Newness Abounds

It is time for one of our irregular round-ups of some of the freebies I have been sent over the last couple of months by the nice people in Promoland (for which I am eternally grateful). We will go through them in order of release date.

"The Dance of Death" by Frankie Archer, which came out last month on the ludicrously named prrr of the bear label (the lower case is theirs not mine). Electronic infused remakes of old folk standards all the way from Northumbria. Think The Unthanks with more synths.

"A Blooming Body" by Cinder Well which was unleashed into the world earlier in July. Cinder - Amelia Baker to her Mum - has featured here previously as I am a bit of a sucker for her moody singer-songwriter stuff (now there's an insightful write-up for the promo blurb). The new album is well up to the standard set by her previous effort, 2023's "Cadence".

"Interpreting Heart Sounds, Vol. II" by A. Lee Edwards is old school country-folk in the style of Guy Clark etc from a former member of Lou Ford, a name that might perhaps ring bells for Charity Chic but probably nobody else. The album is due to be issued on 4 September. With his clever addition of the 'A.' Mr Edwards has replaced A. Wesley Chung at the top of my iTunes. Well done Sir! 

"Never Learned The Tide" by Twilark follows a week after A. Lee on 11 September. Twilark is the pseudonym of Canon Pence who is part of the vibrant North Carolina music scene that has brought us the likes of Hiss Golden Messenger, Tift Merritt and many more. With guests like Erin Rae and Spencer Cullum on board it is worth checking out. 

"Helpless Love" by Katherine Perkins. The first single "Phoenix" was released last week, the album is out on 25 September. A new name to me, this is her second album after 2024's "Being Younger". The blurb writers who drop names like Lucinda Williams and Aldous Harding but personally she most reminds me of Diane Birch. To compared with any one of those three Ms Perkins must have something going for her.

"Period Piece" by V.V. Lightbody - announced yesterday and out on 9 October. A prolific session and touring musician under her real name Vivian McConnell, including a spell in Harry Styles' live band, this is V.V's third album and the first she has produced herself. She's done a pretty nifty job. I was going to insert a clever Harry Styles reference here but then remembered I couldn't name any of his songs. 

I was also going to include a plug for an upcoming album by a Philly band Song People but even mentioning it exists is embargoed until 11 August. In the meantime if the idea of Jefferson Airplane having it out (very politely) with 10,000 Maniacs you might want to go check out their Bandcamp page.

"Young Edwin Of The Lowlands Low" - Frankie Archer

"Beyond The Pale" - Cinder Well

"South Of Sylva" - A. Lee Edwards

"Oranore" - Twilark

"Molecules" - Katherine Perkins

"Precious Moments" - V.V. Lightbody

As good as all these records are there is another new release that tops them all which I have not included as it was not a freebie. Any regular readers may know that Swamp Dogg is a musical hero of mine and his latest album "Swamp Dogg Contemplates The Afterlife" - understandable at 84 - continues a run of fantastic form from the Great Man in recent years. 

There are several tracks on the new album that are as good as anything that Swamp has ever done, which is saying something. One of the many highlights is this cover of a Jenny Lewis song. Jenny joined him on one of his old tunes on his 2024 bluegrass album "Blackgrass: From West Virginia to 125th St" and they seem to bring the best out of each other.

The Miracle Of Bim

I mentioned in a post last week that I was excited to have picked up a copy of Bim Sherman's "Miracle" album (1996) for just 50 cents while in Greece recently. I have now had the opportunity to listen to it a couple of times.

As Swiss Adam has noted, any Bim Sherman album has to be a bargain at that price. He is right, but this one is not what I was expecting from the credits - Adrian Sherwood at the controls with contributions from Talvin Singh and the On-U regulars Skip McDonald, Doug Wimbush and Bubblers Ogilvie.

The only clue in the credits that this may not be the typical sound you might expect from that lot is that Skip McDonald is credited on acoustic guitar only. He plays it very tastefully, and rather too tastefully for my tastes at times (too many tastes - sorry). The whole album is very, very mellow.

Overall it is a decent listen but that is almost entirely down to Bim's vocals and Talvin on the tablas. And while it is definitely still a bargain at 50 cents I am not sure I will be digging it out as regularly as much of his other stuff. This is for certain moods only.

"Can I Be Free From Crying" - Bim Sherman

"Bewildered" - Bim Sherman

Two Gigs Goggins

Yesterday I went to two concerts purely so that I could get to use that heading. Alliteration doesn't come cheap folks.

In the afternoon Mister F and I made our way to the Boogaloo pub in Highgate to see old favourites Wreckless Eric and Amy Rigby. Not that we actually saw them. The place was rammed and from where we were I could catch the occasional glimpse of Eric's head but that was about all. Never mind. The noises they made were splendid as always.

After dropping Mister F back at the tube I mooched around a rather dull part of North London for a couple of hours before heading to the Jazz Cafe in Camden for Noura Mint Seymali. She has appeared regularly on the blog over the years but this my first time seeing her live.

Noura was in fine form throughout the near 90 minute set. For the first few songs she was seated and accompanied herself on the ardine (a 9-string harp), and very nicely too. But it was after the stool and ardine were discarded that the show really got into gear with Noura howling, growling and cajoling both the band and the audience to party harder.

The band more that did justice to her magnificent voice. The main man was Noura's husband Jeiche Ould Chighaly on twangy wah-wah guitar with bassist Ousmane Touré and drummer Matthew Tinari holding it all together. A great night. In fact, a great day (if you don't count Woodside Park).

In the audio slots we have a track from each of Noura's three albums to date "Tzenni", "Arbina" and last year's "Yenbett", all of which you can find on her Bandcamp page. I have put Eric and Amy in the videos so I can remind myself what they look like.

"El Barm" - Noura Mint Seymali

"Arbina" - Noura Mint Seymali

"Lehjibb" - Noura Mint Seymali

Record Sleeves

There is a new museum in town. To be more specific, in Camden Town, tucked away in a quiet street about ten minutes walk from the tube station.

The Museum of Youth Culture opened in May and it describes itself as "the world's first museum dedicated to the lives of teenagers and young people", not that there were many of the latter visible when I visited. It was mostly old farts like me getting nostalgic. But it is a fun place and worth a visit if you are in the area.

The specific reason I was there was for an exhibition of the covers of the first 100 albums issued by Greensleeves Records, starting in 1978 with what was a student staple in my day, "Best Dressed Chicken In Town" by Dr. Alimantado, and running through to 1986. The exhibition closes tomorrow (25 July) so you had better pull your finger out if you want to get there.

Seeing the display brought back memories of time spent in Daddy Kool record store in Soho after I first moved to London in 1984, and was a reminder of the consistently high standard of the records Greensleeves put out in its early years. I did a quick tot up and reckon I have at least a third of the albums on show, including these six (in descending order of righteousness):

"Jah Will Provide" - Hugh Mundell

"Got To Praise Jah Jah" - Triston Palma

"Felt We Felt The Strain" - Keith Hudson

"Don't Fuss Nor Fight" - Barrington Levy

"How You Keep A Dance" - Yellowman

"Skidip" - Eek-A-Mouse

Speaking of Dr. Alimantado and Daddy Kool as we were:

Ancient Greeks

Last week I was in Greece. I started and finished in Athens - working at the beginning of the week, sightseeing and record shopping at the end - with a few days in Chalkida (the C is silent) in between.

I have been to Athens many times but this was my first visit to Chalkida. The city straddles the Euripus Strait at the point where the mainland and the island of Evia nestle up together and is quite ridiculously scenic as this view from my hotel room shows.

It also has a lot of history. There is evidence of settlement there on the island side going back to the 12th century BC and 400 years later it was a major power with colonies in what is now Italy. The first bridge linking it to the mainland was built 2500 years ago.

However apart from the 17th century Ottoman castle on the mainland there is not a lot of evidence of this history. Because of its strategic importance the city has been attacked, destroyed and rebuilt many times over the centuries. The same can't be said of its former rival Eretria 20 miles down the coast. Everyone lost interest after it was trashed in 87 BC so there are still a lot of Roman remains lying around. 

For anyone who is interested there are more photos of Chalkida, Eretria and Athens over on Flickr. For all the rest of you, let's crack on with the dodgy music. It's why you are here.

While in Athens I paid my regular visits to Basement Records in Kolonaki and Zaharias Records in the Monastiraki flea market, and as usual came away with lots of goodies. Picking up a copy of Bim Sherman's 'Miracle' album for just 50 cents was probably the highlight. That will no doubt feature here at some point.

One of the other purchases was the 1985 edition of  'Chrysí Diskothíki' (Golden Record Library), a series of CDs issued by the local branch of EMI covering the 1950s to the 1990s. Most of the tracks on this edition were fairly traditional folk and rebetiko songs that could have dated from any year in that period. These are the only two that you could say with any degree of confidence are from the 1980s:  

"Risko" - Fatme & Nikos Papazoglou

"Pimenikon Rock" - Giorgis Miliokas

Also big in Greece in 1985 - Lena Platonos and future Eurovision regular Marianna Efstratiou.

Ernie's El Dorado Pt 20 - Suriname

I am back from my actual travels but news of them will have to wait. I barely had time to change my socks before hopping straight on the first available radio wave for our virtual trip to Suriname, the former Dutch colony perched on the top of South America that celebrated 50 years of independence last year.

We are going to start with what I am pretty sure is the only CD in my collection by a Surinamese act, the eponymous 1995 album by Carlo Jones & The Surinam Kaseko Troubadours. Fans of the Troubadours will be pleased to note it is the classic line-up featuring Jules Klimsop on trombone.

All the lyrics are in the local creole language known as Sranan Tongo. The title of the chosen track translates as "If the cook and the maid start quarrelling you'll have learned what happened to the butter". I'm sure you can all think of parallels in your own lives.

For the benefit of those of you less steeped in Surinamese culture than what I am, kaseko is an indigenous musical style that fuses African, European and American sources. According to Wikipedia and the sleeve notes of Carlo's album the name is derived from 'casser le corps' ('break the body'), a term once used for dancing next door in French Guiana. 

I'm no expert but it seems to me equally plausible that it derives from kaiso, the Nigerian music that evolved into calypso when transported to nearby Trinidad, the name of which in turn is said to derive from the Igbo expression 'ka anyị sonye' ("let's join"). Just listening to the album it is clear that Carlo and calypso share common DNA.

There may be a dispute about the origins of the name kaseko but there is no dispute among the cognoscenti that the all time King of Kaseko was Lieve Hugo. First with the Washboard Orchestra and then as a solo artist he swept all before him in the early 1970s before his untimely death aged only 40 in 1975, just ten days before the independence celebrations at which he was due to perform.

Today's selection comes from Hugo's album 'Mi Lobi Wan' which was posthumously released in 1978. I picked this track because it makes cheeky use of the old 'Peanut Vendor' melody but the whole album is a marvelously raucous affair.

On the mean streets of Paramaribo where the culture wars are fought you are either on the side of kaseko or kawina, the other notable indigenous style and itself one of the many ingredients stirred into the kaseko stew. It is percussion led and features call and response vocals, as demonstrated by Monti Kriyoro. I found this track on 'Kondre Sranan Vol. 2', one of a series of albums on the Walboomer label highlighting Surinamese music.

I can tell you nothing about Monti Kriyoro. He is a source of bafflement for Google's AI overview which informed me: "You are likely thinking of Motion Grill & Krioyo, a popular restaurant in Curaçao known for its excellent grilled meats and fresh seafood". I wasn't but I am now.

There is no such identity crisis for Ronald Snijders, the jazz flautist from Paramaribo who has enjoyed such success that he was appointed a Knight of the Order of Orange-Nassau, one of the main honours in the Netherlands. A lot of what I have heard is a bit bland for my taste but I do like this track from his 1981 album 'Black Straight Music' on which you can hear the influence of kawina.

We will switch now from indigenous sounds to international, starting with some funk and disco. Ten years ago the admirable Rush Hour label in Amsterdam released a compilation of Surinamese singles from the 1970s and 1980s titled 'Surinam Funk Force'. There are some cracking tunes on there including this one by Astaria. Most of the members of the band were Javanese Surinamese, an ethnic group of Indonesian descent making up about 15% of Suriname's population. The track was originally released in 1978 on their album 'Sang-Hede'.

It is possible that Rush Hour got the idea for the compilation from "Sumy Funk Force", the opening track on Sumy's 'Trying To Survive' album which they have also reissued. Dating (or arguably dated) from 1983, it is very much of its time and it is worth your while clicking on the link above just to see the cover. "Soul With Milk" is the bonkers highlight.

Some punk from 2012 next from De Rotte Appels, a short-lived band from Nickerie that mutated into hardcore and thrash ensemble Luguber. You can read all about the latter in this interview if you are so inclined. If you enjoy this track you might enjoy at least some of the other 37 tracks on the 'Punk's Not Deaf' compilation.

We end, as always, with some MAR. There is quite an active reggae scene in Suriname but I'm ignoring the specialists to pay tribute to a distinguished veteran. Iwan Esseboom has been making music for nearly 50 years under various guises, mainly kaseko and kawina but he also dabbles in reggae as this track shows. First released in 1986, you can find it on his 2012 retrospective collection '35 Years In Showbiss'. 

"Way Way Krema Yu Sa Yere Basi Tongo" - Carlo Jones  & The Surinam Kaseko Troubadours

"A Boro Gwé" - Lieve Hugo

"Mi Wan Bosin / Kar In Gimi / Libi Na Uma" - Monti Kriyoro

"Sa-Ra-Ma-Ka" - Ronald Snijders

"Jamasa Roro" - Astaria

"Soul With Milk" - Sumy

"Punkers!!!" - De Rotte Appels

"Pikin Fu Sranan" - Iwan Esseboom

Many of the songs are performed in the Surinamese creole language Sranan Tongo. Alyson in particular might be interested to note that it has also been used in a Eurovision entry. In 2021 the Netherlands were represented by Surinamese singer Jeangu Macrooy who used it in the chorus of his song "Birth Of A New Age". It only got 11 points (11 more than the UK). See if you think it deserved better.

Pun Fun 7: The Results

Ladies and gentlemen, we have a winner:

C with "(Shake, Shake, Shake) Shake Djibouti"

With this victory C joins George in the ranks of two times winners, so extra congratulations are in order. C pipped Alyson by just a few points and the two of them were some way clear of the rest of the pack. The battle for the minor places was much tighter.

Here is the top five in full:

1.  (Shake, Shake, Shake) Shake Djibouti - KC & The Sunshine Band (C)
2.  When Amman Loves A Woman - Percy Sledge (Alyson)
3.  Hurry Up Harare - Sham 69 (Charity Chic)
4.  Mouldy Old Doha - Lieutenant Pigeon (Dave)
5.  Get Out of My Dreams, Get Into Dakar - Billy Ocean (JWA)

It is (perhaps) interesting to note that all of the cities in the top five are in Africa and the Middle East. Maybe the music we play here is having a subliminal influence on you all. 

Thanks to all of you who submitted a pun and/or voted, your enthusiasm is much appreciated. We are going to take a short break for the summer so you can all recharge your punning batteries and ease any word play weariness. Pun Fun 8 will appear some time in September. Until then, as is traditional, we hand over to our winners to see us out.

P.S. This will be the last post here of any sort for a week or so as I am heading off on my travels right after I press 'publish'. That is why the results are being announced a day earlier than usual. Obviously I can't reveal my mystery destination but I can assure you that when I return all pun related posts will appear on a Monday and never on a Sunday. 

It's That Man Again

This is by way of a follow-up to Wednesday's post in which I gave a detailed review of a gig by two Jon Langford related combos.

The day after the gig I wandered over to the very estimable Flashback Records on Bethnal Green Road who are currently having one of their rare 'ten CDs for £5' clearance sales. I picked up a bundle of goodies  which included albums by Orchestra Baobab, Eek-a-Mouse, The Weather Station and Anthony Braxton among others.

Top of the pile was a further fine slice of Langfordiana, 'I ♥ Mekons' by... well, you can work that out for yourselves. It came out in 1993 after a bit of a delay when Warner Bros rejected it for not being good enough. The foolishness of this assertion was clear to all when it eventually got released by Chicago's Quarterstick Records, the start of what proved to be a long and productive relationship.

At the time of its release some twerp in Melody Maker described the album as being "simultaneously a brilliant, exhilarating pop record and an exploration of the assumptions behind other people’s pop records." I'm not sure what the second part means but I would have to concede he is right about the first.

I had the pleasure of seeing The Mekons live last year with a line-up featuring most of the members involved in 'I ♥ Mekons'. It was a great night. They are coming back to the UK again later in the year. I may be on a secret mission when they play London but fingers crossed I will be able to get to the gig. If they come to your town you should definitely go along.

"Dear Sausage" - The Mekons

"Point Of No Return" - The Mekons

From Waco to Gwent

Another Thursday, another great gig.

Following on from King Ayisoba in Dalston, last week Mister F and I made our way to the Lexington in London's swinging Islington to see the Waco Brothers. It was an evening of delights both expected and unexpected.

The expected delight was the Brothers themselves. They were out in full force with their three front men - Jon Langford, Dean Schlabowske and Tracey Dear - and the rest of the gang all in fine raucous form. They bashed their way through hit after hit leaving no shit left unkicked and a great time was had by all (apart from one sour-faced old bastard but he doesn't count).

The unexpected delight was the support act, a Jon Langford project that had previously passed me by. Jon Langford's Men of Gwent is mainly him and a bunch of other blokes from his home town of Newport. Most of their set was performed without La Langford - we were encouraged to think of them as The Shadows without Cliff "but not the Glitter Band" - but the show did not suffer at all from his absence.

Musically they reminded me a bit of 1970s pub-rock (in a good way). Think Brinsley Schwarz or Ducks Deluxe if they only sang songs about Newport and other seaside towns in South Wales.

Today's selection features two of the 20+ highlights of the Brothers' set, plus a song about Tenby from the Men of Gwent. I chose it because back in the early 1970s my uncle managed a zoo on the St. Katherine's Island mentioned in the song.

"Do You Think About Me?" - Waco Brothers

"See Willy Fly By" - Waco Brothers

"Tenby Boatman" - Jon Langford's Men of Gwent

Finally in the videos we have the three songs that made up the Brothers' rabble rousing encore.

Pun Fun 7: The Contenders

Voting is now open for Pun Fun 7.

This time out you were challenged to insert a reference to a capital city into a popular song title. And between you you've come up with what can only be described as an interesting and varied selection. Thanks to everyone who submitted an entry, and give yourselves a collective bonus point for resisting the temptation to suggest some Seoul music.

Voting is open to all readers not just those who entered. Let me know your top five in order of preference. I'll award 7 points for every first choice, 5 for second and then 3, 2 and 1 for the rest.

You can either submit your votes in the comments section below or by email to leggies27@hotmail.co.uk if you would rather preserve the sanctity of the ballot. 

The deadline for voting is Saturday (11 July) and the results will be announced first thing on Sunday. Normally voting closes on the Sunday and the results are announced on the Monday, but I am off on my travels again on Sunday morning so need to fit it in before then. We can't leave you all on tenterhooks until I get back. 

Here are capitals that made the cut:

1. Bern Baby Bern - Ash
2. Pyongyang-a-lang - Bay City Rollers
3. Get Out of My Dreams, Get Into Dakar- Billy Ocean
4. Its Oslo Quiet – Bjork
5. Nobody Does It Ulaanbaatar - Carly Simon
6. I'm Tallinn You Now - Freddie & The Dreamers
7. (Shake, Shake, Shake) Shake Djibouti - KC & The Sunshine Band
8. Tashkent Get You Out Of My Head - Kylie Minogue
9. Mouldy Old Doha - Lieutenant Pigeon
10. Nuuk What They've Done To My Song Ma - Melanie
11. When Amman Loves A Woman - Percy Sledge
12. Pretty In Minsk – Psychedelic Furs
13. Beat On The Bratislava - Ramones
14. Hurry Up Harare - Sham 69
15. Pulling Brussels (From The Shell) – Squeeze
16. Making Plans For Taipei - XTC

Before we leave, here are the official sponsors of this edition of Pun Fun with an important message to you all.

 

250 Up

The United States of America celebrates its 250th birthday tomorrow. I don't work weekends so we're marking the occasion today.

This post is dedicated to all of our highly prized American readers - from California (the state from which we have had most visitors according to my flag counter) all the way to Alaska (no visitors for six years) and all points in between.

I imagine many of you will be celebrating in traditional style by hosting a wrestling contest on your front lawn and then vandalising your local swimming baths. But whatever you are doing, have fun.

The first track in today's selection was recorded when the US was only 151 years old and a veritable spring chicken. The second was released to coincide with its bicentenary. The rest are all dangerously modern.

"Fourth of July at the Country Fair" - Bill Chitwood & His Georgia Mountaineers

"4th Of July" - Sweet

"4th Of July" - S.C.A.B.

"July 4th" - The Dogs

"Chain Gang Fourth Of July" - Chris Pierce

When The King Came To Call

Last week the mighty King Ayisoba was in the UK for a short tour to promote his new Adrian Sherwood produced album "Pure Confusion".

On Thursday I went over to the air-conditioned Cafe Oto in London's fashionable Dalston together with some local hipsters and some ex-pat Ghanaians to take in the show. A great time was had by all.

The King barked and crooned to his heart's content while plucking away furiously at his kologo (a traditional Ghanaian two-stringed instrument that produces a sound reminiscent of a banjo), pausing regularly to ask us whether we were happy. We were.

The King was accompanied by three percussionistas bashing and shaking assorted drums and gourds. Together with the King and his kologo they rattled along in a manner that was hard to resist (not that I really tried to resist to be honest).

The band included Ayuune Sule who is a very talented singer and kologo player in his own right as he proved by doubling up as the support act. It would have been worth going for his set alone.

Our mini-set consists of the opening track from the King's new album, a track from "Work Hard" (2023) which features Ayuune Sule, then finally something from the latter's own "Putoo Katare Yire" album (2021) which was a real crowd pleaser last Thursday.

"Property" - King Ayisoba

"People Talk Too Much (feat. Ayuune Sule & Zea)" - King Ayisoba

"Don't Be Lazy" - Ayuune Sule

One of the King's guests on "Pure Confusion" is Ghanaian reggae titan and three time Grammy nominee Rocky Dawuni. After I posted a couple of photos from the gig up on Instagram last week whoever manages his social media put four flame emojis in the comments. Normally I would ignore such a flagrant attempt to ingratiate themselves but MAR rules apply. So here's Mr Dawuni for you.