Afrika

Local Athenian Adam Klein, known for rustic Americana music in town, goes to Mali to record a rustic Mande album. He talks about his upcoming album “The Mande Sessions,” his African influences, the change from Americana to African music, plays some tracks from the upcoming album, and talks of his show with Habib Koité on Friday. Listen!!!!

Good friend DJ Willennium 2k10 subs.  Thanks so much!

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(fast forward until 4:23, sorry!)

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No specific theme today. Had a crazy week and just wanted to play some classics.

Everything everything,

Mister Senor Love Daddy

This week, Gnawa music from Morocco! The VERY FIRST episode dealing solely with musics of North Africa! Sit back and let this hypnotic trance music take you for a ride.

Hassan Hakmoun

From Afropop.org:

Not a people as such, Gnawa trace their ancestries to various parts of sub-Saharan Africa, and claim as their patron saint Sidi Bilal, the Prophet Mohammed’s first muezzin, or caller to prayer. Morocco captured the Malian city of Timbuktu in the 16th century, and brought Bambara-speaking slaves across the Sahara. The fact that the Gnawa’s main string instrument–the sintir or gimbri–resembles a large version of the Bambara ngoni, suggests that many of the Gnawa came from there. Gnawa play deeply hypnotic trance music, marked by low-toned, rhythmic sintir melodies, call-and-response singing, hand clapping and cymbals called qaraqish. Gnawa dardeba ceremonies use music and dance to evoke ancestral saints who can drive out evil, cure psychological ills, or remedy scorpion stings.

We start off with more traditional type Gnawa and then move into fusions.

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The crack of polyrhythmic drumming, the feathery, off-beat strum of an electric guitar, a groove that pounces and then charges ahead panting, egged on by punchy keyboard or brass section hits, and a voice so strong and clear that it rides serenely above the musical tempest—that’s mbalax, the most popular modern genre of music in Senegal.

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Love,

Mister Senor Love Daddy

This week,  music from Ethiopia! A trip all around this East African country thuogh space in time. Styles vary from jazz, to funk, to dance music, to soul, to traditional musics. Since Ethiopia is the only African country to not be colonized it has a very interesting musical past. Traditional music remained and still remains prevalent to Ethiopia, but there have inevitable been Western influences in their music and culture, and you hear many of those in the music of this show.

Mahmoud Ahmed’s  super groovy album Ere Mela Mela really brought Ethiopian music to the world, and sparked great interest into what kind of music Ethiopians were making.  The series Ethiopiques compiles awesome Ethiopian music and is now into its 23rd compiliation. You will hear a couple cuts from this series.

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Mahmoud Ahmed

Hello all!

This week on Miliki System: Wassoulou music!! Its From the Wassoulou region of southwestern Mali. In the 1980s, Wassoulou music became a sensation in Mali. The emerging sound featured the deep-toned, six-string harp called kamelen’goni, and most of the time, women singers. Coumba Sidibe, with her robust, tenor voice was the first to garner widespread public attention. Currently, Oumou Sangare is the biggest star of Wassoulou music, with her 2009 album being released on Nonesuch! Get ready to grove and dance to this ubbeat, passionate, beautiful music!

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Check out this amazing vid of Coumba Sidibe playing “Yali Djamou”:

(courtesy of this amazing blog http://wrldsrv.blogspot.com/)

Everything Everything,

Mister Senor Love Daddy

To raise awareness of the ongoing crisis in Haiti, I have decided to dedicate my show to Haitian music.

I don’t know too much about Haitian music, but members of Moyuba, a local Afro-Haitian drumming group have helped me out by making me a mix of some good Haitian music. Also thanks to Jean-Pierre Bourget for helping me pick out some contemporary Haitian music.

An easy way to help is through text message. You can text “HAITI” to 90999 to donate $10 to American Red Cross relief for Haiti, charged to your cell phone bill.

Learn more about the 7.0 earthquake that has devastated Haiti, destroyed Port-au-Prince, and killed possibly over 100,000 people at http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=122522434

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(fast forward about 7 minutes for the time being, hopefully I will have time to edit this week)

My 2nd show of the semester focuses on Makossa music. It is a contemporary “urban” style of music. Based on punchy call and response riffs. More percise although more minimal then Zairiean or Congolese rumbas or uu. It is has upbeat drums, funky basslines, solo guitar parts, crisp, fresh, state of the art sound. Usually sung in the Douala language,  its a fusion of traditional with the contemporary. The Makossa rhythms come from the south, actually the original makossa wasn’t a rhythm but a style of expression that grew out of the kossa, a children’s dance accompanied by handclapping. It is also inspired by neighboring Nigerian highlife and Congolese rumba. Sax player, Manu Dibango’s super funky quintessential African record, Soul Makossa released in 1972, brought Makossa to international stardom and Dibango remains one of the stars of African music.  Alright, enough talkin’.  Lets Boogie.

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Everything Everything,

Mister Senor Love Daddy

Welcome to the Next Generation!!!

Its  the dawning of a new age, and as such, I have decided to change the name of the soooooooo 2000’s Afrika to a more hip, more ‘cutting edge’ name:  Miliki Soundsystem. OooooOooOoh yeah

This week I focus on South African Mbaqanga music . Mbaqanga grew out of earlier styles–pennywhistle kwela, township sax jive, gospel-inspired African choral music, and marabi, the lifeblood of South Africa’s illegal township shebeens and dancehalls in the first half of the century.  South African mbaqanga is Africa’s hardest-driving pop sound with frisky riffing and a knockout downbeat to rival Cajun zydeco or Brazilian foroIt is Africa’s hardest-driving pop sound with frisky riffing and a knockout downbeat to rival Cajun zydeco or Brazilian foro.

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This week, I scheduled Asheville, NC african-rock fusion group Toubab Krewe to come into the studio to do a little interview and performa. They were a little behind schedule, but that just meant that you all got to hear some great west african kora playing in preperation of their arrival.

This is my last show of the semester, but never fear, I will beBBACK next semester, and betta then ever.

Breaking news:

Afrika is the winner of the Best Specialty show for Fall 2009!!!!!!!

aannnd, Afrika will have a new NAME next semester (I mean c’mon, afrika for and african music show is soooo lame) As of now it will be called:

Oyinbo System and the Golden Mercury of Afrika

YEEEEAAA!!

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Artist – Song – Album

Toumani Diabate -  Jarabi  – Kaira

Toubab Krewe -  Autorail – Live at the Orange Peel

Baaba Maal & Mansour Seck  – Muudo Hormo  – Djam Leelll

Watto Sitta -  Dewgal  – Mandingo feat. Foday Musa Suso

Ali Farka Toure – Devele Wague – African Blues

Herbie Hancock and Foday Musa Suso -  Ndan Ndan Nyaria – Village Life

Jali musa Jawara  – Cherif -  Soubindoor

Fanta Bamba -  Miniyamba

Rail Band  – Madi Guindo

Super Biton  – Sisini

Toubab Krewe  – LIVE in the studio