Yossy Who?

This is a very humble blog, labouring largely unseen in the hope of bringing Tsonga Disco and other delights to a small but discerning audience. So you can imagine how thrilled I was to discover that I have been given a plug by one of the blogs that I consider to be a prime example of how to do this sort of thing properly: "Awesome Tapes From Africa".

As the name subtly implies, they specialise in tapes from Africa which are, by and large, awesome. This week they are featuring our old friend Penny Penny. If you are not already a regular visitor of theirs - and you really should be - why not wander over and have a look.

But before you go...

Last weekend I was rooting around in the dustier corners of eMusic when I came across a new mini-album called "Volcano" by Japanese band Yossy Little Noise Weaver. The name is bonkers and delightful, and the music is pretty good too.

The Yossies have their own website which is mostly in Japanese. But with the ever unreliable help of Google Translate I have been able to find out a bit about them. They are built around a core of Yossy (vocals, keyboards) and Icchie (assorted brass, woodwind and percussion and DJ) - what happened to Scracchie is not explained. They are both ex-members of Determinations and Bush of Ghosts, who set themselves up under the current name in 2005.

"Volcano" is their third album. The first two were performed as a duo, but for this one they have swelled to full band form with a bassist, drummer and a guitarist going by the name THE K (not his given name I would wager).

The website (probably) describes the sound as funky new wave pop - think Frank Chickens meet Steely Dan, or something like that. It (probably doesn't) go on to say of Yossy herself: "To freely switch back and forth in colourful dreams of Calamity from aggressive play, one of the best keyboardist". I couldn't put it better myself.

Anyway, here are the title track and my own favourite from the album:

"Volcano" - Yossy Little Noise Weaver

"Fool" - Yossy Little Noise Weaver

Yossy weaves noise. Gary Wright, on the other hand, wove dreams.

Two From Sir Vic

Last time out we brought you two versions of the same song. This time we go one better - two versions of the same song by the same person.

Sir Victor Uwaifo is one of the Great Men of Nigerian music. He may even be as great as he claims in his extraordinary biography, in which he describes himself with all due modesty as a "maestro, poet, inventor, philosopher, architect, scholar and sculptor". More immediately germane to our interest, he claims to be the first African musician to have been awarded and gold disc (in 1966) and, intriguingly, that "he invented the double-neck guitar with eighteen strings fashioned after the Mammy-water esoteric encounter in 1967". More on Mammy-water here.

The first song by Sir Vic that I ever heard - and still my favourite - was this one from 1977:

"Five Days A Week Love" - Sir Victor Uwaifo

If that doesn't get you smiling then you have probably had one of those days where you get overheard insulting a bigoted woman in Rochdale and end up having to go round to her house and grovel in a manner unbecoming.

Anyway, the other day I was browsing on eMusic, where there are now a load of recently released albums of old Sir Vic material available for download. One of them went by the name of "Love And Romance", which included this little number. A different name but the same song slowed down into a soul ballad with freaky guitar. It is not as fantastic as the original but it is pretty bloody good in its own right.

"Not On A Saturday" - Sir Victor Uwaifo

And it is sad to think that on a Saturday night, while Sir Vic is having to fight the ladies off because he is too busy for that sort of thing, on the other side of town poor old Cat Stevens is desperate for a bit of female company.

Double Dose Of Pain

Short but sweet today. Here are two great versions of "Pain" that take me right back to 1986 - the wonderful original by Ms Betty Wright and the classic lovers rock rendition by the late and very much lamented Jean Adebambo.

"Pain" - Betty Wright

"Pain" - Jean Adebambo

In a rather different mood, here is another British reggae smash from 1986 from the mighty Tippa Irie, the only man ever to rhyme "It's good to have the feeling you're the best" with "Falcon Crest". My sister-in-law Pam knows him through her cousin Patrick (Pato Banton to you).

Solly's Sunday Service

This being Sunday, how about a little bit of religion? Here are some uplifting sounds from one of the biggest acts on the South African gospel scene, Solly Moholo (or Solomon Molokoane to give him his real name).

"Baruti Rutang Sechaba" - Solly Moholo (from "Motlhang Ke Kolobetswa")

"Wena Kgosi Modimo Wa Bophelo" - Solly Moholo (from "Jesu Ba Mmitsa Tsotsi")

Solly is a jolly looking chap, although his jolliness must have been severely tested when he was subjected to a three-hour hostage ordeal last November. He presumably wasn't able to deter them by wearing the police hat that he is normally seen in all the time - as in the clip below - but fortunately the villians were fans and he survived.



As a bonus for any lovers of the Lord out there, here is the track that won the prestigious Best Tsonga language gospel song at the 2005 Xitsonga Music Awards.

"Hundzuluka" - Rev. Tshawane

Tsonga: George Maluleke

Today's Tsonga selection features an artist new to me, but not new to the business. George Maluleke has been making albums for nearly 25 years now. In fact his latest album, "Siku Ramakumu", was nominated for the Best Tsonga Music album award at last weekend's South African Music Awards, only to be pipped to the post by Thomas Chauke - something I suspect has been happening to poor George with monotonous regularity throughout his career.

I managed to pick up a couple of George's albums while in Cape Town a month ago. Like Thomas Chauke he is very much from the traditional wing of the Tsonga scene in comparison with the disco sounds of yer Peta Teanets and Penny Pennys. But that is not to say he isn't capable of a groovy tune. He is, as I hope today's tracks demonstrate.

What little I have been able to find out about George comes from a July 2006 online edition of Mopani News ("By the People, For the People") - click on this link and scroll down to page 4. He is 52, born and bred in Bangwani Village near Malamule, and has (or had in 2006) four wives and 14 children. It presumably must be a struggle to support so many by music alone, as "he also has two mini-buses which he bought with the proceeds of his albums". Or maybe they are just for transporting the family down to the shops.

Here is one track from each of the two albums in my collection:

"Nizondha Swiendlo" - George Maluleke (on "Ri Orheli", 2003)

"Tinhlolo" - George Maluleke (on "Misava Yi Hava Kurhula", 2005)

I couldn't find any George on YouTube, but I did find this video by Jeff Maluleke (probably no relation). It's a bit bland for my tastes but its pleasant enough.

Hurricane Wanda

I had the great pleasure and privilege to see the wonderful Wanda Jackson in concert at the Luminaire last night. I spent the entire time with an enormous smile on my face. So benign was my mood that only once did I feel the need to swear at the Hoxton tosspots standing behind us.

At 72 Wanda isn't as nimble as she once was but she looked great, was utterly charming and her voice is as good as ever. The scream she unleashed in the middle of "Riot In Cell Block Number Nine" was that of a woman fifty years younger.

Not only that, she is a consummate professional. When lesser so-called celebrities were crying off their commitments because of the volcanic ash, Wanda and her husband made it over from Germany where she was playing last week by train, boat and just about every form of transport apart from plane. She apparently had only four hours sleep before coming on and playing a great show.

The whole set was excellent, so if I single out three performances they are more by way of examples than highlights. The first was the aforementioned "Riot In Cell Block Number Nine". The second was "Hard Headed Woman" which she did as a duet with support act Imelda May. Imelda was excellent in her own right, and Mr F now thinks of her as the daughter he never had.

The third example was a top notch rendition of a song that is not only my favourite Wanda recording, but one of my favourite recordings full stop. And in a week that combined Wanda and a volcano, it was particularly appropriate. It is, of course, this one:

"Fujiyama Mama" - Wanda Jackson

As a bonus, here are a couple of lesser-known gems that didn't get played last night, one country and one rock 'n roll.

"My Big Iron Skillet" - Wanda Jackson

"Honey Don't" - Wanda Jackson

And to finish things off for today, here she is back in her younger days.

Harper

Today I felt in the mood for a bit of Roy Harper. So here is a bit of Roy Harper.

"She's The One" - Roy Harper (from "Folkjokeopus", 1969)

"Evening Star" - Roy Harper (from "Death or Glory?", 1992)

Now that was good, wasn't it? And as a bonus here is the great man in action: