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Afro National – African Experimentals (1972​-​1979)

An Afrobeat treat from Sierre Leone originally formed in 1972 is what we have here from Afro National.

From their Bandcamp site:

“The Afro National band was formed in Freetown, Sierra Leone in 1972. Their inspirational leader, Sulay Abu Bakarr accompanied by his wife Patricia and Ayo Roy Macauley split from the Sabanoh Jazz Band to form their new group. They skillfully merged highlife and jazz sounds with a deep knowledge of West African sounds. Growing to become one of the premiere bands to emerge from Sierra Leone they not only defined the sound of the country for a generation but also crafted some of the country’s most popular and memorable songs (for example Sonjo which is included on this collection).”

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Visera Crash – Babé

Some time in 2017 or so, perhaps earlier, I stumbled onto Bandcamp thanks to some friends sending me links.  I thought I’d do some exploring, and one of the first bands I came across was one from Argentina, a classical string quintet from Buenos Aires called Visera Crash.  The music was achingly beautiful, and I played it quite a bit.  This release opened me up to the idea of reviewing new bands, mainly on Bandcamp, hoping to point friends and readers out to new music.  What a pleasant trip this has been, and I owe much to Visera Crash for launching my interest in the platform.

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Various Artists – Fly, Fly, You Hardened Arrow: Round Dance Songs of “Polish” Old Believers from Altai

The now-legendary Antonovka Records have done astounding work documenting music from Russia’s myriad of ethnic communities.  This one is from the so-called “Polish” Old Believers in the Altai region.  From the label’s Bandcamp site:

“The ancestors of the Altai “Polish” Old Believers were peasants of the Vetka-Starodub territory of the priestly Old Believers, who fled from the persecution of the authorities to the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth and to the bordering area of the Starodub regiment as part of the Russia. Upon her accession to the throne, Catherine II invited the Old Believers to return to Russia with a manifesto. However, they did not want to. Therefore, in 1764, at the behest of Ekaterina, Vetka was devastated by the troops of Major General Maslov — more than twenty thousand Old Believers were forcibly resettled to Altai and Transbaikalia. In Altai, along the rivers Uba, Ulba, Berezovka, Glubokaya and others, the Old Believers from Vetka and Starodub founded the first settlements in the 1760s, having received the nickname “Polish” in the new place. Now the territory of their residence is divided between Russia and Kazakhstan.”

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Bana Haffar – Genera – Live at AB Salon, Brussels

Touch Records has introduced so many experimental recording composers to the world in its 40 years of existence that it’s hard to keep up with them.  This latest release by Saudi-American composer Bana Haffar immediately spins a web for you to get tied into her shimmering compositions.  Found sounds and acoustic instruments feel and sound perfectly balanced, a feat made more impressive since this is a live recording.

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Audirvāna

No post today thanks to being under the weather, but I did want to recommend an app for those of you who like streaming your digital music files with a bit-perfect player.  I started using Audirvāna a month ago, and it’s made a huge difference in terms of listening quality.  It’s a bit pricey, and I opted to buy the app outright, but the sound quality is worth the price.

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Kimi Djabaté – Dindin

Cumbancha Records usually put out world-class music, but this one stood out rather brightly.  From Kimi Djabaté’s Bandcamp site:

“Hailing from the country of Guinea-Bissau, gifted guitarist, percussionist and balafón (African xylophone) player Kimi Djabaté is one of Africa’s most exceptional talents. Now based in Lisbon, Djabaté has collaborated with Mory Kanté, Waldemar Bastos and Netos de Gumbé, and, most recently, the pop star Madonna on her single “Ciao Bella.”

On Djabaté’s exceptional new album “Dindin,” the multitalented musician carries on the customs of his griot heritage, singing entrancingly about the complexity of life in modern Africa for a broad, international audience. Blending traditional Afro-Portuguese rhythms with Afrobeat grooves, electric desert blues and hints of Afro-Latin swing, Djabaté weaves a unique tapestry of smooth and intricate sounds.”

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Antti Lötjönen – Circus​/​Citadel

Antti Lötjönen is a new name for me.  A bassist from Finland, his band absolutely swings and bops.  Perhaps it’s best to let him describe his latest album, Circus/Citadel, here on his Bandcamp site:

“Antti Lötjönen says:

“These compositions vary in terms of form and density, with each player having enough room to re-invent and expand on the music within the pieces. I wrote this music over a relatively brief time span. This, I think, is something you can also hear on the album, as the temporal closeness of the ideas brings with it a certain kind of unity. The world we live in sometimes feels like an absurd circus, from which you need to get away from to get new ideas and energy. Everyone needs their citadel, whatever it may be. This pairing of the two words Circus/Citadel is inspired by a poem by the Romanian-born German-language poet Paul Celan (1920–1970).””

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Various Artists – Les Disques Bongo Joe: Solidarity With February 2023 Earthquake Victims

The earthquake which has ravaged Turkey and Syria should not be forgotten about despite the blindingly fast news barrage we’re living through.

The Swiss label Bongo Joe have offered this pay-what-you-like compilation featuring Derya Yıldırım & Grup Şimşek, Oldu O Zaman and Altın Gün, who have graciously given tracks to help this noble cause.

Personally, if you would like to send more funds to Syria as well, consider using International Orthodox Christian Charities who have boots on the ground in the area.

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Yury Markin – On a Large Scale

I have to give full credit to legendary multi-instrumentalist Arkady Shilkloper for making mention of Yury Markin’s album on his Facebook feed on which he appears.  I’m familiar with how solid the Russian jazz/experimental record label Fancy Music is, and this latest release does not disappoint.

From the label’s Bandcamp site:

“Yury Markin is one of the leading Russian composers and jazz pianists, a student of the famous composer Rodion Shchedrin. The double album, coming out in the year of the 75th anniversary of the master, is truly historic. It presents large pieces, displaying the work of Yury Markin in a style built at the intersection of classical music and jazz. Yury Markin is among the domestic giants of jazz composers such as Yury Chugunov and Herman Lukyanov. All of the above operate in line with their own systems, but in spite of the polarity of their creative views, these three outstanding personalities of Russian jazz give a new artistic value, in which Markin’s symphonic principles take an overriding place, since there are no other examples of unique large-form jazz compositions in our country.”

 
The balance between jazz and classical music make this release such a joy to listen to.

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Extremophiles – First Batch

Extremophiles are a duo made up of Jeff Gburek on synthesizer, percussion, effects, devices and John Palumbo on electro-acoustic drums, percussion, and more electronics.  I have to say this release blew me away, as it reminded be of a cross between the crunchy post-punk/Rock-In-Opposition vibe of This Heat’s early work and the more Industrial, less dance-oriented sound of Deutsch-Amerikanische Freundschaft (DAF).  The music is fresh, but it will bring back a lot of memories for those of us who remember such sounds.