Feel like I just got back from a week in Africa. Way too many things to put into words right now (‘specially since I still have to do my taxes today arrrr), but rest assured, there is some serious collaborative heat in the works between me, Mr. Mapfumo and the Blacks Unlimited crew. Eugene aka Eu-Scream, is a sweet little rain-drenched outpost of good mellow vibes. Huge shout out to Thomas for putting me up in his house for the week, and to fellow Mbira-lover and MTR reader Drea for giving me a lil escape and taste of the local flavor (and for the music). Haven’t watched that much soccer, or smoked that much herb, possibly ever. In returning to the hustle of LaLa land, I put together some newer “worldly” tracks to give you all a little taste of the foreign mental landscape I’ve been traversing.

Wild Belle :       Keep You
hard to hate on mellow indy rock / reggae. These guys only have 2 songs right now, looking forward to what comes next…

Zee Reach :       Caramba
Arabic moombah bomb from this French producer.

Rusko :       Skanker
really happy to hear a healthy amount of reggae and DUB influences on this new album. Too many dubstep producers forget where this stuff came from.

Santigold :       Big Mouth
can’t wait for this album to drop. This girl remains in my top ten most badass females of our era.

DJ Passon :       Kuduro Logobie
heard this one on a mix from the homie Chief Boima. Don’t know anything about it, guessing it’s from Angola.

Vybz Kartel :       Half On A Baby (Dubbel Dutch Remix)
certified dancefloor destroyer from this Austin heavyweight.

Silver Bullit :       Koloko ft. King Ayisoba
great new EP coming out on Urban World records this friday, which includes a remix by The Very Best.

Mo Kolours :       Banana Wine &       Drum Talking
don’t know how I missed this dude’s first EP (on CASSETTE!!!), but I’m really happy he’s on my radar now.

Bombino :       Ahoulaghuine Akaline (King Britt Remix)
nice dubby remix of this up-n-coming Tuareg musician.

Tor :       Glass & Stone
Great cinematic other-worldly sounds from Vancouver-based Tor off his upcoming album.

This morning I’m getting on a plane to Eugene, Oregon where I’ll spend the week hanging out and recording with one of my favorite living musicians: Thomas Mapfumo. Yeah, it’s hard for me to believe too. I’ve been really hesitant to mention this, even to close friends, for fear that somehow I’d jinx myself and it wouldn’t happen, but now it’s here. More than likely, you’ve never heard of Mr. Mapfumo– he’s not exactly a household name, at least outside of Zimbabwe- but for me he’s up there with James Brown and Bob Marley and a handful of other legends who have totally shaped my musical world. While I grew up with a fair amount of African music being played by my parents (Graceland counts in my book), it was a Mapfumo “best of” cassette tape that I had while driving cross-country at age 16 that really blew my mind and set me on the path to discovering more African music on my own.

Over the years, while I continued to explore and fall in love with more styles from throughout Africa and the diaspora (Highlife, Afrobeat, Juju, Jive, Soukous, Mbalax, Kwaito, Benga…) I still have always felt some unexplainable deep spiritual connection to Mbira & Chimurenga music (if you share my obsession, this might interest you). I don’t know why, wish I could explain it. Maybe it was just that trip and that one cassette, maybe it’s the power of Mapfumo. Anyway, I don’t need to ramble on and get trippy-hippy with you, but this is a big week for me, regardless of what comes out of it. I’ve posted a few of my favorites on this site before. Today I’m sharing some other Zimbabwean tunes I absolutely love as well as some recordings from when Stella Chiweshe was a guest on my college radio show (back in 2003! holy crap I sound so young). I included one clip in particular where I ask her about the future of Chimurenga… foreshadowing a bit right?

Thomas Mapfumo :       Nyoka Musango &       Shumba

The Four Brothers :       Ndivumbamireiwo

Nyami Nyami Sounds :       Ndiani Apisa Moto

Dumisani Maraire & Ephat Mujuru :       Chembere Dze Musango &       Chirombo / Mhondoro

Stella Chiweshe : ,
&       Nhamoimbiri

Ok, this is an unofficial survey: I’ve been having a strong hankering to press up a limited edition mix onto an ACTUAL CASSETTE TAPE. Would people even be into this? Not just any old mix, but something entirely eclectic and verging on epic, remember when mixes did that? I figure I could provide a limited MP3 download code in the liner notes so if you bought the cassette you could get a digital copy as well. I don’t know, call me crazy, but I personally would love to have a new cassette to put in my boombox (and to whisper sweet nothings to late at night when we’re alone- just me and my cassette tape). I know it would be a serious niche product, but I guess I’m wondering if the niche is just me, or if there are a few other people who would be in the niche with me. Anyway, listen to today’s tunes, and then picture hearing them in a dope mix with all the other crazy shit you hear on this site- playing off an ACTUAL CASETTE TAPE! Let me know if you would join my niche and purchase one for $5.

Bell X1 :       Flame (Chicken Lips Remix)
I’ve met a few flames who left me with a similar urge to toast marshmallows. Nice work Chicken Lips.

U-Tern :       You Don't Know Me &       Side Ways (ft. AJK)
new schitt from one of my favorite dance music producers.

Talking Heads :       Psycho Killer (Drop Out Orchestra Rework)
really nice work from these guys.

Roxy Music :       Love Is The Drug (Todd Terje Disco Dub)
and yet again, this dude continues to slay everything in his path.

Panama :       Magic (Midnight Magic Remix)
smoothed out yacht funk sweater disco, from these Brooklyn hepcats.

Starcadian :       Ronnie
unexpected quirky cosmic funk pop from this versatile BK producer.

Funkabit :       Root Beer
simple & effective disco house from this young Italian

Eli Escobar :       Anniversary
possibly the best track yet from NYC’s steady hustlin Mr. Escobar. Get the whole EP here thanks to Dither Down.

Gui Boratto :       Chromophobia &       Gate 7
I don’t tend to delve very deep into techno, but for Brazilian architect Gui I’ll make an exception. Warning: listening may induce hypnotic trance states accompanied by serious mechanical productivity.

Mao :       Harken (Dub)
mooooooody and deep. This is a sure-fire witching hour warehouse rave monsterpiece. Well done Mao.

I know there’s been a recent glut of cumbia in the music world. It may have even surpassed being a resurgence. I think there are more people today who know about the highly danceable South American music style than there were back in its heyday of the 60’s & 70’s. Wether it’s a full-fledged rebirth or a passing internet fueled fad, I’m happy to hear it spreading. I’ve been hanging out with my little cousin this week, who’s spent a significant chunk of time in Peru. Homie has a terabyte drive filled to the brim with South American heat among other styles, and you best believe I’ve been pillaging. Diving into his Peruvian stash reminded me how much other Cumbia-related goodness I’ve been sitting on for a while now, so consider this a benevolent purge.

Hector Ferreyra Y Su Conjunto :       A Caballo (DJ Still Life Edit)
The same man behind the awesome Tropicaaliya project is back with a couple simple S. American DJ-friendly edits that I hope make their way to 7″ someday soon

Juaneco Y Su Combo :       Caballito Nocturno &       Vacilando Con Ayahuesca
From the Amazonian Jungles of Peru, Chicha master Juaneco mixes the sexy and psychedelic into cumbia better than anyone else. Can you imagine actually trying to have sexy time while your mind is melting on Ayahuasca???

Los Destellos :       Guajira Sicodelica &       Cumbia Morena
I have a few LP’s by these guys that I’ve been meaning to digitize for a long time, but then I found the treasure trove in my cousin’s stash this week, which makes my job of sharing a whole lot easier.

Cumbia En Moog :       Cumbia De Sal
whoa… vampire cumbia?

Tulio Enrique Leon :       La Pollera Amarilla
Got this one a while back from my dude Loki who is always travelling the world and knows how to dig up crazy tracks everywhere he touches down.

Chicha Libre :       La Danza Del Millonario
Been a fan of this Brooklyn-based group for a while now (used to see them play in BK heights). I was happy to get this new material from them recently. New album coming soon I think.

Frente Cumbiero :       Ika
Colombian based group who’ve been doing some really interesting suff, including a cumbia-dub collabo album with Mad Professor. This one’s from a new 7″ on NYCT.

Los Miticos Del Ritmo :       Otro Muerde El Polvo  (Another One Bites The Dust)
The ever-crafty Quantic is behind this new album of Cumbia covers all recorded on tape with analogue equipment. Check it out here on Soundway.

This another one champion sound! The Pimps Of Joytime have been my homies for a looooong time. Chauncey used to drum with me at Bembe in BK starting back in like… 2005?!? And of course, the man behind the Wonderwheel label is none other than the globetrotting party instigator Nickodemus, who’s been an inspiration to me since before I was legal. Check out the whole Janxta Remix EP (whoa, nice write-up on TurntableLab too) and help support your local funk dealer by purchasing some music for a change haha.

Also, my B-day week treated me real proper. HUGE shout out to everyone who came out to the bashment last Thursday and turned the spot out. Really couldn’t have been a better crowd. I’m gonna try and make it happen more regularly cause partying is one of our favorite things here at MTR. Til the next episode…

We’re BAAAACK! Been too long since MTR put it’s foot down and threw a proper rager. Me turning the dirty 30 this week (holy shit I’m gettin up there!) is definitely reason enough to make it happen. For whatever astrological reason, I have an abnormally large number of close friends who are pisces/aries cusp as well- so we’ll all be celebrating getting older and living younger together! If you’re in or around LA, do yourself a favor and come join the bash. Good times will be had, good music will be played, good drink will be drunk, and inappropriate dancing will most definitely be the soup du jour. Here’s a bunch of songs I’m feelin right now so those of you who can’t make it can at least participate in spirit.

Elle Varner ft. J. Cole :       Only Wanna Give It To You
always glad to hear some 90’s flavor coming from major label artists. If only the radio could start sounding a little more like this…

AlunaGeorge :       You Know You Like It
head nod on blast. Can’t say I’m the biggest fan of her voice on some of the other songs I’ve heard from these two, but they really nailed it on this one.

DJ Mehdi :       Lucky Boy (Outlines Remix)
it’s always a good time to play some  Mehdi music (R.I.P.)

The Ting Tings :       Soul Killing &       Hang It Up (Shook Remix)
bed-squeek ska skank for the WIN! So glad this group isn’t scared to play around with different styles. Why do most bands feel like every song they put out has to sound similar to the last one? And this 70’s synth-disco remix by Shook is more of what the doctor ordered.

Mux Mool :       Hypercolor ADD
ok beat dude who likes skulls, didn’t expect this little slinky funk number from you, but I’m real glad that it happened.

Zaki Ibrahim :       Something In The Water
sick new sounds produced by the currently-Canadian homie DJ Catalist. Great middle ground between heavier dubstep sounds, UK funky riddims, and moody spaced out R&B. Looking forward to more from Zaki.

Brenmar :       Taking It Down
slept on this dudes music for too long, then saw him DJ at a crazy afterhours party a couple weeks back and now I’m getting familiar with his catalogue. “Club music for now”- simple as that.

Rogiérs :       Home (Opolopo Remix)
smoothed out late night funk. Opolopo seems to be getting better and better with each new release I hear. Here’s a cool video of the man at work.

Mayer Hawthorne :       Henny & Gingerale
this was one of those weird bonus tracks that only came on certain editions of his last album- namely NOT on the edition I got. Glad to have it now though, total throwback to Marvin Gaye’s “Give It Up (pt. 2)”

Adrian Younge :       It's Me (ft. Rebecca Jordan) &       Turn Down The Sound
pretend it’s your bday and go get this whole album. The genius behind the Black Dynamite soundtrack has now recorded the illest psych-soul soundtrack to a B-movie that never was.