[ aquarius records — International Africa ]

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V/ACazumbi: African Sixties Garage Vol.1(No Smoker)lp$ 33.00

V/ACentral Africa: Banda Linda Horns(Buda Musique)cd$ 16.98

Fans of that magnificent "Orgues A Bouche" mouth-organ music from Bangladesh cd might be interested in checking this disc out, as it features some pretty darn cool horn music polyphony from the Banda Linda people of the Central African Republic, who sort of do with their horns what the Bangladeshi musicians do with their reeds: repetitive, minimal drone-trance music, although this is perhaps a bit livelier and "danceable". The Banda Linda make their horns, some of them over 6 and a half feet long, from the trunks of kapok trees that have been hollowed out by termites. With upwards of twenty members to an ensemble (which consists mostly of kapok horn players who can only play one pitch, plus a few higher pitched antelope horn players capable of two pitches along with trills), the combined trumpeters mete out an eerie polyphony. Also included on this disk are several tracks by the Banda Linda of percussion ensemble music.

V/AClub Africa 2(Strut)cd$ 16.98

THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.

SORRY. Another stunning collection of mid-'70s Afrofunk, culled from well-loved albums to impossibly rare 7"s and lost treasures. Raw, fiery, melodic, sheer exuberance in sound! From such countries as Lagos, Cameroun, Guadeloupe, South Africa, Nigeria. From famous musicians such as Hugh Masekela (his track is one of the most gorgeous pieces of sunshine I've ever heard), Roy Ayers (who toured with Fela for a spell), and the legendary percussionist Babatunde Olatunji, to lesser knowns such as Letta Mbulu (who caterwauled that amazing opener "What is Wrong with Groovin'" on the equally excellent "Ouelele" comp) and Max B. Recommended.

V/ACongotronics 2: Buzz 'N' Rumble From The Urb 'N' Jungle(Crammed)cd + dvd$ 16.98

You'd have to have been living under a rock for the last year to not know about Konono No1, but for those of you who have been, let's recap shall we? Konono No.1 formed over 20 years ago in Kinshasa (the capital of Zaire) and have been performing their own version of Bazombo trance music, incoporating into their sound, more out of necessity than any avant garde aspirations, home built amps and microphones, hand made instruments, all assembled from old car parts and batteries, pieces of wood and various found bits of scrap material. Performing in the city and thus forced to compete with the din of cars and people and city sound, they built their own PA and speaker system, making their sound much louder but also lending it a buzzing distorted sound that became as much a part of the music as the insturments themselves. The main instrument though, and the one which defines their sound, is an amplified likembe, a sort of thumb piano, which when run through the homemade pickups and ramshackle PA speakers buzz and distort and the melodies end up sounding like some strange sixties psych fuzz guitar. So those distorted melodies atop a wild festive bed of tribal percussion, hand drums, whistles, call and response vocals, it's like African highlife music but infused with all manner of, well like the title suggests BUZZ and RUMBLE. But it would be naive to think a band like Konono No.1 developed in a complete vacuum. And one would assume that the music scene in Kinshasa would at least in some ways be like any place else, with loads of bands, all playing together, swapping members, that sort of thing, and this record demonstrates that for sure. While Konono No.1 ended up being the worldwide ambassadors for the Kinshasa sound, they are most definitely just one of many groups creating an amazingly vibrant scene. In fact some of the groups on Congotronics 2 take some of our favorite parts of Konono's sound and take them even further! All of the bands on Congotronics 2 sound at least similar, employing the same basic song structure and same basic instrumentation. Cyclical repetitive rhythms, bells and hand drums locked in dense pulsing frameworks, loose but definitely the backbone of the music, the vocals are festive and wild, a single voice joined by a chorus. Each track is typically one part, maybe two, repeated and repeated with subtle variations, being as that it is an offspring of trance music, this hypnotic quality definitely defining all of these bands, a buzzing looped joyful noise, the sort of music that makes people want to dance and sway and move, eyes closed, getting lost in the mesmerizing repetition. All of the bands also seem to employ the electric likembe as well to different effect. Sobanza Mimanisia up the distortion, their thumb pianos practically growl, super percussive and blown-out, definitely the heaviest band of the bunch. Whereas the Kasai Allstars employ their likembes as a swirling delicate percussive background, not at all distorted, gentle, liliting and pretty, sounding the most like traditional high life music. The one way in which many of the bands differ from Konono is their use of guitars, the interplay between a distorted thumb piano and a distorted guitar can be beautifully dizzying. While all the bands are different, those differences are subtle enough that this could very well be a record by a single, albeit quite varied band, almost as if Konono No.1 decided to expand and explore a little for record number two. If you loved Congotronics, then this will for sure hit the spot, and actually the more we listen the more we think this might be even better than the first one. Konono No.1 have a SOUND, and that sound is amazing and beautiful and practically perfect, but they truly traffic in trance music, every song a subtle variation of the song before, almost like they have ONE hour long song that just happens to be split into parts, which we love, like most droning repetitive music, if there was a way to have each track last for six hours we would, but by the same token, one has to be in the right frame of mind to bliss out and trance out. So while this collection is still most definitely trancey, it's a bit more varied, with more instrumentation (one group even incorporates accordion!) and thus ends up being a bit more engaging, especially to the casual listener. And as if another disc of buzzing rumbling joyful trance music wasn't enough, there is also a DVD featuring live footage of 6 of the bands, including Konono (so for those of you who missed their recent visit to the US, here's your chance to see what you missed). Each band performs live, surrounded by throngs of families and children, often performing in houses, on street corners, people dancing, smiling, embracing, this is truly happy joyful music. And the footage is amazing, allowing us a glimpse not only of these amazing bands, their individually customized instrumentation, sardine cans, milk crates, springs, lengths of PVC pipe, hubcaps, film canisters, wooden boards, tin cans, thier costumed and face painted dancers, their dramatic introductions to performances, but also a look at the people, and the city, and the houses, and the streets of Kinshasa, and the culture that inspired such an amazing music.

V/ACongotronics Box(Crammed Discs)6lp box$ 177.00

Holy moly! A handsome, hefty vinyl box set here from Crammed, and crammed it is with vinyl "Congotronics" treats, street jammin' bands from the Kinshasa scene. Here's what's in it exactly: AQ faves Konono No.1's Congotronics lp, the Congotronics 2/Buzz'n'Rumble From The Urb'n'Jungle compilation, Kasai All Stars' In The 7th Moon, The Chief Turned Into A Swimming Fish And Ate The Head Of His Enemy By Magic lp, Staff Benda Bilili's Tres Tres Fort lp, and Konono No.1's latest, Assume Crash Position on double vinyl (none of which we've seen available on wax separately yet except for Congotronics 1), plus a bonus 7" with exclusive tracks from Kansai Allstars, one of which is a collaboration with Akron/Family, believe it or not!! There's also a 12"x12" booklet of photos, and last but not least a special Congotronics 2Gb USB drive, containing nine video clips, as well as mp3s of all the tracks on all five of the albums in the box set! Wow. And all the lps are 180 gram vinyl. You can search elsewhere on our site for Konono if you want to learn more about the "Congotronics" sound and why they're such faves of ours, but we figure this box set is for folks who are already fans! We only have 1 in stock at the moment (of sending out this list), but if you want one, we'll get more next week when this one sells, so go ahead and order away!!

V/ADelta Dandies: Dance Bands In Nigeria 1936-1941(Honest Jon's)cd$ 13.98

V/AEast Africa: Ceremonial & Folk Music(Nonesuch)cd$ 12.98

Originally released in 1975 as "Africa: Ceremonial & Folk Music", this collection of recordings comes to us from Northern Uganda, Kenya & Tanzania and is extremely varied in the tracks contained within. From the insane Aluar Horns which feature a group of horn players each with a horn capable of playing merely on pitch (reminiscent of the "Orgues A Bouche" in that sense) accompanied by a chorus of singers and a troupe of drummers, they mete out a teeth gnashing fanfare unlike about anything we've heard this side of Test Dept.'s "A Good Night Out." This track is immediately followed by the soft seven stringed enanga which accompanies a vocal duet as pretty as you can imagine. The rest of the disc is just as good, with both haunting and beautiful ceremonial music caught on tape.

V/AEast Africa: Witchcraft & Ritual Music(Nonesuch)cd$ 12.98

Recorded in 1975 by David Fanshawe, Witchcraft & Ritual Music is a collection of recordings made throughout Tanzania and Kenya of medicinal music. Fanshawe explains that, in this recording he had "tried to capture the spirit of a musical heritage now nearly extinct. The music on this album comes from a part of East Africa whose musical traditions remain largely unknown to the rest of the world. Particularly fascinating is the manner in which music and medicine are combined in the indigenous practice of witchcraft; music becomes associated with the healing sound of drums, interwoven with beautiful threads of melody." Most of the music utilizes vocals, individual and chorus, in addition to percussion and several tracks include stringed instruments and some of the most odd and amazing horn playing you're likely to ever hear. Most notable is the buzzing melodies of the Kenyan bung'o horn weaving its melodies throughout a choral accompaniament.

V/AEat The Dream: Gnawa Music From Essaouira(Sublime Frequencies)lp$ 21.00

New from Sublime Frequencies comes this lp reissue of an out of print cd called Eat The Dream: Moroccan Reveries, chronicling a trip to Morocco undertaken by Tucker Martine, who, as people tend to do, spent much of his time there recording local musicians, the trip culminating in a meeting with legendary Gnawa music master Maallem Boubker Ghania, who arranged for a series of recording sessions in his home! This compilation gathers up some of those recordings, as well as a handful of other recording including various street performers, a wedding reception, snake charmers and more! Gnawa is a mystical brotherhood whose ancestors who migrated to North Africa centuries ago, and whose music is a blend of Islamic and African influences, that music tranced out and spiritual, traditionally played on a three string lute called a guimbri, and metal clappers called krakebs for percussion. It's a very distinctive sound, and can be both wild and celebratory, and haunting and stirring, it's a music that is in fact fairly varied, from dark, dolorous melodies played just on just the guimbri, a sort of melancholic African folk, to full on chaotic percussion heavy freakouts, augmented by a saz like horn, handclaps, call and response vocals, the recordings here especially pleasing to our ears as the surrounding sounds are often as present as the music itself, cars whizzing by, children playing, people shouting and talking, the music perfectly at home in the bustling sounds around it, mesmerizing and fantastic, as most Sublime Frequencies tend to be. Packaged in an old school heavy tip-on style sleeve, with a printed insert featuring photos and liner notes by Martine.

V/AEchoes of Africa: Early Recordings(Wergo)cd$ 17.98

Interesting collection of early recordings from throughout the African continent. Rare recordings dating as far back as 1929 and on up to the early 50's give us a peek into the germinus of modern popular music on the continent. Inundated by Christian missionaries, Europeans looking to make a buck and an increasingly urbanized lifestyle new forms of music had been developing even long before the introduction of the phonograph to Africa. There's a wealth of proto-African pop on here in the form of string bands, concertina and/or accordion groups, guitar, brass bands and vocal ensembles. MPEG Download: WEST AFRICAN INSTRUMENTAL QUINTET "Bea Tsin No. 2" [/audio/westafricanbeatsin.mp3] MPEG Stream: WEST AFRICAN INSTRUMENTAL QUINTET "Bea Tsin No. 2" [/audio/westafricanbeatsin.m3u] MPEG Download: SITTI BINTI SAAD "Njia Ungurusumbwe" [/audio/sittibintinjia.mp3]

V/AEcstatic Music Of The Jemaa El Fna(Sublime Frequencies)lp$ 25.00

The Sublime Frequencies label is really on a roll lately, as always it seems, a flurry of new releases, all of them fantastic, including a recent Record Of The Week (Omar Souleyman), not one but two releases on this week's list (this, and one of our current Records Of The Week, Dara Puspita!), and new stuff upcoming soon as well. And as always, every time we get a new SF release, we can't help but think 'best one yet!', every single one is a thrilling earful of some remarkable sounds. This one is of particular note, as it's related to a past Sublime Frequencies release, the Musical Brotherhoods From The Trans-Saharan Highway dvd, which after watching repeatedly, we couldn't help but hope for a soundtrack, and well, this is about as close as we're gonna get. A handful of these tracks were in fact featured in that film, and in addition to those tracks, there are twice as many more, to let us experience the magic and mystery of the Jemaa El Fna, aka Rendezvous Of The Dead, aka a central square in the Marrakesh, Morocco, which during the day is a place for locals and tourists alike to gather, food and music and magicians and entertainers and story tellers, but at night, when the tourists are tucked away safely in bed, these musicians create some of the most intense and passionate music we've heard. Explosive and expressive and distorted and super blown out. Amps powered by car batteries, broadcast through beat up old megaphone speakers, hand built instruments, wild percussion, soulful ecstatic vocals, it's probably worth revisiting our review of the dvd, as the setting is as much a part of the music as the sounds: "Ancient mystical brotherhoods', small groups of stringed instruments and drums, players managing to create intense and intensely emotional sounds and songs, that range from dark and simple, sweetly contemplative, to fierce and fiery and jubilant, explosive and over the top._Performing in bustling street markets, lit by fires and lamplight, a huge after dark celebration, story telling, eating, socializing but most importantly making music... Small lantern lit clusters of people gather around old record players, home made amplifiers, rusty old speakers, strange (to our eyes) stringed instruments, all manner of drums and percussion, the crowd eager to bask in this amazing music, and just as often to participate, whether it be as another drummer, a singer, a dancer or even just as an onlooker. The music, is a stripped down blues, the buzzing strings, the gorgeous hypnotic melodies, looped and cyclical, so hypnotic and catchy, the vocals soulful and impassioned, from solo crooning to strange harmonies, to chanting, and lots of festive sing alongs. The focus is the buzzing strings and the pounding drums, and there are plenty of both, but there are also buzzing snake charmer style horns, and of course the usual outdoor crowd sounds, folks talking and laughing, cars driving past. It's so much like wandering through Morocco, it's amazing. The rhythms and the melodies, a constant barrage of groove and drone, simple percussive thumps and shuffles, haunting melodies, huge tribal drum jams and of course some incredible riffing. Our favorite jams feature what appears to be a traditional banjo, but electrified and plugged into a rusty old handmade amplifier, turning the banjo into an awesome buzzing sitar like beast, emitting intense almost metallic chunks of incendiary riffing, raw and emotional, super distorted and intense, underpinning the wailing vocals and dense drumming. And that pretty much is a perfect description of this whole record, a jubilant, celebratory, wild and exultant musical get together, the sound is fierce and vibrant and raw and in-the-red, super distorted and LOUD, like you were really there, the stringed instruments buzz and howl, the drums pound and thump and utterly mesmerize, the singers croon and wail, usually with the crowd joining in, the sound is just so intense and alive, really incredible. The pure joy of music making is rarely so palpable. Which makes this, yeah, we're gonna say it again, maybe one of our favorite Sublime Frequencies yet! Comes in a thick full color gatefold, includes extensive liner notes. And like all the Sublime Frequencies vinyl, these are super limited, we order as many as we can, but once they're gone, we're not able to get more. You know what that means...

V/AEthiopia: Air Polyphonies(Ocora)cd$ 14.98

V/AEthiopiques 24: Golden Years Of Modern Ethiopian Music 1969-1975(Buda Musique)cd$ 15.98

Finally! Another installment in the incredible Ethiopiques series, and while many of the collections focused on a particular artist, this latest gathers up a whole bunch of classic tracks from, as the title suggests, the golden years of Ethiopian Music. And the second you push play you'll be transported, and in fact, the sounds you hear may sound strangely familiar, as legendary Ethiopian vocalist Seyfou Yohannes croons over a track we've definitely heard before, on Ethiopiques 2 we think, but it hardly matters, Yohannes' vocals transform the song completely, still smokey and sexy, but reimagined and reinterpreted. And fantastic! According to the liner notes, which are as always, copious and incredibly well researched, the bulk of Ethiopian records were produced in a single 10 year period, 500 singles, 30 lps, all produced between 1969 and 1978, of those, the tiny Amha label released 103 two song 45's and a dozen lps, between '69 and '75, most of which have been delved into heavily for the Ethiopiques series, and now with volume 24, nearly all of those recordings have been reissued. But here's one more chance to luxuriate in these magical sounds from the Amha label, before the Ethiopiques series delves into other labels, and digs up more lost gems. These tracks are all incredible, of course, most of the names are new to us, no Mahmoud Ahmed, no Getatchew Mekurya, a couple tracks from Mulatu Astatke, but more folks like Syfou Yohannes, Ayalew Mesfin, Getatchew Kassa, Tamrat Molla, the sound though is so distinctly Ethiopian, warm languid horns, moody minor key piano, simple shuffling rhythms. and of course the vocals, lush crooning, the perfect compliment to the music's dark sultry mystery. There seem to be two distinct styles represented, the soulful funky slow burning grooves, haunting, late night, sexy, and the more festive and funky, a sort of Ethiopian reinterpretation of American rhythm and blues, with soaring sunshiney melodies, acoustic guitars, and more more horns, both are irresistible, and anyone who has even been dabbling in this series, will dig this big time. Just perfect for the impending warm summer days, and lazy summer nights...

V/AEthiopiques 25: 1971-1975 Modern Roots(Buda Musique)cd$ 15.98

Another fantastic entry in this incredible series, chronicling Ethiopian music past and present. Whereas previous installments have been thematically linked by era, or style, or performer, this one is a little bit more interesting, in that it focuses on the traditional Ethiopian music that became the roots for the music we're so familiar with today. Collecting various tracks that were attempts to modernize traditional Ethiopian music, without radically altering it. Folk music, wedding songs, nursery rhymes, traditional melodies, songs that have been passed down and passed on over generations, some musics and melodies so revered that they have been officially elevated to the status of "musical modes of reference" by official doctrine(!), all borrowed and reinterpreted by various singers and ensembles over the years. The sound is not too different here than on other Ethiopiques collections, although the liner notes do point out that the tracks here are almost all acoustic, utilizing traditional instruments, as well as piano, mandolin and accordion, but to these ears it sounds fantastic, as good as ever, that sound that is so immediately recognizable as Ethiopian, horns and drums and percussion and handclaps, and of course the voices, it's so much about the vocalists, especially here, soulful croons, female back up vox, lots of call and response, deep and rough, smooth and silky, but always so expressive and emotional and powerful, and no Ethiopian comp would be complete without Tlahoun Gessesse, probably the most revered vocalist among Ethiopians, even though he is relatively unknown elsewhere, his vocals so expressive and intense, tackling complex melodies and making them sound like the simplest lullabies, so dulcet and lush, definitely a case of someone who could read the Ethiopian phonebook, and he's in good company here, with a fantastic gathering of Ethiopian vocalists, most of which we're familiar with from past Ethiopiques. It occurred to us recently that the Sublime Frequencies compilations have a certain hipster cache, that compels folks to buy them or at least check them out, even if they're not that into world music, which made us think that all of those people should be checking these out too, these collections are just as mysterious and powerful and wonderful, each one a gorgeous glimpse into another musical tradition, one that is powerful and spiritual, as well as being funky and soulful! As always, extensive liner notes, lots of photos, as well as information about the artists, the compilation, the tracks, the history of Ethiopian music, and the politics surrounding the music.

V/AEthiopiques Vol. 1(Buda Musique)cd$ 15.98

Following the beautiful funk / rocksteady / Ethiopian folk fusions on the first compilation, AQ has stocked the full catalogue of the "Ethiopiques" series. Here's a shortened version of what Windy wrote in her Bay Guardian review of the albums. I recommend you pick up #3 and the stunning instrumental volume #4, then #1. Volume #2 is from the 1990s, not the 1970s as are the other three, and is good but very different. "From 1969 to 1975, spanning an astonishly short six years, a fascinating set of factors contributed to the golden age of modern Ethiopian music. Unless you're already a Mahmoud Ahmed fan or own the sadly out-of-print 'Ethiopian Groove' compilation, then this is some of the most amazingly beautiful music you've never ever heard. Ethiopia, unlike the rest of Africa, was never deeply colonized. Thus the institutional bands, like the Imperial Body Guard Orchestra and the Police Band, used conventional western instruments without regard for western song forms; the music sounds at once familiar and strange, a tantalizing combination. Alternately wistful and eerie arpeggios in pentatonic scales are warbled by the vocalists and horns. Rhythm guitar and jazz-like drums wreak havoc on a westerner's sense of time (once you think you're tapping toes along with the beat, you realize you've lost it.) And American sixties soul-type guitar follows its own melody above it all."

V/AEthiopiques Vol. 10 : Tezeta - Ethiopian Blues & Ballads(Buda Musique)cd$ 15.98

The literal translation of the word "Tezeta" is memory, or nostalgia and as it applies to music in Ethiopia it is akin to the American genre known as the blues, hence the subtitle of this collection. But don't worry, you won't hear any imitations of western blues progressions here. When I first put this on though, I instantly got a feeling of nostalgia before I realised that I'd heard these songs before. In fact, over half of the material on this disc has already been released by Buda in previous collections of Ethiopiques. Four tracks appeared on Ethiopiques #1 (three if you count Getatchew Kassa's split "Tezeta" slow/fast as one track) and two tracks were present on the instrumental collection of Ethiopiques #4. If you've got those two comps already, then you'll be paying a hefty price for the six new tracks you get on this collection. So is it worth it? Well, I may be a sucker, but the extra tracks are pretty damn impressive. Mahmoud Ahmed's 12 and a half minute version of "Tezeta" is absolutely dreamy and all three of the previously unissued cuts by Alemayehu Eshete are excellent. The general feel of this collection shares a lot with volume 4 in the series. Along with the two tracks that were already on Ethiopiques #4, the one instrumental track from Ethiopiques #1 is included here, and the remaining vocal tracks on the disc are all down tempo, sorrowful ballads that'll jerk the tears from your eye sockets. In a way, you could see this collection as a sort of "best of" Ethiopiques and more than recommending it to owners of the rest of the series I would suggest it as a great place to start for those who've still not taken the plunge into Ethiopia's wonderful and unique musical treasure chest. [Note to all the Santa's out there: great stocking stuffer for the un-initiated.]

V/AEthiopiques Vol. 12 : Konso Music And Songs(Buda Musique)cd$ 15.98

Like volumes 2, 5, and 11, Ethiopiques 12 is a collection apart from the fuzzed out groove music of Amha and Kaifa records which make up much of the material in the series. This volume features the various traditional musics found in the Konso province in the Southeastern part of Ethiopia. Choruses, flute solos, and songs accompanied by various lutes and bells. Comes with 31 pages of liner notes in French and English.

V/AEthiopiques Vol. 13 : Ethiopian Groove(Buda Musique)cd$ 15.98

While not as famous as Amha Eshete (Amha Records), Ali Abdella Kaifa and his Kaifa records was still a heavyweight in Ethiopia's golden age of record production. Kaifa essentially took up the slack from Eshete when the latter went into exile in 1975 due to the country's increasingly hostile military government. Entering the music business in 1973 with the release of the first 45s on his label, Kaifa didn't just materialize in Eshete's absence. But it was the release of Mahmoud Ahmed's legendary "Ere Mela Mela" -- the album that would become the first Ethiopian recording to be released in Europe -- that really put Kaifa on the map. He was also the one who discovered Aster Aweke (who later fled Ethiopia to build a successful career as a world beat artist in the late eighties.) All but two tracks in this collection were recorded between 1976 and 1977 at the tail end of of Ethiopia's record industry, which was squashed in 1978 (at which point Kaifa continued to produce music on cassettes.) Along with the usual collection of male vocalists (Alemayehu Eshete, Hirut Bekele, Ayalew Mesfin and Tamrat Ferendji) there are four tracks featuring female vocalists (unfortunately underrepresented in this series) Bzunesh Beqele and the duo of Asselefetch Ashine & Getenesh Kebret. Ashine & Kebret must be heard to be believed, their unearthly parallel harmonies sharing the limelight wonderfully with the Army Band's flautist and arranger Teshome Sissay. Longtime readers of AQ's list might have caught notice of this volume's title "Ethiopian Groove", as we had once stocked an album of the same name many years ago (see AQL #42). Indeed this album is the very same as the now out of print one on Blue Silver (in fact Ethiopiques series editor Francis Falceto was the one who compiled the earlier release), but with a few differences. While Ethiopiques #13 is unfortunately missing three of the Aster Aweke tracks that graced the original Ethiopian Groove CD, it is supplemented by the addition of two tracks by saxophonist Seyoum Gebreyes, two by vocalist Muleqen Mellesse and greatly expanded liner notes & photos. We can only hope that Buda Musique is intending to issue an entire CD dedicated to Aster Aweke and her earliest recordings for Kaifa. Until then, those of you with the original Ethiopian Groove should hold onto it.

V/AEthiopiques Vol. 15 : Jump to Addis(Buda Musique)cd$ 15.98

"A surprising gathering of Ethiopian, French and Dutch musicians, Jump to Addis presents an exhilarating blend of Abyssinian tradition, jazz revisited and mad rock'n'roll. This daring mix features azmari voices and krar lyres along with European guitars, sax and drums." So says the press release on this modern-day entry in the Ethiopiques series, we thought it was ok but as essential as many of the other Ethiopiques releases. Recorded in Addis Ababa, May 2001.

V/AEthiopiques Vol. 18 : Asguebba!(Buda Musique)cd$ 15.98

Asguebba is another Ethiopiques collection to contain not the excavated gems from the golden era, but contemporary tracks from Addis. With the end of the repressive Derg government in 1991, so ended the strict curfew which made life so difficult for musicians for almost two decades. Oddly, it wasn't the original sounds of groove music that rose from the ashes, but small groups of itinerant singers accompanied by traditional Ethiopian instruments: masenqo (fiddle), kebero (percussion), and the globally ubiquitous accordian. The artists featured on this disc, recorded in 2001 & 2003, are the cream of the crop, having survived through the halcyon days of the post curfew early nineties on up to the present where most of the cabarets are closed up and the competition has given up. While this collection may not appeal to those looking for a repeat of Volume 4 or any of the other groove music from the late sixties and early seventies, those who enjoyed The Lady With the Krar (Volume 16) should definitely check this out, if for no other reason than to pick up the stunning a capella track from Asnaqe Guebreyes whose falsetto kills all comers. Stunning!

V/AEthiopiques Vol. 2(Buda Musique)cd$ 15.98

V/AEthiopiques Vol. 20(Buda Musique)2cd$ 16.98

Here it is. The most recent installment in Buda Musique's totally amazing Ethiopiques series, each volume so far focusing on a particular artist, or time or sound, but each volume as completley mindblowing as the next. Sure we had our favorites. The all instrumental Volume 4 obviously, maybe one of the best selling records at AQ ever, a sexy, funky soulful late night groove. Volumes 6 and 7 featuring Mahmoud Ahmed, and we could probably go one and on listing every single volume. But we have to admit we were a little confused when we got this newest volume, especially when we thought it was to be the last (a quick glance in the booklet reveals that there is a 21st volume on the way!). A double cd, perfect way to finish off the series, but what is this, Either / Orchestra, wait a minute, they're American aren't they? From Boston if we're not mistaken. WTF?! Was their really such a dearth of lost classic Ethiopian music that the final volume needed to be a jazz band from Boston covering Ethiopian songs. We had already written it off before we even played it. But you never know, so we threw it on, and you know what? It was pretty darn good. And sounded pretty darn genuine. A look through the liner notes revealed that these tracks were recorded in Addis Ababa in Ethiopia, for the Ethiopian Music Festival in 2004, and features guest musicians from Ethiopia including several recognizable names including Bahta Gebre-Heywet, Getatchew Mekurya, Mulatu Astatqe, Tsedenia Gebre-Marqos, and Michael Belayneh. Performing lots of Ethiopian orignals and traditionals, many that you'll no doubt recognize from otheer volumes in the series. The songs are as always fantastic , festive and jubilant, with a moody minor key undercurrent, warm rich horns, intricate hand percussion, jazzy guitar and piano, gorgeous melodies. The sound is just so lush and exotic and dark and mysterious and totally exciting, even when played by a bunch of dudes from New England. We still think it's a little weird to include a double disc live set of Ethiopian jazz / funk via Americans in Ethiopia when there is no doubt oodles and oodles of rare and unreleased Ethiopian music from the sixties and seventies and even the eighties that we all would kill to hear, we're just happy to have another batch of awesome Ethiopian grooves, and we're so relieved that this is not the end of the Ethiopiques series!

V/AEthiopiques Vol. 3(Buda Musique)cd$ 15.98

Ethiopia was the site of some of the most beautiful yet sadly forgotten music in the 60's and 70's. This compilation takes some of the best tracks from the enterprising Amha Records. This label specialized in recording unusually catchy and groovy pop songs that are not dissimilar to late 60's Jamaican rocksteady fused with jazz signatures and Ethiopian folk, plus plenty of James Brown funk. What makes these recordings (and most from the "golden era" of Ethiopian music) especially strange is that they were all performed by the institutional military bands who played all of the Imperial marches. Includes tracks by the great Mahmoud Ahmed (different from those on his wonderful "Ere Mela Mela" disc), ...Those of you who loved the "Ethiopian Groove" compilation, or who couldn't get a copy (as it's now out of print), be thankful.

V/AEthiopiques Vol. 5(Buda Musique)cd$ 15.98

Volume 5 of this stunning series of compilatons featuring the music made in Ethiopia between 1969 and 1975 -- the 'golden age' of Ethiopian music where governmental control lightened just enough for one independent label to flourish. Capturing everything from institutional outfits performing Ethio-funk to sad instrumental pieces to music played on both modern and traditional instruments, the series just sounds so lovely. This latest volume focuses on the 'Tigrigna' music of Tigray and Eritrea. We suggest you start with the classic volumes 3 and 4 of this series, then move on to all the others.

V/AEthiopiques Vol. 8 : Swinging Addis(Buda Musique)cd$ 15.98

Finally, another installment in the fabulous Ethiopiques series! This time from the time span of 1969-1974, and focusing closely on the R&B and soul influenced musical output from Ethiopia's bustling capitol, Addis Ababa. More than just R&B and soul though, the tracks here are striking in their resemblance to early rock & roll and the twist -- there's even a track that sounds like a twisted spin on Chubby Checker. Despite the close relationship to popular music genres in the U.S. there is no mistaking the music's Ethiopian origin for anyone familiar with this series. And yet, despite even having tracks by such now familiar names as Mahmoud Ahmed and Alemayehu Eshete, this compilation distances itself from the previous seven in this series with a sound all its own. It just goes to show you how amazingly diverse and fertile Ethiopia's music scene was/is. Hooray!

V/AFanajana - A Collection Of Recordings And Photography From Madagasikara(Mississippi)lp$ 14.98

**MISSISSIPPI RECORDS ALERT** **MISSISSIPPI RECORDS ALERT** **MISSISSIPPI RECORDS ALERT** A few months ago, there was a triple lp release, briefly available via Mississippi, called Fihavanana, it was so limited, pretty much nobody got any, but thankfully, the label decided to pick out a handful of tracks, and create this, Fanajana, a collection of recordings culled from those 3lps, chronicling in music and photography a trip to Madigasikara, undertaken by Canadian musician and ethnographer Charles Brooks. Recorded in the late nineties, Brooks returned and pressed up a couple hundred copies of the aforementioned 3lp set, storing them in his house for nearly a decade, before finally letting Mississippi have them, where they literally sold out in a matter of days. So unless you're one of the lucky souls who snagged one of those triples, you're definitely gonna want to grab one of these, some of the most intense, incredible and uplifting sounds, lush and celebratory, the stringed instrument playing is intricate and complex, a mix of traditional and modern instruments, the vocals very reminiscent of African high life, the tracks quite varied, but all fantastic, a wild drum and flute freakout, an awesome accordion ballad, a song that's just voices and handclaps, some super emotional and intimate solo vocals, all recorded live, in people's homes, or yards, the sound of life infusing all of these track, children playing, people talking, chickens, birds in the trees, running water, footsteps, all just adding to the energy and emotion of this music. The record comes with a large 8.5" x 11" booklet, packed with Brooks' liner notes, the history of the country, of the music, descriptions of the various instruments (along with drawings), small stories about all the musicians, including how Brooks met them and what precipitated these recordings, a little about payment, an often overlooked element in these sorts of reissues, a bit about Brooks himself, and plenty of notes on his approach, his techniques, and so much more, poems, lyrics, diagrams, and tons of photos. Super super recommended.

V/AGabon: Myene Songs(Ocora)cd$ 17.98

V/AGhana Soundz(Sound Way)cd$ 16.98

New, nicely packaged compilation of afro-beat from Ghana's golden era. Sound Way boasts that the 14 tracks included here from the 1970's are all extremely rare and previously unreleased outside of Africa. So if the Fela reissues and various Strut collections aren't enough, here's a nice addition to the collection. Includes a 16 page booklet detailing the history of Ghana's music industry.

V/AGhana Soundz Vol. 2(Sound Way)cd$ 21.00

THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.

SORRY. A second volume of rare afro funk from Ghana, every bit as good as the first. 14 tracks, all from the seventies, highlight Ghana's fertile music scene and the varied influences -- from funk & soul to fusion & jazz, and even rock. Like its predecessor, Ghana Soundz 2 comes well documented with bios on the artists, archival photos and album art repros. Here's to hoping these don't go scarce again so soon.

V/AGhana Soundz: Afro-Beat, Funk And Fusion In 70's Ghana(Sound Way)cd$ 21.00

THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.

SORRY. We listed this compilation a couple years back, but unfortunately it went out of print, but thankfully Sound Way has just gotten around to reissuing it. Ghana Soundz is an impressive collection of afro-beat from Ghana's golden era. Sound Way boasts that the 14 tracks included here from the 1970's are all extremely rare and previously unreleased outside of Africa. Includes a 16 page booklet detailing the history of Ghana's music industry, bios on the artists included and photos of the original album art.

V/AGhana: Ancient Ceremonies, Dance Music & Songs(Nonesuch)cd$ 12.98

Originally released in 1979, Ancient Ceremonies is a collection of recordings from the country of Ghana. Unlike the High Life And Other Popular Music release which features music from the same country, the recordings on this disc focus on -- as the title suggests -- ancient music, which is completely devoid of any inflluence of Western music (of European or Afro-American.) That said, in the music of Adolphis Micah -- who accompanies himself with a one-stringed bowed lute called a gonje -- one can distinctly hear the roots of blues music. It's actually too bad that more music of Micah wasn't included on this disc, because it's definitely the highlight of the album. Also nice though are the tracks included here of music performed on the dzil and chohun, both xylophones (and ancestors of the marimba) which are played by two people facing one another. Unlike the Europeanized version of the aforementioned marimba, they include a thin membrane of spider web under their resonators which creates a buzzing tone when the keys are struck. The rest of the tracks consist primarily of drum and chant tracks with the occasional flute. Along with the standard liner notes, album editor Stephen Jay has included a glossary of musical instruments heard on the disc.

V/AHarafin So - Bollywood Inspired Film Music From Hausa Nigeria(Little Axe / Mississippi)cd$ 14.98

When we think of Bollywood, our minds instantly go to the golden era of Indian film music from the '60s and '70s, with classical sitars and tampuras set to thriller and noir themes and exotic pop, often forgetting that Bollywood has of course never stopped making films, and the film music has continually changed with the times. Even with the discovery of other flourishing filmmaking centers such as Lollywood in Pakistan and the Tamil-speaking Kollywood of South India bringing in the influences of synthesizers and eighties pop, we still weren't prepared for the amazing modern sounds of another fertile film and soundtrack music scene, this time located a continent away in Kano, the capital city of Nigeria - thus their thriving movie industry is called Kannywood. This compilation, brought to us by the folks at Sahel Sounds and Mississippi Records who have previously brought us those Music From Saharan Cellphone comps, is a great introduction to the sounds of popular film music made by the dominant Hausa culture of Nigeria from the past few years. Bollywood music became more popular outside of India as the industry moved from films to television and the music began to be heard on the radio. While the Muslim culture of the Hausa people frowned on Hindi cinema, they began to see the advantages of taking the medium of music and film and crafting their own cultural take on the genre, often lifting the music and plotlines wholesale into their own language and cultural tropes. The music, in the beginning was played with traditional instruments, but the invention of the Yamaha PSR keyboard and the switch from video to digital has increased production into thousands of movies and songs of strangely charming and fluorescent dance pop. For anyone who loved the strange hybrid of new wave dance pop of that Shangaan Shake compilation, or the Saharan Cellphone comps, this compilation carries the same global hybrid of tradition and new technology with most of the music utilizing digital synthesizers and auto-tuned vocals (mostly to imitate the high pitch of Indian Bollywood singers) that emphasizes the exotic side of global pop but yet remains so insanely catchy and infectious.

V/AHasabe(Mississippi / Change)lp$ 15.98

**MISSISSIPPI RECORDS ALERT****MISSISSIPPI RECORDS ALERT****MISSISSIPPI RECORDS ALERT** Ethiopiques alert, too! Have yourself a hot sultry soul dance party this weekend, with some of the best vintage Ethio soul from the Golden era of Ethiopian music! Largely culled from the great Ethiopiques series, this vinyl compilation features crucial '70s tracks by Mahmoud Ahmed, Lemma Demissew, Tlahoun Gessesse, Sefu Yohannes, Bahta Gebre Heywet, Teshome Meteku, and Alemeyahu Eshete, all never reissued on vinyl before. All killer, no filler! What more can we say, other than this rules!

V/AHassaniya Music From The Western Sahara And Mauritania(Sublime Frequencies)lp$ 25.00

Back in 2009 we reviewed a dvd called Palace Of The Winds, which documented Sublime Frequencies' Hisham Mayet as he returned to West Africa, to search for some unknown musicians he had heard on Moroccan radio, this new lp is sort of the audio companion to that, and is a stunner. Much like that dvd, the music on this lp, was captured mostly live, proper performances, intimate home recordings, many replete with the hubbub of daily life, voices and traffic and city noise, there are field recordings too, which capture vendors and stalls as they go about their daily (or actually, nightly) business, music blaring from boomboxes and speakers, it's a fantastic sonic journey. Included are Mayet's first ever recordings of the aQ beloved Group Doueh (the band Mayet had returned in search of!), and their tracks here are wonderful, the first lo-fi and raw, swirls of intricately picked stringed instruments, wreathed in swirling organs, wild percussion, and some amazing vocals. The second sounding like an African Sunroof! All buzzing psychedelic shimmer, and softly tangled melodies, the sound blearily blown out and smeared into lush chordal clouds of raga-like thrum, beneath more soaring vox. A couple new discoveries that blew us away, were Abdul Rahman Al-Gheid", whose deep raspy voice sounds almost Tuvan, like he could burst into proper throat singing at any time, his Tom Waitsian growl rumbles and soars in equal measure, over a lush, slightly murky sonic swirl. And the Sadoum Ouled Aida track too, a bed of dense intricate melodies unfurling beneath another gorgeous vocal, also rough and raspy, but warm and velvety at the same time, the sound woozy and washed out, peppered with some passionate exaltations in background. Then there's the rollicking dessert blues of the Sadoum Group who wind buzzing strings around propulsive percussion, and some super intense call and response, male/female vocals. There's plenty more too, including the aforementioned field recordings, which are totally chaotic, sonically dense and dizzying, mysterious, noisy, and super exciting. As always, so good!! And also as always, fantastic packaging, the lp pressed on heavy vinyl, housed in a full color old school tip-on style sleeve, and of course, it's VERY LIMITED!

V/AHeavenly Ethiopiques: The Best Of The Ethiopiques Series(Heavenly Sweetness)2lp$ 31.00

The Ethiopiques series, begun in 1997 and now running to 28 volumes, is one of the best things ever in the history of compact discs. So much amazing music, mostly from the golden years of the early '70s Ethiopian jazz/funk/groove scene, but also touching upon modern recordings and more traditional Ethiopian sounds too. Mississippi Records has been bringing some of the Ethiopiques material (back) to vinyl, having reissued a few records we first heard as part of these collections, and the Heavenly Sweetness label has done a few too. But for folks who are new to the wonders of Ethiopian music, and perhaps are daunted by the size of the Ethiopiques series - or who maybe already have a bunch of the cds in the series but want some vinyl to spin too, how about a 'Best Of'? And this 180 gram vinyl double lp is indeed a best of, a best of the best of, really, expertly selected by the guy at France's Buda Musique who put together the series in the first place. It features tracks from such now familiar names (thanks to our exposure to the Ethiopiques series, that is) as Alemayehu Eshete, Mulatu Astatke, Getatchew Mekurya, Mahmoud Ahmed, Talahoun Gessesse, and more. 20 tracks in all, culled from the full wide range of the series pretty much. Volume 1 is heavily represented, as is vol. 24, but vols. 5, 8, 13, 14, and others have tracks on here too, all the way up to vol. 28, which we haven't even gotten in yet on cd! Whether it's the sultry soulful crooning of Mahmoud Ahmed or the equally tight smoky grooves of Alemayehu Eshete or any of the others here who could lay claim to being 'Ethiopia's James Brown', or the ethnic-folk inflected saxophone instrumental from Getatchew Mekurya, or even the gorgeous piano piece by Ethiopian nun and composer Tsegue-Maryam Guebrou, this is all amazing stuff, such a nice package. But it's just the tip of the Ethiopiques iceberg. Clearly, a Best Of Volume 2 is in order, and then a Volume 3, and then...

V/AHighlife Time(Vampisoul)2cd$ 28.00

V/AI Have My Liberty! Gospel Sounds From Accra, Ghana(Dust-To-Digital)cd$ 15.98

V/AIshilan N-Tenere(Mississippi)lp$ 15.98

**MISSISSIPPI RECORDS ALERT** **MISSISSIPPI RECORDS ALERT** **MISSISSIPPI RECORDS ALERT** It seems like most Mississippi Records obsessives are also fans of the Sun City Girls' Sublime Frequencies label, which makes perfect sense, they both seem to have a somewhat similar aesthetic, both focus on unheard gems, and curate some of the best compilations we've ever heard. Mississippi tends to focus on blues and country and gospel, while Sublime Frequencies looks further out, focusing on world music from Africa and Asia and beyond, but this record right here, the latest on Mississippi, might be the perfect Sublime Frequencies / Mississippi crossover, in fact, listening to this now, it's hard to believe it's not actually on Sublime Frequencies. A fantastic collection of recordings of guitar music from West Africa (Senegal and Mali) focusing on various bands who are essentially unknown outside of Africa, but are quite popular in their villages, and are called upon often to play parties, celebrations, political events, their sound most likely immediately recognizable to fans of Group Bombino, Tinariwen and Group Inerane, which we'd imagine most aQ customers are. That sound is a totally distinctive African folk music, captured live in various settings, houses, backyards, town squares, parties, you can hear people talking, birds chirping, kids laughing, random conversations, it all just adds to the sound, warm and inviting, emotional and so melodic, heavy on the acoustic guitars, lots of handclaps and foot stomps, the guitar playing is quite percussive too, a sort of low slung twang flecked desert blues, alternatingly moody and melancholy, effusive and festive, sometimes the sounds are distinctly Western, other times they're reminiscent of traditional African music, more often they're a hybrid of the two. Most of the groups here are made up of just acoustic guitars and vocals, but the sounds and songs they create are so lush and layered, so fantastically evocative, and just so totally beautiful. Fans of all things Sublime Frequencies and Mississippi will definitely dig this, and it's absolutely essential listening for folks who love those Sublime Frequencies' Guitars From Agadez records... The packaging is fantastic, super thick full color jacket, with a massive full color booklet, featuring tons of photos and liner notes, as well as plenty of history of the region and the musicians.

V/AIvory Coast Soul 2(Hot Casa)2cd$ 22.00

V/AKassidat: Raw 45s From Morocco(Dust-To-Digital)cd$ 14.98

Another fantastic compilation from the Dust-To-Digital label, this one focusing on the golden age of the Moroccan record industry, curated and produced by David Murray, who also put together the incredible Luk Thung collection (reviewed here recently), which gathered up rare 78s from Thailand. Kassidat chronicles a period in the sixties that found labels in Casablanca flourishing, releasing thousands of 45s, at the time, a new and inexpensive format, which created an incredible document of Moroccan music at the time. The booklet is massive, and offers a super well researched and in-depth history of Moroccan music, this era in particular, as well as the provenance of these songs and the various artists. Instead of summarizing all that info though, as interesting as it is, in this case it might be better for us to just describe the music, cuz even with all the weird new world music labels popping up, and the hundreds (maybe thousands) of reissues, the music here is incredible, and incredibly unique. Our favorite track has to be "Kassidat El Hakka (The Poem of the Truth)" by Abdellah El Magana, which is super rhythmic, darkly hypnotic, the song drifting from tranced out tribal drumming and snake charmer flute, to chanted, almost rapped vocals, in fact, it almost sounds like some mysterious strain of Moroccan rap, if there even is such a thing, it's so good, one of those tracks we found ourselves listening to so much, it took all we had to move on to the rest of the comp. But as you might imagine, there's plenty more to dig here, soaring dramatic vocals, wildly melodic fiddles, complex harmonies, intricate melodic counterpoint, the sound raw and intimate, the recordings super live and intense, with the vocals often peaking, creating a cool sort of distortion, hand claps and groovy rhythms, call and response vox, strummed and plucked strings, the vibe on a lot of these tracks very reminiscent of Klezmer music, slithery woodwinds, echoey percussion, some tracks with cool natural reverb, rhythmic and hypnotic and so totally mesmerizing. Incredible stuff. And really, anyone who's been digging the various releases on labels like Sublime Frequencies, Teranga Beat, Sahel Sounds, Sham Palace, etc. will dig this like crazy, and should probably prepare themselves to track down everything on Dust-To-Digital. SO GREAT!

V/AKenya Dry: Before Benga 1(Original Music)cd$ 13.98

THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.

SORRY. The music on this CD was originally combined with "The Nairobi Sound", but with the addition of more material, it became neccessary to split the recordings into the acoustic CD and the electric CD. Though the recordings are all acoustic, that is about all that they have in common. There are quite a few pieces that straddle the lobe of 'modern' and 'traditional' songs, including the beautifully eerie "Chemirocha" - a tribute to Jimmy Rodgers.

V/AKerestina(Original Music)cd$ 13.98

THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.

SORRY. Intensely quirky, deceptively simple 1950's acoustic guitar songs from Southern Mozambique. An eerie, raw sound which is linked to South African Shangaan music.

V/ALHave One On Meipa Kodi Ya City Council(Mississippi)lp$ 11.98

THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.

SORRY. Yet another amazing compilation from this Northwestern reissue label. Mississippi, in addition to the bad ass blues and folk comp I Don't Feel At Home In This World Anymore 1927-1948 reviewed elsewhere on this list, also compiled this amazing collection of rare R+B, pop, high life, juju and choral music from Africa. Mali, Somalia, Kenya, Zambia, even Sierra Leone... The comp opens with the most wicked slice of down and dirty afro funk you will ever hear. Super funky, hot and sweaty afro soul supreme. Dense propulsive funky drumming, killer old soul jangle riffs, and growled and crooned, sexed up vocals, complete with JB style "HEY!"s... So intense and emotional and irresistible. Nothing else on the comp is as wild or as funky, but it's all amazing. Crooned ballads with simple shuffling rhythms, fluttery flutes and a deep warm velvety voice, festive joyous celebratory jams, with wildly strummed guitars, lush vocal harmonies, wild percussion, dark languorous afroblues, every track here is a gem, some funky and upbeat, others moody and mellow, so fantastic. Fans of the Ethiopiques comps, the recently reviewed Yaala Yaala releases, that killer Ghana Soundz collection, and the Afro Funk Explosion comp, heck, if you love this stuff the way we do, then you NEED this. All handmade packaging, recycled record sleeves with pasted on front and back covers. Nice.

V/ALagos All Routes: Juju & Highlife, Apala & Fuji(Honest Jon's)cd$ 16.98

Damon Albarn and his Honest John's Records went to Nigeria and all we got were two awesome compilations of classic Juju, Highlife and Afrobeat hits culled from rare vinyl that most of will never be lucky enough to score. With the influence of Fela Kuti sewn boldly on heart, some of these songs are actually from bands who really did time as part of Fela's live outfit. Both this and the companion compilation Lagos Chop Up are super solid collections of some of the best sounds coming out of Nigeria from the mid 60's up unti the early 80's. Very good stuff!

V/ALagos Chop Up: Fuji & Afrobeat, Highlife & Juju(Honest Jon's)cd$ 16.98

Damon Albarn and his Honest John's Records went to Nigeria and all we got were two awesome compilations of classic Juju, Highlife and Afrobeat hits culled from rare vinyl that most of will never be lucky enough to score. With the influence of Fela Kuti sewn boldly on heart, some of these songs are actually from bands who really did time as part of Fela's live outfit. Both this and the companion compilation Lagos All Routes are super solid collections of some of the best sounds coming out of Nigeria from the mid 60's up unti the early 80's. Very good stuff!

V/ALagos Disco Inferno(Academy)cd$ 13.98

There's been a deluge of reissues and compilations of groovy '70s music from West Africa coming out lately, on this list in fact you'll also find Soundway's Nigeria Special Vol. 2 reviewed, with another one, their Nigeria Afrobeat Special comp, waiting in the wings. Well we just say, bring it on! If it's as good as THIS, we want to hear it!! Lagos Disco Inferno (the title says it all) is brought to us via the Academy label, who were responsible for that amazing Ofege reissue, among other great releases. Compiled by vintage vinyl fiend Frank Gossner (who does a blog called Voodoofunk), this is packed with a dozen tracks of burning, sweat-soaked funk/disco grooves, total dancefloor fuel, recordings circa 1976-'82 from Nigerian artists including Blo, Pogo Ltd., Doris Ebong, Grotto, Nana Love, Tirogo, MFB, Paradise Stars, Christy Essien, Geraldo Pino, Asiko Rock Group, and Emma Dorgu. Track one, Doris Ebong's "Boogie Trip", with her persuasive vocals and some psychedelic electronic FX, is an insanely funky, and freaky, number that gets the party started right, in fact, it features the sounds of a wild dance party going on in the background (as there should be!). And track after track, the Lagos Disco Inferno party doesn't stop... right though to Nana Love's almost 15 minute tour-de-force "Hang On", which ends the album leaving you wanting more, more, more. Damn. This is simply amazing from start to finish, a f*cking awesome comp, if you don't dig it then we doubt you've even got a funky bone in your body. The acts here could certainly compete with American contemporaries like the JB's, Kool & The Gang, and the BT Express, these exuberant tracks bursting with chicken scratch guitar, fat bass, ecstatic vocal squeals, and tight horn sections being put through their paces (ferinstance, on the aforementioned "Hang On"). James Brown is clearly a big influence, and Christy Essien on "Take Life Easy" sounds like she could have been one of his funky divas. To mention a few others, though we can't begin to pick favorites, we like how Geraldo Pino's "African Hustle" mixes in "Blow Your Head" style JB synth wiggle and vocal exclamations worthy of Jimmy Castor. "Everybody Get Down" by Asiko Rock Group is over 8 minutes of sheer get down grunt indeed. Pogo Ltd.'s insistent "Don't Put Me Down" also delivers the JB's vibe we enjoy (sounding a bit Ethiopiques too), while MFB's "Boredom Pain" has got more of a laidback groove, with soulful vocals and an eruption of fuzzed out acid rock guitar soloing that kicks in part way through - this could easily be something from those recently reviewed records by Amanaz or Witch from down in Zambia... Hey, but rather than talk about all twelve tracks, let's just say two words: get this! And again, two more: get down!! Includes knowledgeable liner notes, the cd in a digipack, the vinyl in a nice gatefold sleeve.

V/ALagos Shake: A Tony Allen Chop Up(Honest Jon's)cd$ 17.98

V/ALaila Je T'aime(Mississippi / Change / Sahel Sounds)lp$ 15.98

**MISSISSIPPI RECORDS ALERT****MISSISSIPPI RECORDS ALERT** One of three brand new Mississippi titles we're listing this week, this one a lovely collection of Western Sahelian guitar music brought to us also in part by Sahel Sounds who also released the incredible Saharan Cellphones compilation and the Ali Ag Amoumine record. Laila Je T'aime is comprised of various field recordings mostly of solo guitarists and singers, but also some larger groups in different areas of the region such as Mauritania, Senegal and Mali. The intimate recording technique not only captures the beautifully soulful vocals and circularly lyrical fingerpicking style, but also the outdoor ambiance of desert life. It really feels like you're present at the moment these songs are being performed. What's also surprising is that while many of the songs recorded seem to have a timeless traditional quality as if meant to be handed down from previous generations, the very last song will be very familiar to western ears. It took us a second to realize what it was, thinking it was just a coincidentally similar melody, but then the vocals kick in with what turns out to be a really lovely rendition of "Message In a Bottle" by The Police! Gorgeous stuff! Comes with a newsprint booklet insert, with color photos and extensive liner notes about artists, and the journey that resulted these recordings.

V/ALegends Of Benin(Analog Africa)cd$ 24.00

Score three in a row for the always amazing Analog Africa label! First African Scream Contest, then Orchestre Poly-Rythmo De Cotonou, and now Legends of Benin! Focusing on four composers, Gnonnas Pedro, Honore Avolonto, Antoine Dougbe, and El Rego from the small West African country Benin, recording between 1969 and 1981. All coming from different regional musical traditions but operating in the same fervent musical scene in Cotonou where the Orchestre Poly Rhythmo were also from, that group providing back-up on a couple of tracks here. As with the other two Analog Africa compilations, this one also focuses on tight danceable grooves and rare afro-funk. Gnonnas Pedro was perhaps the most popular of the four, being a master of the style known as Agbadja, derived from early burial rituals focusing on three differently toned percussion instruments, Pedro modernized the sound to such a degree that the first track, the highly infectious "Dadje Von O Von Non" later became the anthem for the national football team. Honore Avolonto, a young tumba player from Togo, was the most prolific composer in Benin, writing songs for pretty much every group around. Amazingly, he had no band of his own, but would score a hit, tour with the band until the hit faded and then write another hit with some other band and be off. He eventually recorded an LP,which became Benin's biggest selling LP ever. El Rego, a boxer in his young life and a brothel owner later on, made one of the first recordings of Jerk music (as soul and funk music was so dubbed) in Benin. His tracks are the most Western influenced, often times singing in English. Antoine Dougbe, is the most obscure and his tracks are among the rarest finds. His style combined elements of Congolese Rhumba, High Life, and traditional Beninese rhythms into a form he called Afro-Cavacha, named after the fast rhythms of pop music from Zaire. Dougbe, often worked with the Orchestre Poly-Rhytmo, but it was often an uneasy relationship since Dougbe's father was a feared and powerful Voudon priest, and the band (most of them practicing Voudons) feared reprisals should they question Dougbe's arrangements and musical instruction. But undoubtedly this religious quality so pervasive in Benin is what created such intensely tight and dynamic music, hypnotic and bewitching and endlessly captivating. Pure Gold!

V/ALiving is Hard: West African Music in Britain, 1927 - 1929(Honest Jons)cd$ 17.98

Living Is Hard. Indeed. Truer words were never spoken. The plight of Africans in Britain in the beginning of the twentieth century, was indeed one of hardship and strife, of persecution and destitution of unspeakable violence and unfettered racism. And the songs on Living Is Hard perfectly capture the spirit of the time. The anger and resentment, but also the hope and happiness, the frustration of constant harassment and the dreams of something better. As the liner notes mention, these songs were a "disruptive late entry into the history of black music in Britain", a music that owes very little to any white listenership. A hybrid of African spirituals, blues and plantation songs, with hints of Carribean music, bits of highlife, mostly vocal, with minimal instrumentation, managing to be simultaneously complex and musically dense, but also simple and heartfelt. A few tracks are immediately recognizable as a sort of highlife blues, simple acoustic guitar and seemingly celebratory vocals, but much of the music on Living Is Hard, is truly unique, unlike anything we've ever heard, even as fans of wondrous and mysterious world musics, there are strange acapella tracks, where the rhythms are created from grunts and mumbles, the main vocal line, strangled and guttural, peppered with occasional percussion, some tracks have a Western folk vibe, even hinting at some Morricone-ish twang, others sounds a bit like doo wop, rich harmonies and gorgeous hummed melodies, but most of the tracks here are just vocal and percussion, chanting, crooning, call and response, voices sometimes rough and raw, sometimes smooth and silky, the rhythms backing them up ranging from simple and spare to dense and tribal, so varied and moving and simply wonderful. As with all Honest Jons releases, Living Is Hard is gorgeously packaged, with a thick book of liner notes, lots of photos, translations of the lyrics and more.