Hungary, Georgia and Chile

The little counter down on the right has been whizzing away over the last few days with three new countries added to the list of visitors. The sharper amongst you will have deduced from the title of the post that they are Hungary, Georgia and Chile.

I was trying to think of a subject that linked the three countries to use as a theme for this post. The only thing I could think of linking Hungary and Georgia was that they had both been invaded by Russia (or the Soviet Union as it was in the 1956 invasion of Hungary). Not to be deterred by the possibility that it might be in bad taste, I ploughed on.

Wanting to find out if Chile had been invaded more recently than when the Spaniards did it way back when, I went onto Google and learnt about a quite horrific invasion the poor Chileans suffered in 2004 while the rest of the world stood by and did nothing.

I then remembered that all three countries produce wine, but by then I had already uploaded the tracks. So, as a tribute to those brave souls who suffered at the hands (or rather, the tentacles) of the hordes of Dosidicus Gigas, today's choices are "The Invasion Is Coming" by The Invasion:

http://www.box.net/shared/0tz51i3als

and "Squid Jiggin' Ground" by Oscar Brand Jr. Jiggin' is the only language those squid understand, you know. And some would say it is too good for them.

http://www.box.net/shared/p1vk3lya72

And, like me, I am sure you can't resist a videoclip with the title "Scientists Defrost a 495 kg Squid !". That's a lot of calamari.

Husband of Letta

The previous post featured the great South African Letta Mbulu. Here are a couple of funky tunes from her equally excellent other half, Caiphus Semenya: "Angelina" and "Dial Your Number".

http://www.box.net/shared/8cgts6qmku

I couldn't find any clips of Caiphus in action on YouTube so instead a have gone for a Radio 2 style thematic link instead. "Dial Your Number" is a song about a man failing to get through to the woman he loves on the telephone. So is this.

Letta Gets It On

Today we feature the female half of one of the great husband and wife music making teams - no not Cher, Tammy Wynette or even Eydie Gorme. It is Letta Mbulu who with her husband Caiphus Semenya and on her own has made some fantastic records since the mid-1960s when they joined other South African jazz cats like Hugh Masekela, Miriam Makeba and Jonas Gwangwa in exile in the US.

As well as recording under her own name, and in duets as Caiphus & Letta, Letta was also a favourite of Quincy Jones for a while, featuring on his soundtracks for "Roots" and "The Color Purple" and on Jacko's "Liberian Girl". She and Caiphus moved back to South Africa in the early 1990s and are still going strong, although Letta hasn't recorded for a few years.

Here are a couple of tracks from her 1970 LP "Letta": "Mahlalela" (written by Caiphus) and "Macongo" (written by Hugh Masekela, who also plays on the track).

http://www.box.net/shared/rakz64fcoc

And here she is in action with "Nomalizo":

May Downloads/ Groovy Greeks

A quick alert first. I will be taking down all the downloads from May next weekend, so if you like Sertanejo, Sevillana, Steve Hillage or Swamp Dogg amongst others this is your last chance. All the downloads are available at:

http://www.box.net/shared/qed2t2rgg0

Today we are in 1970s Greece for some folk-rock. I will keep the rambling short and to the point as I know nothing about either of these groups and have no interesting Greece-related anecdotes to bore you with. So here are Agapanthos with "Tora" and Nostradamus with "Tu Choriu To Panigiri".

http://www.box.net/shared/4xy6byl78t

Those of you who have studied my choice of YouTube clips will be expecting Demis Roussos now. And quite rightly.

Still In Scotland

Yesterday we featured "Willows of Carbeth" by Trembling Bells, Carbeth being in Scotland. Here are two more tracks with Scottish locations in the title.

You could not get much more Scottish the first one - Karine Polwart with a lovely version of the traditional song "The Birks of Invermay". This is from her 2007 album, "Fairest Floo'er".

http://www.box.net/shared/i6bnp17rz2

The second is slightly less authentic but just as good in its way - "Angus of Aberdeen" by Beacon Street Union from Boston. This is from 1968 and I particularly like the line "The mountains are the vectors of my dreams". It sounds like it ought to mean something, but I have come to the conclusion it is probably just magnificent gibberish. But if you know better...

http://www.box.net/shared/u1smd5lctt

It is almost as authentically Scottish as this:

Witchseason Weekend 4

This is the last of my follow-ups to the Incredible String Band themed concert at the Barbican on Sunday. Abnormal service will be resumed shortly.

Today we feature Trembling Bells, a young Scottish band I had never heard of before but whom I was sufficiently impressed with to go out and buy their album, "Carbeth". They have a line-up of bass player, guitarist, whizzo drummer who is apparently also the creative force, a tall girl on organ and vocals and - on stage but it appears not on the record - a tiny girl on flute and things. When I transferred the CD on to iTunes yesterday the genre came up as "unclassifiable", which I think they would take as a compliment.

The highlight of their contribution on Sunday was a great version of "Cold Days of February", a song I always felt deserved better treatment. The ISB only ever released a not terribly well mixed live version on their cobbled together final album, "Hard Rope And Silken Twine", but it is a moody organ-led anti-war masterpiece. Trembling Bells may be the people to do it justice at last.

I have only had the chance to listen to "Carbeth" once. First impressions are often deceptive but, while there were a couple of tracks that sounded like they were trying a bit too hard to be distinctive, I think I'm going to like it. The song that grabbed me most immediately was the near-title track "Willows of Carbeth", so that is what you are getting.

http://www.box.net/shared/974vrkmb90

And here is a clip of them live in Leeds earlier in the year. Don't be confused by the piano player at the beginning. And there's no sign of the tiny flute girl anywhere.

Witchseason Weekend 3

One of the other guest singers at Sunday's Incredible String Band tribute show at the Barbican was Scottish folk singer, Alasdair Roberts. He was the second most Scottish person there after the kilted fiddler. He also had the second most impressive beard after Green Gartside, and well ahead of Richard Thompson.

Alasdair took the lead on "Maya" and "My Name Is Death". For me "Maya" did not really work, unlike "My Name Is Death", which was a perfect match between singer and song.

Here are two tracks from his 2007 CD "Amber Gatherers": "Waxwing" and "River Rhine".

http://www.box.net/shared/yfdatzvkey

Here is a clip of him performing "Cruel War". Apologies for the lack of visual stimulation.