Ghana Soundz Vol. 1 and 2

Review
Ghana Soundz Vol.1
117 mb on 4shared
1. Because Of Money - 3rd Generation Band
2. Bukom Mashie - Oscar Sulley & The Uhuru Dance Band
3. Mother Africa - Marijata
4. Heaven - Ebo Taylor
5. Simigwado - Ambolley, Gyedu Blay & The Steneboofs
6. Eyi Su Ngaangaa - Sweet Talks
7. Ageisheka - Ogyatanaa Show Band
8. Psychedelic Woman - Honny & The Bees Band
9. Hwehwe Na Yi Wo Mpena - K. Frimpong & His Cubano Fiestas
10. Kwaku Ananse - Apagya Show Band
11. Self Reliance - African Brothers International Band
12. Make It Fast Make It Slow - Rob
13. W'aha Do Ho No - Alex Konadu
14. Nite Safarie - Black Star Sound


Review
Ghana Soundz Vol.2
141 mb on 4shared
1. Oscar Sulley & the Uhuru Dance band - Olufeme
2. Joe Mensah - Africa is Home
3. Ebo Taylor - Atwer Abroba
4. The African Brothers - Sakatumbe
5. Ebo Taylor Jnr. and Wuta Wazuri - Mondo Soul Funky
6. The Sweet Talks - Kye Kye Pe Aware
7. The Ogyatanaa Show Band - Disco Africa
8. Christy Azuma & Uppers International - Naam
9. Bob PInado & his Sound Coasters - Me, You, One (Means I Love You)
10. Marijata - No Condition is Permanent
11. K.Frimpong & Vis a Vis - Aboagyewaa
12. The Uhuru Dance band - Agbadza
13. Uppers Chapter 2 - Samarin Bolga
14. The Apagya Show Band - Tamfo Nyi Ekyir

Orera (Орэра) - The Golden Songs

One of the most interesting pop groups from the former Soviet Union, Orera may be loosely described as Georgian Lambert, Hendricks, and Ross. The group, which included several male voices and sometimes a female one, grew out of the Georgian musical tradition of polyphonic choirs. Orera freely fused many styles - choral pop, jazz, georgian and russian folk - into their own signature sound. Orera also served as a springboard for the solo career of two major pop stars of the Soviet era: singer Nani Bregvadze (the female voice of the group; they did not seek a replacement when she left), and a crooner and actor Vakhtang Kikabidze.
The disc I am offering you today is "The Golden Songs - fan edition." The original album was rather sloppily compiled, so I changed the sequencing a bit and substituted one really good song that was missing for a couple that I thought did not deserve inclusion. I am sure the album got much better. Enjoy!


Orera - The Golden Songs
64 mb on megaupload
1. Pesnya Moya Radost' (The Song Is My Joy)
2. Strana Cvetov (The Country of Flowers)
3. Lalebi
4. Vasil'ki (Cornflowers)
5. Krimanchuli
6. Ty Mne Verish Ili Net (Do You Trust Me or Don't You?)
7. Pirosmani
8. Topolya (The Poplars)
9. U Devushek Nashix (Our Girls)
10. Staryi Motiv (That Old Tune)
11. Tbilisskaya Serenada (Tbilisi Serenade)
12. Hevsurskaya Lyubovnaya (Hevsur Love Song)
13. Gusi-Lebedi Letyat (Flying Geese)
14. Kto Uslyshit Moyu Pesnyu (Who Will Hear My Song?)
15. Pesnya O Tbilisi (A Song of Tbilisi)

Interesting article

Pirates ahoy! And they're wielding their iPods!

The Dream World of Dion McGregor + Shut Up, Little Man!

Two Three! artefacts of the audio verite craze. I uploaded them some half a year ago, but could not get around to writing the annotation.

Dion McGregor was a homeless gay bohemian from NY. He wanted to be a songwriter for Broadway musicals, and while waiting for his big break in show business, he couch-surfed with his friends, lovers, and acquaintances. One of his hosts was fascinated with Dion's habit of talking in his sleep and attempted to document it. This LP compiles several recordings of Dion McGregor narrating his dreams. This isn't just mumblemumble, though - these are clearly articulated stories with dialog and all. A few of them border on nightmares and often end with the speaker waking up with a muffled scream. You can hear New York street noises in the background, as he slept by an open window.
This record came out in 1964, and was accompanied by a book of transcriptions with illustrations by Edward Gorey (who also did the cover art for the record). Two more recordings came out recently, containing the stories which were deemed inappropriate for publication in 1960s.

The Dream World of Dion McGregor (He Talks In His Sleep) Also, more material on a Tzadik release Dion McGregor Dreams Again
REUP 2/19/14: both albums together on zippyshare
A nice article on him, here.


Shut Up, Little Man! is a collection of recordings made in the late 80s by Eddie Lee and Mitchell - two guys living in a cheap apartment in SF. Their next-door neighbours were Peter and Raymond - a pair of violent psychotics, who spent their time either passed out in drunken stupor, or verbally (and sometimes physically) abusing each other. After receiving a death threat from Raymond, Eddie Lee and Mitchell decided they have to record their neighbours' conversations - just in case. Gradually, they became fascinated with Peter and Raymond's drunken rants; the tapes were passed around among their friends as an audio joke. The recordings grew in popularity and were commercially released on CD in 1992; after that, they became a true underground in-joke, with a comic book, a theater production, and a short movie based on them; the lines like "Shut your fuckin' mouth!" or "I want to kill!" were extensively sampled on many musical recordings.

Peter and Raymond - Shut Up, Little Man!
REUP: On mediafire

Art Ensemble Of Chicago with Brigitte Fontaine - Comme à la Radio

Avant-chanteuse collaborates with a famous free-jazz group on a set of pop songs from another planet. Very unusual listen.


Art Ensemble Of Chicago with Brigitte Fontaine - Comme à la Radio
REUP: 70 mb on depositfiles
1. Comme à la radio
2. Tanka 2
3. Le brouillard
4. J'ai 26 ans
5. L'été l'été
6. Encore
7. Leo
8. Les petits chevaux
9. Tanka 1
10. Lettre à Monsieur le chef de gare de La Tour De Carol
11. Le Goudron
12. Le Noir C'est Mieux Choi

I'll toss in two more avant-vocal albums:
NEW LINKS 2/05/2014
Jeanne Lee and Ran Blake - The Newest Sound Around (1961), 91mb on 4shared
Reviews: allaboutjazz, allmusic

Patty Waters - College Tour (1966), 71 mb on depositfiles
Review: examiner

Gamelan

In the annotation to Tibetan chants and Central African folk songs I said that this music appeals to a certain kind of aesthetic perception. It is interesting for the same qualities that make a lot of modern electronic music interesting, as well as stuff like Faust, Riley, et cetera: not as a pop song, but as a richly textured sound painting.
The same applies to indonesian gamelan music (1, 2): if Gbaya is proto-minimal techno, then gamelan is proto-ambient.
Unfortunately, I don't like ambient, and I did not become a gamelan fan. This is a case when "giving it a chance" did not quite work. Maybe I just don't have the right kind of aesthetic perception. Still, it's interesting, and the links are below.


Java Sunda Country - The Art of the Gamelan Degung
zippyshare or uloz.to
1. Catrik
2. Sangku ratu
3. Lalayaran
4. Renggong buyut
5. Pajajaran
6. Jipang Lontang, Beber Layar
7. Lengser Midang
8. Purbasaka
9. Jipang Parwa
10. Maya Selas
11. Ujung Laut
12. Karang ulun



This is the one recorded in 1972 at the court performance. You can hear the birds chirping. Read about it at wiki.
Javanese Court Gamelan
zippyshare or uloz.to
1. Ketawang Puspawarna – 4:46
2. Gending Tejanata / Ladrang Sembawa / Ladrang Playon – 18:28
3. Gending Mandulpati / Ladrang Agun-Agun – 19:40
4. Bubaran Hudan Mas – 2:07



Suara Parahiangan - Degung Sabilulungan
This is more modern-sounding, ethno-pop-like.
zippyshare or uloz.to
1. Sabilulungan (5.35)
2. Karedok Leunca (5.57)
3. Colenak (6.21)
4. Dikantun Tugas (6.05)
5. Ayun Ambing (5.35)
6. Ngantosan (6.18)
7. Karatagan Pahlawan (6.17)
8. B A N D U N G (5.45)
9. Karatagan Pemuda Indonesia (5.45)
10. Mojang Desa (5.37)


Lestari - The Hood Collection. Early Field Recordings From Java
320kbps
zippyshare or uloz.to
01. Lagon Tlutur (slendro pathet manyura)
02. Ladrang Asmarandana (slendro pathet manyura)
03. Jineman Uler Kambang (slendro pathet sanga)
04. Ketawang Tarupala (slendro pathet manyura)
05. Budak Ceurik
06. Ketawang Langen Gita Srinarendra (pelog pathet barang)
07. Kidung
08. Ladrang Kandamanyura (slendro pathet manyura)
09. Bandjaran
10. Gendhing Rambu (pelog pathet lima)

Cheb Khaled - Khaled + The Rough Guide To Rai

Rai (or, rather, raï) is North African ethno-pop, sung in Algerian arabic. Exotic middle-eastern melodies over the disco, flamenco, reggae rhythms. Cool stuff.
Cheb Khaled is rai's biggest star and very popular in France (or so they say). Here's a great article about him.


Cheb Khaled - Khaled (1992)
REUP: In m4a on depositfiles
01 - Didi (4:59)
02 - El Arbi (3:32)
03 - Wahrane (4:25)
04 - Ragda (3:48)
05 - El Ghatli (4:05)
06 - Liah Liah (4:19)
07 - Mauvais Sang (6:11)
08 - Braya (4:44)
09 - Ne M'En Voulez Pas (4:55)
10 - Sbabi (4:03)
11 - Harai Harai (3:57)


The Rough Guide to Rai
REUP: 91 mb on mediafire
1. Ana Aachki Bahloul - Abdou
2. Lazrag Saani - Cheb Mami
3. N’Touma - Malik
4. Moul El Bar - Cheb Zahouani
5. Moulay Ibrahim
6. Guendouzi Mama - Cheikha Remitti
7. Nediha Gaouria - Bellemou
8. Consulat - Cheba Nouria
9. Shab El Baroud - Cheba Zahouania
10. Menghirek Entia Fi Dounia - Cheb Hasni
11. Ya Loualid - Cheb Khaled
12. La Verite - Fadela & Sahraoui

Aesop Rock - None Shall Pass

I never cared much for hip-hop. There are a few rap songs that I enjoy - The Herbalizer's Blend, Red Snapper's The Sleepless - but in general, I find hip-hop irritating, boring, or both. I made a coupla failed efforts to learn to enjoy it, and then gave up.
But here, my policy of "giving it a chance" paid off again: Aesop Rock's album is my discovery of the year. I truly cannot stop listening to it. I usually have to take music of unfamiliar genre in small doses to build up my tolerance, but this one I can easily listen from beginning to the end without interruption and not get bored, but only want to hear it again. His lyrics and delivery are somewhat dense, but, for me, it's a plus: I like dadaist, free-associative lyrics better than "POP POP POP another motherfucker drop" and "Then some stupid with a flare gun / Burned the place to the ground".
See the wiki review collection in the right bar - the majority is four or five stars.


Aesop Rock - None Shall Pass
85mb on zshare

1. Keep Off the Lawn
2. None Shall Pass
3. Catacomb Kids
4. Bring Back Pluto
5. Fumes
6. Getaway Car
7. 39 Thieves
8. The Harbor Is Yours
9. Citronella
10. Gun for the Whole Family
11. Five Fingers
12. No City
13. Dark Heart News
14. Coffee

Return of the walking dead

I don't want to revive my blog yet, but there are some good finds that I have to share. So consider this blog undead. I probably won't upload much myself, just post the links from elsewhere.