", Mr Barry Biggs.
"Don't Let The Sun Catch You Crying" - Louise Cordet
"Don't Let The Sun Catch You Crying" - Gerry & The Pacemakers
"Don't Let The Sun Catch You Crying" - Rickie Lee Jones
"Don't Let The Sun Catch You Crying" - Ronnie Spector
"Don't Let The Sun Catch You Crying" - Jose Feliciano
"Don't Let The Sun Catch You Crying" - The Mumy
"Tu l'Oublieras Cette Fille" - Lucky Blondo
"Grapse St' Asteria T' Onoma Sou" - The Olympians
"Don't Let The Sun Catch You Crying" - Dave Barker
"Don't Let The Sun Catch You Crying" - Barry Biggs
I got home yesterday afternoon after spending a few days hanging out with the cool kids in Bristol in such fine establishments as the Crafty Egg and the Kings Head. It was great to see everyone, and particularly good to meet Khayem, Walter and The Swede for the first time.
It wasn't just eating and drinking though, there was plenty of culture too. Bristol has some fantastic street art as you would expect from Banksy's hometown - you can find a few examples in my holiday snaps - and some pretty nifty museums and galleries too.
In one of them - possibly the Arnolfini - I found another piece by our old friend George Ginnis. This one was rather different in style to previous examples of his work I have seen but reflects the same preoccupations.
Bristol's musical heritage is as storied as its artistic one, and many of those stories have been collected and compiled by the good folks at Bristol Archive Records. Pretty much everything in their catalogue is worth a listen and I have opted for a couple of examples of 1980s MAR (Mandatory Avon Reggae) from their 'Bristol Reggae Explosion' series.
"Tribal War" - Black Roots
"Peacemaker" - Dennis McCalla
And some more vintage Bristol sounds to send you into the weekend. I have saved the best to last. It may be a slightly controversial inclusion but Brother Adge was originally from Portishead so I think it counts (also he mentions me three minutes in).
Friday evening found me in London's fashionable Dalston at Cafe Oto, home to all that is weird and/or wonderful.
Some of it is too weird for me. In your average week there will be some musique concrète, some atonal jazz squawking and some other stuff that I can neither describe nor tolerate.
But there is a lot of wonder as well. Lonnie Holley, James Blood Ulmer, This Is The Kit, Trembling Bells, Bas Jan, Hiss Golden Messenger, Meg Baird and Josephine Foster are just some of the many fantastic acts I have seen there over the years.
Then there are the gigs that manage to be both weird and wonderful. Last Friday was one example, as travelling musical family Tennger were in town. I can't really describe the experience but here is a brief factual summary to give you the general idea.
The band consists of a funky Japanese synth dude, his wife a Korean vocalist who also wields a mean harmonium and their 12 year old son who expresses himself through the medium of interpretative dance. They dress all in white and wear gongs around their necks. At one point in the show mother and son wander around the venue waving jingle bells in the faces of the audience and bar staff. Add in some bird noises and that is about it.
The music is pretty good too. I suspect if I has listened to it before seeing the band I might have dismissed some of it as being too 'new age' for my tastes but live it works really well. Today's selection comes from their most recent self-titled album that came out in 2023.
I also enjoyed the support act Marina Moore who arrived armed with two violins and more buttons and switches than the cockpit of Concorde.
Marina is no slouch on the old fiddle, having worked with the likes of Brian Eno, Bryan Ferry and Peter Gabriel. Her own music has been described as 'pastoral' and 'bucolic' and I agree even though I'm not entirely sure what either of those words mean. Her brand new album 'Baroque Era' is worth a listen.
"Twilight" - Tennger
"Run Hide Run" - Marina Moore
In 2020 we travelled around the European Union.
In 2023 and 2024 we went on a lengthy odyssey exploring every nook and cranny in Africa.
After that finished I needed a bit of a rest, but six months on I am fully revitalised and itching to get back on the road.
So next month we will be embarking on our third Grand Tour. This time we will be covering the length and breadth of the American continent, from Utqiagvik up in the north to Ushuaia way down in the south and all points in between.
I am going to restrict it to countries on the continental landmass; if we included the North Atlantic and Caribbean islands we'd be wandering forever. We can perhaps set sail for the islands in a separate series in the future.
That still leaves us with 23 countries, so quite enough to be getting on with. I have hundreds if not thousands of recordings from the major hot spots like Belize and French Guiana. It may be more of a struggle to pad out a post on some of the obscure backwaters like Brazil and the US.
Speaking of the US, I have been inspired by their recent enthusiasm for renaming geographical features and written to both them and Canada suggesting they add an 'n' to the middle of Lake Erie for the duration of the tour. I'll let you know when I hear back.
The as yet unnamed tour (CC - any ideas?) will kick off in Argentina in a few weeks time. Until then, here are some songs about just a few of the places we will pass through.
Before we go to any of them, though, I am going somewhere even more exotic in real life. Bristol. I'll be back on here in a week or so.
"Anchorage" - Michelle Shocked
"Gulf Of Mexico America" - Jess Williamson
"Honduras" - Guyana (from Argentina - triple whammy!)
"The Road To Venezuela" - Stackridge
"Colombia Rock" - Arrow
"Patagonia" - Swiss Portrait (wrong continent completely)
I recently found myself in London's fashionable Peckham, as you do, so I took the opportunity to pop into the Alex TLC charity shop on the High Street. It is an old school charity shop; slightly chaotic but run by nice people for a good cause and you can usually find a bargain or two.
So it proved on this occasion. It seems that a local resident has recently woken from a twenty year sleep and decided to offload all the free CDs they got from music magazines before they dozed off.
I came away with a very good haul, the centrepiece of which was six Songlines CDs from 2004/05. I will probably share some of those in due course, but today it is the turn of "Wire Tapper 8" which was given away with the January 2002 edition of The Wire and was also in the haul.
Like most of these sort of compilations 'Wire Tapper 8' is a bit hit and miss but when it hits it hits hard and does so right from the start. The compiler leaps off their stool and unleashes this lethal opening salvo. These are no mere taps, these are hefty wallops.
"Kundalini" - 23 Skidoo
"Shout At The Devil" - Jah Wobble & Temple Of Sound
Temple Of Sound were an offshoot of Transglobal Underground and that is the great Natacha Atlas on vocals. Here is some more of that sort of thing.
A couple of days ago that Khayem kharakter posted a bee-themed video. That helped to prompt this post. You can call it an example of the hive mind. You would be wrong, but you can.
There are two other reasons for the post. The first is that it gives me an excuse belatedly to draw your attention to "Isidro", the fine new album by Rosa Bordallo that came out at the end of January.
The second, and most important, is to send a get well soon message to my brother-in-law Chris in South Africa. Chris is a professional bee dude (that is what is says on his business card) who has managed to turn his former hobby into a successful small business producing and selling high grade honey. He has been under the weather recently but hopefully will be back to his best soon.
Chris will take his hives anywhere there are plants that infuse the honey with flavour. He has placed them on mountains. He has placed them in forests. He would probably place them in jungles if there were any near him.
"Wild Mountain Honey" - Steve Miller
"Forest Honey" - Rosa Bordallo
"Honey In The Jungle" - Julien Poulsen & Professor Kinski (feat. Sochi)
For Record Store Day in April last year VP Records issued the excellent compilation “Dubbing At King Tubby’s (Volumes 1 & 2)" - four LPs and 44 tracks of prime 1970s dub. They are a repackaging of three hard to find compilations originally issued on the long gone Blood & Fire label back in the 1990s.
The albums are credited to The Aggrovators, King Tubby's studio band through which numerous luminaries passed. The credits read like a Who's Who of Jamaican musicians of the era - Sly & Robbie, Carlton and Family Man Barrett, Augustus Pablo, Ansel Collins, Dean Frazer, Jackie Mittoo and many more.
The list of producers involved is almost as starry. Most of the original tracks were produced under the watchful eye of Bunny 'Striker' Lee and as well as King Tubby himself there are mixes from the likes of Prince Jammy, Scientist and Pat Kelly.
Vinyl copies of the albums seem to be available from various sources or you can pick up a download version from Bandcamp via the link in the first paragraph. If the price there is a bit steep for your tastes you can also find it going for £10 at the tax dodgers' place, where your money can help to send Katy Perry back into space.
I could have picked pretty much any of the 44 tracks without a drop off in quality but opted for these versions of a few old favourites of mine: "I Killed The Barber" (Dr Alimantado), "Standing Firm" (Jacob Miller) and "King Of The Arena" (Johnny Clarke).
"The Poor Barber" - The Aggrovators
"Jah Love Rockers Dub" - The Aggrovators
"The Champion Version" - The Aggrovators
As a very special treat for you all, some more musical aggro from the 1970s. A dub version of this is long overdue.
I went to see the Mekons last week at London's fashionable 100 Club. Although I have seen various members in different combinations over the years I had never seen the band itself so I was looking forward to it very much. I wasn't disappointed. My gig of the year to date.
The current touring line-up has seven members. Jon Langford and Tom Greenhalgh founded the band back in 1977. All but one of the others were recruited when the band was revived and revamped in the mid 1980s (Sally Timms, Susie Honeyman, Rico Bell and Steve Goulding). New boy bassist Dave Trumfio has been with them a paltry ten years.
With that line-up I was pretty confident that we would get a set packed with some of the many highlights of their extensive back catalogue, and so it proved. From their second single in 1978 to their brand new album "Horror" it was high quality fare throughout.
Unfortunately Sally Timms ('the Queen Mother of Punk Rock' as she was introduced) was poorly but she gallantly hauled herself onstage for the middle part of the show to sing, cough and indulge in some banter with Jon Langford before going off to lie down. It was most gracious of Her Majesty and hopefully she is feeling back to her best by now.
I've selected the three songs that formed the encore last week. These originals date from 1987, 1989 and 1978 respectively. To recreate the live sound imagine them with added violin, accordion and squawking sax courtesy of guest Andy Wilkinson. Maybe play along on the concertina if you happen to have one.
The 100 Club was the last gig of the UK leg of the current tour but they are meandering around continental Europe until the end of the month and then the US in July. If you get the chance go along.
"(Sometimes I Feel Like) Fletcher Christian" - The Mekons
"Memphis Egypt" - The Mekons
"Where Were You" - The Mekons
[Ernie writes: For what I think is the first time in our long-running but irregular series we have a guest post. And what a guest it is too - the famous contrarian goatherd after whom Edwyn Collins is said to have named his album "Gorgeous George". You can tell it is by George from the use of the word 'bobbins'. I have added a few comments in italics and some videos at the end but apart from that it is all his own work.]
Anita and Parsley (these two always Spend The Night Together)
[I believe this is a reference to Anita the goat and not Anita Pallenberg. I hope so anyway.]
The main rule for the series is, I think, obvious. I also believe that there should be an MRV, which I have adhered to. And that the versions should be interpretations, not simply straightforward covers. I am not sure if personal opinions about each version are allowed, but if not it’s not a rule I can stick to.
[There is no rule against expressing opinions and the Mandatory Reggae Version isn't really mandatory, just preferred - we did not have one last time out. It is so anarchic here even Hagar The Womb would feel right at home.]
The original first. I first heard it when I bought the double album Rolled Gold, from Chalmers and Joy in Gellatly Street, for £3.99, in 1976. From the weakest side (3) of the album, track 2.
The second, with which you will all be familiar, is a fantastic glammed-coked-up cover, with that wild piano intro. A frantic, desperate, vocal from Bowie, giving a totally different mood than that whiny, pleading 20-year-old “please stay the night” feel that Jagger delivers.
Melanie Harrold, friend of Jasper Carrott, has a version. Not only a friend of Mr Carrott but a former singer with the Hank Wangford Band. A laid-back almost-funky interpretation. Cengis Yuksek gives an almost easy-listening version, almost-but-not-quite bossanova.
The fifth version might be described as a blue-eyed soul version, and is by The Bonemakers with Jenny Langer. It also might be nothing of the sort, but it’s very good. After that comes what I think is a northern soul adaptation by Jerry Williams and his Dynamite and Soul Band.
[The Jerry Williams record was made in Sweden which I think counts as 'northern' soul. Jerry's real name was Sven Erik Fernström. Fans of this weekend's song contest may be interested to know that this version was arranged by Lars Samuelson, who has a strong Eurovision pedigree.]
Penultimately is an utterly utterly fabulous version, from an album disowned by the artiste himself! The backing is provided by members of Rotary Connection, some heavy, scuzzy psychedelic guitar work, and at about 27 seconds in comes that big, huge blues vocal from Muddy Waters. It becomes not a request, not a demand, but a fait accompli. This is just fantastic, and despite Mr. Morganfield’s protestations (“That Electric Mud record I did, that one was dogshit.””), this is a must-have album.
And the MRV is on Trojan records by Teddy and the Discolettes (who are not to be confused with Disco Tex and his Sex-o-lettes)
Either ACE Records or Cherry Red should put that collection above on a compilation album.
Someone who goes by the name of Anthony McBazooka will not be featuring here. And not because the song is total bobbins, but because it belongs to the series Songs With The Same Titles But Are Different Songs.
[There are currently no plans for such a series.]
And here are the songs:
I have banged on about Hominis Canidae a few times in the past. It is nothing to do with human dogs, which is the literal translation from the Latin and one of the more alarming Google searches. As regular readers may recall, this Hominis Canidae is a label that has been releasing 'name your price' samplers of Brazilian independent music via Bandcamp every month since 2012.
Here is a track apiece from the samplers issued in the first quarter of 2025. If you like any of them I would encourage you to explore further. You should do so even if you don't. The albums are a bit of a mixed bag covering as they do sweet and mellow samba, industrial noise and all points in between but there is usually something to enjoy.
"Que Seja" - Antiprisma
"Ponteiros" - Florais da Terra Quente
"A Bagaceira" - Orquestra de Frevo do Babá
Over the last few year I seem to spend an increasing amount of time on here lamenting the deaths of musicians. Today's post is about a couple of recent deaths that are closer to home.
Yesterday was my uncle's funeral. The sun was shining on the righteous which helped to make the gathering after the service feel more like a celebration than a time for sadness.
My uncle would have loved hanging out in his back garden with so many of his family and friends, including his brand new great-granddaughter, but after a while I think he would have been tempted to sneak off to his shed for a bit of peace and quiet.
On Friday we will be celebrating the life of a woman who with her late husband was there for three generations of my family when we needed them.
They made a home for my grandmother and youngest aunt when my grandparents separated; my Dad and two uncles all stayed with them in the run up to their respective weddings; and 40 years ago they put me up for a month when I moved to London after university. I have never been so well cared for and have been utterly devoted to her ever since.
In some respects today's song selections are not particularly apt. Neither of them were much given to roving, drinking or philandering, although Mary would definitely have jumped up when a steel band passed.
But all of the songs are ones that have the ability to make me reflect on good times past and maybe get just a little damp around the eyes as a result. If they have the same effect on you feel free to blub along.
RIP Dick and Mary.
"Memories" - Mighty Sparrow
"Love's Been Good To Me" - Frank Sinatra
"The Parting Glass" - Robin Williamson
Its Monday. Its Moulay.
Moulay Ahmed El Hassani to be precise. He is a Moroccan musician who writes his own songs, plays all the instruments himself, records and self produces at his home studio. He has released more than 50 albums on cassette and CD over the past 30 years or so.
Moulay blends traditional Moroccan folk forms with rai and chaabi and then throws some synths and drum machines into the mix. The resulting sound, according to the blurb, "is like a twenty-first century folk music for a people caught somewhere between a vision of their own idealised pastoral past and a turbo charged, technologically driven urban future". So now you know.
In 2018 the Hive Mind label compiled a selection of his recordings from between 2005 and 2012 on an album called "Atlas Electric". I picked up a copy Bandcamp Friday just gone on a 'name your own price' offer and excellent value it has proved to be.
Here are a couple of tracks from the album. The first one is nearly 11 minutes long, the second seven and a half, so they double up as ritual offerings for one of the more enduring blog cults. Happy Monday Long Song to those who celebrate.
"Dnya Yakhlik" - Moulay Ahmed El Hassani
"Addabtini Mahantini" - Moulay Ahmed El Hassani
We have an unscheduled and unwanted Part 2 to today's post. The fine country crooner Johnny Rodriguez left us last Friday aged just 73. Here he is with two of his six #1 country hits. RIP Mr Rodriguez.
Some roots and culture for you today, but in reverse order.
Culture. My old friend The Polymath Steve Perfect (which is his official name) has an exhibition of some of his drawings starting tomorrow at the Stone Space gallery in Leytonstone. I was at the private launch last night, very good it was too. If you are in the area any weekend between now and 1 June make sure to pop in.
Unfortunately the photos I took at the launch didn't come out very well so here is an exterior view taken a couple of hours later after a visit to a nearby public house.
Roots. A couple of tunes from Michael Prophet's great self-titled album from 1981. You may know it as "Gunman", the name that has been used on most reissues. Mr Prophet sadly died eight years ago after battling lung cancer and other ailments but left us a magnificent legacy.
"Gunman" - Michael Prophet
"Guide And Protect You" - Michael Prophet
Other Perfects and Prophets are available.
I normally keep things light and fluffy here and don't attempt to engage with the issues of the day. But with the way the world is going I don't think that is tenable anymore. It is important that those of us with a platform, however small, stand up and be counted. Starting now.
So here goes...
I think The Supremes got better after Diana Ross left. No disrespect is intended to Ms Ross who made some fine records with them and went on to make some great solo records but as a group I think The Supremes benefited from not having the choice of singer and material dictated by her ego and Berry Gordy's libido.
Mary Wilson and Cindy Birdsong finally got a chance to shine and new additions such as Jean Terrell and latterly Scherrie Payne and Susaye Greene all brought something extra to their sound.
As well as a string of great singles starting with "Up The Ladder To The Roof" and including the mighty "Stoned Love" they wandered into some interesting areas that you suspect might not have been allowed before.
One example was the 1972 album arranged and produced by Jimmy Webb on which they covered the likes of Joni Mitchell and Harry Nilsson as well as Jimmy himself. We have two tracks from that album for you. Jean Terrell takes the lead on the first, Mary Wilson on the second.
As an extra treat I've added on the title track of their 1976 album "High Energy" on which Susaye Greene steps forward to show off her Minnie Riperton style vocal range.
"All I Want" - The Supremes
"I Keep It Hid" - The Supremes
"High Energy" - The Supremes
Welcome to the new week and welcome to Part 2 of our exercise in citizen blogging. As explained in Part 1, we asked readers to pick a number between 1 and 26,500. The artists featured below are those that appear in that position in the Last.fm list of my listening habits.
Part 1 featured the first five numbers requested in the order received and we have another five for you today picking up where we left off. Many thanks to all our contributors.
While neither our contributors nor I knew who the acts would be when they submitted their requests there are some similarities between the two parts, notably that the opening three selections for each part are artists from New Zealand, Brazil and Louisiana. Spooky!
First up is the Queen of Colours herself, C from Sun Dried Sparrows. She chose #4260 which means we are hearing from the NZ singer-songwriter Aldous Harding. I was slightly surprised when Aldous's name popped up as I didn't have any idea who she was.
A dig around in the files reveals I was sent a promo copy of Aldous's "Warm Chris" LP when it came out in 2022, which I must have listened to once then promptly forgotten. I did her a disservice as it is a decent record. Many thanks to C for prompting me to give it another listen.
Next to appear in the comment section was the intriguingly named Trail of Bread. According to his profile he is "fat, gray and 60", runs his own business and is a big Microdisney fan. Based on that description he could actually be me using an online alter ego to contact myself. Or he could be a real person. Your guess is as good as mine.
Whatever the truth he (or I) has chosen well. At #183 in the charts we find the king of Brazilian soul, the great Tim Maia, who has featured on these pages regularly over the years. Tim and Trail are both welcome back any time.
Definitely real is Rol, the go to man for quizzes, namesakes and much more. Rol requested #1267 and is rewarded with Clarence 'Gatemouth' Brown. Gatemouth could play pretty much any style and any instrument with great distinction, When I saw him in Knoxville many years ago he played "Never On A Sunday" on the fiddle, speeding up every verse until the last dancing audience member collapsed with exhaustion. You had to be there, but I'm glad I was.
Next up is my dear old pal Mister F who took a brief break from his life of incessant partying to ask for #1999. I am not sure he will be thrilled by Swedish folk-proggers Kebnekasje - I'm not sure anyone will except possibly George - but he has only himself to blame.
Rounding things off we have our German correspondent Walter, a man who is always having the time of his life. His request for #2205 means that you have the chance to hear from the late reggae polymath Lloyd Charmers.
As a producer Mr Charmers worked with the likes of Gregory Isaacs and The Abyssinians. As the leader of a session band he backed Ken Boothe and others. As a songwriter he is maybe best known for "Birth Control" which became "Too Much Too Young" at the hands of The Specials. And he was a fine performer in his right, as this magnificent Curtis Mayfield cover shows.
That's it folks. Many thanks to everyone who joined in. We must do this again some time. It was fun.
"Tick Tock" - Aldous Harding (C)
"Hadock Lobo Esquina Com Matoso" - Tim Maia (Trail of Bread)
"Louisiana Zydeco" - Clarence 'Gatemouth' Brown (Rol)
"Brudmarsch till Per & Anna" - Kebnekasje (Mr F)
"Darker Than Blue" - Lloyd Charmers (Walter)
I mentioned in Part 1 that according to Last.fm there are only four acts that have clocked up more than 1000 listens. We treated you to videos of numbers 3 and 4 then, now here are the top two.
