Author: WTM

WTM https://worldtreasuresmusic.wordpress.com

World Treasures Radio: Monday’s surprise show tracklist

On air now for a surprise Monday show until 2pm on kmah-radio.com (tracklist below).

Back on Thursday with a Holger Czukay tribute show – 2pm until 4pm on Kmah.

Synchro Rhythmic Eclectic Language – Pasto

Bro. Valentino – Stay Up Zimbabwe

4 Mars – Na Daadihi (Guide Us)

Minoru ‘Hoodoo’ Fushimi – Dompan (Alternate Version)

Minoru ‘Hoodoo’ Fushimi – Nikuzukue

Dur Dur Band feat. Sahra Dawo – Gorof (Elixir)

Minoru ‘Hoodoo’ Fushimi – Zenotized Funk

Minoru ‘Hoodoo’ Fushimi – Aiwa Noushinto

Om Alec Khaoli – Crosslines

Ya Tosiba – Futbola

Om Alec Khaoli – Enjoy

Umoja – 707

Minoru ‘Hoodoo’ Fushimi – Nohdashi

Minoru ‘Hoodoo’ Fushimi – It Isn’t Because Of Hemoglobin

Hype Williams – Blue Dream (Minkle throat charmer edit)

Sharaf Band feat. Xaawo Xiiran – Kadeed Badanaa Naftaydani (My Life is Full of Tribulations)

Pasteur Lappé – Sanaga Calypso

EKO – M’ongele M’am

Pedrinho – Nanda

Bernard Ntone – Mussoliki

Manuel Gomes – JelivràBo Situacon

Mystic Djim and The Spirits – Yaounde Girls

Bro. Valentino – Ah Wo (Brand New Revolution)

R.J. Riggins – I Need You Now

Left Ear select best of Minoru ‘Hoodoo’ Fushimi on new compilation ‘In Praise of Mitochondria’

In Praise of Mitochondria celebrates the output of Minoru ‘Hoodoo’ Fushimi who self-released four albums of unique proto-electro and rap explorations. They were released on two vinyl LPs and two CDs between 1985 and 1992 and now the ever trusty Left Ear Records from Melbourne have revisited this Japanese pioneer. Together with Jerome Qpchan, the label has selected 12 tracks for a double vinyl retrospective, including two unreleased tracks from the archives.

In the words of the esteemed Dr. Rob: “Minoru set out to combine his love of all things funk with traditional instruments and song from his homeland. He uses shamisen on Thanatopsis. Where Parliament’s Flashlight [and] George Clinton’s Atomic Dog ride with Osamu Kitajima’s Masterless Samurai. [Minoru plays] shakuhachi on Mizuko No Tamashii Hyakumademo. Nohdashi puts koto with a Jimmy Castor riff. All set to popping and locking beats.

“Minoru’s vocals switch between raps about cellular metabolism and haemoglobin, soul croon and vocoder. On Shinz-San he adds metal guitar to vintage Sugarhill. And he goes crazy with his sampler. Scratching in cats, frogs, babies, laughter, giggles, traffic jams, failing ignitions, opera singers, and amorous sighs. Furarete mixes elephant roars and go-go. [Minoru is] creating unique avant grooves that share something with Tackhead’s ON-U Sound System, Savant’s tape experiments, and fellow countrymen EP-4.” 

For more information visit Left Ear Records.

Precious comp’ from Ostinato Records: ‘Sweet As Broken Dates: Lost Somali Tapes from the Horn Of Africa’

Ostinato Records’ Sweet As Broken Dates: Lost Somali Tapes from the Horn Of Africa
is a beautiful compilation of sacred music that charts the musical landscape of pre-war Somalia.

Dur Dur Band

The archive provides an audio history of Mogadishu in the 1970s and 1980s when the coastal capital was known as the ‘Pearl of the Indian Ocean’. Bands like Iftiin, Sharero, and the Dur Dur Band rocked some of the best nightclubs in East Africa and singers such as Mahmud “Jerry” Hussen, Faadumo Qaasim, Hibo Nuura, and Sahra Dawo wowed the revelers. The three aforementioned female singers were often more prolific than their male counterparts and half the compilation is sung by women.

Somali music’s golden age occurred during a socialist military dictatorship and a nationalised music industry. Music was recorded by national radio stations and only disseminated through public broadcasts or live performances. The music was never made available for mass release and there were virtually no private labels or distributors. Somalia was backed by both the U.S and the Soviet Union during the Cold War, with Western music also influencing music at certain times.

Somalia’s authoritarian ruler Siad Barre launched punishing air strikes on the north of the country in 1988, known today as Somaliland. The people there had been pushing for independence and the intense bombing leveled the city. Barre also targeted Radio Hargeisa to disable a central communication system that could organise a resistance. In the face of the attack a few brave radio operators and dedicated protectors of Somali culture wanted to preserve the archives that contained over half a century’s worth of Somali music. Thousands of cassette tapes and master reels were quickly removed and buried in neighboring countries like Djibouti and Ethiopia.

Sahra Dawo

All of these artifacts were excavated very recently and are now kept safe in the 10,000-strong cassette tape archive of the Red Sea Foundation, the largest collection of Somali cassettes in the world, in Somaliland’s capital, Hargeisa. The Ostinato Records team has digitised 15 songs for this precious release. Most of it has never been heard outside of Somalia and the immediate region.

Mahmud “Jerry” Hussen

Click here for the Ostinato Records Bandcamp.

Trio Da Kali and Kronos Quartet drop chart topping debut ‘Ladilikan’ next week

The debut album Ladilikan by Trio Da Kali and Kronos Quartet will be released on World Circuit Records on Friday 15th September and is already being tipped to be the transglobal LP of the year.

The video to the collective’s single has already shown their exquisite sound and the fusion of Malian griot and contemporary classical music.

Ladilikan unites Trio da Kali and Kronos Quartet for the first time. Kronos artistic director and founder David Harrington has described the album as “one of the most beautiful Kronos has ever done“.  Trio Da Kali’s musical director Fodé Lassana Diabaté believes their griot grooves being played by violins, viola and cello has created “the best collaboration of my life”.

The three Da Kali members who make up the griot super-group come from celebrated musical families, brought together by Dr Lucy Duran on behalf of the Aga Khan Music Initiative (AKMI). Balafon player Diabaté was a long-time member of Toumani Diabate’s Symmetric Orchestra and has recorded with Salif Keita, Taj Mahal and many others. Bass ngoni player Mamadou Kouyaté is the eldest son of the instrument’s greatest exponent Bassekou Kouyaté, plays in his father’s band Ngoni Ba and is also involved in the thriving Bamako hip-hop scene in Mali. Singer Hawa ‘Kassé Mady’ Diabate is the daughter of Mali’s greatest traditional singer, Kassé Mady Diabate.

The Kronos Quartet comprises of violinists Harrington and John Sherba, violist Hank Dutt and cellist Sunny Yang. Kronos have released over 60 albums that expand the concept of a string quartet and have collaborated with some of the world’s foremost composers and artists.

Kronos turned to the American composer and their frequent collaborator Jacob Garchik to arrange Trio Da Kali’s repertoire.

The album has already topped the September 2017 Transglobal World Music Chart.

Visit the vibrant Trio Da Kali and Kronos Quartet website for more information and updates about their performances and releases.

Antibalas to release ‘When The Gods Are In Peace’ album after five year studio break

Where The Gods Are In Peace is an epic Afro-Western Trilogy and is Antibalas’ first studio album since 2012. The LP on Daptone Records is a search for solace from American political opportunism, greed and vengeance.

The album is far more psychedelic in style than previous incantations of the band’s sound. While paying respect to the forefathers of Afrobeat, some tracks sound more like Goat and the evolution gives their music fresh impetus.

Through its battle cry of resistance against exploitation and displacement, Antibalas’ long-form compositions investigate oppression in 1800s America that eerily mirror the current state of the country. The title refers to the possibilities of living as one unified people, where all gods are equal and together we prevail.

Compositions on Where The Gods Are In Peace maintain their Afrobeat sensibilities, spanning 9 to 15 minutes in length. With a blessing from the Fela Kuti legacy early in the band’s career, Antibalas has long been revered for re-popularising the classic Afrobeat sound while adding their distinct New York City grit to the mix. The aforementioned influences of punk rock, free jazz, and hip-hop define a truly 21st century translation of the Afrobeat genre.

Opening track Gold Rush is a tribute to forgotten indigenous people. Lead singer Duke Amayo, a kung-fu master by day and Afrobeat superstar by night, initiates a striking narrative from the devastation of the Gold Rush era.

“I don’t see what’s happening in our country and around the globe as a problem, it’s an opportunity,” says Amayo. “We fight the hardest when things are about to change. Our generation has the incredible ability to make things better for generations to come. We’re at a critical tipping point, it’s time for change.”

Check the latest WTM radio shows for tracks from the latest LP. The album is released on September 15.

Interview: Ya Tosiba’s Zuzu Zakaria

World Treasures Music spoke to Norwegian-Azerbaijani artist Zuzu Zakaria. She forms a duo with Finnish skweee pioneer Tatu Metsätähti – aka Mesak. Their album on Asphalt Tango Records was released in June and mixes old street poetry traditions from Azerbaijan with underground electronic beats. It is also inspired by classical Arabic and Persian music, Scandinavian electronic traditions and hip hop.

WTM – The new LP sounds to be more traditional and Middle Eastern than previous work, is this the case?

If concerning singing and generally vocals – perhaps yes although, our previous works have been also mainly influenced by eastern rhythms, melodies, instruments and genres. This time we wanted to make the album more organic and more natural for me personally. You know, when two artists coming from different musical traditions and schooling, work intensely together for over a long time, this carries lot of challenges, negotiations, compromises, crashing ideas, than one theoretically can imagine.

We both also respect each other’s ideas and methods and try to use those vibes all the way. But non of the above mentioned are so conscious choices, always while working on tracks. You just blend in the ideas of that mood when you are producing. Another day another vibe. You know approximately where you want to go but it is not always so clear how you go there.  Also we have by time understood that there is no end of the production of the track. You just need to say ok, let us stop here, this is interesting now. But never perfect, you do not actually want tracks to be perfect. That would be boring.

WTM – How did your musical partnership start?

As a DJ I met Mesak in Oslo, while he was touring and playing concerts. Then later in life we both ended up living in Berlin and we both jumped on idea of producing together in 2010. Since then we cannot stop 🙂

WTM – Where are you performing?

One weekend we play at Flow Festival, where 50,000 people are gathering in Helsinki. Another time we play in a basement of pizzeria with 50 people: very different settings.