Criatura Azul hail from Portugal, and the music they offer is a hazy, bluesy sort of psychedelic rock. Echos, effects, mellow strumming and spoken word make this into a good disc to chill out to.
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Majid Bekkas produces a stunning take on blues from a Moroccan perspective. From his Bandcamp site: “This secular music is still considered the “healer of souls” from Essaouira to Marrakech, easily understandable when you listen to the spellbinding sound of Bekkas’ voice, guembri and guitar. Like a watermark, the mystery of Africa can be felt in the background, alongside the blues. Gnawa’s intact purity is the essence of authenticity. By claiming to be part of Africa, the mother of the blues and its numerous offspring such as funk, Bekkas is placing gnawa in its primary dimension.”
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Today is an auspicious occasion as this post will mark 1,000 consecutive days of posting music for my readers and friends. It’s most appropriate that number 1,000 would be someone who has appeared quite a few times on the blog, but Jeff Gburek offers an album that is as (primitive) bluesy as I’ve heard in some time. The playing is mournful in parts, but it wraps your ears up and demands your attention. Most importantly, I think this is the first time I’ve heard Jeff sing. His voice sits perfectly in the point where blues, psych and acid folk all…
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This is simply a masterpiece. Joe Williams was one of the most lauded voice in the big band era, and worked with legends like Lionel Hampton and Count Basie. From Nagel Hayer’s Bandcamp site: “Simply one of the greatest Jazz or even Blues vocal albums of all time. Joe Williams is smooth and yet authentic. The recording quality is sublime. Play it at the beach, the pool, the bar, for a barbecue, a romantic dinner or with a sundowner in your hands viewing the setting sun over the dune sea in the west. Among the highlights are “I Don’t Know…
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The Sound Of Shellac is a record label out of Norway which refurbishes old 78rpm discs, brightens their sound and releases these tracks into well-curated compilations. What’s more, they’re offered as pay-as-you-like releases, so purchasing these comps helps show support for such a fine label. This particular disc features artists John McCormack, Paul Robeson and Jelly Roll Morton, but the real charm of this release comes from relatively unknown or forgotten artists like Mrs. Texas Gladden and Tito Schipa.
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This is our second African gem this week, following the marvelously brutal release by Kenya’s Duma. This release by the late S.E. Rogie is a more relaxed, bluesy highlife affair from Sierra Leone. According to the Mississippi Records Bandcamp website, Rogie, “…went from running a tailor shop in Sierra Leone to being one of West Africa’s most popular artists. He toured around the country, singing his palm wine music in multiple local languages, created his own record label, and was known as the most handsome man in Sierra Leone. He formed the highlife band The Morningstars in 1965. In 1973,…
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repsychled Records out of Peru are known for releasing scorching garage rock from their native country, but they have dipped their fingers until the shimmering pools of South Korean psychedelic music as well. Shin Joong Hyun is considered South Korea’s ‘godfather of rock’, and he has been comfortable working not only with psych but with folk-rock, pop and soul. This particular album with done with Yup Juns, his backing band, and you can hear influences from blues rock to Jimi Hendrix in this disc.
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As I’ve been stewing over this release for well over a month now, it’s exciting to finally announce that today, this scorching compilation is finally available on vinyl and download from our friends at WeWantSounds. In fact, the only depressing thing about this gem is that I can’t hear it on vinyl yet as I’m currently in Belgrade, Serbia, waiting to see where I move to next before settling down back in the Czech Republic. Normally, I’ll either place my own personal thoughts about a music, or use clippings from a press release, but the Saravah story needs a bit…
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Some very mellow chamber rock can be found here by Tunisian singer Jawhar. If you are a fan of groups like the Tindersticks, but are looking for something more exotic in sound, I can happily recommend this.
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We Want Sounds! is on a roll! They started off the year with a stunning collection of funk which I had the absolute joy of reviewing a coupe of weeks ago, and now this! Dixie Fever is a collaborative effort from guitarist Makoto Kubota, along with Takashi Onzo on bass, Yosuke Fujita on guitar/mandolin, Keni Inoue on lead guitar, Hiroki Komazawa on pedal steel guitar, and Kubota himself on guitar. The secret sauce in this album comes from co-producer Haruomi “Harry” Hosono, and this work, mixing American swamp funk, blues, music from the Hawaiian islands and their own local influences from…