A Music Blog is Born

Being a little slower on the uptake than your average blogger, I'm just now learning how to post tracks to this thing and make it a little more interesting for you. My words may or may not be enough to bring you back, but certainly adding some music that I think you'll like won't hurt either way. Let's kick it off with the two tracks you'll hear at the start of Saturday's show.

In 2001, Tony Allen, drummer and musical director for Fela's great Africa 80 orchestra, released Psyco On Da Bus-- emphasis on "psycho" as it's applied to Allen's signature fractured afro-groove drum sound. "Afropusherman" puts that sound front and center, and borrows a lyrical riff from "Don't Fight Your Wars", originally found on Allen's Homecooking record. I'm taking this version from Afro Beats, a great overview of Allen's Comet label. With Wrasse's recently reissuing the Fela catalog, not to mention funk's resurgence and the rediscovery of Africa's musical Golden Age, Allen's cred is higher than its ever been.

Next up is this track from eccodek, a Guelph, Ontario-based DJ/producer/studio genius whose debut release, More Africa In Us, we're putting out on the label I manage. So here's this track, "Peace Time". Andrew McPherson, eccodek's guiding hand, tells an interesting story about the inspiration for this record.

That's it for now. As always, thanks for tuning in to TerraSonic. See you soon.

Psyco On Da Bus :: "Afropusherman"
eccodek :: "Peace Time"

Heard you missed me well I'm back

Yikes! It's been seven months since I typed on this thing. I was almost surprised that it was still here. Apologies for disappearing on you like that. I know how much you came to rely on my words, even after a mere four posts.

But seriously, let's call this a fresh start and make the most of it. For starters, I want to welcome you to the new look of the site. Thanks to Airbubble Industries for putting it together so quickly for me.

It's been an active first quarter in the world of world music, and Q2 is off to a solid start. As I write this, I'm listening to Juana Molina's new release, Son. As we might expect from this Argentinean songstress, it is gorgeous. It retains her signature relaxed, hypnotic feel, but adds dabs of color and pronounced traces of rhythm and melody (inspired by birdsong, actually) that propel Son in a more insistent direction than her previous two releases. It moves forward, and is a strong step forward for the former sitcom star.

Mish Maoul is a refreshing return to top form for the electrifying Natacha Atlas. She reunites with Count Dubula from her Trangslobal Underground days and he plugs the soul/hip hop explorations she began with Something Dangerous into a massive North African sound system. "Hayati Inta" is the stone cold Arabic groove that I've not heard from Natacha since Gedida. "Ghanwah Bossanova", with the trancey Brasilian sound the title implies, will be de rigeur for all of this summer's hottest mix tapes.

(Here's a tip for you while we're talking about Ms. Atlas: check out Foretold In the Language of Dreams, an album Natacha recorded in Greece in 2000 or so. It showcases her superb voice in an ambient-acoustic setting and is positively, well, dreamy.)

I recently came across a worldly release from, of all places, the Thrill Jockey label, those Chicago-based jazz-rock purveyors (home to Tortoise, Howe Gelb, Chicago Underground Duo/Trio, etc.). Ok Oyot System is by Extra Golden, a collaboration between members of DC-based Golden and the Nairobi (Kenya) benga band Orchestra Extra Solar Africa. This tuneful, touching music is the result of an open-ended "no expectations" recording session/exploration that happened to yield some pretty delightful results. The title translates to "nothing is easy" and, unfortunately, that turned out to be rather prophetic in this instance. The Golden side of the band were forced to drain their bank accounts to pay off a framed drug charge, and Otieno, a major Kenyan contributor to the record, succumbed to complications resulting from HIV shortly after its release. This funky bittersweetness should not be missed.

Seems like just yesterday that this space was praising the glories of Cheb i Sabbah's latest, La Kahena, specifically, the remixes that had just been posted in the iTunes Music Store. Now on the immediate horizon is a an album-length collection of remixes, La Ghriba. All three of the iTunes mixes are there. The record also contains turns from Bassnectar (interesting choice and one of the best tracks), MoMo (whatever happened to this very promising group?), and a couple that are new to me and very welcome additions to my life: Dar Beida 04 and The Chakadoons. Chebiji's recorded work has a completely different vibe from his live sets. The former consists of hand-crafted constructions, lovingly and painstakingly created and infused with a sincere respect for the music's roots. From this deep musicological knowledge comes the wisdom to bridge the gap between that history and The Now, resulting in absolutely incendiary and booty-shaking live sets. These remixes merge his recorded and live aesthetics.

I want to make a quick mention of the brand new batch of releases out from Sublime Frequencies, the Seattle-based label founded by Sun City Girl Alan Bishop. I've got jetlag from jumping back and forth between Radio Thailand and Radio Algeria. The random nature of the 2-disc Thailand set effectively captures the non-stop sensual barrage of the Land of Smile. No matter where you are, pop in Radio Algeria and you're instantly transported to a balcony in Oran, starlit sky overhead and the Mediterranean laid out in front of you. Yalla!

Finally, thanks to Michael Roberts and Westword for the great article on TerraSonic in this week's issue. I'm extremely flattered to receive this kind of recognition for the show. If you've found your way here after reading the article, big welcome to you. Stay tuned, keep in touch and, by all means, please check back regularly. I'll soon have mp3s, links and more posted here.

But mostly, thanks for listening.