You know, the Woodstock music festival got kicked out of the town of Woodstock too, so you can forgive Vieux Farka Touré for recording “The Woodstock Sessions” in Saugerties, New York—especially once you hear the song.
In anticipation of an upcoming album and tour, we have the privilege of premiering this first single by Vieux Farka Touré. The song is called “Homafu Wawa.”
Vieux’s work often references his homeland of Mali. In 2013, right after the territorial disputes between the Tuareg and Islamic rebels, he released an album called Mon Pays—“my country.” Of this new work he says, “This song is an homage to the people in the north of Mali who resisted and endured the occupation of the jihadists. To all the women of the north who suffered violence and to all the men who met with tragic ends in the north.”
Out on April 7, the album’s title is Samba, and it might have discovered the middle space between a live and studio album—the entire thing was tracked in front of an audience of about 50 people, as you can see in the video, but in a studio. Maybe they’re not an “audience” but more as participants, since you can hear them singing on the album. Look, it just raises a lot of philosophical questions.
The album is now available for preorder from Six Degrees Records. Vieux’s tour kicks off on April 6 in Brooklyn.
I’ve written before that Mokoomba is probably the most impressive new African band I’ve heard in recent years. And this, their second album, does nothing to dissuade me from that view. The band comes from the Zambezi Valley in northern Zimbabwe, near Victoria Falls. These six, super-talented guys grew up together in Chinotimba township. Most of them are Tonga, the original inhabitants of the valley, although displaced and marginalized ever since the construction of the the Kariba Dam and resulting Lake Kariba in 1955. But you sure wouldn’t guess at that tragic history hearing these 10 vivacious songs. The band’s 2012 debut Rising Tide was full-on Zimrock, pulling in influences from South Africa, Congo, Mali and Jamaican dancehall in a driving, soaring set of electric band numbers.
With Luyando, Mokoomba makes the rather bold move of going acoustic, and digging deeper into their Tonga roots. Guitarist Trustworth Samende sets aside his electric guitar to riff and vamp only on nylon strings, which he fingerpicks deftly, often muting the strings as a Zimbabwean mbira guitarist might. But this music has no connection to mbira, nor to most other familiar Zimbabwean music, with a few exceptions, such as the minor key guitar vamp on “Kumukanda,” which may recall some of the deeper, darker early Thomas Mapfumo classics. Abundance Mutori provides muscular bass lines throughout. Meanwhile, the rest of the rhythm section can be as light as the clicking together of wooden sticks (“Vimbe”), and even at its most dense, rhythmic backing done mostly with traditional drums, shakers and wood blocks, rarely traps. Just the same, these grooves utterly crank. They are as pumping and danceable as anything out there despite the non-electric instrumentation.
That said, the real story here is the vocals. Lead singer Mathias Muzaza has a rare gift. He can coo and croon, growl like a dancehall braggadocio, toss in a little falsetto and vibrato (“Muzwile”), or soar into his full-throated, leathery smooth tenor, reminiscent of Salif Keita in a griot’s wail. Keita is an acknowledged influence for Muzaza and, as if to underline that fact, the song “Mabemba,” the closest thing to a ballad here, works in some distinctly Malian guitar licks. While Muzaza’s highly original vocals are deeply impressive for their rich palette of colors and unfailing power, they also deliver unfailing emotional effect. There is a profound sense of conviction in every performance, and his voice is hugely amplified by the band’s equally stellar vocal support work. Everyone here sings beautifully, and when their voices blend in call and response as on the polyrhythmic “Njawane” or heavenly choral luster as on the title track, you can just tell that these guys have been singing together most of their lives. It’s almost overwhelming. And when they finish out the album with a typical southern African choral piece—a playful courtship number called “Nyardzo”—well, Ladysmith Black Mambazo could hardly do better.
Luyando means “mother’s love” in Tonga. The band also sings in Luvale, another northern tongue, as well as Shona and Ndebele. But these songs delve deeply into long-neglected Tonga culture. Some, like “Vimbe” and “Kumukanda,” actually come from Tonga initiation ceremonies that these musicians experienced as boys. “Kambowa,” performed with just drums, raucous voices and what sounds like a panpipe, really feels like a village ceremony, and at the height of the action. “Mabemba,” for all its Malian overtones, is a meditation on Tonga values. All this is good to know, but the performances themselves easily convey a sense of joyous gravitas found only in the greatest and most enduring African music.
For all its shortcomings, 2017 is shaping up as a good year for African pop, and this is an absolutely indispensable example. Mokoomba will tour later this year. (Visas were recently approved!) Watch this space for details, and don’t miss them. As fine as they are on record, they are even better live.
Tracklist:
1. The Swifty
2. Coopers World
3. Don't Go Plastic
4. Iambic 5 Poetry
5. Squarepusher Theme
6. E8 Boogie
7. Deep Fried Pizza
8. Megazine
9. Delta-V
10. Anstromm Feck 4
11. Journey To Reedham
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Tracklist:
01. Dancing Machines
02. Cascades
03. Air
04. State of Flux
05. Ripped Apart and Reassembled
06. The Further Side
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Tracklist:
01. Giving It Up
02. California
03. Wired
04. For You
05. Midnight
06. Better Off Without You
07. Falling In Love
08. Lucky Me
09. Saviour
10. Come Back Around
11. Mother
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Tracklist:
1. Backroads of My Mind
2. Too Many Virtues
3. Lincoln's Funeral Train
4. Millport
5. Time of Need
6. Making Time
7. Shotgun
8. Echo on the Hill
9. Sawmill
10. Waxwings
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Tracklist:
1. Cold Feet
2. She Was Right
3. Little Bump
4. Boneyard
5. Hard To See You Happy
6. Keep Myself Alone Now
7. Hour Golden
8. Black Curls
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Tracklist:
01. Eleanors Dream 03:11
02. Ye Mariners All (Live) 04:37
03. Step by Step 04:37
04. The Naked Highwayman (Live) 04:46
05. Danny Jacks Reward (Expensive Version) 04:36
06. Jesus on the Mainline (Live) 03:43
07. Devils Work 03:33
08. Mercy Bay (Live) 07:02
09. Our Bus Rolls On 04:53
10. Portmeirion (Live) 05:38
11. The Lady of Carlisle 04:55
12. Lord Marlborough (Live) 03:25
13. Summer by the Cherwell 03:10
14. John Condon (Live) 06:05
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Tracklist:
1 Fall
2 Feel Infinite
3 To Say
4 True (feat. How To Dress Well)
5 I Won't Judge
6 Dundas Collapse
7 Real Time
8 Cycles
9 You Can't Deny
10 Afterglow
11 You See All My Light
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Tracklist:
01. Shores of Elenna
02. Numenor
03. Heroic Deeds
04. Dol Guldur
05. Darkness Descends
06. Taur nu Fuin
07. Minas Morgul
08. Witch-King of Angmar
09. The Dwarrowdelf
10. Born of Hope
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2. Hang 'Em High
3. Dogmaniacal
4. Intention to Deceive
5. Ingsoc
6. Masterplan
7. Peace Is In Pieces
8. Claiming Certainty
9. Wake Up
10. Circling the Drain
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Waclaw Zimpel is back with a new album released under the name Saagara. The album, entitled 2 sees the composer, clarinettist and all round musical chameleon working with an Indian orchestra and producer mooryc. Subtle electronics swell around traditional Indian instrumentation and Zimpel’s signature clarinet to create another fine piece of free jazz.
2 was recorded in Bangalore last December. “I started my preparations around two months ahead of my trip to India”, admits Zimpel. “Once the draft versions of songs were done, I decided to share them with my producer mooryc in Berlin. Together we clarified the structures, added some melodies and I was ready to jump on the plane. One of the first steps we took in India was to play some…
…concerts. And although majority of our setlist each night consisted mainly of older tracks from Saagara’s debut album, we managed to expand our sound by adding some electronics”, he recalls.
“My main aim for this album was to create a bridge between Indian sounds and Western music logic in order to go against some popular trends”, says Zimpel. “Saagara’s first record was a deep dive into Karnatic tradition but I had to admit to myself that I am by no means a classical Indian musician. That’s one of the reasons why I decided to steer the band to the West but avoiding popular world music clichés. Thankfully Saagara is a very creative entity.”
“2” is a third Zimpel album to feature a significant input from Berlin-based producer mooryc. “I put significant effort to change my sound spectrum. mooryc is mostly associated with electronic music and maybe that’s why his approach to acoustic instrument is fresh. It opens my mind to new means of expression”, explains Wacław. “Our collaboration operates on constant thoughts exchange but this time his work is more visible all over the album despite the fact that he didn’t participate in the recording session.”
I Was Just Leaving hits stores on March 3rd, but pre-order the album on PledgeMusic and you’ll receive an instant download of the album RIGHT NOW!
These songs were recorded in the control room of Esplanade Studios New Orleans in January of 2016. Anders Osborne ensured their rawness, brought out their soul and Mark Howard made them shimmer. Those two were a dream team for capturing songs from the heart.
After 15 years of going crazy to build a life in music, I found that most of my days were now spent alone in a room reflecting on those years. These songs came out of that space. I thought I’d tried to build a home, but it turns out I was just leaving.
Live and learn. In love,
Ryan
