Inna Style N Bristol Fashion

We had reggae last Friday, we've got reggae this Friday. It was done to create the illusion that some basic planning goes on here. It doesn't.

Last week's reggae came all the way from Mandeville, Jamaica, home of Jacob Miller. This week's reggae comes from closer to home, especially for leading Bristolian blogger Khayem of Dubhed fame. So I am going to dedicate today's post to him.

About ten years ago the excellent Bristol Archive Records released three volumes of their 'Bristol Reggae Explosion' compilations, celebrating the vibrant local scene of the late 1970s and 1980s. You can find them all on their Bandcamp site along with many other goodies.

There are lots of cracking tracks to choose from, but the 12" version of Talisman's magnificent 1981 single "Dole Age" really picks itself. Talisman were probably the best known of the Bristol reggae bands of that era and I vaguely recall seeing them back in the early 1980s when they were stalwarts of the college circuit (although my mind may be playing tricks on me).

I have definitely seen Joshua (Jahshwa) Moses perform live, ten years ago at the Bristol Harbour Festival. Much to my surprise I found a clip of that show on YouTube (look down a little and there it is). "Stick It Up" was recorded in 1983 but for whatever reason was not released at the time. Mr Moses sadly left us a few years back.

I had neither seen nor even heard of Restriction prior to buying Volume 1 of the series but their 1984 EP "Action" (from which this track is taken) has become a firm favourite since. One of their members went on to be Smith in Smith & Mighty. So now you know.

"Dole Age (12" Mix)" - Talisman

"Stick It Up" - Joshua Moses

"Four Point Plan" - Restriction

I have already explained the first video. The second one is in many ways inexplicable, but there is a Bristol link.

Mekon Music And Art

Over the last year or so I've been to a few exhibitions featuring art by musicians including the likes of Gina Birch and Luke Haines. To that list I've now added Jon Langford, with the bonus of a live performance by the Great Man himself. 

Last Friday me and my old mate Steve made our way to Artdog, a tiny gallery in South London's very own Forest Hill for what turned out to be a most enjoyable evening. For £15 a head we savoured Mr Langford's art, a couple of excellent sets from him and the Mekons' violin player Susie Honeyman, and several free cans of beer from the ice-bucket out the back.

It was a small but select gathering. I doubt there were more than 30 of us there including the talent and the gallery owners, all very friendly (including Mr L who Steve and I had a good natter with and who regaled us with many an entertaining yarn). Other guests included Tim and Katie Tuten, owners of the famed Hideout Bar in Chicago, who just happened to be town.

Here are a photo apiece of the art and music - there are more of both over at Flickr if you are interested - plus a couple of the songs that we were treated to last Friday.

"Drone Operator" - Jon Langford & Skull Orchard

"Thee Olde Trip To Jerusalem" - Chivalrous Amoekons

Ernie's African Odyssey Pt 7 - Cabo Verde

We are at Stop 7 on our Grand Tour and we have arrived at the first of the six island nations in Africa, Cabo Verde. 

As I'm sure you know, Cabo Verde is a group of ten islands situated in the Atlantic between 300 and 450 miles due west from Senegal. I was lucky enough to visit five of the islands when I had a holiday there in 1995. Some of them are as flat as the proverbial brinhola with great beaches, while others are volcanic with some pretty wild scenery, as my photos from Santo Antão show.

In those days the only way to get to Santo Antão was by ferry from Mindelo, the main town on the island of São Vicente and birthplace of Cabo Verde's best known musical export, the late Cesária Évora. We can't really do Cabo Verde without Cesária. On today's selection she teams up with Ismaël Lô from over the water in Senegal.

During the course of this series we will be featuring the catalogues of a number of labels that are doing a great job of reissuing African music of varying vintages - the likes of Sahel Sounds and Habibi Funk for North Africa, Analog Africa for West Africa and my old friend Awesome Tapes From Africa for a bit of everything.

To that list you can add the Ostinato label, who have proved invaluable in compiling this post as they have put out three albums of music from Cabo Verde, all of which are worth getting hold of. We have drawn on two today (the Grupo Pilon compilation narrowly missed out). 

First up is Jovino Dos Santos from "Synthesise The Soul", which features local musicians in the 1980s getting to grips with these new-fangled instruments that members of the Cabo-Verdiano diaspora had started bringing to the islands. 

Then we have Etalvino Preta, who you can find on "Pour Me A Grog", a compilation of 1990s funaná - a musical style described in the blurb as "a trans-Atlantic sibling to Colombian cumbia" - and a must have for all you accordion fans. 

Moving us vigorously into the 21st century we have Netos De Cabral. A female trio, their name means "Grandchildren of Cabral". My guess is Cabral refers to Amilcar Cabral, who lead the nationalist movement for independence from Portugal in Cabo Verde and Guinea-Bissau until his assassination in 1973, and not the Portuguese word for goat. Despite that we will still dedicate the track to our favourite Portuguese goat herder, George.

I have not been able to find out much about Netos De Cabral but I can tell you that today's track comes from a 2008 album called "Midnight" on which they have taken the 1990s funaná sound and turned it up a notch.

We round things off with some Mandatory Africa Reggae courtesy of one Ras Jahknow. Mr Jahknow is originally from Cabo Verde but now appears to be based in Australia, or at least he was in 2014 when he released his album "Jah Sta Li", the title track of which we share with you today.

"Africa Nossa" - Cesária Evora (featuring Ismaël Lô)

"Bo Ta Cool" - Jovino Dos Santos

"Mulato Ferrera" - Etalvino Preta

"Casa Ku Mi" -  Netos De Cabral

"Jah Sta Li" - Ras Jahknow

The Mighty Mr Miller

Some old school reggae to see you into the weekend courtesy of the late great Jacob Miller. Back in the 1970s he was one of the biggest stars in Jamaica thanks to his parallel careers as a solo artist and as lead singer with Inner Circle. 

Inner Circle were preparing to support Bob Marley on a US tour in 1980 when Jacob died in a car crash aged only 27. He was already something special - who knows what he could have gone on to achieve.

Here are three stone cold classics he released in his own name. There are many more where they came from.

"Standing Firm" - Jacob Miller

"Tenement Yard" - Jacob Miller

"I've Got The Handle" - Jacob Miller

Jacob's Uncle Alfred emigrated to the UK when Jacob was just a lad. He had a musical son of his own - this fellow.

Far Out Furgone

It has been a fair while since we featured our old favourite Furgone di Piufiglio. For newer readers who may not be familiar with Furgone, he is sometimes called the 'Italian Van Morrison'. Admittedly there are some similarities but also some important differences, not the least of which is that Furgone's people don't pursue you vigorously when you feature his music on your blog. 

With today being the Summer Solstice for those of us in the Northern Hemisphere I thought this would be the perfect time to treat you all to Furgone's magnificent 15 minute mood-piece about the summertime in Italy. You can find it - and the second track - on his unjustly neglected 1980 album "Quello Comune".

"Estate In Italia" - Furgone di Piufiglio

"Miele Selvatico" - Furgone di Piufiglio

As great as the "Quello Comune" album is, it is not really chart fodder. So what was big in Italy in the summer of 1980? Two songs dominated the charts, each of which clocked up six weeks at Number One between mid-June and late September. Here they are. Rol may wish to add the second one to his Luna list.

Ernie's African Odyssey Pt 6 - Burundi

Welcome to Burundi everyone! This is the sixth stop on our grand tour and the first one where it has been a bit of a struggle to meet my target of featuring five artists per country. I have no doubt that there is a lot more great music from Burundi but it has proved hard to track down. Despite that I think we have put together a decent selection for you.

We start with the Royal Drummers of Burundi, who have been royally ripped off over the years. This article has the full sorry tale but as a result of a musician called Mike Steiphenson copyrighting his mix of an old field recording the Drummers got no financial benefit from that or any subsequent rip-offs such as those perpetuated by Malcolm McLaren. Colonialism in action, folks.

For an ensemble that has been so influential, albeit unwittingly, it is surprisingly hard to find any recordings by the Drummers (who dropped the 'Royal' at some point, possibly when Burundi abolished its monarchy in 1966). The best of those I have found is this live recording from their appearance at WOMAD in 1982. 

The Drummers apart, Burundi's most successful musical export may be Khadja Nin. I'm afraid I find what I have heard of her music to be rather too bland for my tastes - she has performed with Sting for goodness sake! - so I have relegated her to the video section. Fun fact for aging motorsports fans - she is married to Jackie Ickx. 

So if Ms Nin isn't in, who is? Well, various artists whom I've not been able to find out very much about. Judging by the number of YouTube videos alone Emelance Emy and Cedric Bangy appear to be leading lights of the current Burundi music scene - Ms Emy released a greatest hits album earlier this year from which this track comes - but I can't find any bios online. 

The Jean Christophe Matata track comes from a 2007 compilation called "The Great East African Trip" (available on Bandcamp). There are only two tracks from Burundi, of which this is the pick. Mr Matata was born and raised in Burundi but his musical career only really took off after he moved to neighboring Rwanda in his mid 20s. It is claimed that he had recorded over 200 singles before sadly leaving us in 2011. 

I also discovered Moutcho on Bandcamp, in the more unlikely setting of "Global Domination Vol 1", a free compilation of 129 mainly death metal tracks (I hesitate to use the word 'tunes') from around the world. The many highlights include "A Hooker Has Been Slaughtered" by Infection from Peru. 

I have no idea what Moutcho are doing in such company as they don't sound metal at all to me. According to their online blurb "the band is working on the concept of 'Rundi Bop' a mix of Jazz, Hard Rock and Rundi Rhythms". Presumably the largely inaudible hard rock element must be why they are there.

"Kama K'iwacu" - The Drummers of Burundi

"Humura" - Emelance Emy

"Sabasazi" - Cedric Bangy

"Deburuyevu" - Jean Christophe Matata

"Haramahoro" - Moutcho

For those of you wondering about the absence of any Mandatory African Reggae, it is in the video section. Step forward, Lion Story, speaking out in favour of a cause that unites reggae musicians the world over.

These Other Ernies

This may come as a surprise to some of you but I am by no means the first or only Ernie to be a ground-breaker and taste-maker in the world of popular music. There are many who have toiled and some who have flourished, and I am going to pay tribute to one of the latter today.

Ernie Shelby released a handful of singles in his own right the 60s and 70s but made his living as a songwriter. Over the years his songs have been covered by the likes of Stevie Wonder, Little Richard, Rod Stewart, Three Dog Night, Bettye Lavette and many many more.  

Creatively one of his best periods was in 1972 when some bright spark had the brilliant idea of bringing him down to Muscle Shoals and teaming him up with the great Prince Phillip Mitchell. One of their co-writes was "Carry Me", originally released as a single by Ernie himself but later a big hit in the R&B charts for Joe Simon. With all due respect to Ernie I've opted for Joe's version.

Another Shelby/ Mitchell co-write was "I May Not Be What You Want". This one was recorded by Prince Phillip but never saw the light of day until 2005 when it appeared on a magnificent compilation of his Muscle Shoals recordings called "Pick Hit Of The Week". It is a must have album for any soul fans in my opinion.

The Three Dog Night cover mentioned above was a song called "Nobody", their debut single in 1968. Their version is fine but not a patch on the one from the decidedly weird combination of Larry Williams (of "Bony Moronie" fame), Johnny 'Guitar' Watson and the psychedelic folk outfit Kaleidoscope (the American one). 

"Carry Me" - Joe Simon

"I May Not Be What You Want" - Prince Phillip Mitchell

"Nobody" - Larry Williams & Johnny 'Guitar' Watson (with Kaleidoscope)

Try as I might I could not find any decent clips of people performing Mr Shelby's songs on YouTube, so so are getting one from another musical titan called Ernie instead.