Kinshasa, Zaire 1973

WORLD CUP SOUTH AFRICA 2010 WORLD CUP SOUTH AFRICA

"The Leopards" are the national team of the Democratic Republic of Congo. In 1974 when Congo DR was known as Zaire between (1971-1997) they were the first black African team to qualify for the World Cup. This song, sung in Lingala by the legendary Trio Madjesi and played in the scintillating Congolese Rhumba style, is in honor of that team.

This song heats up at 2:50, where the band moves into the "sebene". The sebene, from the english word seven, is an instrumental bridge on which one or two musicians develop arpeggios in circular progressions while another improvises around them. The sebene has forever been common to music for Congolese harps, lutes, thumb pianos and xylophones. Congolese rhumba pioneers adapted traditional structures to two or three guitars and borrowed some ideas from the interplay of the Spanish guitar and the trés in Cuban sones and guajiras.

Guitarists such as Franco, Papa Noel, Nico Kassanda and Nico's brother Dechaud—picked up electric guitars and a few tricks from rock 'n' roll, Western swing and Hawaiian music, and heated up and stretched out their sebenes. The typical rumba congo of the '60s and '70s tended to start at a moderate tempo, shift up for the chorus and then hit cruising speed for the sebene.

The contrasting rhythms gave rise to dances like boucher, mossaka, kiri-kiri (which actually slowed down for the sebene) and, in 1968, soukous, which was defined by a particularly emphatic midsong rhythmic change, when the dancers started shaking and the guitarists rocked out. Though three-minute singles still dominated the Congolese record market in the late '60s, bands playing live could extend the sebene indefinitely. In the '70s bands like Franco's T.P.O.K. Jazz and new-school Zaiko Langa Langa brought as many as five guitar parts (basse, accompagnement, mi-composé, mi-solo and solo) into sebenes that sometimes went on for 15 or 20 increasingly exciting minutes, creating what was called beau désordre—"beautiful chaos."

Braun, Ken. Soukous. National Geographic. http://worldmusic.nationalgeographic.com/view/page.basic/genre/content.genre/soukous_790/en_US


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Brasil vs. Zaire in the 1974 World Cup, West Germany.

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The Mission, San Francisco

Check out pictures of Mission murals and street art by my big sister Ali...

http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/sredir?uname=alilovesart&target=ALBUM&id=5485121494116013937&authkey=Gv1sRgCOmsvZyay5iNLw&feat=email

Northeast, Brazil

Funky, freaky Forro and psychedelic roots music from the northeast of Brazil. The Northeast is the oldest and most mixed up, mashed up part of Brazil and the music reflects this. Central/West African and Tupi-Guarani (the main indigenous group from the area) rhythms and melodies meets Portuguese flute traditions blended with British and American Rock and Funk sensibilities. Usually the sanfona (an accordion like squeeze box) is fairly prominent in this kind of northeastern music but I chose to downplay its importance in this particular mix in the hopes of winning over accordion-phobic listeners.

http://www.mediafire.com/file/rlmtzermyhb/funkyforro.mp3

San Francisco, CA 2010

This is a Dance/House mix buy DJ Chendo that includes some original work by his group Guerrila Soul. Some fine cuts from an ill SF DJ. Check his site for more free mixes: http://chendotunes.com/ and if you like this stuff check out his new ensemble, Sonic Valium on Facebook. Sonic Valium blends live instrumentation, ethereal vocals and raw beats for your otherworldly satisfaction. Described as subsonic chill, ambient and shavasana beat, Sonic Valium will get you through the turbulence of everyday flight.

http://www.mediafire.com/file/2r5yzwucozi/pinkmix.mp3

SaravaZamba hosting the Brazil vs. Ivory Coast World Cup match @ Beckett's Irish Pub

Morro da Mangueira, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil 1978.

Paulo Moura - short film 35 mm - by Paulo Martins from Paulo Martins on Vimeo.

A short documentary about Paulo Moura. Paulo, the multi-instrumentalist and composer, who happens to be the focus of the piece, is, in my opinion, not quite as interesting as the anonymous pandeiro player who opens this piece. Got to see this guys moves to believe it. Shot in 35 mm in one of the most historic favelas in Rio, this film takes viewers back to Brazil's golden age (musically, certainly not politically).

Words, Power and Sound: Kingston, Jamaica 60's and 70's

Here is a mix of Rocksteady, Roots Reggae and a little Dub for the hot summer nights to come....

"This Life Makes Me Wonder"- Delroy Wilson
"Purple Lights"- The Heptones
"Willow Tree"- Alton Ellis
"Please Stop Your Lying"- Errol Dunkley
"Give a Hand"- Gregory Isaacs
"Peaceful"- Jackie Edwards
"Angelina"-?????
"Born to Dub"- Soul Vendors
"Everyday is a Holiday"- The Sensations
"Declaration of Rights"- The Abyssinians
"Mr. Bassie" - Horace Andy
"Horning Version"- King Tubby
"Midnight over Ethiopia" - Rico




Here is a clip of the opening scene from the 1978 film "Words, Power and Sound." A must-see flick on the Soul Syndicate Band and Earl Chinna Smith. Incidentally, it is not all that common to see footage of classic jamaican Bands playing live from this era. The scene was and still is dominated by the dancehall, a place where one turntable and a microphone got the job done.




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Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; Luanda, Angola; East Oakland, CA, Los Angeles, CA and Memphis, Tennesse 2010

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Passinho de Funk from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

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Kuduro from Luanda, Angola

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Turf Dance from East Oakland, California

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Jerkin' from LA, California

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Buckin' and Jukin'(Jookin) from Memphis, Tennessee

East Oakland, California 2006

I made this instrumental mixscape from vinyl when I first started working at Rudsdale High in East Oakland. I wanted to give the aspiring young rappers at the school a continuous mix of music to freestyle to. Mostly Bay Area beats and some space oddities thrown in for good measure. This one is for all my Rudsdale students and my cousins, Nick and Chris.

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Angola and Brazil 1999

Mulemba Xangola by Bonga, Marisa Monte and Carlinhos Brown from Onda Sonora: Red, Hot and Lisbon

Two of the Tribalistas and the great Bonga from Angola come together on this track. Part Semba da Angola part Samba da Bahia, this song bridges the Black Atlantic renewing old lines of civilization and communication.

Angola, from around 17th to 19th century, was almost a commercial dependency of Brazil putting Lisbon in an awkward colonial predicament. In 1822 when a constitutional monarchy was established in Portugal an Brazil declared its' independence from Portugal, many Angolans agitated to be annexed by Brazil.

Since the devastating civil war in Angola, these two countries have renewed their old cultural and economic relationship. Angola is now the country that receives the most financing from Brazil and the number of Brazilian companies in Angola has increased by 70 percent over the last five years (statistics from 2007).


"Salvador da tradição
Mulemba xangola
Unidas nações
Sauda-veis agora"

"Salvador of tradition
Angolan Mulemba (Mulemba or Ficus Thonningii: a tree indigenous to Africa)
Nations United
Now Healthy"

***This one is for my boy Jeff Seltz, a brother from another mothership, who just spent some time in Angola. I remember you freaked out when you first heard this song at a bar in Fortaleza years ago. Well hear it is!

http://www.mediafire.com/file/umtfwj1dodf/03 Mulemba Xangóla 1.mp3

Sao Tome and Principe: Africa Negra-Aninha

Sao Tome e Principe 1981

Aninha by Conjunto Africa Negra (better known as Africa Negra)

Sao Tome and Principle is an island nation in the Gulf of Guinea, off the western equatorial coast of Africa. The islands were historically important because they served as way stations for slave traders traveling between the Kongo and the Gold Coast. As such, Sao Tome and Principe is a culturally diverse place and is home to various African ethnicities and Afro-Portuguese descendents.

The song "12 de Julho" or in English, the 12th of July, refers to the date when Sao Tome and Principe became an independent nation, severing it's colonial ties with Portugal. Following the end of the colonial era, the Marxist MLSTP party took control of the government, nationalized plantations and aligned itself with the communist bloc. The early music of Africa Negra is full of the optimism of its' new found independence and socialist experiment. Songs like "12 de Julho" and "Camarada Neto", an ode to Agostinho Neto, the first President of Socialist Angola, reflect these heady days of African socialism and its' vibrant militancy.

The music from Sao Tome and Principle is like no other. It has influences from West and Central Africa and is sung in Portuguese and Portuguese-based creoles Forro, Angolar and Principense. Enjoy these rare tracks!!! If you like this music you can order Africa Negra CD's and more from Kizomba. Pricey but worth it.

kizomba


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Los Angeles 1959

Percussion Exotique (released earlier as "Voodoo"): Robert Drasnin.

A classy find from my mom's old record collection and a great example of "Exotica" or "Space Age Bachelor" music of the mid 50's and early 60's.

This genre was a self-conscious commercial effort born of Hollywood, Jazz and a rapidly expanding tourism industry in Hawaii after its' annexation in 1959. It was a music that gave Jazz and conservatory musicians who knew very little about world music traditions an excuse to experiment with new sounds and rhythms. There is definitely some "orientalism" going on but it's not as shameful as listening to Deep Forest....


http://www.mediafire.com/?nx1wydi4jhbo6