moonrise

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:

• hanine y son cubano - arabo-cuban improvisation
  
• la nina de la puebla - la zagala
  
• gigi shibabaw - gela
  
• anjelika akbar - orkide I + II

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

get this at amazon

bach on the dancefloor

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:

• anjelika akbar - çöl gülü
  
• uakti - minimal 13 m1
  
• hanine y son cubano - arabo-cuban improvisation
  
• peter gabriel - with this love
  
• nina simone - sinnerman
  

bach to bellydance to

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:


related to this:

• uakti - minimal 13 m1
  
• hanine y son cubano - arabo-cuban improvisation
  
• peter gabriel - with this love
  
• nina simone - sinnerman
  

arabo cuban improvisation

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...

• madrid de los austrias - un mensaje
  
• go go golem
  
• mmm... mulatu
  
• more mulatu
  
• rokia traore
  
• gigi shibabaw
  

go go golem

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:


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

get les edits du golem at vinyl france.

related to this....

• lights out
  
• yamasuki singers, black blood - aieoa
  
• bill cosby and quincy jones - hicky burr
  
• arabo-cuban improvisation