africa

One of the best african music albums we missed last year was Famoro Dioubate’s Dununya. Like Toumani Diabate, he’s also part of the Griot people, the storytellers of the Mande Empire, unlike him he’s from Guinea and plays the balafon, the ancient xylophone.

Today we’ll be joining the Malian kora master Toumani Diabate for a concert in Istanbul. A bit late to inform but still if you see this one and you want to hear some sacred African music, you have to make it to CRR @ 20:00. Also featured is Malian diva Oumou Sangaré who’ll be releasing her new album Seya on Nonesuch soon.

Starting the week today is a 6 piece African music selection that I’ve been distilling in the last few days, 2 songs off Strut’s Nigeria 70’s compilation and songs from Tony Allen’s upcoming album, Mamou Sidibe, Starband No.1 de Dakar, Occidental Brothers etc.

The last two centuries in the world has seen a rise of nationalism and conflicts, an imposed war between different cultures, different religions, the east and the west, modernity and tradition. The memories of different cultures and ethnicities living together in relative peace has faded out and it seems like a surreal fantasy. Thankfully it hasn’t been totally destroyed and there are some Honest Jon’s around to prove it.

Thanks to our friends at Strut Records, we have the first single from the album Inspiration Information 3 for download 2 weeks before the release date alongside another tune from their upcoming 2CD reissue of the Nigeria 70 compilation Nigeria 70: The Definitive Story of 1970’s Funky Lagos which is to be released next week.

Finally we dug deep in our mailbox to reveal the cream of the crop we got sent in the last months, prepare for the nujazz, electronica, indie and world music attack in 2009.
+ Casiotone for the Painfully Alone, + Xylos, + The Whitest Boy Alive
+ The Jazzinvaders, + Laura Vane & The Vipertones
+ The Bran Flakes, + Mascot Fight

Stroll through Africa starting from the northwest with Mali’s Tartit and Mauritania’s Dimi Mint Abba and ending in South Africa with percussion ensemble Amampondo.

Taking Konono No. 1’s emergent punk aesthetic and making the likembe power more easily digestable for the urban youth is actually something we’d rather be opposing but CongopunQ has done it right.