A Bit Of Brazil In Brussels

Last Wednesday night I paid what has become my traditional annual visit to the Witloof Bar in Brussels. It is tucked away in the basement of the Botanique cultural centre - accessed via the coatracks - and it is one of my favourite small venues.

The official headliner was Nyron Higor, but in practice we what were treated to was a show by the North Eastern Brazil hipster community's equivalent of CSNY. Nyron was joined by Brune Berle and Batata Boy, both from his hometown of Maceió, and Phylipe Nunes Araújo from up the road in Santa Cruz do Capibaribe, who performed double duties as the opening act.

All four of them are recording artists in their own right (click on their names for their respective Bandcamp pages) and have appeared on each others records. Nyron and Phylipe are also now labelmates, both having released an album through Far Out Recordings last year. If you are not familiar with Far Out, they specialise in Brazilian music and their back catalogue is well worth checking out.

It was a three part set. The starting line-up was Nyron on drums, Batata Boy on keyboards, Bruno on bass and Phylipe on guitar. Nyron led them through a few of his tunes and they were pretty good. He moved on to bass then guitar, shedding band members as he went, and treated us to a solo set. That was even better.

And then the boys came back for a party jam, with Bruno and Phylipe leading on some of their own crowd pleasers as well as Nyron who by this point was back on drums. That was the best bit of the night. They seemed to be having even more fun than the audience.  

If any of the gang turn up round your way in the future it would be well worth popping along. If they turn up mob-handed you should definitely go.

Here's one tune from each of them for you:

"São Só Palavras" - Nyron Higor

"Ziz" - Phylipe Nunes Araújo 

"Tirolirole" - Bruno Berle

"Amelia Rosa" - Batata Boy

If all of that has whet your appetite here is an hour of the three lads from Maceió playing in a French record store last year, followed by a few minutes of Phylipe with Batata Boy in tow. 

Something For The Ladies

It was International Women's Day on Sunday. I don't work weekends and I had urgent pun-based business to deal with yesterday so this is the first opportunity to mark the occasion 

The words of Ivor Cutler's "Women Of The World" are as relevant today as they have ever been. We have the original with Linda Hirst from 1983 and a version featuring Tracyanne Campbell from Camera Obscura from an all-Scottish Ivor tribute album released in 2020.   

They are joined by the great Dick Gaughan (also from Scotland) and Wee Baaba McMaal (Senegal via Saltcoats). 

This goes out to all you top international women out there, not just the Scottish and Senegalese ones.

"Women Of The World" - Linda Hirst & Ivor Cutler

 "Women Of The World" - Citizen Bravo (feat. Tracyanne Campbell)

"Strong Women Rule Us All With Their Tears" - Dick Gaughan

"A Song For Women" - Baaba Maal

This will be my last post for the week as I am off to Brussels first thing tomorrow for a few days work. Combining tomorrow's destination with today's theme, here are some videos of Belgian women, starting with the woman born Sabrina Tack belting out the old Bellamy Brothers hit.

Pun Fun 4: The Results

Ladies and gentlemen, we have another winner! Topping the Body Parts chart is...

George with "Penis In Furs"

Previous votes have been pretty close but this time we had a runaway winner. Congratulations go to George for correctly calculating that the more depraved members (no pun intended) of the voting panel would be unable to resist a knob gag. But I am frankly disappointed in the rest of you. So much so that I may have to rethink my plans to follow this up with a related round on bodily fluids and emissions. 

Incidentally, in George's adopted homeland of Portugal the song's title would be "Pénis em Peles", which makes it sound quite lyrical.

While on the subject of other languages, a shout out to our good friend Walter in Germany. I am impressed by his ability to come up with decent puns in his second language. It is not something I would even attempt to do.

Walter's AC/DC pun was just a few points short of a Top 5 position this time out. But who did make it? These folks, that's who:

1.      Penis In Furs – The Velvet Underground (George)

2.      Livers Of Babylon - Boney M (C)

3.      Wood Beez (Pray Like Urethra Franklin) – Scritti Politti (Alyson)

4.      Just The Humerus - Grover Washington Jr (Ernie)

5.      God Save The Spleen - Sex Pistols (John M)

Thanks to all of you who submitted a pun and/or voted, your enthusiasm is much appreciated. The current plan is to announce the theme for Pun Fun 5 on Monday 6 April. Until then, we will hand it over to Os Veludo Subterrâneo to see us out with the song that smashed the charts.

All In A Good Caucasus

Apologies for the terrible pun in the title. While on the subject, a quick reminder to anyone who wishes to vote on Pun Fun 4 but hasn't yet done so that the deadline is this Sunday.

Now on with the post.

Recently I've been exploring the back catalogue of the estimable Ored Recordings label. Its primary mission is to promote the traditional music of the various ethnic groups from the northern Caucasus region. Once upon a time this was the country of Circassia but it is now mostly part of modern day Russia. The region includes the likes of Abkhazia, Chechnya and North Ossetia - fun holiday destinations all.

The two main attractions of the back catalogue are the quality of the recordings and the fact that everything is available on a 'name your own price' basis on Bandcamp. You would be foolish not to have a rummage around. Perhaps start with the 2023 sampler album "Noqua" to help get your bearings.

I have picked a track from "Qorror", one of several albums by Jrpjej - please don't ask me how to pronounce their name - and one from "Apere Oredxer" by Myst. Jrpjej are based in Nalchik, which as I'm sure you all know is the capital of the Kabardino-Balkaria republic and is also where the label began, while Myst hail from the mystical land of Krasnodar. 

"Хъудымыд иорэд" - Jrpjej

"Абихъан иорэд" - Myst

Just along from old Krasnodar is the Republic of Adygea which is where these funky dudes are from. 

A Trip On A Train

We have a couple of new records for you today.

The first is "Tried To Do's", the new album by Trippers & Askers. That is the nom de plume of Jay Hammond, a college professor and cultural anthropologist who has been making music under this name on and off since 2009.  

Prof. Trippers records for the Sleepy Cat label based in Durham, North Carolina and there are some similarities to other acts from the local scene down there - the likes of Iron & Wine and Hiss Golden Messenger.

According to the blurb "The songs deal with the quotidian themes of love, family and loss through the prism of both Buddhist and Christian ways of mourning. Through stories of loss in relation to Hammond's upbringing in the bible belt U.S. South, it sets up a productive tension between Buddhist and Christian rituals and beliefs about mourning".

To be honest I didn't really pick up on any of that productive tension but that didn't prevent me enjoying "Tried To Do's" a great deal. It does not get released until May but you can pre-order it from the Trippers & Askers Bandcamp page (and make sure to check out his back catalogue while you're there). For now you'll have to make do with the lead single which came out yesterday.

On to the second record. If you have ever wondered what indie-poppers would sound like when they got old enough to qualify for subsidised public transport, Railcard and their recently released self-titled debut album are here to provide the answer. 

With former members of Dolly Mixture and Heavenly in the line-up there is quite a lot of jangle and jauntiness as you would expect, but with an added pinch of wistfulness as on the song I've selected and the excellent title track. 

"Kin" - Trippers & Askers

"Slow Train" - Railcard

Pun Fun 4: The Contenders

Voting is now open for Pun Fun 4. Readers were challenged to insert a pun related to a part of the hum an body into a popular song title. 

They have risen to the challenge like Frankenstein's monster rising from its slab - fittingly, as that was very probably the last time such a ragbag of random body parts was assembled in one place.

Thanks to everyone who submitted an entry and a very warm welcome to Steve and Mr SDS who are joining us for the first time. With them on board we have the highest number of entries to date.

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 secret ballot. 

The deadline is next Sunday (8 March). We will announce the results a week today. 

Here are the contenders, listed alphabetically by artist. 

1. Dirty Feet Done Dirt Cheap - AC/DC

2. God's Only Nose - The Beach Boys

3. Livers Of Babylon - Boney M

4. Fortunate Thumb - Creedence Clearwater Revival

5. Just The Humerus - Grover Washington Jr

6. Ulna - The Kinks

7. There's A Guy Works Down The Chip Shop Swears He's Pelvis - Kirsty MacColl

8. I'm Just A Finger In A Rock 'n Roll Hand – The Moody Blues

9. Touch Me I’m Coccyx – Mudhoney

10. Uterus And Them – Pink Floyd

11. Wood Beez (Pray Like Urethra Franklin) – Scritti Politti

12. God Save The Spleen - Sex Pistols

13. Holidays In The Bum - Sex Pistols

14. Dis Arm - The Smashing Plump-Limbs

15. Pulling Muscles From A Shell - Squeeze

16. Simply The Breast - Tina Turner

17. Penis In Furs – The Velvet Underground

If you are thinking about assembling your own monster this instructional video may be of some assistance.

Neil Sedaka RIP

I wasn't planning on posting today but have just woken up to the sad news that Neil Sedaka has died. I've always had a bit of a soft spot for Mr Sedaka. Even we surfers of the zeitgeist appreciate a proper tune and he wrote more than his fair share of them.

This song chose itself. RIP Mr Sedaka.