Phirpo Y Los Caribes: Comencemos, Esa Pava Que and Mi Moooto
Taken from the album Parilla Caliente on Phillips (1973)

The holidays are a tricky thing. Surpluses of emotion, family drama, food, cold weather-related ennui, high school acquaintances and old friends flit and flitter, enter and exit, assert and reassert their power in ways that we manage to forget for most of the other eleven plus months of the year. More than anything, the holidays tend to overwhelm because they bring together so much in such a relatively short window of time.

For me things are further complicated by the fact that, after nine months in Southern Africa, and coming fresh off a blistering alter-hemispheric summer, I am in soggy, frigid San Francisco, wilin’ out with the fam (Captain included) and all of our concomitant family drama, trying to work out in my head the sheer density of stuff going on in a world I haven’t been part of for the last three quarters of a year.

And instead of driving myself batty, looking for solace in the stars or the good ol’ fashioned pulse of American post-Christmas commerce, I decided to turn to a few newly acquired records (homecoming gifts to myself), which have managed to allow me to feel decidedly mellow despite the swirl of circumstance going on around me.

Here are Phirpo and his Caribes: mysterious afro-latin funkers from Medellin, Columbia, who for today will transport you away–if momentarily–from your snowy family antics and harrowing gift-return missions to Macy’s, lift you across land and ocean and bring you to a warmer, sunnier place where the congas blaze and the horns blast; where the sand sifts through your toes and the palm trees sway… and you are dancing, just dancing.

To homecomings…

A gift to you all. Merry Holidays.

The Celebrant : Off Beats
taken from their Self-Titled album on Olumo (1978)

Marius Cultier : Piano A Marius Cultier & Zouk
taken from the album “The Way…” on Magidisco (1976)

The Afro Soul-Tet : Dom Gowa
taken from the album “Afrodesia” on Banyan (197?)

Gestu De Dakar : Ndiourel
taken from the album “Diabar” on Syllart (1980)

Take a couple cool records that you’ve picked up over the years, loved and appreciated, perhaps even taken the time to digitize, and then prepare yourself to say goodbye. Letting go of some of your most beloved (and possibly hardest to find) gems, may be exactly what it takes to make way for more of what you were looking for in the first place. I’ve recently been doing a bit of record trading, and it seems to be a win/win equation. I had to let go of my Gestu, a total treasure from the late 70’s, early 80’s Senegalese scene. But I found myself putting a pristine copy of “The Way…” down on the turntable in its place! This record is a truly unique blend of styles and innovation from Martinique’s musical genius Marius Cultier. Recorded in a clean but raw production style that really makes the whole set feel live.

The Celebrant has been one of those goodies that I’ve been hording all to myself; not wanting to share for fear that the heaviness of the music might just be enough to crush the rest of the world. I’m willing to conceed that a little selfishness was part of the reason for holding back, but you’ll have to find the record for yourself to experience the crushing power of “Celebration In The Ghetto”— another killer cut on this LP.

Despite my greediest inclinations, when I was recently faced with the possibility of getting my hands on the sounds contained in ultra-rare recordings like this one from The Afro Soul-Tet, you’d better believe I jumped at the chance to share my Celebrant bomb. You lucky cats get to skim the cream off the top. These songs are, to my ear, some of the finest from these records. But don’t let that discourage you from seeking them out on your own, I could listen to these records again tomorrow and pick a completely different set from the same albums.

***HEADS UP TO ALL NYC FOLKS***
Doing a big show with my group The Beatards (check the new website!) at Mercury Lounge this Friday with some cool cats on the Lex label. Come out and show some love!

Passport Broadcast 12.10.07 with guest DJ Ari
Haitian and African rarities that will soften your heart and spin your head.

Passport Broadcast 12.03.07
more sounds from around the globe.

Sorry. Never even got a chance to finish last week’s entry. I will be back with crazy fresh tunes really soon. Until then, enjoy these hard to find tropical sounds from heady record collector, DJ, and all-around cool guy Ari. And a classic pic from the one and only Malick Sidibe

Artist – “Song Title” – Album Name – (Label)

12.10.07 selections by DJ Ari
Patato & Totico “Mas Que Nada” Latin Sounds (Verve)
Combo Creole “Erzulie” S/T (Mini)
Orchestre Tropicana “Cherie Pa Retounin” Doux Tropic (Marc)
Weber Sicot “J’aime La Campagne” Haiti Holiday (Ibo)
Papa Wemba “Annah” Siku Ya Mungu (Black Music)
Dade Krama “Kronkohinkoo” Ancestral Music Of Africa (Akoben)
Ambrose Cambell & His Emergent Music “Yolanda” High Life Today (Columbia)
Spokes Mashiyane “Monate” Spokes Of Africa (Gallo)
Gwigwi’s Band “Mra” Kwela By Gwigwi’s Band (77)
Orchestre Hi-Fives “Mwana Wa Mraka” Hit-Parade African Pathe-Marconi (Pathe Marconi)
Orchestre De La Paillote “Kadia Blues” Vol. 2 (Editions Syliphon)
Thione Seck “Bamba” Chauffeur Bi (Private)
Orchestre Baobab “Sindicli” Une Nuit Au Jandeer (Musicafrique)

12.03.07
Kelenkye Band “Jungle Music” Bolingo (Comet)
Zaperoko “Bata Yeye” S/T (Montuno)
Aquarius Band “Sultana” Ultimate Brazilian Breaks & Beats (Murge)
Chico Mann “Who You Runnin’ From” Manifest Tone Vol. 1 (Kindred Spirits)
Soweto Stockvel Septette “Ice Cream & Suckers” Ice Cream & Suckers (Mercury)
Ananda Shankar “Brindavan Revel” A Musical Discovery Of India (EMI)
Sum Sum “Living In The Past” Midnight Guitar (Regal)
Youssou N’Dour “Dabbaax” Rokku Mi Rokka (Nonesuch)
Super Combo “El Gato De Chepa” A Bailar Cumbias (Felipe)
Sombory-Jazz “Nananina” Musiques San Paroles (Syllart)
Willie Colon & Hector Lavoe “No Me Den Candela” Guisando (Fania)

Chico Mann : Who You Runnin’ From
taken from the album Manifest Tone Vol.1 on Kindred Spirits (2006)

Pimps Of Joytime : Bonita
taken from the album High Steppin on Wonderwheel (2007)

Two weekends in a row, I’ve been lucky enough to take in some of the best live music that Brooklyn has to offer. It’s no coincidence that these bands are doing shows together either, seeing as how band members overlap and similarly-minded cats tend to magnetize each other. But if you’re not in the area, then I strongly encourage you too seek them out on your own – or hey, reach out and try to get them to come to your city. Setting up shows like this is actually easier than one might imagine.

It started off last Saturday, when I found myself at Studio BPM in Williamsburg, where DJ’s DRM and Nickodemus were spinning in between sets from Chico Mann and The Pimps. I had seen Chico Mann (who I guess is actually based in Derty Jerz) at Joe’s Pub like 6 months ago when they opened for Bronx River Parkway (which is a latinized incarnation of the El Michels Affair). They were good then, but they got WAAAAAY better. Victor Axelrod (aka Ticklah) was on keys, Vinia Mojica was on vocals, and my boy Telekinetic Kat was bringing the beats. “Afrobeat made with Nintendo sounds” is what DRM said, and I think it’s a rather appropriate comment. The recording is cool, but hearing it live really felt like witnessing the future. If their show is any gauge of what’s to come, expect bigger and badder sounds on Vol.2!

Then it was The Pimps Of Joytime, playing songs from one of the few albums I’ve actually had on repeat this year. Funky New Orleans flavored soul, with healthy touches of Prince and Fela in the mix. The whole set was on point, but when they brought up Cyril Neville (please tell me you know about where this man comes from), the whole place shook and shimmy’d. They ended the show in the way that all my favorite shows end, with the amps turning off and only hand-claps percussion remaining. They walked into the crowd and we all did call and response over a badass mardi-gras bounce for a solid five minutes before calling it quits with the whole place smiling.

I’ll tell you about this past Saturday when I get a minute, but right about now I’m 15 minutes late… stay tuned.

340 mL: Midnight, Running Away and Shotgun
Taken from a CD-R bootleg, as available on the mean streets of Maputo, Mozambique

It has been one of my great frustrations of the last 6+ months, to be in the midst of a continent so rich in music, and to be afflicted with such a severe shortage of both time and resources that I’ve hardly had any chance to seek that music out.

Especially in the last six weeks, based here in Maputo–a city with a very Havana-esque vitality and richness of musical heritage–I feel like a complete and total jerk for not having discovered a single slab of wax. Believe me, I’ve tried. Hunted down the old radio dj’s, investigated the cd shops, even stopped hip-looking strangers on the sidewalk and, in my busted-ass Portugese, tried to esplain what I’m looking for: Dish-cos? Dish-cos antiguos? Nothing. So, like an idiot, I start trying to pull off an impromptu charade to explain that I’m looking for vinyl. Still nothing.

I’ve been met with a lot of blank stares and even some hostility. (One guy seemed poised to call the cops. I ran.)

So, I give up… Almost.

I’ve had no luck with the vinyl, but I have been able to tap into some other great stuff which I will hopefully be able to share with y’all over the course of the next little while. The club music here is pretty dope. Plenty of different styles from more straight forward hip hop, to reggaton sounding joints, to the lazily tropical marabenta, which kind of reminds me of a more bangin’ version of Cesaria Evora. Then, of course, there’s this. 340 mL.

This is a local quartet–now based in Johannesburg–blessed with a multilingual facility and some mean reggae chops. I heard the “Midnight” joint out at a club one night and have been bumping ever since (kind of reminds me of the “Midnight Marauders” joint from Michael Reinboth a couple years back). The super pared-down version of Bob Marley’s “Running Away” is another winner. And the instrumental late-blooming double-time fire-starter, “Shotgun” might just work for a discerning dancefloor.

Check out 340’s MySpace page here. Show love, show support, tell ’em to keep doing the do. And if you can, see if they know where to find records in this crazy town.

The Clefs Of Calvary : You Don’t Know What I’ve Been Through,
Standing Where Jesus Is, & Miracle Temple
taken from the album “God’s Light” on Prestige (1963)

The Mighty Imperials : You Shall Be Free,
God’s Love Is Like A Burning Fire, & Today
taken from the album A Look At The Mighty Imperials Of Dayton, Ohio on Creed (1973)

First off, happy Tofurkey day for all you Americans out there. Yesterday was spent, just as it should be, between cooking, catching up with family, feasting with friends (chez mois), passing out on the floor, and then getting a second wind to DJ till nearly dawn. I felt so good, so thankful, all day- I guess the Gospel just felt appropriate.

The Clefs record is such a stunner. It’s a perfect document of that transition period right before church music went pop and became soul. Since there’s no personnel listing on the LP jacket, I had initially thought I stumbled upon an early Sam Cooke record. However, a few google searches soon revealed that this unnamed lead crooner was one James Phelps— who clearly spent a good deal of time in the same circle as the posterboy of soul. Relaxing on the floor, belly full of delicious home-cooked food, surrounded by my best friends who were all similarly sedated, these harmonies carried me through a blissful dreamy stupor that’s just now beginning to wear off — that’s why I’m keeping these songs on repeat!

10 years later, The Mighty Imperials of Dayton, Ohio (not the same as the Daptone group) prove that the soulful gospel sound was still thriving (and staying pretty true to it’s roots). Can’t find any info on the web about these guys, but I love that instead of your typical liner notes, the group simply re-printed an entire page from James Baldwin’s The Fire Next Time. Here’s one line from that:

There is no music like that music, no drama like the drama of the saints rejoicing, the sinners moaning, the tambourines racing and all those voices coming together and crying holy unto the Lord.

Anyone who’s felt the raw power of a live gospel group knows the truth in that right there. Regardless of creed– Athiest, Jew, Muslim and Hindu alike can enjoy sounds as moving as these.