THE BEAUTY OF MUSIC FROM DIFFERENT CULTURES

Mulatu Astatke: Ebo Lala
From New York, Addis, London: The Story Of Ethio Jazz 1965 To 1975 (Strut, 2009)

From Afro-Latin to jazzier rhythms, Mulatu Astatke has been there, done that. A celebrated figure to his native Ethiopia and to record diggers the world over, he has been a crucial figure to world music and jazz alike.

The importance of this collection cannot be overstated. Much of this music hasn't been heard by the masses simply because it never had great distribution. Fortunately Strut has compiled this set for the rest of us to catch up.

My first introduction to Ethiopian music came only within the last 5 years. I was in a wedding for a friend from college who was marrying a girl whose family was originally from Ethiopia. He had told me that her family was having the DJ play some of their native music throughout different parts of the reception. I was intrigued because I had never heard any of this music and my curiosity was piqued. Now, of course, the DJ in me thought, “This could flat out kill the dancefloor.” Having DJ'd a few receptions in my lifetime, I've seen when the family wanted something out of the norm and the dancefloor either never quite recovered or never even started. This night proved to be much different; so color me all shades of wrong.

The global grooves actually ended up not only complementing, but enhancing the night's festivities. There were ceremonial danceoffs between various family members and close friends, not in a battle sense but in an expressive, joyful one. Before you knew it, everyone else was joining in, too. What I noticed even more was how it all fit together. The music transcended. There was a pride to not only the musicians playing the music but in the family listening to it. There was a cultural significance to it all – something that 9 times out of 10 we miss out on here in America in our Bentleys and boomboxes society. We're listening loud but hearing nothing.

DY-NO-MITE!!!

If you didn't know any better, you'd think you were back at the cinema 35 years ago watching a Shaft spinoff. But you're not. It's 2009, and the blaxploitation craze is back after a long hiatus - ready to kick you in the teeth and then sleep with your lady.

The movie is being released slowly to various markets, but you can vote for it to come to a town near you here. What you don't have to wait on, though, is the funky music that accompanies the movie. There are 2 releases associated: the score and the soundtrack. (Take a listen to each in full over in the music section of the official movie site.)

The soundtrack pulls together various library music from the likes of Alan Tew, Brian Bennett, and Nino Nardini to name a few. Some of these tracks have been used in other crime drams previously, hence the “library” moniker. If you've heard other blaxploitation soundtracks before, then you know the sound well: fuzz guitar, funked-out bass, and plenty of bass clef piano thuds hinting at trouble waiting just around the corner.

The score was masterminded by multi-instrumentalist Adrian Younge. The record has such a vintage feel that it's hard to believe that this truly isn't some piece of unearthed long-lost goodness from the vaults. Much of the grittiness can be attributed to its recording process. Younge composed and played the album in his apartment on analog equipment.

No true blaxploitation score would be complete without a theme song. Sir Charles Hughes does the honor in coronating our hero. A brief introduction of Black Dynamite tells us how the grass withers wherever he walks and King Kong steps aside as he passes. Yes, he's a badass so step out of his way. That doesn't quite prepare us for “Chicago Wind,” with a haunting vocal that I'll be surprised if it isn't sampled by a Chicago native like Kanye West or Common in the next couple of years. It's already got the boom bap drums laid at its foundation and a slinky synth laid over top. The lyrics aren't as potent as the melody itself, but it's such a strong track, namely for the aforementioned vocals that breeze through like the gusty Chicago wind it speaks of through a cracked window, howling into your soul.

Early reviews of the movie indicate that it rides the line between homage and parody of the genre. The score is more the former as it's a reproduction of the sound. No new ground has been tread, but it's none the worse for wear. It reminds us of a time when composers other than John Williams told the story of characters not in visual action but in tone and soundscapes. It's nice to be reintroduced to that ideal.

BRING OUT YOUR INNER DJ

Today Activision released the next wave of in-your-home jam session video games in DJ Hero. While I haven't gotten my dusty fingers on one to try out pre-release at my local Best Buy, it looks quite fun.

The game features quite a lineup of scratching and DJ legends such as DJ Shadow, Cut Chemist, Grandmaster Flash, DJ Jazzy Jeff, and the late DJ AM. Songs such as Gang Starr's "Just To Get A Rep," Gwen Stefani's "Hollaback Girl," and M.I.A.'s "Paper Planes" are sprinkled throughout.

It will be available for XBox 360, PS2, PS3, and the Wii.

CALLING ALL DESIGNERS

Dusty Groove has a t-shirt design contest running through the end of October. If you have a knack for design and want or just want to tap into your inner Tim Gunn, you can win some pretty nice prizes.

Technical details, guidelines, rules, and logos can be found on the Dusty Groove Contest page.

Prizes:

Grand Prize: A $250 Dusty Groove gift certificate, and 5 T-Shirts with your winning design!
2nd Prize: A $100 Dusty Groove gift certificate, and a T-Shirt with the winning design.
3rd Prize: A $50 Dusty Groove gift certificate, and a T-Shirt with the winning design.
Runners up: Five runners up get a $25 Dusty Groove gift certificate, and a T-Shirt with the winning design.

MORE HELIOCENTRICS

Heliocentrics: Live In Paris

Over on the Now Again website, there is a 10-minute clip of the Heliocentrics throwing down in live style over in Europe from last year. The Heliocentrics took over due to Madlib having to pull out at the last minute.

Maybe we'll get lucky enough to get a full version of that show from the Stones Throw crew at a future date.

THE MANY INCARNATIONS OF THE RECKONER

The OG OG version, one of the most rocking songs Radiohead has in its canon, just has this incredible guitar riff. It also had the lyric in the title “...feeling pulled apart by horses.”



The version that came to be the official version released on In Rainbows was more subdued and featured a falsetto lilt with a more R&B backdrop.



The newly reworked version of “Feeling Pulled Apart By Horses” by Thom Yorke with the assist by bandmate Johnny Greenwood. The overall feel is more brooding than either of the other versions.



Which version do you like better?

SOULFUL GROOVIN'

N'Dambi: Daisy Chain
From Pink Elephant (Stax, 2009)

Believe it or not, this album marks the 10th year that N'Dambi has been putting out solo material. Prior to that, she was a backup singer for Erykah Badu. It is fitting that a singer whose roots are deeply entrenched in earthy sounds put out material on the revamped Stax label, which needs no introduction with its historic soul music breeding grounds.

Sound-wise it's an extension of her earliest work but advances the coffeehouse jazzy/neo soul vibes with songs that still brew with groovy undertones but with a modern twist. While it's not as rootsy as her earlier work, it still brims with funky jams aided by the production by soul music veteran Leon Sylvers III.

Reminiscent of the recent work by Leela James, N'Dambi finds a way to expand her sound with more uptempo numbers such as the cowbell-aided, tom-tom jam “The World Is A Beat,” which stops short of seethe, but nonetheless is irritated of music that is based only on head nodding backbeats. In an ironic twist, the beat of the song is what really elevates it – but you get what she's saying.

The album is at its grooving best on “Daisy Chain,” with its catchy hook and catchier melody, itself a nod to former Stax residents The Staple Singers. Playing the role of the woman being led astray by a can't-make-up-his-mind suitor who has more than her in his little black book. Perhaps that's where she gets that attitude on the follow-up “Can't Hardly Wait” where she questions why she can't quite quit him.

While it breaks no new ground in the genre, it certainly is a worthy addition to the expressive nature and sound that is soul music.

IT'S FANTASTIC

Jaylib: The Red
From Dillanthology 3 (Strut, 2009)

Many critics and hip hop fans agree that J. Dilla was a creative beat (and musical) genius. Whether it was for other artists such as The Pharcyde, Busta Rhymes, Janet Jackson, Slum Village, or A Tribe Called Quest (all of which are highlighted in the first 2 volumes of this trilogy) or for himself in his solo career (highlighted in this third and final installment), his productions embodied what hip hop and soulful music was and could be.

It’s a testament to the peer respect within the industry that Dilla had that BBE commissioned him to be their first artist in a Beat Generation hip hop series. That release, Welcome 2 Detroit, finds its way into nearly 1/5 of Dillanthology 3’s cuts. The minimalistic, bass-heavy funk of “Pause” features duo Frank N Dank trading rhymes back and forth. Unfortunately Dilla’s re-edit of the Donald Byrd classic, Think Twice didn’t make the album.

However, “The Red,” an absolute smash mouth banger from the Jaylib album, his collaboration with Madlib, still has concussed people in line at the local MedCheck. With its insane vocal chopped samples that become almost an instrument of their own and the synthy bass that pounds throughout, Madlib spars with his alterego Quasimoto before the beat slows down. Conversely, at this point Dilla wasn’t slowing down his production out; he was hitting an even higher creative peak including the concept “Donuts” album, whose opener also opens this new collection.

Sadly, he would not see the release of several albums of material before succumbing to lupus, including the aforementioned “Donuts.” This collection, along with the other 2 Dillanthology releases, reminds of the genius that was and of a legend who won’t soon be forgotten.

RIP Mr. Magic

A bit late on this, but Mr. Magic, a hip hop pioneer who helped bring rap music to mainstream radio died on October 2nd. This NY Times article sums up his contributions nicely.

YOU HAVE BEEN INFORMED

Jimi Tenor And Tony Allen: Sinuhe
From Inspiration Information Vol. 4 (Strut, 2009)

On October 27, Strut Records is releasing the fourth volume in its Inspiration Information series this time pairing up Afrobeat drummer Tony Allen, who backed Fela Kuti's band in the '70s, with Finnish music mastermind Jimi Tenor, who among other projects also has some Afro-music based history with his band Kabu Kabu. The pair have quite big shoes to fill. NPR's Bob Boilen declared in May that its predecessor featuring Mulatu Astatke and The Heliocentrics' Volume 3 the best jazz album he had heard thus far in 2009.

On this set where one of the participants also hails from Africa, the shift is not on Ethio-jazz, but on more traditional Afrobeat. On “Sinuhe,” you have a funky bass riff in a mostly instrumental effort with an almost call-and-response feature with the backing “Oh yeah!” chants. The horns that sprinkle over the top elevate the dynamic even more.

The opener “Against The Wall” features MC Allonymous in a spoken word, almost proto rap, while adding in a sing-songy flow for a hook where he croons he wants to “do it dancehall style.” Midway through the album, the MC appears again on “Path To Wisdom” and nods to the Oval Office chief talking about a “change we can believe in” welcoming us “to the dawn.” Meanwhile the saxophonist goes for broke on an exhilarating solo at the end of the song.

Volume 4 is a more than worthy follow-up to the Astatke/Heliocentrics effort. Tony Allen shows why he was such a force with the Africa 70 band with the various rhythms he employs. Tenor complements him well with his homemade instruments and melodies. Each show why they are masters of their craft on this solid album.

LIVE YOUR LIFE ON YOUR TERMS

John Mayer: Who Says
From Who Says (Digital Single) (Sony/Columbia, 2009)

It's not often anymore that you get a sub-three minute radio single, especially a lead single from a major artist on a major label. So if you're going to make such a song, make the most of the time you get. Mayer does that exceptionally well in this introspective stripped down effort. It's reminiscent of “Stop This Train” from Continuum from a songwriting sense, both very James Taylor-ish in their hushed tone.

The lyrics sound as if he's writing/singing this song to himself, especially in this clever line:

I don't remember you looking any better
But then again I don't remember you

Given his public romances over the past few years, it's a fitting lyric for him to look in the mirror and note not remembering seeing just himself. Aside from the supposed controversy of a repeated line throughout, “Who says I cant get stoned?” (which Mayer himself has even said isn't about marijuana but about the freedom of living your life), it's a real winner of a song and shows a tenderness that he has hit upon more than once in his career. I found myself listening to “Who Says” for about an hour straight this past week, something I've never done with any song before.

MORE DARK SOUNDS FROM BEYOND

The Heliocentrics: The Gorn
From Fallen Angels (Now Again, 2009)

Quickly becoming one of my favorite new acts, Stones Throw/Now Again have compiled a b-sides album that highlights tracks that, for the most part, have been vinyl (or digital) only. “Fallen Angels” treks through more psychedelic sounds while bringing along some hip hoppers for the ride. The Metal Face one, Doom, raps alongside the waterfall flows of Percee P on a remix of “Distant Star” while one half of Cannibal Ox, Vast Aire, has an off-kilter freestyle flow on “Sirius B (Remix).”

“The Gorn” features a more straightforward funk rhythm, without a doubt the most accessible piece of music on the album. With its Jake Ferguson lead on bass, the lead guitar stairsteps its way to heaven toward the end while flutes fly around like butterflies in a mating ritual reeling the listener into an entranced euphoria.

After their Stones Throw debut in 2007 to their collaboration with Multau Astatke earlier this year on the Inspiration Information series, the Heliocentrics have shown that they're a band to be reckoned with while pushing the musical envelope.

TRIBAL TREASURES

Shafiq Husayn (featuring Fatima): Lil Girl
From En A-Free-Ka (Plug Research, 2009)

Most known for his work with Sa-Ra Creative Partners, Shafiq branches out on his own on this almost mixtape-like release. With its blending of one song into another and its deep voiceovers, reminiscent of Pete Rock, it's a great tribute to African rhythms. The album is the craft of over 30 different musicians with Husayn the mastermind behind its execution.

Jittery drum programming abounds on “Lil Girl” with Fatima taking on microphone duties while chopped vocal samples are peppered throughout. Underneath all that is a chunky bass that provides a platform for which the rest of the track lays. Later in the album “Love Still Hurts” is pops up with its lighter, jauntier fare that still maintains its African rhythmic semblance.

“En A-Free-Ka” has been getting props from such respected musicians and artists ranging from Madlib and Erykah Badu to Pharoahe Monch and J. Rocc. It's an excellent showcase for a modern take on age-old African rhythms. Save the expense of traveling across the Atlantic to Africa to hear exotic rhythms and spend the $12 at your local record shop instead. You won't be disappointed.

(You can also check out this mixtape - for free, mind you - over at Soul-Sides.com to get a taste of other works that Husayn has produced or performed throughout his nearly 20-year career in the music industry.)

BLACK (JOE LEWIS) 'N' BLUES

Black Joe Lewis & The Honeybears: Bitch, I Love You
From Tell Em What Your Name Is (Lost Highway, 2009)

The anti-love song of the year. The song you won't be seeing quoted on a Valentine's Day card any time in the future. Call it what you will, but they called it, “Bitch, I Love You.” The track is actually a remake from Lewis' independent self-titled offering from 2007 and isn't on their debut album, “Tell 'Em What Your Name Is” from Lost Highway. You can get it on the pre-album self-titled EP release from numerous digital distributors as well as on wax.

With a vocal delivery reminiscent of Mick Jagger, Lewis delivers a seething performance threatening his significant other with profanity and bodily harm with its Blowfly-like raunchiness of cursing rants not often found in traditional recorded blues music. If it wasn't for its tongue-in-cheek nature and the fantastic backing track by The Honeybears, you would almost feel compelled to call your local law enforcement office.