Sorry for lack of recent posts, I travelled to Philly and Baltimore on separate trips for shows and have been planing a bunch of parties here in NY too (more on that soon). Good thing I have amazing music to come home to. This week I was turned on to something extra special when the founder of Akwaaba Music personally hit me up with all their latest releases- an entire discography of brilliant, soulful and dancefloor friendly material. There was so much that it took a while to go through it all, but the long bus rides back and forth out of the city made for prime listening sessions, and the spirit in these songs immediately transported me back accross the Atlantic to the sunnier and warmer places that I remember in West Africa.

Benjamin Lebrave, the founder of Akwaaba, has made it his mission to spread music that rarely makes it out of Africa and he’s staying busy. With 13 diverse releases already, I’m looking forward to a steady stream of new music in the near future. There’s a whole gaggle of different styles and countries represented on the playlist I’m sharing today. I’m not the expert, so check out the links to album details for more info. And if you appreciate the music, please purchase these albums in their entirety to support the artists and Akwaaba – you’ll thank me later when you have all the rest of the music too!

Kedjevara :       Bas Tuyau Bas Serré (this one’s for the dancefloor!)
taken from Le Meteorman

Quabena Philip :       Wadaade Me
DJ Menza :       Coup de Tête de Zidane
both taken from Move It Chaley!

Noite e Dia :       Tiramakossa (Angolan Kuduro music for your ass!)
taken from Akwaaba Sem Transporte

Onyeze :       Ndi Osita Osili (son of highlife legend Chief Stephen Osita Osadebe)
taken from Livin Dey Highlife

Kofi Sammy :       Maame
Rahmane Diallo :       Sira
both taken from Akwaaba wo Africa

Carlos Lamartine :       Ã“ Dipanda Wondo Tula Kiá &       Ene
both taken from Historias de Casa Velha (probably my favorite album of the bunch!)

A long while back (in the old Captain’s Crate blog) I posted a cut off a soundtrack by the Greek groover Mikis Theodorakis and someone commented that it was clearly an interpolation of a song by French composer Pierre Henry (that went on to be interpreted again as the theme song for the cartoon Futurama). After pretty much forgetting about all that, I finally got my hands on the original version which really is an ahead-of-it’s-time futuristic synth bugout- peep the video for the full craziness. I’ve heard a few moog records in my day, but this one really goes beyond novelty.

One song always leads me to another, and right after stumbling upon “Psyche Rock” a friend shared this great French 60’s beatnik compilation with me- Atomic Cafe. The supremely bouncy Charlotte Leslie cut and Jean-Jaques Perry‘s moog monster “E.V.A.” both come from that collection. Sounds like Perry was ripping off Pierre pretty heavily on this one, even down to the church bells, but I like his addition of trippy processed vocals and that ghostly keyboard that floats around in the background. The Fatboy Slim remix is just a little something extra I found while digging around online- I suppose it might be possible to drop this into a set somewhere, just gotta find the right party.

Charlotte Leslie :       Les Filles C'est Fait

Jean-Jaques Perrey :       E.V.A.

Pierre Henry :       Psyche Rock

Pierre Henry :       Psyche Rock (Fatboy Slim Malpaso Mix)

A groggy morning search through cheap Brooklyn record bins, coffee in hand, shades protecting my swollen shut eyes, lead me to yet another highly rewarding discovery this past Sunday. The fleeting thrill of finding good music from an unknown artist is the force that fuels my never-ending, wallet-breaking record digging quest- a nerdy odyssey of the highest order. However, stumbling upon an entirely new scene or style of music (new to me at least), is a seldom joy that comes with a headrush of self-realization and humility. And what strange new world did I discover this time around, dizzying me with the recognition of my own blinding ignorance? British Jazz-Funk! I must admit, prior to Sunday, I was clueless. This single compilation has changed all that (I’ve already tracked down volume 1 too).

To be fair, I lingered on the highly cheesy cover art because I did recognize one name- Freeez, who will be getting their own dedicated post here soon – but all the rest of these artists were new to me. Even Freeez I thought of more as an 80’s New Wave-ish electro group ala I.O.U. But I had no idea they were part of a whole Euro contingent who were laying down slap bass lines and warped synth stabs to make Nile Rodgers and dare I say it, even Cheryl Lynn nod in approval. So here’s a few premium cuts off this excellent double LP which I encourage you all to track down in full. If you lack an appreciation for cheese, then it’s probably best you steer clear today’s selections. But for those that can funk with this, stay tuned for some more heavy British business from Freeez coming soon.

Linda Taylor :       You And Me Just Started

Cool Runners :       Play The Game

Direct Drive :       Time's Running Out

all taken from The Best Of British Jazz-Funk Vol. 2 on Beggars Banquet (1982)

I used my Labor Day to fully appreciate of the progress made by our ancestors who fought so hard for safe workplace conditions and the 40-hr week. Their endless toil and courageous defiance enabled the modern comfort that my non-real-job-having-artist-ass enjoys, and so for them, I ate a stick of ganja butter (baked into a sticky pan of rice krispy treats) and dazed out to good music in the company of my homies. The latest additions to my playlist included songs from a few up-n-coming divas who deserve much more shine than I can give, but I’ll do my best to help.

The first song I’m sharing comes from a singer who I met at my favorite weekly party I’ve been going to all Summer- The Jungle Garden – hosted by my friend LinYee. Every Tuesday night, in a beautifully designed Williamsburg lot that serves as a plant nursery by day, a funky smattering of hipcats who love good eclectic music gather under the stars and are treated to a line-up of top-notch DJs. One of said hipcats is a singer I met named Deva Mahal (daughter of a certain other Mahal who I have a known fondness for) who sings in Fredericks Brown. They just had the single release party, which I wasn’t able to attend unfortunately, but keep your eyes and ears out for more from them in the near future- perhaps even an MTR appearance? “Betrayal” is a soulful Afrobeat flavored monster! Press play and try not to shimmy, you will inevitably fail.

I saw Joya Bravo sing at the crazy Hip Hop Howl festival that I performed at on Saturday with The Beatards. The event was historical in that the line-up included just about every single currently grinding NYC hip-hop act I know, which is a LOT. Shouts to all the artists who stormed the sunny Tompkins Square Park stage, but extra loud airhorn blasts to Joya who I’d never heard of before, and who absolutely KILLED IT. Peep her track “Superstar” for more future flavor.

Finally, a track off Brittany Bosco’s album Spectrum 2.0 which is a solid headnodding dilla-esque listen all the way through. I found out about her when the homie Fiona Bloom tried to get her for our next MTR party, which sadly, I don’t think will work out. But, I definitely want to make a show happen with her soon because as you can hear, she’s got something major going on. “You can play your record on me”, wow,  I want to rediscover love like an 8-track someday.

Fredericks Brown :       Betrayal

Joya Bravo :       Piranha

Brittany Bosco :       8-Track

I realize many of you missed this era entirely since I’ve virtually stopped promoting it altogether here on the MTR site, but if you’ve been tuned in for a while you have probably heard about my weekly radio show: “Passport”. For a long minute now, I’ve been faithfully spending one hour every week sharing obscure audible goodies from around the world. It’s been seven years to be precise. Right around this time in 2002, a young and eager version of me first went live over the FM airwaves on 89.1 WNYU. Before that, the same 18-year-old that you see in the photo above was waking up on Saturday mornings for a 9am show that could only be heard on the internet! That was right around the same time that Napster first got huge, so I don’t think too many people were listening, but you gotta start somewhere.

Over the years, I was lucky enough to have a number of great artists & DJs come through the station for live performances and interviews. So this past Monday night, instead of spending my last ever show playing some type of “Best Of”- which would really be impossible- I pulled together a collection of live recordings that I made and snippets of interviews from past guests. There wasn’t enough time for me to get to everything I wanted to play, and some of the recordings get cut pretty short, but at least you can get an idea about what the show was all about. If you ever wondered where I developed my refined taste for funky Bollywood or fuzzed out Brazilian psychedelic sambas- this show was my laboratory. Thankfully, I found a similarly eclectic-minded music enthusiast to carry the torch and keep the show going in my absence.

Big shouts to all the people who tuned in over the airwaves and online, and many thanks to the artists who came through and shared their souls in that stuffy little sticker-covered studio, making the most of two not-very-well-maintained vocal mics. In this episode you can also hear interview snippets from Gilles Peterson & Charlie Gillett from the BBC, who have done and continue to do SO MUCH good work in promoting music from around the world!

Listen: