Remember how I mentioned my friends were starting a non-profit organization to raise education funds for Liberian refugees living in Ghana? Well their first first benefit party went down on Sunday and was a smash success. Total grassroots operation, but they managed to raise over a couple thousand from our extended group of friends and the random people we all pulled together. Today I’m sharing the mixtape that I made specifically for that event (all the guests got to take home a copy). This mix has a lot of my all-time favorite African tunes, which somehow I’d never put together before, plus a lil something special for all those 80’s babies out there. Check out more info on their organization LYDIA, and make a tax deductible donation if you can. Then enjoy the good music…

Haysobay! mixed by Chuck Wild
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TRACKLIST

1. Sierra Leone’s Refugee All-stars – Living Like A Refugee
2. Abeti – Gogo
3. Orchestre Baobab – Kelen Ati Len
4. Oscar Sulley – Pleco
5. Ernesto Djedje – Zadie Bobo
6. Femi Kuti – Tell Me
7. C.K. Mann – Funky Hi-life
8. Jingo – Fever
9. Tony Allen – Road Close (Dance Dub)
10. Eko – Kilimandjaro My Home
11. Awa Band – Babatteur (Quantic Remix)
12. Dennis Ferrer – Funu
13. Pastaboys Feat. Wumni – Babalawo
14. DJ Africano – Unknown Jam
15. Oscar Sulley & The Uhuru Dance Band – Bukom Mashie
16. Orchestre Poly-Rythmo – Minsato Le, Mi Dayihome
17. Tabu Ley Rochereau – Karibou Ya Bintou

Full disclosure here. I like Elizabeth & The Catapult. A lot. Like, they’re cool peoples. But chances are you don’t know them, nor do you care what they are like when their instruments are put away. So let’s talk about their music. The group is composed of singer/songwriter Elizabeth Ziman, Dan Molad (formerly of Via Audio), and Pete Woodman Lalish, and they are a pleasant reminder that pop appeal and musicality need not be forces at odd with each other. The new album, Taller Children, spans a handful of genres of music and when I asked Mr. Molad in jest what genre it would be tagged under in iTunes, he looked at me in all seriousness and responded by repeating my own question back to me. And then waited for an answer.

Though the album is varied both sonically and emotionally, it does carry throughout a very child-like spirit in both its whimsicality and sensitivity (album title might tip you off too). I’m posting two tracks that are presently my favorite off the album, though I suspect that each of you will find different personal gems on this project. Do yourself a flavor and buy the whole damn thing on iTunes or Amazon. Did I mention they hit #2 on the iTunes singer/songwriter chart in their opening week?? Enjoy.

(Oh, by the way, check some behind the scenes footage from the making of the album I cut together here, here, and here, if you are so inclined.) Continue reading…

The world infamous Blue Jays. Romantic and mysterious road signs written in both French and English. The illustrious (and one-time world record holding) CN Tower. These are but a few of the many wonders that remain in my mind from childhood trips to visit my Grandma (Yaweh bless her soul) in Canada’s crown jewel: Toronto. All the while, I was entirely oblivious to the real treasures that the city had to offer in the form of raw funk, soul and ROOTS REGGAE. Funny how you can have an album for a while and not even listen to it properly for way too long. When I finally did revisit this collection, prompted by hearing “Memories” on a mix from my ever-schooling older sister, I was floored. Every cut on here is a winner, and even as the styles switch up from Northern Soul to dub, there’s a consistency to the whole mix that can only be attributed to one thing- the ethos of Toronto. Didn’t know it existed, certainly doubted it would be soulful if it was there at all, but once again my prejudicial mind was blinding me from the truth. Noel Ellis (son of Studio One/Treasure Isle legend Alton) delivers what I believe to be the greatest nostalgia song of all time. I accept challenges to this claim, but really, the crucial factor here is the extended dub which allows perfectly for someone such as myself (who loves to sing along, occasionally out of key) to go on a lengthy freestyle while the beat is tweaked and delayed into near cosmic oblivion. It’s as if the echoing chords are reverberating off the walls of my inner longing, disappearing into a faint whisper somewhere in my childhood where the sun was shining and the world was simple. REAL TALK. The other songs are kickass too. Really, you need to track down the whole album. 

Hitch-Hikers/Mighty Pope :       Mr. Fortune
Cougars :       I Wish It Would Rain
Noel Ellis :       Memories
all taken from the compilation “Jamaica to Toronto” on Light In The Attic (2006)

***ALSO*** My good friends have started a non-profit to raise education funds for Liberian refugees living in Ghana. Their kick-off fundraiser party is tomorrow in SOHO and everyone who goes gets a copy of the new West African mixtape I just made for the event. OPEN BAR 7-9, donation at the door, good peoples… more info here

Danger Mouse is back with a new project  – this time teamed up with Mark Linkous of Sparklehorse, and David Lynch in the mix with some visual contributions as well. The music does not dissapoint. The two musical masterminds wrote the songs in collaboration with the variety of vocalists they feature from bands like The Shins, The Flaming Lips, the Pixies, Iggy Pop and others, and each of the singers brings a bit of their own style to the largely dark and melancholy tracks.

David Lynch, whose contribution takes the form of a limited edition book of photos to accompany the album, also does right by them. But I use the term ‘album’ in the loose sense, since while the limited edition package includes a custom designed CD, there’s not actually any music on it. Yes, you heard me, it’s a blank CD-R. Due to legal disputes with EMI, the discs will be labeled: “For Legal Reasons, enclosed CD-R contains no music. Use it as you will.” Very tongue-in-cheek. We like it.

You can preview the whole album on NPR, check the official site here, and maybe use google to help find something for that blank CD-R. Continue reading…

Many of you now know of the Dap-Kings for their production on Amy Winehouse’s album, or maybe you’ve even heard Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings. And if any of you have dug even a little deeper to discover Truth & Soul Records, then you’ve no doubt unearthed several overlapping bands (no venn diagrams, sorry), whose music takes us back to the late sixties and early seventies in such an authentic fashion that many have been struck by disbelief in these recordings being produced post-millenium.

One of these groups is El Michel’s Affair. Though they recorded their first 12″ in 2002, and their debut album, Sounding Out The City, came out a couple years ago, nothing will pluck at the heart strings of true-school hip-hop heads like their most recent project, Enter the 37th Chamber. It is an instrumental rendering of the Wu’s most classic joints, and while some might presumptously claim “gimmick!” (and sure, maybe it is a little), it is also an awesome project. I think Can It All Be So Simple is my favorite track and will definitely be on repeat this summer, but I’m also loving the unexpected voices (and only vocals for the whole project) on Shimmy Shimmy Ya.

I highly recommend checking out more of El Michels Affairs music, though, and hearing what these dudes have to offer. Continue reading…