Nguyên Lê - Maghreb & Friends (1998)

A musical project focused on Maghreb traditions, but at the same time really cross-cultural in spirit (as well as for the arrangements and the musicians involved), which provides a superb listening experience.

«Born in Paris to Vietnamese parents, Lê grew up listening to Deep Purple, then diversified. This explains his howling, fret-capering electric guitar style, although subtle whammy-bar usage does go a long way towards approximating the traditional folk sounds of his forebears. It's not as if this album only has 70s jazz-rock and Vietnam tradition to deal with. Its cast of players is mostly drawn from North Africa, with traditional string and skin (gimbri, bendir, etc.) mingling with the post-bebop horns of Paolo Fresu and Wolfgang Puschnig. All this rampant mixing might sound like a recipe for fusion disaster, but Lê manages to fold in all the disparate elements convincingly, forging a particular hybrid that the listener is unlikely to find remotely familiar. Occasionally, his guitar is overworked, but mostly Lê makes all the strange meetings appear entirely natural. "FunkRai" features Cheb Mami on synth, its funky rhythm track constructed from loops and samples, while "Ifrikyia" also brings in the West African kora and Peul people's flute. Lê's singers also make new friends, a Maghrebi contingent alternating verses with Vietnamese and Guinean soloists during "Louanges".» (Martin Longley, Amazon UK)

Link in comments

Postcards from Italy (23) - Genova, Liguria

Crossing the Bridge - The Sound of Istanbul OST (2005)

«Rock, pop, funky, folk curdo, lamenti arabeggianti, clacson. Benvenuti tra le mille voci di Istanbul.

Alexander Hacke che, al di fuori dei suoi Einstürzende Neubaten, aveva composto parte della colonna sonora di La sposa turca, ci porta alla scoperta della scena musicale di Istanbul, fedele al motto confuciano secondo il quale si conoscono un popolo e un luogo entrando in contatto con la loro musica. La Turchia, specie quella che guarda all’Europa, sembra non aver paura delle contaminazioni, forse perché sono solide le radici culturali di base. Il regista Fatih Akin, occidentale d’adozione (vive a Berlino), ci sorprende cogliendo con la macchina da presa sensazioni sonore che vanno dal montante casino della città (traffico, muezzin, grida, vita) alla versione indigena di Music di Madonna fino alla neopsichedelia degli Baba Zula, passando per i dervisci e il folk curdo. Il risultato è il ritratto convincente e coinvolgente di un paese attraverso le sue voci. Come tanti documentari, anche questo Crossing The Bridge (il ponte del titolo è quello sul Bosforo che unisce Oriente e Occidente) pecca a volte di didascalismo, ma è un difetto che gli si perdona volentieri accorgendosi che comunque, con il piede, è impossibile non tenere il ritmo.» (FilmTv)

«If life were fair and film exhibition better, you could watch Fatih Akin's infectiously enjoyable survey of contemporary Turkish music while standing up, or, more ideally, while swaying, spinning and shimmying. To help him with his survey, Mr. Akin, who wrote and directed "Crossing the Bridge" and also served as a camera operator, has enlisted Alexander Hacke, the bassist from the industrial band Einstürzende Neubauten. Narrating in German, the bushy-faced Mr. Hacke makes a wonderfully appealing guide, partly because he's an unabashed enthusiast, partly because he's a genuine character. The musician is clearly following a path laid out for him by the filmmaker, whether he's conducting interviews with fellow musicians or roaming the city's atmospheric streets. Yet while the whole thing could come off as perilously twee, the artificiality of Mr. Hacke's role and the setup only adds to the film's unexpected charm.» […] (Manohla Dargis, The New York Times – full review here)

See also http://www.crossingthebridge.de/

Link in comments

Europa

Willem Blaeu
Europa recens descripta à Guilielmo Blaeuw
Amsterdam, 1633 (?)

Inti-Illimani - Viva Chile! (1973)

A sort of “nostalgic” post today, because this record was probably the first example of “world music” I heard in my life – well, I’d better say “non-european music”, “world music” is a label I can’t stand, but, you know, at the time this music seemed to really come from another world… So, this record means a lot to me, bringing me back memories of more innocent times, and games, and long journeys with no car stereos or mp3 players around, just the whole family & friends singing loudly el pueblo unido jamàs sera vencido while strolling through the Highlands of Scotland, well, things like that… But I must admit that, when listening to Viva Chile! today, I still find its music captivating and moving, and very well played. Long live the Sun God!

«This was not the first album to be released by the Chilean folk group Inti-Illimani [whose name means Sun God in the Aymaran Indian language], which had originally formed while its members were college students more than six years before Viva Chile! came out in 1973. But it was the first of the group's albums to emerge from a new life as exiles in Rome; so, literally, this spirited music of revolution and rebellion was recorded within a short stroll from the type of hearty lunchtime pasta that is more likely to inspire a siesta. The decisive summarization of thoughts that sometimes occurs as a preamble to dreamland is a nice way to describe the choice of both repertoire and final program sequence. Viva Chile! lays bare the musical roots of this ensemble, in large part a style of folk music from the Andes that has unfortunately become a trifle stereotyped due to overexposure. In the case of Inti-Illimani, the growth from this original starting point has been lush, extending into a challenging form of expression known as nuevo cancion, or new song. Rich emotions and musical surprises bloom almost constantly from these pieces. In combination with politics, as in "Venceremos" or "Cueca de la C.U.T.," it becomes a garden that any lover of protest songs will want to sit in and meditate. Sniffing along while the military industrial complex is overthrown is hardly the only sweet bouquet provided, however. From the very start of the album, intricate and terrifically mixed percussion breaks provide some of the finest moments. "Cueca de la C.U.T." is simply amazing, sounding like small drunken men have invaded the speaker box with wooden mallets. Instrumental pieces involving various combinations of stringed instruments such as guitar, tiple, and charango are also part of the program, a style that the group seems to have downplayed in later releases. "Ramis," "Tatati," and "Subida" are short and simple treats; "Longuita" utilizes a picking style that sounds like country & western, though it is uncertain what country. "Venceremos" is the big vocal hit, an anthem among anthems, and as is typical in the effective sequencing, it is sandwiched between two of the instrumentals…» (AMG)

Link in comments

Springtime 2

Horslips - The Tain (1974)

On request, another fine early Horslips release. Irish progressive folk at its best.

«The most ambitious and successful of their early albums, Horslips' most progressive creation, and maybe the most successful rock concept album ever done. The Tain is rock put into the service of epic storytelling (or is it the other way around?), based on the Irish saga Tain Bo Cuailgne ("The Cattle Raid of Cooley"), part of the Ulster Cycle of Heroic Tales. It tells of war and carnage brought about over the possession of a white bull, inspired by events estimated to have taken place around 500 B.C. This is a long way from Chuck Berry or Little Richard, but it does rock hard, and unlike a lot of progressive rock, The Tain displays considerable tension and momentum. Some listeners will detect modest similarities to Jethro Tull's work (especially on "Charolais"), but there's a lot less meandering here than there is on any Tull album, the flute playing is better, and the material moves forward in a fairly nimble fashion. It would be easy to praise John Fean's guitar, but Jim Lockhart's flute is just as impressive, Charles O'Connor's violin playing is gorgeous, and Eamonn Carr's drumming is dazzling. And the vocals are quite good too, sweet but earthy and honest, and not self-consciously profound — these boys had ambition, but they weren't full of themselves or too given to pretensions.» (AMG)

Horslips, early 70s

Link in comments

Gu Yue Xin Yun (Old Music, New Sound) - Chinese Traditional Music

Some time ago, I discovered this amazing double CD of Chinese traditional music. At last, I decided to post it for the quality of the music, although I can’t give you any additional info aside from its title.
Well, maybe
some Chinese-speaking friend out there can give us a little help... It would be truly appreciated! (Click on the pics on the left to enlarge them)

«The origins of Chinese music can be traced back to distant antiquity. While European music was at its infancy 3,000 years ago, a complete musical theory and sophisticated musical instruments have already blossomed in China, owing largely to the orthodox ritual music advocated by Confucius. By the Han Dynasty (206 B.C.-220 A.D.), the imperial court has created a Music Bureau to oversee the collection and editing of ancient tunes and folk songs. Commercial contacts with Central Asia brought foreign music to China in the form of the p'i-p'a , or lute, and the hu-ch'in , a vertically-held violin. Composers were quick to adapt the new tunes and improve Chinese music. By the time of Emperor Hsuan Tsung (r. 713-755 A.D.) of the T'ang Dynasty , the court has organized the Pear Garden Academy song and dance troupe, cultivating a large number of musicians, and thus laying a firm foundation for Chinese music.» (From the net)

Landscape, Yunnan Province

Incense sticks, Yunnan Province

«There is a saying that 99 percent of all Chinese are farmers, and it's true that most Chinese music – excluding the classical, operatic and art music traditions – originates with rural, peasant traditions, and has deep regional roots. For centuries, farmers in the north have practiced wind-and-percussion ensembles. Ding County of Hebei is famous for artistry in the double reeds: the guanzi (double-reed pipe), the haidi (small oboe) and the suona (Northern oboe). In Xian, the Western Capital of China, musicians for centuries practiced the sheng (a free-reed mouth organ) and di (reeded transverse flute) for joining ensembles called Xian drum music. In the early 1960s, Liu Mingyuan and the Xinying Traditional Orchestra wrote the popular "Years of Happiness" based on rural traditional music. Eastern China is "fiddle" country, and bowed instruments such as the erhu, zhonghu, and the gaohu are popular as both solo and ensemble instruments. The Zhejiang, Jiangsu, Shandong provinces have produced a lot of fiddlers, including Wang Dianyu, Zhao Yuchai and the influential A Bing (1893–1950), a street musician famous for his many compositions, including his most famous "Listen to the Pine." In the south, folk music is often combined with dance. The huadeng is a large class of regional dance. Huadeng is known in the West as the "lantern dance" and translates literally as "flower lantern" – but has many other names: "jumping the lantern," "playing with the lantern" and lantern theater. The dance is popular in Yunnan, Guizhou, Sichuan and their surrounding areas (all in southern or southwestern China). The steps vary from place to place, but the dancers all carry lanterns or fans and they also sing.» (National Geographic)

Downtown Hong Kong

«Nell’antica Cina la musica era considerata arte destinata a perfezionare l’educazione dei giovani. La musica non solo aveva funzione didattica ma veniva investita di significati metafisici; era infatti considerata parte di un complesso sistema cosmologico e dalla sua perfetta esecuzione si faceva derivare il delicato equilibrio fra il Cielo e la Terra, e quindi, per estensione, la stabilità dell’Impero.

Nel Liji "Memoriale dei riti", il sistema musicale cinese viene spiegato in base a 5 gradi fondamentali denominati gong (palazzo), shang (deliberazione), jiao (corno), zhi (prova), yu (ali) e viene fatto corrispondere ad altri "gruppi di cinque", fattori costitutivi e caratterizzanti la vita cosmica e umana. Così, per esempio, secondo tale sistema filosofico-musicale, la nota fondamentale gong (fa) corrisponde all’elemento terra, al punto cardinale centro, al colore giallo, al sapore dolce, al viscere cuore, al numero cinque, alla funzione imperatore ecc. Analogamente la nota shang (sol) rappresenta i ministri; la nota jiao (la) rappresenta il popolo; la nota zhi (do) e yu (re) rappresentano rispettivamente i servizi pubblici e l’insieme dei prodotti; oltre, naturalmente, a ulteriori parallelismi tra ciascuna nota e un elemento, un punto cardinale ecc. La valenza magica attribuita ai suoni, le loro correlazioni cosmologiche e filosofiche possono spiegare certe peculiarità della musica cinese tradizionale; la sua lentezza e il suo mettere in evidenza la materialità di ciascun suono, come fonte di meditazione filosofica. Il do, come dominante in una composizione musicale, stava a indicare che il pezzo era stato composto per cerimonie sacrificali dedicate al Cielo, mentre la nota re veniva impiegata nelle celebrazioni che riguardavano gli antenati e la primavera. Il sol poteva riferirsi soltanto a brani che concernevano la terra, mentre il la celebrava l’equinozio d’autunno, l’imperatrice e la luna… (continua)

Check also The Internet Chinese Music Archive

Download links:

Disc 1: http://sharebee.com/189baf4b

Disc 2: http://sharebee.com/eac6304e

Hong Kong Bay

Black Ox Orkestar - Nisht Azoy (2006)

«The second record by Montreal's Black Ox Orkestar places the group at the forefront of a ‘new Jewish music’ that rejects contemporary fusion and musty nostalgia in equal measure. With backgrounds in folk, punk-rock and free jazz, the group's four musicians distill Balkan, Central Asian, Arabic and Slavic sources into a coherent, impassioned sound that gives teeth to old Jewish songs.

Nisht Azoy (Not Like This) builds dramatically on Black Ox's debut (Ver Tanzt?), striking a similar balance between vocal and instrumental tunes, but with more intensity, mystery, and a readiness to stretch things out, whether in the incantatory opener "Bukharian" or the clomping crescendos of "Az Vey Dem Tatn" and "Tsvey Tabelakh". Further upping the ante with greater use of percussion and group singing, the band's entirely acoustic instrumentation pumps and pulses with explosive energy and emotion. Radwan Moumneh captures the 4-piece band (at Montreal's Hotel2Tango studio) with a detailed warmth and authority, and a large cast of guest players expands the group to bona fide orchestral size on "Tsvey Tabelakh". The slow plaintiveness of vocal songs "Ikh Ken Tsvey Zayn" and "Golem" rank among the group's most spine-tingling, mesmerising moments. "Ratsekr Grec" summons a Balkan dance rhythm in one of the album's more overtly traditional arrangements, adding a flurry of colliding horns down the home stretch. Taken as a whole, the cycle of songs on Nisht Azoy further opens up a world, inspired by Jewish diasporic culture and politics, that challenges conventional appropriations and forges music that is highly original, deeply felt and very much alive.» (Southern)

«I membri della Black Ox Orkestar sono solo gli ultimi tra i tanti artisti nordoccidentali rapiti dalla incredibile cultura musicale degli ebrei dell'est-Europa, gente che vagava per sfuggire ai tanti pogrom della storia. E ogni fuga, ogni diaspora, arricchiva la loro cultura, che incontrava e si apriva all'alterità. Le musiche si contaminavano più facilmente, le lingue assumevano caratteri babelici, i ritmi erano l'unica festa. Il klezmer è più o meno questo, una spugna che assorbe i suoni dell'antica Europa, guarda a Levante e tocca Grecia, Turchia e Spagna, dove i Sefarditi dialogano con il continente nero, cingendo così il bacino del Mediterraneo.
Come novelli Klezmorin, i quattro musicisti di Montreal danno vita a una musica il cui umore è essenzialmente quello malinconico e mesto dei canti tradizionali, anche perché il klezmer – che letteralmente significa strumento musicale ma in una accezione più ampia vuol dire musica dell'anima, cioè soul music – non è solo clarinetti in levare e ritmiche serrate, ma anche, appunto, musica di sofferenza (soprattutto alle origini, prima che il clarinetto prendesse il sopravvento sul violino).» (Musicboom)

Link in comments

Call of the West

North California

San Francisco
Somewhere in Utah

Photos: Mr. N

Wall of Voodoo - Call of the West (1982)

One of the greatest American Records from the 80s. Middle-class disillusions and vexated ambitions + Mexican radios + barbecued iguanas + Spaghetti Western-era Morricone + desert landscapes… Sour and dark, but simply irresistible. Heed the call of the West!

«Call of the West is a concept album exploring the trials and tribulations of life of the common man in the south-western United States, particularly in the desert towns east of Los Angeles which stretch along the interstate highways into Nevada and Arizona. Most of the songs are downbeat mood pieces expounding upon the dashed hopes, withered aspirations, economic disenfranchisement, and existential malaise afflicting many of those who come to the southwest in search of wealth, fame and personal fulfilment.
The bleak, haunting atmosphere of the album evokes the romantic western frontier myth transfigured by the urban fatalism of L.A. crime fiction and Hollywood film noir as well as the mournful, elegiac spirit of classic and revisionist movie westerns. In many songs, the themes of self-deceiving ambition and bitter disillusionment set against the sunbaked frenzy and desolation of southern California owe a great deal to the allegorical grotesquerie of Nathanael West.» (Full review here)

«Cosa c'è oltre il muro del voodoo: le masserizie di un medicine show… la bottega di un rigattiere… il simulacro del bisonte… il mito della frontiera ormai in svendita… e polvere… tanta polvere. Ma, accanto a ciò, c'è anche l'elettricità… l'impronta fantascientifica della modernità… l'(im)possibile domani. Passato, presente e futuro. Realtà e fantasia. Nessuno ha saputo dare all'interpretazione della tradizione una adeguatezza al presente pari a quella data dai Wall Of Voodoo. Una ricetta incredibile fatta di radici “country & western”, con una spruzzata di Kraftwerk, tanto Morricone e una subdola inclinazione dark. I tre elementi che, come altrettante pennellate di colore, disegnano la loro musica sono l'intreccio ritmico creato da Joe Nanini, le calde tonalità chitarristiche di Marc Moreland e l'incredibile voce di Stan Ridgway. Una miscela che, una volta scombinata, non sarà mai più in grado di toccare queste vette. Se i brani più conosciuti sono gli hit Mexican Radio e Tomorrow, invero eccelsi, è però altrove che il gruppo riesce a esprimersi con tutto il suo potere inquietante, soprattutto in quelle ballate sornione, Lost Weekend, Factory, Look At Their Way e Hands Of Love, che concentrano in pochi minuti la tensione del grande thriller con crescendo impercettibili che, quando sei ormai preparato alla deflagrazione, si placano inaspettatamente. Poi ci sono i momenti più epici e propriamente morriconiani di Call Of The West e del breve interludio On Interstate 15, e infine la travolgente Spy World. Ecco: un mondo di spie, è questo il trait d'union fra polvere e fantascienza, fra blitz nel futuro e devozione a un epoca che non c'è più.» (Kathodik)

Link in comments

Untitled

Iva Bittová - Cikori (2001)

Another gem from Iva Bittová, here in a group effort.

«Iva Bittová does not release albums very often, making each one something to treasure. Cikori is her first major project since her critically acclaimed duet with Vladimír Václavek, the 1997 Bilé Inferno, and her first group effort since she left Dunaj. Cikori is actually both the title of the album and the name of this quintet, which is also comprised of Václavek (acoustic guitar), Frantisek Kucera (trumpet), Jaromír Honzák (double bass), and Milos Dvorácek (drums and percussion). The three new players already appeared as guests on selected tracks from Bilé Inferno. Basically, this opus develops more elaborate arrangements around the sound of the previous album. Václavek remains an essential part of the atmosphere, but the added instruments provide a wider palette for the singer. Songs like "Krídla" and "Zapísej" show the same attention to melodies, sparse arrangements, delicate build-ups, and charm. In "Jungle" and "První," the group adopts a quasi-Latin mood, which gives Bittová's very personal scats a new color. And who could resist her mischievous child tone when she meows in "Kocha"? Cikori may not be as gripping as Bilé Inferno, but it still represents a strong effort. It's full of beautiful, light, playful pop with an avant-garde twist. Recommended.» (AMG)

Link in comments

Popol Vuh - Einsjäger & Siebenjäger (1974)

One of my favourite Popol Vuh albums. This can be krautrock, but is (still now) lighter and fresher than water… (2 bonus tracks)

«Released in 1974, Einsjäger & Siebenjäger is a further rock entrenchment for Popol Vuh. Florian Fricke's piano is more percussively present with its runs and large chord voicings rippling throughout each composition. In addition, Daniel Fichelscher's electric guitar picks up where Conny Veit's left off, taking the bluesy space rock solo style into new territory by incorporating Eastern scales into the main body of his blues phrasing. There are five short compositions on the first side, which merely prepare the listener for the mind-blowing title cut, which takes up the entirety of side two. Here, in addition to the swirling organic percussion and pianism of Fricke and the loping, often singing guitar lines that repeat hypnotically with rock & roll tension, the vocals of the amazing Djong Yun become the catalyst for the other musicians to spiral off into extended improvisations. This is certainly one of the most beautiful albums Popol Vuh issued in the 1970s, and remains a watermark for their trademark of melding beauty and free-flowing composition.» (AMG)

Link in comments

Gnawa Wallpaper

Gnawa Diffusion - Algeria (1997)

If there’s a group that I could choose as a symbol of what I’m trying to promote here in Babe(b)logue, well, this is Gnawa Diffusion. The success of their politically engaged cultural métissage testifies that music, as a form of art able to speak directly to the heart of the people, can still contribute to the betterment of our tiny, bellicose world. The album posted here is their wonderful 1997 debut, which sports the first version of one of the best pop songs of the last ten years, the gorgeous «Ombre-elle» (listen to it in the «Tapas» box). Ah! Je voudrais être un fauteuil dans un salon de coiffure pour dames pour que le fesses des belles âmes s’écrasent contre mon orgueil…

«The members of Gnawa Diffusion, who are based in Grenoble in the South East of France, come from a rich mix of musical and cultural backgrounds. Fusing their individual influences into a collective sound, Gnawa Diffusion have woven elements of rap, ragga, jazz, reggae and rai into a vibrant musical patchwork. The group's name is a reference to the Gnawa, a tribe from Western Sudan who were deported to North Africa in the 16th century by the rulers of Fes and Algiers. While the Gnawa were officially converted to Islam by their new masters, they continued to worship their own African gods in private. The way Gnawa Diffusion see it, this historic tale of people uprooted from their homeland and forced to begin a new life in a foreign land, is remarkably similar to the lives of modern-day immigrants growing up in France. Indeed, the group's lead singer, Amezigh, son of the famous Algerian writer Kateb Yacine, considers himself to be a 20th century version of the Gnawa. Amezigh, who arrived in France in 1988 at the tender age of 16, has been closely involved with the struggle to defend immigrants' rights and abolish racial prejudice. When Amezigh formed Gnawa Diffusion in 1992 he saw the group as an alternative means of getting his political message across. Amezigh, Gnawa Diffusion's lead singer and songwriter, writes his lyrics in three languages, Arabic, French and English.» (rifimusique)

«Originaire de Grenoble, né en 1992 d’un métissage franco-algérien, Gnawa Diffusion est un groupe incontournable et l’un des rares représentants sur la scène française d’une fusion au sens large. La formation emmenée par Amazigh Kateb (fils de Kateb Yacine, fondateur de la littérature algérienne moderne) est parvenue à imbriquer des éléments empruntés au raï, au rap, au reggae, voire au jazz. Gnawa fait de sa musique un chant de lutte, un combat scandé en français, en arabe et en anglais. Capables de tirer de leur sac des créations originales alliant parfaitement leurs influences autant que de remettre au goût du jour quelques titres traditionnels des contrées reculées du Soudan, ils mèlent habilement instruments traditionnels et électriques ou electroniques. Le ton des Gnawas a fait des émules des deux côtés de la Méditerranée, mais en gène certains au point que plusieurs de leurs prestations seront interdites en Algérie pour cause d’irrévérence envers le pouvoir en place. Mélange de tradition et de modernisme, entre chaâbi, raï, rap, reggae et musique orientale, la musique de Gnawa Diffusion est authentique et sans concessions.» (lefoyer.free.fr)

Gnawa Diffusion’s Official Website: http://www.gnawa-diffusion.com/

Link in comments

Postcards from Italy (22) - Mozia Island, Sicily

Horslips - Happy To Meet, Sorry To Part (1972)

An Irish folk-rock classic.

«Get ready for the ride of your life through Irish folk-rock styles. The opening track of the group's debut album, with its pipes, button accordion, and percussion, could pass for any Chieftains record, but then the electricity kicks in on "Hall of Mirrors," and the rest is melodic rock, not so much folk-rock as folkish rock, recalling early Genesis. John Fean sounds like he's playing folk melodies even as he plays runs on his electric guitar on "The Clergy's Lamentation," and the group follows this with an anthem-like piece of Gaelic rock ("An Bratach Ban") with a dance-like instrumental break. "Bon Istgh Ag Ol" is probably the best track on the album, and "Hall of Mirrors" and "Furniture" remained in their stage act for years, the latter, with its superb middle section – favourably recalling Steve Howe's playing with Yes on their early albums – transformed into a 15-minute epic. And just when you think you've got them pegged as a progressive folk-rock outfit, they deliver the exquisitely languid, almost impressionistic "The Shamrock Shore" and the playful "Dance for Yer Daddy," which sounds like the Chieftains with vocals until Fean's electric guitar kicks in. And Fean's playing on "The Musical Priest," by itself, is worth the price of the album.» (AMG)

Link in comments

Ethno Trio Troitsa - Zhuravy (2001)

Troitsa appeared in 1996 in Belarus, a small Eastern European country situated between Poland and Russia and also sharing borders with Ukraine and Lithuania. The founder of the group and its creative "guiding spirit" was Ivan Ivanovich Kirtchuk, a senior lecturer of the university in Minsk, the Belorussian capital. The name of the band, "Troitsa", which in translation means the numeral three, or the religious term "Trinity", was meant to underline the connection with national traditions. The idea to form such a group came to Ivan's mind in 1986, when he was collecting ethnographic material in Belorussian villages. His main motive for taking this step was the desire to popularize national songs, to connect them with musical traditions of the world. In fact, Belorussian music is quite universal, as it was shaped by various cultural influences mixing up in the country's history. The group is known mainly outside their native land.

In 1997 the band became popular in Russia, and in 1998 they made a big tour across the Netherlands, Slovenia, Croatia, Germany and Portugal. The uniqueness of their compositions, the variety of instruments they play, and also their professionalism – Ivan's strong voice and the technical abilities of other musicians – gave them great success with the audience, especially in Holland. "Troitsa" from the beginning used not only national instruments, but also those from other countries of the world, all the same retaining old Belorussian as the language of their songs. Critics described their style as "folk-fusion with the influence of world-music".

In 1998 the group was noticed by a Dutch recording company Pan Records, which offered them a contract for the release of their debut album "Troitsa". After this release and some concerts in Belarus and Holland the group broke up for some time. […] In 2000 Ivan released a solo record, "Heritage Of The Lost Villages". […] which In the autumn of the same year a new line-up, called "Ethno Trio Troitsa", gave their first concert in Minsk. New members of the band were Jury Dmitriev, a guitarist and a pupil of Ivan Kirtchuk, and drummer Jury Pavlovskij, ex-musician of "Kniaz Myshkin". Zhuravy, the first release of the new formation, appeared in Holland in 2001. (gadki.lublin.pl)

Link in comments (thanx again to Valery from Moscow for this post)

If you like Troitsa, look for their Sem album in L'Arbre de les 1000 musiques.

Postcards from Italy (21) - Venaria (To), Piedmont

Manu Dibango - Countdown at Kusini OST (1975)

A fantastic and ultra-unknown (to me, at least) Manu Dibango soundtrack to the equally obscure independent mid-70s movie «Countdown at Kusini» (a drama financed by DST Communications, a subsidiary of Delta Sigma Theta, the world's largest black sorority, and centered around the revolutionary leader of a fictionalized African nation, Fahari, who is being hunted by a mercenary hired by a big corporation disgruntled by the rebel's policies because they are cutting into the company's profits) that I discovered recently at Matsuli Music. Thank you, Matt, for letting me re-post this long-forgotten gem!

«Manu Dibango is one of the original fathers of the Afro-funk scene. His huge worldwide hit 'Soul Makossa' paved the way for artists such as Fela Kuti and Hugh Masekela. This rare soundtrack was produced in tiny quantities for the premiere of the obscure Ossie Davis movie in Seattle in August 1975. Each album is individually numbered, and signed by the cast. It's a superb blend of African rhythms, jazz, and a heavy dose of space jazz and funk. There are too many good tracks to mention, from uptempo dancefloor cuts to slower mellow numbers, all featuring Manu's superb sax playing.» (Blaxploitation.com)

Link in comments

Putumayo Presents Colombia (2001)

Hola, Noel! Como ves, enfin llegué a poner en linea el disco que me pediste. Y que discazo! Pues, que lo disfrutes!... Un abrazo, Radu.

P.S.: Still waiting for your first "official" contribution...:)

«The beleaguered nation of Colombia, fraught as it is with poverty and drug wars, is the source of some of the most joyous music in the hemisphere. Almost as if in defiance of external hardships, Colombian musicians produce an upbeat, festive sound that draws on African, European, and native influences. This release features a dozen examples of Cumbia, porro, vallenato, and salsa. The artists range from heartthrobs los 50 de Joselito, whose traditional Andean sound belies their youth, to veterans such as the late Lucho Bermúdez, whose soaring clarinet drives the churning "Fiesta de Negritos." What all of these artists have in common is a reverence for the traditional forms combined with a talent for colorful, danceable arrangements. Percussion is crisp, and earthy, brass arrangements are sharp and tight, and the vocals convey a warm sense of fun. A particular highlight is Tulio Zuloaga's "El Temporal," a Puerto Rican plena. It cooks along with rich background harmonies and agile accordion riffs. La Sonora Dinamita throws a lot of brash humor into the irreverent Cumbia "El Ciclón." Contrast this with the smooth, warm "Delia la Cumbiambera" by the Latin Brothers, with its creamy brass and salsa counter rhythm on the piano. By no means a complete overview of Colombian music, this release gives a good sampling of a handful of styles, whetting the appetite for more.» (AMG)

Link in comments