Postcards from Italy (25-26) - Street Markets

Torino, mercato di Porta Palazzo

Palermo, mercato di Ballarò

Inti-Illimani - Viva Italia (2003)

«Questo cd documenta un evento davvero unico: la registrazione del concerto tenutosi a Roma lo scorso settembre 2003, quando il sindaco Valter Veltroni ha voluto gli Inti-Illimani ai Fori Imperiali per commemorare un altro, tragico 11 settembre, quello del 1973, data del golpe militare di Pinochet in Chile, che costrinse la band a un lunghissimo esilio. Il destino volle che in quei tristi giorni del 1973 la band si trovasse proprio in Italia, divenuta da allora la loro seconda patria. Questo cd è la testimonianza del lungo percorso musicale attraversato durante questi trent’anni, che ha portato gli Inti-Illimani a divenire uno dei più importanti ed emblematici gruppi di world music a livello internazionale, e non soltanto gli ambasciatori della musica dell’America Latina nel mondo; una modernissima band, autrice di inconfondibili melodie ricche di ricerca e contaminazione, con alle spalle la polvere dei più prestigiosi palcoscenici di tutto il mondo. Viva Italia è il primo disco dal vivo degli Inti-Illimani registrato in Italia. Tra le quindici tracce che lo compongono trovano posto molti brani storici della band, entrati ormai nella memoria collettiva del nostro Paese, come Alturas o La fiesta di San Benito, ma anche alcune canzoni tratte dal loro ultimo bellissimo album, Lugares Comunes , pubblicato in Italia sempre dalla Storie di Note, melodie che ci accompagnano in un vero e proprio entusiasmante viaggio musicale attraverso gli infiniti sentieri delle sonorità dell’America Latina, come El Surco, Malaguena, Sobre Tu Playa, Q’Apac Chunchu. Poi c’è la parte centrale del concerto, un sincero, autentico omaggio alla musica, al cinema e alla cultura italiana in generale: canzoni come Il Mercato di Testaccio, Tarantella, il tema d’amore del film Nuovo Cinema Paradiso di Ennio e Andrea Morricone. Ma anche una cover molto speciale, la celeberrima Buonanotte Fiorellino di Francesco De Gregori. E infine l’immancabile inno alla resistenza e alla lotta, quel El Pueblo Unido Jamàs Serà Vencido di Sergio Ortega, che da trent’anni a questa parte è oramai diventato una delle grandi canzoni popolari a ogni latitudine.» (Storie di Note)

«“Andábamos de gira por Estados Unidos, Alemania, Francia, Inglaterra, Japón, México, Australia, incluso con éxito. Pero eran... ¿cómo decirlo? Giras normales, en teatros normales. Volvíamos a Italia y era otra cosa”. La frase al interior del nuevo disco de Inti-Illimani es tan elocuente como el impecable acento que se les escucha cuando se dirigen a la audiencia romana. La extensa discografía del grupo chileno adeudaba el registro del encuentro con el país que los acogió durante quince años de exilio. Viva Italia es el pago de esa deuda, un disco que integra pedazos de tres conciertos ofrecidos en Roma, Verano y Genzano di Roma en septiembre pasado. Pero no sólo los aplausos son extranjeros. Parte de este repertorio —que integra grandes éxitos del grupo con composiciones de Violeta Parra y “El pueblo unido jamás será vencido”— fue elegido pensando en su patria de acogida, fuesen composiciones propias (“Danza di Calaluna”, “El mercado de Testaccio”) o temas italianos como “Tarantella”, “Tema de amor” (de la banda sonora de Cinema paradiso) y “Buonanotte Fiorellino”. ¿Hace falta recordar la delicadeza interpretativa y la profundidad en la entrega de este conjunto chileno? Todo aquí suena medido y brillante, y gana en importancia si se considera que, por un buen tiempo, seguramente sea la última publicación del grupo que integre a Horacio Durán, el charanguista que es hoy, tras casi cuarenta años de trabajo, un ex Inti. (Marisol García C., La Música Emol)

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Pavle Aksentijevic i Zapis - Šareno pile (2002)

«Dragoslav Pavle Aksentijevic was born in Belgrade in 1942. He graduated and acquired a Master's Degree from the University of Belgrade Academy of Sciences and Arts. His art is devoted exclusively to the icon-painting style inspired by the old Byzantine and Serb fresco-painting. Apart from his icon and fresco-painting he is active in researching of the old spiritual music. The chants he interprets with "ison" based on "neumes" transcribes and on his own related to the living oral tradition are widely heard. He has won many awards and has performed abroad in France, Austria, Germany, Greece, USA, Russia, Finland, Hungary.

In 2000, Dragoslav Pavle Aksentijevic and four young musicians gathered round a group, Zapis (Inscription). The group's programme is based on secular melographic inscriptions originating from the areas of east and south Serbia and Kosmet. The group uses authentic traditional instruments.» (Serbiaunity.net)

From the Press:

“Human voice is a wonder, word cannot grasp it. Voice, that secret both heard and unheard, passes through our existence through this light, through the matter and breath of all the living beings. Whenever I listen to Pavle's voice a heavenly feeling is roused in me! It's a preciousness that brings to life the inscriptions of a forgotten tradition... He was that natural, self-made, beautiful tenor voice of a rare, clear chanting beauty, painted with ancient hailing.” (Enriko Josif)

“With his remarkable concert performances Aksentijevic presented himself as a serious researcher – the restorer of medieval sound. He chants with ease in a specific voice technique that these melodies demand with regard to breath, intonation and melodious ornamentation. He wants to seize, as he himself says, 'the simplicity and beauty of chanting of a plain monk from Sveta Gora'.” (Milena Pesic)

Many thanx to eXy from Serbia for this post!

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Schäl Sick Brass Band - Maza Meze (2000)

«It was almost inevitable that a young German group would come up with the idea of using the sound of a pumping brass band to explore the music of other cultures. What perhaps was less certain was that the result would be such a thoroughly engaging collision of styles. With the trademarks of innovation and stylistic versatility oozing from every pore, the Schäl Sick Brass Band blends Bavarian brass with Persian folk then embark upon a tour around any other region that takes their fancy.
The Schäl Sick Brass Band started out as an alternative, multi-culti Cologne Carnival band ten years ago. With its offbeat style of world music, the band has since developed into one of the most exciting German music groups.
The “musical world theatre” (Sueddeutsche Zeitung) rides on the breeze of delightfully fresh and versatile “collective-blowing” in the spirit of “think global – blow local,” supported by a rhythm section consisting of tuba, drums, percussion and guitar or Waldzither, that “grooves like hell” (Gitarre & Bass). After about 500 concerts at home and abroad - in Bavaria and Istanbul, in Morocco and Madrid, in Cologne's Carnival and concert halls, in Oetztal and Rimini, in Prague in springtime, in Budapest in autumn, in Ljubljana and Greece in summer – the journey continues. It's a journey that uses the simple language of music to contribute to a better intercultural understanding… “this is gloriously polycultural stuff” (Folkroots).» (CDRoots)

Link in comments - Thanx to all for your nice comments!

Back Home!...

... and as soon as I manage to get out of my suitcase, I'll post something new. Stay tuned!

Jasper Mengel, Man in suitcase (2003)

acryllic paint on paper, 30 x 25 cm

Vacanze! Holiday! Vacaciones! Vacances! Etc.

Hello everybody!

I'm leaving for a brief holiday in France, I'll be back in a few days. If you haven't done that yet, it's time to browse the archives. I remember you that you can also make a label search (check the right column).

I also remember you that you too can help to build Babe(b)logue, sending your contribution to:
babeblogue@tiscali.it

So, have a nice stay here in Babe(b)logue!

Ciao,
Radu

Pink Hibiscus

Susana Baca - Espíritu Vivo (2001)

«Già il titolo canta, come si direbbe in gergo. Dichiara, esplicitamente, quel che si può trovare dentro questo disco meraviglioso: lo spirito vivente di un popolo intero, quello peruviano, soprattutto nel suo versante “nero”.
È infatti da una vita che Susana Baca – la più grande cantante andina dopo la morte della leggendaria Chabuca Grande, nel 1983 – si occupa di andare a rovistare fra “le memorie e le tradizioni orali dei neri e dei loro nonni, che sono anche i miei”. Per questo. insieme a suo marito, il sociologo Ricardo Pereira, ha fondato anni fa l’“Istituto Negro Continuo”, che ora è un centro di ricerche conosciuto a livello internazionale, ricco di una biblioteca, un fornitissimo archivio e un grande spazio per le performance e la danza. Per questo il suo canzoniere è, da sempre, un cocktail raffinatissimo di antico e moderno, di “radici” che si perdono nella notte dei tempi e di materiali prodotti in proprio. “E deve essere così”, specifica Susana, “perché questo è il solo modo in cui si matura nella vita e si cresce nella propria cultura. Ho canzoni tradizionali che parlano della vita dei miei nonni in campagna, e altre più ritmate e funzionali alla danza: le "festejo", le "lando", le "golpe". Ho canzoni più legate alla città e altre più "musicalmente composte": il valzer, la "marinera", la "zamacueca". Last but not least, ho canzoni in cui la gioia e il dolore condividono una grande varietà di obiettivi ritmici e interpretativi, e, proprio come la cultura afro-peruviana, sono un miscuglio di forme molto diverse”.

Espìritu Vivo è la materializzazione su disco di tutti questi concetti. È un raffinatissimo mélange di canzoni tenere e malinconiche, ritmate e poetiche, che esprimono in profondità l’anima della señora Susana in tutte le sue variegatissime sfaccettature. È un album di rara bellezza e intensità, che non a caso ha sedotto il grande David Byrne (che ha deciso di pubblicare sulla sua prestigiosissima etichetta tutta il repertorio precedente della Signora) e totalmente conquistato i "guest artist" presenti in studio di registrazione. Primi fra tutti il chitarrista Marc Ribot e il tastierista John Medeski.» (My best life)

«Recorded in New York just after the trauma of 9/11, Espíritu Vivo marries Susana Baca's wonderfully airy vocals and her usual Peruvian backing band with the downtown N.Y.C. sounds of John Medeski and guitarist Marc Ribot – and it proves to be a wonderful union indeed. Recorded before a small invited audience, this has the immediacy of a live album, with the benefits of the studio, a superb balance of instruments. As usual, most of the material comes from the Afro-Peruvian canon that's Baca's hallmark, but she does draw upon outsiders for three interesting covers: Mongo Santamaria's "Afro Blue," Caetano Veloso's "13 de Mayo," and most surprisingly of all, "Anchor Song" from Björk. But she integrates them perfectly into her style, taking them all to a place they'd never imagined, where her voice can be dreamlike over a simple backing, as on the gorgeous "Si Me Quitaran Totalmente Todo" and "Les Feuilles Mortes," or more rhythmically lively, which she finds on "Caracunde" and "Se Me Van los Pies." Medeski and Ribot work well with the combo, Ribot especially, offering unusual atmospheric licks throughout, while Medeski's Hammond organ offers a warm bed a sound for Baca's voice. Given the time and place of recording, there's an astonishingly transcendental quality to the record, as if Baca is giving every iota of herself to the music, and the players are following her lead. Her best album to date, which is quite a claim.» (AMG)

Perfil y entrevista en español: Estación Tierra

Many thanx to Valery from Moscow for this post.
More on Susana Baca on L’arbre de les 1000 musiques.

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The Cracow Klezmer Band - The Warriors (2001)

Many thanx to Jonatan from Poland for having made me discover this stunning quartet (which has changed its name to Bester Quartet starting from January 2007) of whose existence I was totally unaware.
The Warriors is their second effort, and certainly one of the most beautiful albums of contemporary Jewish music I've heard in the new millennium.

«The Cracow Klezmer Band is a Polish quartet that plays a style of music that started as traditional klezmer and over time, evolved into contemporary Jewish music flavored with strong gypsy influences. Members of the group are violinist Jaroslaw Tyrala, double bassist Wojciech Front, accordionist Jarek Bester, and Oleg Dyyak, who plays percussion, clarinet, and accordion. Bester formed the Cracow Klezmer Band in 1997 in the city of Cracow. Over the next few years, the group built a growing fan base by appearing at Jewish Culture festivals in Hungary, Finland, Poland, Prague, and the Czech Republic.» (AMG)

«The power of klezmer revival means that nowadays there is almost an excess of groups skillfully raiding the Jewish tradition. But few offer as classy an act as this Polish quartet, whose The Warriors runs tackle for John Zorn's Radical Jewish Culture series. With exquisite, delicate phrasing, violin, accordion, clarinet and double bass create a world of melody as comfortable as your favourite armchair, as nimble as a kitten.
Almost everything on this set is written by accordeonist Jarek Bester, starting totally within a klezmer tradition, but branching out to showcase the remarkable talents of the ensemble's members. In this, The CKB resemble Astor Piazzolla's equally virtuoso quintet, and the ghoulishly improvised intro to "Memento Mori" recalls Piazzolla's group invoking the Buenos Aires rush hour traffic. From the racing seven-time of "The Amorous Dance Of The Orchid" to the luxuriating Latin rhythms of the title track, every piece is a sophisticated delight.» (Clive Bell, The Wire, 228, February 2003. Review reported in the band’s own website)

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Cafe de Paris 1930-41 - 24 Accordion Classics from the Boulevards of Paris (2005)

«This was the first of Music Club's two compilations dedicated to the bal-musette, an accordion-based tradition that, to many, is the very soul of Paris. While the subsequent release, Sound of Paris, concentrates primarily on modern bands, these 24 tracks cover some of the best-known interpreters who were active from 1930 through 1941. The ambience here is quite different from that of the second set, more like a black-and-white photo by Robert Doisneau than a tourist's color-saturated Polaroid. The performers are barely two generations removed from the homesick Auvergnat (natives of the Auvergne, a mountainous region in southern France) migrant workers who once puffed their imported bagpipes at bar dances. Although the more cooperative Italian accordion eventually replaced the pipes and fiddles, guitars, and double reeds were later added to the mix, the waltzes and javas retained a defiantly rustic, naïve charm. The instrumentals are intensely redolent of an earthier Paris back when it was a festival of intellectual grace, dubious plumbing, and bawdy pleasures, hovering on the perilous brink of war...

Robert Doisneau
L'accordeoniste, rue Mouffetard (1953)

Robert Doisneau
Les Tueurs Melomanes (The Accordionist), Paris (1953)

...Emile Vacheur, a much-imitated icon whose precise squeezebox technique featured a trademark quick vibrato, is represented by a delightful pair of melodies. Among the other important orchestras on hand are Tony Murena et son Ensemble, Guerino et son Orchestre, Medard Ferrero et ses Clochards, Orchestre Musette Victor, and Gus Viseur et son Orchestre. Mainstream music hall and movie stars of the day such as Jean Gabin and Damia add an urbane touch, while Edith Piaf's legendary "L'Accordioniste" still sounds as fresh and poignant as the day it was released.» (AMG)

Robert Doisneau
Sunday Morning in Arcueil (1945)

Sources:

http://www.robertdoisneau.com/accordeoniste.htm
http://www.artnet.com/artist/5334/robert-doisneau.html

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SambaSunda - Berekis (2001)

A haunting album from one of the most innovative Indonesian groups, the Sundanese SambaSunda, Berekis (Kartini music, 2001) is a new edition (improved in overall sound quality and mixing) of their debut CD, originally released in 1998 under the title Rythmical Sundanese People.

«In a fast-changing Indonesia a new generation of musicians are taking on the task of redefining their rich musical heritage for the new millennium. 17-piece(!) ensemble SambaSunda bring together a dazzling array of instruments and influences to create a new style Gamelan orchestra and the most exciting musical voice out of the archipelago today.

Led by composer and multi-instrumentalist Ismet Ruchimat, who started his career in 1989 in Gugum Gumbira's famous Jugala Orchestra, and bred on the creative grounds of Bandung’s prominent STSI arts college, SambaSunda have more than seven local releases to their credit. Already a local phenomenon, this best-kept Indonesian secret is now ready burst into the international scene, with a sparkling international CD release.

SambaSunda come from Bandung, the bustling capital and cultural centre of Western Java, more commonly known as Sunda. The Sundanese are the second largest ethnic group in Indonesia with a unique language and culture. The group updates the lilting sounds of Sundanese gamelan degung and the angklung bamboo instruments by adding elements of Jakarta's kroncong, Sunda's jaipong, Balinese kebyar and the Brazilian rhythm of samba. The classic sounds of the traditional instruments evoke not only past splendour but also the bustling, urban energy of Bandung today: A full sound palette from the deep resonance of the mighty gongs to the silvery eloquence of the suling bamboo flute. […] The result is a mesmerizing mix that manages, strangely, to be both relentlessly exciting and languidly tranquil, full of explosive energy and seductive sweetness. Both reassuringly familiar and daringly innovative at home in Bandung, this is a dazzling new sound for the rest of the world to discover.» (Kapa Productions)

Full history, reviews, instrument glossary and more (in French) here: SambaSunda: Les vertiges du bambou

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Damascus

General View of Damascus, 1940s (Al Mashriq)

Omar Souleyman - Highway to Hassake / Folk and Pop Sounds of Syria (2006)

«With cassettes by the hundreds in shops all over Syria, Omar Souleyman qualifies as a cultural phenomenon. Highway to Hassake is his first Western release. The album was compiled by Sublime Frequencies' Mark Gergis from cassettes recorded between 1996 and 2006. Most tracks were recorded for release straight from the mixing board at live events, making for often less-than-ideal sound quality. However, the performances are generally spirited enough to make up for the sonic flaws. Souleyman is quite the performer, no doubt about that. His rich, flexible voice has bite in frantic numbers (mostly in dabke style, typical Syrian party music) and a lot of soul in ataba songs (a mournful style). Among his other influences are Iraqi choubi (a style already chronicled by the label on the CD Choubi Choubi) and Turkish pop music. Omar is also surrounded by highly talented musicians, including oud players Hamid Souleyman and Ali Shakir, and keyboardist Rizan Sa'id, whose lightning-fast solos can put Rick Wakeman to shame. Highlights include the pumping “Leh Jani” (watch the video!) and “Dabke 2001”, along with both versions of “Atabat”, which together illustrate how Souleyman can build seemingly endless variations over simple themes.» (AMG)

«Omar Souleyman, dont ce Highway to Hassake constitue la première parution hors de son pays natal, a déjà publié plus de 500 cassettes en à peine douze ans de carrière. La population syrienne retient avant tout de lui Leh Jani (ici le video!), son hit de 1996, au programme bien sûr de cette savoureuse compilation. Hybrides comme l’est la culture de son pays, ses chansons offrent un amalgame de choubi irakien, de chant mawal arabe et d’emprunts aux traditions musicales kurdes et turques. Ajoutez aux guitares, oud, claviers, saz et autres youyous un zeste d’effet phasing plus qu’appuyé et des rythmes électro frénétiques et vous aurez une idée du kistch oriental entretenu le long de morceaux dont on ne ressort pas indemne. Petite mise en garde: Highway to Hassake est pour tout occidental normalement constitué une friandise hautement addictive.» (Ethnotempos)

Note: This amazing CD is one of the latest releases by Sublime Frequencies, «a collective of explorers dedicated to acquiring and exposing obscure sights and sounds from modern and traditional urban and rural frontiers via film and video, field recordings, radio and short wave transmissions, international folk and pop music, sound anomalies, and other forms of human and natural expression not documented sufficiently through all channels of academic research, the modern recording industry, media, or corporate foundations. Sublime Frequencies is focused on an aesthetic of extra-geography and soulful experience inspired by music and culture, world travel, research, and the pioneering recording labels of the past including Ocora, Smithsonian Folkways, Ethnic Folkways, Nonesuch Explorer, etc.» You can buy their products online directly from their site, http://www.sublimefrequencies.com/

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Cesaria Evora - Cafè Atlantico (1999)

Un disco semplicemente meraviglioso della regina della Morna e della Coladera capoverdina.

«Un viaggio nel cuore della musica, della melodia, dei sentimenti del mondo: il “Cafè Atlantico” di Cesaria Evora è un locale in cui s’incontrano le correnti del cuore, dove è possibile star seduti a guardare il mondo che passa, ad ascoltare storie raccontate da vecchi esploratori e lupi di mare, storie d’amore e di vita che ognuno può far proprie con semplicità. Chi ha amato i dischi precedenti di Cesaria Evora non può mancare questo nuovo disco, chi non conosce ancora l’artista capoverdina deve provare ad ascoltarla in questo piccolo grande gioiello. Non è "world music" ma grande canzone, vicina al cuore del mondo, cantata da un artista a dir poco straordinaria.» (Ernesto Assante, Repubblica)

With every album released and every international concert tour, Cesaria Evora has become one of the major discoveries of the 90’s. Thanks to La Diva aux pieds nus (the barefoot diva), Morna, an ocean-going form of the blues sung in Capeverdean Creole, and its more joyful companion Coladera are forever etched on the map of popular music that emerged at the turn of the century. They join Fado from Portugal, Samba from Brazil, Tango from Argentina and the Cuban Son. Cesaria has dedicated her album Café Atlantico (the seventh, released in 1999), to her birthplace Mindelo, a port on the island of São Vicente. «The safest port-of-call between Gibraltar and the Cape of Good Hope» was developed at the end of the last century for maritime trade linking Europe, Africa and America. It was recorded with Bau (guitars, cavaquinho and arrangements) and her regular musicians. Café Atlantico adds some new gems to the inexhaustible repertoire of songs composed by Cesaria’s favourite songwriters: Manuel de Novas, Teofilo Chantre, Pedro Rodrigues, B. Leza, Ti Goy, joined by Gerard Mendes and Daniel Spencer for the first time. This album, produced in Paris and Havana, marks a new departure with the inclusion of Cuban musicians and the collaboration of Brazilian cellist-arranger Jacques Morelenbaum, whose film music (Central do Brazil) and work with Caetano Veloso have made their mark. Brazil, a little bit of Africa in the New World, and Cape Verde, are brother countries.
Cuba, is the sister island whose rhythms have the whole world’s feet tapping. Cesaria knows many Brazilian songs from the 40’ and 50’. Her repertoire has always included Spanish standards, like Besame Mucho and Maria Elena from the days when she sang in bars. Certain nuances that have always been perceptible in Capeverdean music and so cherished by Cesaria, are gently accentuated in Café Atlantico. Morna, the Portuguese Fado and the Brazilian Samba that travelled across the Atlantic, back in the days of the slavery trade, share a common chord. In the Brazilian plantations its original Angolan roots were blended with the drawing-room music of their Portuguese masters.
The Cape Verde archipelago endured five centuries of Portuguese colonisation until its independence in 1975, the dust of the islands battered by the Atlantic Ocean waves, were laid to waste by the drought. Its musical and lyrical identity were forged through the straits of exile: it was its inhabitants’ only means of escaping the rigours of an unproductive land. Mindelo, its wharves and bars, scene of dockers and sailors toiling away, the heart-rending separations and the joy of reunions was where soulful Morna and the more buoyant, upbeat Coladera originated.
The yearning for a better life in far-off countries, projected attachment to their native land, nostalgic for dear ones, the sodade, inspired the poets. Composers on the other hand absorbed the influences brought over by passing seamen from Portugal, Argentina, Brazil, and the Caribbean... Harbour activity in the Mindelo of our times is a shadow of what it used to be, but the Morna unites the Capeverdean Diaspora scattered across the globe in Portugal, Holland, and the United States. The memory that is representative of the collective destiny of the Capeverdean people is embedded in the Mornas and coladeras, old and new. Café Atlantico revives Mindelo’s past splendour, when hundreds of boats filled the port and thus filled the bars with sailors and musicians... It was a time of prosperity, transoceanic exchanges and musical influences threshed from one side of the Atlantic to the other that saw the birth of Capeverdean music and the rise of Morna. (Lusafrica)

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Africa ex magnus orbis terre descriptione Gerardi Mercatories desumpta

Africa

MERCATOR, G. / HONDIUS, J. [Amsterdam, 1606]
Africa ex magnus orbis terre descriptione Gerardi Mercatories desumpta. Studio & industria G.M. Iunioris. 15 x 18 1/4 inches.

The map is a hallmark of Mercator's craft, magnificently engraved with superb calligraphy and a particularly fine cartouche, which formed a stylistic bridge between the strapwork decoration of the maps of the 16th century and the more ornate work of the 17th century. While superficially resembling the Ortelius map of Africa, Mercator's map is more detailed; it includes more cities and rivers, particularly in South Africa, and Abyssinia is marked with a crowned, enthroned, cross-bearing Prester John.

Web Source: Martayan Lan

Fela Kuti & Nigeria 70 - The '69 Los Angeles Sessions (1969)

«77 dischi incisi, 27 mogli, oltre duecento apparizioni in tribunale. Compositore, sassofonista, tastierista, trombettista, cantante, ballerino, re e inventore dell’Afrobeat. Attivista politico, arrivato ad un passo dalla presidenza Nigeriana. Fela Kuti è indubbiamente l’artista africano che più ha fatto parlare di sé nel nostro secolo. Una superstar controversa, che trasformò la sua musica in una micidiale arma contro la dittatura militare e la corruzione delle istituzioni nigeriane, convertendosi in fonte d’ispirazione ideologica e musicale per artisti e intellettuali di tutto il mondo. Un personaggio chiave della storia africana, il cui messaggio, a dieci anni dalla sua morte, è più che mai vivo e di estrema attualità. Esperti di musica e non, africani ed europei, tutti coloro i quali ebbero la fortuna di vedere Fela Kuti e la sua band esibirsi su di un palco affermano che andare ad un concerto di Fela non significava solo assistere ad uno spettacolo musicale. Era molto di più, era qualcosa che non si dimenticava, un'esperienza spirituale. [...]

La definizione del suo inconfondibile stile, che non a caso denominò “Afrobeat”, arrivò nel 1969, anno in cui Fela, con l’intenzione di registrare un disco ed effettuare una piccola tournèe, approda con la sua band a Los Angeles. Otto mesi di permanenza in America gli permisero di attingere dal jazz del nuovo continente e allo stesso tempo di riscoprire a sua identità africana: erano anni di intenso fervore politico e culturale, e Fela si trovò a vivere da vicino le accese rivendicazioni degli attivisti afroamericani radicali, venendo a conoscenza del Panafricanismo e Afrocentrismo di Malcom X, Eldridge Cleaver, Nkwame Nkrumah, Sekou Touré e Marcus Garvey. Queste esperienze lo segnarono profondamente, portandolo dapprima a ribattezzare la sua band "Nigeria 70", (più tardi "Africa 70"), e successivamente a prendere la decisione di votare la sua musica alla politica, e convertirla definitivamente nella sua micidiale arma di rivendicazione. La raccolta The ’69 Los Angeles Sessions […] contiene già tutti gli elementi che da quel momento in poi vennero a caratterizzare l’inconfondibile stile musicale dell’Afrobeat di Fela Kuti: un miscuglio di highlife nigeriano, jazz e ritmi afrocubani, esplosiva combinazione di fiati squillanti e cori antifonici in puro stile africano, pervasa da ipnotiche linee di chitarra e avvolgenti percussioni. Fela interagisce con questi elementi con il suo sassofono, con le tastiere e con la voce in un groove ondeggiante e ricco di improvvisazioni, in grado protrarsi anche per più di un’ora: Fela sul palco si converte nel maestro di una cerimonia che raggiunge le coscienze e che diffonde il suo messaggio di denuncia contro i soprusi, lo sfruttamento, la corruzione militare, la colonizzazione ideologica, economica e religiosa. Questo fece sì che Fela Kuti divenisse ben presto portavoce delle classi sociali emarginate, simbolo africano della lotta per i diritti dell’uomo, nonché nemico numero uno del governo nigeriano. Di ritorno a Lagos dopo l’esperienza americana…» (continua)

French review.

English biography and review.
Discography of Fela Kuti.

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Postcards from Italy (24) - Albugnano (Asti), Piedmont

Sodastream - A Minor Revival (2004)

«Sodastream's Minor Revival certainly references the downcast qualities of past work like Hill for Company. "Horses," for example, uses viola, urgent piano, and Pete Cohen's double bass to add real weight to Karl Smith's cracking vocal. However, a song later, the same instruments are joining with tinny keyboards and jangling guitar for something decidedly more upbeat. Nice filter on the vocal, too. "Blinky"'s pocket trumpet is just perfect, rising to meet Smith's chorus vocal. "Why hold steady when tomorrow's always turning bad?" he sings, but you begin to detect a little of the Australians' dryly sardonic humor here, because it's just too pretty a little pop song to be depressing. Though Sodastream continues to fall comfortably in line with the indie twee establishment, it's also delivered another strong set of songs, this time around informed with plenty of hope. Go ahead, check out "Chorus Line" and try not to sigh. "I want to meet in America," Smith says elsewhere, and proceeds through a pleasant litany of all the fun things to do there. In this way, Minor Revival is a simple yet totally effective representation of Smith and Cohen's straightforwardly gentle style. Its homey, organic production is also a huge plus. Other album highlights include the piano and double bass' playfully interlocking rhythms on "Nervous," and the lush sway of "Constant Ships," which sounds like a band of rustic intellectuals covering the Dirty Three.» (AMG)

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Note: Since Sharebee is upgrading its site and upload is currently unavailable (but download links are all working), today I opted for Megaupload. I’ll come back to Sharebee as soon as possible.

Algerii saracenorum urbis fortissimae…

Web Source: Historic Cities

Map source: Braun and Hogenberg, Civitates Orbis Terrarum, II, ₅₉
Date: first Latin edition of volume II was published in 1575
Engraving: Antonio Salamanca, 1541 or after one of the engravings derived from it

Souad Massi - Raoui (2001)

Simply, one of the most outstanding debuts of the last decade. I think it took me ten seconds or so to fall in love with Souad Massi’s incredibly passionate and warm voice. Discover the magic of this great storyteller (raoui) from Algeria.

«Il y a de cela quelques années, un vieux chanteur communiste, ami d’Aragon, chantait Je ne suis qu’un cri; si Souad Massi n’a rien à voir avec ce chanteur, son premier album, Raoui, est en revanche une longue et douce succession de cris de tous ordres. Cris étouffés, de joie comme de peur, de celle qui chante d’une voix vibrante ce conteur, Raoui. Cri d’amour, quand Souad chante Je hais ce coeur qui t’aime encore, Nekreh el keld, ou encore Ne pleure pas, Matebkiche. Cri d’espoir, aussi dans Un Jour viendra, Amessa. Une femme algérienne qui dit ce que les médias ici dénoncent, ce pays à genoux face aux forces obscures. Quand à cela s’ajoute une voix sibylline et pure, des textes forts autant qu’humanistes, et des ambiances musicales variées, c’est un petit événement qui mérite d’être remarqué.

Née à Alger en 1972, Souad Massi grandit dans une famille d’artistes, partagée entre des études de musique arabo-andalouse, des cours de solfège et de musique classique. Alors qu’elle termine ses études d’ingénieur en urbanisme, elle fait quelques tentatives musicales, restées sans suite, jusqu’au succès, aussi grand que soudain: on est en 1997, sa première cassette se vend comme des petits pains. Mais cette célébrité rapide, due en partie à la liberté de ton de cette auteur / compositrice / interprète a très vite sa part d’ombre, et les ennuis s’accumulent, jusqu’à ce que Souad Massi décide de quitter l’Algérie et de s’installer à Paris, en janvier 1999, suite à une invitation au festival Femmes d’Algérie. La roue tourne, et tout s’accélère. […] En moins d’un an, sa carrière en exil est lancée: Island décide de la signer, et lui laisse carte blanche pour son premier album. Comme le conte de fée n’a pas de raison de s’arrêter, c’est avec Bob Coke, l’arrangeur de Ben Harper, qu’elle va concocter cet album aux ambiances envoûtantes.
Premier album, première chanteuse algérienne qu’il nous soit donné de connaître de ce côté ci de la mer, c’est aussi un son nouveau que Souad Massi nous fait découvrir: Raoui est sans doute le premier album folk-rock en provenance d’Algérie. Des notes qui rappellent Tracy Chapman dans Denya ou Awhalm, une guitare sèche à faire pleurer évoquant Idir dans Raoui ou Hayati, une voix cristalline ou grave, entre Joni Mitchell, Tanita Tikaram et Toni Childs. L’album alterne entre des morceaux rock, Amessa, un son folk rappelant Joan Baez, J’ai pas le temps, et les sons traditionnels du chaabi – violon, oud et voix, d’inspiration orientale –, dans Nekreh el keld ou Rani Rayah. Toutes ces références musicales, assumées par la chanteuse, sont “emballées” dans des arrangements de haute volée, qui donnent à chacun des quatorze morceaux de l’album une tonalité particulière. Raoui, premier album, est un autre visage, une autre voix de l’Algérie, loin de la vague raï, sauf à voir en Souad Massi la digne héritière de Cheikha Rimitti. On n’en est pas encore là, mais ce premier essai ouvre grand le chemin pour la suite: à commencer par la scène. (Emmanuel Gény, Chronicart)»

A biography in English
Un perfil en español
Biografia (e intervista) in italiano

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(always appreciated – sempre apprezzati – siempre bienvenidos)

City

Think of One - Chuva Em Po (2004)

«Winning the “boundary crossing” category in the 2004 BBC Radio 3 Awards for World Music has done this group of Antwerp bohemians no end of good in terms of publicity. Despite this being their sixth album, before the awards they were relatively unheard of outside Belgium.

Theirs is a diverse and unlikely mix of influences, including jazz, funk, reggae and punk rock, along with Belgian brass band music, which they combine with various world music elements. So far, this has meant a strong focus on Moroccan trance music, expressed over three CDs made in collaboration with a number of Marrakech-based musicians.

Chuva em Po is the result of a trip to Recife, Brazil, where the band hung out with local musicians and absorbed the rhythms of Brazil's musically rich North East, attempting a marriage between Latin and European carnival music. The result is a mixture of efforts by songwriter David Bovée and adaptations of traditional songs in local styles such as afoxé, frevo, maracatú and côco as well as more familiar samba and bossa nova – given a weird 7/4 twist on "Sideways Swimming".

Local singer Dona Sila do Côco and percussionist Carranca, (on loan from Nana Vasconcelos), are the stars of the album but Think Of One certainly deserve the recognition they're finally getting for their audacity and open-minded approach.» (Jon Lusk, BBC)

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Still Life

Buona Pasqua!

Surprise, surprise...!

A mega compilation in two volumes to celebrate the first three months of Babe(b)logue!

A chance for all newcomers to discover which kind of music you may find on this blog, and for all veterans to find out something interesting you might have overlooked.

This is not a personal "Best of", nor an exhaustive survey. It's rather like a city map with many road names missing, but nevertheless useful (I hope) to find out where the railway station is, and where the nearest toilets...

Well, here's the tracklist:

1. *"&%&£/"/ - HF))£)£)£) (£UJdh
2. G&£Y)O)IOJSi993 - ^^??PKI""
3. Hey, it's a surprise! :)

This giant Ukrainian Easter Egg (pysanka) was built in 1975 in Vegreville, Canada by (then) Univ. Utah Computer Science Professor Ronald Resch. The Vegreville Pysanka was the first physical structure completely designed with computer-aided geometric modeling software.

Children attending the annual White House Easter Egg Roll, Washington, D.C., 1958.

Lego Easter Egg, Italy

Carl Gustavovich Fabergé, Moscow Kremlin Egg, 1906

Nice holidays to you all!
(Ah, links are in comments...)