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Org Mixtape Project: deebee: "If Words Could Speak"
- - - IF WORDS COULD SPEAK - - -
http://8tracks.com/djdeeb...ould-speak
A collection of stuff I've been feeling recently, with a 'worldly' (or maybe otherworldly) flavour. No single theme or genre, but what they have in common, for me, is a certain likeable oddness, and a 'sound' that draws me in and takes me somewhere. If words could speak, perhaps they could tell you about it; but, as it is, you'll just have to listen.
1. The Same Blood (Revisited) - Tony Allen Some solid afrobeat funk (with a slightly trippy twist) from the great Tony Allen to get things started. Seems that, even now, in his seventies, he's happy to experiment and collaborate, rather than coast along rehashing his own legacy, for which you have to give him respect. (Plus, he seems like a really nice bloke, too, to top it off.) This one's lifted from the Black Voices Revisited album, but Home Cooking, with its UK hip hop collabos, and his addition to Strut Record's excellent Inspiration Information series with Jimi Tenor, are also favourites that show off his willingness to mix things up and make it work.
2. 1960 What? - Gregory Porter A standout track from the excellent Water album. With a groove that stays rooted but still manages to breathe, Mr Porter adding a little grit to his honeyed vocals, and a political story revealed in snapshots, it hits a certain 'sweet spot' for me. I thought it might be a bit cheeky to put a 12-minute track on a mixtape, and there are some edits on iTunes; but I love the way the full version unfolds, so I had to go with that 3. Kele - Fatoumata Diawara Grooves and floats at the same time, this one (at least, once you've got the pulse down-packed 4. Iliwa Lam - Simphiwe Dana Very much an 'album artist', so it was hard to decide which track to go with. I went with this, because I like the characteristic assuredness with which she lays out something this weird, dreamy soundscape, with an ever-more-insistent incantation running through the centre of it, and all the little dramatic flourishes around it. African music often gets marketed as something 'traditional' or rooted in some 'timeless' past, happily insulated from the world. What I like about her albums - certainly the last two, anyway - is that her musical palate clearly draws on the whole world (shades of Björk, Badu, Sade, etc, in there) as well as her own country's musical heritage, and uses that to create her own sound that seems to be right here in the present, looking forwards. 5. My Cloud - Gil Scott-Heron and Jamie xx More dreamy soundscapes. I heard this in a coffee shop, fell in love with it, and, thanks to the genius of Shazam (surely one of the greatest inventions of recent years!), managed to get what it was. The pulsing, fuzzy production, with its white noise and everything, adds to the overall vibe of the lyric and Gil's delicate vocal, for me. Beautifully odd and oddly beautiful. 6. He Miss Road - Fela Kuti I didn't want you to fall asleep, so I threw in a bit more afrobeat. One of Fela's more playful outings, without the heavier themes of a lot of his work. Ginger Baker's production gives it a likeably off-kilter vibe, with the guitars panned to the extremes but way forward in the mix, bouncing off the bass. Again, it's a long one - but you really can't edit this stuff, can you?? 7. Aimer - Rokia Traoré As with Simphiwe Dana, I like Rokia Traoré because she seems like an artist more interested in experimenting and creating something distinctive in the here and now, rather than fulfilling any purist expectations and representing something 'authentic' or 'traditional'. Even more so in her live performances: I saw her a couple of years ago, expecting something quite subdued and similar to the album, and what she actually came with was a dirty electrified fusion vibe from a tight band, that just announced itself and took everyone in the place with it. Different sound on record, but this still grooves hard, with some nice vocal harmonies. 8. Sierra Leone - Terry Callier This was the track that really hit me from the 2002 Speak Your Peace album. Dark and brooding as it unfolds, as befits the subject matter, but there's something humanistic and impassioned about the wordless hook, and it stops it becoming the exercise in distant exoticism a lesser artist's meditation on West African conflict might have been. 9. Mandehandeha - Rajery I came across Rajery's work on Spotify a couple of years ago. It was while I was stressed, working on a big piece of work that I was too far into to go back, but what seemed like an eternity away from the finish line. His album Fanamby really connected with me. At a glance, it all sounds like some perfectly pleasant afro-pop you'd get with a CD that came free with some fair trade coffee. But listen again, not only do you notice how tight the band is, there's something about the voice and the harmonies that's somehow world-worn but quietly hopeful, and, as such, completely disarming. That's how it seemed to me, anyway. This is a more stripped down track from a later album, but I think it captures that same vibe. People shouldn't be afraid to be idealistic; certainly not in music. 10. Volveras - Buika I read this Afro-Spanish artist started out as a Tina Turner tribute act, before she got a chance to do her own thing. This is another track that tears me to shreds. Her style is generally quite melodramatic, but it's a little more controlled here, even though she still lets go at points. Got to love the chord changes and the way it unfolds unhurriedly over time. Beautiful live version here, too. 11. Lo & Behold - The Ruffin Brothers Not an obvious fit, perhaps, but it's always nice to close with a spiritual number, and the brothers' harmonies make this for me. Plus, it's another winning oddity, too, I think: none of it quite makes literal, worldly sense. "There's a well on the hill / You just can't kill for Jesus / There's a well on the hill / Let it be" is one of those lines you affirmatively nod along with in its context, but could never conceivably drop into everyday conversation. Which is why we have poetry and music, I suppose.
Hope you enjoyed listening! [Edited 3/11/13 18:04pm] "Not everything that is faced can be changed; but nothing can be changed until it is faced." - James Baldwin | |
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). Took me a couple of listens to really appreciate her debut album, as it's pretty taut, no-nonsense affair that makes its point plainly. I came to like that, though, and it has me looking forward to seeing where she goes next, whenever she gets to putting out a follow-up.Tony Allen & Terry Callier?
I'm definitly listening to this | |
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Aww, hell yes! Hope you enjoyed it! "Not everything that is faced can be changed; but nothing can be changed until it is faced." - James Baldwin | |
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Looking forward to the classic reggae selection! "Not everything that is faced can be changed; but nothing can be changed until it is faced." - James Baldwin | |
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Tony Allen – Love this groove. I remember that Tony’s name would come up anytime people were listening to Fela and Manu Dibango—like you said, its Kool that he’s still pushing the music forward into new vistas, even now….
Gregory Porter – This dude is amazing, I can’t get enough of his voice– I’m even digging that cap he always wears, LOL! This album was a great debut, with that classic 60’s Jazz Soul sound….I also love his “Be Good” album….a great talent…
Kele –Nice…thanks for this introduction to this artist….
Iliwa Lam –Simphiwe Dana---- Damn, I got to grab this—I’m seriously digging the piece…who’s the pianist –sounds like they’re channeling Bob James into a world feel…I also just heard Simphiwe’s track ‘Make aTribe’, and I think I’m hooked……
My Cloud - Gil Scott-Heron and Jamie xx
Ahh, yeah!! This is definitely up my ethereal alley! Definitely my bag, I’m so glad you had your Shazam working, LOL!! Now I must investigate further…
Fela Kuti
Majestic piece by Fela! I love the arrangement—who’s playing the synthesizers, BTW?
Aimer - Rokia Traoré
Killer groove! I love that combination of Kora and Bass…it would be interesting to hear that electronic version you mentioned. I’ll have to check out Rokia’s work…
Mandehandeha-Rajery
Nice open, upbeat and sunny piece. Again, I love the interplay between the acoustic guitar , the Kora-like instrument and the vocal arrangement!
Sierra Leone - Terry Callier
I have this album, and I love Terry Callier’s music (RIP)—but then, I love everyone that came out of that Chicago/ Chess-Cadet/Concept/ Chicago collective--- Charles Stepney, Callier, Ramsey Lewis, Minnie Riperton, Rotary Connection, Maurice White, Phil Upchurch—just a wellspring of great music that came from that source…
Volveras – Buika
Beautiful contemplative piece, with a lovely voice. By the way, love the fretless bass intro and the piano/rhythm accompaniment throughout—there’s even a hint of a flamenco rhythm mixed into the undercurrent at times. I love the live version, too!
Lo & Behold - The Ruffin Brothers
Thanks for introducing me to this –I’ve always loved the Ruffin brothers' voices, but I hadn’t heard this track -Thanks!
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[Edited 3/25/13 14:24pm] " I've got six things on my mind --you're no longer one of them." - Paddy McAloon, Prefab Sprout | |
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Glad you enjoyed it - and thanks for taking time to comment on all the tracks!
I've been shamefully lax as a listener on this round of the mixtape project. (I wish I could take 8tracks with me when I'm out.) Getting to them now, though. Perhaps a marathon listening session, this weekend.... "Not everything that is faced can be changed; but nothing can be changed until it is faced." - James Baldwin | |
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