Singalong bar music. Jovial, fun, witty, some sharp lyrics. It's just a good ol' fun record, but with some quality work to hold it up. Actually a little surprised this one isn't a little more popular.
Only gave this a first listen this morning, and felt like it would be appropriate to tag it in here. Solid mande record, slight Arabic influences, perhaps even slightly more 'composed' than similar records from the early 70s. I'm going to assume based on the band's name they were influenced by the repetitive beat of a locomotive, because it comes across in their music. Nearly everything feels like it's moving on wheels, on cart after the next (with slight variations of course, graffiti, dents, different cargo, whathaveyou). Well worth a listen if you can dig it up.
In the running for best album cover of all time, this posthumous release by Quliyev definitely has the flavour you'd expect it to. Completely instrumental guitar-lead record, made by the dude on the cover, in Azerbaijan. That's the record. It's that.
One of the better finds this time around. Phenomenal percussion-lead album. No way this isn't going on a few of my charts. The actual production and audio quality here is stellar. Feels like they're performing right beside you. The confidence in the musicianship puts it on a different level. They know they're good.
Recent reissue of an impossible to find CD from the 90s labelled "Sahrawi political folk". Took an eight year international search to find a copy of it. Rebel music, liberation chants, punk-ish in mentality (not musically). Electronic production's a smidge dated, but the actual compositions are quite unique and fresh. Well worth the search. _________________ Doubles & Conch
Found these on Bandcamp the other day. I think they're comps or unofficial or something, not sure, but they're both solid bits of solo string playing. I think the Aung Naing Soe record is a bit better, but both are worth spinning. Goes down easy in the background. Fun fact, my teacher always yelled at me for playing guitar in that position.
Going Quebecois here, despite my best judgment. Great avant-pop record from this year that's been getting a bit of buzz recently. I actually think 2020's been a solid year for Canada, we've got a good handful of records out. Even if you don't speak French Canadian, this is worth a listen. Unique compositions with plenty of life. I'm certain it would get a lot more love had it been in English, but give it a shot nonetheless.
Another avant-pop pick, Kate NV's latest record is a lovely bit of ambient-pop-fusion. Sounds like something stuck in your brain that's trying to sing but can't completely leave your skull so it's just stuck floating about your ears. She had a slightly quieter 2018 record that's well worth a listen too, but I wouldn't be surprised if she leans more in this direction moving forward. Almost somewhat like very early Julia Holter, and perhaps even just as good.
Slight cheat here, I'm counting this for both Palestine and Jordan. It's a group that considers itself from both. I feel like this is the kind of sound M.I.A. may have been trying to go for during the mid 2010s... goes hard, with a middle-eastern flare. Production's sold. Somewhere between hip-hop and pop, but when it slips more into reggae-ish zones it's a bit messy. Decent stuff, but some of the tracks are tiring.
Luckily it's short, but this is probably the worst thing I've heard in a long time. Just garbage. Sorry 🤣 Super thin metal-ish pop/rock with abysmal vocals.
I aaalllmost went avant-garde jazz here. Classical. House. Dream pop. But it just didn't feel right. I can only endure K-pop in small doses, so this felt fair. EP, 17 minutes or so, just a bit of fun of this bombastic culture I can't quite understand.
Have to give this record a shoutout. Little sad I've already doc'd Peru, but I'm doubling up here. One of the best records I've heard over the past few months in general. Latin-American folk with heavy Spanish and Cuban influence, and maybe even a bit of jazz. Compositions here aren't like anything I've heard from similar records... there's something here that really drags you in and captivates you. Hoping people give it a listen.
Have to give this record a shoutout. Little sad I've already doc'd Peru, but I'm doubling up here. One of the best records I've heard over the past few months in general. Latin-American folk with heavy Spanish and Cuban influence, and maybe even a bit of jazz. Compositions here aren't like anything I've heard from similar records... there's something here that really drags you in and captivates you. Hoping people give it a listen.
It's got those cool flutes and strings, sometimes even full orchestral arrangement. And the songs really are quite good. _________________ Overall chart Fake overall chart
Beguine! Zouk! Fun islandy stuff that's not to cheesy. Smidge more fun when you're on a beach preferably drunk and not entirely paying attention, but it's a decent spin nonetheless. Tracks that lean more towards Marley-esque reggae like Stay Up Black Brothers are particularly good.
Straight from the heart of the peach state, we've got this here—
What? Oh. Woops. Don't get my started on Athens.
New release. Home recording under COVID. Aşıq Nargilə's part of Richard Dawson's touring group, but this is her own thing. Folk-y vocal/string record. The instrument on the cover is a saz, which is kinda a giant lute.
Y'all know Yazz by now. She's great. Arabic-inspired jazz turned up a notch. Beautiful record. This (along with La Saboteuse) should be in everyone's queues if they haven't heard them. _________________ Doubles & Conch
This ranges from great to cringey, but when it's great it truly shines. The more post-rock (post... pop-rock?) side of it is quite lovely, and I wish they stuck in that direction for the majority of the record. Talent's there, instrumentation's great, but they need to stay as far away from pop-power-ballads as possible. I'll be keeping an eye on them though.
Rec'd by LedZep 😁 I dug the production on this. Super clean and punchy, the percussion sounds like it's being played from right inside the speakers. Almost reminds me of an equivalent to Francois Hardy or Tiny Yong. It's good fun stuff as long as you aren't in the mood for anything serious and like to dance every once in a while.
Quote:
she's certainly an important character in the Romani (Gypsy) music scene. "Queen of the Gypsies" was quite a person, she purposefully wore stereotypical clothes like turbans and dressed very extravagantly. She came from a very poor family and later in her life, along with her husband Teodosievski, adopted about 50 Romani children, mostly those who lived out in the streets. Every single one of them is now a musician. Also, she had over 10000 live performances throughout her life, and most of them were humanitarian in nature. She's a real icon in the Balkans (and Europe).
in a piercing tone, increasing in shrillness each time, he seemed to transform the night into a black tambourine decorated with gold bells; to be shaking hands with invisible friends in the wind, and inviting the puppet-master of the Cathedral Porch and his marionettes to come and tickle his throat till he burst out laughing. — not me
Mabe Fratti has a cello. She knows what to do with it.
I'm going to give Fratti a shoutout whenever I can. Her two albums over the past two years are really lovely works, and I hope everyone gives them a shot. This is her 2020 record^ and it might be my favourite of the two. Going to keep an eye on what she does next. _________________ Doubles & Conch
Last edited by Hayden on 07/26/2020 23:09; edited 3 times in total
Glad that you picked Esma Redzepova for Macedonia. I'm not the biggest fan of her music, but she's certainly an important character in the Romani (Gypsy) music scene. "Queen of the Gypsies" was quite a person, she purposefully wore stereotypical clothes like turbans and dressed very extravagantly. She came from a very poor family and later in her life, along with her husband Teodosievski, adopted about 50 Romani children, mostly those who lived out in the streets. Every single one of them is now a musician. Also, she had over 10000 live performances throughout her life, and most of them were humanitarian in nature. She's a real icon in the Balkans (and Europe). _________________ Overall chart Fake overall chart
Glad that you picked Esma Redzepova for Macedonia. I'm not the biggest fan of her music, but she's certainly an important character in the Romani (Gypsy) music scene. "Queen of the Gypsies" was quite a person, she purposefully wore stereotypical clothes like turbans and dressed very extravagantly. She came from a very poor family and later in her life, along with her husband Teodosievski, adopted about 50 Romani children, mostly those who lived out in the streets. Every single one of them is now a musician. Also, she had over 10000 live performances throughout her life, and most of them were humanitarian in nature. She's a real icon in the Balkans (and Europe).
Well that's a lot more interesting than what I wrote. That bolded bit is wild. I have another one of your recs in the queue, should be up soon. I think I'm going to downgrade to three countries a day, just to ease things up. And def listen to at least one record by Yazz Ahmed. She's doing some great work. The British jazz scene in general right now is on fire, but she's certainly a standout.
If anyone has recs from these countries, let me know:
North Korea
Monaco (not Ferre)
Nauru
Laos
Uzbekistan
Timor-Leste
Niue
Palau
I have something for South Sudan in the queue, but it doesn't come out for a couple weeks :lol:. I also found something from Tokelau, and I didn't even know that was an independent territory until about 2 weeks ago. _________________ Doubles & Conch
Decent rare comp from a group that seems to go by acouple different spellings. Spanish is a little rusty here, but it seems to be a lot of political revolt/ protest-folk.
Fun fact, I've pronounced Lesotho wrong most my life because I'm an uncultured swine. Fun punchy accordion goodness. Most of the arrangements are actually quite unique, especially in the first half. Bizarre little tape, but no regrets.
Revisiting one of my 2019 favs for Benin. Extremely underappreciated afro-funk record from last year. Instrumentation's bombastic and the musicianship's about as good as it gets. Production's ace, songwriting's ace, the record's a blast and the funk is real. Easy recommendation. _________________ Doubles & Conch
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Hayden
LedZep
