Give the Drummer Some's
Favorite Downloads from the MP3 Blogosphere
Long-time readers of the Motherlode (and listeners of my radio show Give the Drummer Some) are well familiar with my near-hysterical schoolboy infatuation with South African music. In my nearly four decades of music discovery, no other sounds on the planet have thrilled me as deeply as the recordings of South African artists—in large part, the music produced by those in exile during the last thirty years of the the Apartheid abomination.
Well, it pleases me immensely to report that now this particular area of music has been paid near-miraculous tribute by artist/archivist Siemon Allen in a new post at Electric Jive. Assembled in two long sets, with rich annotation for each selection, Allen's "In Exile" presentation paints a portrait at once devastating and uplifting. Go hear and see for yourself.
Various ~ In Exile
(Blog: Electric Jive)
Umkhonto we Sizwe!
"For purposes of definition, exile music here covers a thirty year period from 1959 to 1990, during the heart of the apartheid years. This survey is by no means comprehensive, nor is it representative of all South African exile artists or even their ‘best’ work. Rather it is a collection of some of my favorite, more personal tunes. Tunes that for me capture some of the darker but also more ecstatic moments of exile. The alienation, isolation of the foreign experience is evident on many tracks, especially the solo performances. But at the same time, so are fragments of cultural memory, various phrasings, quotes of the majuba sounds of the 1950s, that instantly recall a distant home. Often the fragments gives way to moments of ecstatic joy and build in strength to challenge the darkness." (Description by Siemon Allen, at Electric Jive)
Chris Corsano ~ The Young Cricketer
(Blogs: Free the Music)
Ball in Play
"Chris Corsano is fast becoming one of those musicians who needs no introduction or career summary at the start of record reviews. He's already recently crossed over into the mainstream thanks to his work for Bjork on her Volta album, and is now quite rightly regarded as one of the very finest drummers of his generation. The Young Cricketer plays out like a showreel for Corsano's miraculous dexterity and virtuosity as a drummer. It's a set of recordings made during Corsano's time living in Manchester back in 2006 utilising all manner of objects and apparatus to offset and treat his drumkit, often morphing its sound into something unrecognisable. A good example of this would be Corsano's bizarre sticky tape/snare drum combination, in which he attaches one piece of tape to the drum surface, while stretching the other end to tension. The drum acts as a kind of amplification chamber for the resonant creaking sound made when Corsano runs his fingers across the bottom of the tape - it's difficult to visualize but as documented here, it sounds pretty incredible." (Review at Bookmat)
Gracia do Salgueiro e Velha da Portela ~ Fusão do Samba
(Blog: Abracadabra-LPs Do Brasil 2)
Samba Impecável
Simply exquisite.
Geinoh Yamashirogumi ~ Osorezan / Do No Kenbai
(Blog: Living Through Noise)
[h/t Mutant Sounds, which shared this in 2007]
Noh Kidding
"'A screaming comes across the sky,' begins Thomas Pynchon’s Gravity’s Rainbow — a description which could well apply to the female primal scream that opens Geinoh Yamashirogumi’s 1979 debut album. Given that the side-long title track translates to 'Mt. Fear' — a volcanic mountain reputed in Shinto mythology to be the entrance to the underworld — it comes off less as some avant-garde indulgence, and more as The Beast That Shouted 'I' at the Heart of the World." (Description by Serdar, at Genji Press)
Various ~ Anniversary Sampler
(Blog: Mellow's Log Cabin)
Four More Years, Four More Years
"Hello folks! February 2008 saw the first post on this blog and I guess this is a good occasion to celebrate it with a special anniversary compilation. 25 tracks with the best of four years CRH, ranging from country to rock'n'roll and even a little bit pop. Also included are some rare track you will not find on any other comp. Enjoy!" (Cheerful note from your host Mellow)
Listen to my radio show Give the Drummer Some—Tuesdays, 6-7pm, and Fridays, 9 to noon—on WFMU's web stream Give the Drummer Radio.
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hmmm.......
Posted by: Propylene Glycol | November 01, 2012 at 03:41 AM