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.

(^^^random image of my boy Cato at a warm August DJ gig we did together on the banks of the East River)

Passport Broadcast from 11.12.2007

Passport Broadcast from 11.05.2007

People have been asking for recent radio shows, which is great, but the thing is, you can bypass the middleman (which is me) by going directly to the WNYU website. The station has a really handy automatic archive system that allows listeners such as yourselves to download shows that you missed live. I realize it can be a little confusing if you’ve never done it before, so I’m gonna outline some easy-to-follow instructions to make it a bit simpler for you.

1) Once you arrive at the www.wnyu.org homepage, click on the “ARCHIVES” link in the upper left box.

2) You will then see a “PROGRAM” pull-down tab just beneath the WNYU header at the top of the page. Beneath that there will be a list of the most recently archived shows. Feel free to peruse the rest of the archive containing other great shows (I reccomend “Beats In Space”, “Plastic Tales From The Marshmellow Dimension”, and “Tunnel One”).

3) If “Passport” is the show you seek, then simply find that name by holding down the “PROGRAM” tab, and then select it.

4)Finally, a list of recent archived editions of “Passport” will appear in chronological order with 3 different little icons next to the “Passport” show title. Click on the icon that looks like a little computer (I think that’s what it is)– it’s the middle icon.

Bingo! Your weekly international audio exploration starts reconstructing itself bit by bit on your desktop. Sorry if I’m sounding patronizing or like I’m going into way too much detail about something seemingly self-explanatory. Thing is, I’ve directed people there before and they haven’t figured out how to download the shows, so hopefully this will help them.

Artist “Track” Album Title (Label)

Playlist for 11.12.2007
(*a note about this show: the archive recorded 90mins of audio rather than 60 on this day, so there’s a half hour of the following show [which is also cool] after mine ends)

Oriental Brothers International “Otu’Nwa” S/T (Decca)
Som Nossa de Cada Dia “Tinta Presa Fosca” Procura Da Essencia (Edito Princeps)
San Ul Lim “Track 3” San Ul Lim 3 (SRB)
Unknown Thai Orchestra “Song #1” (Mississippi)
Jose Mangual & Patato Valdez “Guaguanco” Understanding Latin Rhythms (LP)
Sonora Dinamita “Bongo, Bongo” La Explosiva (Fuentes)
Tabou Combo “Courai” 8th Sacrement (Mini)
Youssou N’Dour “Bajjan” Rokku Mi Rokka (Nonesuch)
Soul Brothers “Bayeza” Mantombazane (Masterpiece)
Suns of Arqa “Ananta Snake Dance” The Indipop CompilAsian Album (Virgin)
Chidanand Sharma & Indira Pal “Baal Samay Ran Bhaksh” Bhakti Keertan (Fantasy Sounds)

Playlist for 11.05.2007

Sergio Del Rio Y Su Conjunto “Mama Loo” Latinamericarpet (Sublime Frequencies)
Quinteto Violado “Asa Branca” S/T (Philips)
Keronchong Salina “Nona Manis” Vol. 2 (Philips)
The Ramblers Dance Band “Ekombi” The Hit Sound Of The Ramblers Dance Band (Decca)
Nuta Jazz Band “Salamu Zako Nimezipata” Zanzibara 3 (Buda Musique)
Meirelles E Sua Orquestra “Fio Maravilha” Brazilian Beat Vol. 5 (London)
Willie Rosario & His Orchestra “My Favorite Things” Boogaloo & Guaguanco (Atco)
Totem “El Tabano” S/T (Vampi Soul)
Zoo “Samedi Soir a Carnouet” S/T (Bacilus)
San Ul Lim “Track 1” 3 (SRB)
Asha Bhosle “Dil Dil Dil Kabhi Dil De Bhi To Do” Dance Disco Dance (EMI)

Afro National : Push Am Forward
taken from their self-titled album on Sonafric (1975)

Verckys et l’orchestre Veve : Nakobala Yo Denise (Part 1) & (Part 2)
and Lina Omesana Boye (Part 1) & (Part 2)
taken from the album “Verckys a Paris” on African (1971)

Sir Victor Uwaifo : Tear The Bag & Agho
taken from the album “Safari Disco Soundz” on African (1976)

While it may be dificult to compete with the stupefying kinetics of the traditional b-boy cannon (“It’s Just Begun”, “Apache”, “Give It Up Or Turn It Loose”, “Scorpio”), today’s selection represents a commendable effort made by a select few West African musicians who dared step into the unforgiving arena of breakbeatdom.

The thundering bass of “Push Am Forward” (a lone Afrobeat track on an otherwise decent, but not great highlife record) gives Jimmy Castor’s “Just Begun” a nice little friendly competition- in 6/8 time no less!

And Verckys devotes the entire B-side of this album (which is amazing) to songs like the ones I’m sharing here- they start off sweet and mellow, and then halfway through it seems like Pretty Purdie or Paul Humphrey dropped out of the sky and landed behind the drum kit. I sliced these songs into Parts 1 & 2 even though it’s not presented like that on the album. For those impatient uprockers out there, I’m sure you’ll appreciate being able to skip right to the bass drum / snare drum badness. And for those of you who want to listen to these songs in their original form, just put them back to back in your playlist and seemless continuity will be restored.

Sir Victor Uwaifo is no stranger to the Crate, but these songs have a different edge than other tracks I know him by. Definitely hearing a Fela influence creeping in on the guitar picking and horn lines of “Tear The Bag”. The fuzz guitar on “Agho” would be grounds for even the likes of Dennis Coffy to smile an affiming nod. And is it just me, or is there a quote from “Tequila” going on here as well towards the end of the song- makes me wanna bust out the Pee Wee Herman dance.

My iTunes library is having a bit of a meltdown right now- meaning that there’s a horrid string of grey exclamation points next to song titles (indicating my computer’s inability to locate the mp3 files) where there shouldn’t be. So I will go now and leave you with the music to ponder and possibly headspin to.

ZOO : If You Lose Your Woman & Mammouth
taken from their self-titled album on Bacilus (197?)

B.B. Seaton : Hold On (My People), No More Tribalism, & Brothers Beware
taken from the album “Dancing Shoes” on Virgin (1974)

The Real Thing : Vicious Circle Pt. 1
taken from the 7″ single on Bell (197?)

The DES All Stars : Rub It Down
taken from the 12″ single on Black Joy (197?)

As promised, some of the fruits of my European record digs. Bit of a random assortment, but that’s generally the way it works when you’re thumbing through old crates. ZOO was the only group here that I’d ever heard about before, the rest were guesses. Google searches reveal very little about any of these folks, so I’m gonna have to let the music do most of the explaining.

The Zoo album is an amazing listen all the way through. I’m gradually getting more into the hard psych sound- heavy drums, fuzz, and general aural weirdness. The funkyness of this set is also undeniable, which helps a non-rock head like myself ease into it. I know the group is from France. I know I recognize the intro break on “If You Lose Your Woman” from somewhere, but I can’t place it. Other than that, I’m as clueless as Inspector Gadget.

Dancing Shoes is a funky collection produced and engineered by Mr. Sid Bucknor. Mostly originals, but in addition to this excellent version of Eddie Kendricks’ “Hold On”, he does covers of “I Believe (When I Fall In Love It Will Be Forever)” and “Any Day Now”. More info about B.B. can be found on his website.

The Real Thing is an American soul group. Pic sleeve 7″ is where it’s at. Copped for 1 euro due to dope artwork. Artwork proved to be a proper representation of the music therein. If anyone knows anything else about these guys (full length album ever?), please school a fellow music lover.

And finally, one of a handful of reggae 12″s that I picked up at a flea market outside of Vienna (Purkesdorf to be exact). The DES All Stars bring the reggae skank to Marvin Gaye’s “Ain’t That Peculiar” and flip the title (probably to avoid publishing fees). Again, I know nada about the group, but I love this tune, especially all the breakdowns toward the end that are typical of these extended reggae “disco mixes”.

Enjoy the music, and please share any other info that you might have about the music!

Ticklah : Si Hecho Palante & Nine Years
taken from the album “Ticklah vs. Axelrod” on Easy Star (2007)

Amp Fiddler : Scared / Afro Butt (Interlude)
taken from the album “Afro Strut” on Genuine (2007)

Black Moth Super Rainbow : Sun Lips & Rollerdisco
taken from the album “Dandelion Gum” on Graveface (2007)

Of course I love old and dusty vinyl, but I also feel obliged to share the recent highlights from my iPod. Here’s proof that the same things I’ve always loved about records are still thriving in some lesser-known releases. Deep dubby dynamics meets soulful spanish songstress in “Si Hecho Palante” – that’s Mayra Vega on vox, same lady who voiced the Antibalas remake of “Che Che Cole”. Ticklah, who some may know from his participation in Afrobeat supergroup Antibalas or his hand in producing “Dub Side Of The Moon”, is one of the nastiest reggae & dub producers out there right now. Any fans of King Tubby & Scientist absolutely need to buy this album.

Once again, Amp Fiddler comes through with funky fuel for the dancefloor. The new album features guest vocalists Corrine Bailey Rae & Stephanie McKay among others. “Scared / Afro Butt” is apparently only on the US edition of the album, so you foreigners are getting the exclusive import edition!

Finally, perhaps the album that I’ve had on repeat in it’s entirety more than any other this year (this was my Eurorail soundtrack) – “Dandelion Gum”. This music is a bizarre and enchanting cloud of sound that disorients me and pulls me away from the ground every time I listen. The album, which I highly reccommend copping, is a non-stop, vocoder-infused (or is it a talkbox?), dream sequence. These two tracks go back to back, to give you an idea of how the whole record flows. I see on the group’s website, that they have other records too, which I will now proceed to order. Big thanks to Ant for the tip-off on this one.