Plenty of Sunshine

Picoby Band D'Aborney - Mi Ma Kpe Dji (mp3)(buy)

Don't want to leave you stranded on such a lovely day.  This is from the first of Analog Africa's three (so far) compilations of 1960s-70s music from Benin & Togo, African Scream Contest.

Squeezed between Nigeria and Ghana, the mandatory mix of traditional melodies and rhythms and Latin and Congolese influences in those countries' popular music was complicated by highlife from one side and afrobeat from... you know, it's easy to stop thinking about the stew and smile.  Because the lead singer, whether he's taking his heh!s from J.B. or Fela, drains them of all tension.  The band can be sharp without showing that dictatorial crispness.  Which is great!  You don't see them sweat.  And the world laughs with you, you know?

The liner notes -- a good reason to buy the AA releases on CD -- don't necessarily roll out all the appropriate information.  I've no idea who the singer on "Mi Ma Kpe Dji" is, what he's singing about, or when he sang it.  But labelmaster Samy Ben Redjeb's enthusiasm and responsibility are inspirational; he goes from pouring through stacks of seven inches in scorpion-infested warehouses to hunting down long-lost thought-dead musicians and personally licensing their music.  Picoby Band is one of Benin's oldest; bandleader/guitarist Nicholas Gomez tells Redjeb it was formed in 1953, bought its first proper instruments after winning a state contest.

Last year Analog Africa released Vodun Effect, an acclaimed compilation of Benin's most renowned band, Orchestre Poly-Rythmo (Soundway put together their own excellent comp a few years ago); this spring came Legends of Benin.  According to his notes, Redjeb brought 3800 records back to Germany on only his first trip; he's made many since.  In addition to the official releases, he makes mixes and posts them on his label's blog.

Alèmayèhu Eshèté - Ayalqem Tèdèngo (mp3)(buy)

A little lighter.  Eshèté is known as "the Ethiopian James Brown," and he has more obviously funk-inspired songs in his catalog.  Laughing funk, too, like "Betchayén Tègodahu" (which appears on the same Ethiopiques volume as this song).  But I love how this one floats, love how the piano line joins and separates with those precise Ethiopian vocal runs, how perfect those first little guitar fills are.  And Eshèté, whose charisma is undeniable, keeps his supportive ch-ch-chs at the front of his mouth, brings the word "Ayalqem" down like a laugh.  When he stops everything to chuckle, it's just how you should approach life's great Joke - not as its teller or its victim, but as an appreciator.

I have a long lost entry about that concert last summer that I should probably dig up dust off finish. But for now, ha ha ha.

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Funeral servicey.

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"What seems most likely is that the "Keep Calm" poster resonates for the same reason Fox News Channel is enjoying its best rating ever. We enjoy freaking out. We also enjoy congratulating ourselves for not freaking out when everybody else is."

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'...one of the most amazing and satisfying days for me and Lewis and the Music Department was when Thom Yorke came in to give us gold records for The Bends. It took a long time to get there. But when they came in and handed us the gold records in our music room that day, Thom Yorke walked up to us and said, "I know you guys took a lot of shit for staying behind this and backing us on this record. And I just want you to know how much it means to us." And Thom Yorke actually broke into tears before he walked out of the room. He was literally in tears.'

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Steve Miller Band Tour dates.

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Boo Fucking Hoo. (via)

tags: alemayehu eshete  ethiopiques  benin  im lousy about tags  

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