Nord Cameroun Rhythms - Lamido/Astadjam Dada Sare

I was shown this Afrobeats type ensemble the other day, however I've been finding it very difficult to find any information on the group; other than that the singer is possibly Hamad Kalkaba and that it was recorded on the label Sonafric while Kalkaba was recording with "Le Grand Orchestre de la Garde Republicaine de Cameroun". The record only contains two tracks, and unfortunately the quality of the mp3's isn't very high, if I can acquire a different copy I'll reupload it at a later date.

The music is very funky and is a good addition to anyone's Afrobeats collection, it reminded me a lot of Orchestre T.P. Poly-Rythmo de Cotonou upon first hearing it. Highly recommended. In fact here is a link to the second track on Youtube:

Tracklist

01. Lamido
02. Astadjam Dada Sare

Download Link - Mediafire

London is The Place For Me: Trinidadian Calypso In London (1950 - 1956) (Honest Jon's)

Released by Honest Jon's record label this collection is one of the better compilations evident of the spread of Calypso into the Western culture during the early to mid 50's.

From Honest Jon's website:

When the Empire Windrush, an old troop-carrier, arrived at Tilbury on June 21, 1948, and inaugurated modern Caribbean immigration to Britain, it also supplied calypso with its best-known image — on Pathe newsreel, Lord Kitchener singing his new composition London Is The Place For Me.

Kitch had boarded with Lord Beginner at Kingston docks, Jamaica, on Empire Day, May 24. In London they joined a milieu of fine band musicians familiar with Caribbean musical forms, and already represented on numerous recordings crucial to the development of British swing and jazz music.

Travelling with their own core audience, the Trinidadian calypsonians brought with them the vocal music of Carnival. Traditionally this ranges from social satire to sexual double-entendre, from voodoo to the most pressing issues of the day, from sporting events to competitive insult. The experiences of Britain’s growing Caribbean population were to be fabulously rich in raw material.

'... a witty and joyous testament to the creative power of popular culture and a document of more innocent times. It constitutes one of the best starting points for that rich, unfinished history of the black British diaspora and its intricate interweaving with British life that remains to be written' (Stuart Hall, The Guardian).

'... Not only is it a momentous record of real historical significance, but it comes in a finely produced sleeve with evocative photographs, background notes and recording details that bring the performances on the disc to life even more... a unique and marvellous compilation that lays open a whole era' (Chris Searle, Morning Star).

Tracklist:

01. Lord Kitchener - London Is The Place For Me
02. Young Tiger - I Was There (At The Coronation)
03. Lord Beginner - Mix Up Matrimony
04. Lord Kitchener - My Landlady
05. Lord Kitchener - Kitch's Bebop Calypso
06. Lord Beginner - Victory Test Match
07. Lord Kitchener - Birth Of Ghana
08. Lord Invader - Aguiti
09. Lord Beginner - Jamaica Hurricane
10. Lord Kitchener - Kitch in The Jungle
11. Mighty Terror - No Carnival In Britain
12. Lord Kitchener - The Underground Train
13. Lord Beginner - Housewives
14. The Lion - Some Girl Something
15. Lord Kitchener - Saxophone Number 2
16. Lord Beginner - Fed-A-Ray
17. Timothy - Bulldog Don't Bite Me
18. The Lion - Spanish Calypso
19. Lord Kitchener - If You're Not White You're Black
20. Lord Kitchener - Sweet Jamaica

Download Link - Mediafire

Obray Ramsey - Blue Ridge Banjo (1957)

Another Bleeding Panda discovery, reposted here due to the mediafire account on that blog being cancelled. Interesting album in it's own right.

Obray Ramsey is the banjo-picking cousin of old-time music instrumentalist Byard Ray, and the two worked regularly as a duo until they were "discovered" playing at an Asheville folk festival during the folk music revival of the '60s. From that point on, the two men's musical career took a strangely twisted path. Late-night television mongers who may have made it all the way through the strange psychedelic rock western Zachariah, may wonder who the two old-time musicians are that show up in one of this epic's many strange musical wonders, and the answer would be Ray and Ramsey.

Read the rest of the biography...

From the back cover of Obray Ramsey’s 1957 LP Blue Ridge Banjo, notes by Kenneth S. Goldstein:

In recent years, we have heard all to often about the ‘dying’ of folkculture in the Southern mountains. Many of the collectors who ventured into this area to record the songlore of the region in the 1930s and ’40s, shed sorry tears for the passing of a beautiful and rich tradition, each proclaiming his own collection to be the “last leaves” of this once-proud heritage. So, fewer and fewer adventuresome souls have involved themselves in recording the still-living tradition of the area. Those who have, however, have been amply rewarded by finding that, even though mountain life has been completely revolutionized in the past few decades, tradition dies hard, and numerous singers may still be heard and recorded.

To be sure, there are new sounds and new songs, but this material is, in many ways, as vibrant and vital as it was in the days of Cecil Sharp’s pioneering collecting forays.Obray Ramsey, whose sprightly banjo songs and instrumentals make up this LP, is living proof that this tradition still exists. And there are many more young, middle-aged and old folksingers like him, who have retained the best songs of their hardy mountain ancestors, perhaps changing some of them to suit their own artistic and performing abilities, but still retaining the best elements of old-style singing and playing. Ramsey was born on the banks of the three Laurels at the edge of the Smokey Mountains in western North Carolina. His father’s people came from the highlands of Scotland, and his mother’s ancestors were Cherokee Indians. Most of his songs were learned from his mother and grandmother, both fine singers with extensive repertoires.

For most of his life he has sung his songs unaccompanied, though he had learned to play the guitar when still a young boy. After he married and settled down as a successful farmer near Marshall, North Carolina, he met Bascom Lamar Lunsford, folksinger, collector, and organizer of the Mountain Dance and Folk Festival held annually in Asheville, North Carolina. Lunsford recognized his fine singing talents and encouraged him to take up the 5-string banjo, which he believed would be perfectly suited to Obray’s style of singing. To show his faith in this belief, Lunsford gave Ramsey his first banjo in 1953. Now, Obray Ramsey is one of the finest banjo-pickers in the Southern Mountains. His style is a perfect compromise between old picking styles and currently popular modern styles.

Download Link - Mediafire

Ye Banished Privateers - Songs and Curses (2013)

Ye Banished Privateers be a band, a crew an’ a soup kitchen who think that gettin’ new interesting bruises,
mixin’ the perfect tar “perfume” an’ getting’ the audience to vocally overpower them is at least as important as hittin’ the right notes.

Ye Banished Privateers play original songs inspired by traditional sea shanties, bastardized irish folk, old scandinavian ballads, plays and court protocols of the pirate era and puttin’ it into a cracked and homemade 17th century punk mold.

This album was distributed for free by means of TPB, Grooveshark and a number of other file sharing media.

More information : www.yebanishedprivateers.com

Tracklist:

01 - Bottle of Rum
02 - Welcome to Tortuga
03 - Yellow Jack
04 - 'Bout Me Father
05 - It Matters Not
06 - Color of Sin
07 - Waves Roll High
08 - Fire Down Below
09 - When ye Dead Come Sailing Home
10 - Drowned Walz

Download Link - Mediafire

Takeshi Terauchi & The Bunnys - The Singles Vol. 1 & 2 (2001)

Takeshi Terauchi (also known as Terry), is a Japanese instrumental rock guitarist. Terauchi started his career playing rhythm guitar for a country and Western act "Jimmy Tokita and The Mountain Playboys", which had bassist Chosuke Ikariya. In 1962 he formed his first group, The Blue Jeans. However, in 1966 he left the group and formed The Bunnys with whom he played. The band consisted of:

Takeshi Terauchi - lead guitar

Hiroshi Kurosawa – guitar, harmonica, vocals

Yoshiyuki Suzuki – guitar, vocals

Tatsuya Ogino – organ, vibraphone

Hajime Ono - bass

Tadashi Inoue – drums, shakuhachi

 

He won the "arrangement award" with the song "Let's Go Unmei" at the 9th Japan Record Awards in 1967. He left the Bunnys in 1968 and reformed the Blue Jeans in 1969 and the band has been active until today.

With The Bunnys he covered many popular genres, from garage, fratrock and surf guitar instrumentals, through sentimental ballads, via his own inimitable take on the popular classics. After pursuing his early rhythm guitar country style music Terry swapped to the hip new ‘eleki’ style in 1962, with the formation of The Bluejeans. The band’s 1964 LP KOREZO SURFING (‘This Is Surfing’) was a huge hit, enabling Terauchi and his wild whammy-bar stylings to support both The Ventures and The Astronauts on their Japanese tours. However, the coming of The British Invasion saw Terauchi jump ship to the vocal sounds, and he formed The Bunnys in early 1966. 

His self-referential songs included the December single ‘Terry’s Theme’ and the LP LET’S GO TERRY, which featured wild performances including their legendary mind death riffothon ‘Test Driver’. Then came Terauchi’s commercial masterstroke, an eleki version of traditional Japanese songs for the LP SEICHO TERA UCHI BUSHI, which included the hit single ‘Kanjincho/Genroku Hanami Odiri". Sales topped over 100,000 copies and made the LP the all-time best-selling Group Sounds album. With their street credibility less important now than sustaining a high level of commercial success, Terauchi unleashed the pitiable album LET’S GO CLASSICS, featuring eleki versions of popular classics. 

In 1968, when Terauchi quit his own band, he left them to record an instrumental version of the then popular HAIR soundtrack(!). And, as the Group Sounds wavered, 1970 saw the guitarist dressing as a WW2 Japanese commander and singing Japanese war songs in an ironic style on the LP ELEKI IPPON GUNKA DE SHOBU TOTSUGEKI. However, Terauchi had by now squeezed the last remaining drops of patience from his fans, and thereafter was forced to call it a day.

The following two albums are mostly surf guitar sounding and feature a collection of his singles from over the years. They are an interesting gem in the wide repertoire of musical sounds that constituted the sounds of the late 60's

Both albums are bundled into the same archive as each other for convenience sake. Enjoy.

Tracklist:

Bunnys' Singles Vol.1 - Little Devil (Akuma no Baby)

01. Terry's Theme
02. Test Driver
03. Irrevocable Vow
04. Dream In The Ocean
05. Kanjincho
06. Genroku Hanami Odort
07. Let's Go Dance
08. Shake No. 1
09. Rising Guitar
10. South Pier
11. Little Devil
12. Hey? You Stop !
13. Symphony No. 5
14. Unfinished Symphony
15. Al No Remember
16. Futari No Izumi
17. Taugaru Jaongarabushi
18. Dark Eyes
19. Czardas I

Bunnys' Singles Vol.2 - Taiyo No Hana

01. Taiyo Yaro
02. World Boy
03. Feedback Guitar
04. Omoide No Hoshizora
05. Taiyo No Hana
06. Seishun Wo Kakete
07. Let's Go Bugalu
08. Summer Bugalu
09. Tokyo No Sunset
10. Hono No Koi
11. Tasogare
12. Samishisona Shojo
13. Usukudara
14. Dark Eyes
15. Blue Star
16. Unchainned Melody
17. Jingle Bell

Download Link - Mediafire

The Ragga Twins - Step Out! (2008)

The Ragga Twins are the link between UK dancehall reggae, jungle and hip-hop. This is a retrospective of their classic (and now very rare) early tracks produced by Shut Up and Dance at the start of the 1990s.

The Ragga Twins (alongside producers PJ and Smiley, AKA Shut Up and Dance) revolutionised UK dance music at the start of the 1990s bringing Reggae and Hip-Hop styles together to create Jungle. As drum and bass approaches its 20th anniversary and as new developments such as Grime, UK Garage - and most recently Dubstep – create artists and producers who continue to cite Jungle as a pivotal moment in the UKs musical history, Ragga Twins Step Out, chronicles one of the most important groups of this time. The Ragga Twins (Deman Rockers and Flinty Badman) began their careers as MCs for North London’s legendary Unity reggae sound system. The Ragga Twins were born after Shut up and Dance sampled the pair’s introduction on a dancehall mix-tape and then offered them a deal. At the height of rave culture, The Ragga Twins found themselves playing at raves up and down the country. With one album (Reggae Owes Me Money) and a steady stream of killer singles over the next couple of years the Ragga Twins’ musical blueprint of basslines, breakbeats and ragga defined Jungle music in the years to come.

As well as a serious overview of The Ragga Twins tracks with Shut Up and Dance, this album also features the super-rare bonus tracks “Iron Lady” and “Hard Drugs”, dating back to their pre-Ragga Twins, Dancehall days with the Unity Soundsystem. The album comes with extensive sleeve-notes, photographs and interviews. Essential!

“Relive the early-90s Reggae-Rave Soundclash. High speed dancehall chat, tough breakbeats and dub-reggae spliced together to still-exhillarating effect” Q

“Before dubstep and grime there was drum ‘n’ bass, before that there was jungle and before that The Ragga Twins. A brilliant retrospective.” Guardian

Tracklist:

1. Ragga Trip
2. Illegal Gunshot
3. Spliffhead (Remix)
4. Love Talk
5. The Homeless Problem
6. Rudeboy
7. 18" Speaker
8. Tan So Back
9. Bring Up The Mic Some More
10. Juggling
11. Spliffhead (Original)
12. Hard Drugs
13. Shine Eye
14. Wipe The Needle
15. Iron Lady
16. Good Times
17. The Truth
18. Hooligan 69 Remix
19. Paro 69

Download Link - Mediafire

Chaino - Jungle Echoes (1959)

I discovered this album through the Bleeding Panda blog, however as the mediafire account attached to that blog has been shut down here it is reposted. Its well worth checking out.

SHORT BIO:

The self-styled "percussion genius of Africa," exotica-era enigma Chaino was actually born Leon Johnson in Philadelphia in 1927; raised primarily in Chicago, the details of his early life are largely a mystery, although at some point he learned to play the bongos and began touring the so-called "chitlin" circuit of black nightclubs. During the mid-1950s he surfaced in Los Angeles, and with producer Kirby Allan entered the famed Gold Star studio to record a series of otherworldly jungle exotica LPs; the first, the 1958 Verve label release Jungle Mating Rhythms, featured not only a lurid fusion of African rhythms, primal chants and lusty moaning-and-groaning but also liner notes claiming "Chaino is the only survivor of a lost race of people from the wilds of the jungle in a remote part of central Africa where few white men have ever been...(he) could play seven or more drums at the same time, with such a blur of speed that you can hardly see his hands." In the months which followed, Chaino issued three more albums --Jungle Echoes, Night of the Spectre and Africana -- each for a different label; on occasion, he also worked as a session musician, and even appeared in pair of feature films, Nighttide and The Devil's Hand. A notoriously difficult and eccentric figure, however, in time he and Allan parted ways, and Chaino's activities over the decades to follow remain unknown; with the resurgence of interest in exotica during the mid-1990s, his brother George Johnson discovered the percussionist's whereabouts and briefly brought him back home to Chicago. Chaino nevertheless resumed his nomadic ways soon after; following surgery to remove a brain tumor, he suffered a fatal heart attack on July 8, 1999.

Download Link - Mediafire

Babatunde Olatunji - Drums Of Passion (1959)

Babatunde Olatunji was a virtuoso drummer who became a sensation in the '60s with his albums of traditional Nigerian drumming and chanting. If Olatunji debuted in today's environment, he would be subjected to much tougher scrutiny and evaluation regarding "authenticity" than he received in the '60s. His heralded albums, particularly Drums of Passion, weren't quite the innovative event some claimed. They were fine LPs, but also contained a heavy dose of show business and sanitized playing that would be duly noted today, particuarly in the specialist press. Still, his albums reportedly were very influential on John Coltrane. They were among the few international releases to not just make the charts, but remain on them for years.

The popularity of Drums Of Passion and More Drums Of Passion predated the '60s black nationalist movement and Afrocentricity of the '80s and '90s. They also had some impact in jazz circles, though they weren't as significant as the Afro-Latin revolution initiated by Mario Bauza, Machito and Chano Pozo.

Album Review from allmusic:

Having come to the U.S. from his native Nigeria to study medicine, percussionist Babatunde Olatunji eventually became one of the first African music stars in the States. He also soon counted jazz heavyweights like John Coltrane ("Tunji") and Dizzy Gillespie among his admirers (Gillespie had, a decade earlier, also courted many Cuban music stars via his trailblazing Latin jazz recordings). And, in spite of it being viewed by some as a symbol of African chic, Drums of Passion is still a substantial record thanks to Olatunji's complex and raw drumming. Along with a cadre of backup singers and two other percussionists, Olatunji works through eight traditional drum and chorus cuts originally used to celebrate a variety of things in Nigeria: "Akiwowo" and "Shango" are chants to a train conductor and the God of Thunder, respectively, while "Baba Jinde" is a celebration of the dance of flirtation and "Odun De! Odun De!" serves as a New Year's greeting. The choruses do sound a bit overwrought and even too slick at times (partly due to the fact that most of the singers are not African), but thankfully the drumming is never less than engaging. The many curious world music fans who are likely to check this album out should also be sure to look into even better African drumming by native groups like the Drummers of Burundi and the percussion outfits featured on various field recordings.

Download Link - Mediafire

Thellonious Monk - Brilliant Corners (1957)

Thelonious Monk (1917 – 1982) was an American jazz pianist and composer, considered like Art Blakey to be one of the giants of American music. Monk had a unique improvisational style and made numerous contributions to the standard jazz repertoire, including "Epistrophy", "'Round Midnight", "Blue Monk", "Straight, No Chaser" and "Well, You Needn't". Monk is the second-most recorded jazz composer after Duke Ellington, which is particularly remarkable as Ellington composed over 1,000 songs while Monk only wrote about 70.

Brilliant Corners was the 3rd album monk recorded after being signed to the Riverside Records label (his 2nd label), Monk was highly regarded by his peers and by some critics, but his records remained poor sellers, and his music was still regarded as too "difficult" for the mainstream audience. Indeed, with Monk's consent, Riverside had managed to buy out his previous contract for only $108! On the LP which recorded in late 1956, Monk mainly performed his own music. The complex title track, which featured saxophonist Sonny Rollins, was so difficult to play that the final version had to be edited together from multiple takes. The album, however, was largely regarded as the first success for Monk; according to Orrin Keepnews, "It was the first that made a real splash."

The album was recorded in three sessions in late 1956 with two different quintets. "Ba-lue Bolivar Ba-lues-Are" and "Pannonica", on which Monk played the celeste, were recorded on October 9 with saxophonists Ernie Henry and Sonny Rollins, bassist Oscar Pettiford, and drummer Max Roach.

On October 15th, Monk attempted to record the title track with the same band during a four-hour session. However its complexity proved to be a challenge for Monk's sidemen, who attempted twenty-five takes, and led to tension between himself and both Henry and Pettiford, who exchanged harsh words with Monk during the session. Monk tried to make it easier on Henry by not playing during his alto solo. During one of the takes, producer Orrin Keepnews and others in the control room could not hear Pettiford's playing and checked his bass microphone for a malfunction, but ultimately realized that he was pantomiming his playing. Without a completed single take, Keepnews ultimately pieced together the album version from multiple takes. "Bemsha Swing" was recorded on December 7th with Paul Chambers on bass and trumpeter Clark Terry, who replaced Henry, and Monk recorded a solo piano version of "I Surrender, Dear" at this session.

Tracklist:

1. Brilliant Corners (7:42)
2. Ba-Lue Bolivar Ba-Lues-Are (13:24)
3. Pannonica (8:50)
4. I Surrender, Dear (5:25)
5. Bemsha Swing (7:42)

Download Link - Mediafire

Steve Douglas - The Music of Cheops (1976)

So, I found another LP where the music was also recorded in the Great Pyramid! I had been totally under the impression the Paul Horn - Inside the Great Pyramid was the only album of its kind. Now I wonder if there were more albums recorded in the Great Pyramid and if so, how many. Hmmmm.....

Throughout most of his career, Steve Douglas (1938-1993) has been a session musician playing sax on recordings of some of the biggest names and notables in pop and rock music including The Beach Boys, Elvis Presley, Aretha Franklin, Duane Eddy, The Righteous Brothers, The Ramones, etc. Douglas was a part of hit maker Phil Spector's "Wrecking Crew", a group of session musicians Spector used for his sessions. Douglas was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2003 in the Sideman category.

Douglas also plays the flute which he does on this album in addition to the sax. The Music of Cheops was recorded on February 10, 14, and 15, 1976, all during at night. Douglas composed and played all the music in the King's Chamber, a room that is 34 feet long, 17 feet wide, and 19 feet high. From listening to the record, the room sounds like an awe-inspiring acoustic space where the echoes give the music an otherworldly sound, a sound that probably could only be achieved in such as space as the King's Chamber.

His Rock & Roll Hall of Fame bio actually mentions this album. According to the notes in his bio, Douglas wanted to keep a low profile because of health problems in the early 1970s. Apparently, he didn't record many sessions during that time. He recorded his own music. Curiously, his bio does not mention what other albums he released. The Music of Cheops sounds like something that Douglas made just for himself, the kind of music he wanted to play. It seems like he wanted to get away or needed to get away from the intense environment of the music industry. It's meditative serene music similar to Paul Horn's, but Douglas is more free flowing. His music goes in different directions and he does more to take advantage of the space by exploring and producing more sounds from his instruments. He also was there before Horn by a few months!

Tracklist:

The Pyramid [side 1]

1. Pharoah's Piper {4:34}
2. Impressions from the IVth Dynasty: A. Pyramid Power {1:44}
3. Impressions from the IVth Dynasty: B. Nubian Lament {1:32}
4. Impressions from the IVth Dynasty: C. Flight of Horus {0:57}
5. Impressions from the IVth Dynasty: D. Reflections Along the Nile {4:00}
6. Impressions from the IVth Dynasty: E. Procession {2:18}

The Sphinx [side 2]

1. Time Capsule - 1976 A.D. - 2860 B.C. {1:54}
2. Meditations at Luxor {5:47}
3. Journey from Atlantis {8:09}
4. Ascent {0:54}

Download Link - Mediafire

Disclaimer: There is a lot of crackle and surface noise on side 1. I am seeking a better copy. If I ever find one or able to get a hold of one, I'll re-upload side 1. At least, you'll know what the music is like. I think side 2 sound fine.

Various Artists - The Koto Music Of Japan

Performed by Master Hagiwara, Master Hatta, Master Kitagawa, Master Kikusui, Master Mineuchi, Master Yamaguchi. Recorded in Japan by Katsumasa Takasago, this album presents six representative styles of the traditional koto music of Japan.

Music & Composers Style Performers and Their Instruments:

Echigojishi (Minezaki) Folk Song Hatta (koto)
Godan-kinuta (Mitsuzaki) Music of Weaving Hagiwara, Mineuchi (koto)
Rokudan-no-shirabe (Yatsuhashi) Music of Six Steps Hagiwara (koto)
Haru-no-kyoku (Yoshizawa) Music of Spring Hagiwara, Mineuchi (koto)
Kikusui (shakuhachi)
Shin-Takasago (Terashima) Music from Noh Play Hagiwara (koto)
Yugao (Kikuoka) Evening Glory Yamaguchi (koto)
Kitagawa (shamisen)
Kikusui (shakuhashi)

ABOUT THE PERFORMERS:

Master Shogin Hagiwara was born in 1900 and lost her eyesight when she was six. She entered the Watanabe School, where she studied koto music of the Ikuta-ryu style. In 1917, she was given the degree of koto master and subsequently taught at the Kyoto School for the Blind. In 1954, she was assigned by the Government as Juyo-Mukei-Bunkazai (an important cultural post) which is one of the great honors for a Japanese artist.

One of Hagiwara's most promising disciples is Master Ginsho Mineuchi who was born in 1912 and studied under Ihara Kengyo. After Ihara's death in 1926, she became a student of Hagiwara. Now Mineuchi is planning to open her own academy.

In this album Hagiwara plays Rokudan-no-shirabe, a traditional masterpiece composed by Yatsuhashi Kengyo in the seventeenth century. Mineuchi presents a brilliant performance of Godan-Kinuta (music of weaving) with Hagiwara.

Master Kitagawa and her friend Yamaguchi, who both belong to the Seitoha (traditional school) of Ikuta-ryu playing, perform Yugao, an elegant classic based upon the Story of Genji written by a lady of the court named Murasaki in the eleventh century.

Shakuhachi (bamboo flute) master Kikusui Kofu who accompanies the koto artists on this album, is a living giant of the shakuhachi world. He learned Japanese flute music in the Tozanryu, Meianryu and Uedaryu schools and has been studying for over 15 years. While he specializes in traditional music, he is an important figure in the experimental new directions of modern Japanese music. Kikusui, who recently opened the Kikusui-ryu school of shakuhachi, is also a skilled inventor of various wind and string instruments.

Hagiwara and Kikusui are often heard performing together over NHK, Japan's most influential radio station.

Tracklist & info:

SIDE ONE:

1. ECHIGOJISHI (FOLK SONG) 2:02

Echigojishi is a folk song based on an ancient Lion Dance performed in the festivals of Echigo in the Eastern part of Japan. Echigojishi was written by Kinto Minezaki in the eighteenth century and has been passed on by generations of talented koto artists.

2. GODAN-KINUTA (MUSIC OF WEAVING) 11:45

The kinuta is primitive machinery for refining cloth materials. Though this machine no longer exists, the sound of the kinuta has often been described in poetry and music and suggests the sad monotones of the fall season. The rustling leaves and the voices of insects always accompanied the sound of the kinuta when autumn arrived.

Godan-kinuta (kinuta in five steps) is regarded as the unequalled music of autumn. A number of works which simulate the kinuta have been composed, but none of these are comparable to this piece by Mitsuzaki Kengyo.

3. ROKUDAN-NO-SHIRABE (MUSIC OF SIX STEPS) 6:00

Music of Six Steps (Rokudan-no-shirabe) is a representative style of koto music composed by Yatsuhashi Kengyo (kengyo is an honorary title given to blind koto masters) who died in 1685. Yatsuhashi was an epic figure in the history of the koto, and his compositions have been widely handed down.

Music of Six Steps is an "absolute" music consisting of six sections of 52 beats. Though this piece was originally composed for the koto, it later became fashionable to play it on the shamisen (three-stringed guitar-like instrument). The popularity of Rokudan was such that succeeding composers often adapted the melody.

SIDE TWO:

1. HARU-NO-KYOKU (MUSIC OF SPRING) 9:00

Music of Spring (Haru-no-kyoku) composed by Yoshizawa Kengyo is one of the important works of the pseudo-classical movement which took place in the nineteenth century. This movement aimed to overcome the modern sentimentality and the concurrent subordination of koto music to shamisen music. The music of the four seasons, including Haru-no-kyoku, are the culmination of this movement.

2. SHIN-TAKASAGO 2:05

Shin-Takasago was composed by Utano Terashima in the nineteenth century and is based upon Takasago, a famous Noh drama. Takasago is a seaside town near Kobe which has been frequently cited in Japanese literature for its scenic beauty. Takasago in the Noh drama describes happiness and joy, emotions evoked by this lovely koto solo.

3. YUGAO (EVENING GLORY) 12:43

Evening Glory (Yugao) was originally written by Kengyo Kikuoka, but later Yaezaki Kengyo turned it into a masterpiece of koto music. It is based upon the Tale of Genji, a famous story of the eleventh century. The chapter of Yugao tells that when the Lord Genji visited his sick mother in the Gojo House in Kyoto, he found another small house covered with lovely blossoms in which there lived a pretty girl. Genji fell in love with her immediately and invited her to a detached hut. The girl, who was called Evening Glory (Yugao), dies of a curse cast by the spirit which haunted the hut. The lord grieves: "The bud of Evening Glory which opened in the transient dream faded like the cold autumn breeze."

Yugao, a koto-shamisen-shakuhachi piece, is inspired by the tragedy of Yugao.

(Notes by KATSUMASA TAKASAGO)

Download Link - Mediafire

Leading Soloists of Japan - Music From The Kabuki

Kabuki, the popular theatre of Japan that combines music and drama, has not been embraced by the Western visitor because he has not yet understood it. In 1930, the German sexologist Magnus Hirschfeld took a trip around the world and spent much time in the Orient. In Tokyo he attended the Meiji theatre for a kabuki performance that lasted from 4 to 11 p.m. with a one-hour intermission. Dr. Hirschfeld remained for the entire performance, but observed that most Europeans had enough of the show after two hours and that most Americans were bewildered and exasperated in less than one hour. That such apathy was still true of "foreigners" ten years ago is testified to by Aubrey and Giovanna Halford, who tell us ("The Kabuki Handbook," publ. Chas. E. Tuttle Co., 1956) that visitors to Japan "see Kabuki" for half an hour in the same way that they drop in and out of a night club. However, it is unlikely that this ignorance of a great art form will prevail with us for another ten years in view of the enlightenment provided by accelerated international communications, and interest in Eastern music-fostered in large measure by the LP record.

Kabuki exists beside the courtly noh theatre and the puppet, or doll, theatre, and is a combination of vocal and instrumental music, dancing, pantomine, drama, and costumes on a stage. This record provides examples of geza (off-stage) music, chiefly of kabuki, but in some cases adapted from noh drama. In addition to the on-stage musicians in kabuki-shamisen, flutes, drums, etc.-there is a small room separated from the stage by a bamboo curtain painted black. In this room are a variety of instruments, especially percussion, that provide accompaniment for the performers and sound effects for the stage.

As an offshoot of the aristocratic noh and the puppet theatre, kabuki had its origin at the end of the 16th century. It is traced to a Shinto princess, Okuni, who in 1596 to gain support for her shrine went to Kyoto and danced in public. She started with a pious prayer dance (nembutsu-odor) but soon branched out into erotic dances that delighted her middle-class audience. From its origin, kabuki was associated with sex. The word "kabuki" was derived from "kabuku" - meaning "to incline". (Later the word was written with Chinese characters of the same phonetic value, but meaning "song-dance-acting".) At the time of her death in about 1610, Okuni had expanded her dance into a form that embraced actors or singers, popular songs, and instruments of the noh theatre, such as flute and drums. The musical aspect of kabuki that developed from kouta (short songs) was known as nagauta (long songs).

In the early part of the 17th century, with no forceful talent to direct its esthetic progress, kabuki was content with sexual exploitation. Onna (female) kabuki - later called "Pleasure Woman's Kabuki" - chose its singing actresses largely on the basis of their permissiveness as companions for wealthy patrons. One element of progress at this time was the introduction of the shamisen to the musical forces of this art. Moralists did not fail to condemn the kabuki theatre for its wickedness in corrupting the warrior caste, which had become so dissolute that its members preferred making love to killing their fellow man. This "degeneracy" was combated in 1629 by banning women from the theatre. Young men then took over their performances (wakashu kabuki) and sodomy was not only a frequent subject on the stage - where its humorous aspects were relished - but also off-stage between the actors and their military spectators. As a result, in 1652 "Young Man's Kabuki" was forbidden by the authorities. Finally, older men - lacking physical beauty and sexual attractiveness - became the kabuki performers (Yaro kabuki) and developed it into its modern form. In Osaka in 1664, the kabuki play was extended to several acts, and soon the stage had a curtain and scenery. From that time to the present, kabuki has flourished; most of the plays and music of today's repertoire date from the 19th century.

Geza music is played almost continually throughout a performance as an accompaniment to the narrative, and for sound effects and tone colors. As with the Wagnerian Leitmotiv, musical themes are associated with ideas, so that to appreciate the music and the drama fully one must recognize this extra-musical role of the music. With the masterworks of Wagner, motifs in themselves suggest what they represent. For the Japanese, however, musical themes are not naturalistic but abstract; they make, usually, no attempt to illustrate in musical sounds a natural object or idea. Recognition of this non-musical significance of themes is, therefore, purely a matter of association and, at least for the foreigner, involves conscious application and study. Geza music is interesting in itself but the fact should not be overlooked that its full meaningfulness depends upon the action of the stage and the play which it serves to accompany.

Geza music is classified by the type of scene or situation that it accompanies in the stage plays. There is music associated with the Ginza section (downtown) of Tokyo; music to go with festival scenes; Aikata or accompaniment music for narratives; dance music for noh and kabuki drama; examples of sound effects; music for shrine scenes; flute and drum interludes; and speciments of kabuki singing with instrumental accompaniment.

Tracklist & Info:

MUSIC OF DOWNTOWN - Not specifically pertaining to the Ginza, heard here are two samples of comedy music: 1) Minba, for farcical gestures (flute and drums0, and 2) Okashime, for funny dances (shamisen and drums). Shichome (Downtown) is general music for the busy city streets (flute, shamisen, drums). Sugagaki (Tea House) is music to indicate a bawdy house (shamisen, flute, drum) while Yoshiwara Sawagi indicates a rumpus, not very violent, in the Yoshiwara pleasure houses (shamisen, drums).

FESTIVAL MUSIC - Yatai is a snack cart that sells food on the streets (flute, drums, bell). Kanda Maru is parade music of the Kanda Festival, one of the three biggest events of Japanese life (flute, drums, bell). Hayawatari, in quick tempo, indicates the culmination of a festival (flute, drums), while Shoden signifies the religious aspect of festivals (flute, drums, bell).

AIKATA - Music to accompany narratives in plays, Aikata is represented first by Kusabue, a flute solo indicative of quiet and sentimental scenes. Toda-ai is narrative accompaniment with one shamisen, while Joge-aikata indicates two shamisens. Irokusa describes a quiet scene (shamisen and bell); Shinnai Nagashi accompanies a parade of begging blind men and unemployed musicians (shamisen) while Yoroizuke portrays a battle scene (shamisen, drums, voice).

DANCE MUSIC - Tsakkake is a fight theme (voice, flute, drums); Chunomai signifies the entrance of nobles (voice, flute, drum); and Hayamai is noh music for a quick dance that accompanies fights in a shrine (flute, drum). Hayaodori is descriptive of gay parties in restaurants (shamisen, drums) and Hayamai is a quick noh dance (voice, flute, drums).

SOUND EFFECTS - Mizuoto is a drum theme that signifies water; another drum theme (Namioto), waves; Usudoro (drum) indicates a thief or ghost; Yamaoroshi (drum) symbolizes heroic mountains; Kazaoto is the sound of wind (drum); Tokidaiko represents noise in a castle (drum); Mitsukido indicates a thief being caught (groups of three drum strokes). When the play is ready to begin, Samban is sounded on the drum while Oidashi is the theme for its close. Shinobisanju is the motif for darkness (shamisen, gong).

SHRINE MUSIC -Gakuai signals the opening of a play at a shrine (shamisen, flute, voice, drums, bell) while Honkagura is the most common type of shrine music (flute, cymbals). Mihokagura describes the scene of the shrine (flute, drums), and Miyakagura indicates people entering and leaving the shrine (shamisen, flute, drums, bell, cymbal).

INTERLUDES - All of these examples are played on flute and drums. Tobisari accompanies actors who perform in the hallway; Chatto is for the opening of the kabuki play, and Sarashi is for the closing curtain. Shagiri, Ningyo shagiri, and Katashagiri are interludes between the plays.

VOICE - Two examples of voice and shamisen used in nagauta are given.

AIKATA - More accompaniment music is heard here. We have takebue (flute) music for harakari scenes (flute, shamisen); Nohkan to Hariogi, played on the noh flute and wooden block, to describe a house of the nobility. Netori (flute quavers) goes with ghost scenes. Dozokanaete indicates the appearance of an actor (shamisen and drum). Zaigo Aikata is music for travelling (shamisen, drums). Mokugyo iri Aikata is temple music (mokugyo, shamisen). Ichoiri Aikata is the theme that accompanies the conversations of Samurai warriors (shamisen, drum). Hayame describes people in a hurry (shamisen, drum); Chidori, scenes of the sea or drunkards (shamisen, drum), and Zen iri Aikata is temple music (shamisen, drums).

Download Link - Mediafire

John Lee Hooker - House of the Blues (1959)

John Lee Hooker (1917 – 2001) was a highly influential American blues singer, songwriter and guitarist. Hooker was born in Mississippi, he was the son of a sharecropper, and rose to prominence performing his own interpretation of what was originally a unique style of country blues. He developed a 'talking blues' style that became his trademark. Though similar to the early Delta blues, his music was metrically free. John Lee Hooker could be said to embody his own genre of the blues, often incorporating the boogie-woogie piano style and a driving rhythm into his blues guitar playing and singing.


I could never say it as well as Leadbelly put it, so I'll leave it to him. Leadbelly said it this way:

"Never was a white man had the blues, 'cause nothin' to worry about.
Now, you lay down at night. You roll from one side of the bed to the
other all night long. You can't sleep.
What's the matter ? The blues got you. You get up and sit on the side
of your bed in the mornin'. You may have a sister and a brother, mother
and father around, but you don't want no talk out of 'em.
What's the matter ? The blues got you. Well, you go and put your feet
under the table, look down at your plate, got everything you want to
eat, but you shake your head, you get up.
You say, "Lawd I can't eat and I can't sleep."
What's the matter ?
The blues got you. Wanna talk to you.
Here's what you gotta tell 'em:

"Good morning blues, blues how do you do ?

Good morning blues, blues how do you do ?

I'm doin' all right, good mornin', how are you ?

I lay down last night, turnin' from side to side,

Ohhhhhhhhhh, turnin' from side to side,

I was not sick, but I was just dissatisfied."

John Lee Hooker is another man who knows what it is to have the
blues, and how to tell it.
Proof that he can do so with individual style and dramatic force and
surging swing is amply displayed in this collection, which must be
regarded as one of the great blues albums of recent years."

Tracklist:

1 Walkin' the boogie
2 Love blues
3 Union station blues
4 It's my own fault
5 Leave my wife alone
6 Ramblin' by myself
7 Sugar mama
8 Down at the landing
9 Louise
10 Ground hog blues
11 High priced woman
12 Women and money

Download Link - Mediafire

New Orleans Funk: The Original Sound of Funk 1960-75 (Soul Jazz Records)

This collection of New Orleans Funk features acknowledged masters next to some of the earlier artists who shaped the meaning of funk. The album is also filled with many rare, sought after and undiscovered funk tracks. It covers the period from the emergence of New Orleans Funk in the early 1960's through to the mid-seventies. The record is a great addition to the music collection of anyone in any way interested in Funk. It has some vital ingredients in it that you can't find elsewhere.

With the sound of the New Orleans Funeral March Bands, Mardi Gras Indian Tribes and Saturday Night Fish Fries all as inspiration New Orleans Funk developed into a unique sound. New Orleans is a port town. Originally owned by the French, this was where many slaves were brought from the West Indies. Many of these slaves came from Haiti and brought with them the religion of Voodoo and its drums and music. It became one of the first parts of America to develop a strong African-American culture leading to the invention of Jazz in the early 1900s. 

A main feature of Jazz in New Orleans were the Jazz Funeral Marching bands. Solemn Brass bands accompanying a coffin would, on burial, be joined by a second line of drummers and dancers which would turn the event into a celebration of the spirit cutting free from earth. This African tradition is strong in New Orleans and still goes on to this day. The backline drums play a syncopated style that is neither on the beat nor the off-beat. These rhythms are what forms the basis of New Orleans Funk.

Tracklist:

1. The Meters - Handclapping Song
2. The Explosions - Hip Drop
3. Lee Dorsey - Who's Gonna Help Brother Get Further
4. Gentleman June Gardner - It's Gonna Rain
5. Eddie Bo - Check your Bucket
6. Professor Longhair - Big Chief
7. Huey 'Piano' Smith & His Clowns - Free, Single and Disengaged
8. Chuck Carbo - Can I Be your Squeeze
9. Aaron Neville - Hercules
10. Mary Jane Hooper - I've Got Reasons
11. The Gaturs - Gator Bait
12. Allen Toussaint - Get Out of my Life Woman
13. Cyril Neville - Tell Me What's On Your Mind
14. Bo Dollis & The Wild Magnolia Mardi Gras Indian Band - Handa Wanda
15. Lee Dorsey and Betty Harris - Love Lots of Lovin
16. The Explosions - Garden of Four Trees
17. Ernie & The Top Notes - Dap Walk
18. The Meters - Just Kissed my Baby
19. Marilyn Barbarin - Reborn
20. Dr John - Mama Roux
21. Danny White - Natural Soul Brother
22. Eddie Bo - Hook 'n' Sling (Part II)
23. Ernie K. Doe - Here Come the Girls
24. Robert Parker - Hip-Huggin

Download Link - Mediafire

Nightmares On Wax - Carboot Soul (1999)

Nightmares on Wax or George Evelyn is a DJ and electronic music composer from Leeds, England. His music is released on Warp Records and was one of the first releases on the label. Originally partnered with Kevin Harper they released an original album in '91 that was grounded in hip-hop with a techno edge.

Carboot Soul is the groups third album and was the first album to be domestically distributed through the US label, Matador Records. The style of the music has changed extensively since this initial release but maintains some of its roots. In the 8 years since their initial album release Evelyn & Harper had subsequently stopped their collaboration. This album featured soul singer Sara Winton, Hamlet Luton on Bass, Chris Dawkins on guitar, and Robin Taylor-Firth on keyboards with the Pure Strings Orchestra on strings.

This was a change for Nightmares on Wax, as they began as a DJ-based group. Their newfound contribution of live musicians allowed for the group to operate more like a band than a studio act. However, the drum machine was not replaced with a live musician, remaining true to the band's original technology-based tracks.

Evelyn said about the group's change and about expanding the idea that "Doing the live side proves there is more to the music. People have something more tangible to relate the music to and it gives us the chance to connect with the audience. Also I've always had this idea of creating a big band – which is what we call our sound. The main priority for NoW is to prove that we can perform music. But we're not ignoring the fact that we come from a studio, technical background. We just want to mix the old with the new. That's why, at the moment, I don't have a live drummer. The sound of the beats is what makes Nightmares."

This album is fantastic, I actually may prefer it to Smoker's Delight, and the later releases. Well worth a look.

Download Link - Mediafire

Prison Songs Vol.1 - Murderous Home (Historical Recordings From Parchman Farm 1947-48)

This is the 1997 reissue of Alan Lomax's original Negro Prison Songs. These are recorded at Parchman Farm (Missisipi State Penitentiary) which is the only maximum security prison in Mississipi. Volume one is a masterpiece, the best single document of the African American work song and field holler tradition. The group work songs, while excellent examples of this are by their nature less distinctive than the solo performances. Nonetheless, they are uniformly strong and include many of the most common of such pieces.

“These songs belong to the musical tradition which Africans brought to the New World, but they are also as American as the Mississippi River. They were born out of the very rock and earth of this country, as black hands broke the soil, moved, reformed it, and rivers of stinging sweat poured upon the land under the blazing heat of Southern skies, and are mounted upon the passion that this struggle with nature brought forth. They tell us the story of the slave gang, the sharecropper system, the lawless work camp, the chain gang, the pen.” – Alan Lomax

Download Link - Mediafire

Orchestre T.P. Poly-Rythmo de Cotonou - 0+0=Zero (Zero + Zero = Zero) (1980)

Unfortunately political realities in Benin had left the Tout Puissant Orchestre Poly Rythmo bereft of international recognition, while big bands like Super Rail Band or Orchestra Baobab enjoyed a rebirth… But Poly Rythmo has always been recognised as one of the best orchestras in Africa, so much that the former leader of Super Rail Band in Bamako, Tidiani Kone, left his job in Mali to join the fabulous Poly Rythmo in the seventies.

Their repertoire draws inspiration from the regional poly-rhythmic blend called Sato or Sakpata, original Voodoo beats, which are married with the funk left behind by James Brown’s African tours. Their voices, brass section, guitar and percussion weaved together to crystallise a golden age in this musically-fertile nation. Most of their 500 songs were recorded live with a couple of microphones and a Swiss-made Nagra reel-to-reel tape machine. The studio was a living room in the noisy neighbourhood near Cotonou’s airport.

Tracklist:

01. Belle Belle (8.07)

02. Semassa (Zero + Zero) (8.07)

03. Adin Gbanzon (8.32)

04. Ne te faches pas (10.15)

Download Link - Mediafire

Hiromi - Voice (2011)

Hiromi Uehara (born 26 March 1979), known as Hiromi, is a jazz composer and pianist born in Hamamatsu, Japan. Hiromi started learning classical piano at age five, and was later introduced to jazz by her piano teacher Noriko Hikida. At 14, she played with the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra. When she was 17, she met Chick Corea by chance in Tokyo, and was invited to play with him at his concert the next day. After being a jingle writer for a few years for Japanese companies such as Nissan, she enrolled to study at Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts.There, she was mentored by Ahmad Jamal and had already signed with jazz label Telarc before her graduation.

In 2011, Hiromi initiated her Trio Project with English drummer Simon Phillips and American bass player Anthony Jackson with whom this album has been recorded. Simon Phillips has been drumming for rock or heavy metal acts since the mid-1970s while Anthony Jackson (and his custom made six-string bass guitar) is a seasoned jazz and fusion session musician. As a result, Hiromi’s trio music appeals to a much wider audience that goes beyond the traditional jazz circles.

“I don’t want to put a name on my music,” she says. “Other people can put a name on what I do. It’s just the union of what I’ve been listening to and what I’ve been learning. It has some elements of classical music, it has some rock, it has some jazz, but I don’t want to give it a name.” Yamaha Jazz Pianos – Hiromi

“Voice”, the title track of her 2011 recording by the same name is emblematic of the live performances of Hiromi and the Trio Project: a long piece lasting over ten minutes, complex melody lines, a high octane rhythm section and relentless virtuoso soloing to the constant cheers of an enthralled audience.

As Hiromi says, "I called this album Voice because I believe that people’s real voices are expressed in their emotions. It’s not something that you really say. It’s more something that you have in your heart. Maybe it’s something you haven’t said yet. Maybe you’re never going to say it. But it’s your true voice. Instrumental music is very similar. We don’t have any words or any lyrics to go with it. It’s the true voice that we don’t really put into words, but we feel it when it’s real."

Tracklist:

01. Voice (9:13)
02. Flashback (8:39)
03. Now or Never (6:15)
04. Temptation (7:54)
05. Labyrinth (7:40)
06. Desire (7:19)
07. Haze (5:54)
08. Delusion (7:49)
09. Beethoven's Piano Sonata N°8 - Pathetique (5:13) (Written by Ludwig van Beethoven)

Download Link - Mediafire - Part 1

Download Link - Mediafire - Part 2

Cardinal Rex Lawson & His Rivers Men - Love M Adure Special (1972)

Rex Jim Lawson (1935 - 1971), known as Cardinal Rex, was a singer, trumpeter and bandleader from Kalabari, Nigeria. He became one of the best-known highlife musicians of the 1960s in Africa when Cardinal and his band dominated Nigeria’s highlife scene.

Lawson played with Sammy Obot, Bobby Benson, Victor Olaiya, Chris Ajilo, and other Ghanaian and Nigerian musicians and bands. His greatest success came as the leader of the Majors Band (also called the Rivers Men in later years); their recorded hits include So ala teme, Yellow Sisi, Gowon Special, and Jolly Papa.

A highly emotional and deep musician, Lawson was known to weep and shed tears while singing his own songs on stage, notably the haunting So ala teme. The late Sir Maliki Showman, the famous Nigerian tenor saxophonist who played with Rex Lawson, Bobby Benson and Victor Uwaifo, remembers Lawson as always placing music over money. Lawson is famed for his infectious gregariousness, his musical vision, talent, perseverance and individuality.

From the back cover of record:

It is very unusual for me to arrive at the Studio before 7 o'clock in the mornings and even more unusual It is for musicians to get into the Studio before 10 a.m. But as it happened on this Friday morning. I woke up feeling very enthusiastic. You know, one of those mornings when you feel on top of the world and expect something really big to happen. So on this morning I found myself in the studio premises by 7 a m, and why I saw was really amazing - a crowd had gathered near the entrance and was spreading the news like wild, fire that the Cardinal had once again hit town

Curiousity made me decide to peep into the studio right away. Incompatible and incomprehensible sounds were emanating there from - musicians tuning their instruments I could readily recognize four or five familiar faces. First, it was Etim Udoh whose wistful, dreamlike sex was an attraction, in itself, to the now defunct Kakadu Hotel in the days of Eliazer Arinze. Then it was lgochiko Okwuechime another giant of the alto sax whose wonderful work with Stephen Osadebes Nigerian Sound Makers is still to be equalled how much more surpassed. I also saw trumpeter Raymond Barber, former leader of the Travellers Lodge Atomic 8 of Aba; trombonist Ben Jack who could be described as Assistant Eland Leader cum Manager; and finally Anthony Odili whose conga works added special flavour to the band's old records. Directing the affairs with effortless expertise was Rex himself I then began to ruminate that with Rex fronting such giants and the bard's unprecedented punctuallity he might be having something extra special up his sleeves. 

And was I proved right? Yes, and from the very first take of the session Despite the drastic change in personnel brought about by the recent crisis in the country the band still has that touch of glamour that endeared it to the hearts of all music lovers. 

Tracklist & Info:

Side One: 

LOVE "M" ADURE SPECIAL - here played in Akpasa tempo is quite slower but certainly more graceful than the original It opens with a delightful alto sax solo by lgochiko against a repetitive "Ewo re - wo-eo-ewo re wo" by the chorus. Rex then comes in with a touch of humour (underlaid on most of the tracks in the album) - 'Why have they not warmed the soup?" the master asks. The servant replies "No sir, count them, pa them, na them. na them lick am". 

GOWON SPECIAL - "Gowon bote aye", meaning Gowon has come. A tribute to the Nigerian Head of State for successfully accomplishing the task of keeping Nigeria one. Etim Udoh playing with melodic elegance wonder-fully insinuates himself into the pro-ceedings with a long, serpentine line. 

SATURDAY SOP DI - Hare, Composer/vocalist Willie Udoh is appealing to Saturday. which is the market day, to arrive early so that he can cook a special soup-YELLOW SISI - a composition by Santa Isabel born Raymond Barber, features. Rex and Raymond on the vocals. it has an interesting Calypso thing going under it.

NKPA KE DA OWO - death with its icy hands is taking many people away and this reminds us that as the sun rises and sets each day. It will eventually be our respective turns. There is a lovely change in tempo to Asiko halfway through. 

Side Two: 

TOM KIRI SITE - Rex laments the state in” which the world has degenerated. A world where even brothers don't know brothers. 

WASENIGBO TUA - This is a traditional moonlight dance of the Ijaws here played in Akpasa Tempo. 

AKWA ABASI - Our father in heaven, let your name be Praised. This is a composition by guitarist Bassey Udoh. This number may truly justify the name "Cardinal" by which Rex is widely called. Notice how he shouts himself hoarse at the beginning, when the spirit begets him. maybe. Brothers Willie and Bassey Udoh took the vocal spot. 

NUME INYE - "Everyone has a talent from God. Singing is my own talent" Rex says. It commences with another of those Etim Udoh's melodic solos. 

PERI SPECIAL MBANGA II - Victory! Thanks be to the gods that what our predecessors had laboured for - the birth of the Rivers State - had been achieved at long last. It is climaxed by lgochiko's marvellous solo. On me whole this album shows that Rex still has that magic spell to which many of us have swayed and will continue to sway for a long, long time

Download Link - Mediafire

Ethiopiqués Vol. 4 - Ethio-Jazz & Musique Instrumentale, 1969 - 1974, Mulatu Astatke

Mulatu Astatke (born on December 19, 1943) is an Ethiopian musician and arranger best known as the father of Ethio-jazz.

Born in the western Ethiopian city of Jimma, Mulatu was musically trained in London, New York City, and Boston where he combined his jazz and Latin music interests with traditional Ethiopian music. Astatke led his band while playing vibraphone and conga drums—instruments that he introduced into Ethiopian popular music—as well as other percussion instruments, keyboards and organ. His albums focus primarily on instrumental music, and Astatke appears on all three known albums of instrumentals that were released during Ethiopia's Golden ’70s.

The Paris-based world music record label Buda Musique began the Éthiopiques series in 1997 and initially compiled Ethiopian popular music releases from the 1960s and 1970s. Some of the subsequent CDs focus on traditional music, while others highlight individual musicians or specific styles. Francis Falceto is the producer of the series.

In a 2012 interview, Getachew Mekurya noted that Falceto is largely responsible for the international popularization of Ethiopian music, and that Ethiopiques had directly led to more opportunities and international success for Mekurya. At the same time, Mekurya claimed that Falceto underpaid him and other Ethiopian musicians, and that Buda Musique retained the copyrights to most of the music. He further alleged that these business practices had infuriated Mulatu Astatke.

In defense Francis Falceto stated that "...most sad and embarrassing remains the maliciousness of a couple of unfair people who have been benefiting incredibly from éthiopiques, in terms of fame but also of royalties and concerts booking, but who give forth endless and sick accusations and ignominious lies – almost nothing, so to say, with regard to their dishonor".

Tracklist:

01. Yèkèrmo sèw - A Man Of Experience And Wisdom

02. .Mètché dershé - When Am I Going To Reach There

03. Kasalèfkut hulu -From All The Time I Have Passed

04. Tezeta - Nostalgia

05. Yègellé tezeta - My Own Memory

06. Munayé - My Muna

07. Gubèlyé - My Gubel

08. Asmarina - My Asmara

09. Yèkatit - February

10. Nètsanèt - Liberty

11. Tezetayé antchi lidj - Baby, my unforgettable remembrance

12. Sabyé - My Saba

13. Ené alantchi alnorem - I Can't Live Without You

14. Dèwèl - Bell

Download Link - Mediafire

Charanjit Singh - Synthesizing Ten Ragas To A Disco Beat (1982)

In 1982, veteran Bollywood composer Charanjit Singh visits Singapore and gets his hands on the now holy trinity of a Roland 303, 808, and Jupiter 8 - the core of acid house and arguably the precursor to electronica as we know it today.Later that year, EMI India releases an album limited to a few thousand copies: "Synthesizing: Ten Ragas To A Disco Beat". It presents Charanjit's effort at using what was then entirely new technology to bridge the gap between programmed beats, synth lines, and classical Indian music motifs.It essentially sinks without a trace.In 2010, Dutch label Bollywood Connection re-releases this LP to an unsuspecting and wholly ignorant public, convinced that these beats were established in the clubs of Chicago, Detroit, and Manchester in the mid to late eighties.They weren't.Charanjit Singh still lives in Bombay.

Biography and some info from Guardian:

Charanjit Singh doubtless stood out as unusual in the Hindi film industry of the 1960s and 70s. Veteran of countless Bollywood soundtrack orchestras, Singh was the sort to turn up at session with the latest new synthesiser, acquired at great expense from London or Singapore. He was not, however, widely regarded among his country folk as someone "pushing things forward". His band, the Charanjit Singh Orchestra, made their rupees touring weddings, performing the hits of the day, and while he played on many popular Bollywood recordings, Charanjit Singh was never a household name.

Read the rest of this article.

From Resident Advisor:

Behold, my children, the legend of acid house: Imagine in your mind Chicago 1987, where a small group of club kids, led by Nathan "DJ Pierre" Jones, give Ron Hardy a record to play at the Music Box. Labelled "Acid Tracks" by Phuture, its uncompromising sound quickly clears the dance floor, but Hardy hammers the tune again and again, until the masses are converted and a new genre is born.

You've heard this story a thousand times. And everything in it is true. Except, it seems, maybe the part about it being the birth of acid. Synthesizing: Ten Ragas to a Disco Beat challenges us to rewind acid's origin story to India 1982, and to move from a sweaty Chicago nightclub to the home studio of a veteran Bollywood musician. In the '60s and '70s Charanjit Singh did time on the Bollywood soundtrack scene, and earned extra cash with his own orchestra playing popular favorites at weddings. In 1982, armed with a now-iconic trio of Roland gear, the Jupiter 8, TB-303 and TR-808, Singh set out to update the entrancing drone and whirling scales of classical Indian music. It's enough of a mind-fuck that rumors circulated on the web claiming the record was a prank spawned by Richard D. James.

Read the rest of the article.

Download Link - Mediafire

Various Artists - On The Other End Of The Fog (2011)

Another reupload of a Bleeding Panda compilation. This mix is really something else it's reuploaded here since the links on Bleeding Panda blog have all stopped working. Enjoy.

ALBUM`````On The Other End Of The Fog
GENRE`````Pop, Indie, Oldies, Folk,
YEAR````````2011


A Bleeding Panda Compilation!

Finally a new Bleeding Panda Compilation. This one is for my one and only <3
Perfect for this shady November weather.


Tracklist:

01 Quartetto Cetra - Brivido Blu (1958)
02 Amen Dunes - Swim Up Behind Me (2011)
03 Little Anthony & The Imperials - Tears On My Pillow (1958)
04 Emilio Pericoli - Ultime Foglie (1962)
05 The Fred Berlipp Orchestra - Love Without Shadow (1972)
06 Yellow Magic Orchestra - Shadows On The Ground (1983)
07 Thomas Dolby - Airwaves (1982)
08 Reneé Claude - La Bagumane (2010)
09 Mikis Theodorakis - Asma Asmaton - Song Of Songs (1981)
10 The Moody Blues - Nights In White Satin Cover
11 Electrelane - The Invisible Dog (2001)
12 Kollaa Kestaa - Tahtien Rauha (1978)
13 Lee Hazlewood - Your Sweet Love (1966)
14 Tindersticks - Rumba (2011)
15 Art Of Noise - Love (1986)

Download Link - Mediafire

Various Artists - Ultimate 50's And 60's Rockin' Horror Disc (2003)

Another reupload of a Bleeding Panda compilation. It's re-uploaded here since the links on Bleeding Panda blog have all stopped working. Enjoy.



ARTIST`````````````VARIOUS
ALBUM`````````````ROCKIN' HORROR DISC
GENRE`````````````EARLY ROCK n' ROLL
YEAR```````````````2003

This is definitely not the "Ultimate" compilation on this subject but it still carries a lot of fun, romance and most importantly - underground sounds from forgotten artists of that age. Werevolves, zombies, vampires and all sorts of dangerous places and situations are here to scare and entertain your bored ass.

Is Ultimate 50's and 60's Rockin' Horror Disc really the ultimate '50s and '60s rockin' horror disc? No, considering it's missing well-known classics of the genre, like Bobby "Boris" Pickett's "Monster Mash," Screamin' Jay Hawkins' "I Put a Spell on You," and Jumpin' Gene Simmons' "Haunted House." But for a compilation of obscure mid-'50s-to-mid-'60s songs that mixed rock & roll with horror novelty lyrics and sounds, it does a pretty good job. And these 20 items are indeed obscure -- LaVern Baker (with "Voodoo Voodoo") is the only famous artist, though avid rock & roll fans will recognize a few of the others, like Bunker Hill and Kip Tyler. As tunes go, they're usually nothing to shout about, often confining themselves to stock basic early rock & roll progressions and arrangements, though sometimes with the ominous minor-key patterns common to monster-movie soundtracks.

Most of the time, though, it's rather wholesomely giddy romps through the lands of monsters, cemeteries, and ghosts, about as scary as a Halloween costume, but about as fun to put on.

Download Link - Mediafire

Various Artists - Drug Songs - High And Low (1917 - 1944)

Listeners under the impression that drug music began with "White Rabbit" and ended with "White Lines" would be wise to pick up the first and best volume in the German Trikont label's excellent Flashbacks series -- compiling 25 jazz, blues, and vocal cuts from the first-half of the 20th century, the set documents World War II-era vice and sin at its finest, deftly mixing radio hits with utter obscurities. The songs range from the benign (Gene Krupa's "Feeling High and Happy") to the explicit (the Memphis Jug Band's "Cocaine Habit Blues"), and while some of the selections are clearly reaching to justify their thematic inclusion -- Bukka White's immortal "Fixin' to Die Blues" almost certainly has nothing to do with "fixing" in the junkie lexicon sense of the term -- the pacing and sequencing are dead-on, and even novelty throwaways like Harry "The Hipster" Gibson's "Who Put the Benzedrine in Mrs. Murphy's Ovaltine?" stand up to repeated listening in this context. Excellent remastering and liner notes (in both English and German) round out the package

Tracklist:

01 The Cat Is High - The Ink Spots
02 Junker's Blues - Champion Jack Dupree
03 Who Put The Benzedrine In Mrs. Murphys Ovaltine - Harry 'The Hipster' Gibson
04 Don't You Make Me High - Blue Lu Barker
05 I'm Wild About My Stuff - Kansas Joe and Memphis Minnie
06 You're A Viper - Stuff Smith & His Onyx Club Boys
07 Selling That Stuff - McKinney Cotton Pickers
09 Moonshine Man Blues - Peter Cleighton with Blind John Davis
10 Cigarettes, Cigars - Florence Desmond
11 Minnie The Moochers Wedding Day - Mills Blue Rhythm Band
12 The Ghost Of Smokey Joe - Cab Calloway
13 Let's Have Another Cup Of Coffee - Waring's Pennsylvanians
14 Dope Head Blues - Victoria Spivey & Lonnie Johnson
15 Wacky Dust - Ella Fitzgerald with Chick Webb & His Orchestra
16 Fixin' To Die Blues - Bukka White
17 Cocaine Habit Blues - Memphis Jug Band
18 Reefer Man - Baron Lee & The Blue Rhythm Band
19 Cocaine - Dick Justice
20 Jake Walk Papa - Asa Martin
21 Kickin' The Gong Around - Louis Armstrong
22 The Candy Man - Rosetta Howard & The Harlem Hamfats
23 Repeal The Blues - Ray Noble & The New Mayfair Orchestra
24 Feeling High And Happy - Gene Krupa & His Orchestra
25 Knockin' Myself Out - Jean Brady & Big Bill Broonzy
26 Smoke Clouds - Herbert Payne


Download Link - Mediafire

Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers - Drum Suite (1957)

1956 was an important year in the musical life of Art Blakey, for during that year he introduced a new edition of his Jazz Messengers. Blakey (1919-1990), whose drumming powered the Messsengers. Hard bop's foremost band, for more than three decades, introduced a new edition of the band on Drum Suite. The front line consisted of trumpeter Bill Hardman and Jackie McLean, he of the searing sound on alto saxophone, with Philadelphians Sam Dockery and 19-year old James 'Spanky" DeBrest, piano and bass, respectively, joining the leader in the rhythm section. These fresh, young Messengers continued what would become the group's established tradition of blues-saturated originals, first-rate soloists, and blazing attack. 

The new Messengers are heard to excellent advantage on three selections "D's Dilemma," "Just For Marty." and Gigi Gryce's "Nica's Tempo," the latter being one of the three originals herein that have become modern jazz perennials (the other two being Ray Bryant's "Cubano Chant" and Oscar Pettiford's "Oscalypso"). But before the December 1956 sessions that yielded "Nica's Tempo," as well as "D's Dilemma" and Hardman's "Just For Marty" we hear another side of Blakey: the dynamic, three-part "Drum Suite." From February 1957 comprising "The Sacrifice," pianist Ray Bryant's "Cubano Chant" and "Oscalypso," with the latter featuring bass giant Oscar Pettiford on cello. "Cubano Chant" and "Oscalpyso" are now like "Nica's Tempo." considered modern jazz perennials. 

From the first bars of "The Sacrifice" which opens these proceedings with tympani and an authentic Swahili chant. One is instantly aware that Blakey and company — in this case the Art Blakey Percussion Ensemble, including five percussionists. plus Bryant and Pettiford — mean to transport us to Africa. In the stellar percussion section are Jo Jones. the innovative drummer of the classic Count Basle orchestras of the 1930s and '40s. as well as Charles -Specs" Wright. Candid° Camero. and Sabu Martinez, all of whom recorded extensively in the '50s.

The rest of this expanded edition of Drum Suite features three rare, but prime, bonus cuts from June 1956 by a short-lived edition of the Messengers. with ace trumpeter Donald Byrd partnering on the front line with the legendary multi-instrumentalist Ira Sullivan. The alternate take of Byrd's "The New Message" has like "The Sacrifice" been restored to its full length here. And in another notable addition. Kenny Washington. one of the finest drummers to emerge in the past 25 years, has written an exhaustively-researched, extensive essay.

Tracklist:

01. The Sacrafice
02. Cubano Chant
03. Oscalypso
04. Nica's Tempo
05. D's Dilemma
06. Just For Marty
07. Lil' T (aka The Third)
08. The New Message (aka Little T) - (take 1)
09. The New Message (aka Little T) - (take 3)

Download Link - Mediafire