welcome to camp lo-fi...

BSOTS 096 - 2009 overview (pt. II)

Sat, 30 Jan 2010 21:05:36 -0500

various circumstances in life have gotten me rather distracted. that and i'm lamenting that i couldn't be out in l.a. during GRAMMY time. oh well. gotta do what i can do on that end from home, but we'll save that for the next episode. first things first: gotta finish up the '09 overview.

things get started on a bouncy note with yoko absorbing. love the twists and turns on this song: sometimes rocking out, other times organic house music. beatmonstas come through with one of my favorite songs on their album. big shout to dig dug for the production (you had me at the frank zappa sample). chubb rock & wordsmith sound great together on "old 2 the new" while opio brings us a west coast sun-drenched banger complete with sun ra flick samples. then it's over to ohio with the jive turkeys, sounding like a outtake from a meters album. SERIOUS FUNK RIGHT HERE. the lovely adriana kaegi blesses us with her presence and the bamboos "turn it up" a notch with the always welcome vocals of lyrics born. moonstarr brings the "tiger funk," reminding all of us that "life is all 'bout what you make it."

been meaning to represent for theBREAX for quite some time now. unashamedly Christian AND undeniably bangin'. that doesn't happen often enough in hip-hop, but they will make you a believer. after that my man just plain ant supplies an instrumental from his wonderful dig deep album, one of the best creative commons releases last year. we bounce from richmond, va to new jersey for pre's cut "yesterday," making some wonderful use of incidental music from the film buffalo '66 over some raw beats. super producer oddisee is responsible for the beautiful song "the second date." love the use of the rhythm box on this one. bling47/PPP member waajeed remixes dj center's "tout passe" and full crate floats in on the wonderful "she was fly". and as for hashim b., i don't know much of anything about that cat, but with a cut like "tokyo to l.a. steez," he deserves to hold the closing cut. seriously, how do you follow that? time to call it a night after beats that sick...

file access {left-click to stream, right-click to download} ||| stream via swift.fm

subscribe via rss ||| subscribe via itunes

you can contact me via twitter, myspace, or email. NEW VOICE MAIL LINE!!! hit us up at 206-339-0625. and if you love the show, please join the facebook fan page.

theme music produced by macedonia and techniken defunkus. id drops courtesy of tgrundy and jonny sonic. background music includes "germinal ring" by cyclops joint and the instrumental version of "hot on both sides" by techniken defunkus.

other key info:
the music podcast consortium's facebook fan page
in memoriam: willie mitchell
in memoriam: teddy pendergrass, r.i.p.
more information on cupid's hunt

this episode's tracklist:
1. yoko absorbing - "vinyl blues pt. 1" {FREE DOWNLOAD}
2. beatmonstas - "from sea to shining sea" {iTunes | Amazon}
3. chubb rock & wordsmith - "old 2 the new" {iTunes}
4. opio - "due damage" {FREE DOWNLOAD}
5. the jive turkeys - "b.a." {FREE DOWNLOAD | Fat Beats}
6. adriana kaegi - "roulette" {Amazon | iTunes}
7. the bamboos - "turn it up (feat. lyrics born)" {iTunes}
8. moonstarr - "tiger funk (feat. LAL and guests)" {FREE DOWNLOAD | Napster}
9. theBREAX - "blessed beyond" {iTunes}
10. just plain ant - "if you're not true to me" {FREE DOWNLOAD}
11. pre - "yesterday" {FREE DOWNLOAD}
12. oddisee - "the second date" {FREE DOWNLOAD}
13. dj center - "tout passe (waajeed remix)" {iTunes}
14. full crate - "she was fly (feat. mar)" {FREE DOWNLOAD}
15. hashim b. - "tokyo to l.a. steez" {iTunes | Amazon MP3}

Technorati tags: Blog, Podcasts, Podcasting, Music, Hip-Hop, Electronic, Soul, funk, Radio, mp3

A Voyage Through The World Of Music...

Tue, 26 Jan 2010 17:42:39 -0500

In this new year and new decade, world music is finding a new audience. Transglobal connections are being made through social media tools such as Twitter, Facebook, and MySpace as cultural differences are shared, harmonic similarities are discovered, and new sounds emerge from the exchange. An upcoming television series seems poised to tap into this vibrant energy, presenting the sights and sounds of international locales in an intimate and entertaining fashion.

Music Voyager follows producer and ethnomusicologist Jacob Edgar on a fantastic journey around the world, crossing paths with musicians from a dazzling array of genres and ethnicities. As the series producer, Farook Singh, pointed out, “Music doesn't exist without tapestry around it and the influences behind it.” Singh is part of Tantra World Wide, a production company creating content for various media platforms. Unlike other production houses, Tantra is in the fortunate position of owning 100% of their properties. “We've never been told to go out and do something we have no interest in doing,” adds Singh with an understated sense of pride.

If you’re going to work on something, it may as well be a labor of love, and the passion of this project is more than evident. “This show took two years to develop,” Singh explained. “You get to see the country through the eyes of an artist, but it’s got that VH1 edge to it.” To listen to him talk about what he’s witnessed while filming this series is to hear someone continually falling in love with music. From India to Jamaica to the United States, another Indian pop star, another dancehall reggae phenomenon, another percussion collective is revealed. And Singh acknowledges the fact that such musical revelations occur in foreign lands as well when it comes to American music. “Wherever I go, they ask ‘What about America?’ And what they know of America is Jerry Springer, Britney Spears, but there’s so much more.”

To that end, Music Voyager has dedicated three episodes to a handful of this year’s GRAMMY^® nominees, including banjo player Béla Fleck, singer-songwriter India.Arie, accordion/fiddle player Cedric Watson, and producer Tricky Stewart. The phrase around The Recording Academy^® campfire this year is “We’re All Fans,” and they have been intent on tearing down the walls between artist and fan. Through a steady stream of content including Flickr photos, Twitter and Facebook updates, and YouTube clips, it’s clear that Music Voyager is right on board with the “We’re All Fans” campaign.

“Our mantra is to put the power of the broadcast into the hands of the fans, which is long in coming,” Singh concluded. “I'm sick of content being pushed to the market. Social media and the market were involved in the support of this show.” Indeed, the questions and comments of fans have steered the production of the series, validating Tantra’s ability to tell the artist’s story while bringing the fans into the creative process. Be sure to check your PBS listings for the premiere of Music Voyager in February 2010.

Music Voyager sizzler from Farook Singh on Vimeo.

GRAMMY World Music Nominee: Femi Kuti

Thu, 14 Jan 2010 01:44:15 -0500

Femi Kuti was born the son of Nigeria’s favorite son, Afrobeat creator Fela Kuti, a man who was dubbed “The Black President” long before Barack Obama ran for and won the United States Presidency. Fela left behind big shoes to fill, but it is clear that Femi carries this music in his flesh, bones, and spirit. As bandleader for his troupe Positive Force, he walks in the path that his father created with the Afrobeat sound while still commanding respect as his own musician and songwriter. He remains entrenched in the everyday struggle of his people, pondering the contradictions of Nigeria’s independence while so many within his own city live in poverty. The Nigerian authorities have not taken kindly to Femi’s messages in song and actions in the street. Such has resulted in the closing of the New Africa Shrine (Femi’s creative space in tribute to his father, which was captured for posterity on the Live At The Shrine DVD). Even in the midst of these setbacks, Femi’s spirit remains defiant. It is this resilience that bursts through on Day By Day, nominated for a GRAMMY^® for Best Contemporary World Music Album. This nomination marks Femi’s second within this category. It would be cool to see him take this home for Nigeria…

considering the possibilities...

Thu, 14 Jan 2010 01:36:01 -0500

earlier this month, the good people at The Recording Academy asked us community bloggers to write up a wrap-up piece about our respective genres, so here's what i came up with for mine...

Considering The Possibilities...

It’s less than a month until the 52nd Annual GRAMMY Awards and the World Music Field is wide open with possibilities. Walking away with a GRAMMY would be an honor for any of the nominees, and the more their respective albums are examined, the harder it becomes to pick a potential winner. For Best Contemporary World Music Album, each of the nominees are so impressive that you don’t want to see anyone go home empty-handed. Be it the stirring songstress Oumou Sangare or husband and wife duo Amadou & Mariam, they have both done Mali proud. Cuba has presented a gift to the world in pianist Omar Sosa, whose latest album was largely inspired by the slave trade, particularly the Middle Passage. An arguable favorite could be Béla Fleck, certainly no stranger to the GRAMMY Awards, having won several in the past. However, don’t rule out Femi Kuti, Nigeria’s favorite son next to his father, Fela. Receiving his second GRAMMY nomination (the first being for his album Fight To Win), this could be the year for Femi to take it home.

In some ways, it’s more difficult to single out a shoo-in for Best Traditional World Music Album. Between the hypnotic kora of Mamadou Diabate, the rhythmic aesthetics of Ten Drum Art Percussion Group, and the shared traditions of African and South American peoples expressed through John Santos Y El Folklórico Kindembo’s work, it’s easy for one’s allegiances to be torn. The choice becomes even tougher once you consider Irish music lovingly handled by Liz Carroll & John Doyle, or the interplay between Indian and Iraqi musical themes from Rahim Alhaj and Amjad Ali Khan. While it might sound cliché, world music wins simply by having such artists being recognized. Even at a time when global tensions are on the rise, music always rises above it all to celebrate differences while recognizing similarities. It could be said that this year’s World Music nominees represent that beautifully.

BSOTS 095 - 2009 overview (pt. one)

Thu, 7 Jan 2010 07:10:49 -0500

the sunday night before i returned to work, i found myself in my living room wearing a coat because it was so cold, typing up show notes for this episode. northeast america is in a deep freeze right now, but my wife reminded me that we both attended college at (and for a time, resided in) albany, ny. their winter season is no joke. i think we're getting older. sure, it's insanely cold outside, but we don't absorb it like we used to.

hopefully, this show will be as welcome to you as a warm sweater, blanket, and hot cup of cocoa or cider. the first of two overview shows for 2009, there's a lot of audio firepower in this one. musically, the genres are coming together and two bands here prove that: phantogram and glass ghost. an itunes customer review actually described phantogram as "what music will sound like in 2010" and i completely agree. i love the hip-hop head nod of "as far as i can see" with sarah's breathy vocals and electronic pop accessibility. it's my favorite cut from the eyelid movies album (check out the EPK above to find out more about the band). meanwhile, "the same" by glass ghost is anything but the same ol' thing. i've been referring to it as outsider funk. it sounds like the type of song a recluse would make when they're getting their personal party on and they don't care who's looking. by the end of the song, it sounds like a carnival where everyone's invited. there's nothing else like it on the show and i've been dying to share that song with you.

two of my absolute favorite netlabels stand strong on this episode: error broadcast and just plain sounds. the title cut from EB's bag of nothingness compilation starts off the show (respect due to comfort fit on the production) while oh.bliv's "send it on down" brings a neck-snapping holy hip-hop instrumental to your headphones (an unconventional hymnal addition for sure...). renzu comes to us via japan's bumpfoot netlabel with the stirring "amasawa". don't sleep on their across the threshold album - simply gorgeous. the beautiful moments don't stop there, either. pay particular attention to eric kupper's remix of john shannon's "somewhere", a cut that my podcast partners anji bee and darren keith have both played on their shows last year and i just had to represent for it as well. new villager's "rich doors" is one of those songs that'll get stuck in your head and you will be too busy smiling to ask it to pay room and board. cotton jones is another one of those ensembles that will instantly make you feel good. i loved the rio ranger e.p. from the first time i heard it and "where you stop for a minute" has that pastoral, slightly left-of- center vibe that you can't help but find intriguing. and good LORD, julien dyne's "fallin' down" is just spectacular. seriously, what are they putting in the water in new zealand and can they ship a few cases to the u.s.?

of course, a BSOTS show wouldn't be complete without some hip-hop and we've got plenty to spare. foreign beggars bring the hotness with "higher," flako + noir provide a killer cut with "w0oop", mantis gets the party going with "what," and brother ali bares his soul on "us." add in some midtempo electronic goodness from city rain and a dizzying instrumental from cy tru and you have the first 15 songs from the 2009 overview. it's shows like these that get me very excited for what awaits us musically in 2010. after hearing this one, i hope you feel the same way. HAPPY NEW YEAR...

p.s. scroll past the tracklisting and receive a bonus mix: 15 of my personal favorites from year one of wfmu's free music archive...

file access {left-click to stream, right-click to download} ||| subscribe via rss ||| subscribe via itunes

you can contact me via twitter, myspace, or email. NEW VOICE MAIL LINE!!! hit us up at 206-339-0625. and if you love the show, please join the facebook fan page.

theme music produced by cy tru. id drops courtesy of fave, india from astronauts of antiquity, ej flavors, and darren keith wyatt. background music includes "germinal ring" and "dead air (live 2) by cyclops joint and "bathing" by techniken defunkus.

other key info:
best artists round table 2009
darkside of 2009 mixtape
jason's hip-hop mix on the free music archive
lou ziegler's freeform mix on the free music archive

this episode's tracklist:

1. comfort fit - "bag of nothingness" {FREE DOWNLOAD}
2. phantogram - "as far as i can see" {bbe music}
3. cy tru - "just robbed" {FREE DOWNLOAD}
4. flako + noir - "wOoop" {FREE DOWNLOAD}
5. foreign beggars - "higher (feat. audra nishita)" {iTunes}
6. julien dyne - "fallin' down (feat. parks) {bbe music | iTunes}
7. new villager - "rich doors" {iTunes | FREE DOWNLOAD}
8. city rain - "this i will remember (pt. 1)" {FREE DOWNLOAD | Electronic Eel Records - Label Store}
9. renzu - "amasawa" {FREE DOWNLOAD}
10. john shannon - "somewhere (eric kupper reprise)" {iTunes | Amazon MP3}
11. glass ghost - "the same" {iTunes | Amazon MP3}
12. oh.bliv - "send it on down" {free download}
13. cotton jones - "where you stop for a minute" {quite scientific}
14. brother ali - "us" {iTunes | Amazon MP3}
15. mantis - "what (feat. justis)" {FREE DOWNLOAD | iTunes}

Technorati tags: Blog, Podcasts, Podcasting, Music, Hip-Hop, Electronic, Soul, funk, Radio, mp3

BSOTS 094 - clubhoppin' and trainspottin'...

Tue, 22 Dec 2009 07:37:48 -0500

it's only been about a month and change, but it feels like i've been away for much longer. this show features a wonderful set from remix pioneer john morales. it also features voiceovers from my job, with both recorded in one take. i rarely ever do this, but i poured the negative energy from the nine-to-five into the voiceovers and somehow, i was able to pull it off. please forgive my babbling on this episode, but like i said...i've been away for a while. a lot has happened.

and if you're wondering what the Christmas song was that started the show, that was "x-mas 2009 joint" by my man cy tru.

download ||| subscribe via rss ||| subscribe via itunes

go here to stream shows.

you can contact me via twitter, myspace, or email. and if you love the show, please join the facebook fan page.

theme music co-produced by macedonia and techniken defunkus. id drops courtesy of anji bee and darren keith. background music includes "everybody's got problems" by just plain ant.

other key info:
GRAMMY.com and the we're all fans microsite
community bloggers on twitter
macedonia's blip.fm page
did we mention the facebook fan page?
us and us: sunrays and sound waves (pt. II)

this episode's tracklist:
1. cuebism - "getting there" {FREE DOWNLOAD}
2. zaki ibrahim - "money (king britt remix)" {iTunes}
3. john morales - promo radio mix
4. virtu-oso - "time (reprise) (closing credits)" {FREE DOWNLOAD}

PLEASE NOTE: both "all over your face" by ronnie dyson and "barely breaking even" by universal robot band can be found on the m&m mixes. i thought class action's "weekend" was the third cut from the mix that made it onto the release, but that's not the case. at any rate, there are some serious joints on there and you can find it available at iTunes, bbe music, and a host of other digital platforms.

Technorati tags: Blog, Podcasts, Podcasting, Music, Hip-Hop, Electronic, Soul, funk, Radio, mp3

GRAMMY World Music Nominee: Mamadou Diabate

Sat, 19 Dec 2009 11:27:17 -0500

For some people, tradition is something to break away from. For the people of Mali, tradition is essential to the survival of heritage. Nowhere is this more apparent than among the family of griots. To be a griot (or jeli in West African terminology) is not something you learn, but a privilege you are born into. They are the bards of their homeland, the entertainers, the historians. They are the ones who protect and pass down the oral tradition. It is a lineage that reaches back at least seven centuries and with it comes the kora, a harp-like instrument with the sonic familiarity of a Spanish guitar. It is one thing to see someone play a six-string fretless bass with skill. It is quite another to take command of 21 strings with only the index finger and thumb of both hands.

Mamadou Diabate is a member of this grand tradition. As his playing certainly indicates, he was born to be a jeli. Holding fast to the skills passed down by his father, Douga Mansa features Diabate at the top of his craft, a masterful kora player. As wonderful as it is to listen to him perform with his ensemble, his solo recordings are outstanding. Between the speed of his runs and the fluid nature of his technique, it’s hard to believe that this is all coming from one person. The song that I keep returning to from the album is “Bi Allah La Ke.” Diabate works from a central theme and is free to go where the moment takes him, always keeping the main melody close by no matter far off those lightning fast riffs take him. For further evidence of why the GRAMMY^® nod for Best Traditional World Music Album is well deserved, take a look at the grand griot doing what he does best...

bi.allalahke from Mamadou Diabate on Vimeo.

47 days and counting...

Tue, 15 Dec 2009 02:00:40 -0500

The new and improved GRAMMY.com premiered today and it's a pretty slick-looking site. Blogs are representin' big time and it's wild to see my first piece posted up there with the other community bloggers and cats like Shepard Fairey in the mix. Incredible.

So if you haven't guessed yet, The Recording Academy^® is really working this We're All Fans angle, as evidenced by the social media share aspects of the new GRAMMY site. The 30-second TV spot in anticipation of the January 31st ceremonies has been making the rounds. Highlights from the nominations concert can more than likely be found on the GRAMMYs YouTube Channel.

And as for myself, diving deeper into the music of the world. Coming up next time: Mamadou Diabate...

GRAMMY World Music Nominee: Amadou & Mariam

Thu, 10 Dec 2009 23:01:41 -0500

It’s about that time we start getting to know each of the world music nominees for the 52nd Annual GRAMMY^® Awards. Since Mali has the greatest representation this year within the world music field, let’s kick things off with a husband and wife duo that’s up for Best Contemporary World Music Album: Amadou & Mariam.

For almost 30 years now, Amadou Bagayoko and Mariam Doumbia have been recording and performing together. Ever since fate allowed them to cross paths at the Institute for Young Blind People in Bamako (Mali’s capital city), their journey through life and music has been a magical one. Singing in French, English, and their own West African dialect, their sound is rooted in Malian blues and folk interwoven with rock and reggae motifs. The end result is engaging Afro-pop that has won them critical acclaim from all over the globe. It was their 2003 album Dimanche a Bamako that introduced them to the world outside of Mali and some consider their latest album, the GRAMMY nominated Welcome To Mali, as their finest to date.

To listen to one of their recordings or to see one of their live performances is to witness the strength of their bond as an unbreakable musical scale, Mariam’s voice and Amadou’s guitar echoing each other’s joy and sadness. In addition to being great artists, they have also been appointed as Ambassadors for Culture (Art) to the Zeitz Foundation, an organization dedicated to protecting the Earth’s ecosphere through various international and social projects. Tying into this environmental cause, Amadou and Mariam appeared in an all-star cover version of Midnight Oil’s “Beds Are Burning” as part of a global climate justice campaign. As if all that weren’t enough, they will also perform at the Nobel Peace Prize Concert in Oslo, Norway on December 11 to honor this year’s Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, President Barack Obama.

Here’s the video for “Masiteladi,” one of three singles from their Welcome To Mali album.

Masiteladi

Amadou & Mariam | MySpace Music Videos

Amadou & Mariam online: Official Website ||| MySpace page

it's a worldwide thing (and the nominees are...)

Fri, 4 Dec 2009 02:04:50 -0500

Maybe I’m wrong, but something tells me that the rest of the world doesn’t refer to what they do as “world music.” That term is a distinctly American one, part of that curiously Western phenomenon of attempting to brand what you cram to understand. Over the several decades that the phrase has been in existence, world music has been defined a number of different ways. Some observe it as traditional folk music from various parts of the globe while others have used the genre as a wide net in which to capture all non-Western musical styles. At best it’s a term which recognizes the instrumentation, vocal phrasing, and rich culture of localized musicianship worldwide (even if you're not always sure of what exactly you're listening to or what to call it). At worst it’s categorical purgatory, that place where you drop off sounds birthed from an exceptionally talented player from another part of the earth simply because you don’t have the time (or the patience) to get to know it on its own terms.

Call me crazy, but I think world music deserves better. Nestled within that middle-aged tag cloud are sonic droplets from an extremely diverse harmonic climate. There are traditional and modern takes on rhythms, melodies and dialects from countless ethnic backgrounds. For those of us who are plugged in and logged on to the Internet and various social networking sites, the idea of the “global village” is our everyday existence. And for those of us who are fans of music, seeking out sounds from another part of the world has never been easier. It would stand to reason that if music is the universal language that we claim it to be, then that which falls underneath the world music umbrella ought not be so foreign to us stateside. Considering the amount of love that American artists receive overseas and knowing that love isn’t always reciprocated in support of hometown heroes from distant lands, perhaps examining the 52nd Annual GRAMMY^® Awards Nominees for world music will help remedy that.

Within the category of Best Traditional World Music Album (Vocal or Instrumental), the diversity immediately becomes apparent. Mamadou Diabate (a highly revered kora player from Mali, West Africa) has been nominated for Douga Mansa while Liz Carroll and John Doyle bring a kick to Celtic folk music with fiercely engaging performances on Double Play. Conversations in traditional Middle Eastern and Indian instrumentation are explored by Rahim Alhaj and Amjad Ali Khan on their Ancient Sounds album. Rounding out the nominees are two recordings predominantly focused on the drum: the Afro-Cuban influenced La Guerra No from John Santos Y El Folklórico Kindembo and the Taiwanese percussion of the Ten Drum Art Percussion Group’s Drum Music Land.

As for the category of Best Contemporary World Music Album (Vocal or Instrumental), there is some serious competition. American banjo player and nine-time GRAMMY Award winner Béla Fleck is in the running with Throw Down Your Heart: Tales From The Acoustic Planet, Vol. 3 - Africa Sessions. Speaking of Africa, Nigeria’s own Femi Kuti has been nominated for his Day By Day full-length while the joyous Afro-pop stylings of Amadou and Miriam will be recognized for their album, Welcome To Mali. Cuban pianist Omar Sosa is rightfully within great company due to his mesmerizing release, Across The Divide: A Tale of Rhythm & Ancestry. Last but certainly not least, the alluring vocals of Oumou Sangare (another Malian artist) are the driving force behind her latest album, Seya.

Mali has a strong showing within the world music field across the board and one might think they have it on lock, but the overall talent here is technically amazing and downright awe-inspiring. It is my hope to shine the spotlight on each of these artists in future posts between now and January 31st, 2010 when the 52nd Annual GRAMMY Awards will take place. You can follow the GRAMMYs on Twitter and Facebook and there’s even a Twitter link for all the community bloggers as well. After sampling a little bit from each of the world music nominees this year, I am extremely excited to be a part of this project and to learn more about music that I wouldn’t know otherwise. As I've been saying recently on my podcast, the more you listen to, the more you'll find.

Music is a worldwide thing: keep diggin'...