namaste

"...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:

• stevie wonder - free
  
• finley quaye - even after all
  
• diego stocco - music from a tree
  
• yonderboi - riders on the storm / pink solidism

get this at amazon

nneka

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:

• nina simone - sinnerman
  
• marie queenie lyons - see and don't see
  
• derek vincent smith/etta james - finally moving
  
• little brother - atari 2600

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

get this at amazon

novalima

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:

• up, bustle + out - all out king
  
• amadou + miriam feat. manu chao - senegal fast food
  
• hanine y son cubano - arabo-cuban improvisation

you can find this at www.novalima.net

ghalla gurian

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:

• shiva's lounge
  
• gigi shibabaw
  
• live qawwali at fatehpur sikri
  

14.0 little brother - atari 2600

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

10.0 hifana - wamono

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:
- once the welcome screen stops spinning, click it!
and there's your playground, so play the record!
- choose one of the two orange presets at the top of the console on the right (i like 'lanlan')
- play around with the thing in the middle! seriously, almost everyhing including the cans and keys on the page is clickable.

et voilà, you're making music. or maybe dancing?!