NEW WORLD

AFRICA

OLD WORLD (Asia, Arabia, Europe)

RICARDO LEMVO & MAKINA LOCA
RETROSPECTIVA (City Hall Records)

From cooking a meal to relationships, most of us feel we could do better if we tried again. Musicians get to play their hits over and over. This can be good or bad. You can be stuck in a rut (a friend of mine's brother is in It's a Beautiful Day & they still play "White Bird" at every gig -- that sounds like purgatory to me) or you can continue to evolve. Makina Loca has the kind of creativity that allows for fluidity in performance. So now after six albums they have a retrospective album that is quite new and dazzling. The track list is familiar, from "Mambo Yoyo" to "Habari Yako," in fact it's a set that you have seen them perform live over the nearly two decades they've been touring. However they have reimagined their songs to give them a new twist. It's still Afro-Cuban with the emphasis on Afro, so that "Mambo yo yo" takes the dancefloor as a son montuno but has the mutuashi rhythm associated with Tshala Muana at its heart. "Yiri Yiri Bon," their Beny Moré cover, now has a cumbia beat and accordion lead. And with the global interest in African Lusophone music, Lemvo has gone to his Angolan roots and delivers three Portuguese classics from Africa. The Angolan tracks are taken at a slower pace (The original of Carlos Lamartine's "N'Vunda ku Muceque" can be found on ANGOLA 90s for comparison.) They've moved West across the Atlantic, so there's a Haitian feel to them, or at least a touch of zouk or kompas, more aurally evident than any sign of semba. The pan-African feel is still strong, the Latin beat is heavy and once again, Ricardo Lemvo & Makina Loca keep it new and vital.

COM FUSOES 1: FROM ANGOLA TO BRAZIL
(Out Here Records B0025Y6S3M)

There's a strong connection between Angola and Brasil and now that the African colony has emerged from its endless civil war, the rich musical culture is coming back to prominence. Bonga is the brand name superstar but 30 years ago Teta Lando, Artur Nunes and Carlos Lamartine were equally big names. Like Cabo Verde, Angola had its own traditions which absorbed fado and other mournful sounds from the Portuguese motherland of the colonists. And of course those high-colonic colonists brought Angolans in chains to Brasil to work their plantations and kept doing it until very late in the 19th century. Some fared better than others. Darwin describes various Brasilian plantations and the plight of their slaves in his gripping Voyage of the Beagle. He believes the slaves are finer people than the Portuguese (good natured and athletic) and will ultimately be the rulers: "I hope the day will come when they will assert their own rights and forget to avenge their wrongs." On 14th June 1832 he went to a concert by a celebrated pianoforte player: "He said Mozart's overtures were too easy. I suppose in the same proportion as the music which he played was too hard for me to enjoy." Com Fusões however is easy to enjoy. There is a pun in the title, both confusion, and "with fusion" are signaled. DJ Dolores rips outta the speakers with her "Merengue Rebetika," an instrumental remix of Paulinho Pinheiro, that is the high point for me, even if it does have a House beat at the core. (The original is on ANGOLA 70s part of the great & sadly out-of-print Buda series of classic Angolan hits; the Avozinho track comes from volume two of ANGOLA 70s.) There's a rap which adds the contemporary bullshit factor to "Cada Cidadão Deve Sentir-se um Soldado" (which I think means every citizen should become a soldier) by Kisangela. You can listen to preview samples on Amazon. I think you'll agree the remixing enhances the originals & gives a fresh perspective on some classic tunes.

LEGENDS OF BENIN
(Analog Africa No 5)

An OCORA album "Les musiciens de la forêt," recorded in Gabon, was on my turntable when news came that president Omar Bongo had died. He pocketed the oil revenues and famously said that Africa was a vehicle that needed a European driver but Europe was a vehicle that needed African fuel. Because of his long and strong rule, Gabon had remained relatively unaffected by the West, and I suppose the same could be said of Benin, which is one of the last frontiers in the area of musical exploration. It's a skinny country wedged between Nigeria and Togo. It's so small that when you order food in Cotonou they ask, Is that for here or Togo? (Duuuhhhh, sorry!) Samy Ben Redjeb, having found a gold mine there on his travels, returns with some more ore. I missed the last TP Poly-Rythmo album he did because I just don't have the 28 smackeroos it costs here in Bee-ville (that's a load of taco-truck tacos) and I would have to turn in 7 other discs to get it in trade at the current scam trade-in prices being offered by the struggling pseudopodia of Amoeba Music, so it's not economically viable. But I have two great Poly-Rythmo albums on Popular African Music & Soundway to tide me over. So I was pleased when a copy of LEGENDS materialized in my inbox. At the start, middle and end are three cuts by Gnonnas Pedro, the only Beninois "Legend" I'd heard of. After a great cut from Gnonnas and his Dadjes we go into "Tighten Up" by James Brown, performed by El Rego et ses Commandos, renamed "Feeling you got." The novelty of African acts copping James Brown in pidgin English has really worn off though apparently the punters still want more. Antoine Dougbé is more original (with the smouldering "Honton soukpou gnon") and El Rego returns to give us something more African-sounding, possibly akin to a Fuji percussion groove. Antoine Dougbé, backed by Orch. Poly-Rythmo, finds a groove, & even takes a loping reggae approach to one tune, so we get a great variety of musical tastes. The sequencing is great and the excitement builds to Antoine Dougbé's "Kovito gbe de towe," and finally the Big Bomber of Benin, Gnonnas Pedro's "La Musica en verité" is fired up. I first heard this on cassette in the mid-80s and was immediately entranced, it is one of the most magical songs ever waxed, you don't want it to end, and indeed it seems to spin round and round unceasingly with its Melotron lead. This version (from Dadjes volume one) appeared on LA COMPILATION and immediately went onto my Desert Island Discs playlist. There is a long silence at the end (reminiscent of Reminscin' in Tempo with Balla et ses Balladins) and after two minutes or so some talking, and a final blast of music from the past.

JAQEE
KOKOO GIRL (Rootdown Records RDM13065)

I get bogged down trying to like albums I really can't get into, and spend more time than I want trying to find the right mood for a disc in my in-box. So after giving up on Lily Storm's set of Eastern European laments and the terminally dull drubby arab dub of Omar Faruk Tekbilek, I put on Jaqee, not knowing what to expect. It sounds like a Skatalites album. It is a heavy ska-reggae style disc, very lively, with wonderful singing from the aforementioned Jaqee. She is from Uganda but now lives in Sweden where she released her debut album Blaqalixious in 2005. She has gone from soul and R&B to blues and even did a Billie Holliday tribute album. She is clearly trying on different musical hats to find where her future course lies. Backed by Koalas Desperados, renamed the Kokoo Nuts for this outing, who play solid old-school reggae, she has put together a lively set of 12 originals. Obvious touchstones are Millie Small, Marcia Griffiths and Dawn Penn. It's a very upbeat album, and even ends with a reggae spiritual, "Healing waters."

MABULU
AFRICAN CLASSICS: MODERN MARRABENTA MAGIC (Sheer SLCD 171)

This is indeed a magic album, as the title suggests. It's happy and carefree, despite what life must be like in Moçambique. The strains of Azania are present in the Zulu-style female backing vocals. As I pointed out when reviewing their excellent debut album, Karimbo, the band was formed from traditional musicians trying to keep their music alive with some younger up-and-comers who wanted to push some boundaries. It does remind me of the Makgona Tshole band from Soweto, with its party atmosphere & brittle guitar lead & shuffling bass. The rapping encroaches but the overall impression is of mellow sax, great harmonies, fine acoustic guitar. It's a greatest hits with the deep gravely vocals of Lisboa Matavel and other old-timer Dilon Djinji riding the bright Marrabenta current. Most of the tracks appeared on their two Riverboat albums, Karimbo (TUG1021) and Soul Marrabenta (TUG1024), which are excellent, but if you have those, there's not much more here. If you have neither, this is a worthy best of compilation worth checking out.

CHEICK HAMALA DIABATE
AKE DONI DONI "TAKE IT SLOW" (GRIGRI 002)

I put this latest Malian album on and was enjoying it, along with a glass of red wine, when suddenly, in track three, Ed Bradley started delivering a 60 Minutes report about the benefits of red wine. Oh no, I thought, some bloody producer thought it would be cute to juxtapose an American report on the French lifestyle with West African guitar: the irony of the former colonies where people are struggling, etc etc. After a few seconds the 60 Minutes report went on to an interview and I got really pissed off and switched to the next track. To my horror the talking didn't stop, but then I realized my computer was playing a pop-up video in the background from one of those bloody medical websites that seem to be trying to give us all the jitters so they can sell us new improved Nervine tablets or whatever. I had to laugh. Especially at my own impatience and irrational anger. So calm down and get back to the music. It's called "Take it slow" but is rather up-tempo. Accordion, and some other odd t'ings pop up. Diabate is an n'goni payer, but realizes the banjo is a linear descendant, and so brings Bela Fleck into the mix. Diabate is a familiar name, but we know that only certain families can be griots. However, in this case, the Cheikh is a cousin of Toumani Diabate, virtuoso kora player, and also a nephew of the great guitarist of the Rail Band, Djelimady Tounkara. Said Diabate lives in Washington DC where the large expatriate community of West African diplomats, lobbyists and businessmen need praise singers, & he is happy to oblige. "ATT," an ode to the Malian president, is here, along with advice and homilies to those back home who think America is the land of milk and honey. Overall this is a great album, swinging from up to mellow. Traditional, modern -- it's all here. Beautifully balanced, arranged and executed.

BA CISSOKO
SENO (Sterns STCD1108)

Ba Cissoko is a Guinean singer backed by a kora player. Another one? you ask incredulously, as if I were telling you about a new ex-Wenge Musica singer in baggy pants who parts his hair differently. But wait, there's more, he has a dubby band, fuzzy electric and flamencoid acoustic guitars, some cool conguero, bits of Latin and reggae, high production values. In short a fresh new take on the same old same old. It's unusual but pleasant to hear kora with some serious live dub going on, on "Bambo." Although Ba's name is on the masthead it's Sekou Kouyate who plays electric kora and did the arrangements. He also plays Tamani, which I think is a talking drum. Ba and Co are sons and nephews of kora master M'Bady Kouyaté and have brought a hip younger sensibility to the traditions of Conakry. In fact Ba is named after his grandpa Kimintan Kouyaté so the name of the band is shorthand for their continuing heritage. This is their third CD; 2007's Electric Griot Land showed the funk and Hendrix influences on such classics as "Allah Lake." Now they have got that out of the way there is some fine traditional-style acoustic playing here with the odd nudge in the direction of the future.

GNAWLEDGE
GRANADA DOABA (Gn7)

What we have here is a group with a bad name and a CD with an unmemorable cover. But it turns out this is a very engaging album. It's not all brilliant but there are flashes of genius. It sounds like a radio programme: it is diverse and really well sequenced. It starts out flamenco and you think, OK, Spanish guitars, how much of this can we take? But pretty soon there's dub with clarinet, cajon and laud, then beats & samples are layered on, with all sorts of fun treats and it keeps getting better. And you can judge for yourself, because on their website they offer you a free download of the album and urge you to copy, share and remix it. Now that's a smart business move. They know they can't make money through record sales but if enough people hear the music they will get their message across. Granada Doaba is the brainchild of two Americans: Canyon Cody, who got a Fulbright to go to Spain and research the roots of Flamenco and Sean Dwyer who arranged the beats. The two started Gnalwedge Records in Boston in 2004. In Granada they rented a space and invited locals to drop by and dance or play music, with great success. Luthier Uzman Almerabet is noteworthy. The CD has a signed hand-sewn (by Cody's mom) collage booklet with stickers and rubber stamps. Charmed, I'm sure. Highlights for me are the unknown singer doing "No te rebeldes," accompanied by a pair of Japanese, and the sleek remix of the Peanut Vendor, "El Manisero de Potemkin." Mil gracias! Another surprise is in the track "Juxtapotente": darbouka is credited but the sound you hear is a sitar.

Reviewed so far in 2009:

Goran Bregovic in concert plus 2 CD reviews, filed in Gypsy, till I create a new category
Staff Benda Bilili under Congo 3
Culture Musical Club in Africa Misc
Extra Golden under Kenya
Mapfumo African Classics in Zimbabwe
Three Studio One comps from Soul jazz and Trojan's Motor City Reggae in Reggae 3
Ocote Soul Sounds under USA
Rail Band volume 3 Dioba in Mali part 2
Oumou Sangare Seya filed in Mali 2
Vieux Farka Toure Fondo filed in Mali 2
Mamou Sidibe Djougouya also filed in Mali 2
Senegal 70 filed in Senegal
Calle 13 Residente o visitante under Puerto Rico
Orestes Vilató It's about time filed in Salsa
Sir Victor Uwaifo Guitar Boy Superstar filed in Nigeria 2
Dengue Fever's movie Sleepwalking through the Mekong filed in USA
As is their soundtrack to THE LOST WORLD of Arthur Conan-Doyle
Ray Funk's editorial on Obama and Calypso under Trinidad
Afia Mala & Orch. Aragon Afia a Cuba, filed under Cuba
Akwaaba wo Africa 1 compilation, filed under African miscellany
A.R. Rahman Delhi 6 soundtrack filed in Bollywood 2
Putumayo presents India filed under India & Pakistan
Henri Guedon Early Latin & Boogaloo hits is from Martinique but filed under Nueva York/Salsa, as the closest fit
Rokia Traoré Tchamantché filed in Mali 2
Rokia Traoré Live filed in Mali Live
Juana Molina Un Dia in Argentina
Samba Mapangala & Virunga Live filed under Kenya Live
Amadou Balake Senor Eclectico in Africa Miscellany
Mali 70: Electric Mali filed under Mali 2
Ry-Co Jazz Bon Voyage filed under Congo 3
Kal Radio Romanista filed in Gypsy
Novalima Coba Coba under Peru
Junior Murvin Inna de Yard in Jamaica 3
Wijdan Le Mystére de la musique de transe des Gnawa under Arab
Maestro King Kiki Raisa Jakaya M. Kiwete under Kenya