seven nation army

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:

• nneka - africans
  
• marie queenie lyons - see and don't see
  
• derek vincent smith / pretty lights - finally moving remix
  
• nina simone - sinnerman

get this at tru thoughts records

even after all

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:

• bonobo - walk in the sky
  
• nneka - beautiful
  
• stevie wonder - as/another star
  
• peter gabriel - with this love

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

l'ascenseur pour le ghetto

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:

related:

• salty kisses
  
• une rose noire
  
• mission apollo

all out king

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 & out- all out king:


get this at upbustleandout.co.uk

15.0 the bruknahm project - siba dub plate

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: