WFMU's Beware of the Blog

Mining the Audio Motherlode, Volume 187

Give the Drummer Some's
Favorite Downloads from the MP3 Blogosphere

Got Indonesian psych? Radical French balladry? Iconic 20th-century experimentalism? Free-jazz power trios? Aussie folk warbling? Well you've come to the right place. Mining the Audio Motherlode prowls the free-music blogosphere in order to share the mindblowingest sounds around. To enjoy the fruits of this labor, take a gander at the quintet of gems on display below.

Freeform radio station WFMU, which keeps the Sterno ablaze under this sonic buffet, is holding a fundraiser and needs your help. If you've enjoyed leaving the legwork to us in order to "discover" great free music, please consider making a small contribution to WFMU using this safe, secure pledge widget. Thank you!

    
Pattie Sisters with Enteng & His Comets
(Blog: Madrotter's Treasure Hunt)

Entengled
"Often touted as the first ever Indonesian psych album, Enteng's guitar playing is just phenomenal on this one"  (Description by Henk Madrotter)

 

 

 

Mining the Audio Motherlode, Volume 186

Give the Drummer Some's
Favorite Downloads from the MP3 Blogosphere

It's a labor of love to spelunk the inky subterranean caverns of the Interwebs searching for the best free music, but your Miner does it with pleasure. The truth is, keeping all these amazing discoveries to himself would be a ton less fun. To provide this weekly survey he asks for nothing personal in return, just that you pony up from time to time a small token of appreciation to WFMU, which makes the  Motherlode possible.

Think for a moment of all the $$$ you've saved by accessing the free music highlighted here. Using the pledge box below, please make a small donation to WFMU. Consider giving the cost of just a single CD (remember those?). It would really help a lot. Thanks.

    
John Mehegan, Jonas Gwanga, Hugh Masekela, Kippie Moeketsi, etc.  ~  Jazz in Africa
(Blog: The Boogie Man Will Get Ya!)

Never Enough Kippie
"Jazz in Africa is basically similar to jazz in the rest of the world (same idioms, same devices, same repertoire). It just happens to be much better than jazz in the rest of the world, excepting America. The reasons for the superiority of African jazz lay in the presence of one mature giant, altoist Kippie Moeketsi, age 34, whom I would rate with Getz, Peterson...as concerns sheer melodic invention; two young disciples of Kippie's, trumpeter Hugh Masekela, age 22, and trombonist Jonas Gwangwa, age 23; and finally pianist Chris Joseph, age 21. Kippie, Hugh and Jonas are African and hail from Johannesburg; Chris is Indian and lives in Durban."  (From sleeve notes, reproduced at the essential South African music resource Flat International)

Mining the Audio Motherlode, Volume 185

Give the Drummer Some's
Favorite Downloads from the MP3 Blogosphere

WFMU, the radio station that makes Mining the Audio Motherlode possible is holding a sorely needed month-long fund drive. Please consider making a small contribution to WFMU to keep the station on the air and Beware of the Blog continuing to pump out Motherlodes.

I've been scouring the blogs for nearly four years, searching for great free music to share in this weekly column. Take four minutes and drop a little something in the virtual tip jar, below, as a way of showing appreciation for this volunteer effort. Thank you.

 

    
Earl Freeman/Universal Jazz Symphonette  ~  Soundcraft 75: Fantasy for Orchestra
(Blog: 9 Grey Chairs)

Freeman Fantasy
"It's a large ensemble—nearly 30 players and is not a high fidelity recording by any stretch of the imagination. The church acoustics, the size of the ensemble, the collective free-form style of musical approach all combine to produce a sonic result that I can best describe in one word as—dense. Musically—on first blush, it's chaotic. If you've just spent a morning listening to and loving Alan Silva's Lunar Surface, followed by Dave Burrell's Echo—then this is record you might like to put on next. Only this one is not as well recorded as those 2. The keen ear, or subsequent listening, will reveal that it's not necessarily 40 minutes of mad chaos - that there is movement here, there are dynamics, there are some themes of sorts, and that there is solo playing (where audible) of a high caliber. Opening with a swirling trio of flutes and spare percussion, additional instruments are applied in successive layers like paint until the whole ensemble is all in - a vast melange of sound. Then after a hushed intermezzo at around the 5 minute mark, the music builds again and things begin in earnest.  The technique is repeated again, punctuating solos from trumpet, tenor saxophones and violin…."  (Description, from a typically generous and thoughtful post, by Serviceton)

Mining the Audio Motherlode, Volume 184

Give the Drummer Some's
Favorite Downloads from the MP3 Blogosphere

Reports of the demise of the music-sharing blogosphere have been greatly exaggerated. To be sure, the abrupt disappearance of beloved sites is upsetting, but the reality is that far more blogs that reach the end of the line, do so voluntarily. And the good news, if the current climate is indicative of a trend, is that a number of excellent blogs in recent days have come back to life! Last week I mentioned the return of Aduna Blog. Now I'm cheered to see FM Shades back in business and even Voodoo Vault is making a comeback (though finding the "way in" the front door remains a puzzle). Even ProgNotFrog's terrific blog aggregation site is back. You can use it as a search engine, or just scroll through the recent posts from hundreds of blogs.

Welcome back!

 [Ed: Thanks to reader Hammer for reminding me about the return of Turkish Psychedelic Music! Please acknowledge your favorite reanimated blogs in the comments below.]

 

    
Barbara Mason  ~  Transition
(Blog: Porco's Hideaway)

Did Buddah Records Know They Spelled the Name Wrong?
"A quite dark collection of soul/funk tunes dealing with war, violence, religion, the 'popularity' of the devil and other problems of American society of the 1970s. Barbara Mason is best known for love songs like her first hit, 'Yes I'm Ready,' from the beginning of her career in 1964. For Transition she abandoned the matters of the heart and tackled social issues. She wrote all tunes here which suggest that this project was very close to her heart. But the album flopped, maybe because it missed a hit single, maybe because it missed the optimistic outlook offered by other soul artists that sang about social issues."  (Description by El Puerco Rojo)

Mining the Audio Motherlode, Volume 183

Give the Drummer Some's
Favorite Downloads from the MP3 Blogosphere

This post is for those 47% of readers who are dependent on Mining the Audio Motherlode, who believe that they are victims, who believe Mining the Audio Motherlode has a responsibility to care for them, who believe that they are entitled to great free downloadable music. That that's an entitlement. And that Mining the Audio Motherlode should give it to them. And they will support the Miner no matter what and will never be convinced to take personal responsibilities for their lives.

My job is to worry about those people.

 

    
Emanuel Lasky  ~  Welfare Cheese
(Blog: The Singing Bones)

A Good Source of Protein
Here's a topically relevant groover for all you Freddie Freeloaders and Minnie Moochers just standing around waiting to be handed sonic thrills on a silver platter.

Mining the Audio Motherlode, Volume 182

Give the Drummer Some's
Favorite Downloads from the MP3 Blogosphere

Who is Hervé Lemaire (LinkedIN / Wikipedia / Twitter) and why does he hate music? Though some Internet chatter speculates that there is no such person, someone with this name has been operating as an anti-piracy mercenary via LeakID, apparently since 2007.

During the past several weeks, numerous blogs across the Internet have had their accounts suspended at file storage site Mediafire due to a mass mailing of copyright complaints filed by Lemaire. Clearly something nefarious is afoot because many affected blogs have posted exclusively out-of-print recordings, and others had merely been sharing their own recordings. It's not clear yet if Lemaire has deployed some sort of automated DCMA-bot intent on maximzing blogosphere entropy, but his ability to wreak widespread havoc is clearly thanks to Mediafire, which is suspending accounts purely on the basis of unproven accusations of copyright infringement.

You can follow a running discussion about this ongoing controversy here in the comments to a post at the iamtheleastmachiavellian.

    
Orchestre du Bawobab ~ Visages du Senegaal
(Blog: Blue Beat in My Soul)

Specialist in All Styles
"Amongst certain circles of Afro-funk fans, 'Kelen Ati Len' is probably the best-known song by this Dakar band but this LP is hardly a one-tracker. No doubt, 'Kelen Ati Len' is killer with its crashing drums and angular guitar work. It’s like Bawobab/Baobab members had spent a few years jamming with the Kashmere Stage Band before returning to Senegal."  (Descriptions by O-Dub, at Soul-Sides)

Mining the Audio Motherlode, Volume 181

Give the Drummer Some's
Favorite Downloads from the MP3 Blogosphere 

Like buying a used record with a previous owner's name on it, sometimes MP3 files for an album appearing on one blog are traceable — through the unique set of pops and clicks heard on the original vinyl — to a posting of the same recording at another. This usurping of someone else's links (not to mention their efforts to rip the tracks and scan the cover art) is generally frowned upon in the blog world, but sometimes a new blogger will step in to resurrect access to a great old record whose original link is no longer working.

Occasionally, you can follow the MP3 files for the same slab of vinyl as it gets shared and re-shared at different blogs over time. Take for example the lead item in today's Motherlode. Originally posted in 2010 at  A Pyrex Scholar, it was almost immediately re-posted at another blog called Smokin' Drops (whose proprietor apologized for the breach of blog etiquette, then never posted another record!). At some point during the past two years, the original Pyrex link were removed, but Smokin' Drops' offering of the same files is still available. Now stepping into the fray is a new blog called An Ism to Horns and Beats, which has served up the very same record — and the same MP3 files — all over again. One imagines that someday soon, the Smokin' Drops link will die and the new blog will continue carrying the torch.

Whenever and from whomever you satisfy your music Jones online, just be sure to grab this gem before all links are gone for good.

Tommy McGee  ~  Positive-Negative
(Blog: An Ism to Horns and Beats)

Bi-Polar
"Basically it's stupid rare and your never gonna see let alone own a copy!  (Description by The Purist, at A Pyrex Scholar)

 

 

 

Mining the Audio Motherlode, Volume 180

Give the Drummer Some's
Favorite Downloads from the MP3 Blogosphere 

This past Monday I took part in a panel discussion as part of WFMU's series of Radio Free Culture broadcasts. Titled The Rise and Fall of MP3 Blogs, the confab posed the following question: "Has the music blogosphere's golden age already passed us by?"

My fellow panelists seemed for the most part ready to embrace the notion that our best days of free and unfettered music sharing are behind us. But from my perspective, there's just no time to mourn the loss of excellent blogs when there are so many more passionate and creative music obsessives clamoring online to share their record collections!

And while there is plenty to lament about the state of the blogging landscape, as long as great records keep getting posted, I'll keep bathing them in the warm glow of my miner's helmet.

 

Ruth Ben-Zvi  ~  Israeli Percussion
(Blog: Sun Ship)

The Chosen Drum
"Using her fingertips, open palms, elbows and clenched fists, Ruth creates a whole new world of music from a primitive drum whose sound is powerful yet delicate, caressing and wild, capable of imitating human speech when in the hands of a master player."  (From the liner notes)

[Some may find it noteworthy that Spike Lee's father, Bill, plays bass on this record.]

 

Mining the Audio Motherlode, Volume 179

Give the Drummer Some's
Favorite Downloads from the MP3 Blogosphere 

If you enjoy the survey of sounds covered in these weekly Motherlodes, you should check out Give the Drummer Radio, a 24-hour webstream I created for WFMU in the summer of 2010. Initially, the stream was intended as a platform for continuing to broadcast my radio show after a move to Pittsburgh mandated that it come off WFMU's main broadcast schedule. After establishing my show on the stream, it occurred to me that I could use the stream as a means for presenting other great radio shows as well, and now the thing serves up a half dozen additional genius music obsessives on a weekly basis.

In its default mode—listen anytime here or via mobile device (info here)—Give the Drummer Radio plays a continuous flow of adventurous, unusual and lovely sounds such as you find here in Mining the Audio Motherlode. The schedule for hosted programs on the stream is here. You can hear all of the shows live on the stream, or archived for listening when its convenient. For updates and alerts, follow the stream on Twitter, like it on Facebook or email (send a request here).

 

Nitin Mangesh  ~  Aafat
(Blog: Music from the Third Floor)

Phat
"...great title music; multi-faceted like a miniature suite and dramatic throughout, the action packed 'Koi Kahe Main Khanjar Hoon,' the funky, druggy and decidedly Burmanesque 'Yeh Nasha Jaan Meri Hai,' and finally the fabulous effect filled and fun sounding 'Rajni Hai Mera Naam.' I'm no expert on Bollywood movies, but I doubt there are that many song & dance numbers featuring disembodied singing heads. I approve."  (Description by PC, at Music from the Third Floor)

 

Mining the Audio Motherlode, Volume 178

Give the Drummer Some's
Favorite Downloads from the MP3 Blogosphere 

If you're new to the Motherlode, let me take a moment out of my maniacal head-long search for great music to explain. For the past 25 years I've produced a radio show for WFMU. The station's format is nominally freeform, which essentially means there is no predetermined format. Each DJ on the air makes their own idiosyncratic choices of what to say and play, and for the duration of that show represents exactly what WFMU is. For me, WFMU represents the opportunity to share my own personal musical epiphanies in a communal setting.

In recent years, my search for sounds to share on the radio has led to the ever-widening online universe of music-sharing blogs. Mining the Audio Motherlode is weekly survey of my favorite such discoveries. Let me know what you think.

 

Getatchew Mèkurya  ~  ???
(Blog: Awesome Tapes from Africa)

Titanic Tenor
Listen for ten seconds to any solo by this titan of Ethiopian saxophone and his primary influence seems obvious: free-jazz apostle Albert Ayler. But Mèkurya, only a year older than Ayler, actually began playing professionally when his American counterpart—whom he has never heard—was still taking private lessons. Chronologies aside, the abundant points of comparison are separated-at-birth spooky. They both play with a strained, breathless attack; a chanted-not-sung delivery; a wildly oscillating vibrato; and a pacific lyricism thinly veiling a molten spirit.  (Description from my Favorites of '03 page)

 

Mining the Audio Motherlode, Volume 177

Give the Drummer Some's
Favorite Downloads from the MP3 Blogosphere 

In the realm of record collecting, valuing obscure for obscure's sake is pretty lame. If that impossibly rare disc you just liberated from a dusty dollar bin is impossible to listen to, what's the point? Nevertheless, there's an undeniable thrill that comes with unearthing some vinyl marvel that few before you have laid ears on. The quintet of offerings in today's Motherlode are all new to me, and judging by the dearth of information available online, they will be new to most readers, too.

Even my old standby of searching WFMU's mile-deep playlist database revealed next-to-nothing. Only one of the five LPs—the loopy, psycho-electronica from Emil Richards (see below)—made an appearance. So quick, drop these beauties into your MP3 player, then call up WFMU and stump your favorite DJ.

 

Bidon K  ~  Bidon K
(Blog: Boxes of Toys)

Speciak K
"A collective of three percussionists that play regular percussion in addition to modified/invented percussion instruments and electronics. Interesting stuff. Gets pretty out there on a few tracks with the electronics! Fans of Pierre Henry, Nurse with wound, Stockhausen, etc should take note."  (Description taken from promo copy for an old posting at Collectors Frenzy)

 

Mining the Audio Motherlode, Volume 176

Give the Drummer Some's
Favorite Downloads from the MP3 Blogosphere 

Today is the fifth anniversary of the passing of Dirk Gjaltema, a young Dutch music blogger whose irreverent appreciations in Cities on Flame With Rock and Roll (still kept online as a lasting memorial by his adoring family) was one of my first thrilling discoveries in blogland.

Take a moment to read my earlier post about Dirk.

Dirk's great gift was the generosity with which he transformed his own ecstatic love for music into a communal experience. The kindred spirit of that gift courses through my own music sharing endeavors, on the radio and here in this weekly column. Rest in noise, Dirk!

 

Maggie Nichols  & Peter Nu  ~  Don't Assume
(Blog: Continuo's Weblog)

Don't Stand Down Maggie
"On Don’t Assume, and particularly on the eponymous, side-long track #4, Maggie Nicols carefully avoids anything resembling jazz singing in favor of an intermediary state between spoken word, sound poetry, thinking out loud and sprechgesang. Similarly, the piano accompaniment, a delicate, needle-point construction of ephemeral chords and non-rhythmic structures, seems to be floating mid-air in an uncertain pitch like some of Olivier Messiaen’s piano music. This strange alchemy works wonders and inevitably takes the listener by surprise."  (Description by Continuo)

Mining the Audio Motherlode, Volume 175

 

Give the Drummer Some's
Favorite Downloads from the MP3 Blogosphere 

Being a true-blue union man, your Miner is off to fulfill his contractually mandated vacation time. Trust me, he'd rather remain in his underground perch, pickaxing his way through the cultural substrata on your behalf. (And besides, it's about 50 degrees cooler down there!) This will be the last Motherlode for a few weeks, so it'll be up to you to work out your own time-eviscerating activity. I hear you can poke around the Internet and find thing or two to do. Stay hydrated!

 

Chiemi Eri & Tokyo Cuban Boys  ~ Chiemi's Folj Song Collection
(Blog: Jenny Is in a Bad Mood)

Chiemical Attraction
"Eri rarely sang traditional Japanese themes, so the album reviewed here is a rarity. This was accompanied by the Tokyo Cuban Boys, who were obviously a big band that played Latino issues. Formed in 1949, was one of the first formations to introduce the mambo in the country of the rising sun. In the 70 concerts offered by different parts of the world as the USSR, Mexico and Cuba itself. The band dissolved in 1980. This big band serves as a support group for showcasing Eri and gives brilliant luster to compositions."  (Google Translate version of description by Roberto, at Jenny Is in a Bad Mood )

Mining the Audio Motherlode, Volume 174

Give the Drummer Some's
Favorite Downloads from the MP3 Blogosphere 

I did something the other day I virtually never do. I sold a record. And I didn't just sell a record, I parted with a treasured slab of vinyl for a fairly ungodly sum. Making the situation all the more head-scratching, I (1) never even put the album up for sale, and (2) gave away every track on the album over four years ago in a post right here at Beware of the Blog. (A music nut searching for the record stumbled on my post and made me an offer I couldn't refuse.)

Over a lifetime of hunting for music and enjoying it deliriously, the notion of letting go of any record has been anathema. I sold one particular disc at a college LP swap thirty years ago, and it still burns me to this day. But life in the digital age is apparently changing me. (Not to mention being unemployed in the digital age.) With good-quality MP3s and a fancy scan of the covers in hand, what really is the big deal about holding onto the real McCoy?

 

Larry Storch  ~  Reads Philip Roth's Epstein
(Blog: I'm Learning to Share!)

Storched Earth
"In Larry Storch's enactment of Epstein, Philip Roth's prose is accurately animated. Professionally, Storch is a comedian—a limber, pungently accurate performer. He is a familiar at most of the country's major night clubs, and has created wide-ranging characterizations on television, and increasingly, in the movies. But Storch, like most original comedians, is not limited to surprising an audience into laughter. Through learning his craft, he has learned how thin and fragile the boundaries are between laughter and aggression, between laughter and insecurity. He is, in short, an actor, and in his reading of Epstein, he has done justice to the measure of Epstein the man as well as to the depth of the pit he has diligently if unwittingly dug for himself."  (From the liner notes by Nat Hentoff)

Mining the Audio Motherlode, Volume 173

Give the Drummer Some's
Favorite Downloads from the MP3 Blogosphere 

Your Miner has just moused in from the coast and boy is his index finger tired. A neat bit of international blogtrotting this week has culminated in a gorgeous mosaic of OOP records both far and flung. Most thrilling of all is the latest master post from Likembe maestro John B. who has added to his rich archive of Biafran offerings. (See the lead item, below.) Music loving doesn't get any better than this. Enjoy!

 

 

Various  ~  Biafra: Birth of a Nation
(Blog: Likembe)

Land of the Rising Sun
"Birth of a Nation is propaganda, and I don't mean this in a pejorative sense. It was issued by the Biafran government in an effort to influence public opinion in the outside world, especially the United Kingdom, main supporter of the Federal Government in Lagos against the secessionists. In 1968, when it was released, the Biafran cause had already for all intents and purposes been lost, although this wouldn't be apparent for some time. Still, it's of considerable interest not only to historians but musically, as it contains some nice highlife tunes. Listened to in sequence the album sounds like something recorded off a shortwave radio broadcast in the wee hours of the morning, history in the making.  (Description by John B)

Mining the Audio Motherlode, Volume 172

Give the Drummer Some's
Favorite Downloads from the MP3 Blogosphere 

In addition to writing this weekly Motherlode and hosting a twice weekly radio show, I also manage a 24-hour online radio/stream hybrid hosted by WFMU. Called Give the Drummer Radio, the stream started two years ago as a scheme to able to continue broadcasting my long-running WFMU program after I moved away from NYC to Pittsburgh. Once I established that I could air my own show live on the stream, I began inviting other DJs and music obsessives to present their programs on the stream as well. Give the Drummer Radio now boasts seven different programs and more are on the way.

When human-powered programming isn't airing on the stream, its default mode is to play a continuously expanding library of adventurous recordings from all genres, regions, eras and contexts. To hear Give the Drummer Radio at any time, click here. To see the schedule of program airing on the stream, click here.

I maintain an mailing list for the stream. Recipients receive email alerts when programs are going live, as well as a weekly newsletter that includes programming info and links to blogs with great downloads that are not published in Mining the Audio Motherlode. If you'd like to get on the mailing list, send a request. Additionally, you can like the stream on Facebook and follow it on Twitter.

Tenjo Sajiki & Singers Three  ~  Rojin Tanteidan to Garigari Hakase no Hanzai
(Blog: Japanese Old Prog/Psych Rock)

Bavarian Bop
"The record that was issued in 1972 as a collaborative work between famous drama collective Tenjo Sajiki leaded by Shuji Terayama and group Singers Three. All lyrics were written by Terayama and music was written by Makoto Wada - an artist (worked with Tadanori Yokoo), composer, director and experimentator. Actually the disk material were compositions for two Terayama's and Wada's drama performances: for the first,  The Crime of Debuko Oyama (yet from 1967-68), for the second - Shadow Thief on famous comics motives. It belongs to rock music very indirectly - mostly it is a mix of a few old styles: European cabaret with a tart taste of decadence, pre-war jazz in Louis Armstrong vein, bright country with a merry banjo and Japanese theater."  (Description [translated from Russian] by Day D)

Mining the Audio Motherlode, Volume 171

Give the Drummer Some's
Favorite Downloads from the MP3 Blogosphere 

I've never considered myself a record collector, because collecting is something you do with inanimate objects. No, for me, pursuing treasured slabs of vinyl is more like an act of emancipation, freeing the music to live in a home where it can't possibly receive more love—mine. Unless you're still stuck on having the "actual object," record hunting is now an entirely different enterprise in the blog-diving era.

No longer must you relentlessly haunt yard sales, scan auction lists and soil your thumbs flipping through dollar bins on used-record store floors. Now, all you really need to do is load up your RSS reader with the ever-proliferating number of top-flight music blogs and then sit back and let the rarities and must-haves come to you. Even better, let the Miner do it for you. To wit, today's happy haul...

Various  ~  Frankfurt Allstars
(Blog: The Boogieman Will Get Ya!)

Bavarian Bop
Another rare artifact from a bygone era which is not much documented or even known outside of Germanic countries: German Fifties Modernist Jazz. "Vier Temperamente" is a four part-piece, each part featuring a different soloist: 1 has Emil Mangelsdorff, 2 has Albert Mangelsdorff, 3 has Dusko Gojkovic, and 4 has Joki Freund. Rare and essential document of Europe’s unique mid-'50s Jazz. Outstanding soli.  (Description from Boogieman)

Mining the Audio Motherlode, Volume 170

Give the Drummer Some's
Favorite Downloads from the MP3 Blogosphere 

Three weeks after sharing Soul Safari's posting of the Percy Sledge rarity Soul Africa, I'm thrilled to link to yet another unknown bolt from the blue, Electric Jive's stellar offering of a Timmy Thomas LP recorded live in South Africa in 1978. (See our first item, below.) History hasn't placed Thomas's 1972 anthem "Why Can't We Live Together" on the same iconic pedestal as Marvin Gaye's "What's Going On?," but then, history hadn't heard this mind-blowing performance by Thomas of his plea for racial harmony before an adoring audience in Apartheid-riven South Africa.

The recent resurfacing of the Percy Sledge and Timmy Thomas recordings inspired me to produce this broadcast of my radio show, Give the Drummer Some, featuring American soul and jazz artists performing on African soil.

Timmy Thomas  ~  Live in Africa
(Blog: Electric Jive)

Tell Me Why, Tell Me Why, Tell Me Why
It is a good time to revive that anthem that made Timmy Thomas so special to millions of South Africans. Milner Park Stadium, Johannesburg in December 1978 was an edgy place for thousands of black South Africans to sing songs like “Why Can’t We Live Together” at a live concert. The song again became a big hit on the eve of South Africa’s first democratic elections in 1994. For many, the song still holds relevance today, in South Africa and elsewhere in the world.  (Description from Chris Albertyn, at Electric Jive)

Mining the Audio Motherlode, Volume 169

Give the Drummer Some's
Favorite Downloads from the MP3 Blogosphere 

Week after Mother-loving week, I use this space to share some of the spectacular free-album downloads I find online. But this effort isn't just about getting cool music for free, it's about the thrill of discovery and the stupefying joy of stumbling upon some life-changing sounds that only moments earlier you had no idea existed. Miraculously, the joys and thrills come for the most part at no cost, but not always.

For a little change of pace, I'd like to dedicate today's Motherlode to a few generous music bloggers who, in addition to posting a steady flow of rarities and gems, found the time, resources and chutzpah to produce some magnificent reissues. There are four releases of African music here, two from South Africa and two from Ghana. Each one is a stunner and well worth a little—gasp!—cash.

Various  ~  Township Jive & Kwela Jazz
(Blog: Soul Safari)

"It’s official folks! Soul Safari is proud to announce the release of our first compilation in collaboration with the  International Library of African Music (ILAM), Grahamstown, South Africa. All titles on this compilation have been handpicked from the ILAM Archives and have been professionally mastered and restored from the original 78 shellac discs. The track listing represents a wide variety of styles from the golden era of jive and kwela, originally released on small independent record companies like Gallotone, Hit, BB and New Sounds.  Zulu jive, Sotho vocal, accordion and violin jive to name a few style. The compilation features a few rarities by the big names obviously but presents mostly obscure material that has never been heard since the day of it’s original release. Truly music treasures from a long gone past."  (Eddy De Clercq, at Soul Safari)

Mining the Audio Motherlode, Volume 168

Give the Drummer Some's
Favorite Downloads from the MP3 Blogosphere 

Under almost any circumstances and conditions, radio is to be exalted—except when some imbecile driver plows into your wife on her bike while fiddling with the freaking dashboard tuner (as happened yesterday evening). If every damn citizen would just let WFMU implant cranial receiver pods like we planned, accidents like this could surely be avoided. Best thing to do is stay safely indoors and just download all the damn day. That's all I've got to say.

 

Various  ~  Sorrow Come Pass Me Around
(Blog: Serpent Spirit)

Seriously Holy Grail
These riveting, heartfelt performances, recorded by ethnomusicologist David Evans in Georgia, Mississippi and Louisiana, were released on the Advent label in 1975, then reissued, briefly, by Japan's P-Vine in 1991. [This astounding collection was shared at the late, lamented Holy Warbles in 2010—and the post was linked to here in Motherlode #83. I removed a link to that post due to claims that this OOP record was to be imminently reissued. Two years later, with no reissue in site, download links for Sorrow Come Pass Me Around have popped up at numerous blogs and I feel comfortable acknowledging that fact here.]