BLACK PRAIRIE, PERHAPST ( Mississippi Studios , 3939 N Mississippi) Black Prairie are much more than a quick shot in the arm for those suffering from whimsy withdrawals in the wake of the Decemberists' indefinite hiatus. Their second album, The Storm in the Barn , just came out, and while its title and Appalachia-with-accordion aesthetic sounds like a natural, if more somber, follow-up to their Feast of the Hunter's Moon , it's actually the soundtrack to a play of the same name at the Oregon Children's Theater (which runs at the Winningstad Theatre through May 20). [...]
How about those New York Football Giants, huh? The defense looked great today, Hakeem Nicks reasserted himself as the team's premiere wide receiver, Brandon Jacobs showed why the offense should be run through him…it made me very excited to see the game against Green Bay next week. I think it's going to be a good [...]
I'm taking a 24-hour break from photo sharing because it's Sunday and I might be lynched by my readers if I don't offer a mix tape for download. I think there's only one (maybe two?) more days worth of photos to share, then I'll get back in the swing of regular updates about how "indie" [...]
Mulatu Astatke has dominated the "world music" (gah) scene these past few years. A true legend, he is noted as having introduced Latin & jazz elements to Ethiopian music back in the '60s, along with more of a focus on instrumentation than vocals, the result of which we now call 'Ethio-Jazz'. Recently, his music has been reissued & repressed on too many compilations to keep up with, as well as featured in Jim Jarmusch's 2005 independant film Broken Flowers starring Bill Murray & Julie Delpy. [...]
Timeless classic from legendary Ethiopian singer Mahmoud Ahmad and another version by the underrated Muluqèn Mèllèssè . Mahmoud Ahmed - Embwa bèlèw Muluqèn Mèllèssè - Embwa bèlèw
Tlahoun Gèssèssè ou Tilahun Gèssèssè, né en 1940 à Addis Abeba , a marqué de sa voix toute une époque de la musique éthiopienne. Tlahoun chante aussi bien en amharique qu'en oromo , deux langues extrêmement répandues en Éthiopie, au Kenya, en Somalie ou encore en Israël. C'est son professeur principal, à la Ras Gobena School qui encourage Tlahoun à pousser son intérêt pour la musique. Il entame très tôt cette passion pour le chant et se voit entrer vers 18-20 ans, en tant que leader, dans l' Orchestre de la [...]

Ready for some nostalgia, Ethiopean style? Tezeta means just that in Amharic, which is the national language of ´dear mother Ethiopea´. And it´s a feeling that definitely shines through in the four exotic jewels below. Mulatu Astatqé - Tezeta MP3 Gètatchèw Kassa - Tezeta (slow) MP3 Gètatchèw Kassa - Tezeta (fast) MP3 Mahmoud Ahmed - Tezeta MP3

Je vous offre 1 pass pour 2 personnes pour le dimanche 4 juillet , avec, entre autres, LCD Soundsystem, Massive Attack, Fuck Buttons, HEALTH, Woven Hand, RIEN, Julian Casablancas, Ethiopiques (avec Mahmoud Ahmed, quoi!)... Pour gagner les 2 places, il vous suffit de répondre à la question suivante en envoyant un mail avec votre nom à eddie [arobas] lechoix.fr , et espérer être tiré(e) au sort ! En quelle année a été créé le festival des Eurockéennes de Belfort ? Une très belle année, soit dit en passant. [...]
Filed under: Around the World Spinner.com : It almost seems too obvious to work: reggae aesthetics spliced onto Ethiopian music. Ethiopia is, of course, the promised land of the Rastafarian beliefs at the core of the Jamaican reggae roots; the late Emperor Haile Selassie is worshiped as a... Read more

From: Ethiopiques, Vol. 7 ( Buda Musique , 1999) Download Learn Fan Last.fm BBC
photo by Matthew Craig I've said it before and I'll say it again: "It was the sound of post-independence Nigeria, not Vampire Weekend." Suffice it to say that Afrobeat has become an increasingly prominent element in today's fusion music. Yet we seldom stop to think where these unique tones originated. So this compilation marks the beginning of a series dedicated to investigating the peaks and troughs of a glossed-over genre. After all, no musical victory is without its unsung heroes. Various Artists - "Advanced Afrobeat For Beginners Volume [...]

«Pas question de m'aventurer dans une autre histoire d'amour Quelle place pourrais-je laisser à une autre ? J'ai beau consulter tous les médecins cela ne sert à rien Ma maladie c'est toi puisque tu n'es jamais près de moi Quand j'ai trop faim, je grignote n'importe quoi [...]
As some of you may recall, sometime last Fall I discovered a series available through eMusic called Ethiopiques , covering Ethiopian pop and folk music from the '60s through the mid-70s. Or some timeframe like that. I'm not good with dates and remembering the historical events within which this collection was framed. What's important to me is how quickly I took to large swaths of whatever I downloaded from this 20-plus-CD set. I'm usually not that apt to dig "world music," but this Ethiopian stuff had a lot going for it. Despite the fact [...]
I think I've found my favourite compilation of the year. A best-of compilation culled from the Ethiopiques series which has 25 releases in the series so far. A best-of a best-of if you will. Francis Falceto is the the compiler of the Ethiopiques series, most of which is taken from the golden era of Ethiopian and Eritrean music from the 60's and 70's. On the eve of the 1974 revolution the long regime of Haile Selassie ended yet launched the 18-year, socialist-military regime known as the Dergue which installed an 18 year continued curfew meaning no nightlife and [...]

Hear it here! As some of you know, a complimentary month's subscription to eMusic is available through the link on the right column of Rock Town Hall. Some of you might find it worth a try, and some of you might stick with it. I've been a subscriber for about 6 months now, and as a rock 'n roller I'm usually disatisfied with the ample selection of crap modern music that the indie rock reviewers/publicists tout. As an older head, eMusic is not loaded with those elusive reissues of Eric Burdon and the [...]
Today we break from our Original Music series while I'm away with a guest post from first time Benn loxo contributor, Gerben: "Some time ago i saw the movie Va, Vis Et Deviens which features the Mahmoud Ahmed song Yaselame Lalo. I had actually forgotten i have it on his album Live In Paris. But [...]