The King of Calypso and Mama Africa

 

Yesterday I bought this 1965 Grammy award winning album by Harry Belafonte and Miriam Makeba in a charity shop. I greatly admire the American/Jamaican "King of Calypso" Harry Belafonte, not only for being a great singer, but also for his relentless fight for human right issues. And same goes for the late South African "Mama Africa" Miriam Makeba (who's song Pata Pata you'll surely know). On this album they joined forces to call attention to life under apartheid in South Africa. Song titles include Beware, Verwoerd! ("A warning to the Prime Minister of South Africa that the black man is on the move" it reads on the back sleeve), Give Us Our  Land and Hurry, Mama, Hurry ("Hurry, mama, and hide - the police are on their way"). There are a few African traditionals on there as well, sung in Xhosa, Zulu and Swahili. It is possibly the most beautiful protest album ever made. My favorite track by far is this duet, absolutely fantastic.

Harry Belafonte and Myriam Makeba - Train Song (Mbombela). Get it here.

Gig spree

You could say I've been on gig spree: in 9 days I've seen about 14 bands, varying from jazz to indie, from hip hop to folk, from garage rock to gypsy.

My spree kicked off by Fránçois & The Atlas Mountains. I had to battle the elements to get to this gig, but once inside the venue the atmosphere couldn't have been in greater contrast with the miserable weather outside. Fránçois and his boys gave an ecstatic performance, including synchronized dance moves and lots of percussion. I was shocked they opened with my favorite song, but it turned out this was the tamest song in their set! I loved the support as well: Stranded Horse, a singer-songwriter who, rather than plucking on a guitar, plays the kora, a West African instrument.

A few of the other highlights: the Dino Plasmati/Carlo Fraccalvieri Open Quartet from Italy that played some wonderful jazz music during the opening of my little exhibition, hearing folk-gypsy-jazz five piece Miss Maud's Folly  play during a special evening - curated by oldest-record-store-in-the-world Spillers - in the Cardiff Museum, and seeing Quiet Marauder play their kettles, pots, pans, box filled with stones, guitars and melodica TWICE this week. 

Fool by Miss Maud's Folly

A Gay Guy And A Dog by Quiet Marauder

  

Then last Wednesday I found out that my favorite Canadian rapper Cadence Weapon was in town that evening supporting Japandroids. I met Cadence Weapon aka Rollie Pemberton a couple of years ago when I was living in Berlin and was one of the five people who attended his poorly promoted gig in some dodgy club. After he'd finished his (awesome!) performance he shook the hands of all the five attendants. My boyfriend and I got chatting to him and took him to couple of bars in Kreuzberg and had a lovely evening. Much to my surprise he still recognized us after all these years, and we met again after the show for some drinks. We tried to get a nice picture of us, but this is the only decent one in which I look like an overly excited fan and totally uncool. Then again, that's exactly what I am.

I love his unusual flow and his atypical choice of samples and beats, taking lots from electronic and dance music. For his latest record, Hope in Dirt City (to be released next week) he's been working with friend and neighbor Grimes, so I'm expecting the hip hop boundaries to be pushed even further on this long player. 

To THEE Satisfaction

Seriously, this is the best thing I've heard in a while: THEESatisfaction - a couple from Seattle who have just released their debut album awE naturalE. Their music is an amazing mix of soulful vocals with spoken word like rap, funky grooves, loops, jazz, break beats and handclaps. And I am so happy I got to see them live with just a handful of people at record store Rise in Bristol yesterday!

THEESatisfaction - QueenS. Download it here or over at Subpop Records.

This convinced me to take the afternoon off and go on an hour long train journey to see them:

Amadou & Mariam & Brixton

Just came back from another great weekend in London. I had the pleasure of staying with a friend in Brixton, South London for a few days and I had a superb time there. We just wondered around a lot, going to the market and the arcades, marveling at all the goods and men selling dancehall cds from tiny alcoves, passing steel drum buskers and stopping for food frequently. We had some delicious oysters (served with raw onions, Tabasco and lemon) at a little restaurant in the (rapidly gentrifying) Brixton Village arcade. An elderly lady served me one of the best roti breads I've ever tasted from a blue caravan. She rolled it up with a filling of pumpkin and (sweet?) potato and plenty of chilli. It was so good I wanted to lock her in her caravan, drag it back home and park it in my back garden.

I was  stupid enough to leave my camera at home, so I had to rely on my phone to capture it all. Unfortunately this resulted in just a couple of crappy snapshots...

 

The whole reason of going down to London was to see Amadou & Mariam at Sheperd's Bush Empire. Which was absolutely FANTASTIC!! The couple - according to Wikipedia also known as "the blind couple from Mali" - has been making music together for over 30 years. Working with Manu Chao on their 2004 album Dimance a Bamako gave their career a real boost and propelled husband and wife into stardom. Their latest album Folila proves how popular they now are with the (Western) (indie) musicians as well, with contributions of Santigold, Theophilus London, the guy from the Scissor Sisters, and TV on the Radio, to name a few. Check out the latter on the video for their single Wily Kataso:

Renowned DJs  have often remixed songs by Amadou & Mariam and in 2010 an entire remix album was (digitally) released. This is remix by Uproot Andy is one of my favorites and used to be a tried and true staple in my DJ sets.

Amadou & Mariam - Salabi (Uproot Andy Remix). Download it here.

Can Your Monkey Do The Dog

Who would have thought a book fair could be so much fun! Over 60 lovely artists sold their (handmade) books and zines at the Ffotogallery in Penarth last Saturday. Lots of people came down, the place was heaving all day! I played records on my portable record player (the Fidelity), which went down really well I think. And I had the pleasure of ending the already brilliant day with a packed dance floor at the afterparty at 10ft Tall!

Especially for this fair I made sort of mini-zine titled Can Your Monkey Do The Dog, based on the song by Rufus Thomas. Besides monkeys dancing The Dog there are monkeys Footstompin', Vogueing  and Shaking A Tail Feather.

I've got a few left that I'm selling through my website (click here), where you can pay  the  £2/€2,50 (that includes postage!) using PayPal or your creditcard. Or simply send me message and we'll sort it out. Download the soundtrack below (right click/CTRL+click and "save as") and get your hips shaking too!

 

Rufus Thomas - Can Your Monkey Do The Dog. Download it here.
 

Jackie Lee - The Duck. Download it here.

 
Dee Dee Sharp - Do The Bird. Download it here.

The Five Du-Tones - Shake A Tail Feather. Download it here.

 
Madonna - Vogue. Download it here.

The Flares - Footstompin'. Download it here.

Jazz for the Jet Set

To celebrate the arrival of the portable record player I bought on eBay last week, I went down to Kelly Records this afternoon to treat myself to some vinyl (as if I hadn't spent enough money..).  I think  I passed a good hour in the shop, chatting to the owner who told me some wonderful stories of the time he went to Detroit in the early sixties, when he - aged ± 14 - went to visit his pen pal there. Lucky for him his pen pal  shared his love for soul music and the family took him to see the likes of Marvin Gaye, Aretha Franklin and The Velvelettes. Imagine that! 

I got offered  a cup of coffee, which came as a godsend because I was having a serious caffeine craving. I enjoyed this cup of instant  cappucino (which tasted heavenly at that moment) while I listed to a soca disco album (hilarious, but not quite worth 5 quid) and an album by Millie (of My Boy Lollipop fame) & Her Boyfriends. I considered buying the Wee Papa Girl Rappers album I once lost after a DJ gig, but settled for this marvelous album:

I've developed a soft spot for the vibraphone, and Dave Pike is a master on this instrument, though I later found out he only plays marimba on this record (same sort of thing but with wooden bars). Herbie Hancock plays organ, so in all it's one groovy record! Besides, who could resits a cover like this, not to mention the title?!

Dave Pike - When I'm Gone. Download it here.

Dave Pike - Sweet Tater Pie. Download it here. 

I was on a boat!

Last night I went to see Wild Flag in Bristol, on a boat! I think Thekla has easily made it into my top 3 list of most favorite venues on the planet. Their programming is ace, the stage in the boat's belly is dark and industrial but in no sense claustrophobic, you can have a fag on the deck, and I believe there's another cafe/bar in the bridge of the ship. 

Anyways, Wild Flag is the latest incarnation of two members from legendary riot grrrl band Sleater-Kinney: guitar player/singer Carrie Brownstein and drummer Janet Weiss. They are two of the coolest people alive ∨

But I was possibly even more impressed by supporting band Peggy Sue. This indiefolky formation from Brighton has been on my radar for a while and I was thrilled to see them live. The band consists of two girls on guitar and vocals, and a quirky drummer. They have the most beautiful voices, goosebumps evoking harmonies, but it's all quiet dark and haunting. Think PJ Harvey x (early) Cat Power  x The Breeders x 2 Neko Cases. So good.

 
Peggy Sue - Song & Dance. Download it here.


Peggy Sue - Watchman. Download it here.

The thing with lists

I regret not having made a "Best of 2011" list. I'm a pretty obsessive list maker: shopping lists, to do lists, checklists, playlists... And I especially love end-of-the-year lists. What better way to reflect on the past year than to put it in lists? It raises all sorts of issues. Like what the hell have I been up to these last 12 months? With whom? Have my tastes shifted? What is it exactly I enjoy in this song or movie or book? Oh remember that gig?! Wait a minute, was that this year, or last year? What were my highlights and what were my lows? Etc. 

I know exactly the reason for the absence of my musical Best-of list. I just find it too difficult to put one song above the other, to put them in a hierarchy. I guess for me thinking about the list is more important that the actual countdown. But I do want to force upon you the songs from 2011 that I enjoyed the most (even though it's way too late - we're almost two weeks into the new year (yikes!)), so I'm just going to do it by presenting you a few in quiet random categories.

In the category Best Retro Indie Pop...

Cults - Bumper. Download it here.

Love the girl group sound. With a guy. 

In the category Best Fuzzy Guitar...

Male Bonding - Bones. Download it here.

Runner ups: The Drums, Wavves, WU LYF and Wild Flag (though not as fuzzy).

In the category Best Electronic...

Little Dragon - Ritual Union. Download it here.

This song was a revelation to me it was.

In the category Best Foreign Language...

Chucha Santamaria Y Usted - Fiebre Tropical. Download it here.

From Oakland of all places..

In the category Best British Alternative Rapper...

Ghostpoet - Cash and Carry Me Home. Download it here.

Overall Dels impressed me more with his album GOB, but then again his best singles were released in 2010. The fact that Ghostpoet's show was one of my most enjoyable gigs of the year puts him in favor here.

In the category Most Overlooked Artist...

Theophilus London - Why Even Try (feat. Sara Quin) (from Tegan and Sara) (RAC Remix). Download it here.

I've been madly in love with this guy from Brooklyn ever since his early mix tapes, that were full of The Smiths references. Every single tune he's released since then has been absolute quality. 

In the category Best Cover...

Spoek Mathambo - Control (Joy Division).

This was a tough one. I listend to Tennis' cover of Brenda Lee's Is It True? an awful lot. But it's the video for Control that has made me tip over to the South African.

The Northern Soul phenomena

All these findings of particles traveling faster than the speed of light excite me a lot. Because it means that time traveling is possible! In theory... I hope they invent a device soon because I need to be teletransported to the Wigan Casino on the outskirts of Manchester somewhere between the years 1973 and 1981.

While the rest of the UK listened to funk, disco, punk, and later new wave, glam rock and metal youngsters in the North let their hair down to obscure mid-sixties American soul. The first club that started playing this music was the Twisted Wheel in Manchester in the late sixties. Soon other venues started having 'Northern Soul' all-nighters (they really went on all night, till 8 am or so). In September 1973 the Wigan Casino opened its doors in a former ballroom. It was massive, it could hold up to 1200 people. Lighting was provided by a couple of fluorescent tubes and there was no bar (!!). Plenty of other stimulants were available though, that were best consumed with water anyway (and chewing gum). The acoustics were excellent and the wooden floor was perfect for smooth moves, spins, drops and twirls. Look!

Next time I'm on the dancefloor I want to do what that guy is doing at 1:00!!!

Apparently The Casino wasn't the most interesting place when it came to the music, but it became THE place for dancing.

I find the whole Northern Soul phenomena fascinating for many reasons. For one that it was kids growing up in bleak industrial north of England that were absolutely gripped by this black footstomping music from the other side of the Atlantic, a decade after its heydays. These were ordinary lads and lasses who worked in the factory all day. Just as in the US (especially Detroit) this music was their salvation; when you listen to people speak about their experiences then it sounds like it was almost like a religion to them. For many 'soullies' Northern Soul is still a way of life. Manchester based Granada TV made a nice short documentary on it in 1977. It gives you a good idea of the context (and more impressive dance moves at 6:00).

 

I also love the fact people took a bag to the club. In here they kept their dancing shoes, talcum powder, a towel and a spare shirt (things got sweaty - many people went straight from the club to a public bath for a swim!). Venues, record labels and events all had their own badge, which would be sewn on the bag (jeez, that must have been hard work). 

You could also bring a little case for your 45s, as there was a lively record trade going on during the night. There would be vendors or you could swap with other Northern Soul fanatics. Because Northern Soul DJs and fans were obsessive record collectors. As the competition grew DJs tried to distinguish themselves by playing the rarest records. In their quest people traveled to the US to look for obscure records at thrift stores, garage sales and warehouses. Even the vaults of small record companies were searched for unreleased material. As Bill Brewster and Frank Broughton put it in their book Last Night A DJ Saved My Life Northern Soul really was “a genre built from failures”:

“…Northern Soul was the music made by hundreds of singers and bands who were copying the Detroit sound of Motown pop. Most of the records were complete failures in their own time and place… but in northern England from the end of the 1960s through to its heyday in the middle 1970s, were exhumed and exalted.”

Artists like Gloria Jones, Junior Walker, Edwin Starr, Jackie Wilson and Martha Reeves (who danced at the Wigan herself for hours on end!) all to came to England to play and were given a second carrier thanks to The Norther Soul scene. Unknown singers were hailed as superstars, often much to their own surprise. 

I've been to a couple of Northern Soul nights, and every time I would be amazed about all these tracks I had never heard before. You think you know a little bit about soul music, but forget it, I was happy to be singing along to one tune during an entire evening!

Even while watching Northern Soul videos on YouTube I heard a song that was new to me, and it was another case of 'song, where have you been all my life?!' You can download it here, as well as a track by Dobie Gray, a Northern Soul hero who passed away last week.

Lou Pride - I'm Comun Home in The Morning. Download it here.

Dobie Gray - The In Crowd. Download it here.

On December 6th it was 30 years ago the Wigam Casino closed. The council, who owned the building, wanted to build a new civic centre there. It never happened and about a year later it burned down. So there is no chance of ever going back there. I really need that time traveling machine!!

Secondhand safari

This Saturday I took a day trip to Bristol. While passing some time before catching the train I spotted these two lovely fellows in a charity shop! Love or hate 'm... I'm not quite sure myself to be honest. The shop assistant said originally there had been six masks and the others had flown out, so I had to decide on the spot (the fact that my train was leaving soon also helped hasten the decision). But they were just too funky to let them sit there. And besides, they were only £2.50 each. I'm completely in the dark about their heritage, but coincidentally the lady who bought two of the others masks was in the shop and she told me they're from Ghana.

I really had a lovely day in Bristol. We went by the contemporary arts centre Arnolfini to catch a musical performance, had tea and cakes with a friend and did some shopping in Stokes Croft, Bristol's '(counter-) cultural quarter'. Think lots of vintage and charity shops, record stores, bars and street art (I now completely understand why street art is so big in Bristol.. there are some grand buildings in that city, but boy there are lots of ugly, derelict ones as well!). I was gutted the bookstore slash gallery Here was closed, and I didn't nearly have enough time to visit all the vintage clothes stores, so I'll have to go back soon! I did score at Plastic Wax Records on Cheltenham Road, where I bought these two compilations of Jamaican music for a tenner:

They're not in mint condition (hence the price), but the music still sounds great:


Lloyd Price - Coconut Woman (off 300% Dynamite!). 3x faster and (thus) 3x better than Harry Belafonte's version of this very tropical calypso song. Download it here.

Prince Buster - Cincinatti Kid (off 300% Dynamite!). Inspired by the 1965 movie, a song about poker. Love the Hammond organ on it! Download it here.

 
Jerry Jones - Compared To What (off Feel Like Jumping: The Best Of Studio One Women). Raw and soulful reggae tune by this American singer. Download it here.

I fixed Michael Jackson's nose

Yesss, I have finished sewing and mending the 'body parts' for the exhibition at Villa Zebra! One of my last tasks was to fix Michael Jackson's nose... 

It turned out to be a bit of a MJ-themed day, since I also came across a cover of his Baby Be Mine by Quadron - a blue-eyed R&B duo from Denmark. Their super groovy song Slippin' is on high rotation here at the moment.

 

Quadron - Baby Be Mine. Download it here. 

Quadron - Slippin'. Download it here.

For the Graca Da Silva's

Two of my good friends are moving to Bali next week (guess what my next holiday destination is going to be!) and we had a farewell party in their honor last Friday *snif*. The couple had asked me to supply them with some music for the night, which I happily did. She is Indonesian, he is half English/half Portuguese and they both have traveled the world extensively, which is reflected in their musical tastes.

Of course I played Dara Paspita for her (read about this Indonesian girl group here), and for him I selected some oldskool hip hop (as requested):

 

Eric B. and Rakim - I Know You Got Soul. MC/DJ combo hailing from Long Island, New York. Download it here.

and some contemporary dance music from Senegal:

 

Alif (Liberate Attack of the Feminist Infantry) - Douta Mbaye. All female hip hop group from Dakar. Download it here. Buy it from out|here Records.

and something Portuguese:

 

Batida - Yumbala. Lisbon's DJ Mpula mixes "the high speed rhythms of kuduro with sweet melodic guitar samples of '60s Angolan semba music" with some fine Angolan MCs on top. Download it here. Buy it from Ghetto Bassquake.

(and Survivor's Eye of the Tiger so there could be a push up contest, which for some strange reason has become a tradition at our parties...)

Girlschool

My eyes have scanned an enormous amount of secondhand junk over the (extended) weekend. Sadly it was mostly just junk and I've come home with just a few items..

On Thursday I went to an auction for charity at a convent. That was to say, I went to the viewing. Because apart from an needlework portrait from the 1980s (God knows how it ended up with the nuns!) there was nothing of interest to me. The portrait was a bit like this (less Madonnaesque but I think you get my drift):

Imagine this in needlework! It truly was a masterpiece, but I dreaded the thought of having to sit through the whole auction. I even skipped the homemade cupcakes and tea, and went straight for dinner in town instead.

Today I went to my usual car boot sale. I did manage to scoop up some great 7" singles for just 20p a piece. I bought ten, including songs by Al Green, Marvin Gaye, Smokey Robinson, Curtis Mayfield, The Smiths and The Specials. And the vendor recommended me a cover of Soul Man by Sam Moore (of Sam and Dave) and Lou Reed. Of course Lou Reed's version is completely soulless, which is pretty hilarious.

Saturday I went to some charity shops on the other side of town. Fresh junk! Maybe the fact that my friend and I were chatting so much explains my meager score, but I only bought one item, spending a whopping 99p: a record by Girlschool. Girlschool is the best British all-female metal band from the 1980s. Well the best (female) metal band ever, period. These girls were clearly respected for their music and virtuoso guitar riffs and not for their looks!

I've got their first three albums and the one I found yesterday is their fourth, Play Dirty (1983). Like all the metal from the mid 80s their sound is more stadium like (and more mid-tempo) on this one. Commercially it wasn't such a success as their previous albums, but the songs are still good and catchy. Personally I prefer their earlier work as well, so here are two of their hits from way back in the days. I suggest you download them (and get all their other hits), put them on your iPod, listen to them while you're on your bike and I promise you'll get to where you need to be in a jiffy!

Girlschool - C'mon Let's Go. Download it here.

Girlschool - Demolition Boys. Download it here.

Gems from the East and the West

I'm a big fan of girl groups; they make up a substantial amount of my record collection. So you might imagine the thrill when I came across the cd Let's A Go-Go! Singapore and Southeast Asian Pop Scene 1964-69 at Earwax in Brooklyn. Which is a nice little store by the way. They don't have a huge selection, but what they have is all good (lots of reissues that are dirt cheap). The 31 tracks on the cd feature not only girl groups, but also boy bands and solo female vocalists. It's a rather nice compilation of pop songs, rock 'n roll, beat, garage and surf in several languages. These are two of my favorite songs:

Betty Chung - Bang Bang (yes that's a Nancy Sinatra cover). Download it here.

I couldn't find out more about Betty Chung than she was (is??) Chinese and also an actress and played in a Bruce Lee movie.

Dara Puspita - A Go-Go. Download it here.

Dara Puspita were one of the more successful girl groups in Indonesia in the 1960s. What made them really stand out at that time was that they played all their music themselves. Their live shows are supposed to be really wild and quite a sensation! And all this in an oppressive regime, where you could be jailed for playing rock 'n roll. There is a greatest hits album out on the Sublime Frequencies label, which I desperately want to get a hold of.

I also bought the double LP West Indies Funk 2. I have no means of letting you hear anything off this record, but just to give you a taste here's a track of volume 3: a steel drum version of Hold On I'm Coming!! Also highly on my wish list as you will understand.