MUSIC CITY

Sweet Bee Misbehaves

2012-01-11T04:28:00.011+01:00

Long time ago the dream of finding a city made of gold beneath an Ecuadorian Amazon rain forest became the realm of literary and cinematic fantasy. Nowadays, the bearded conquistadores have been replaced by oil company workers, farmers and tourists looking for a cheap shortcut to narcotic nirvana. The remaining original inhabitants of these territories try to adapt their lives to the changing conditions of poverty, pollution and colonisation. Television sets and radios meddle in the sonic landscape of wild life and the rich chorus of indigenous languages, while keepers of the ancient tradition and songs rebel wondering why boxes without heads and feet can be preferred to their fiddles, flutes and drums. Musicians like the 60 year old Mishki Chullumbo (kichwa for “Sweet Bee”), who goes also with the official name Carlos Alvarado, as the authorities refused to register his kichwa name back in the 1950's, decided to revive their traditional tunes and put together their first band: Los Yumbos Chawamangos. The chawamango is a bird capable of mimicking many sounds, much like the famous lyre bird, and Yumbo is the rhythm that is played in the ecuadorian amazon. According to Mishki, the drum patterns recall the beat the shaman hears when he communicates with the spirits.

I had the opportunity to attend a fascinating lecture by Mishki, organized by the Sisterhood of Music and Dance Appreciation Guandul in Quito. The Sweet Bee of kichwa music spoke about his song, poetry and projects. He told us how his instruments were built, how his sacred dresses were sewn and how he would wake up his wife early in the morning playing the pingullo flute:

I do not know if Mishki Chullumbo and the Yumbos Chawamangos released a lot of records but the one that we share here is a very special one. It is not the usual ethnographic work where a scholar/producer deals with the mixing, playlist, arrangements, etc. It is as free and independent as any Saturn or ESP album you could think of. After sixteen years of intense musical activity, Mishki crafted a songbook both raw and delicate, a visionary statement about his struggling culture and himself. As the best songwriters, Mishki reappropiates the stories of his elders, revives their rich mythology (where jungle devils sometimes kidnap children to teach them how to play music). No wonder, he sees his music as a work of magic resuscitation.

At the end of his lecture he wondered how powerful his songwriting magic would be if his people went back to the jungle and learnt again how to hunt, fish and live in the wild. He even thought of proposing the governement to assign a territory where this voluntary isolation could take place... and “then we would leave our radios, jeans, sport shoes and even our instruments at the forest's gates and start again... Wait no, not the instruments!”

Carlos Alvarado & Los Yumbos Chaguamangos - LP - 1985

Extra Sega

2012-01-10T22:24:00.000+01:00

Ti Frère (1900-1992)

Creole Sega

2012-01-05T11:12:00.002+01:00

Creole Sega - With Love from Seychelles - Souvenir (tape)

Many of you friends have been asking me about track # 7 on the Brocoli/Bongo mixtape: "Letemp lontemp" by Creole Sega - a true jewel indeed. Upon general request, here is the full tape that track was taken from. It's hard to tell what this mysterious thing really is (and the internet doesn't help here at all) except that the music genre featured on this cassette is called Sega from the Seychelles Islands... Is this a homemade compilation? It might be, according to the scratches that can be heard on some tracks. But from the weird balance between instruments I would just bet on a demo tape. At its best, this is pure melancholy, featuring freestyle organ solos, untuned guitar playing and sad metaphorical lyrics. I got this wonderful cassette as a birthday present from my dear friend DJ Pietcheval who found it on a flea market.

Elephantine Vital Force

2011-12-30T14:40:00.006+01:00

The elephant would have turned 60 today. Pepe Kalle (December 30, 1951 - November 28, 1998) aka "La Bombe Atomique", "The Giant Of Africa", "L'éléphant de la musique congolaise", "The Elephant Of Zaire"... 2.10 meter high, 140 kilos. May the above video stand as a reminder of his overwhelming vital force - only defeated by death.

Cochabamba Mortal Mix

2011-12-30T10:29:00.003+01:00

Cochabamba is a city in central Bolivia, located in a valley bearing the same name in the Andes mountain range. It is the capital of the Cochabamba Department and is the fourth largest city in Bolivia with an urban population of 608,276 (2008). The name derives from a compound of the Quechua words qucha, meaning "lake", and pampa, "open plain". Residents of the city and surrounding areas are commonly referred to as Cochabambinos. Cochabamba is known as the "City of Eternal Spring" and "The Garden City" due to its spring-like temperatures year round. It is also known as "La Llajta", "town" in Quechua.

Cochabamba was featured in the 1983 film Scarface. Powerful drug lord Alejandro Sosa resided there, governed large coca plantations and owned cocaine labs where upon further refining, would be shipped to Tony Montana in Florida. Cochabamba is also mentioned in the documentary The Corporation, about their fight against privatisation of water by a foreign-owned company. The privatisation had gone to such an extent that even rain water was not allowed to be collected. (From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)

Mortal Mix is a 30 min road movie in three parts, investigating the representation of Cochabamba's urban and countryside landscapes seen from the street/road level, exploring the city as a mythological entity and natural surroundings as a source of life. It also provides interesting documentary views on local habits and food preferences. The whole thing being driven forward by an intense mix of fast-pulsating hits. Great sound, nice mixing, not fucking around too much but going straight to the point instead. Number 2 might be our favourite. Check it from 8:00 to 9:30 to catch its beauty.

soy cochala, me encuentro lejos de la tierra que me vio nacer...... estoy en catalunya (barcelona). saber que estas canciones aun se escuchan y se sienten, es como si uno retroceria el tiempo atras. te recuerda de todooooooooo y de todos tus amigossssssssss y vecinossssssssss que lindooooo

A Look at the Future (Vol. 2) - Introducing Hugo Freegow

2011-12-14T10:34:00.006+01:00

MESSAGE TO OUR FOLKS - While guns were bursting over Luik yesterday, we received this message from local hero Hugo Freegow in the mailbox. Citizens, take note. Hugo's first mix for Music City works as a traveler's guide to outer space.

A Look at the Future (Vol. 2)
Compiled and mixed by Hugo Freegow

Citoyens! Tenez-vous prêts pour une plongée dans l'univers surprenant de la "Library Music" (et de ses ramifications). Initialement enregistrées à l'initiative de maisons d'édition dédiées au marché de la licence (pour le cinéma, la télévison ou la radio), la plupart de ces musiques sont longtemps restées inaccessibles au public. Etrange industrie que celle-là, génèrant un flux continu de sons destinés à accompagner des images qui n'existent pas encore, à faire vivre des reportages qu'il reste à réaliser... Souvent crées en fonction d'une thématique particulière, elles laissent généralement leurs créateurs dans l'ombre.

La particularité de ce contexte de production le laisse facilement deviner: le syndrome de la musique d'ascenseur n'est jamais loin. Mais, parfois, il ouvre aussi la porte aux expérimentations les plus folles... C'est tout particulièrement le cas lorsque, dès la fin des années 50, l'électronique fait son entrée dans les studios. Le son se libère de ses attaches physiques, traçant tout naturellement la voie à une esthétique (rétro)futuriste. Des trésors inouis attendent l'auditeur curieux (et patient)! Passé le choc initial, la fascination continuera souvent d'agir comme un poison, incitant à l'exploration rigoureuse des profondeurs abyssales de ce monde méconnu. Quitte à s'y perdre un peu...

- Hugo Freegow

A look at the future (Vol.2) by Hugo Freegow

TRACKLIST

John Baker "Farm management"
Delia Derbyshire "Electrobuild"
Delia Derbyshire "Doctor Who's theme"
John Baker "Factors"
Alain Poinsot "Punaisarium 1"
Bernard Estardy "Tic tac nocturne"
Roger Roger "Sounds industrials 6"
Bernard Fevre "Dali"
Roger Roger & Teperino "Walking Robot"
Jean-Jacques Perrey & Pat Prilly "Altitude-1"
Georges Teperino "Electrosonics Nr 6"
Joel Vandroogenbroeck "Trilobites"
John Hyde "Magma"
Sauveur Mallia "Rectangle Astral"
Bernard Estardy "Night express"
Tod Dockstader "Bottle Dervish"
P. Bonello "Electronic track 5"
Raymond Scott "Cindy Electronium"
Eddie Warner "K.O."
Li De La Russe "Way out"
Ennio Morricone "In un Ricordo"
Cecil Leuter "Raving Waves"
Bernard Fevre "Le monde avait 5 Ans"
Jacques Lasry "Danse des cosmonautes"
+++ Piero Umiliani : "Spazio e Materia (Omaggio ad Einstein)"

A look at the future is a series of mix initiated by Hugo Freegow and François Boulanger (aka Cuppcave, Ssaliva, Kingfisherg) around their common love for Library music.

Picture collage by Manuel Padding.

New Music City Cassettes

2011-12-05T23:53:00.010+01:00

RADIO NUDISM

C 45 / 5 EUR

A collection of priceless documents collected from the sound archives of a Danish nudist radio station from 1993/94. This 45 min mixtape / compilation / radio narrative stands as an audio companion to the exhibition of Massimiliano Bomba, Benjamin Altermatt and Xavier García Bardón curated by Francesco Cavaliere and Marcel Türkowksy at Grimmuseum, Berlin in September 2011. Featuring tracks by the aforementioned nudists and more, this tape has been assembled and spiced up by DJ Bongo Man. Co-released by Grimmuseum, Raw Raw Edizioni, Caleuche Video and Music City in an edition of 120 pro-dubbed copies. Banana picture by Bea De Giacomo.

A few copies of the catalogue of this exhibition (published by Raw Raw Edizioni, Milan) are also available from us. A5 format, indigo print HP7500, Fedrigoni splendorgel paper 115 g, 36 pages. 7 EUR.

DJ BONZAI TARZAN: Un remède radical
Mixtape / C60 / 3 EUR

Bonzai Tarzan has worked as a guardian at Doctor Evariste Ossip Natural History Museum for over twenty years. He usually spends his days at the Tropical Bonzai Forest section nourishing the colony of Liliputean monkeys that live happily amidst the lush foliage, peeling miniature bananas with tweezers and pruning the infinite web of capironas, cercropias, figs, kapok and brazil nut trees. This painstaking, constant and stressful activity led him to develop an unusual relaxation therapy composed of calisthenics and music. Mister Tarzan's Un Remède Radical is a four step music program to relieve a variety of ailments from seasonal disorders to acute boredom. Cover art by Hannah Friese. Pro-dubbed tapes.

DJ BONGO MAN: Choc thermique
Mixtape / C40 / 3 EUR

This new Bongo mix focuses on the 1985-1992 era, compiling tracks from Togo to Congo all displaying a peculiar interest for the use of electronic gear, following a retro forward thinking approach. Topics approached in these songs are: love, fun, faith and the missing homeland. File under: computerized soukous, shangaan jive, kwasa kwasa, digi dancehall. Released on the occasion of DJ Bongo Man Suomi tour, November 2011. I would like to dedicate this tape to all my Finnish friends in Tampere, Jyväskylä and Helsinki: may this one help you fuel the coming Winter with light and positive energy. Home-dubbed tapes, limited run.

Orders: lanouvellecite@gmail.com

Dub Echoes

2011-12-02T18:57:00.004+01:00

This is def the most inspiring part of the documentary:

but you can see the whole thing here: http://documentaryheaven.com/dub-echoes/

Palm Wine / Dj Rupture vs. Maga Bo "Dreamachine / Beyond Digital Mix"

2011-11-28T11:49:00.002+01:00

Here I am, after five intense months of gestation Palm Wine's tape is finally OUT!
It features a mix of fieldrecordings I've captured in Morocco last year at the Master Musicians of Joujouka festival on one side, and a mix done by Dj /Rupture and Maga Bo, part of their project Beyond Digital - Morocco on side B.

To buy the tape (10€ for Europe and 12€ for United States, South America and Africa) and read the full story behind the production of the tape click here.

Here's a short excpert from the side A and a photo of the tape as it looks.

شكرا shukran Music City!

Sierra Leone Music Panbody

2011-10-31T23:45:00.000+01:00

Two great tracks and two nice videos from the huge collection of a frantic Youtube poster: mbaimba1 aka Mbaimba, a Sierra Leone-born UK-based kid I've been following on Youtube lately.

Om is Om. Bowling & Sound Festival

2011-10-16T17:29:00.004+02:00

Kraak, Silver Ghosts and Music City present

OM IS OM, BOWLING & SOUND FESTIVAL

- Knock out style bowling festival with music, video, alcohol and espresso -

Wednesday 26 October, 20:00

ROCK/RITZ Bowling

Rue Henri Werrie 76

1090 Jette

Brussels

"Awareness of the true Liquid Centre through focus, concentration, execution and release" (Bowling and sound as meditation)

A seven step program to achieve an enlightened state of being.

• pre tournament ritual

• awakening of the Liquid Centre

• sound senses stimulation

• further awareness of Liquid Centre through bowling meditation

• body mind oneness with the help of holy spirit elixir consummation

• total awareness achievement by crowning of ultimate bowling meditator

• release by the power of party

Your guides on this trip will be

ETERNAL TAPESTRY (Us)

ecstatic beyond the mind freedom unit, rock focused liberators

DRACULA LEWIS (It)

freak zone transcendence instigator, horror electronics sound manipulator

JAWS (Us)

post bliss apocalypse dance instructor, vibe feeler extraordinaire

DJ COOL BROCOLI (Be)

aka 'Cool Kid Broccoli' aka 'The Best' aka 'Ultimate Style'

DJ BONGO MAN (Be)

Music City magus, spinner of magic tunes

DJ MICHELE ARZANO (It)

italo as a science, next level intensity

ERNIE MCCRACKEN (Nl)

Master of Ceremony, guidance with the truly tested 'Mijnsbergen' principle

NON STOP NEXT LEVEL AWESOMENESS!

NON STOP VIDEO PROJECTION!

NNON STOP ACTIONN!

NON STOP MUSIC!

NON STOP FUN!

NON STOP!

NON!

€10, only 70 places!

Om is Om, Vol is Vol!

Your ticket gives you the following in return:

- ESPRESSO as a starter for the evening

- A BOWLING TOURNAMENT in knock out style

- several LIVE ACTS playing on the bowling lanes

- VIDEOS shown continuously

- ESPRESSO bar + special BOWLING COCKTAIL

- DJ's (all night long)

Poster design by Zeloot

Kraak

Silver Ghosts

Music City

Saalim Saciid Salim

2011-09-27T18:57:00.003+02:00

buufle waa raga jaadka cuna qeyrul mas,uslka aa bararka faristaa kuwaa waye kuwa bacda loo deynayo

hhhh
BUUFLE BUUFLE
qatar waye

Nudism - A Furious Undressing!

2011-09-16T11:35:00.013+02:00

Whistle, Minotaure! - a series of exhibitions and events curated by Francesco Cavaliere & Marcel Türkowsky - presents the first episode of

NUDISM

with Benjamin Altermatt, Massimiliano Bomba and Xavier García Bardón

14 September - 25 September 2011

GRIMMUSEUM
Wednesday-Sunday 14-19 h.
Fichte Strasse 2
10967 Berlin

A Furious Undressing !

Nudism, often referring to an alternative to "Naturism", the free speech movement of the body becomes a starting point for a series of upcoming episodes. This viewing assumes to move a sense closer to a free and furious experience in a multi dimensional space. A place where radicalism, realism and fight give possibilities to a self-conscious balance that settles and regenerates continuously. A polyphonic story told becomes more of a panoramic view than an attempt to reach a heterogeneous form.

"La Natura Brutale" (The Brutal Nature), a publication by Massimiliano Bomba and Bea De Giacomo can be an example of an uncontrollable revolt, of nature against man, but further still, occurrences of strangeness and ironic creativity that nature produces and reflects in its own image (like the shifting of lands, ways of life and its maps).

Benjamin Altermatt Zordan, Xavier García Bardón and Massimiliano Bomba are in this sense a combination and reflection of both the remnants of the post-colonial cities and the wider cultural mutations of recent times, and at this point is exactly where they could meet with the artistic approaches of Francesco Cavaliere and Marcel Türkowsky and their "neo tropicalist" vision. Alert in picking up the remains of actions, in continuous amplification of visions and lost mirages, this exhibition is moving into multiple directions through editions of books, films, drawings and music as a form of inquiry and narrative imagination.

This exhibition features a new chapter of the ongoing research of Xavier García Bardón on the history and aesthetics of 1980s Congolese music videos, this time under an installation form including a new video (Video Affairs) and a series of stills and original documents (Matonge Montage Collection). Two screenings of the original and amazing Congolese video material will also take place on September 16 and September 25 at 7 pm.

Info

Automatenspiel

2011-07-27T17:58:00.005+02:00

Nat Fowler is a musician and film/video director based in Berlin. Most widely known as the guitarist for Oxes, he is also DJ Alejandro Technics, playing slowed 80's extended 12" 45s at 33rpm, and is one half of the VJ/KJ team Pantyload Karaoke which presents a chaotic and playful version of the tradition. Automatenspiel - hypnotic video/audio loops to ride on - Join him, for cocktails!

Summer Mixtape 2010 (MP3 version)

2011-07-16T14:35:00.003+02:00

One year later... Here is the MP3 version of the Stenze Quo Summer Mixtape 2010 featuring DJ Cool Brocoli & DJ Bongo Man.

Summer is here! 90 minutes of heatwave jams by these two Music City inhabitants. On the A-side Brocoli is mixing primal hip hop gems on the edge between disco and rap. Slick productions including spaced out synth bubbles and sharp lyrics meet rough recordings of drunk kids practicing in the studio. The lyrical aspect makes it a super intense listen! On the B-side Bongo Man serves us his ever magical eclectic mix of sweet world music. He is a true missionary of the good times dance floor and this mix again shows his ability in guiding us through diverse styles in a smooth & suprising flow. African no wave, ecstatic Congolaise guitars, obscure dub pearls and more rarely heard sounds!

Summer Mixtape - DJ Cool Brocoli

Summer Mixtape - DJ Bongo Man

Shama Shama: A propos des sacrifices humains dans la chanson

2011-07-13T12:45:00.000+02:00

As a further investigation on yesterday's post topic, this fascinating article by Mila Mbungu on the Mopero / Mobeti argument published by Ebène Magazine. Source: http://www.myspace.com/lecommandantdonamobeti. No date mentioned unfortunately.

Shama Shama: Nasambue

2011-07-12T12:28:00.013+02:00

Shama Shama: (Nasambue) LP, Rythmes et Musique, REM 520, Paris, 198x

Where soukous guitars meet casio drumpad madness. Yes. Here's the story: in 1973, Dona Mobeti and Mopero Wa Maloba launched together Orchestre Cavacha, one of the strongest bands to emerge from the Congolese scene of the time. Two years later, Mopero would leave the group to start his own band, the mighty Orchestre Shama Shama - named after a song he wrote for Orchestre Cavacha. The two would only reunite ten years later (well, I can find no date on the sleeve but from the electronic sounds and from the sticker on the back of the cover I bet this one was recorded and released around 1985) for one single recording session. The present untitled LP (also known as Nasambue, from the first track of the album) marked the reunion of Dona Mobeti and Mopero Wa Maloba and put an end to the Shama Shama story. The magic of this recording lies in its bringing face to face, hand in hand, the electricified guitar solos the band made a reputation for and the sparkling crude electronic sounds produced by the then newly appeared computer drums and electronic gear. Later on, as mentioned in a previous post, Mopero would leave the show business to become a priest. This one is for Cheeku.

Hundebiss Summer Night

2011-07-11T12:02:00.011+02:00

HUNDEBISS SUMMER NIGHT

DOMENICA 17 LUGLIO 2011 - 10PM

HANGAR BICOCCA, MILANO

FREE ENTRY

_______________________________________________

HIGH WOLF
FLORIS VANHOOF
DJ BONGO MAN
_______________________________________________

HIGH WOLF

Consacrato dalla stampa di settore, da Pitchfork a The Wire, il caro Max non sembra minimamente toccato da questa pseudo-notorietà, tanto lo sa che tra un anno al massimo il treno sarà già deragliato. E allora cosa resterà? Resterà un ragazzo del nord della francia, con una passione per l'india e un sano odio per il rock. Max cavalca le onde di loop e percussioni tribali, con un’espressione a metà tra il trasognante e lo stordito. Questa è musica per il sesto occhio che ti suona direttamente tra il collo e la fronte. E’ come se Enya si fosse presa le droghe sbagliate, se Moondog avesse suonato la chitarra e una casio nel 2004, se la pizza di stasera era particolarmente piccante.

FLORIS VANHOOF

Time Slime è l'ultimo album di Floris Vanhoof, uscito l'anno scorso per Ultra Eczema, accompagnato da un’installazione fatta di proiezioni 16mm e diapositive. Time Slime…c'è già dentro tutto, no? Time, perchè Floris con il tempo ci gioca, con i nastri principalmente, un supporto che il tempo te lo fa vedere, lo puoi toccare, lo puoi leccare. Slime perchè scivola, è viscoso, scappa ovunque (e per pulirlo devi bestemmiare). Quindi amici, benvenuti nel paradiso dell'iper-reale, ciò che vedrete e sentirete è quanto di più fisico e tattile possiate immaginare. Musica per le vostre retine abbagliate. Se proverete a distrarvi un attimo da come è vestito stasera X e di quanto siano fuori luogo le scarpe di Y, avrete assicurato un bel viaggetto sull'asse Z. Zeta Reticuli.

DJ BONGO MAN

È il ragazzo più positivo, intelligente, simpatico, gioioso, disponibile, curioso, goloso, simpatico, meticoloso e studioso che si possa incontrare. Oltre a suonare nel combo di musica disastrata che porta il nome simpaticoso di Buffle ed essere membro del frizzante collettivo Music City, suona sotto lo pseudonimo (sempre simpaticoso) di Dj Bongo Man, ovvero i tunes più caldi dal Congo e non solo. L'altra sera ha suonato ad Amsterdam e l'hanno definito African Raves, non so se esiste e non ho tempo di chiederlo al Bertuzzi quindi prendetela com'è: beat dai suoni caldi e dalle movenze conturbanti... sì sì sì, è tempo di ballare e stop al panico, la sua mixtape dell'anno scorso (split con il magnifico Dj Cool Brocoli) è stata in heavy rotation quassù fino alla settimana scorsa quando il nastro si è spezzato e sono volate cinque o seimila bestemmie.

T.E.S #Too Hot For Youtube (NSFW)

2011-07-07T21:42:00.004+02:00

Back in circulation!
Three videos deemed too hot for youtube.
These clips are lifted from "Beverly Hills Girls" (1984) and "Nightmare Sister" (1987) both movies starring "Queen of the 'B's" - Linnea Quigley. In each movie there is a performance, a music video within the movie and since we live in Music City I thought it would be appropiate to cut these performances from their original habitat and show them here.

The Skirts "Strange Ways" (Beverly Hills Girls)

The Skirts "Santa Monica Blvd. Boys" (Nightmare Sisters)

Becky LeBeau "Take Me Down The Hard Way" (Beverly Hills Girls)

And don't forget your irregular verbs...

2011-07-02T03:51:00.007+02:00

Hallo Gallo Dance Night

2011-06-20T13:35:00.009+02:00

NONSTOP DANCE!

Saturday, June 25 - 9:00pm

OCCII

Amstelveenseweg 134

Amsterdam, Netherlands

DJ SETS

DJ COOL BROCOLI (be)

twisted early rap and electric boogie that make you spin.

DJ BONGO MAN (rdc)

african rave and the sweetest unheard dance tunes from all over.

ROACH FINGERS (ma)

Griffin (Sewn Leather) is playing us some excellent new mixtapes.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NjqhSNhE27U

LIVE

MARCEL DU SWAMP (us/at)

this kid armed with a sampler and a mic throws his warped electronic dance music at you, sending shivers down a slope of slippery tiles in your shoe. He has been supporting DJ Dog Dick and Sewn Leather on parts of their recent euro-tour, and after a great set at the Kraaiennest rooftop in De Bijlmer recently, we are happy to welcome him once again.

http://swampswampswampswampswampswampswampswampswamp.bandcamp.com

YELLOW GALACTIC HUMAN (dk/nl)

handmade techno-not techno by Jonathan Mikkelsen of Laser Poodle.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iiqheR605QQ

FYOELK (de/nl)

wobbly improvised dance music, inspired by the tales of Läderlappen and Stålpojken. live electronics and drum patterns in constant flux.

www.myspace.com/fyoelk

entrance: 5 euro

Chicho Cruz is the Future!

2011-05-26T22:46:00.004+02:00

Na best kept secret.
E.F.S. (Ethnological Forgery Series), Japan.

Mixtape

Avarus Quantius Et Cetera

2011-05-17T11:22:00.006+02:00

FRIDAY 27.05.2011, 20:00

Café The Student

Rue des Palais 76 Paleizenstraat, 1030 Bruxxels

tram 92, 94, 25, 55

5 eur

AVARUS (FIN)

JARSE (FIN)

MIK QUANTIUS (DE)

DJ PIETCHEVAL (BE)

DJ BONZAI TARZAN (ECU)

Finnish free form rock unit AVARUS celebrate their 10 years of activity by embarking on a tour in continental Europe... Catch the fever! AVARUS is a highly rated entity in the realms of avant-rock, improv and free-folk. The collective from the city of Tampere consists of an ever evolving cast of musicians from the Finnish underground (active in groups such as Kiila and Kemialliset Ystävät) and have released their weirdly twisted, puzzling and exciting outings on labels such as HP Cycle, Secret Eye, Lal Lal Lal, Ultra Eczema and Arbor. The line up in which Avarus will tour Europe this spring includes several members from the scene surrounding Fonal Records, as well as Jeffrey Alexander from American bands Black Forest/Black Sea and Dire Wolves. On this tour Avarus will be joined by one-man band JARSE, a member of Shogun Kunitoki (Fonal records) and MIK QUANTIUS, who has played with legendary Kraut rockers Embryo.

This is a truly stunning package!

This is a Music City / Lexi Disques night.

The following releases will be available among many others:

ANNE LAPLANTINE: "I send you a mp3" (Lexi Disques, 7")

JAMES FERRARO: "Rapture Adrenaline" (Music City / Hundebiss, VHS)

James Ferraro: Rapture Adrenaline

2011-04-30T01:16:00.001+02:00

Hotter than your wettest dreams...

MUSIC CITY & HUNDEBISS VISIONS

ARE EXCITED TO PRESENT
A HELL TV PRODUCTION

JAMES FERRARO: RAPTURE ADRENALINE

(VHS videotape, PAL!*, 94 min, 150 copies)

RAPTURE ADRENALINE is a 94 min epic science-action movie from 2009.

STORYLINE

Set in a crime-ridden Rochester, New York in the near future, RAPTURE ADRENALINE centers on a police officer who is brutally murdered and subsequently re-created as a super-human cyborg. The main plot of the movie revolves around a "Bug" (code word for a member of an alien species that is similar in many ways to a very large cockroach) searching for a miniature galaxy which is also a vast energy source. "Acid Eagle" is the president of Hell-TV (Channel 83, Cable 12), a sleazy television station specializing in sensationalistic programming. Displeased with his station's current lineup (which mostly consists of softcore pornography), Professor Pizza is on a seemingly endless quest for something that isn't so "soft" and will "break through" to a new audience. The rescue turns out to be a fake; the two climbers are taken prisoner by a group of ruthless thieves. The driver is now a hostage trapped by his own seatbelt. However, the robot becomes smarter and more dangerous as it plays putting the boy and his friends in mortal danger. In addition to being an action film, the movie includes larger themes regarding the media, resurrection, gentrification, corruption, and human nature.

REVIEW

RAPTURE ADRENALINE is a virtual videogame car chase through the veins of hyperreality seen through fragments of US movies – mostly produced in the 1990s and diffracted by the euro-lens of Dutch subtitling and French dubbing. To achieve optimal melting these fragments have been transferred from tapes, DVDs and computer files to VHS.

Hollywood is here mirrored, xeroxed, enlarged, cropped and disfigured in order to burn a passage to the next dimension – one defined by cars, weapons, heroes, planes, corpses, space/time machines, virtual reality gods, babies, aliens, animals, dinosaurs... all piled up till reaching new, transcended levels in speed, power, tension, evolution, hi-tech, destruction, sense of space and fear of death… ultimately conveying adrenaline through fear – until you reach meditation point: blue screen. Blue screen is a concept used in computer science to define a state of technological crash, the burn out of the machine, overstimulated by too many demanding applications. The blue screen of death is caused by a fatal system error and is the error screen displayed by the operating system upon encountering a critical error, of a non-recoverable nature, that causes the system to crash.

RAPTURE ADRENALINE is an educational mixtape program, a cyber marine combat training video designed through primitive editing techniques – rough in terms of means yet subtle in their development, displaying a remarkable sense of composition and dynamics plus a peculiar attention to shapes and textures. Operating mythological transformations of popular movie iconography, it reaches the merging point of the magical and the political.

– Fabrizio Terranova & Xavier García Bardón, Chinotto Beach

* Please note! This is a PAL format videotape. It will play on most of VHS players in Asia, Africa, Australia, New Zealand and Western Europe. The following countries and areas are normally included in a PAL region release.

Tape is 15 eur + postage. For any order please get in touch with: Music City. Email: lanouvellecite (at) gmail .com

Delirio de la Realidad

2011-04-23T04:18:00.006+02:00

"El documental ya no sirve para constatar la realidad hasta poetizarla. La cámara perdió la función de ser testigo, pues de eso se han encargado los noticiarios. A la realidad le falta algo más allá de la verdad y la poesía… El documental es un tema para el hombre, la cámara debe ser su cómplice. El documental debe ser un delirio de la realidad, debe ser increíble"

Carlos Mayolo - Revista Kinetoscopio - N°78, Vol. 16.

Agarrando Pueblo from Cinépata on Vimeo.

« Documentary film is no longer useful to the poetic depiction of reality. Cameras are not witnesses any more because television news are taking care of that. Reality needs something that goes beyond truth and poetry... Documentary films are the realm of man, cameras should be its acomplices. Documentary film should be a delirium of reality, it should be incredible... »

More information available here and here

Dindo Yogo: Makamu Yaka & Omona Wapi

2011-04-06T15:37:00.002+02:00

Dindo Yogo in computer world. Party times in zebra landscapes. Beautiful shirts. Full color digital tapestry. Smooth sebene illuminations. These two video messages leave me speechless.

Emotional Dungeon

2011-04-01T16:45:00.002+02:00

Kraagistan Video Tape

2011-03-23T11:59:00.007+01:00

My pal DJ Galapago from ECU found this VHS tape from KRG lying on a window sill next to Pizza Boom... something like... 9 years ago? Because it was NTSC it took him a while to transfer to PAL. Now here it is transcoded to MPG.

What I'd M Thfft Able has to say about this: «In 2002, i used to leave VHS with videos such as these all over downtown Portland. [...] These ones were pretty unique, instantaneous collages with whatever i had lying around, made hastily. The results were often dull, but occasionally something brilliant happened. [...] Left 'em in the library, in that little alley by 10 exchange, i opened car doors and dropped them in the drivers seat... all over the place. [...] Brendan and I did a few where we walked around Portland with a camera, went to the free box, filmed ourselves talking about and somehow using what was in the free box, then popped the tape out of the camcorder and stuck it in the free box...»

Firenze Made Me Banzaï

2011-03-21T11:53:00.012+01:00

Gary Stewart, Rumba on the River: A History of the Popular Music of the Two Congos, Verso, London / New York, 2000, p. 308:

« As a result of Zaïre's failing economy and declining record sales, live performances took on greater importance. Stars' individual character and style could count for as much, perhaps more, than their music. The phenomenon of la sape, 'society of ambiancers and persons of elegance' (from the French les sapes, clothes or togs), appeared to spring in part from this development. Practitioners were called sapeurs. Nearly every young star – and soon many of their fans – joined in pursuing the fad. Sapeurs' predilection for European designer clothes flew in the face of authenticity [...]. La sape gave rise to a dance known as la griffe (the label). 'When you dance you have to show off the [clothing] label', Wemba explained. 'You can even take off your shoes to show the label on the shoes.' Wemba invented a dance called Firenze in honor of the fashion houses of Florence. »

Papa Wemba's 1983 song "Matebu" was the anthem of the sapeurs:

You'll grab these lyrics between 5:00 and 5:30 approximately.

« [Papa Wemba est] le prince, le "pape" de la SAPE, la Société des Ambianceurs et des Personnes Élégantes. Né au Congo à la fin des années 70, ce mouvement prend toute son ampleur au Zaïre, mais surtout auprès de la diaspora zaïro-congolaise à l'étranger et en particulier en France. La SAPE est un phénomène d'abord vestimentaire fondé sur une élégance flamboyante et exagérée. Fou de fringues, Papa Wemba est à la pointe de la mode et les grands couturiers européens et japonais n'ont pas de secret pour le chanteur. Les jeunes hommes s'empressent de se transformer en coquets dandys, et de suivre très précisément les codes particuliers de la SAPE, du choix de leurs chaussures à celui de la coupe de cheveux. Forme de rébellion anti-pauvreté et anti-déprime, la SAPE est aussi une façon de lutter contre la dictature de l'abacost, version locale du costume trois-pièces, et uniforme quasi-officiel des hommes sous le régime de Mobutu.» (http://papawembamwalimu.skyrock.com)

In 1986 Viva La Musica (in May) and Zaïko Langa Langa (in October) would travel to Japan and bring back to the soukous communities of Kinshasa, Paris and Brussels the craze for Japanese fashion deginers.

Massive Love To Japan!!!!!!!!

Fiorucci Made Me Hardcore

2011-03-16T17:20:00.004+01:00

Fiorucci Made Me Hardcore (Mark Leckey, UK, 1999, 14') uses found and original footage of parties held across Britain during the 70s, 80s and 90s, from northern soul clubs to acid house raves. Details of clothing, technology, music and other cultural references surface briefly like uncanny folklore as the film explores a culture of collective leisure and consumption. Writing about Leckey’s first few video pieces, which in addition to Fiorucci… include We Are (Untitled) (2000) and Parade (2003), the art critic Catherine Wood said that they “represent the human subject striving to spread itself out into a reduced dimensionality. His subjects dance, take drugs and dress up in their attempts to transcend the obstinate physicality of the body and disappear in abstract identification with the ecstasy of music, or the seamlessness of the image". The video is sound-tracked by the artist's own music.

From Artforum: A documentary of sorts, Leckey's video chronicles the rites of passage experienced by successive generations of British (sub)urban youth. While obviously celebratory, Fiorucci is ultimately concerned with a collective loss of innocence; its subtext, an examination of the ritualistic behavior of heterosexuals on the threshold of adulthood. Leckey's young--ostensibly male--protagonists exist in the tungsten glare of the moment, blissfully unaware of (their) culture's inevitable passing. As one musical genre succeeds the next, so too are fashions consigned to the dustbin of history. Fiorucci revels in its detail: At one point an authoritarian voice-over intones a list of the once-prized sportswear brands favored by Britain's "casuals" (those elite tribes of mid-'80s football hooligans): Ellesse, Cerrutti, Sergio Tacchini, Lacoste, Fila, Kappa, Jordache, Fiorucci, each specific to a particular time and a particular team's supporters.

Electrotutunpote or muñerengue?

2011-03-13T19:01:00.007+01:00

Please explain!!!

Palm Wine Workshop: Congo Love Affaire Video

2011-03-02T10:26:00.009+01:00

If you're in Milan or nearby... Simone Bertuzzi from the great Palm Wine blog is setting up the following screening / talk given by a Music City representative. Next Monday!

Kaleidoscope - annual workshop

Palm Wine Workshop – Episodio 3/5

Congo Love Affaire Video
a cura di Xavier García Bardón

7 MARZO 2011 ore 18.30

Kaleidoscope Project Space, Milano

Nei pezzi di soukous - un genere esplicitamente congolese - il sebene è la parte finale, dove le chitarre elettriche esplorano uno spazio di libertà estatica. Questo intervento propone di esplorare il mondo dei video musicali del Zaire/Congo degli anni 70/80, che non furono solamente il corrispettivo visivo di canzoni fantastiche, ma inventarono e produssero universi affascinanti, contemporaneamente alla diffusione generalizzata del mezzo video. Le VHS e DVD sono stati raccolti a Bruxelles, ex-metropoli coloniale dove la scena congolese è particolarmente vivace; video musicali, apparizioni televisive, immagini live e altri documenti verranno proiettati e ricontestualizzati. Con: M'Pongo Love, Trio Madjesi, Orchestre Bella-Bella, Lita Bembo & Stukas Boys, M’Bilia Bel, Zaiko Langa Langa…

Altre versioni di questa programmazione sono state presentate all'Oceans Academy of Arts di Den Haag, all'International Film Festival Rotterdam e al Palais des Beaux-Arts di Bruxelles.

Kaleidoscope, 10 Galleria Buenos Aires, 20124 Milano.

V.S.B.

2011-02-26T01:11:00.015+01:00

Valeurs Sûres de Bruxelles

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5-99w-6ZrUA

Tapped Electrified Steel #1

2011-02-24T17:24:00.001+01:00

Traveling in Time with Lita Bembo

2011-02-24T13:06:00.002+01:00

- 2 weeks

- 35 years

Same song: "Gida".

Ba Sebene Production

2011-02-23T14:37:00.002+01:00

The Lulus Band: Anabii A Maheni

2011-02-21T17:08:00.016+01:00

The Lulus Band: Anabii A Maheni Pts 1 & 2 (Sokota International, Kenya, 7", SKT 7-002, year?)

Enjoy this track composed by Daniel Kamau.

From Kenyan Lyrics: Daniel Kamau Mwai "DK" (born February 1949 in Gatanga, Muranga District) is a musician from Kenya. He is of Kikuyu tribe and performs Benga music. Kamau comes from the village of Mabanda in Gatanga. Failing to pay the tuition, 1967 he dropped out of the Karatina High School in 1967. He decided to pursue a career in music, and released his first record in 1968. He made a breakthrough in 1970 when he released the “Murata/ I Love You”, which became a national hit. Around the same time he established a music studio of his own, the DK Nguvu Sounds. It would later attract musicians like Kakai Kilonzo. In 1977 his songs "Nana" and "Mwithua" were banned by the then state radio monopoly Kenya Broadcasting Corporation bue to alleged obscenity. In 1990 he formed a new band, the Lulus Band. He was the civic councillor of the Gatanga ward from 1979 to 1992. As of 2009 he is still performing, and has written over 1000 songs during his career. He is also releasing music videos of his past hits.

For a discography of the Sokota label, please check the always useful KenTanza Vinyl. This website is also full of scans of these fantastic Kenyan 7" labels. An endless source of inspiration in design thinking.

La fiche signalétique du Trio Madjesi

2011-02-15T18:00:00.003+01:00

I'm particularly happy to have found this today. This is a priceless piece of music journalism and a hilarious piece of music history. Trio Madjesi were an exciting Congolese band from the early 70s. All their videos ruled, they were full of fun and spontaneous moves. This interview is exactly like that. Please zoom in for best reading (in French).

Music City citizens in all layers of society

2011-01-23T11:26:00.004+01:00

Two blind Vietnamese ladies asking for donations.

Jolie Detta: "Massu"

2011-01-11T16:19:00.004+01:00

Jolie Detta, Franco & T.P. O.K. Jazz: Massu (Congo, 1986)

From Youtube: The reason Detta did not make any more records with Franco after this one, was that this 18-year-old girl was not strong enough to carry the succes that came out of it. Children shouting her name at her in the street, etc. The succes was too much for her, so she became "sick", or at least, that was the way Franco put it.

This is the best song I've ever heard.

Mopero Wa Maloba

2011-01-07T22:43:00.001+01:00

After playing in the fantastic Orchestre Cavacha, Orchestre Shama Shama and with Les Victoria Eleison in the 1970s and 80s, Mopero - aka Mopero Wa Maloba, one of the best Congolese musicians ever - became an evangelist priest in the 90s, praising the Lord in Cotonou (Bénin), Ouagadougou (Burkina Faso) and Abidjan (Côte d’Ivoire) where he died in 2008, far from the show business industry (and strictly condemning its illusions). Some of Mopero's late celebrations were video recorded and released on VHS by Ephraim Production. Here come three of these. Take your time. Each of the following videos is 2 hour long. The music parts are usually excellent. In the first clip for instance, the track that goes from 4:30 to 7:30 approximately, with its synth rhythm, keyboard digressions and intense vocals is pretty amazing. Not to mention the transe images on this part. Be sure to check the graphics too, like the credits background...

Thanks to Allez prêcher partout.

Jabrane M. Sebnat: Meditation of the Directions

2010-12-10T22:10:00.003+01:00

Jabrane M. Sebnat: Meditation of the Directions (Alifia International, Sweden, 198x, tape)

Best chill out tape ever. This 90 min masterpiece - musically reminiscent of the most relaxing and dreamy Ashra recordings - will teach you the secrets of deep breathing. It is the story of nine simple movements. They were received in dream-time by a young explorer from the Atlas mountains, a long time ago. The movements were among many other things that converged together to help him heal a terminal illness. After recovering, the young explorer set himself free to travel and experience the world. A Sufi master from Morocco, Jabrane Mohamed Sebnat lived in Sweden and traveled to France from time to time. Hear his beautiful, slowly growing guitar solos and haunting keyboard lines. Ripped from a Christmas limited bootleg rerelease put out by very dear friends of mine, this tape actually sounds like a demo version of the 1994 album that is available on CD.

Jabrane Sebnat received the inspiration for this meditation in the beginning of the eighties. Today many people around the world are enjoying practicing it. This meditation combines elements from the Sufi, the Americain Indian and the Taoist traditions. Balance, orientation, clarity and peace are the results of the daily practice of the directions meditation. To receive the description of the movements for this meditation, our catalogue and the programme of our activities, please write to Alifia International. Box 12067, S-24502 Hjärup Sweden. Tel: + 46 40 46 15 17. Fax: + 46 40 46 40 42

Cumbia del OVNI!

2010-12-05T16:06:00.003+01:00

Blue Eyes

2010-11-25T16:11:00.000+01:00

Foreign Correspondents

2010-11-20T15:16:00.006+01:00

Foreign Correspondents Mixtape (2007)

hey dear friend. how are you man! miss you! Foreign correspondents is a tape of two artists. one side, the chinese side, is ALAN TAM, a pop karaoke singer from the eighties. the other side, the slowed down bollywood music, is BAPPI LAHIRI. both of their faces are on the front − Charles Berlitz

Send me to Hasselt, May 27, 2007. I see fruits and second hand books on the merch table: apples, Mayan pyramids. A few tapes too, all black and white covers except this one: Foreign Correspondents. Dream Triangle had just played and I bought this cassette from Charles. I see the cover now... Diamonds and pearls as sky patterns, washed-out vivid colors. Special faces, Photoshop software ghosts. I see an island, a dolphin heading to it - the green area, the gorgeous zone. I clearly hear the sounds now. The tape starts with one and a half track by 80s French pop band Indochine. India. China. Indochina. May 27, 2007. Space... Time... Dream... Triangles...

Black to the Maîtres Fous!

2010-11-11T16:59:00.001+01:00

((( Big Up to Kontest )))

Mirror Time

2010-11-01T10:01:00.004+01:00

Demons (Lamberto Bava, Italy, 1985)

African Music Degree Zero

2010-09-28T16:45:00.004+02:00

I watch this video very often and it never loses its appeal and beauty. Watch it and share it!!!

"The slaves' drums were taken away and for lack of better tools, the slaves then played the rocks they lived and worked on. You can see the grooves in the giant boulders where they have been chipped from the music. They didn't have their drums, so they used the hard earth".

Last Copies

2010-09-20T13:00:00.005+02:00

DJ Cool Brocoli / DJ Bongo Man summer mixtape sold out from the label but we still have a handful of copies... Please contact us if interested: lanouvellecite *at* gmail*dot*com

Sound Poetry from the Rain Forest

2010-09-11T21:12:00.002+02:00

Nature Recordings Vol. V: Jungle (Nature Recordings, USA, 1987, tape)
Producer and recordist: Richard Hooper.

In the early 1950s Dutch based sound explorer Ernie McCracken traveled to South America in order to locate and record the Xul people, one of the most mysterious tribes of Amazonia. After months of research and observation, he was finally able to approach them. Although the Xul people first refused McCracken to record their music, they decided to make him one of them, kept him in their village, married him to the king's daughter and eventually initiated him to their secret rituals. Although it has never been proven, it is thought that McCracken never returned to Europe.

In 1985, a team of researchers from the Audubon Society, a US organization committed to restoring and conserving birds' natural ecosystems, accidentally bumped on what seemed to be the ruins of a long left Xul village. In one of the empty huts, among the primitive stone tools, next to a broken amulet lied a few dusty reel to reel tapes bearing McCracken's writing on them and a torn, incomplete notebook where fragments of his story were related. It is thought that these recordings were later edited and mixed with original material for a tape release.

The South American jungle comes alive with exotic birds, chattering monkeys, the Amazon river, and the occasional downpour of the rain forest, along with native drums. Exciting, mysterious - a hint of danger lurking in the dense, dark steaming jungle of sound. A recording for the truly adventurous.

The Golden Kings Band 76

2010-09-07T11:15:00.005+02:00

The Golden Kings Band 76: Hera Thaga / Omiya Jossy (Kenya, Pluto, 1976, 7")

Led by Luo musician Peter Rachino Owino, The Golden Kings Band from Kenya played rumba and typical benga - as it can be heard on this stomping 7" published by Pluto records in 1976. Owino also played in The Golden Ugenya Band also known as The Golden Ugenya Boys. With one or the other of these bands, he recorded for the local Sokota, Apollo, Pluto and Rachar labels (Rachar being run by Owino himself) and for the US based Makossa imprint. Thanks to the helpful Ken Tanza Vinyl website for all the info. This one is for Fabian, who has been waiting for it for quite a long time.

Ants on my keyboard

2010-08-11T15:59:00.002+02:00

Mayaula Mayoni: "Ousman Bakayoko (instrumental)"

MAYAULA MAYONI FREDDY a former Franco's TP OK JAZZ member (guitarist & songwriter) passed away yesterday May 26th 2010 in Brussels/Belgium after a long illness from a stroke that he suffered in Dar-es-Salaam/Tanzania nearly 4 years ago; Mayaula started with a successful football (socker) career with one of the top Congolese team, the V. Club and with the national team: Les Leopards du Zaire 1969-1971, then he moved with his family to Tanzania where his father was a Congolese diplomat; afterwards he decided to pursue his studies in Belgium, after graduating he returned to Kinshasa where he started his musical career as a songwriter before joining the Franco Lwambo's band; among several bestsalers we remember: Cherie Bondowe, Nabali Misere, with TP OK JAZZ and Ndaya with the late lady singer Mpongo Love.

Postcard

2010-08-05T01:18:00.013+02:00

Enjoying a research residency on this wonderful island. Will be back sooner or later.

Summer Mixtape! DJ Cool Brocoli & DJ Bongo Man

2010-07-24T18:38:00.010+02:00

Finally available from Stenze Quo tape label...

DJ COOL BROCOLI & DJ BONGO MAN - SUMMER MIX TAPE
Summer is here! 90 minutes of heatwave jams by these two Music City inhabitants. On the A-side Brocoli is mixing primal hip hop gems on the edge between disco and rap. Slick productions including spaced out synth bubbles and sharp lyrics meet rough recordings of drunk kids practicing in the studio. The lyrical aspect makes it a super intense listen! On the B-side Bongo Man serves us his ever magical eclectic mix of sweet world music. He is a true missionary of the good times dance floor and this mix again shows his ability in guiding us through diverse styles in a smooth & suprising flow. African no wave, ecstatic Congolaise guitars, obscure dub pearls and more rarely heard sounds!
C90 in stencilprinted cover + tracklist. 4 euros.
Orders: stenzequo(aaaatt)yahoo(dotttt)de
http://stenzequo.blogspot.com
http://www.myspace.com/stenzequo

Jeannot Ra: Exhibition Kuasakuasa

2010-07-15T16:09:00.003+02:00

Visionary TV studio architecture, amazing colors and shapes, dreamy video effects, joyful dancing, children shouting in the background... and of course perfect summertime music, with such a nice and appropriate ice-cream-on-the-beach vibe to it. "Exhibition Kuasakuasa" by Jeannot Ra (obviously from the 1980s) is definitely one of the best and most refreshing congolese videos I've seen so far! Freshly ripped... Play it on the beach!

Tsunky Shuar: Nunka Japam Ikiukip

2010-07-07T17:11:00.004+02:00

Beautiful songs from the Amazon. Turtle shell percussion and guitar magic in a song calling to protect the rain forest.

RIP Rammelzee, Thinker of the Gothic Futurism (1960-2010)

2010-07-01T12:05:00.010+02:00

Pictures of Rammelzee art by Francesca Alinovi

Boy Masaka with the Boyoyo Boys: Moon / Draai Veld

2010-06-29T21:50:00.005+02:00

Dry dry dry!!!
Boy Masaka with the Boyoyo Boys: Moon (South Africa, RCA, 7'')
Best 7" of the last 10 minutes.

Contrastes International

2010-06-23T16:34:00.005+02:00

The Field Mice - "Holland Street"

"El tren"

2010-06-22T17:41:00.004+02:00

En voiture, on est en retard!
Diblo Dibala: "Super K"

Robo Arigo: Sexy Thing

2010-06-15T14:49:00.008+02:00

Robo Arigo: Sexy Thing (Supreme Stars International, Nigeria, 1982)

Please note: this is a major contribution to the internet music community. Justice and truth can be over-run by the absolute powers of power but that is only for as long as the populace remains illiterate and ignorant (Robo Arigo). Flash it download. And let me quote the excellent Comb and Razor blog here (C&B uploaded a track from Robo's LP a bit more than a year ago): Robo Arigo's Sexy Thing album is in my opinion one of the rarest and most rewarding funk LPs of the 1980s. I like the rough and demo-ish quality of it, with his vocals mixed down low throughout to showcase his funky chops. Burning hot tunes and serious bass playing indeed by this former member of Pogo Ltd: pure Konastone ponk - ponkier than punk. Play it loud while you cruise the streets of Music City.

Prende la moto

2010-06-08T15:12:00.006+02:00

More champeta... Sampled soukous guitars and Dee-lite infused video effects for this lost classic by Grupo Kussima: "Prende la moto" (Cartagena, Colombia, 1990s?). If any of our Colombian readers has more info about this, please let me know!

Demon Channels

2010-06-07T11:24:00.011+02:00

Following acclaimed screenings of his former video Rapture Adrenaline in Austria and Belgium in 2009, here comes the brand new work of Afro-American musician and visionary multimedia artist James Ferraro. Less based on found footage, Demon Channels features animation and original footage filmed on location by James Ferraro in the land of one million frost tipped dreams... Hollywood California. Just following his masterplan, digging the same obsessions a bit deeper and getting better and better. James is also acting in this one. A full length feature video will follow this Summer.

Picós y picoteros

2010-06-01T14:46:00.020+02:00

I came across this dream collection of picós pictures on Africolombia's blog. Picós are these huge, powerful, customized, hand painted, highly fetishized sound systems from the Colombian Carribean Coast (Barranquilla, Cartagena, Palenque de San Basilio...).

Surfing and digging for info about picós I landed on this page (which has a few nice pictures too) and on this interesting essay by Deborah Pacini Hernandez: "Sound Systems, World Beat, and Diasporan Identity in Cartagena, Colombia" (published in Diaspora. A Journal of Transnational Studies, Volume 5, Number 3, Winter 1996, University of Toronto Press). Although this paper has been written 14 years ago, describing a situation which since then has probably evolved (at least on the technological level I guess), it definitely still captivates. The author traces the fascinating cultural connection between this particular area of the country and Africa, a connection originating in the dark slavery days of the XVIIth century... and which among others lead - in the second half of the XXth century and particularly in the 70s - to the development of picós (i.e. local sound systems - the word picó deriving from the English pick up, referring either to the record player or to the truck transporting the whole thing) and champeta (the music played on these systems).

Pacini Hernandez not only traces back this cultural phenomenon but also focuses on the picós and picoteros technics and aesthetics - which paralleled the Jamaican developments on this field. These are among my favorite pages:

If the music originally played on these unreal sound systems came from all over Africa (vinyl records being brought to Colombia by sailors), champeta has a particular connection with Congolese soukous - as mentioned by Elisabeth Cunin in her more recent essay: "De Kinshasa à Cartagena, en passant par Paris : itinéraires d’une « musique noire », la champeta" (in Civilisations. Revue internationale d'anthropologie et de sciences humaines, Number 53, 2005, p. 97-117). So wait a minute: Colombian champeta originates in Congolese soukous, which derives from Cuban rumba (mixed with some Greek influence), rumba beats originating themselves from African music... Is that right? This continuous evolution based on travels and drifts across seas and through history makes the whole thing even more fascinating.

Picós played original versions of the songs but also covers by local Colombian bands and subsequent DJ mixes and remixes... Until today as picós are still pretty much a live reality that keeps on evolving all the time.

OK so now here comes the serious stuff (or more immediate food): the videos. Contemporary picós (or at least from just a few years ago) playing champeta. MCs toasting, street dancers moving while DJs spin soukous tunes. Rapid Casio SK5 keyboard drumpad fever on ecstatic congolese guitar solos. Dream music, heavy sound, serious street party vibes. Incredible mix. I think I played the first clip 100 times or something?!

Saludos a Magdalena!

28, 29, 30

2010-05-27T10:47:00.009+02:00

Music Citizens will travel and congregate this weekend... Which means we have a few friendly gigs, screenings and parties to announce - including a special release party for the brand new DJ Cool Brocoli / DJ Bongo Man summer mixtape published by Stenze Quo (more info about this in the coming days). Excellent bands will be playing. Here's the schedule. Be welcome.

May 28, 21:00 (Den Haag, Villa Te Koop, Alexander Gogelweg 12)
Eklin, Fyoelk, DJ Cool Brocoli, DJ Bongo Man

May 29, 21:00 (Amsterdam, OCCII, Amstelveenseweg 134)
Orphan Fairytale, Bertin, Cotopaxi, DJ Cool Brocoli & DJ Bongo Man (Stenze Quo mixtape release party)

May 30, 18:00 (Den Haag, The Oceans Academy of Arts, OAOA Salon, Weimarstraat 24a)
Congo Love video programme

Dj Sun Papa "Sonotron Mixtape" (An Homage to Sonoton)

2010-05-20T12:56:00.003+02:00

Dj Sun Papa "Sonotron Mixtape" (An Homage to Sonoton) by RBDX
Shout-out to Frank Dommert from A-Musik who introduce me to Sonoton (Germany, München music library label from the mid 80s).
Shout-out to HEY! MR.MELODY, a Japanese crew who know how to screw the funk.
More on Sonoton: http://www.discogs.com/label/Sonoton

Afrokraut

2010-05-16T23:29:00.008+02:00

They fiercely hated capitalism and colonialism and immoderately loved psychedelic drugs. They built self-managed nations and communities devoted to the inner space exploration, they were followers of polygamy and esoteric practices. They worshipped the rhythm.. and the ministers were Tony Allen and Jaki Liebezeit. At the out side, RAF urban guerrilla rioted and the Nigerian dictatorship put down the rebellion... and Allah could have been Marxist. Can, Faust, Fela Kuti & Africa 70, Neu!, Ofo the Black Planet, William Onyeabor, Harmonia are the stars of Krautrock and Afrobeat. It’s a journey through the sounds of a buried period, looking for improbable resemblances between seventies Africa and Germany.

Brother Massimo Carozzi worked on this mix which tries to build a bridge between krautrock and afrobeat, or better said to reveal their common core. I heard him playing it in Bologna as a warm up to Boketshu's gig and it was a perfect opening. Check it out.

Afrokraut part 1 by massimo carozzi

Zamrock!

2010-05-12T20:55:00.004+02:00

Chrissy Zebby Tembo & The Nkozi Family

“Feeling good, feeling bad.

Are you upset in your mind?

Come back to me we stay together.

You will find peace and love.

Please baby, come back to me.

I am lonely you are lonely.

If you really love me baby,

come back to my home today.

You know that I love you.

You are lonely and I’m lonely.

Don’t feel bad feel free.

If you really love me baby, Alright!”

Wendy Sulca

2010-05-12T17:26:00.003+02:00

Hear the sad song of Wendy Sulca, a little Peruvian girl who wants to drink beer. Many more High Definition videos on her youtube channel. Beautiful harp on all tracks. Download her full album here: Wendy Sulca: Grandes Éxitos (2010).

Wendy also recently recorded this extremely retarded, politically deeply annoying though musically powerful track for Israel together with superstars Delfin Quishpe (Ecuador) and La Tigresa del Oriente (Peru) that we aren't posting here.

Dactylo IBM (Illustre Bombardier Mombombo)

2010-05-08T16:04:00.009+02:00

Here is the video alluded to in the former post: "Mombombo Dominé" by Lita Bembo & Stukas Boys, featuring the ecstatic guitar solo played by Jacques Bongo Wende aka Dactylo aka Dactylo IBM (Illustre Bombardier Mombombo). Dactylo great part starts at 1'36''. The spontaneous dance moves are also highly enjoyable, as is the excellent camera work.

This is a fragment of a whole TV show recorded by the band I guess in the Congolese television studios back in the 1970s. Other songs from this show can be found on Youtube. All of them are actually taken from a killer DVD release that also compiles fantastic video documentation about Trio Madjesi. This is a 100% fresh upload.

Makes it look so easy

2010-05-06T08:11:00.005+02:00

Makes me think of the great part on the Lita Bembo dvd, which was my first introduction to the world of Congolese music videos at la maison bongo!

Crashes in Love

2010-05-05T22:40:00.007+02:00

Just thought I'd make everyone happy with this beautiful and rare album by William Onyeabor. Crashes in Love was released in 1977 on the artist's own imprint, Wilfilms, like every of his records (all masterpieces). The album is said to have been composed as a soundtrack to a movie Onyeabor made - "a tragedy of how an African Princess rejects the love that money buys", as mentioned on the sleeve. Crashes in Love is actually William Onyeabor's first record and of course features a few mindbending tracks. Genius man.

William Onyeabor - Crashes in Love (Wilfilms, Nigeria, 1977, LP)

Les Stars de Zaïko - Hôtel Bristol live DVD

2010-04-26T13:39:00.005+02:00

A quick note to announce the imminent DVD release of this recent concert of les Stars de Zaïko at Hôtel Bristol, Brussels. Music Citizens are proud to appear in this video editing... Comprenez mon émotion!

Mexican Animals

2010-04-24T07:03:00.026+02:00

ANIMALES MEXICANOS - A video program curated by David Jarrín Zabala.

So if you happen to be in Brussels. Do not miss Tin Tan singing a rumba to the dinaosaurs, or the great Paquita del Barrio fighting a bipede monster or the inspiring videos of the No Grupo.

It's at the Palais des Beaux-Arts today - screenings at 20:00, 20:40 and 21:20!!!

:)

2010-04-22T18:41:00.003+02:00

Essence

2010-04-21T23:23:00.005+02:00

Excellent world music by Frenchman duo of Michel Sanchez & Eric Mouquet.
This is taken from their first album Deep Forest and is alltogether excellent, strictly emotional world music of the 90ies, made it to MTV even. Later on they went into producing material such as hungarian folk songs meet the chill buddha beats of ibiza or upbeat romanian tango etc.. you know the deal.
Heal the World.

Congo Love

2010-04-15T14:33:00.023+02:00

This Saturday
17 APRIL 2010, 5 PM
MUSEUM M LEUVEN
(L. Vanderkelenstraat 28, 3000 Leuven, België)
In the context of the Afrika Film Festival

CONGO LOVE
Refreshing compilation programme featuring great music videos, TV show appearances, live footage and other documents relating to 1970s and 80s Congolese pop music. Including artists like M'Pongo Love, Trio Madjesi, Orchestre Bella-Bella, Lita Bembo & Stukas Boys, M’Bilia Bel… These videos defined the stars. They also made fresh, inventive uses of the technology of the time, setting up playful ideas in mind blowing pieces that created a whole visual idiom. Historical documents, ecstatic music.
Curated by Xavier Garcia Bardon.

This is a short version of the Congo Love video programme I put together last January for the International Film Festival Rotterdam, commissioned by brother Edwin Carels.

PROGRAMME PLAYLIST
M'Pongo Love: Déception d'amour (7')
Orchestre Bella-Bella: Zamba (3”)
Sam Mangwana: Fati Mata (7')
Defao: Chagrin dimone (excerpt, 3')
Tabu Ley Seigneur Rochereau: Nzoto na ngai (7')
Lita Bembo & Stukas Boys: Mombombo dominé (4’)
M'Bilia Bel: Rockia (2'30”)
Orchestre Bella-Bella: Zizina (4’)
Trio Madjesi: 8e Round (13’)

African China

2010-04-08T12:23:00.005+02:00

African China: "Men wey sabi" (Globedisk Music, Nigeria, 2007)

My name is Chinagorom Onuoha, popularly and musically known as African China. The name African China stands for "African Children Have Ideas Natural for African". I was born in the ghetto called Orile in Lagos, Nigeria. I had my secondary education at Iganmu High School and my primary education at Metropolitan Primary School. I am from Imo state and I happened to be the last child of my mother. I started music in 1985 at the age of seven and went fully into music at the age of 18 in 1996, after my secondary school. I became a professional in the game in 1999. I got my first award at the Nigerian international song festival N.I.S.O.F.E. 99. before I had even released my debut album "Crisis" that later went on to win so many more awards like: *the best reggae/ ragga dancehall for Fanta Fame musical award 2003 merit award*, *Unfication peace award from the OPC*, *1st Nigerian Entertainment award*, *N.U.S.E.C award*, *Best award and Grand hotel award for best perfomance*...and many many more. Now I have another album out titled "Mr. President", the hottest selling album in the Nigeria. The track is also featured on the internationally released compilation "Lagos Stori Plenti - Urban Sounds from Nigeria" (Out Here Records), the first compilation of its kind concentrating on contemporary music from Nigeria. Part of the promotion for this compilation also saw me touring five German countries. My kind of music is basically African in nature, it's called PIDGIN Reggae/dancehall. My inspiration comes from the people on the street and GOD. I WANT TO BE SEEN LIKE EVERY OTHER NIGERIAN/AFRICAN, UNDERGOING PAINS LIKE OTHERS. NOTHING DEY PA...............................

http://www.myspace.com/africanchinang

Le dernier show

2010-04-05T01:16:00.009+02:00

Love la vie!

2010-03-22T21:51:00.002+01:00

abtal el 3alam hicham et said wlad sefrou 2010 love la vie...

Here comes the Aztec Queen!!!

2010-03-13T06:42:00.002+01:00

Smoothe da Hustler

2010-03-11T20:45:00.004+01:00

Don't know if this is a good first post but i've been playing this song daily a bunch of times the last couple of weeks.

Charlie Chaplin 1983

2010-03-10T16:58:00.011+01:00

Another King Sturgav sound system recording: Charlie Chaplin live at Maypen Clarendon, Jamaica, Saturday October 15, 1983. Inspector Willy at the Controls. Selector: U-Roy. Special Guest: Jim Kelly. 28 tracks. Cover. Enjoy!

Fingerpicking from the Axis of EVIL!!!!!

2010-03-10T00:12:00.002+01:00

Renova Band / Edia Sophie

2010-03-09T12:23:00.009+01:00

Two versions of the same song, distant of about 40 years: "De Eglo Kanhluin" by Renova Band (Benin), vocals by Edia Sophie, around 1969... and the same Edia Sophie in this video from 2008 (note that the title of the track in this version is "Adjanouvi Kolo").

Renova Band, "De Eglo Kanhluin" (ripped from the 7", Albarika Store, 1969?)

Edia Sophie, "Adjanouvi Kolo" (2008)

For more on Renova Band and Edia Sophie, please check former posts.

Wajia Rastagar

2010-03-08T08:43:00.005+01:00

An incredible Afghan version of Sofia Rotaru's big hit "Bylo, No Proshlo" (It Was, But It Has Gone), with a mind bending video.

Soviet Sounds

2010-03-07T22:26:00.012+01:00

Russians are the largest ethnical minority in Finland. That's one reason why it's pretty easy to find Soviet LPs from Finnish flea markets. Another reason is that Finnish tourists and antique dealers have been carrying records from their trips to Eastern European countries for decades.

Most of these LPs are released by the USSR's monopolized record label Melodiya. After 1989 the variety of labels increases. Most of Melodiya's records contain classical music, Eastern European folk and pop songs and Soviet pressings of Western records. There's also some heavy rock, synth pop, electronic music and new wave among other more alternative genres.

For the last couple of years I've been collecting some interesting looking LPs from local flea markets. My main interests are in the strange and unique production values and synth sounds some of the songs have. The USSR had its own synth industry, which makes some of the songs very exciting and special.

I decided to post just a series of "best of" compilations, because most of the records I've found are not so exciting as whole albums. Usually on a record there are one or two real treasures among the more boring songs. Some of the featured songs were big hits in the USSR, some not. The first batch contains 70's and 80's disco and pop from USSR (except the Angel Vladkovic group is from Yugoslavia). Because of my crappy turntable there's some low brum noise in the tracks, sorry about that!

Tracklist:

Zdravstvuj Pesnja: Vokrug Ljubvi
Kruiz: A Top
Angel Vladkovic Group: Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood
Leisja Pesnja: Obruchalnoe Koltzo
Dispeyi: Noch
Forum: Blue River
Jury Chernavskogo: Spit Pridorozhnaya Trava
Valeri Leontiev: Attraction of Love
Dialog: Kosmicheskie Son
Alexander Buinov: V Gorode Sochi

Get them here.

Beppe Maniglia

2010-03-02T23:13:00.018+01:00

Beppe Maniglia: the Rambo biker, the street musician, the ex muscle man champion, the guitar hero. Born in 1943 Beppe Maniglia is a living legend in the streets of Bologna. This is how Beppe likes to introduce himself:

Cittadino italiano, figlio d'arte diplomato in Composizione al Conservatorio e laureato in Lettere Moderne. Solista di classe, dotato di grande talento interpretativo, muta il suono metallico delle corde della sua chitarra in vibrazioni cariche di sentimento. Giramondo per scelta di vita, trasforma le strade e le piazze in platee: l’asfalto è il suo palcoscenico. Amante della natura e degli animali, è assolutamente vegetariano.

I saw Beppe Maniglia a few times in the last years, playing electric guitar in front of Sala Borsa, Piazza Maggiore: sensitive solos, warrior outfit, speakers on top of his motorbike... Mitico every time. In 2009 Beppe ran for mayor but didn't get elected. The following video selection provides a good and approximately chronological overview of his activities.

Beppe Maniglia website. Beppe also runs Cimiteri Web , a death themed webpage.

La Bamba

2010-02-24T12:09:00.005+01:00

Yo no soy malinelo.
Victoria Harbour, Hong Kong, 20.02.2010.

Trance (Les Stars de Zaïko)

2010-02-21T18:21:00.011+01:00

Trance (The Grime Bonus)

2010-02-21T15:23:00.009+01:00

Prehistoric Music

2010-02-19T03:02:00.004+01:00

Party times in ancient times.

Il mondo di Yor (Yor, the Hunter from the Future, Antonio Margheriti, Italy, 1983)

Grunt! (Andy Luotto, Italy, 1982)

Orchestre Renova-Band d'Abomey: Dada Segbo

2010-02-16T23:59:00.018+01:00

I’ve been looking for anything by Renova-Band d’Abomey since I heard a short clip from the track “Dada-segbo” on the internet more than one year ago. The guitar playing was so cool, with such a nice lo-fi feel... and the voice of Edia Sophie was so fresh.

Renova-Band (or Renova Band, depending on the release) were part of the 60s scene in Dahomey, a country that became independent in 1960 and changed its name to Benin in 1975. Together with Super Star de Ouidah and Orchestre Picoby-Band among others, Renova-Band formed the first generation of modern music bands in Dahomey, mixing new genres like rumba, cha-cha-cha, salsa and jerk with traditional/local elements.

One of the peculiarities of the band was their female vocalist. Born in 1938, Sophie Aguidigbadja, better known as Edia Sophie, decided she would be a singer around 1965 after hearing a song by Renova-Band. She liked the song so much that she got in touch with one of their members, Nestor Hountondji. After some discussions between the musicians, Sophie joined the band and became the first modern female singer in the area, entering a world which till then was pretty much closed to female artists.

As Fortuné Sossa recently put it in La Nouvelle Tribune:

Les débuts d’Edia Sophie dans la musique remonte [sic] en 1965. Elle avait à peine 25 ans et vivait à Abomey. Marquée par un morceau de l’orchestre Renova Band, exécuté par Nestor Hountondji, elle décide de chanter. Elle se rapproche de ce dernier et se confie à lui. La plupart des membres du groupe pensent qu’en admettant une femme en leur sein, l’orchestre risque de voler en éclat. Car, de mémoire de Dahoméens (aujourd’hui Béninois), jamais la femme n’a daigné faire de la musique moderne. C’est un métier réservé exclusivement aux hommes. Donc impossible d’accepter qu’une femme vienne semer le trouble dans l’ordre naturellement établi. Mais la jeune femme ne perd point le courage. Elle est décidée, engagée comme poussée par une force surnaturelle. Deux choses armaient sa détermination. Elle se savait capable d’exercer le métier. Elle était déjà mariée et mère de famille.

Grâce à Dansi Zindjo, percussionniste du Renova Band, Sophie Aguidigbadja fait la connaissance du chef de l’orchestre, William Basile Cakpo. Bien que surpris, celui-ci lui pose à plusieurs reprises la question: «Veux-tu vraiment chanter ?» Le «Oui» de la femme ne souffre du moindre bégaiement ni de cafouillage. Le génie de l’art a déjà ensorcelé tout son organisme. Il circule désormais dans ses vaines comme la sève dans l’arbre. Alors, le chef du Renova Band la met à l’essai. Sans commentaire! Le résultat est patent. Sophie Aguidigbadja peut bien chanter!

«On va trop te critiquer», avertit tout de même William Basile Cakpo, en signant l’entrée officielle de Sophie Aguidigbadja dans le Renova Band. Et les critiques ne se font pas attendre. Elle était effectivement un objet de curiosité. Elle paraissait déshonorante aux yeux de l’opinion. Mais, dans le même temps son talent devenait rassurant. Loin d’un déshonneur, elle apportait d’emblée une révolution à un système rébarbatif.

(Fortuné Sossa, "Edia Sophie, une voix que l'âge ne déteint point", La Nouvelle Tribune, 12 Sept. 2009)

I finally found a copy of this 7" published by Impressions Sonores du Bénin (in 1969?). Not in the best condition – the vinyl is cracky as hell – but here it is, ripped for you. The guitar parts of each of these four tracks are fantastic. On “Me we non ko kou” the guitar and percussion sounds around 2'00" are so playful...

The Pirate Flava Mixes by DJ Wrongspeed (The Grime Matrix)

2010-02-13T01:31:00.017+01:00

The Pirate Flava. Running from May 2002 to February 2003 this weekly radio show was a 15min collage of recordings from pirate stations in London. The show was eventually forced to close following a complaint made to the then Radio Authority. This selection draws together some of the characters & musics which make up London's chaotic radio space.

1) Mega Mix
2) Talk'n'Ads
3) Old Skool
4) UK Shed Mix

Dj Wrongspeed was obsessed with the grime and Uk garage pirates, but also with all the strange community radio stations you have in London (…) He constructed these really great collages out of this babble of opinion (some of it quite outrageous and not the kind of thing you would get on the mainstream radio stations, which follow a liberal consensus (…) all kinds of profane speech or what Foucault would call “forbidden popular knowledge”. (Simon Reynolds)

Woaw! (Fabulator)

Boketshu 1er - Bologna videos

2010-01-27T18:22:00.011+01:00

Boketshu's gig in Bologna was totally incredible! I had planned to post videos of the show as soon as I'd be back home but my last night in Bologna was so ecstatic that I lost my camera in the plane. Someone found it back though (thank you!) so I'll be able to upload more videos and update this post soon. In the meantime, here come two first videos of the show... They were shot by my friend Mirco who was then standing behind the band, close to the guitar amps and the drums. (The next videos will be from the audience point of view). Here we go!

This band is addicted to coffee. I had seen Boketshu and his musicians playing very small scale shows in Brussels before but hearing them playing on this powerful sound system, live in Italy for the first time, and in such a different and new context for them was such a perfect experience... Getting high on espresso, travelling together, hearing them talking about music (their music as well as lap top music for instance), playing their forthcoming CD in the car while driving in the streets of Bologna made it even more perfect. I thought I was dreaming from the beginning til the end.

Thanks again to Boketshu (vocals), Cardinal Malula (guitar 1), Pappy Muntu (guitar 2), Jacquou Ilunga (bass), Alonso (drums) and Yannick Koy (percussions) for this amazing night! Thanks also to Andrea and Daniele from Netmage/Xing, Simone from the Palm Wine blog, Francesco and Michele from Locomotiv Club... for helping making this possible.

Boketshu 1er, Grand Prophète de la Nation live in Bologna tomorrow!

2010-01-23T01:40:00.012+01:00

Less than one year ago, in February 2009, I went to this bar for the first time: Bayombe, also know as Chez Brigitte, erroneously called La Nouvelle Cité by a few of us. It's hard to describe such an exciting and chaotic place. In this small and lively congolese club located somewhere close to Brussels canal, every friday from 3 AM until 7 in the morning, Boketshu 1er and his group were the best band in the world playing the best music ever. For real. La Nouvelle Cité sadly burned down last Summer... and everyone who had the chance to experience this incredible place will miss it forever.

Thanks to Netmage Festival in Bologna, I’ve had the opportunity to invite Boketshu 1er, Grand prophète de la nation to play their very first Italian gig.

Per tre anni BOKETSHU 1ER e il suo gruppo è stata formazione residente del Chez Brigitte, un piccolo bar congolese di Bruxelles (che qualcuno chiamava erroneamente La Nouvelle Cité), caotico e informale, con tanti clienti ed un minuscolo dancefloor, vicinissimo al gruppo. Per i fortunati che hanno potuto viverlo, il La Nouvelle Cité rimarrà un posto mitico e magico che ha rappresentato il vero suono undeground della città e che - solo ogni venerdì, fra le 3 e le 7 del mattino - ha ospitato la migliore band al mondo: Boketshu e i suoi musicisti. E la ospiterebbe ancora a lungo, se nell'estate 2009, non fosse bruciato.

Nei suoi irresistibili concerti Boketshu suona la musica dal Congo inventata dai gruppi di rumba e soprattutto soukous degli anni '60 e '70 (Franco, Zaiko Langa Langa, Afrisa International, Orchestre Kiam...) con bellissimi assoli di chitarra elettrica e ritmi potentissimi. Boketshu 1er, membro fondatore e leader dei Swede Swede (storica band nata a Kinshasa nel 1985), ha portato con successo il suo mix di musica tradizionale e moderna in Congo, Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Gabon, Senegal, tanto quanto a Londra, Parigi, in Germania, Olanda. Il concerto di Boketshu 1er, in prima nazionale, è l'ultima scia di suoni e di immaginari di Netmage 2010.

The english (and approximate) translation of my Italian lines can be read on Netmage website.

Tomorrow Saturday Jan 23 around 1.30 AM Boketshu 1er, Grand prophète de la nation, Mwana Nzambe is playing at Locomotiv club, Bologna. All of you Italian people should be there! http://www.netmage.it/2010/netclub.html

R.I.P. Nouvelle Cité (picture Mathieu Breckes)

El Maalem Mahmoud Gania

2010-01-06T01:09:00.007+01:00

Here you can download some of the greatest gnawa music ever recorded: Soiree au Canada, by the King El Maalem Mahmoud Gania.
My mom got this tape in 1978 - I was not born yet - during a trip to Morocco, where gnawa spirit and music are rooted. This may be already familiar to western audience, as Jace Clayton prophetically referred back in 2007 on his blog:

Gnawa music has flourished in the Western imagination completely out-of-scale with its popularity in Morocco, partly because of the basslines which can be appreciated in a dubby/reggae context by Western ears, and partly because of its backstory — the music of African slaves in the Maghreb, colonial music in the truest sense, Afro-Arab, ritual sounds used to cure snakebites & heal & cast out ill spirits in all-night ceremonies, etc.

I'd like to share this by the way and even to think about my mom while was choosing this tape at the Marrakech bazaar, completely unaware she was buying a rare piece of trance inducing music.

Check also my blog here:
http://palm-wine.blogspot.com/
cheers,
Palm Wine

Kalambya Sisters 7"

2010-01-05T23:43:00.002+01:00

The Kamba people live to the south and east of Nairobi. Their pop music is closely related to benga, but includes a second guitar that plays a melodious counterpoint to the primary guitar. The most popular Kamba pop bands arose in the middle of the 1970s. The Kalambya Sisters and their backing group, the Boys, have been popular performers in the Kamba area. (pasted from the www...)

I still feel totally stoked that i found this one a year or so ago in a dusty record store in Amsterdam.

Kenyan pop at its best!

Larry Heard Too Hot Mix 1986

2010-01-03T21:11:00.008+01:00

(...) You see House is a feeling that no one can understand really, unless your deep into the vibe of House. House is an uncontrollable desire to jack your body. And as I told you before this is our House, and our House Music.

And every House should understand there is a keeper and in this House the keeper is Jack. Now some of you might wonder who is Jack and what is it that Jack does? Jack is the one who gives you the power to jack your body. Jack is the one who gives you the power to do the snake. Jack is the one who gives you the key to the wiggly worm. Jack is the one who learns you how to whop your body. Jack is the one that can bring nations and nations of all jackers together under one House.

You may be Black, you may be White, you may be Jew or Gentile. It don’t make a difference in our house, and this is fresh!

(Can You Feel It!, Mr. Fingers)

Downbeat in Biltmore 1985

2010-01-02T11:03:00.007+01:00

Forward the bass!!! This 1985 sound system tape recording features the Downbeat crew at the Biltmore Ballroom NY. Sister Nancy, Johnny Osbourne, S Dread, Papa San, Early B, Briggy (aka Brigadier Jerry, pictured here above), Lone Ranger and Mikey Jarrett toasting it the hot way. Songs included are: "Fireworks", "Wake up in the morning", "I’m a girl watcher", "Walk on by", "It’s now or never", "I love you for sentimental reasons", "Ganja Man", "We are the children", "You don’t know what it means to be loved", "Oho here she comes", "You don’t remember me baby", "Are you coming?", "Start spreading the news", "Your face looks so good but your body ruins it". Heavy sounds from the Biltmore Era. C60 tape, two uncut 30 min tracks.