Backxwash is up for the Canadian Polaris Prize this year, and I'm assuming they'll win. Canada's too Canadian to pick a repeat winner like Caribou, Kaytranada or Lido Pimienta. The 2020 selection is shockingly mixed-nationality... I don't think it's a bad thing by any means, and every artist is based in Canada, but we've got Ethiopian, Haitian, Colombian, Zambian, Filipino and American artists on the board, and it's not like it's a big board by any means. We are a diverse bunch I suppose. :mrgreen:.
Big names are absent, which is fine โ Grimes, The Weeknd, Carly Rae Jepsen, Destroyer, Leonard Cohen, Drake, etc... but I wish Owen Pallett made the cut (he's already one once, but whatever).
Someone needs to give Ian William Craig some recognition though. Beautiful album this year.
I knew nothing about the Polaris Prize before this, but looking at the past winners it's a fantastic selection, unlike most other music awards (khm Grammys). It'd be great if Backxwash won. And you're right about IWC, Red Sun Through Smoke is incredible. _________________ Overall chart Fake overall chart
Backxwash is up for the Canadian Polaris Prize this year, and I'm assuming they'll win. Canada's too Canadian to pick a repeat winner like Caribou, Kaytranada or Lido Pimienta. The 2020 selection is shockingly mixed-nationality... I don't think it's a bad thing by any means, and every artist is based in Canada, but we've got Ethiopian, Haitian, Colombian, Zambian, Filipino and American artists on the board, and it's not like it's a big board by any means. We are a diverse bunch I suppose. :mrgreen:.
Big names are absent, which is fine โ Grimes, The Weeknd, Carly Rae Jepsen, Destroyer, Leonard Cohen, Drake, etc... but I wish Owen Pallett made the cut (he's already one once, but whatever).
Someone needs to give Ian William Craig some recognition though. Beautiful album this year.
I knew nothing about the Polaris Prize before this, but looking at the past winners it's a fantastic selection, unlike most other music awards (khm Grammys). It'd be great if Backxwash won. And you're right about IWC, Red Sun Through Smoke is incredible.
Shockingly, considering how abysmal our Junos are (Canadian Grammys), I'm somewhat okay with the Polaris Prize. Usually it puts the spotlight on some decent acts. Unfortunately, the 2019 selection was truly mediocre, but for the most part there's a couple records worth giving a spin. The nominees for the 2011-2017 range are solid. I think it's the platform that helped launch Tanya Tagaq, who's always doing something interesting nowadays. She had a great novella (novel? might be a novel...) a couple years back too that's worth a read. _________________ Doubles & Conch
Look at that! Don't you just want to be there? Whoknowswhere in the middle of the night with a jam band playing stuff? Look at all those wires! And lack of sunlight! The extension cord is pivotal.
Smidge long, but decent stuff. Well worth spinning a few tracks, but everything's a couple minutes too long.
Ram John Holder has another album called Black London Blues that's a bit better, but I've been familiar with that one for some number of years now. Bootleg Blues is a new one for me. The dude knows what he's doing... just good ol' solid singer/songwriter/guitar blues, upped a notch.
Y'all know this one by now. It's up against Igor ๐ ... and I voted against it because I'm stupid. India's still probably BEA's most underrepresented country. Not sure why you guys are avoiding music from there. Go pick up like... 5 or 6 records from India, and just hit play. Musicianship there is always stellar.
This jazzy hip-hop record uses a couple production methods I fear due to the complexity... creating something like this takes just as much guts as it does talent. Hoping everyone gives it a spin.
Okay... I didn't promise everything here would be good :oops:. I actually couldn't make it through this. Apologies to Equatorial Guinea, I'll try better in the future.
This one's a little newer than it looks. Mo Kolours is actually in the mix here somewhere too. Psych-y jazz hip-hop with live instrumentation. Plenty of solid cuts on here. _________________ Doubles & Conch
This is thick transistor-radio sound quality punky walls of oomph. It isn't crowded thoughโ just creates that balance. Almost like a faraway dream you confused with a longlost movie.
Awesome Tapes From Africa has a treasure chest to dig through. This is a somewhat shorter tape in the dance genre of mbalax (which, you've probably heard at some point or another and just never bothered calling it that). It's almost the origins of what they're doing over at Nyege Nyege nowadays.
That Kooshin album was just released this week, if anyone wants to give it a spin. Decent stuff, great musicianship on the kaban and solid production. Might even be the best record up there.
Anyway, there's probably more Somalian artists recording in Toronto than there are in Somalia, so I figured I'd showcase them. You've probably heard of K'naan, he had a few huge hits about a decade ago and fell off the map, but the other three are somewhat under the radar. Obuxum's production is incredible, well worth a spin for IDM fans (hate the term IDM, but here we are...). The Omar Bongo and Kooshin albums are kinda similar kaban/vocal records, but the Kooshin record is far more well-rounded. The K'naan record might be slightly underappreciated. Before he went in a more pop direction, the dude had some solid bars. I think it was one of the first hip-hop CDs I ever bought. Might still have it somewhere actually.
(this is not going to count as my entry for Canada).
I'm also going to give a shoutout to the new Sahra Halgan record, which is pretty solid if anyone wants to check that out. _________________ Doubles & Conch
Every once in a while when your boat crashes in Scandanavian waters, you'll find yourself in a place with a very confusing language that looks like it was dropped in a puddle, and perhaps there's a plover, but for the most part you just need to head to the bar and make friends because they're the ones that'll fix your boat. Not everything's tuned quite right, but it has enough heart to carry it for as long as you could possibly wish. Fantastic fun.
Gambia remains one of my favourite countries to dig for albums in. If I come across a kora album I haven't heard, it's going in the queue. Just wish there was more of it. I gave this album a listen a couple months ago and it's stuck with me ever since. There's about five kora albums I'd say are top-notch, and this is one of them. If you want the others, I can share those too ๐
Couldn't pick between the twoโ both are going on the board. Completely different sides of Papua traditional music. The guitar record is a lot more accessible, but the ceremonial flute music is worth diving into if you're seeking something different. Pleasantly surprised by both, I think they're solid records. _________________ Doubles & Conch
Gambia remains one of my favourite countries to dig for albums in. If I come across a kora album I haven't heard, it's going in the queue. Just wish there was more of it. I gave this album a listen a couple months ago and it's stuck with me ever since. There's about five kora albums I'd say are top-notch, and this is one of them. If you want the others, I can share those too ๐
Do it. ๐ _________________ Can you play free, or in three, or agree to try something new?
All are pretty easy to find, and all are fantastic. Not too lengthy either, could probably spin them all in one day. Well worth a listen. _________________ Doubles & Conch
Havenโt heard any of those four, naturally. Iโll give them a go as soon as Iโm done being held hostage by soul and funk. _________________ Can you play free, or in three, or agree to try something new?
Neat little chill record. Great for reading. Went by much faster than I figured. Production's solid, some great textures. It's simple, but it's all it asks to be. Probably the best album in the bunch here.
Didn't think I'd find a record from a Seychelles artist, but figured I'd give this a spin once I stumbled across it. Didn't get around to one the first time either. Nothing terrible by any means, but it's really not my thing. Kinda cheesy, smidge unfocused... not too big on the vocals... It's fun I suppose, but the second half of the record even squishes that a little.
This has potential, but it needs to be half the runtime and the tracks need to be crazy more focused. Pop-raga mixture? I suppose. Nothing's terribly poignant or memorable... it blurs before you hit the halfway point. Dig the cover and the title though.
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