The Web and the Flow

Mad Professor came to town last week. I'd not seen him before but have always dug his work and was very psyched for whatever he cared to put on for the disappointingly small but enthusiastic crowd (a lot of dudes, as my bud notabotanist pointed out).

I've always been a sucka for that deep bass groove, and when Professor served up those molten plates in his inimitable originator stylee, I came to grok dub. I was a barrier reef embedded off the coast of the soundboard, the waves of echo washing over me, eroding me into the reverb's seafoam.

Or something like that. He was joined onstage by Sister Aisha, an artist from his label, Ariwa, a name they rarely failed to mention during the too-frequent breaks. MP would dub out an absolutely slaying riddim--for four or five minutes. Then, just past the point where it seems you cannot survive without this sound, he'd stop and plug his new album (and the label, of course), then Sister Aisha would come out from her dance spot behind Mad Professor's soundboard and sing, usually exhorting us to praise Jah. (That part reminded me of why I don't see much reggae anymore.) Then, after another pitch, he'd drop another groove and kill everyone all over again.

I don't mean to dis Sister Aisha, and certainly not Mad Professor (he is a force). I was just hoping for an uninterrupted float trip on Dub River. When he did put his mind to the mix, it flowed. But the marketing stabs and empty reggae dammed my stream.


I called out for him to mix in some Baba Zula, the Turkish experimental group kicking off this week's show and for whom Mad Professor's produced two records, but to no avail. That's OK though. Redundant reggae aside, this is the guy who wrote the book.



Our new podcast giveaway is Voices Have Eyes, a new CD by a guy who has definitely taken some pages from that book. In this week's podcast, you'll hear eccodek's remix of Vieux Farka Toure's "Wosoubour", a track from the latter's eponymous debut. Vieux is the son of the late musical ambassador of Mali, Ali Farka Toure, and thus is the subject of a ton of hype and overwhelming expectation. I'm pleased to report that this is an extraordinary record, the current buzz of the world music biz, and does not disappoint. Just ask TerraSonic listener Bil from Denver. He won a copy during last week's show.

Back to eccodek though...here's an artist who embodies that 21st century multiculti sensibility to which TerraSonic subscribes. In addition to the original record, brewed up in eccodek's Guelphian Monastereo, Voices Have Eyes features his remix of "Wosoubour" as well as the track he did for National Geographic's GeoRemix project and some other bonuses as well.

To get yourself a free copy of this beautiful excursion into global dub, be the first podcast listener to respond with the secret word embedded within the show and it's yours. (Thanks, btw, for the great response to last week's podcast giveaway. Congrats to Kerry of Pt. Townsend, WA, and Carolyn from Boulder for being last week's first two respondents. They'll be receiving their copies of Caetano Veloso's Cê any day now.)

(As previously disclosed: I manage the record label that has put out eccodek's first two releases. I'd still be playing this one even if I didn't, but because I do I can offer this CD to you long before it's April release.)

Good luck with the giveway; I look forward to hearing from you.

TerraSonic - 10 February 2007

JD to Jay Dee: R.I.P.