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Neil Diamond - Home Before Dark (2008) WV (image + .cue)

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Neil Diamond - Home Before Dark (2008) WV (image + .cue)
Artist: Neil Diamond | Album: Home Before Dark | Released: 2008 | Label: Columbia | Catalog #: 88697154652 | Genre: Acoustic, Pop Rock, Vocal | Country: US | Duration: 01:03:00

?isr?g?n - Fl?is?hfilm (2017)

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?isr?g?n - Fl?is?hfilm (2017)

???????????: Eisregen
??????: Germany
??????: Fleischfilm
????: Gothic Metal | Dark Metal
????????: Massacre Records [MAS BX0973]
???: 2017
??????: FLAC (*image + .cue,log, covers)
??????: 363Mb
??????: Depositfiles | Turbobit (3% ?? ??????????????)

Beccy Cole – Songs & Pictures (2011)

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30hmusk.jpgFLAC | 313 MB | LINKS

Beccy Cole is, not unlike her close friend Kasey Chambers, one of our most consistent singer-songwriters, although I wouldn’t mind betting that a lot of people don’t realise she writes most of her own songs, mainly because she’s seen as a ‘performer’. Indeed, Beccy is one of our great entertainers – she consistently puts on high-quality shows that combine humour, storytelling and musical performance in a way that ensures everyone leaves smiling. She is also a songwriter of considerable accomplishment, and has been for a while – her early song ‘Lazy Bones’ is a textbook case in how to turn a phrase in a clever, funny way.

Songs & Pictures features her own compositions, some of them written in collaboration with Kasey Chambers, Travis Collins, Luke Austen and others. It is a nostalgic, almost wistful album – there is very little of the brassiness that could be found on Feel This Free or even Little Victories. It is a ‘pretty’ album in many ways – Beccy has always produced melodically pleasing songs, but there seem to be more of them on this album. And perhaps more songs in minor keys. They are songs of reflection and contemplation, of appreciation for what she has and who she loves. It is the most personal of her albums, and the first that I can recall where there isn’t what one could call a ‘joke song’ (for lack of a better word) like ‘The Girls Out Here’ or ‘Sorry I Asked’. This is probably for the best: the joke songs may have previously obscured the fact that she is a really, really good singer, and on this new album her voice is front and centre.

It’s a strong album – the songs are solidly constructed and Beccy’s remarkable voice is in charge of them all. ‘Millionaires’ also features Kasey on vocals and it is clearly about the friendship they have have since they were teenagers – it’s a lovely song. Although I love Beccy’s joke songs, I do think this is the most consistent of her albums in terms of having an overall message and the songs all feeding into each other to create a complete portrait. It is also the album most likely to appeal to people who don’t usually like country music – so buy it for your non-country friends.

KAMAL KEILA habibi funk από το Σουδάν

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Είμαι fan του δισκογραφικού ψαξίματος, όπως και πολλοί άλλοι φρονώ, πέραν της ΑγγλοΑμερικής… πολύ πέραν της ΑγγλοΑμερικής. Για πολλά χρόνια μεγαλώσαμε, μουσικά, μέσα στη γενικότερη άγνοια και αυτό δεν ξέρω πόσο καλό μας έκανε. Η έλλειψη πληροφορίας και υλικού για τις αληθινές μουσικές του κόσμου –όχι για κείνες τις τουριστικές σχεδόν, που μας επιβλήθηκαν στα… ethnic nineties– δημιούργησε ελλειμματικές συμπεριφορές, ευεπίφορες, σε γενικές γραμμές, στη δυτικίλα. Βεβαίως καλύψαμε πολλά χιλιόμετρα την τελευταία 20ετία χοντρικά, αλλά και πάλι τα περισσότερα και ενδεχομένως τα καλύτερα δεν τα έχουμε ακόμη ακούσει. Εγώ έτσι λέω, έτσι νομίζω τέλος πάντων, γιατί η μουσική από τις «άλλες» χώρες δεν είναι μόνον πολλή και ατελείωτη, είναι, συχνά, το ίδιο θωπευτική και θεραπευτική με το καλύτερο rock ή με το πιο πυρωμένο funk των μητροπόλεων. Έτσι το νοιώθω… και δεν μετράω, εδώ, τεχνικές ποιότητες, υπερπολυτελή στούντιο, μεγαλόσχημες παραγωγές και τα τοιαύτα, αλλά την πρωτογενή έμπνευση και από ’κει και πέρα τη συγκεκαλυμμένη δύναμη που μπορεί να ασφυκτιά, για παράδειγμα, πίσω από τις αφρικανικές ηχογραφήσεις του ’60 και του ’70 (και του ’80 και του ’90). Και «ναι» είναι η μαύρη ήπειρος εκείνη που μας επεφύλαξε τις μεγαλύτερες δισκογραφικές εκπλήξεις, εκείνη που μας εφοδίασε και μας εφοδιάζει ακόμη με το… αδιανόητο τούτη την τελευταία 20ετία. Σ’ αυτές τις αδιανόητες τέλος πάντων εκδόσεις ανήκει και η παρούσα Muslims and Christians, της γερμανικής Habibi Funk (υποετικέτα της Jakarta Records, που ειδικεύεται σε σύγχρονο funk, r&b, hip hop και τα τοιαύτα και που εισάγεται στην Ελλάδα από την Heathen Natives), του σουδανού τραγουδοποιού Kamal Keila, με seventies sounding εγγραφές του από τις αρχές του ’90.
ajazz%2Bhabibi.jpg
Ο Keila, που δεν είναι φυσικά πιτσιρικάς –ο ίδιος λέει πως γεννήθηκε το 1929, αλλά δεν φαίνεται για ενενηντάρης, ενώ κάπου αλλού διαβάζουμε πως μπορεί να γεννήθηκε ακόμη και στη δεκαετία του ’40–, δεν είναι αχαρτογράφητη περίπτωση. Η καριέρα του ξεκίνησε στα sixties και παρότι δεν τύπωσε ποτέ βινύλιο (τυπώνεται τώρα, για πρώτη φορά!) μπόρεσε να κάνει διάφορα sessions για το σουδανικό ραδιόφωνο, στην παλιά ενωμένη χώρα (πριν δημιουργηθεί το Νότιο Σουδάν δηλαδή), μπομπίνες των οποίων βρέθηκαν στα χέρια του διασωσμένες, όταν τον ανακάλυψαν οι άνθρωποι τής Habibi Funk. Λέμε για δυο ταινίες βασικά με πέντε τραγούδια η κάθε μία (η πρώτη με στίχους στην αγγλική και η δεύτερη με στίχους στην αραβική), ταινίες που μπορεί να μην ήταν στην καλύτερη κατάσταση και που με τη σωστή επεξεργασία θα έβγαζαν το… ζουμί που έπρεπε.
Έτσι εντελώς περιγραφικά να πούμε πως δυτική μουσική (pop, rock, blues, soul, funk, jazz…) ακουγόταν στο Σουδάν από τη δεκαετία του ’60 ήδη, όχι μόνο στις γειτονιές (και τις λέσχες) των λευκών μεταναστών (στο Χαρτούμ, στα sixties, είχαν παίξει μέχρι και ελληνικά συγκροτήματα όπως οι Idols, οι Sounds κ.ά.), μα και στους… μαύρους μαχαλάδες. Ο Keila, που είχε επηρεαστεί από ένα μεγάλο όνομα της σουδανικής pop (ας την πούμε έτσι), τον Sharhabil Ahmad, που κι εκείνος με τη σειρά του ήταν επηρεασμένος από τον James Brown, ήταν από τα πρόσωπα που κατόρθωσαν να ξεχωρίσουν μέσα στα χρόνια, φέρνοντας νέον «αέρα» στην τοπική pop της εποχής του. Τον βοήθησε, προς αυτό, το γεγονός πως ήταν πολυταξιδεμένος, αφού έφθασε να παίξει μέχρι και για τους σεΐχηδες του Κουβέιτ, έχοντας επισκεφθεί την Αίγυπτο (σπούδασε Νομικά στο Κάιρο), την Αιθιοπία, το Ζαΐρ, τη Νιγηρία (γνώρισε τον Fela) ακόμη και τη Λιβύη, όπου ηχογράφησε στα τέλεια στούντιο της χώρας (όπως λέει ο ίδιος), επί Καντάφι. Τα ταξίδια και τα ακούσματα τού Keila (Elvis, Ray Charles, Sam Cooke, Harry Bellafonte, George Benson, ethiopiques, afrobeat κ.λπ.) ήταν εκείνα που θα τον βοηθούσαν τελικώς να φτιάξει τον δικό του ήχο, ανακατεύοντας τα δυτικά πρότυπα με τις τοπικές ρυθμολογίες (gabila, shiluk, dinka…), «σχολιάζοντας» από πάνω με τον δικό του κοινωνικοπολιτικό στίχο. Ένα από τα καλύτερα κομμάτια του είναι, μάλιστα, το φερώνυμο με τον τίτλο του άλμπουμ, το “Muslims and Christians”, στο οποίο ο Keila τραγουδά για την ανάγκη ειρηνικής συνύπαρξης των μουσουλμάνων στο βορρά (σημερινό Σουδάν) και των χριστιανών στο νότο (σημερινό Νότιο Σουδάν), κάτι που τελικώς δεν επετεύχθη (ως γνωστόν ο τραγικός εμφύλιος ανάμεσα στα χρόνια 1983-2005 διέλυσε τη χώρα, αφήνοντας πίσω του περισσότερο από ένα εκατομμύριο νεκρούς). Ο Keila τραγουδά επίσης για την αγροτική επανάσταση (“Agricultural revolution”), επικαλείται την αφρικανική ενότητα (“African unity”) για την προάσπιση των δικαίων της φυλής (εδώ φέρνει στο νου μου το funk τού Geraldo Pino), υμνώντας (με το μουσικό τρόπο των Αιθιόπων) την πονεμένη πατρίδα του (“Sudan in the heart of Africa”). Όμως και στη δεύτερη πλευρά, στα αραβικά τραγούδια του (γιατί όλα τα προηγούμενα ανήκαν στο εγγλέζικο session), o Keila είναι το ίδιο ριζοσπάστης σε μουσικές και στίχους, προσφέροντας αληθινά διαμάντια, έχοντας δίπλα του γερούς μουσικούς (τα ονόματα των οποίων αγνοούνται). Έξοχα πνευστά τμήματα, πατημένο rhythm section, κιθάρα τελείως «άλλη», που ανακαλεί στη μνήμη μου τον τρομερό TekleHiwketAdhanom.
Φοβερό άλμπουμ! Δεν υπάρχουν άλλες λέξεις.
 

Ekuka Morris Sirikiti / Ekuka [2018]

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[Label: Nyege Nyege Tapes | Cat#: NNT007]
  1. Pwan En Obalo Gum Waa (6:05)
  2. Aruba Iwi An Dyere Adako Omako (5:09)
  3. Wilo Koti Me Kwalo Orango (5:03)
  4. Pwoc Bot Lira Dpi Miyo Pikipiki (4:42)
  5. Jo Ame Aparo Loc (4:18)
  6. Acoc Acoc Twol Iye Akayi (7:12)
  7. Omaro Cil Pacu (7:56)
  8. Kwon Otino Anyira (4:28)
  9. English Record (5:02)
  10. Peko Me Kin (5:53)
  11. In Balonyo For Ayinet (4:00)
  12. PQ EKUKA Rework (5:38)

Dave Stewart – Lucky Numbers (2013)

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618K3NqEOIL._SS500.jpg320 kbps | 126 MB | LINKS

LUCKY NUMBERS merges Dave Stewart’s rock and country influences, backed once again by the best players in Nashville: guitarist Tom Bukovac, drummer Chad Cromwell, bassist Michael Rhodes, pianist Mike Rojas, accordionist Kieran Kiely and steel guitarist Dan Dugmore. These elite musicians also did the same honors on STEWART’s acclaimed Nashville-recorded albums in 2011 (The Blackbird Diaries) and 2012 (The Ringmaster General). For LUCKY NUMBERS, they all journeyed to the South Pacific to record the album.

Tracks:
01. Every Single Night (Feat. Martina Mcbride) 06:46
02. Drugs Taught Me A Lesson (Feat. Vanessa Amorosi & Ringmasters Choir) 05:27
03. How to Ruin A Romance (Feat. Vanessa Amorosi) 03:23
04. Whats Wrong with Me (Feat. Vanessa Amorosi & Ringmasters Choir) 05:08
05. Satellite 03:16
06. Why Can’t We Be Friends 06:01
07. You and I (Feat. Laura Michelle Kelly & Ann Marie Calhoun) 04:09
08. Nashville Snow (Feat. Karen Elson) 04:09
09. Never Met A Woman Like You 03:41
10. One Step Too Far 03:27
11. Lucky Numbers (Feat. Holly Quin Rah) 04:40
12. Every Single Night (Radio Edit) (Feat. Martina Mcbride) 03:51

VA & Sneijder - Afterdark 001 (Buenos Aires) (2018) FLAC (tracks)

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VA & Sneijder - Afterdark 001 (Buenos Aires) (2018) FLAC (tracks)
Artist: VA | Album: Sneijder: Afterdark 001 (Buenos Aires) | Released: 2018 | Genre: Trance, Uplifting Trance | Country: Ireland | Duration: 02:28:09

Uriah Heep - Easy Livin' - The Masters Collection (2018) FLAC (image + .cue)

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Uriah Heep - Easy Livin' - The Masters Collection (2018) FLAC (image + .cue)
Artist: Uriah Heep | Album: Easy Livin' - The Masters Collection | Label: BMG | Catalog #: BMGCAT275DCD | Released: 2018 | Genre: Hard Rock | Country: Great Britain | Duration: 02:11:49

VA - Blast From the Past: The Retro Collection (2007) FLAC (tracks + .cue)

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VA - Blast From the Past: The Retro Collection (2007) FLAC (tracks + .cue)
Artist: VA | Album: Blast From the Past: The Retro Collection | Label: EMI | Catalog #: 00946 388021 2 9 | Released: 2007 | Genre: Pop Rock, Synth Pop, New Wave | Country: Indonesia | Duration: 02:11:00

Nina (Nina Boldt) - Discography (2011-2018) FLAC (tracks)

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Nina (Nina Boldt) - Discography (2011-2018) FLAC (tracks)
Artist: Nina (Nina Boldt) | Genre: Synth Pop, Synthwave | Country: Germany/UK | Released: 2011-2018 | Label: Aztec Records | Duration: 03:32:03

Neil Diamond - 12 Songs (2005, 2016) (24bit Hi-Res) FLAC (tracks)

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Neil Diamond - 12 Songs (2005, 2016) (24bit Hi-Res) FLAC (tracks)
Artist: Neil Diamond | Album: 12 Songs | Released: 2005, 2016 | Label: Neil Diamond | Genre: Songwriter, Pop | Country: US | Duration: 00:49:58

Bruce Springsteen – Nebraska (1982/2014) [Hi-Res]

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51lwHlypp0L._SS500.jpgFLAC | 1,3 GB | LINKS

There is an adage in the record business that a recording artist’s demos of new songs often come off better than the more polished versions later worked up in a studio. But Bruce Springsteen was the first person to act on that theory, when he opted to release the demo versions of his latest songs, recorded with only acoustic or electric guitar, harmonica, and vocals, as his sixth album, Nebraska. It was really the content that dictated the approach, however. Nebraska’s ten songs marked a departure for Springsteen, even as they took him farther down a road he had been traveling previously. Gradually, his songs had become darker and more pessimistic, and those on Nebraska marked a new low. They also found him branching out into better developed stories. The title track was a first-person account of the killing spree of mass murderer Charlie Starkweather. (It can’t have been coincidental that the same story was told in director Terrence Malick’s 1973 film Badlands, also used as a Springsteen song title.) That song set the tone for a series of portraits of small-time criminals, desperate people, and those who loved them. Just as the recordings were unpolished, the songs themselves didn’t seem quite finished; sometimes the same line turned up in two songs. But that only served to unify the album. Within the difficult times, however, there was hope, especially as the album went on. “Open All Night” was a Chuck Berry-style rocker, and the album closed with “Reason to Believe,” a song whose hard-luck verses were belied by the chorus — even if the singer couldn’t understand what it was, “people find some reason to believe.” Still, Nebraska was one of the most challenging albums ever released by a major star on a major record label.

Review by William Ruhlmann

The Osborne Brothers – I Can Hear Kentucky Calling Me (1980/2018) [Hi-Res]

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51LtiOlGqJL._SS500.jpgFLAC | 689 MB | LINKS

It has been said by some that bluegrass is not bluegrass when it’s all dressed up. We have to disagree, since the Osborne Brothers with strings is just that, and it’s just fine. Their beautiful yet simple sound is complimented by a suit of strings. Sometimes wild, sometimes smooth, and always interesting, this album all adds up to bluegrass magic.

Sonny Osborne – 5-string banjo, 6-string banjo (“I Can Hear Kentucky Calling Me”); mandolin (“Dandylion”); harmony vocals
Bobby Osborne – mandolin; lead & harmony vocals
Paul Brewster – harmony vocals
Jimmy D. Brock – bass
Ray Edenton – rhythm guitar
Bob Mater – drums
Robby Osborne – drums
Wynn Osborne – 5-string banjo (“I Can Hear Kentucky Calling Me”)
Leon Rhodes – lead guitar
Hargus Robbins – piano
Hal Rugg – dobro
Buddy Spicher – violins, violas, cello

Tracks:
01. I Can Hear Kentucky Calling Me
02. Keep Me From Blowing Away
03. Don’t Let Smoky Mountain Smoke Get In Your Eyes
04. Dandylion
05. Georgia Mules and Country Boys
06. Take Me Home Country Roads
07. Bogalusa
08. Shelly’s Winter Love
09. River’s Goin’ Down
10. Souvenirs
11. Back to the Country Roads

Agoro Nkoaa ! Party Time Africa – Various Artists Agoro Records 1975

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agoro-nkoaa-front

Op Agoro Records is dit een verzamelaar van Ghanese highlife.
De nummers zijn allemaal aan elkaar gemixed en vormen als
zodanig één track per kant. De compilatie bestaat uit nummers
die van diverse platen en van diverse labels is samen gesteld.
Stuk voor stuk minder bekende groepen, prachtplaat..

On Agoro Records this is a collector of various Ghanaian highlife.
The songs are all connected and mixed together so we find them
as one long track per side. The compilation exists of numbers
taken from various records from various labels. One by one
lesser known groups but wonderful highlifes..

tracks ;

01 – Willie Abadoo & The 4th Dimension Dance Band – Yede nam pa aba
—–Snr. Eddie Donkor and the Internationals – Asiko darling
—–Nana Ofori & Ogyatanaa Show Band – Mmobrowa
—–The Steneboofs – Simigwado
—–Houghas Sorowonko – Minsu
02 – Omama Koranteng & Nananom – Medofo
—–Ekow Redding & Katakumbey – Katakumbey
—–Nii Tei Ashitey & Wolumei – Akrowa
—–nana Ofori & Ogyatanaa Show Band – Yaa amponsah
—–Houghas Sorowonko – Nyame na yesre

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Acid Mothers Temple & The Melting Paraiso U.F.O. - Electric Dream Ecstasy (2018) FLAC (tracks)

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Acid Mothers Temple & The Melting Paraiso U.F.O. - Electric Dream Ecstasy (2018) FLAC (tracks)
Artist: Acid Mothers Temple & The Melting Paraiso U.F.O. | Album: Electric Dream Ecstasy | Released: 2018 | Genre: Psychedelic, Rock | Country: Japan | Duration: 00:50:58

Craig Goldy - Insufficient Therapy (1993) FLAC (image + .cue)

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Craig Goldy - Insufficient Therapy (1993) FLAC (image + .cue)
Artist: Craig Goldy | Album: Insufficient Therapy | Label: Shrapnel | Catalog #: SH-1066-2 | Released: 1993 | Genre: Hard Rock, Heavy Metal | Country: US | Duration: 00:43:31

Catherine Bardin - Pas bien malin par Fred'

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http://dl.free.fr/getfile.pl?file=/3m32ukQC



[02:18] 01.  - 01 Pas bien malin
[03:29] 02.  - 02 Moi j'veux qu'on m'aime
[06:59] 03.  - 03 Ton feu vert
[03:35] 04.  - 04 Dis dans tes yeux
[02:54] 05.  - 05 Les filles d'aujourd'hui
[03:31] 06.  - 06 Si tu savais (version album) : la version 45 est plus longue !
[03:13] 07.  - 07 C'est ma réponse
[04:23] 08.  - 08 Le pont des soupirs (tagué titre 06)
[02:54] 09.  - 09 Fin du Blues

Bonus :
[03:30] 10.  - 10 18 è étage
[03:41] 11.  - 11 Pas envie aujourd'hui

tron18

Walter Lure And The Waldos – Wacka Lacka Loom Bop a Loom Bam Boo (2018)

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61RQUyoOaXL._SS500.jpg320 kbps | 93 MB | LINKS

The first album in 24 years from legendary Heartbreakers guitarist/vocalist Walter Lure. Features both brilliant new tunes such as “Damn Your Soul” as well as killer new versions of Heartbreakers classics “London Boys” and “Take A Chance On Me!” The lead off track “Crazy Kids” is featured in a full-length film Thunders – Room 37, which dramatizes the final days of Lure’s former bandmate, Johnny Thunders. Walter Lure works as a stock broker on Wall Street but still performs in NYC with the Waldos. He also travels around the globe playing when his day job allows the time for it.

Ganrang Konjo: Searching for Rhythm in Bulukumba, South Sulawesi

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DSC01263.jpg

Location: Ds. Gunturu, Kec. Herlang, Kab. Bulukumba, South Sulawesi

Sound: Ganrang Konjo

Where I live in Java, perhaps the most spiritually powerful instrument in music is the gong. Across the island, the beautiful bronze gongs that serve as the anchor of gamelan are revered and respected; some are given ritual baths every year, others are passed down from generation to generation for centuries.

Across the Java Sea in South Sulawesi, another instrument arguably reigns supreme: the drum.  In his great book Calling Back the Spirit: Music, Dance, and Cultural Politics in Lowland South Sulawesi, American ethnomusicologist R. Anderson Sutton describes the importance of the ganrang drum to the Makassarese people of the lowlands of that province. Sutton explains that the ganrang “is considered to be the most sacred of all Makassarese musical instruments, comparable to bronze knobbed gongs in Java.” Sutton goes on to explain that the sacredness of Makassarese ganrang can be seen in everything from local origin stories, where people attribute the drum’s origins to “supernatural forces, not to foreign visitors,” to its importance in ritual (Sutton explains that “[e]ven local government ceremonies are opened by an official sounding a ganrang, not (as in Java and Bali) a gong.”) 

Of all music in lowland South Sulawesi, it is Makassarese ganrang pakarena drumming and dance which has captured the world’s imagination with its huge drums, virtuosic musicianship, and slow motion dancing. In addition to Sutton’s work, which devotes a fascinating chapter to the music, recordings of Makassarese ganrang earned a spot in Philip Yampolsky’s regularly cited Music of Indonesia album series; it was the subject of a beautifully shot film by globetrotting cinema legend Vincent Moon; and international artists like Arrington de Dionyso have hunted down ganrang legends like Serang Dakko to collaborate. 

Meanwhile, on the other side of this peninsula, another fascinating, spiritually potent drumming tradition has gone largely unnoticed: ganrang Konjo, or Konjo-style ganrang. Konjo is the name of both a language (or set of languages, with highland and coastal varieties) and a so-called sub-ethnic group of the Makassarese. The Konjo are often ignored in descriptions of South Sulawesi’s cultural landscape: the Makassarese have the historical prestige of once massively powerful kingdoms like Gowa and a famous geographical hub in the huge, historically important city of Makassar (once called Ujung Pandang); the Bugis, the other main ethnic group of these lowlands, are also renowned throughout Indonesia for their role as sailors and, at one time, fierce pirates (some folk etymologies even link the Bugis to the word bogeyman!); even the Kajang, a tiny subset of the Konjo famous for their strict, Amish-like adherence to tradition, are better known. 

The Konjo’s home turf is in the southwest corner of South Sulawesi’s massive peninsula, mostly in the regency of Bulukumba. It is the Konjo who are mostly responsible for building the famously grand (and nail-free) wooden ships, phinisi, which the Bugis and Makassarese are famous for sailing as far as Papua and even Australia. And it is in the hands of this often overlooked group that one of the musical treasures of South Sulawesi was born, this musical style that’s come to be known simply as ganrang Konjo

DSC01276.jpg

While the musical style has in some ways come to find a voice and cultural context of its own, Konjo-style ganrang is just one node in a vast network of drumming ritually connected with the martial arts. In South Sulawesi, this martial arts tradition is called manca’, while across Indonesia and the Malay world there are dozens of related styles, many called silat or variants (pencak silat, silek). Across Indonesia, from West Sumatra to Kalimantan, Sumbawa to the Kangean Islands, these martial arts are performed with and intrinsically linked to a set of musics which are remarkably consistent given their wide geographical coverage (I’ve made a map to explore this spectrum here). As men ritually spar, music is often provided by a core instrumentarium: two or three gongs, two small barrel drums playing interlocking rhythms, and often a double reed wind instrument providing an intense, wailing backdrop to the fights. 

Manca’ martial arts are now incredibly rare in the Konjo world, so the music has in one way been divorced from that sphere. But the hallmarks are there in the music, both in the style’s instrumentation and its musical signatures. Let’s zero in on the drums first: just like the ganrang pamancak (drums for manca’) described by Sutton in his survey of South Sulawesi ganrang, Konjo-style ganrang are smaller than the huge, 80-100 centimeter barrel drums called ganrang pakarena and ganrang Mangkasarak. Unlike other drums in this wider family which are often shaped like oversized batteries, Konjo drums are what you could call “stout,” with one slightly shorter and fatter than the other.

Like other drums in this network of martial arts musics, the two ganrang of ganrang Konjo are an inseperable pair, often played with the instruments pushed up against each other and the musicians looking right at each other, a formation which helps them to perform this music's tight interlocking rhythms. I’d have to make a wider survey of these different drumming styles I keep mentioning, but what strikes me about ganrang Konjo is the way that one drum in particular is, I guess you could say, the show-off: it’s the longer, narrower drum called pangngana (on the right in the photo below.)

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The Konjo speak of both drums, the pangngana and the pattahang, in similar terms. Both have a louder, more resonant head (ulunna) with a softer-sounding “butt” or pajana. Both are made from similar materials: sandalwood, teak, or jackfruit wood with goatskin heads. In a symbolic pairing, the pangngana’s heads are made from the skin of a female goat, while the pattahang’s are made from that of a male. The sound, and thus the function, are made different in other ways, though: the sound of the pangngana’s head is made sharp and tight by using thinner skin and pulling tight on the fishing-line strings which span the drum. The sharp, almost snare-like sound of the pangngana’s head contrasts sharply with the comparatively dull, bassy sound of the pattahang’s. 

This all may sound pedantic, and well, sorry, it is. But it’s also a key to what makes this drumming special. Other drumming I’ve heard in South Sulawesi, like Makassarese and Bugis styles, feature the same interlocking parts, but the tuning of the drums is duller, with no other style featuring that shocking TAK TAK TAK of the pangngana’s head. We’ve only gotten started with what makes ganrang Konjo, special, though. Bare with me. 

With most manca’ drumming styles, the drums are accompanied by a double reed wind instrument like pui’-pui’ or sarunai playing melodies while a set of two or three gongs play a driving ostinato (a repeating rhythmic figure) which remains unchanged throughout what can be hours of playing. In Bulukumba, though, the melody-bringing double reed has never been a feature, which maybe explains why some other instruments have stepped in to kick up the variety: the gongs. The gongs in ganrang Konjo are not just a glorified metronome; they are a funky rhythmic powerhouse with just as much variety as the pop and lock of the ganrang drums. 

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There are three gongs in a ganrang Konjo ensemble: the jong is the largest, a hanging gong which, okay, is metronome-like - a steady pulse amidst an ever-changing percussive texture. Of the two drums, it is the bassy, rock-steady pattahang which locks onto that reliable jong, letting the other instruments go wild with syncopation. The jong is played by one musician together with another large, handheld gong called taha’-taha’. Another musician, meanwhile, holds the smallest gong or katto’-katto’

One of the things that makes ganrang Konjo music so fantastically dynamic is the interplay not just in between the two drums, but between the tight, improvised syncopations of the pangngana slipping in and around the taha’-taha’ and the katto-katto’ in a web of interlocking madness called sibali-bali. The rhythmic accents of the katto’-katto’ especially are almost like those of a good cowbell in Afro-Latin music, somethings sticking regularly to the offbeats, other times clicking out incredible variations deep in the pocket of the rhythm. 

This conveniently leads us to the real trick of ganrang Konjo’s percussive excitement: the polyrhythms! Polyrhythms, or the simultaneous use of multiple rhythms, is far from unheard of in Indonesian music, where drums especially love to beat out mad triplets against the overwhelmingly common 4/4 meter. But ganrang Konjo always features a triple meter, something that is actually pretty rare across the archipelago (but, I’ve found, a standard feature of martial arts musics across the region.) Ganrang Konjo musicians play with this triple meter with delight, adding polyrhythms (four on top of that steady three, mostly) and triplets on top of triplets, all features that may sound esoteric for those of us who don’t understand music theory, but in layman’s terms in makes the music funky as hell

Ganrang Konjo, I found out, wasn’t always this funky. The kind of rhythmic variations that musicians delight in today was unhead of in decades past, when a more consistent rhythmic emphasis made the music sound, I was told, both more “asli” (“traditional”, “original” or even “authentic”) but also monoton - monotonous. Starting in the mid-nineties, though, bands started experimenting with what they call kreasi pukulan, or rhythmic innovations. The dynamic funkiness of this newly style has allowed for the music’s continuing prevalence in Bulukumba: while other music has been left behind, ganrang Konjo is still popular, with musicians finding no shortage of work playing at events across the region.

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While musicians have played with newly diverse and syncopated rhythms, even imitating dangdut pop music with their drums and gongs if asked, there’s one thing they haven’t messed with: the repertoire. And here’s an odd fact: Ganrang Konjo has really only one piece, or tunrung (literally “rhythm”), in its repertoire: “Tunrung Tallua.” Tallua is the Konjo word for three, which refers not to the meter but to the tunrung's three-part structure. Tunrung Tallua begins with an opening, or ngampa, where all instruments except the jong play, strangely, in perfect unison, all joining in a chorus that crescendos with the entrance of the jong. As soon as the jong jumps into the scene with its metronomic beat, the interlocking interplay immediately erupts but at a measured pace: this is part two, or tahang sere. After a few minutes of relishing this measured pace, the speed is ramped up for the third and final part, or tahang tallua. It is in tahang tallua where the musicians' virtuosity really shines, with whip-fast interlocking parts and shifting polyrhythms reaching a fever pitch.

The whole piece can last anywhere from five minutes to twenty; when it's over, the musicians take a break, maybe switch instruments, then launch into the same tunrung all over again. It’s the ultimate example of creative limitation, with one single rhythmic framework allowing for musicians to push the limits of that form, exploring every nook and cranny of the rhythmic space.

Of course, I’m coming at this music as if it's pure artistic expression, but ganrang Konjo, like any other music, doesn’t exist just to be funky: it plays a very specific role in Konjo society, a web of ever-changing contexts just as compelling as its musical contents. As I mentioned before, ganrang Konjo was once played to accompany manca’ martial arts performances, but it is also intrinsically tied in the Konjo imaginary with the ritual events it accompanies, from passunnakkang (circumcision) to akkalomba (the ritual sacrifice of an animal to mark a child’s birth.) It is most associated, though, with pabbuntingang or wedding ceremonies, where the music is believed to protect the bride and groom from malicious spirits who are otherwise likely to possess them. 

It’s an important ritual role, so not just anybody can play ganrang Konjo. In Konjo society, there is a kind of caste system with three levels: karaeng, or those of noble lineage; puang, or those descended of both nobility and aristocracy; and ata, or slaves. While long gone are the days of kings and slaves in Sulawesi, caste remains important to this day, and this is manifested in the world of ganrang: ganrang musicians are usually from the puang class, and those who request ganrang at their ritual functions must be of the karaeng or puang class: those descended from slaves settle for more egalitarian musical accompaniment like dangdut or gambus.

With few cultural possessions that truly set them apart from the Makassarese to the West, the Konjo have seemingly settled on ganrang Konjo as a kind of symbol of their evolving ethnic identity. The name, in an odd way, is a testament to this: in the past, the music might have simply been called ganrang by locals, but nowadays Konjo is always stamped on as a point of pride. The Konjo may not get much credit for building those magnificent phinisi ships that sail throughout the Indonesians seas, but with the Konjo brand firmly stamped to this remarkable music, they are finally able to firmly attach themselves to something great. 

[Amateur ganrang konjo footage courtesy YouTuber Andi Ikhwanto]

Context:

It took a lot of patience to find ganrang Konjo, but it was worth it. The journey began, as it so often does for me, on YouTube: switching out search terms in search of local specialties in far-flung corners of Sulawesi, I came upon a handful of videos that, frankly, blew my mind. They all featured the same, addictively funky groove, popping drums, ricocheting gong rhythms. One I soon deemed Best YouTube Video of All Time (shared above): it was a ganrang Konjo group playing casually in someone’s house; as the band played, the katto’-katto’ player folded his leg behind his head, propped himself up, and began hopping around the room on one foot like a mad, gong-playing flamingo, all the while beating out syncopated magic on his little gong. 

With an upcoming trip to Sulawesi planned, I dropped a dozen comments in different ganrang Konjo videos, hoping at least one uploader would see my ganrang fever and lead me to the source. On this first trip, last year in 2017, I didn’t luck out: one lead turned up cold, while another led me far astray (someone suggested I go look in the heart of Bulukumba, to the Kajang enclave of Tana Toa, but their drumming was completely different! I did get to crash a Kajang wedding and hear some great kacapi music there, though, so not a total loss.) 

Finally, in July 2018, I lucked out: I was at the tail end of an epic trip around Sulawesi with my wife (an odd hybrid honeymoon/research expedition), and I was hoping to stop by the island of Selayar in Sulawesi’s far south for a reunion with my old batti’-batti’ Europalia tourmates, Turikale. This, fortuitously, necessitated a pitstop in a tropical paradise: Bulukumba’s main tourist destination, the gorgeous white sand beaches of Bira.

It would have been a romantic couple of days lazing by the cerulean blue waters of Bira if I hadn’t been fixated on hunting drums in Bulukumba’s interior. Finally, I’d excitedly explained to my patient wife as she rolled her eyes, I had a hookup: a friendly guy had responded (in English, no less!) to one of my desperate YouTube pleas, and he had family who played ganrang in Herlang, a region up the coast! He’d dropped his phone number and I’d messaged him right away, setting up a trip to the village the next day.

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My Bulukumba hero, Imin, pulled up to our place in Bira the next day, his car packed with friends who were eager to see what we were up to. We squeezed in and were soon off to Bulukumba, an hour’s drive up the coast, away from Bira’s white sands and into the country roads that snake through Bulukumba’s countryside. As we passed quaint hamlets of wooden stilt houses, I chatted with our new guide. Imin was a smiley guy with a puffy little goatee clinging to his chin; he was an English Literature grad from a university in Makassar, it turns out, which explains his confident English in our messages (if not in person, where he shyly defaulted to Indonesian!) I quizzed Imin on Konjo culture: Is Konjo just a language for you, or an identity? Are you Makassarese or something else? Imin was firm: Konjo isn’t just a language - it’s who we are. 

After a bumpy detour down a final stretch of kampung roads, we’d made it. Waiting for us on the porch of Imin's family home was Pak Jafar, the ganrang maestro who’d come to be my source for information on all things ganrang Konjo. We were welcomed into a sitting room rimmed with floral-patterned green sofas. A huge tapestry hung on the wall depicting a pastoral Arabian scene, camels and sand dunes foregrounded by a scene of feasting bedouins. Pak Jafar sat below looking somewhat intimidating, serious eyes in between a knit black Muslim skullcap and a dark moustache. 

We made small talk, with Imin explaining my quest for ganrang, but it didn’t seem very necessary: within minutes we were on the porch again, with the other musicians - Samaluddin, Tahir, and Tasman - appearing from inside the house with drums and gongs under their arms. The guys warmed up as I tried to find a good position for the instruments and mics: those YouTube videos were great, but massively distorted, so I was eager to get a good, balanced recording to add to the growing social media ganrang archive.

Checking the results with Pak Jafar [photo courtesy Imyen Damai]

Checking the results with Pak Jafar [photo courtesy Imyen Damai]

The band really had no need for a warm-up - they played instantly with a fierce tightness - but the multiple test runs as I set up the mics made for an interesting chance to compare their techniques with each go-round. Remember, the ganrang Konjo repertoire has just one piece, so the magic is in those improvisations, the kreasi pukulan in each run-through where the musicians show off their virtuosity with little tricks. One favorite seemed to feature a kind of psychic connection between Pak Tasman on the taha’-taha’ and Pak Jafar on the pangngana: after a kind of hidden drum cue, both would mute their instruments in unison for a split second, creating a delicious kind of hanging effect, as if time stopped for a split second before the rapturous web of percussion popped into life once more. 

All it took was one good, final take, and we were done: the maghrib call to prayer was coming, and the sky was growing dark. Pak Jafar invited us inside again, and this time he’d warmed up, sitting by my side and explaining the inner workings of ganrang, all those juicy details I tried to impart in the beginning of this post. Pak Jafar plied us with Konjo-style snacks - coconut cream porridge steamed in banana leaves, fritters dipped in spicy, creamy sambal - and we dove into the world of ganrang until Imin started looking anxious - it was getting late, and we couldn’t stay forever. We circled the room, shaking hands and heaping on thank yous, and then we were off, back to the coast. I think I was tapping my feet all the way home, the infectious rhythms of ganrang still looping in my mind.

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Special thanks to Imin and family for their incredible helpfulness and hospitality while we were in Bulukumba.

Terima kasha banyak Sanggar Seni Mallessorang: Mak Muhammad Jafar, Pak Samaluddin, Pak Tahir, dan Pak Tasman.

Crionics - Human Error: Ways to Selfdestruction (2002)

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Crionics - Human Error: Ways to Selfdestruction (2002)

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Crionics - Human Error: Ways to Selfdestruction (2002)
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