Rolling Global Outernational Non-West Non-English (Some Exceptions) 2019 Thread Once Known as World Music

This thread is mainly for polyrhythmic, international sounds that aren't big enough to get threads of their own. I lean toward south of the equator sounds here that are sometimes less club-oriented than artists highlighted on Afrobeats, dancehall, soca threads.

Mdou Moctar is touring the US now again.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1pqvY9Oh0tQ

2018 releases I still need to hear:
Tallawit Timbouctou, Hali Diallo (Sahel Sounds) and Onkonkolo, Cantos (big crown)

Both on a Vinyl District website best of list

Modern Brazil - s/d

Posted some things about Brazilian music on the Modern Brazil thread. Too many Brazilian musicians are under the radar in the English language world-- like Tim Bernardes and Romulo Froes.

Just saw an awesome video clip on Facebook of BCUC (Bantu Continua Uhuru Consciousness), a rap vocals with drummers combo from Soweto, South Africa at Collider 4 in Northampton, MA on their debut US appearance. They're onstage Saturday at a multi-act Secret Planet showcase at Drom, in NYC with Mdou Moctar and band from Niger. On Sunday, BCUC are at GlobalFEST in NYC and next Tuesday Jan 8 at Kennedy Center Millennium Stage

Yeah, i'm at globalFest tonight. particularly excited about 47soul doing their US debut, the Magos Herrera/BK Rider collabo, Dakhabrakha offshoot Dakh Daughters, my second show with Orquesta Akokan, blues rocker Amythyst Kiah, and, yes, BCUC.

47 Soul were just down here in DC on either 4th or 5th I think, and they’re coming back next weekend. 1st show sold out quick. Haven’t decided whether to go to 2nd one. I missed the first. Haven’t listened to them online even yet. I saw Orquesta Akokan do a free set of retro Cuban mambo here at Kennedy Center. Singer was in both timba bands and Buena Vista type projects in past. Pretty good if not spectacular dance band

they were outta this world when i saw them this fall
best big band i've seen in many years, maybe ever? the venue was paaaaacked and i probably said all of this on the 2018 thread but it was just that enjoyable. they put on a monster show!!

I don't know if it's been brought up here (probably?), but I was just in Tanzania, and before I left I looked up the music scene and learned about singeli, this crazy 300 bpm music that's like an East African Atari Teenage Riot or something:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mH0Xfmotbfg

I saw the clip in this article: https://www.theguardian.com/music/2018/dec/17/this-cuts-across-society-how-singeli-music-went-from-tanzania-to-the-world

We discussed it (a bit) on last year’s Afropop thread, in the light of this Nyege Nyege Tapes release: https://nyegenyegetapes.bandcamp.com/album/sounds-of-sisso

From here on down, in fact:
rolling afropop / afrobeats 2018

Okay, that didn’t come out the way I wanted to. Discussion on the thread is from Feb 6 through til Feb 12.

https://www.npr.org/templates/transcript/transcript.php?storyId=683339663

Banning Eyre was impressed by Mali’s Harouna Samake at the Womex Festival

I was wowed by South African group BCUC at the Kennedy Center Millennium Stage yesterday. Energy, chops ( bass, conga, 2 marching band type drums, 3 vocalists including a female one with range), socio-political lyrics, dance moves.

yeah, BCUC were the big surprise at globalfest for me; the EP is okay but they're absolutely dynamite live

this is exciting!

just found some more mamman sani tapes from the late 80s/early 90s so that's coming

— sahel sounds (@sahelsounds) January 9, 2019

[ducks head] I should have bought other Sahel Sounds vinyl at the Mdou Moctar show tonight with Horse Lords opening but I didn’t. At a previous time I saw he and his band I bought a t-shirt.

Oh, it was a good show.

Looks like Alfred S was the only vote in the Uproxx poll of 200 critics for Tal National. I should have voted and made it 2

https://uproxx.com/selection/tantabara/

Saw a track vote on Uproxx for Jupiter and Okwess

Listening to 2018 album by Malian kamala ngoni ( calabash bottom with vertical pole with strings making harp like sounds) musician Harouna Samake and band. Album is Kamale Blues. Strong male and female vocals and uptempo rhythms from band led by Samake. Upthread I noted that Banning Eyre touted Samake’s Womex fest gig

Sahel Sounds definitely worth following on twitter. Both links and random statements all worth checking out.

Mdou pitched a remake of Thriller in Agadez!

Tallawit Timbouctou, Hali Diallo (Sahel Sounds)

great buzzsaw guitar sound on this

Listening to ILX Listen: 2019

Thanks.

Liking this Pat Kalla & Super Mojo album Jongler from 2018. A couple of folks are calling it French-African disco as Kalla now lives in Lyon, France. I hear Cameroon, Angola, and Ghana

https://www.passionweiss.com/2018/12/11/the-consummate-juggler-pat-kalla-and-le-super-mojos-jongler/

During his 1955 overland adventure to India, Bhattacharya crossed through Italy, Greece, Turkey, Syria, Jordan, Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, and Pakistan. (He and Glennie were joined by a third explorer, who dropped out of the trip partway through.)

Geeta D article

http://4columns.org/dayal-geeta/deben-bhattacharya

NY Times article on Nigerian rock

While the crowds at Nigerian rock shows are mostly female, few women have become community leaders. The alternative singer Bianca Adanna Okorocha, 29, who performs as Clay, is one exception. She considers her perseverance an achievement.

“I’m still here when most of the people I got into the scene with have fallen away to assimilate into ‘real life,’” she said.
But more notable is her ability to fuse rock music with Afropop, the predominant contemporary sound in Lagos, and the success she has had in doing so

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/19/style/emo-metal-rock-music-nigeria.html

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/19/style/emo-metal-rock-music-nigeria.html

Fascinating! Where can I hear some of it? Esp Clay

Audio Inferno, linked in the article, has a lot of videos, album reviews, and news stories about African bands.

This video - "Mama" by Dark Suburb featuring Wiyaala (who has stuff out on her own) is pretty good in an Evanescence-y kind of way:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=58mDulytA0M

Clay seems to be only on YouTube, not on Spotify or Bandcamp

clay's 'the one' reminds me of jewel!

France-based Congolese singer Dadju is on a 3 city US tour- Dallas on 24th, DC on 26th, NY on the 30 th

He’s French of Congolese origin, actually. He’s the younger brother of rapper Maître Gims.

That’s how I should have phrased it, thanks. Saw a video clip of his DC show singing nicely over tracks .

new bassekou kouyate out this week. also new a-wa track ("mudbira") which is fantastic, and sofia rei just made the first album for the new masada cycle "beriah" and it's pretty cool as well

75-year-old, Ustad Saami risks his life daily in Pakistan to keep alive his microtonal, pre-Islamic, multilingual (Farsi, Sanskrit, Hindi, the ancient and dead language of Vedic, gibberish, Arabic, and Urdu) music. Handed down by his ancestors for over a thousand years, he is the only practitioner of Surti left in the world and when he passes, this music will die with him as well. Extremists resent his work as they do anything else pre-dating Muhammad.

http://glitterbeat.com/artists/ustad-saami/

This is some beautiful and hypnotic work.

i had heard about the new album but i was too busy meditating over the meaning (and my opinion of) the title that i hadn't gotten around to listen to it until your recommendation - which i'm so glad you made, really cool stuff! hypnotic is right.

hoo boy the write-up on that is terrible (e.g., "In the land where Osama Bin last hid, Master Ustad Naseeruddin Saami has spent his entire life mastering the nuances of every given note."). But the music is immense (and totally new to me), thanks for posting that

love this track: https://dexterstory.bandcamp.com/track/shuruba-song-feat-hamelmal-abate
and this one: https://open.spotify.com/track/1VCBrYw70cUQRrvd7ybgP4?si=esGXOvbRR0WE_1bOA5Ud8Q (kel assouf - tamatant)
also this album https://nicolacruz.bandcamp.com/album/siku

https://mauricelouca.bandcamp.com/album/elephantine

Egyptian experimental bandleader/composer/musician Maurice Louca's new album with 12-piece ensemble is quite lovely. posted this elsewhere but realised this is probably the right place to park this one.

new mdou moctor single

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qA2zshM6A8g

Mdou is still busy touring too—US and Europe

I was just in Mexico and didn’t hear anyone playing his music there. But I did hear folkloric Mexican sounds, banda, duranguese, pop, 50s style rock but in Spanish. Also live we saw Puerto Rican salsa romantica singer Victor Manuelle do a late night show in Mexico City. There were some impressive dancing couples in the crowd

https://sahelsounds.com/2019/01/hama-houmeissa/

I'm not as wowed by Hama's laptop fruityloops programming takes on Niger / Tuareg traditional music as some folks like Wayne Marshall are. But I've only heard 2 cuts

i really liked his 2015 album Torodi so i'll be checking this new one out w/ anticipation

X-post- The one Louca composition I heard sounded kinda jazzy. He addressed his relationship to jazz and other genres here I see:
http://downbeat.com/news/detail/maurice-louca-elephantine-northern-spy

i didn't love the new hama :/

Heh, curmudgeon, we are the same person: seeing manganiyar thursday.

Manganiyar were great. I think you will definitely enjoy

i have been making the "Hollywood Squares" comparison when discussing them too; also "advent calendar"

Am liking that Nigerian afrobeats/ afropop Lady Donli album that’s been mentioned on that other thread.

It has now been mentioned on three threads no less, it’s that good. It has a retro vibe, but still sounds real fresh and punchy.

Let me post that Fader feature again:
https://www.thefader.com/2019/10/31/lady-donli-enjoy-your-life-interview

Mauritania singer Noura Mint Seymali and her band have been to the US a bunch of times, but this time her husband guitarist Jeich Ould Chighaly and the bassist were denied entry. At Kennedy Center Seymali and her drummer were joined by her US-based brother and another guy. Not as much Afro-psych guitar but the keyboardist adds good sounds and Seymali’s vocal range still sounds impressive
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Nllls4f7Png

Chighaly is a great guitarist who also gave some lessons to The 75 Dollar Bill guitarist. So lame that he got barred this time

getting them into the country has always been a deal as i understand it; unsurprising but yes, very shitty.

new staff benda bilili out today!

it's been 8 years since the last one

I wonder who’s in the group now. I thought they had broken up. Wiki notes:

In February 2013 The Guardian reported that singer and songwriter Coco Ngambali had quit, along with fellow vocalist Théo Nzonza, and a tour of top European venues scheduled for March and April had been cancelled amid accusations of mismanagement.[15] The band played some dates in Europe in the autumn of 2013 and summer of 2014. Ngambali and Nzonza now play in Mbongwana Star.[16]

Just saw Afropop Worldwide and VOA host Georges Collinet talk about his career dj’ing music. He also showed video clips from various African countries. Then Congolese singer Samba Mapangala sang with the DC based Highlife Allstars

i love georges collinet so much he has one of the alltime great radio voices

He does. I introduced myself and talked to him and he was very friendly. The live music was good old-school congolese rumba. An enjoyable night

Sometimes I think old school Congolese rumba is my favorite kind of music

That high-pitched Congolese guitar rhythm is magical

Was hoping to see Mdou Moctar, Burna Boy, Lady Donli & or a few other Afropop/ African acts on year-end lists, but I guess expecting that from American and Brit posted lists is naive.

i think mdou moctar will show up on lists

potential albums i'll put for on my year end list (that seem possibly of interest to this thread):

KOKOKO! - Liboso
Nicola Cruz - Siku
Ustad Saami - God is Not a Terrorist
Kel Assouf - Black Tenere
Saba Alizadeh - Scattered Memories
Tanya Tagaq - Toothsayer
Altin Gün - Gece
A-WA - Bayti Fi Rasi
Ikebe Shakedown - Kings Left Behind
Blick Bassy - 1958
75 Dollar Bill - I Was Real
Helado Negro - This Is How You Smile

KOKOKO! was one of the funnest shows I saw this year. Really memorable.

Amanda Petrusich has Mdou Moctar & Burna Boy on her New Yorker list. But not seeing them on others

Just discovered North African vocalist Aziza Brahim, who now lives in Spain. Her latest album is getting some attention in Europe

Still not seeing many musicians mentioned on this thread in best-of's.

https://afropop.org/articles/afropop-runs-down-2019

Stocking Stuffer list in alphabetical order

Just listened to a bit of Bantou Mentale, a Congo alternative afro-rocking band . Energetic and wild

Bantou Mentale is on the Afropop list. There are more new releases and reissues on that list I need to listen to

yeah that's one i've been meaning to check out

https://www.artistsfromabroad.org/site/news/dhs-proposes-steep-artist-visa-fee-increases-and-policy-changes/?fbclid=IwAR3hHwOjgWmJdjcgHnuRaKuXzuTu7F7Bt2hYHXXeXfDwZcs_7bS_jxUFHk8

the bantou mentale album is dope - really innovative sounds

I linked to afropop.org alphabetical list earlier, but writing it out here with brief descriptions of some :

Angelique Kidjo- Celia (Benin singer's take on Celia Cruz)
Babani Kone- Djeliya (female Malian singer re-release)
Bantou Mentale- Bantou Mentale (Congo rockin)
Bassekou Kouyate - Miri (Mali legend & band)
Blick Bassy-1958 (melancholy Cameroon pop w/ historical rooted lyrics)
Burna Boy- African Giant
Davido- A Good Time
Dexter Story- Bahir (Los Angeles led Ethiopian/East African horns & percussion )
Dona Onete - Rebujo (Brazil)
El Wali - Tiris ( Sahrawi female desert vocals)
Emmanuel Jal and Nyaruach - Naath (Sudan rapper goes pop)
Garifuna Collective- Aban (sweet afro-roots pop)
The Good Ones, Rwanda, You Should Be Loved (afro-folk harmonies)
Gyedu-Blay Ambolley- 11 Street Sekondi (Ghana afro-funk)
Habib Koite - Kharifa (Mali singer/songwriter guitarist w/ grooves)
Hama - Houmeissa (Saharan techno)
Hope Masike - The Exorcism of A Spinster (Zimbabwe singer)
Houssa Gania - Mosawi Swiri (Gnawa fusion from Morocco)
Ile - Almadura (Puerto Rican singer/songwriter from Calle 13 w/ guests)
Juan Wauters - La Onda de Juan Pablo (NYC Latin folk)
Kongo Dia Ntotila - 360 Degrees (UK Congo pop & more)
La Yegros- Suelta (Argentina electro-cumbia)
Lakou Mizik- HaitiaNola (Haiti to New Orleans)
Lazarus- Stomp the Devil (Malawi singer)
Lee “Scratch” Perry, Rainford (reggae)
Les Filles de Illighadad - Eghass Malan (female led guitar & percussion band from Niger)
Los Wembler's de Iquitos- Vision Del Ayahuasca (veteran Peru chicha, cumbia, surf)
Luka Productions - Falaw (Mali electro-folk)
Maître Gims - Ceinture Noire (Transcendance) (France-Congo rap)
Mdou Moctar- Ilana, The Creator (afro-rockin from Niger)
Oumar Konate, I Love You Inna (Mali guitar)
Pat Thomas & Kwashibu Area Band - Obiaa! (Ghanaian highlife)
Projecto Arcomusical- Spinning in the Wheel (minimalist compositions for the berimbau)
Rachid Taha - Je Suis Africain ( late bad boy of Algerian pop)
Rocky Dawuni - Beats of Zion (Ghanaian reggae star)
Salif Keita - Un Autre Blanc (Mali’s golden voice)
Santana w/ Buika - Africa Speaks (Afro-Spanish vocals over guitar solos)
Sessa - Grandeza (Brazil)
Sinkane - Dépaysé (Sudanese-American singer/songwriter)
Steel Pulse - Mass Manipulation (UK reggae band's 1st album in 15 years)
Wuta Mayi - La Face Cachée (Congolese singer who used to be w/ Franco)
Y La Bamba, Mujeres and Entre Los Dos (Latinx-American )
Youssou N'Dour- History (Senegalese singing great)

https://afropop.org/articles/afropop-runs-down-2019

i rate from that list:
Bassekou Kouyate
Blick Bassy (top 10 aoyt for me)
Dexter Story
Hama
Les Filles de Illighadad
Gyedu-Blay Ambolley
Youssou N'Dour
Mdou Moctar
Bantou Mentale

was hopeful for the Hope Masike but didn't love it :(

Once upon a time (in 2007-8) I'd have heard every one of those. This year, I've heard three: Mdou Moctar, Rachid Taha, and Santana. I would have checked out the Kidjo, but I didn't like her version of the Talking Heads album that much and honestly, doing a whole album of tunes associated with Celia Cruz is just setting yourself up for unfair comparisons that you're guaranteed to come out on the wrong side of. I'll listen to Les Filles de Illighadad sometime before the end of the year.

Kinda liked Kidjo’s Talking Heads covers but was less wowed on my one listen to her Celia Cruz ones.

Liked the Blick Bassy and Dexter Story ones

El Wali is ok Saharan desert music on my first listen

Tanya Tagaq’s screeching out there Throat singer vocals are too avante for me

lol i love them

I wish she was weirder. I only like the chanting/grunting/screeching. Anytime there's actual words, I lose interest.

It's decidedly not my thing either, but I'm glad it exists

Kongo dia Ntotila are more my thing. Not great, but enjoyable enough Congo rumba made funkier by folks now living in the UK

Listening to the new El Wali album now and not really liking it. Too much chintzy keyboard, and the vocals are too shrill and...quiet storm-ish? It sounds like a watered-down, Putumayo version of Saharan desert blues to me.

You should gives Les Filles a listen. Mordy & I both like them.

The Pat Thomas Ghanaian highlife album is a tad repetitive, but it’s still pretty good old-school dance music. I think he and his band came through DC some years back and I can imagine him packing a dancefloor

I tried Les Filles. They're pretty good, but I think I like Tartit (who also put out an album this year) better. And as female singers in this style go, Mariem Hassan remains the queen for all time, even in death.

Salif Keita’s voice sounds exquisitely powerful on his latest album Un Autre Blanc . He has supposedly said this will be has last album ever.

Not all of Keita’s songs and backing instrumentation work, but his voice is potent throughout

The Wuta Mayi album is classic Congolese rumba with a touch of 20th & 21st centuries romantica aspects. I approve.

Bassekou Kouyate and his current band are more mellow than he & his earlier band were in the past, but they have enough rhythm and groove to make it still work

There’s a Les Filles interview in the new Maggot Brain magazine ( got it for Chanukah last night)

https://www.jonathanbogart.net/blog/100-songs-2019

Bogart likes afropop, Latinx reggaeton, Brazilian pop, Asian pop, and some US & UK r'n'b/rap/pop. He's got Youtube and Spotify list links. Here are his top 10 of his 100 selections

1. Seyi Shay ft. Runtown, “Gimme Love”

2. Bad Bunny ft. Tainy, “Callaíta”

3. Titica ft. Laton Cordeiro, “Giro Na Bicicleta”

4. Lady Zamar, “This Is Love”

5. Tomasa del Real, “Contigo”

Started a new 2020 thread:

Rolling Global Outernational Non-West Non-English (Some Exceptions) 2020 Thread (Often African bands)

Started listening to 2019 Omar Souleyman-Shlon album yesterday and like it— Syrian wedding music goes electro, as you may recall from his earliest releases