this is what it sounds like... in my head

thank you, sly

2011-10-10T19:59:00.011-04:00

it's thanksgiving again in canada and all weekend i've been counting my blessings:

- beach walking and forest hiking-time in indian summer heat.
- silliness and antics with my adorable baby niece.
- hanging with family and friends at indulgent (and yummy) international thanksgiving dinners...

but that doesn't mean that life is all sunshine and stuffing...

i just found out i have rotoscoliosis which despite my chiropractor's frown, i am determined to reverse, along with bunions, fallen arches, dislocated knee, loose kneecaps and inverted hips. i should also have massive headaches, but i haven't gotten around to them yet as i've been busy working my spine into a corkscrew.

and yet, i feel fine. i'm actually thankful. a friend got me into her gym (lemme tell you even trainers i've been with weren't successful at it). another fitness consultant friend recommended chiro before working out (who woulda thought?). i have an amazing chiropractor in the family. and... i've got gwenyth paltrow's personal trainer's supa dupa exercise video so i can have some ballet-style fun.

all this to say: true thankfulness means being thankful for everything. not just the good but also the bad and ugly. the foundation of thankfulness is acceptance. accept it all. be grateful for it, all of it steers you forward. even if on fallen arches.

so carrying on the tradition of sly on thanksgiving, tonight's musical thank you gets a little funky. this is going on my gym rotation.

sly & the family stone - thank you (fallettinme be mice elf agin):

more thanks:

get this at amazon

back to life

2011-09-11T14:00:00.008-04:00

it's september.

where i live, kids are back in school. cottage season is ending. everyone is back from holidays.

and we're on schedules. we're busier. campaigns start. sales pick up. meetings get booked. end-of-year planning. next-year planning. prime-time tv season. sports season. gym memberships renew. we rush around. coffee on-the-go, lunch on-the-go. we don't have dinner together. we optimize and prioritize and try to be efficient and multi-task. traffic builds.

....but what would happen if we slowed down a little bit? what if we, for one day tried a little experiment?

yes, us. what if we - for one day - looked at ourselves and at one other as we really are? instead of as humans, with bodies and thoughts, opinions, motives and actions... what if we stripped it all away, stepped back and felt ourselves and each other as we really are?

as souls?
........what would happen?

the only thing we want as souls, is peace. so i challenge you, to a day of soulfulness. try it with family, with co-workers, with friends, with that lady at the corner store, with strangers on the train. interact soul to soul. see if it opens a doorway to peace. even in the busy times. even in september.

soul to soul - back to life:

more soulfulness:

get this at amazon

yes baby fly

2011-06-23T03:10:00.003-04:00

death has come up to look me in the eye. and leave me with questions.

i have often wondered what life is. i mean, what is it that animates us? what makes a human being, an animal, a plant, a single celled organism -- all essentially earth, fire, wind and water -- but what magical thing or energy makes our elements 'come alive'?

a close friend was remembering watching her father during his last days, telling me that he had everything taken away from him. he lost the use of his body, his ability to communicate, his mind. and then she said this:

"the only thing that remained was love. all he had left was his ability to give love and his ability to receive love...."

and so there's my answer.

so, this track is from emo dada, a danish producer and vocalist, snd is dedicated to you, my long lost friends, you know how you are.

emo dada - yes baby fly:

...and then a little something for me, to fill me up with the stuff that keeps me alive...

emo dada - i want my love:

more love:

get this at amazon

namaste

2011-05-18T01:05:00.001-04:00

"...then a voice spoke in my head, and she said:
dark is not the opposite of light, it's the absence of light...."

just coming off a 10 day silent mediation retreat and i feel a little changed, but surprisingly not much.

having a blog tributed to sound, it may seem a little odd to seek silence. but it feels like it was the most natural thing to do. in music each note makes one appreciate its complement. and each sound ultimately pays respect to its parent, the sound of silence.

what i've come to know is silence is the foundation of all sound. it's always there. even when we forget, it's there: patient, calm, waiting, full of grace. and when we recognize this, we recognize ourself as the silence. the highest resonance of all...

i remembered this track (yes those nutty buddhist beastie boys) while walking in the gardens on my retreat... watching the butterflies play in the shade of the tall trees all around, the countryside painted a lush green.

like colour on canvas
all the mind's thought and feeling
painted on our being.

beastie boys - namaste:

more magic:

get this at amazon

moonrise

2011-04-18T01:29:00.003-04:00

in light of tonight's full moon...

harnessing the creative energy coursing through me - i'd like to interpret one of my favourite tracks from one of my favourite producers.... here's my loose lyrical adaptation of nitin sawhney's slow-moving boundary-crossing love letter, "moonrise", vocals courtesy of rai singer, cheb mami and brazilian vocalist, nina rocha miranda.

don't feel sadness
when my light fades away
you'll leave the dark life
when you see the moon play
taking its place
you'll find waves of sadness
for your grace

and so one day
a story of peace
after the storm washes the pain
and a future that couldn't be
calm after the rain
with eyes that even in the dark, still see

and no, i don't speak brazilian portugese... if anyone can take on the arabic i'd be impressed...

nitin sawhney - moonrise (featuring cheb mami and nina rocha miranda):

related:

catch nitin sawhney in toronto this summer at the luminaTO festival.

get this at amazon

o re piya

2011-03-29T09:20:00.011-04:00

when people ask me what makes me so happy i usually smile and say things like "sunshine" and "flowers"... but i think people ask because they think i'm a perpetually, boundlessly happy person.

let me dispel this myth and then share a little secret.

life is never easy. truthfully, it's tough to appreciate happiness without comparing it to its opposite, so i'm grateful even for sadness (there's a little hint in here by the way...).

now, onto the secret!

averaged out, i grew up in a happy home. and of all the reasons, i can point to one very musical one: every morning, without fail, my dad sang. you'd hear him in the kitchen making our lunch and just singing. like no one was listening.

(thankfully he has a great voice)

in fact, when we kids were little, he and my mom would pile us into the car like kittens at the crack of dawn and the requisite sing-along would promptly begin. unless my mom was driving, you'd never hear duran duran or tears for fears in our car, no. it was always the same: we'd clear the driveway and devotional songs from the mosque would fill the crisp morning air. wishing i was still in pyjamas, nodding off like a bobblehead toy stuck to the dashboard, with voice barely there, i'd have to sing. how annoying. how uncool.

truth is, i catch myself doing it now... on my own, in the shower, in the car driving to work, without prompting. and guess what? i believe it keeps me happy. so there's the secret: sing. pick something melodic, something sweet, lovely, uplifting. sing your heart out! do it first thing in the morning. wake up with music filling you up inside so much that you just gotta let it out.

so for you dad, i'm posting some indian soundtrack-ghazal music. the best. rahat fateh ali khan, nephew of ustad nusrat fateh ali khan, legendary qawwali singers. let it warm up, because i just know you will sing along and do your finger tapping thing at the wheel!

rahat fateh ali khan - o re piya:

related:

get this at amazon.com

pop roches

2010-12-28T02:01:00.007-05:00

it's the holidays and i've decided to catch up on the quirky and arty and underrated films i haven't had a chance to watch yet....

one such film is "please give", the opening of which is a montage of several women's breasts - in all manner of shapes, sizes, colours, and volumes - all being plopped and squished down by a glass plate for mammograms. the funny thing is, the best part of the montage isn't the breasts. nope! not at all. it's the song they play over this mammary montage: a quirky tune called 'no shoes' by the roches.

the band is comprised of three sisters who started their musical journey by singing christmas carols in their new jersey neighbourhood while in high school back in the 1960s. 'no shoes' is taken from a recent release called "moonswept".

with about 15 records under their belt (more if you count them individually or in duos), along with their lovely harmonies, quirky lyrics, immense stage and recorded presence, the roches managed to somehow fly under my radar. until i watched 'please give' the other day. i literally had to pause the film and shazam the thing.

so here's my christmas carol to you this year! hope you like.

the roches - no shoes:

related:

get this at theroches.com

the hop

2010-07-18T01:22:00.003-04:00

niko schabel assembled a collective of berlin-based musicians, notably the unmistakeable and unforgettable bajka on vocals to put forth their first release, berlin serengeti. the work is fueled by 'jazzy, earth-shaking tropical dub and snake-charming soul, channeling mulatu and coltrane in a dub shack studio with a barrage of big horns blasting blacksploitation flavors with an eastern funk twist...'

try it out. climb into your ride and crank up 'the hop' as you fly on the street. as the sun goes down, snake charm your partner with the dub infused groove on the sweetly whispered 'el cielo', so warm and buttery...

radio citizen - the hop (featuring bajka):

radio citizen - cielo (featuring bajka):

related:

get this at amazon

ego tripping

2010-07-10T03:23:00.001-04:00

a very special post for a very special lady on a very special day.

a few years ago, i walked into the office of the only vision educator i could find in the city, looking for miracles. i can honestly say, that day, she put those miracles in motion.

honouring a great teacher of mine on her 65th birthday, i can't think of anything more fitting than this. also celebrating her birthday, nikki giovanni is an african american icon who has inspired millions through her words and her actions. happy birthday elizabeth and nikki. may you continue to touch millions with your smiles, your wisdom and your magic!

never forget...
"i am so perfect, so divine, so ethereal, so surreal
i cannot be comprehended except by my permission
i mean, i can fly
like a bird in the sky...."
nikki giovanni - ego tripping:

related:

get this at tru thoughts records

free

2010-06-19T03:50:00.011-04:00

very rarely does it happen that a music video takes a perfect piece of music and makes it better, makes it come to life, makes it reach out and grab you.

this is one of those rare times.

"i think there are very few people on this earth that are totally free. i'm not free but i'm working on it." - stevie wonder

find this here

related:

seven nation army

2010-06-16T23:57:00.007-04:00

ahhh the city is getting ready for a whirlwind of activity as leaders from 8 and 20 of the earth's nations come together for the big talks.

yeah that's right - getting ready for the g8 and g20 in canada and right here in toronto. and i feel the way this track sounds.

counting down until it's happening
and when it's happening
we'll be counting down until it's over.

sometimes i feel like alice russell-
trapped in a grant phabao remix-
of nostalgia 77's cover-
of the white stripes' seven nation army.

and there you have it. superbly belted out by ms. russell. love how it maintains the rock and blues integrity of the white stripes' original, even with a roots reggae element and then adds a little russell to infuse it with just so much sweet soul!

nostalgia 77 feat alice russell - seven nation army [grant phabao mix]:

related:

get this at tru thoughts records

even after all

2010-04-27T23:04:00.010-04:00

i finally finished masaru emoto's hidden messages in water. i think the guy's on to something.

emoto ran extensive research about the effects of words, music and environments on the quality of water. he found that water molecules emulate the beauty of positive words, melodic music and healthy environments by forming flawless crystals when frozen. you can only guess how water reacts to polluted environments, nasty messages and crap music!

so from emoto's findings and knowing that the adult human body is 75% water, we have pretty good reasons to be discerning about the quality of the music we listen to... even the voices we surround ourselves with!

and with that, i present to you... finley quaye.

finley quaye - even after all:

related:

get this at amazon

heligoland dream

2010-04-01T22:17:00.023-04:00

when i was in south africa a couple of years ago i went to the home of a traditional healer, or sangoma. there were several of them gathered, throwing cowrie shells, chanting and calling to the sprits. it was fascinating watching them at work.

one approached me near the end of the night and asked me if i dream. "no", i told him, and if i do, i don't remember them. he advised me to blow my nose before sleeping.

and so i did. and i dreamed...

paradise circus, off of massive attack's latest album, heligoland captures the feeling of my dreamland, where even the most surreal scenes are met with a level head. nothing seems extraordinary, not until i wake in a daze and recall the twists and turns of events.

funny, more and more my dreams give me perspective. to remember them in all their fantastic imagination, is surely to understand life so much better.

dedicated to the sangomas in kwa zulu natal...

massive attack - paradise circus feat. hope sandoval
(feat. hope sandoval):

and for the dreamers... video
scenes taken from tarsem singh's surreal film, the fall. full of dalí-esque visuals sure to make you feel like you are dreaming:

related:

get this at amazon

aussi beau que bon... bonobo

2010-01-19T01:33:00.015-05:00

pure bliss...

there is something deep inside simon green that understands the relationship, the dance, the interplay between a guitar and double bass played in parallel, between the bass and drums played in tandem, and between the horns and xylophone played in turns.

then there's the relationship between simon's instrumentation and that magical, sensual, sweet voice that is bajka. you'll hear her throughout his third album, days to come.

it's on 'walk in the sky', that he creates a world that exists in the twilight, a world where i happily live, dance, dream and love... where words describe a private little utopia and where the percussion - that sweetly syncopated drum, triangle, and cowbell make my temperature rise higher and higher. but it's not just the pure attraction of complimentary sounds, it's also the substance that reels me in: the bliss, the universal truth:

"they live happily
for they know from the past
life simply doesn't last
so they live for today
for tomorrow they may
not be able to walk in the sky..."

bonobo - walk in the sky (feat. bajka):

the whole album is masterful. pure musical genius, aussi beau que bon! if you wanna shake the spell off... read 'between the lines', "we can't change the world but we can change the way we live"...

bonobo - between the lines (feat. bajka):

and finally, off the bonus CD... 4 minutes and 22 seconds of pure instrumental jazz-induced sonic breakdown...

bonobo - hatoa:

and to go the extra mile ('cause i'm feeling that way right about now)... video.
bonobo: scuba (amon tobin remix)

related:

get this at amazon

lhasa on the living road

2009-12-23T18:42:00.005-05:00

a little something for my travels....

lhasa de sela is a montreal-based wandering soul who grew up traveling with her family between the us and mexico in a converted schoolbus, listening to everything from eastern european folk tunes to traditional arabic odes and old mexican standards.

anything but ordinary, lhasa sings in no less than three languages: english, spanish and french. she took time from her music to tour with her sisters and perform circus acts. and then there's her music... everything from marimbas to ukulele and accordion.

her voice and style are anything but typical too. long, drawn out syllables, a unique lyrical poetry and throaty, breathless crooning make for an interesting combination.

just when you think everything has already been done, along comes lhasa.

the living road is a beautiful album to soundtrack the more reflective moments of driving through the mexican countryside... perfect for a train through las barrancas del cobre - mexico`s deepest and most striking canyon system.

lhasa - con toda palabra:

lhasa - para el fin del mundo o el ano nuevo:

related or unrelated to this:

get this at amazon

footnote on my return from mexico - i was saddened to hear while in was in the yucatan that the beautiful lhasa lost her battle with breast cancer. she lives on in our heads and hearts...

phoenix

2009-12-21T01:56:00.010-05:00

and now for a little fun! i'm about to traverse mexico with no set schedule.

first stop: phoenix, arizona.
so i propose: how's a little phoenix for phoenix?

the band is a brilliant french alterna-rock foursome, with four releases to date. the first two here appear on their debut album, united. the last is a pretty remix of a track on their 2009 wolfgang amadeus mozart. and i have yet to hear their live in mexico bonus tracks on the mexican release of their third album, but perhaps i'll pick it up down south.

until then...

phoenix - too young:

phoenix - if i ever feel better:

phoenix - love like a sunset (animal collective remix, deakins jam):

related or unrelated to this:

get this at amazon

nneka

2009-12-14T01:42:00.010-05:00

on first look, in her baggy jeans and hoodie, a haze of coils almost hiding her trademark scowl... you'd think she's just some pretty teenage girl from philly or atlanta... but on first listen, it's clear: she's got the melodies of the universe flowing through her body.

with two albums under her belt already, twenty-eight year old nigerian/german nneka egbuna is a study in contrasts, betraying that youthful look with messages of truth, all conveyed through that signature soft voice, fine and melodic like a flute.

while often compared to fellow nigerian sade or hip hop maven lauryn hill, nneka is still young in her career. she weaves through traditions and styles, having been influenced by anita baker, marvin gaye, fela kuti, bob marley, afrobeat and hip hop, singing in both her native igbo and english. on her first two genre-defying releases, victim of truth and no longer at ease, it's clear the continuity is her voice, which floats through like a butterfly and yes, stings like a bee.

already having dazzled nigeria and europe, her first US record, concrete jungle, is set to release in february 2010. she's going to take the place by storm.

nneka - africans:

nneka - beautiful:

related to this:

oh and big thanks to cam at giantstep for tipping me off to the nneka and j.period collaboration "the madness" (onye-ala) mixtape released yesterday. download here

get this at amazon

thankful n thoughtful

2009-11-26T02:27:00.006-05:00

today i give thanks and thoughts...

a little while ago k and i were indulging in a chocoholics' dream at SOMA, when suddenly i heard this. too funky. no doubt sly. the sultry basslines and horns backed up against sly's soulful voice floating over chocolate almost took me over the edge. when i got home the backup singers were still beckoning so i put it on and listened again. and again.

and when i listen, ev-ery-thing-in-side-me-is-mov-ing-to-this.
ev-ery-thing. jangling bones held together by happy ligaments connected to those involuntarily twitching muscles and corpuscles... the jelly in my eyes, even.

so on the brink of american thanksgiving i present to you a funk track about being saved from the perils of addiction. and no! this does not mean i'm giving up chocolate, so please... keep it coming! i'd be ever so thankful for you being so thoughtful...

sly + the family stone - thankful n thoughtful:

related to this:

happy thanksgiving to my american amigos!! get this at amazon

magic sound fabric

2009-11-10T03:15:00.012-05:00

in my waking life i found i've started to appreciate the tonal, the nonverbal and the silences in between conversations - finding that most conversation is a means-to-an-end rather than the end. 'talk is cheap,' i say, 'show me some action!'

enter magic sound fabric. cameron akhunaton (the name self-styled after the ancient egyptian sun-worshipping pharaoh) is a veritable empresario of formless mind-expanding ambient music. on uplift drift, however, he goes out on a limb, picking up percussion and rhythm, and blending the electronic with the acoustic, the profound with the carefree. what he's created is utterly clean, gently disciplined, undeniably infectious.

electronic voice-over, sultry basslines, surprise waves of wah-peddling electric guitar, trumpeting horns, poignant piano riffs, hints of celebratory hand-claps and a pensive tabla solo give 'my thoughts have become visible' its delicious and unexpected flavours.

expertly sequenced, the tracks on this album flow effortlessly with a perpetuum that exudes the very motion, the very relentlessness of life, the drama of nature unraveling with birth, death and everything that happens in between. without words. expect the unexpected.

but i digress. yes talk is cheap, let me listen-you the music.

magic sound fabric - my thoughts have become visible:

magic sound fabric - galaxy rise:

magic sound fabric - space traffic control:

can't wait to lay my hands on this year's release, observer. listen to this or get the release at www.magicsoundfabric.com or amazon.com

related to this:

see and don't see

2009-08-24T07:26:00.006-04:00

i'd recently spent several consecutive days studying with my reiki master. what seemed like magic was happening in real life.

one tough lesson was coming face to face with hard truth. tough.

and this woman knew how tough. marie "queenie" lyons - the lady who covered try me and fever knew that even fevers eventually break... as do hearts. it's all in that voice.

there are two things that make a voice penetrate our skin, tear through muscle, infiltrate our veins and reverberate deep inside our bones. one is sheer unadulterated joy. the other is soul-shattering pain. lyons sang both like a true blues-funk-soul-sister. she turned the pain of knowing even the darkest truths into something sublime.

my reiki master knows i try to move beyond highs and lows, but sometimes my bones ache for them. my veins need a hit. and that's when i listen to the lyons.

marie "queenie" lyons - see and don't see:

related to this:

derek... thanks for taking me back with your track, my other love.

novalima

2009-08-23T03:28:00.013-04:00

a few weeks ago i did something i don't do enough of and checked out a little-known band at a local music venue.

novalima is a multi-member outfit based in peru. my friend jc returned from a visit to lima in 2007 with novalima's eponymous (and rare, to my dismay) debut cd. it quickly fell on heavy rotation, bringing some heat and spice into the dying days of my winter... i've lost the cd and long to hear novalima again...

their first toronto gig was not something i wanted to pass up.

the latin-loving lula lounge was a hot, packed, sweating room throbbing with the deep polyrhythmic syncopations of this talented crew... and a whole lot of boogy-ing fans. the stage was almost too small but no lie, they made some big sound. the best way i can describe it is a groove-salsa-meets-conscious-electronic-dub-pounding-hop.

i had fun.

and until i get my hands on their first cd (rafael - if you're reading, send it on!), this will have to do...

novalima - ruperta/puede ser:

novalima - africa landó:

PS - i got them... thank you rafael...

related to this:

you can find this at www.novalima.net

music from a tree

2009-08-14T00:21:00.008-04:00

a friend sent this to me last week and i just couldn't help sharing it. diego stocco is a composer and music designer (pretty great filmmaker i might add) who lives in california and makes surreal music from objects in nature, self-styled instruments or traditional instruments in distress.

i embedded the video for this one because it explains so much about what has gone into planning and laying down the track. i was shocked to read that it was not sampled, but played live. the whole arrangement is pretty impressive...

diego stocco - tree music:

i couldn't stop there. in one of his videos, diego uses light to control music, in another he actually makes music from sand... yeah. my thought exactly. what the heck does sand sound like? take a listen, it's pretty tropical and the video is cool too.

diego stocco - music from sand:

so if i were banished to a desert island, i'd definitely ask this guy to come along for some fun!

check out more at diegostocco.com.

thanks to dd for the introduction!

somewhat related:

as... another star

2009-08-03T13:37:00.020-04:00

one day that will stay with me forever is stevie wonder opening the 30th anniversary montreal jazz festival.

after settling into our hotel, my friends and i arrived at mainstage around 3pm to nab some prime concert real estate. it was soundcheck and could hardly believe our ears as we approached the scene. stevie was rehearsing 'overjoyed' and 'higher ground'. then he greeted us with a robotic distortion: 'mont-re-al, ca-na-da' - everyone went wild.

our cell phone were no use so it was good to see folks interacting with each other rather than their crackberries and iphones. we met some really fun and interesting people and i even ran into an old uni friend. people started packing in. it got very hot, to the point we started removing our layers of clothing. hours went by talking, drinking, some people were smoking, my charming friend ky giving out his self-styled wonderlove t-shirts as we all groved to the dj pumping soul and r&b classics. more familiar faces. we enjoyed the company, the heat, the groove. everyone got into it. it was a good day.

when the rains came a multicoloured patchwork of umbrellas went up and our little group started dancing and singing, echoes rippling through the crowds nearby as we attracted attention and bemused smiles, nods and more singers... stevie was running late but we were having fun, the massive crowd doing the wave and singing 'my cherie amour' la-la-laaa-la-la-la's. we weren't gonna let a little wetness stop us.

when stevie finally came on stage, the clouds held their breath. the rain trickled off and stopped. the umbrellas came down and stevie declared that tonight we would to ignore the rumours and scandalous money-making media hype and dedicate the evening to celebrating the life and music of michael jackson. amen to that. then the band broke into "i can't help it", co-written by stevie and quincy jones for mj's 'off the wall' record. the 100,000+ crowd went nuts.

in fact, throughout the set, the pa system played mj tunes between performance pieces. and the entire place - including stevie and band - would just dance to them. a true and proper way to celebrate mj's music... not cover it, not sing over top of it, but to listen, to feel and to enjoy it. simply magical. mj's spirit was there with us that night, enjoying the moment with us too.

one highlight was when stevie decided they would "do it right" and play some jazz at the jazz fest! which included some miles davis and john coltrane - all done with the confidence of a team of musicians so tight and so good, to not only play soul and funk - alongside stevie - one minute, but then cover jazz masters with him the next.

another highlight - aisha morris - stevie's lovely daughter and one of his four back-up singers, who covered nat king cole's 'gonna laugh you right out of my life'. it the first time i heard the song and she gave me shivers.

and throughout the 2 1/2 hour concert, stevie might have had the most fun of us all. he played the harmonica, piano, he sang and danced and talked to us. a gifted musician and vocalist and a true lover of life, he cracked some jokes, asking the francophones in the crowd "voulez-vous coucher avec moi?"... stumbling at the beginning of a song, admitting in his good-natured laugh that forgot the words, then inviting the audience to sing middle eastern sounding vocal scales to a new track he's laying down... tough! the crowd had fun with it. and we danced and danced and danced and he gave us what we wanted to hear... (almost)!

as the show came to a close, light showers rained down over the crowd. they felt so good. a montage of mj tunes played out as all the musicians, backup singers and stevie himself came to the front of the stage. and everyone danced.

and then stevie said something that will always stay with me. he said: "if you have a big heart, love somebody. and if you have a really big heart, love everybody".

and with that, 15 minutes of glorious fireworks lit up the sky.

so for you my dears, here is one song stevie played that night, and one that i wish he had....

stevie wonder - another star:

stevie wonder - as:

taken from the compilation at the close of the century, available at steviewonder.net.

related:
nina simone - sinnerman

perpetuum jazzile - africa

2009-07-24T19:56:00.007-04:00

before you judge me for posting a slovene choir performing toto's africa, hit the play button and close your eyes. see how long you can keep them shut!

this storm makes me shiver every single time.
mo, thanks so much for the reminder! i've been so lax in posting here!

gonna take some time to do the things we never had...
oh snap, that guy in the corner just started beatboxing!!

perpetuum jazzile - africa:

related to this:

see you on the other side...

2009-06-29T02:37:00.008-04:00

sonar kollektiv orchester - rej

jazzanova's berlin-based label, sonar kollektiv, marked its 10th annivesary by inviting their best musicians to make guaranteed niceness - a collection of select label re-workings. the centrepiece - in my opinion is a wicked minimal techno track, "rej" by âme.

they took the techno epic orchestral.

if i had any doubt before, i don't anymore
life after death exists, and it sounds like this...

sonar kollektiv orchester - rej:

now listen to âme's original.

even quentin harris agrees on the life after death part. his take on rej mixes in david gray's "see you on the otherside".

related to this:

thanks to paul at aurgasm for the introduction.
find this at www.sonar kollektiv.com

farewell to the great gloved one

2009-06-25T21:34:00.004-04:00

michael jackson - ben

mis treated
mis understood
mis represented

forever missed

ben was a song written about a pet rat from a 70s film... sung so beautifully, you'd never know.

farewell to you, michael.
thank you for leaving your musical legacy.

michael jackson - ben:

you can find this cd at amazon.

related to this:

sometimes i get a good feeling

2009-06-12T02:21:00.007-04:00

derek vincent smith - finally moving

this colorado producer takes mood music to the next level. wanna throw your hands in the air? take a drive through the desert? tell someone how they make you feel? throw this on for size. smith has put his double length filling up the city skies up for download on his website. here he takes electonic music to the next level, sampling riffs, blips and vocals transcending vintage soul to current hip hop... part 1 is smith's self-styled "organic downtempo" autobiography. part 2, worthy of some major rump-shaking action, is what he plays at his live shows. don't take any of this lightly. smith is a mastermind of sound.

he ties up part 2 with a remix of finally moving, a track that he opens with the deep, velvety souldarling etta james introducing something's gotta hold on me... then comes an electrosonic ride complete with video game sounds, broken violin beats, thumping bass and vintage guitar riffs à la hendrix. the skies clear for a moment when etta returns rippling over a flourish of piano keys. just barely long enough to catch your breath before hopping back on the soundwave...

i get a good feeling... and i don't wanna get off.

pretty lights - finally moving (remixed):

related to this:

if you like what you hear, give a nod to smith... he's continously sharing his brilliance.

bach on the dancefloor

2009-06-07T20:22:00.011-04:00

anjelika akbar - orkide I, orkide II

i couldn't resist posting more because never mind my head, this is what it sounds like... in my body

anjelika akbar - orkide:

anjelika akhbar - orkide II:

you can find this album here

related to this:

bach to bellydance to

2009-05-25T22:53:00.012-04:00

anjelika akbar - çöl gülü

turkish classical pianist anjelika akbar brings together diverse musicians from her homeland to create bach à l'orientale. everything from the composer's famously dark toccata to st. matthew's passion to the well-tempered clavier and concerto for viola and orchestra are showcased here... with a lot more than a little turkish delight layered on top.

on çöl gülü, or "desert rose" anjelika caresses the keys beautifully conveying bach's little prelude in c-minor. starting off without a care in the world, the piece slowly grows in intensity. passion mounts. a doumbek (turkish hand drum) enters the soundscape, then another, then a second set of keys, all swirling. a man cries out. the keys pound out the melody as if possessed. so good you close your eyes and drown in it.

ah the melodrama.

anjelika akhbar - çöl gülü:

if it crackles try it in your music player.

related to this:

uakti

2009-05-17T04:33:00.034-04:00

i fell asleep to this and it permeated my being...

uakti ("wak-ke-chee") is a mythic amazonian legend - a musician whose body was filled with holes, making him an effortlessly beautiful wind instrument. he charmed all the women who he enountered with his stunning melodies. jealous, local men killed him. the palm trees which sprouted from his burial ground were used to make enchanted flutes that echo uakti's captivating melodies.

the classical quartet that goes by the same name make their own instruments from glass, water, wood, metal, PVC pipe tubes, and everyday objects. the result?

fall asleep to this and it will fill up all the little holes in you and make you sound like heaven.

uakti - minimal 13 m1:

(taken from the soundtrack to the film, blindness)

related to this:

as serious as your life

2009-05-12T07:43:00.005-04:00

another genius to inspire me with.

this one from camden, uk,
and had two records released by age 24, they say.

i simply don't get.
why kieran hebden goes by the name four tet.

see, he's only one guy.
they call his style "folktronica", and i can see why.

colourful guitar strums broken down by the pixel put back together
like a mashed up rubix cube pattern mutating forever.

but it works.

take a listen...

and then there's the jay dee remix,
same, same but sans guitar licks.

four tet - as serious as your life:

(mp3 removed)

related to this:

riders on the storm / pink solidism

2009-05-05T23:58:00.011-04:00

behold the boi-yonder....

i'm entering a phase of mind expansion. and nothing better to set it to than yonderboi. by age 24 this budapest-based composer had already released his second masterpiece-release, splendid isolation.

off his first - the double-length shallow and profound - comes this quasi-cover of the doors' riders on the storm.

easily, the most beautiful storm i've heard.

yonderboi - riders on the storm / pink solidism:

related to this:

ghalla gurian

2009-05-04T23:31:00.012-04:00

the track opens with the quiet confidence of a woman singing almost acapella... almost to herself. we listen as if watching her from a distance. too afraid to draw attention to ourselves, too afraid to scare her off.

and as her opening verse echoes off, a guitar and dholak (a north indian drum) draw us in. the addition of the flute and then the harmonium (imagine an accordion played lying down) round out the sound beautifully. and it's done. we're caught, unable to resist.

what she sings of, who knows? the mystery makes it all the more interesting.

uk's panjabi mc (aka rajinder rai) included this song on "the album", almost a 'greatest hits' record, which fuses hip-hop with bhangra. this track may seem out of place but there is a common thread - the showcase of traditional instruments like the dholak and thumbi, fundamentals of rai's ancestral punjabi folk music, which he fuses with hip-hop and guitar rhythms to give birth to very infectious sounds.

one bite we're reeled in. his music was bootlegged in europe, smuggled to north america where jay-z blew it up, causing it to resurface again in europe as 'bhangra-hop'. today, panjabi mc is a household name.

the addition of the guitar on this track opens it up for many who would not normally listen to punjabi folk music. all the instruments he brings together here are brilliant, especially the voice. it's the debut for UK vocalist, hema sharma, who was rumoured to have been only 14 years old at the time of recording... a sweet, innocent, and strong sound. i hope to hear more from her.

ready to get reeled in?
panjabi mc - ghalla gurian:

related to this:

arabo cuban improvisation

2009-03-11T01:12:00.013-04:00

fusion never sounded this sweet. or if it did, this track has made me forget.

this is cuban lounge in all its decadence. except for one very striking thing: you're never sure if it's from cuba or lebanon.

hanine's opening arabic invocation starts us off under tall date palms and into a centuries-old mosque, the sun beating down and the sweat dripping into our eyes. but a moment's pause and a tap-tap later, we've been led through a curtain and find ourselves late at night inside an old-school havana dance hall.

the musicians play without a care in the world. slow, sultry... distinctly cuban. the tempo suddenly lights a shade higher as the instruments converse like old neighbours. and then as if recalling a dream, hanine re-enters the room and starts to sing...

here everything seems effortless. hanine wails her undulating notes, the bongos play out in time, the lazy piano keys seem to just play themselves. the trumpet echoes hanine's calls and the room begins to widen and spin. a swirling sea of drunken sound.

and the pace quickens. the room is under a spell. it gets hot, the ceiling fans giving out high above the dance floor. we dance anyway, skirts flying, cigarillos dangling on the lips. everything is sticky, even the ice cubes in the drinks are on fire. and she keeps singing...

this is the last track on the album 10908 km (the distance between lebanon and havana), which ironically brings the two places together so tightly, you sometimes can't figure out where one ends and the other begins. even the classic arabic songs hanine sings replicate the heart-wrenching tristessa of a cuban salsa epic.

the arabo cuban improvisation is a warm, thick, sweet syrup. i could happily drown to this.

hanine y son cubano - arabo cuban improvisation:

related to this...

makambo

2008-12-22T21:43:00.016-05:00

geoffrey oryema - makambo

it was the summer of '98 that i took my first-ever business trip: a 2-hour thursday night meeting in washington, d.c.

with the rest of the weekend i explored the city... monuments, sights, georgetown u, record shops, 18th street lounge (where i met rob and eric from thievery corporation, before they became famous. definitely a highlight). one evening i wandered into a high-end persian rug and artifact shop.

inside, time stopped. hypnotized by a nostalgic melody, sensing that i was far away from home, i became drawn to the african masks, ancient giant pots and urns, beautifully crafted rugs... totally lost in time and space. suddenly, i heard a man calling me from above. i looked up. it was the shop owner. he had been watching me from the loft space above.

he had a friendly smile so i went up the steps to his loft office. he was a fascinating and engaging man. we spent a few hours engrossed in conversation over tea and music. i was falling in love.

as i was leaving, he insisted on giving me one of his gorgeous persian rugs as a gift. i couldn't accept.

instead, i asked him for a copy of the cd he was playing. yes, he said but it would cost me my phone number.

totally worth it.

the cd? the ugandan musical genius, geoffrey oryema's exile.

and here's the track that i fell in love with that night.

ps - who knew that ten years later i'd be taking work trips to uganda? funny where life leads you...

and - to answer the questions! i fell in love with this song, not the man!

find geoffrey oryema's exile at amazon

related to this...

live qawwali at fatehpur sikri

2008-12-14T14:42:00.003-05:00

ahhh if only i'd gone there on this day...
i might have taken a better qawwality video
(sorry guys couldn't help the pun!)
enjoy....

live qawwali at fatehpur sikri - mughal castle:

mama afrika forever

2008-11-10T23:23:00.017-05:00

miriam makeba - malaika

she lived an incredible life, fighting aparthied, lost access to her homeland but instead through her spirit and passion to fight for what she valued, became a true great citizen of planet earth.

few women have this type of unwavering grace... this is a beautiful song, sung by a beautiful soul. we'll miss you miriam. our angel.

ladies and gentlemen this next song comes from tanzania.
it's a song in swahili, a love song

it simply says, "malaika, na cupenda malaika"

which simply means, "i love you my angel".

miriam makeba - malaika:

*dedicated to my mother*
more info about miriam makeba.
get miriam's music on amazon

related to this...

with this love...

2008-10-30T22:29:00.013-04:00

i am paralyzed by this song.

a decade ago, the soundtrack it belongs to, passion - music from the last temptation of christ, was the last thing i'd hear every night before i closed my eyes and drifted off to sleep.

it would fill my head and my body with sound and make me feel like i was enclosed in enough amniotic jelly that i could accept the dreamland that awaited me. just incredible.

the song has chosen me. following me around for weeks and weeks. i simply can't get it out of my head.

so it's only fair of me to share this one with you tonight.
my only criticism is that it ends.

thanks to j for introducing me to this soundtrack all those years ago. and for that foot rub that set it off!

you can buy it on amazon

mission apollo

2008-10-03T19:44:00.010-04:00

alexandre désilets - mission apollo

taking a break from reading resumés and this guy has been singing to me en francais for the last hour or so. and i feel so lucky and spaced out.

first heard him on cbc this afternoon in the car over. there is such a subtle joy in taking in new music in a self contained mobile machine made of black glistening metal as the sun shines down on a crisp fall afternoon. the music plays, the car accellerates, the tires spin faster, the wind catches in the slivers of open windows, and the world outside passes by: people going about their business, pushing carts on the sidewalk, opening doors for elderly people, waiting with their hot coffee for the street lights to change, then there's a girl bouncing along holding her boyfriends hand, he feeling so lucky and slightly embarrassed, watching as i zoom by lost in sound as i tap tap tap on my steering wheel inside and full steam ahead outside.

'mission apollo' was the track that got me. a trip-hopped-up electrically acoustic guitar radio-headded french vocal track that seized my being enough to make me pause and note the time and frequency (espace musique 90.3FM) so i could rush to a computer and look up the track on a playlist just to relive it, remember what the world was like at that moment, perhaps capture it with words like i'm doing now.... as i procrastinate making decisions about who i'm going to spend 40 hours with each week.

well as much as i'd like it to be, it won't be the lovely and talented alexandre désilets....

(opens as a music player on a new page)

available at: itunes.

related:

une rose noire

2008-09-04T03:31:00.015-04:00

paul cargnello - une rose noire

so i'm driving along the road heading into work one spring morning, tuned into 105.1 choc-fm, one of toronto's few french music radio stations and i hear the end of this reggae-tinged acoustic song...

...and i can't get it outta my head for the rest of the day.

i search around and can't figure out what it is, until a friend finally calls the station for me and finds out (by the way, thanks, d! this one's for you!).

"une rose noire" is short, upbeat, happy-go-lucky song on an all french album - a first for cargnello, an anglo montrealer who has been described as an acoustic folk-punker. the simple, optimistic tune and lyrics along with the catchy harmonica and guitar riffs make it one of those unpretentious but lovable songs that you suddenly find yourself whistling as you walk down the sidewalk on a sunny day. and i hope you will!

so here's to plenty of sunny days ahead...

paul cargnello - une rose noire:

available at: amazon.

related:

sheep get their groove on

2008-08-10T08:30:00.002-04:00

this is what it sounds like in my head....
sheep beats

yes it's true. now you can compose your very own funky sheep beats. and the sheep play it for you!

no, they don't go 'baaa' during the track. slight oversight on the developers' part, so there are no vocal samples, but!! they blink and lick their lips. and actually play their instruments in time. another do-it-yourself music program, like hifana's fresh push...

i have a sheep-less sequencer like this on my mobile phone. a bit more sophisticated so it doesn't just loop after four bars. the reggae ringtone i composed is twelve times longer than sheep beats. and for anyone who's heard it, you know it's funkier than a sheep's...

feeling creative? check out sheep beats. got the 'grindin' back beat in my head. looks like i'll be counting sheep beats to sleep tonight...

Sheep Beats - Sheep get their groove on

salty kisses...

2008-07-21T22:24:00.014-04:00

dobacaracol - baiser salé

just back from almost a month in africa and didn't once jump into the ocean... i did, however, spend a glorious and magical two days on the nile river...

thanks to measha b for introducing me to these two ladies - who charmed me with their beautiful melodic voices. despite the familiarity of their french accent, the bell like guitar and tumbling drum rhythms led me to dream they were from west africa. i was so wrong.

turns out the duo doriane fabreg (aka 'doba') and carole facal (aka 'caracol') and their entourage are from montreal, quebec.

so i've returned home with the gorgeous memory of my last days in africa, surrounded by wild animals, serenaded by two seemingly african mermaids swimming and singing along the nile river.

in my dreams, the nile bears salty kisses...

dobacaracol - baiser salé:

thanks to paul at aurgasm for the posting. available at amazon.

related:

busted pure energy

2008-05-18T23:45:00.005-04:00

the black keys - busted

i've been in a funk. and i've had the blues. i guess from the last few posts it's apparent...

so it's time. i'm snapping out of it.

and what's the sound of snapping out of it you ask? well, today's musical accompaniment comes courtesy of the black keys. the ceremonious track 'busted' mounts from a solitary electric guitar and a couple of drumsticks clacking to pure raw energy...

mmm. nothing like a little seething hillbilly rock to get the blood pumping.

didn't think i had it in me, did ya?

check out the black keys or get their music at theblackkeys.com.

blind sky

2008-05-13T00:10:00.003-04:00

u2 - love is blindness

seventeen years later and it's still just as powerful.

it's always made me think
and always, always feel....

even now, listening to the piano keys, tapping clave, distortion, wailing guitar, pleading voice... i'm dragged out of bed, outside into the night, looking up at the sky. the same one that so many see every night. some live on the sidewalk. some live in fear. in war. in famine. in drought. some with nothing. working themselves sick to earn a decent living. to care for their families. some have lost everything. and some can't see our sky at all.

and i realise how lucky i am
to feel this way

u2 - love is blindess:

get it here: u2 - achtung baby

pyro music

2008-04-14T01:00:00.012-04:00

mc 900 ft. jesus - the city sleeps

go get your headphones. the big, black ones, the plush ones that cover your ears. just get them, now before it's too late.

this pyromaniac, arsonist narrates his secret obsession in a thin, tinny voice, which stands out against the voluptuous, melodic layered keys and deep echoes of the drums and high hats. as he sets fire to an old house, turntable scratches punctuate his story, creating even more depth. he's a great storyteller. the entire effect is a feeling of indulgence, of a gift to oneself.

an old favourite, this track takes me back to an embryonic state. all warm and gooey. all comfy and jelly-like. special.

and all alone.

ok, got em? plug in those headphones and give your self a few minutes. enjoy...

mc 900 ft. jesus - the city sleeps:

i always wondered what happened to mc 900 ft. jesus... his real name is mark griffin and apparently he's taken time off to learn to fly and now spins jazz music in a dallas night club.

thanks to david hornbuckle for posting this. get this at via the label store, nettwerk.

related:

power in darkness

2008-03-29T19:13:00.009-04:00

the trammps - the night the lights went out

typing fast, before pulling the plugs.

today, we observe "earth hour", a campaign spurred by the world wildlife fund, where people flip the light switches off to support power conservation.

makes me nostalgic about when the americas' northeast power grid outed in the height of summer 2003, forcing thousands of people to do stuff they would otherwise not:

empty their fridges and ice boxes to cook

go meet and talk to their neighbours

rely on the kindness of strangers

perform random acts of sweetness

know what it feels like for billions of people around the world every day of their lives.

one hour, though? shame. and lights out in my opinion is just a start...

i wonder if they knew in 1977 when the trammps put this out what a state the world would be in 30 years' time? anyhow before i pull the plugs here it is.

the trammps - the night the lights went out:

thanks to david, the (undercover black man). get this at amazon.

related:
go go golem

black and blue hued blues

2008-03-27T02:52:00.005-04:00

ted taylor - houston town

oh the blues...

and in this case, the black-and-blue-hued blues.

super soul blues volume 1 on paula records: i introduced myself to this album ten years ago. i played it nonstop for weeks.

so much of it is memorable:
ike and tina turner burn down a whisky roadhouse together in 'shake a hand'...
cicero blake extols the virtues of philandering in 'dip my dipper'...
bobby rush fantasizes out loud in 'bowlegged woman, knock kneed man'...

but what got under my skin like a bittersweet, addictive drug was ted taylor's 'houston town'.

super soul blues indeed. all the conditions are right: it's raining, ted's 'broke, busted, belly-empty', pleading with god to get him out of houston town. and it only gets worse from there.

with an irrisistible blend of warm syruppy instrumentation, a few great backup singers and BAM! i wannna be right there in houston town where the drama unfolds.

but that was another time, another space. the closest i'll get for now is this. apologies - my copy at home is better quality - be prepared to hear a lot of snap, crackle, pop on this vinyl.

ted taylor - houston town:

the compilation might be hard to track down. try amazon.

go go golem

2008-03-27T02:40:00.016-04:00

les edits du golem

"he came to protect you. he's growing every day. he's made out of mud and letters. he uses scissors to edit obscure tracks. no one, except his master, could destroy him... the time has come for the world to experience the power of the golem."

...word for word what it says on the record album. no lie. deep, in the dark french vinyl grooves past these riddles on the album cover are some solid edits fashioned by romain bno, ready to be discovered... 'pyramide' for example is a light and airy take on the 1985 arabic 'disco/balearic' track by multitalented libyan ahmed fakroun... and then comes the heavy, the big sound... 'klout' features golem's golden scissors on 'sunshine baby', a 1979 track by a south african all-girl band called clout, this time sans voix. worth a good booty shake!

les edits du golem - pyramide:

les edits du golem - klout:

...check out the clout's original 'sunshine baby', complete with vocals:

mmm. long live disco...

big thanks to jez (innersounds) and neil (music like dirt).

get les edits du golem at vinyl france.

related to this....

more mulatu...

2008-03-15T20:01:00.010-04:00

mulatu astatke - kasalèfkut hulu ("from all the time i have passed")

more mulatu...

this time accompanied by the dancing stylees of mike long. no matter where he is in the world, you can see him dance... his way, every day.

related to this...

mmm.... mulatu

2008-03-11T20:47:00.028-04:00

mulatu astatke - yegelle tezeta ("my own memories")

my colleague has been stuck on standby in addis ababa, ethiopia for four days now following a business trip. on a brighter note - who knew that ethiopian airlines has duty free music?!

specially packaged and available inflight, is a recording by prolific ethio-jazz icon, mulatu astatke. schooled in europe and north america, astatke returned to his native ethiopia in 1969 to pioneer a wave of ethiopian jazz music that blended african, latin, modern jazz and ethiopian instrumentation. a highly addictive brew filled with infectious energy.

i'm sure my colleague could use some of that until she finds a flight home.

so in the meantime...

mulatu astatke - yegelle tezeta

thanks to jim jaramusch's film, broken flowers for getting this into my head. and for making me want to get my hands on astatke's work.

drum thing in the air tonight

2008-03-08T14:24:00.012-05:00

phil collins - in the air tonight (yoruba soul remix) side a/b edit

i've always loved phil collins' in the air tonight. mostly its tom tom drum - the dark, ominous beating heart that explodes a good three minutes deep into the track in an angry face off against cowardice and evil.

it's this sound that floats me back in history to when the first people of this land used drums that sound like this to communicate, to signal, to pow-wow, to live by. a skin, broad diameter, pounded steadily with a mallet.

and i can only guess that it's this sound that also caught the ear of house music guru and ifá priest, osunlade. the yoruba records boss polished up the sound and layered polyrhythms over top in his remix release, the backside of which is an instrumental dub.

thanks to jez proctor and his project innersounds, for weaving side b over a with a surprise horn, piano and symbol-laden crescendo that exits to collins' original backbeat before it continues on.

i smile and think that eshu - yoruba god of spiritual justice - should be pleased...

phil collins - in the air tonight (yoruba soul mix) side a/b edit:

city of light

2008-01-15T21:59:00.012-05:00

the brüknahm project - all those great ghosts

it's dark. i am inside. i pull down the shades to block out the pinpricks of light invading the window. all i can see now is the light from the disc player. i set it in motion and lie down. close my eyes...

enter a lonely trumpet. soon accompanied by keys, keeping time. then a talking saxophone... and finally a lazy drum-brush.

this is the opening of city of light, the brüknahm project's latest and yet to be released album, recorded in paris.

this is the science of music. tracing in the footsteps of the greatest jazz 'ghosts' that ever were, the track is pure math and science and soul set to sound. i am paralyzed now, listening to the bass that breaks up the middle of the track as the saxophone comes back in to enchant me, and then the track continues its story. an epic that ends in a banging drum and dizzying horn.

and from there it's a choose your own adventure. any track on this album could chase it and you could find yourself at street level hustling in an immigrant hood, in a ancient basement jazz club in the 5th, at dinner or cozied up in front of a fire in the republique...

as i lay here, powerless and motionless in the dark, this track sends me right back to the brilliant, throbbing, and nostalgic city of light.

although i've never met the brüknahm project, which is saundi wilson and sebastian bardin-greenberg, listening to this song makes me feel as though they know me inside out. their music is powerful. it's thoughtful and sensual and has the ability to move me, more and more every time i listen.

the brüknahm project - all those great ghosts: listen

december 2010 update: i have met one member of bruknahm project now and they have just released 'city of light' online... you can find it at itunes

congrats siba and saundi!

related:

l'ascenseur pour le ghetto

2008-01-12T22:21:00.010-05:00

amadou + miriam feat manu chao - senegal fast food

freshly back from a driving trip from paris to dakar, i'm re-living the sights and sounds of senegal through this track. and i so ache to go back.

this song by malian amadou + miriam (featuring manu chao and his infectious guitar) recalls our travel: choo-chooing train whistles, gearshifting between french and wolof, soulful harmonica and west african guitar.

watching this makes me feel like that's my family i've left behind. brilliant art direction visually bringing lyrics to life: local joints with western names like 'le paris' cinema or 'manhattan fast food' ('over 2,000 served'!) show how eager senegal's people are to leave their country in search for a better life elsewhere... but where? bamako, mopti, algeria, tunisia, italy - pas de problème - anywhere but here! amadou + miriam respond: 'you may leave but never forget your family, your home'.

yes it's midnite in tokyo. it's 5am in mali. but 'what time is it' in the paradise of a rich country? yes we have health care, education and porcelain toilets. but do we have each other?

almost a lyrical-satirical play on 'stairway to heaven' is 'l'ascenseur pour le ghetto': inevitably, most refugees to rich countries land in the heart of the ghetto. so why leave the sun and the beach for the cold and the hustle? funny, my travel partner alexis theorized a country's gross national product is inversely related to its 'human happiness' product. could he be right?

the video gives us a glimpse. yes a west african life is tough. 'family' means a dozen people in the house, grandparents, grandchildren, but it's also all the more love...

i especially treasure how real the video is - endless fishing boats on the coast, sweet tea served in little glasses, donkeys pulling carts, shell-casting by the roadside... if any of this makes you want to get in a car and drive to africa, pas de problème: call me and i may just join you.

amadou + miriam featuring manu chao - senegal fast food:

nina's sinnerman

2007-12-03T00:25:00.005-05:00

nina simone - sinnerman

there is nothing like truth.

some people live by it. others shout it from the rooftops.

schooling the ignorant masses who have erroneously bestowed on them their given "class", their "status", their "place" and their "lot", a few people had the guts to tell it like it is, in their own skin.

this was one such woman. even when she whispered, she belted out the truth. that yes, she had class. she had status. she had important places to go and she had a lot to teach the world. and no one's fear could keep her truth locked up. and the world is better for it.

like the woman behind it, this track is an epic. spanning styles and influences like classical piano, jazz infused bass, gospel wails, flamenco-echoed hand claps, funky blues guitar, and not to mention a be-bop inspired scat to top it all off... this is what music is made of. truth. this woman had something to say. and i'm glad she did, because i doubt anyone could sing the truth they way nina sang it.

nina simone - sinnerman:

spirit dance

2007-11-29T21:52:00.002-05:00

dead can dance - yulunga [the spirit dance]

in life there are circumstances, situations and phenomena that simply cannot be explained.

these are the magical moments of life. sometimes we are amazed. other times, bewildered. we stop in our tracks. disarmed. we get goosebumps. we cry.

this magic, this shimmering mystery that eludes us, always leaves a mark.

moments in time when we are altered. forever changed.

it was cold winter night in 1994 when i first heard this song.
and i have never been the same since.

dead can dance - yulunga [the spirit dance]:

shiva's lounge

2007-11-21T00:26:00.004-05:00

tony estrada - shiva lounge mix

i sometimes wonder how different life would have been if i was born in east africa like my parents or in india like my grandparents. i may have had a completely different musical palate, for one thing.

i've grown to appreciate the incredible vocal ranges, sophisticated scales and intricate instrumentation that are all part of classical indian music. but the pop stuff only made sense to me when i travelled to india the first time last year.

indian electronica, though, has been a great bridge for me. similar to indian cuisine, where spices are simmered together at the exact right time, indian music and electronica must be carefully combined to elicit an undeniable yet dramatic flavour. sometimes the results are disastrous. and at other times the results are incredible - and very addictive.

today's post features a podcast by chicago-based progressive house/trance producer and dj, tony estrada. this came to me courtesy of qasim virjee - also known in dj circles as abdul smooth, and his baby: www.indianelectronica.com.

the set starts off a bit bland. with track names like "lost in reflection" and "pink elephant" i wondered if tony's track selection resulted from too many india pale ales... but halfway through the mix i heard it: nomadix's beautiful remix of asha bhosle's cinematic classic 'chura liya'. this was immediately followed by meme's 2001 nights mix of shakira's 'ojos asi'.

seriously.

these were followed by some infectious electric-cairo-disco, including a must-hear version of "walk like an egyptian' by cleopatra + hakim, and tony's own rhythmic remix of dead can dance's 'saldek', topped by 'haram aleyk' by the yalla-chant queen herself, natacha atlas... some great hip shaking tunes.

i suddenly want to jet to mumbai... and if i did, i'd be lucky to check out qasim's mumbai instalment of the indian electronica music festival.

in the meantime, tony estrada's 2006 shiva lounge mix:

related to this:

gigi shibabaw - gela

put 'em on me

2007-11-17T11:36:00.002-05:00

sinead o'connor - i want your hands on me feat. mc lyte

digging this out from way, way, back in the day.

this one is dedicated to my long lost friend jpk. thank you for putting your hands on me... i want more!!

[and before anyone gets any ideas - i'm strictly talking reiki treatments. i'm a new woman! gosh those hands work magic]

so here's to your magical hands, jpk...

sinead o'connor - i want your hands on me feat. mc lyte:

rokia traore - 98 (timmy regisford & quentin harris mix)

2007-11-11T19:29:00.011-05:00

so yes, i've been quiet for a little while. it's been hectic and i usually get a bit quiet in november because of my birthday. and although i try not to, i always end up thinking about what i've accomplished and what i still want to accomplish. and sometimes i get a bit ambitious.

what sound-tracks this reflective process?

over the last week or so i've been plugged into a mix by louie 'lou' gorbea. especially "98" - a track by 33-year old malian rokia traoré (as remixed by timmy regisford and quentin harris).

besides hypnotizing me with her voice, traoré - who happens to be born the same year as me - has accomplished a lot. she has pushed the boundaries of malian traditional music by combining distinct traditions to come up with her own signature sound. she's defied her 'place' as a malian noble woman by performing. she's won BBC music awards. and she's performed in the presence of ali farka touré, salif keïta, youssou n'dour, manu dibango, khaled, baaba maal, peter gabriel, gilberto gil, and neneh cherry. to name a few.

98 is a beautiful, lush track featuring multilayered african drums, gorgeous west african string arrangements, all laid up against a classic house key. timmy regisford and quentin harris are outstanding. the jewel of this track, though, is traoré's voice. soft and buttery, but with so much soul. zero pretentiousness. true: you never really know exactly what she's singing about. but really, with a voice like her's, who cares.

all i can say is... 1974 was a good year.

without further ado, rokia traore - 98 (timmy regisford mix):

and here's louie 'lou' gorbea's mix, featuring the same track:

tracklist (if anyone can identify tracks 4 and 8, be in touch with me!):
1. a journey into - blvd east & louie lou gorbea (alix alvarez remix)
2. ma foom bey - cultural vibe (tony humphries love chant mix)
3. noiZ - united people of zion (abicah soul jah vocal mix)
4. unknown
5. 98 - rokia traoré (timmy regisford & quentin harris mix)
6. mototronic - christian perez
7. sex in africa - jovonn
8. unknown
9. frozen/my joy - madonna/leela james (quentin harris mix)

rokia's unmixed music is incredible. check it out - visit rokia traoré's official website: www.rokiatraoré.net

related to this...

all out king

2007-10-31T23:11:00.017-04:00

being halloween i'm posting something to represent.

no worries, i'm not about to lay down "thriller", "the monster mash" or "ghostbusters" theme song...

rather, i'd like to ride the wave of the masquerade. to celebrate the night before the day of the dead, i used to outfit myself as the dead (nefertiti, cleopatra...) but recently i've had more of a musical bent in my masquerade, preferring madonna and sade. this year i went out on a limb and dressed as radio-active raggedy ann.

can you picture it?
what, no?

i was a vision in a slim fitting floor length bright purple and multicoloured patterned gown and radioactive coloured hair extensions to match, along with a pink floor length fur lined overcoat. i emerged from a store on bloor street before heading to a halloween art party saturday night, and a woman stuck her head out the side of a slow moving black SUV and yelled, "OH MY GOD!! THAT IS NUTS!!". she was pointing at me.

so in the spirit of the masquerade, i'm bringing out up, bustle and out. UBO are a duo from bristol, england. but you would never know by listening to their music. diverse doesn't come close to describing their 'style'. the first UBO album i picked up was rebel radio master sessons 1, followed by master sessions 2 calle 23. both were recorded in havana, cuba, by flautist richard egues and have an unmistakable cuban sound. but their one colour just reflects another is more diverse, featuring a house track called "an african friendship", complete with french vocals and live recordings from the streets in huancayo, peru. their compared to what relase is pure classical indian music fused with trip hop. and then there's the upcoming istanbul's secrets, with floating eastern vibes.

tonight's track is a party song called "all out king", taken from UBO's latest release, mexican sessions. this track itself is a hybrid, mixing romanowski's "yeah-yeah-yeah-yeah" emcee commentary, dub, heavy bass, bongo mania and of course a lot of mexican flavours. it's the kind of track you play at a house party and people start clearing the furniture. or dancing on it.

so in the spirit of the masquerade, i bring to you
up bustle and out - all out king:

get this at upbustleandout.co.uk

16.0 la niña de la puebla - la zagala

2007-10-16T18:18:00.006-04:00

one chilly fall night in the late 90s, tucked away in toronto's tiny tranzac club, eight flamenco dancers spent the evening furiously stomping and snapping to the accompaniment of live tablas. i was lucky to be invited to see that show. it was my introduction to live flamenco and it was mind blowing. i went to several of these shows and even tried a lesson myself.

for me, flamenco music is the sound of passion. it's bright red. it's the image of a dancer with her back arched and a flower in her hair. thick-heeled mary janes pounding the floor. arms out, castinets clanking. frilly skirts flying. men in white shirts and black vests. pointy-shoes time-tapping on the barstool rung. eyebrows knitted in full concentration. fingers violently abusing the classical guitar. then comes the wailing voice. the rapid guitar strum, finger snaps, hand-clapping, box-smacking, heel stomping, the instinctive olé!

flamenco is as much sight to me as it is sound.

la niña de la puebla challenged me. i first heard her standout track 'zagala' on putumayo's "the story of flamenco" compilation. everything else on the cd instantly dulled in comparison.

la niña de la puebla was not just any flamenco singer. born in 1909, the daughter of a singing barber, dolores jiménez alcántara began singing professionally at age 8. she took to the stage at 14. married at 20. had 5 children and continued to sing and tour all her life. she passed away at 90, one week before the spanish king would present her with the nation's gold medal for the arts. probably at the same time that i was sitting in the tranzac club, completely transfixed at my first flamenco show.

this musical post is a song from one of the most gifted vocalists of all time: the blind girl from sevilla who makes me dream in full colour.

la niña de la puebla - la zagala

15.0 the bruknahm project - siba dub plate

2007-10-14T11:16:00.005-04:00

i've been itching to fly lately... dreaming of traveling to distant lands and escaping the big rat race. exchanging it all for a little exploration, some intrigue and a welcome nod to the unexpected.

translation: i have not had a holiday in a long time.

so in what would ordinarily be a mundane sunday morning routine of making breakfast and autopiloting into cleanup mode, i've decided to post something to launch my spirit out of this world.

the bruknahm project is sebastian bardin and saundi wilson, from paris, rio de janiero, and los angeles. they live in nyc and produce an eclectic mix of jazz, trip hop, middle eastern vibes, dub, electro, french chantilly lace, hip hop, breakbeat and everything that sounds good with all that.

on their myspace page, they eloquently describe themselves like this:
the block party, the won ton, the teflon don, roti, natty dread, norman's bread, fascati's pie, do or die, nickels and dimes, restoration, the slave, nyabingi's, smurf village, nathans, the guaguanco, the plantano, kim chi, o.e., the conservatory, the bullet proof joint, bam, the kosher deli, jube, the promenade, the pierogis, the pjs, the yarmulca, the dollar van, medina, masjeed, the b-ball, the beats, the cipher, 90 nations.............one love

and wherever that is, i'm there.

bruknahm project - siba dub plate, my great escape:

and a little something from siba himself... marrach's memories:

14.0 little brother - atari 2600

2007-10-13T14:19:00.002-04:00

asteroids, centipede, missile command, pac man, q-bert and let's not forget donkey kong and frogger. the sounds of rapt wonder and excitement from back in the day.

oh how my heart sank when that little pixelated frog flattened into an X simply trying to cross the street. the tone of his demise was terrible. SPLAT! then there was the noise made by the awful green coily monster when he'd appear and jump in mad chase from one cube to another on the psychedelic pyramid to annihilate poor lil q-bert.

those were the sounds of video games from my childhood - sounds that have been permanently pressed in the grooves of my memory...

a rap duo from north carolina called litle brother made this tribute to the atari 2600 console. funny though - the song has not even one video game sound in it. no. it's a soulful old school ballad - complete with string arrangements and swooning backing vocals. what nostalgia: "a-tar-i don't go!"

click the console and take a listen... and oh yeah. advisory: explicit lyrics!
little brother - atari 2600:

ok - and for those of you who are now itching to play. here you go:)

related to this...

ahmad - back in the day

13.1 heliocentrics - sirius b

2007-10-09T00:32:00.009-04:00

so there's more where that came from...

heliocentrics - siris b:

related:

13.0 heliocentrics - once upon a time

2007-10-08T01:24:00.007-04:00

there's nothing quite like brain food, the stuff you listen to late nights working on something good. and while everyone around has fallen asleep, you stay awake addicted to the beat.

ok....
enough said.
this is what it sounds like in my head.

heliocentrics - once upon a time:

related:

12.0 ahmad - back in the day

2007-10-02T18:24:00.004-04:00

this one is dedicated to kwame, who put this in my head.
and to richard, who taught me about "earworms".

ahmad - back in the day:

this track requires an external player like winamp (download here) or real audio player (download here).

related to this...

little brother

11.0 the payola$ - eyes of a stranger

2007-09-26T03:27:00.005-04:00

i do believe the best pleasures in life are simple ones.

cricket-chirping backbeat, pleading voice, haunting lyrics and ska-influenced guitar riffs. trying to capture this feeling in words - and it reminds me of indian summer.

days...
when it's oppressive and hard to breathe. you can feel the air thick and hot. on days like this, you slip out and get ice cream and watch the world go by. when everything, the sidewalk even, seems to be sweating. and what you want most of all is to lie tall green grass under a tree. watch the sky pass and dream your life away.

and at night...
an old fashioned backyard barbecue with colourful lights strung up. you turn the hi-fi system up loud and slow-dance. and to make it last forever - turn off the ac and sleep under a cool sheet with your feet up against a wall.

the payola$ - eyes of a stranger:

related to this...
black keys - busted

10.0 hifana - wamono

2007-09-23T16:24:00.001-04:00

ok people!

special interactive instalment of 'this is what it sounds like...'
this one is for the movers, the shakers, the music-makers:)

get your inspiration from hifana - a 'hiphop'/breakbeat/electronic/experimental duo from tokyo, who gave up backing bellydancers (seriously) to do their thing. pushing the boundaries of description, they use sampling, beats, breaks, video games, percussion and distortion in a way that i can best only compare to coldcut.

first check the wamono video:

ok - your turn to 'fresh push'

hifana's site has a sound machine (à la mixman studio) so now you too can play!
check it out here.

instructions:
- choose your beats from the PAD BANK at top right (choices: A, B, C or D)
- hit the "play" button below the turntable to play the back beats
- choose samples and sounds from the buttons at right (horizontal rows are similar sound groups)

et voilà, you're making music:)

9.0 gigi shibabaw - gela

2007-09-19T18:18:00.005-04:00

traditional music always strikes a chord with me. with instruments that only a select few still know how to play, richly layered percussions, vocal scaling, story-telling, intricate compositions, throws, echoes, the call, the response. it all resonates within me. it takes me home.

how do i explain the feeling of home? maybe it's my childhood, listening to my great-grandmother singing devotional ginans in a combination of sanskrit and gujarati...

or growing up with my columbian nanny, who taught me to communicate in spanish and produce sounds that don't exist in the english language...

or listening to the lyrical arabic prayers recited at the mosque...

or spiritual chanting radiating out of aboriginal tradition that i came to love as a child while traveling to western canada each year...

and i forgot to mention: i'm a sucker for hand-claps.

gela is a track taken from abysinnia infinite, which is ethiopian soul and roots music. it's a collaboration between ethiopian ejigayehu "gigi" shibabaw and (her husband!) producer and label owner, bill laswell.

you may not 'get' gela at first, but if you listen to it three times quickly, like three clicks of dorothy's red shoes in the land of oz, you may just be transported home.

(this track requires an external player like winamp (download here) or real audio player (download here).

gigi shibabaw - gela:

related to this...

8.0 amy winehouse - moody's mood for love

2007-09-16T12:36:00.004-04:00

so i'm skipping out and chilling at home on a chilly windy sunday afternoon... nothing like this jazzy quincy jones tune redone by amy winehouse with its rootsy percussion and capricious vocals to sound-track my comfy cozy wrapped up indoors fall afternoon of lounging about...

amy winehouse - moody's mood for love:

7.1 oddiofile - costa del sol

2007-09-10T00:19:00.001-04:00

thought it may be so very sweet of myself to include oddiofile's costa del sol playlist for you true audiophiles out there...

et voilà!

ODDIOFILE - COSTA DEL SOL - JULY 16, 2006

Gotan Project-La Cruz Del Sur-Ya Basta
Shawn Ward-Alma Jazz-Dance Wicked
Freddy Fresh feat. Boricua All Stars-Flamenco-Howlin
Truby Trio feat. Concha Buika-Jaleo (Cuica Remix)-Compost
Lanu-Mosquito Coast-Freestyle
Scuba-Te Quiero-Work White
Matthias Heilbronn with The Candela All-Stars-Brobombique-Candela
Javi P3z Orchestra-Futbolin (Watch TVs Broken Rumba Mix)-HiTop
Mojo Project-La Tristeza (Alex Acosta Mix)-Love Monk
Jazztronik-Madrugada (Club Mix)-Especial
Julius Papp-A Flower Blossoms-Loveslap
Malone-Musica-Kosmic
Wahoo-Holding You (Full Version)-Sonar Kollektiv
Madrid de los Austrias-Un Mensaje (Extended Take)-Sunshine Enterprises

7.0 madrid de los austrias - un mensaje

2007-09-09T23:20:00.003-04:00

today it got cold. i was in montreal walking around the sidewalks and noticed folks breaking out the down vests, the mufflers and the hats.

there were a few sun worshippers about.. you know who you are. you who refuse to allow summer to get away so quick, wearing your tanks and skirts and sandals despite the chill in the air... and i applaud you.

today's musical note is dedicated to you.

here's something from a duo from austria, who make music that sounds like it was from madrid. possibly explaining why they are called madrid de los austrias. their first release was called amor. the follow up? mas amor. these guys don't mess around. my favourite is a throaty vocal flamenco chillout track, which i heard at the very end of a sultry end-of-summer costa del sol podcast by oddio... so don't put away the tanks, the skirts the sandals just yet.

madrid de los austrias - un mensaje:

related to this...
costa del sol

6.0 yamasuki singers - aieoa, black blood - aie a mwana, bananarama - aie a mwana

2007-08-27T02:23:00.011-04:00

after a little departure from posting music... i've returned with something special. i'm happy to see my folks back from uganda safe and nicely toasted, and to celebrate i'm posting something that was conceived in the '70s, made its way to the african continent and traveled north and west, but kept it's original soul...

the japanese yamasuki singers first issued the track "aieoa" on their wacky album "le monde fabuleux des yamasuki" (click for video):

the track then took an african twist when it was reissued by a '70s band from zaire. [edit! they were actually belgian - which explains how the track got play in europe... read on]
black blood - aie a mwana (click for video):

three models heard the black blood cover in a paris nightclub and went home to london to record the song on their debut album.
bananarama - aie a mwana (click for video):

thanks to wfmu.org

and totally unrelated...

5.0 the visionnaires - runnin'

2007-08-16T00:31:00.001-04:00

how true... you can't keep running away. although it's so tempting sometimes...

the visionnaires - runnin' (click the play button):

courtesy of the hype machine

4.0 bill cosby and quincy jones - hicky burr, sargeant pepper's lonely hearts club band

2007-08-15T18:41:00.003-04:00

what's better than jello pudding or an episode of fat albert? bill cosby singing hicky burr and sergeant pepper's lonely hearts club band… the second album cover slays me.

bill cosby and quincy jones - hicky-burr:

bill cosby - sargeant pepper's lonely hearts club band:

and totally unrelated...

yamasuki singers, black blood - aieoa

3.0 the blow - the love that i crave (strategy's strata club remix)

2007-08-08T18:29:00.008-04:00

i'm feeling electric.... this song has captured my mood instantly... lyrical punctuation (yes i had to look them up!)...and induced some instinctive rump-shaking action...

the love that i crave is a polar bear to gore me
then i'd know the force with which she adored me
the love of my dreams is the stuff of my nightmares
when I wake up in screams, that's how i know that i really care

i must await the swing of the scorpion's tail
all my impatient advances come to no avail
little pinches and pokes, they don't mean a thing
compared to a true arrival and the shock that it brings

pick it up, try it, get tired of it, rewind
i'm so tired of being wasted, just chasing the same old thing
i want to get hit by a big thing, come take me, change me

the blow - the love that i crave (strategy's strata club remix):

2.0 osunlade feat. divine essence - my reflection (quentin harris remix)

2007-08-08T18:11:00.004-04:00

osunlade - yoruba priest - produces music that makes thousands of people want to dance.

behind his music are spiritual messages rooted in yoruba ifa beliefs. on 'my reflection', the lyrics remind me of an ancient southern african belief called ubuntu. ubuntu means: i am, because you are, because we are. it speaks to the connectedness of all of us, all things living. we are all made of the same stuff, called life. indeed we are all a reflection of each other...

you are my reflection
you are all that i need to survive
if i don't breathe you don't exist
if i don't call you by your name i have misrepresented my soul
i call on you
i wake you up in me.

osunlade - my reflection

thank you saint-bioz

1.0 nelly furtado - say it right (quentin harris remix)

2007-07-26T20:02:00.011-04:00

i can't remember how i stumbled across this. but it's brilliant. love love love quentin harris. he actually renamed the track "i'm impressed when music matters". so apt.

thanks to richard who helped me remember the original sample source - the nightcrawlers, push the feeling on - remix. it was my personal earworm for weeks.

nelly furtado - say it right
(quentin harris mix "i'm impressed when music matters"):

special thanks to saint-bioz

related posts: