afrofunk // jazz The opening to "Too Many Prisoners (Elewon Po)" sounds like it could be taken right off an Isaac Hayes record (one extremely well-known one in particular...), which is funny because Hayes is one of the few people not commonly listed as an Allen influence (viz. Art Blakey, Dizzy Gillespie, James Brown, Fela Kuti, etc.). After that, though, the Shaft theme is quickly dropped for something more like Pucho Brown: a breezy, carefree collection of bass, vocals, and the drumming for which Allen is most renowned. The single was released [...]
Starting the week today is a 6 piece African music selection that I've been distilling in the last few days. First up two songs off the seminal Nigeria 70's compilation which is to be re-released on Strut soon. Third song "Circle! Circle! Circle!" is by Occidental Brothers Dance International and it's supposed to capture the chaotic atmosphere of Nkrumah Circle, the crossroads of the capital city of Ghana. Senegalese Starband Number One de Dakar 's Guajira Van is more in the afro-caribbean vein with its brasswork and psych guitar sprinkled on top of latino percussion. [...]
Dead Or Alive - The Stranger (SirBilly Liverpool Edit)The Field - I Have The Moon, You Have The InternetDatarock - Give It Up (Chateau Marmont Remix)MC Solaar - Qui Sème Le Vent Récolte Le TempoThe Emperor Machine - You Clapper (Edit)Talking Heads - I Zimbra (12" Version)Tony Allen - Elewon Po (Radio Edit)Earth Wind & Fire - Sing A SongDJ Enne - Ciao GiorgioWunderblock - Cleo 3
The Hypnotic Brass Ensemble are eight horn-playing sons of Phil Cohran, trumpeter and sometime member of the Arkestra and AACM. That is a big enough draw on its own, right? Apparently not: Afrobeat legend Tony Allen was on the ticket too, having played with the HBE at an Honest Jon's event last year. [...]
Any knucklehead with DSL and a laptop can now make an electronic track. With a half hour of clicking and fiddling, you can sample enough cheesy beats and mashups to clog arteries from here to Berlin.... Continue reading "Top Ten Dance Collections of 2008, Both Mixed and Unmixed" >
Afrobeat was born in the United States. The word was coined by Fela Kuti to describe the formula he had devised along with his drummer Tony Allen and their band of Nigerian jazz musicians. It was a powerful fusion, taking elements of African pop music, particularly Ghanaian high life of the type made funky by E.T. Mensah, jazz, funk, and politics. Few genres of music are so intricately tied to the life and family of one innovator, and few musicians have been as iconoclastic and influential as Fela Kuti. Listen to "Day by Day" by E.T. [...]
A handful of cool new reissues on Vampi Soul are seeing the light of day on Light In The Attic Records . The label features boogaloo, vintage funk, Latin jazz, vintage Spanish Harlem & East LA in the early 60s, and classic treasures from Peru, Brasil, or Uruguay. One hot new collection is Afrobeat Nirvana which includes music from Nigeria from the late 1950s up to the late 1980s. All the songs are taken from recent or upcoming releases on [...]
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 [...]
Cast of Characters: Tony Allen: Lizard with Hat Lobi Traore: Dog with Hat Kokanko Sata: Bird with Headband Hypnotic Brass Ensemble: Multicolored Cats and Dog Candi Staton: Cat with Pink Hair Afel Bocoum: Duck with Hat Simone White: Sheep Victoria Williams: Giraffe and Damon Albarn: Monkey in Blue Jacket Now that we've taken care of that... On July 12th, Lincoln Center hosted the "Honest Jon's Chop Up," two incredible hours of music from artists on the Honest Jon's record label. Damon Albarn (formerly of Blur, [...]
First...I'm exceptionally disappointed by this drawing. A new drawing will be coming soon. But not too soon. Maybe late next week. But for now, at least enjoy the review and the MP3s. Cast of Characters: Kokanko Sata: Bird with Headband Lobi Traore: Dog with Hat Hypnotic Brass Ensemble: Multicolored Cats Victoria Williams: Giraffe Simone White: Sheep Simon Tong: Purple Dog Tony Allen: Lizard with Hat Kipsi Bokoum: Camel Alpha Sankare: Elephant Afel Bocoum: Duck with Hat Candi Staton: Cat with Pink Hair And Damon [...]
[Most of what we post on this site are new releases, but our tastes are all over the map. This weekly feature is a snapshot of what the Stranger Dance staff can't get out of their collective head each week. On any given week, we might be digging a new local act, an old jazz chestnut, the newest Japanese electro-folk or whatever else we've got on the turntable/iPod that week.] This week's picks are a little on the funkier side for us, with a legitimate house track, a thick slab of Afrobeat funk and some electro-funk [...]
Most of what we post on this site are new releases, but our tastes are all over the map. This weekly feature is a snapshot of what the Stranger Dance staff can't get out of their collective head each week. On any given week, we might be digging a new local act, an old jazz chestnut, the newest Japanese electro-folk or whatever else we've got on the turntable/iPod that week. Vague Panther: Smith N Hack - "Strength and Inspiration" I recently discovered Fader Magazine (does that [...]
We have some relatively new Afrobeat biznezz from one of the genre's creators... ... and that would be Mr. Tony Allen , who was of course Fela's drummer, about whom Fela said he needed four guys to replace when he left the band. Yeah, one of the guys was only there to replace Tony's impeccable cappuccino-making skills, but I think the point was that he's pretty good at drumming. This record is from 2003 and features Damon Albarn on one of the tracks (not terribly surprising, as Tony is [...]
I'm on vacation and this is a rerun: I've gotten addicted to Tony Allen's seasick drumming; but I had to go back in time first, to Tony Allen's Version of Time, which is outside of time; an idea about rhythm that sloshes back and forth between swing and straight, perpetually adrift and uncontainable. It's a rebellious feel and Tony Allen did rebellious things with it. When I say rebellious,
Plus fun que l'album de Scarlett Johansson, moins cher qu'un brin de muguet, voici un nouveau bouquet de reprises récentes plus ou moins inspirées et pour certaines franchement improbables. Alors que son frêre Rufus a récemment sorti un live qui rejoue à l'identique un concert de Judy Garland, sa sœur un peu moins folle mais pas moins talentueuse reprend joliment un des bijoux des sixties sur son nouvel opus . Martha Wainwright "See Emily Play" (Pink Floyd) Le duo cabaret le plus singulier de l'époque s'attaque sur leur [...]
Genesis 6:19 ...and God said to Noah, You are to bring into the ark two of every living creature... 2 DANGER MICE Martin Topley Bird - Phoenix Gnarls Barkley - Who's Gonna Save My Soul 2 KRAUT CREATURES Kraftwerk - Computerwelt Harmonia - Notre Dame 2 GRIT DEVILS Tom Zé - Jimmy, Renda-se Tony Allen - The Same Blood
Kode 9 is unquestionably the man of the hour. Not only is his Hyperdub label responsible for some of the world's most adventurous dubplates, but his relentless remix work has the auterist calibre of producers like Carl Craig... and he's a damn good DJ to boot. On that note, the new Dabrye 12" on Spectral Sound is an intercontinental wet dream. As if new material from Tadd Mullinix weren't enough (cf. the new James T. Cotton LP ), the Get Dirty vinyl features remixes by Kode 9 and [...]
Tony Allen at Toronto University ending a lecture with a show of his skills. The other two tunes I have wanted to post for a while - just clearing out the last few tracks of 2007. Enjoy your weekends... Tony Allen - Love Is A Natural Thing Studio - Life's A Beach (Prins Thomas Remix) Escort - A Bright New Life Tags: Tony Allen Tags: Studio [...]
Just a quick post to show i'm still alive! First up the return of Serge Santiago's Arcobaleno label.... the unlikely star of a double page feature in last weekend's Observer Woman magazine! So the A-side of this is a new track by Kenny Hawkes and David Parr... which is no 2 minute punk song itself. But on the flip Serge Santiago stretches it out into one of his trademark disco odysseys. It has
The Same Blood Tony Allen Black Voices Comet Records : 1999 [Listen] [Buy] African Hustle Mombasa African Rhythms & Blues Intercord : 1976 [Listen] Racubah Ice The Afro-Instrumental LP Musidisc : 1970 [Listen] Eyi Su Ngaanga The Sweet Talks Adam & Eve? ???? : 1975 [Listen] [...]
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New Music Tuesday
Check Out: The Vaccines – “No Hope”
