Post subject: Get To Know A Top 10: July 2018 Thread - Hayden
By one vote, Hayden has won the fourth poll. Here are the ten albums up for discussion during the month of July:
1. Specialist In All Styles - Orchestra Baobab
2. World Psychedelic Classics 5: Who Is William Onyeabor? - William Onyeabor
3. Kigali Y' Izahabu - The Good Ones
4. Drums Of Death - Ashanti Tribe Of Ghana / Ewe Tribe Of Ghana
5. In The Heart Of The Moon - Ali Farka Touré & Toumani Diabaté
6. Conflict - Ebo Taylor
7. Batsumi - Batsumi
8. This Is Marijata - Marijata
9. Sorrow Tears And Blood - Fela Kuti & Africa 70
10. Simigwa - Gyedu-Blay Ambolley
Again, you can listen to as many of these as you have time and energy for - no pressure to get to know all ten well. This discussion also doesn't have to take place in order, because different people will be listening to them at different times.
Drop your musings, analysis, etc. here as the inspiration hits you. And where possible, interact with what other people have been saying for a more interesting discussion.
Last but not least, here are the past threads if you want to go back and listen to / talk about stuff you missed.
Often the sole album I break my no compilations rule for, this is ESSENTIAL. Not for my chart, but rather life. This is the Spotify stream, which doesn't include the final 5 tracks on the album, but I recommend seeking them out. It's just amazing track after amazing track and it's beautiful. Thank you for not becoming a Russian cinematographer Onyeabor.
Disco, highlife, 90-ish min. Nigeria. Can be digested in small doses if need be.
Raw. Really raw. Not cooked. Raw. Recorded on a porch. In an afternoon. The bass guitar is a regular guitar missing two strings. The album is in Kinyarwanda, but that let that scare you. Just enjoy the vibes.
This is so good guys. It's so good. Ali Farka Toure. Toumani Diabete. Together. Rocking. Flawless. Recording in a hotel. Without rehearsals. It's that real groove. It's got the groove guys. Perfect for summer.
LEGEND right here. Still kicking it. Released a stellar album this year. Conflict (Nkru!) is stupidly enjoyable. Just give it a spin. Doesn't hurt. Quite soft. Uhuru Yenzu is also a contributed artist.
The easiest album on this list to digest, it's a short one. Clocking in at 25 minutes, think of it as a new Kanye release. No fat. Only meat. Sorta album you wanna have on your record shelf.
It's Fela Kuti. It's Fela Kuti guys. And, it's quite quickly become my favourite release by him. The government killed his mother. And he came back with this.
It's short guys. Easy-peasy. Give it a spin. Really let it get under your skin. Maybe imagine it being played live.
#10???? Already. Oof. Anyway, super solid debut album from Gyedu-Blay Ambolley. I play it probably once every two months or so. It's short, it's solid, it's a blast. Gyedu-Blay Ambolley's still kicking it too. Possibly one of the best gateways into the genre.
Highlife, funk. 30 min. Ghana.
And more to come later! Hope you guys like digging.
I'll go through each one with more detail eventually. We got 6 countries on the board, 10 different artists, all with a somewhat different style. Hope you guys appreciate the nuances.
If you dive into my 11-20 selection, you won't be disappointed either. Uganda, Mozambique, Cameroon, Burundi, and The Gambia all enter the mix all the way on page two. More jazz, more drumming, stellar highlife, especially my #20.
I've been bad with keeping up with these threads but I'll try to dig in, I think the timing wasn't so good for the last ones for me and I want to go back to them later, but this seems like the right time for some of these right now.
So, I've already heard 6, but I need to listen to the other 4.
Quick thoughts on the ones I've heard.
William Onyeabor- After this album came out, I put "Atomic Bomb as my alarm song for about 6 months.
Drums of Death- Last year at college, on a day when a bunch of clubs and local businesses were trying to recruit in our courtyard, an African guy from a Presbyterian church was playing a Talking drum. There was another big drum there as well that was vacant. Out of sheer curiosity, and because I always wanted to play with one, I inquired if I could give it a try. He gave me the talking drum and went over to the bigger drum, and told me to play something. I was bit nervous as I had only ever seen them used, but I had never actually used one. Anyways, I am a drummer, so I was able to kind of get a feel for it, and I think we messed around for about 10 minutes. It was really fun. Basically, this album is the shit.
Gydeu-Blay Ambolley & Marijata - Both of these albums could have been played on American radio in the 1970s radio and been successful. Especially Marijata. They rock.
Fela Kuti- ... He's the best and this is one of his best.
Ebo Taylor- Is an instant shot of happiness anytime I listen to him. I like that Ebo Taylor and The Pelikans album as well. This one is probably better though.
I've been bad with keeping up with these threads but I'll try to dig in, I think the timing wasn't so good for the last ones for me and I want to go back to them later, but this seems like the right time for some of these right now.
Awesome Hope you enjoy them Tilly. Also, def check out Jimmy's folk chart in full. Great stuff.
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So, I've already heard 6, but I need to listen to the other 4.
Dig the drumming story, always cool to hear. I come from a family of drummers... always got a chance to play a couple cool new percussion instruments when I was younger. I did studio drums twice (successfully), but I'm unquestionably untalented when it comes to them
Ebo Taylor and The Pelikans is another great pick, but yeah, def prefer Conflict. I think his self-titled is usually considered his best, but I even prefer it to that. And, like I said, his latest is without a doubt worth a listen. Really bombastic. Think the only album I've heard by him that I'd say people skip is Twer Nyame, and even that's alright. He's pretty consistent.
In The Heart Of The Moon would probably be my go-to rec out of the remaining four (this chart is ranked vaguely... but with purpose). If I was to give anybody in the world 50 albums that they 'need to listen to', it'd be on it for sure.
Kigali Y' Izahabu is best played at night, on a beach, or perhaps just out and about with headphones. It's def not a car/indoor sort of album. Something to immerse yourself in, really envision yourself there.
Specialist In All Styles is a really well crafted album, well mixed, well recorded, thought-out, etc... they have a few other albums, but this one really stands out as their best. It isn't experiment, but it's got a little bit of spice, and is practically flawless. Think they peaked around that time.
And Batsumi's dope. Give it a spin just as you would any other jazz album. A reminder what the genre can be with a few different flavours. It usually edges around my 95-100 mark on my overall chart. Like keeping it on there.
...from one of your charts & am absolutely loving it. Beautiful stuff.
That'd probably be my 50's chart been working on that recently... spent Feb-March this year really digging into 50's obscurities. Hoping to continue with that soon. I just uncovered a whole slew of early Caribbean recordings and 7"'s from the late 30's to mid-50's and I'm really looking forward to giving them a spin sometime soon.
Glad you dig it, I find most Haitian albums/recordings from the 50's are quite good, but that's a stand-out. Frantz Casseus was a fantastic guitarist, if you ever get the chance to listen his solo album released the same year, it's really enjoyable. These are also worth a solid listen (albeit, completely different styles):
(You probably know who Maya Deren is, but just wanna clarify she recorded this, not performed it. She and Teiji Ito were really inspired by the music scene there.)
One or two keys are out of tune, but it's phenomenally atmospheric.
And I should probably add this comp to the database... it's half Emy de Pradines (who was quite prominent in 50's Haiti), half Michele Dejean Group (who I literally know nothing else about, or even if they're Haitian). If you can find any complete albums by Pradines, give them a spin.
& Ensemble Aux Calebasses de Nemours Jean-Baptiste – Meringue!
Ensemble Aux Calebasses have a solo 10" from 1955 that I've been trying to find for a while, unsuccessful... but this is also def worth a spin, and super easy to find.
Honestly, bless Folkways Records. They have plenty of historical/culturally significant music, most of which are also great albums, particularly within their Latin American selection. I think all of those (maybe not Maya's??) are on that label.
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Hope you guys like digging.
been working on that recently... spent Feb-March this year really digging into 50's obscurities. Hoping to continue with that soon. I just uncovered a whole slew of early Caribbean recordings and 7"'s from the late 30's to mid-50's and I'm really looking forward to giving them a spin sometime soon.
