KACIREK, SVEN The Palmin Sessions (Pingipung) cd 17.98
We completely flipped for Sven Kacirek's The Kenya Sessions, a record where Kacirek, a producer, drummer and percussionist, traveled to Kenya to record local musicians, in their homes and on the street, and then took those recordings and wove in his own. The result was a fantastic electronic / world music hybrid, so seamlessly executed it was often difficult to tell which was which.
The Palmin Sessions are from a few years earlier, but seems to employ the same method, with Kacirek playing real acoustic instruments, vibraphone, kalimba, drums, glockenspiel, as well as brushes, books, paper, film, doors and other unlikely sound making devices. And like The Kenya Sessions, these tracks are incredible, the fusing of real drums, and programmed electronics, all woven into songs lush and organic, sometimes dreamy and laid back, other times intense and super propulsive.
Opener "Heinrich & Helene" is the perfect example, with its warm, soft focus vibraphone melodies, all wreathed in little streaks of electronics, glitches, bloops and bleeps, all very subtle, total bliss out drift off minimal electronica, but then the drums begin to surface, gradually overtaking the hushed shimmer, the playing getting more and more busy, until they erupt in a fantastic squall of wild drummage, still surrounded by electronic blurs and smears, only to blink out, and revert to the opening hushed drift. Awesome.
And the rest of the record is just as good. Some tracks are a bit jazzy, others are almost house-y, still others sound like Kompakt style pop ambience, there are horns, tinkling chimes, occasional vocals, all the tracks based on rhythms, and Kacirek's playing in particular, while the production transforms all the sounds into washed out, dreamlike, ethereal skitterscapes, and warm, woozy, soft focus drifts of electronic shimmer.
MPEG Stream: "Heinrich & Helene"
MPEG Stream: "St. Charles Avenue"
MPEG Stream: "Glas"

KELETIGUI ET SES TAMBOURINIS The Syliphone Years (Sterns Africa) 2cd 24.00

KENGE KENGE Introducing Kenge Kenge (World Music Network) cd 12.98
We've been hearing lots about the great benga music coming out of Kenya but haven't been able to get our hands on too much of it. Luckily, the group Kenge Kenge, because of their higher profile and the wider availability of the recordings, are serving as a pretty great introduction to this sound. It's a magical combination of instruments that creates this exhilarating, totally compelling and joyous sound. Unlike a lot of other African bands who have been gaining wide notoriety of late, there are no guitars here. Instead, kenge Kenge utilize a combination of flutes, horns, fiddles, percussion, sound box, gong and vocals. Totally upbeat with steady rhythms and a lush, organic delivery and such a wildly joyful and positive disposition. It's refreshing too, that while it's cleanly recorded it doesn't sound slick or overproduced at all. In fact in lots of ways it kind of reminds us of a more rootsy, less blown out and amplified version of AQ faves Konono No.1. Really good stuff!
MPEG Stream: "Kenge Kenge"
MPEG Stream: "Owang' Winyo"

KHAN, KHANSAHIB ABDUL KARIM s/t (Mississippi) lp 14.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
We usually start reviews of records released on Mississippi Records with a blaring announcement that looks a little like this:
**MISSISSIPPI RECORDS ALERT** **MISSISSIPPI RECORDS ALERT** **MISSISSIPPI RECORDS ALERT**
Cuz we know there are plenty of folks out there, that like us, are crazy obsessed with that label, and will buy ANYthing and EVERYthing they release. And we imagine those folks will no doubt buy this one as well, but for the folks who might not be quite so Mississippi obsessed, or who might have gotten in the habit of seeing that announcement and skipping on by, we didn't want anyone to miss out on this one, because this record just might be the one to suck you in and MAKE you that obsessed. Sure it's yet another incredible unearthed gem from the crazy music obsessives who run the impeccable Mississippi Records label, and as we hinted at above, pretty much everything they release is worth checking out, and yeah, they're all special in their own way, there's a bunch of others on this very list, but this one, this one is something else altogether, a collection of 78s from legendary Indian classical vocalist Khansahib Abdul Karim Khan, dense, lush, emotional and spiritual ragas, haunting and mystical and completely gorgeous. A huge influence of legendary minimalist composer La Monte Young, in fact the liner notes offer up a quote from Young that basically says it all: "When I first heard the recordings of Abdul Karim Khan I thought that perhaps it would be best if I gave up singing, got a cabin up in the mountains, stocked it with a record player and recordings of Abdul Karim Khan, and just listened for the rest of my life."
We can definitely understand his feelings, this is the sort of music, so powerful and so passionate, that it definitely puts most 'singers' to shame. The instrumentation is very traditional classical Indian, but it's the vocals that drive these songs, the instruments way down in the mix, Khan's gorgeous vocals soaring and dramatic, haunting and moving and utterly breathtaking. We've seen descriptions of these recordings as being "not easy listening, but ultimately very rewarding", and while we definitely agree with the second half of the statement, these sounds while complex and totally unlike most of the other music you've heard, are not at all difficult to listen to, just the opposite, after just a few seconds, you'll be whisked away, totally transported, as the sounds surround you, and seep into your spirit and soul. The music here so utterly transcendent, so lush, warm and welcoming, yet at the same time, so strange and wondrous, Khan's voice sounding like its bathed in divine light.
Khansahib Abdul Karim Khan truly was a sonic shaman for the ages, delivering these divine musical messages to us, his willing supplicants. Incredible.
Packaged in super thick full color old school tip-on jackets, with a big booklet packed with liner notes and photos.
MPEG Stream: "Pyare Nazar Nahin - Bilawal"
MPEG Stream: "Phagwa Brij Dekhanako - Basant Khayal Jalad Tritaal"
MPEG Stream: "Jamuna Ke Teer - Bhairavi Thumri"
MPEG Stream: "Jadu Bhareli Kaun - Gara Thumri"

KHORSHID, OMAR Guitar El Chark (Sublime Frequencies) 2lp 30.00
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
A record like this is pretty much destined to be an aQ Record Of The Week. A super limited double lp, on Sublime Frequencies, featuring two whole lps of spaced out Arabic instrumental psychedelic surf rock and Eastern progressive beat, from legendary Arabic actor and musician Omar Khorshid, who is criminally unknown outside of the Middle East, especially considering his high profile, and the fact that this is some of the heaviest, buzziest, most rockingest stuff we've heard yet on Sublime Frequencies.
Born in Cairo, and widely considered to be the greatest guitarist in the Arab world, Khorshid became a ubiquitous presence in the Middle East, performing live, in televised concerts as an actor in films and on television, by the seventies he began working with a legendary Beirut composer, and his music became more and more avant and progressive, as did those who looked to him for inspiration, he helped introduce modern electronics, reverb, delay and other effects, pushing his sound way out, and creating something totally unique, and pretty fantastical.
On first listen, you can't help but be blown away. Wild tangled outer space synths, buzzy sitar like guitars, wild drumming, a strange sort of hypnotic buzzing Eastern style surf rock, which to these ears sounds like it was cooked up in a makeshift kitchen recording studio by an Arab Joe Meek. Fuzz guitar all over the place, almost like a Middle Eastern Ventures, propuslive, hypnotic, totally rocking, energetic and inspired, and seriously progressive, especially for the time.
His death was as dramatic as his life, after performing in 1977 at the Egyptian / Israeli summit at the White House, and being seated between Presidents Carter, Begin and Sadat, he was constantly harassed, enduring several assasination attempts and near constant surveillance, before being killed at age 36 in a mysterious car crash.
But his legacy lives on in his music, finally being exposed to a wider audience, a music at once original and forward thinking, exuberant, ebullient, fun and funky, wild and rocking and totally unique. Definitely one of our favorite Sublime Frequencies releases. Only on vinyl for now, and while it's likely there will be a cd version (which we'll also make a Record Of The Week when the time comes), we can never be 100 percent sure, so better grab one of these quick, espeically considering we only got 40 of these and most likely won't be able to get any more!

KIDUDE, BI Zanzibara 4 : The Diva of Zanzibari Music (Buda Musique) cd 15.98

KILLING JOKE s/t (2003) (Zuma) cd 14.98
It would be a considerable understatement to say this new Killing Joke album is a sobering listening experience -- it's a fierce, visceral, and bleak call to battle. It rocks and rages with echoes of their 1981 debut (and first self-titled) album's feel and spirit. Yes, genuinely punk, and yes, genuinely metal... although those stifling labels can't and won't adhere to this band. Frankly, very few artists today can capture the pure seething energy that this, Killing Joke's second self-titled album, has harnessed.
Jaz Coleman tears out of your speakers like a man possessed. His deeply inspired vocal performance delivers some of his most inhuman gutteral growls, anguished howls and demonic hisses. Birlliant. His lyrics, brutally direct, are steeped in immense disgust and despair, with hard-hitting political critiques -- cross-hairs unquestionably zeroing in on Bush, September 11th and America -- interestingly, a lot of the heavy duty ones are omitted from the liner notes.
Geordie Walker's thunderstorm of guitars drill and grind, at once both tightly clenched and loosely slung -- pelting your ears with metallic shards and sinewed debris. Original bassists Youth and Paul Raven consume any remaining air with glowering lines that boil and stew. With each song, the unrelenting roar of Killing Joke closes in around you.
Drummer Dave Grohl -- apparently not busy enough with Foo Fighters and Queens Of The Stone Age -- does an excellent job immersing himself in the Killing Joke realm, closely resembling the pummeling precision and tribal thrash of Martin Atkins. Hopefully Grohl's presence (his name is stickered prominently on the front of the cd) will draw younger audiences to this venerable band.
Unlike other bands from the past who've regrouped recently for one last hurrah or to cash in on the latest retro trends, it's clear Killing Joke have resurfaced because they truly have something vital to convey (just as they did back in 1990 with Extremities... dirt... etc). They don't churn out albums year after year to fulfill record contract obligations -- they make music with a piercing focus when they feel the need and when it is needed.
Andy Gill's production is beautiful and huge (but not too 'modern rock'), making for a generally accessible and current sounding album (although some of the tracks are overly long) -- one that should have hard music fans clambering.
If you were ever into Killing Joke, check out this album! If you're new, this is a pretty good place to start.
MPEG Stream: "Dark Forces"
MPEG Stream: "Total Invasion"
MPEG Stream: "Implant"

KING, PETER Shango (Afrostrut) cd 16.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Nigeria-born, London-schooled bandleader Peter King started his career in the '60s playing highlife and jazz before venturing into the James Brown inspired realms of afro-funk, of which "Shango" (named after the Yoruba god of thunder) is a prime example. These mostly instrumental tracks (there are some chanted vocal parts, often with a political message like "Freedom!") are super jazzy and groovy, with King's sax and flute joined by a bunch of other horns, percussion, and electric guitar/bass/drums. Recorded in 1974 but actually never released at the time, "Shango" was rediscovered when the Afrostrut label was putting together the excellent "Nigeria 70" compilation -- King's wife remembered the recording, and it turned out the tapes had actually been sitting beneath the bed of Peter King's son for who knows how many years! You'd think having something this funky under your bed would keep you up at night... Anyway, it's cool they found this, anyone into the soulful sounds of the "Nigeria 70" comp or all the other Afro-funk stuff that's been getting reissued recently will be glad to hear this.
RealAudio clip: "Mystery Tour"

KONONO NO.1 Assume Crash Position (Crammed Discs) cd 16.98
From the very first notes of Assume Crash Position, we're immediately transported right back to Kinshasa in the Congo, a bustling town square, people going about their business, cars zooming past, children playing and shouting, people sitting at tables on the sidewalk drinking, eating, catching up, birds perched in the trees, chirping, just a regular bustling African city, except maybe for a certain group of musicians, creating their own soundtrack to daily life, conjuring up a gorgeous, rhythmic, hypnotic and strangely psychedelic racket, equal parts classic African folk music, High Life, and junkyard percussion. The musicians are wielding a strange array of hand built instruments, there's lots of rusted metal, car batteries, old cracked loudspeakers, various drums, and most notably, some fantastic looking, and even more fantastic sounding amplified thumb pianos. By now, regular readers of the aQ list most likely know we're talking about the truly amazing Konono No.1, quite possibly one of our favorite African ensembles ever, past or present. When we first hear them a few years ago, we were blown away, the super distorted thumb pianos spitting out clouds of rapid fire chiming notes, tangled melodies, all locked into super hypnotic drum driven grooves, call and response vocals, simultaneously festive and danceable, dark and mysterious, raw and feral, primitive and DIY, lush and melodic and like nothing we had ever heard before.
When we first threw on Assume Crash Position, our first thought, was that very little had changed, and to a certain degree that's true, all of the above mentioned elements are still present, the wild thumb pianos, still the focal point, their sound curious but so warm and sweetly melodic, the call and response vocals, the tribal percussion, the groovy rhythms, but from the first track it IS in fact evident that some things have changed. That opening track, "Wumbanzanga", is far more melodic, far more pretty and almost more like some of the other traditional African music we've heard in the past, with great female vocals, the vibe super festive, but those thumb piano melodies definitely add a distinctly Konono vibe. Then the next track, "Thin Legs" explodes in a frenzy of whistles and tribal drumming and vocals, that's it, but it too manages to be super melodic and totally effusively celebratory.
It's not until "Mama Na Bana" which opens with that Konono style stop start THRUMP THRUMP THRUMP, where the whole group locks in, before launching into classic Konono, it's really hard to describe, but those fuzzy buzzing metallic melodies wrapped around the repetitive rhythms and the super emotional vocals, the whole rest of the record is classic, albeit a bit more polished and melodic, Konono junkyard Congotronics...
Some of the highlights this time around include "Makembe", with its buzzing melodies, crooned vocals, and the sounds of kids playing and birds chirping, before there's a BIG crash, apparently the sound of a concrete wall collapsing, a wall the vocalist was moments earlier leaning against, and then the band launches into one of the best jams on the disc. Or the gorgeous closing lullaby of "Nakobala Lisusu Te", with muted thumb pianos, super tangled melodies, and a sweet soulful croon, so dreamy and blissful, the perfect way to unwind after a wild, sweaty, funky, groovy, Congotronic workout.
The packaging is cool too, with tons of photos of the local scrap yard / junkyard, where the band gather up most of the material they use to build their instruments, not to mention a shot of that collapsed wall that crumbled mid-song. As with past Konono's, utterly and absolutely wholeheartedly recommended!
MPEG Stream: "Wumbanzanga"
MPEG Stream: "Thin Legs"
MPEG Stream: "Mama Na Bana"
MPEG Stream: "Makembe"

KONONO NO.1 Congotronics (Crammed Discs) cd 16.98
Back in stock! Probably the biggest "hit" record here at AQ of the past year. We're super excited that they'll be coming to San Francisco to play at the Jazz Fest in November, by the way! Here's our review of Congotronics from when we first listed it back in January:
So here it is! Hard to believe it's finally here -- some of us have been waiting forever for this record, or at least ever since we discovered a tiny, super compressed, thirty second long sound clip on the internet over a year ago. In all of half a minute, we became OBSESSED. Completely captivated by this band's totally alien, lush, organic 'world music' weirdness. We eventually tracked down a (great) live record by Konono No.1, which we listed here a few weeks back, and then after tons of internet sleuthing and a bunch of emails we finally managed to get in touch with someone at the Crammed label in Belgium who was willing to sell us this brand new studio album directly, since they are without US distribution. Phew! So was it worth it? Hell yeah! Anyone who heard that infamous sound sample (which was from this album), or who got to hear the live record, knows that this band is totally amazing, and indeed this record is beautiful, wild and wonderful, chaotic and festive, totally perplexing but completely mesmerizing. For those who missed out on the live record (which we've also just restocked!) or are new to the wonders of Konono No.1, here's the story: twenty five years ago, Konono formed in Kinshasa (the capital of Zaire), performing their own version of traditional Bazombo trance music, incorporating the then-unwanted distortions of their haphazard homemade sound system. They left the bush and settled in the capital where they were forced to compete with the harsh sounds of the city: cars, trains, buses, shouting, etc. So with very little to work with they fashioned pick-ups, microphones, loudspeakers and amplifiers from stuff they could find on the street -- old car batteries, pots and pans, magnets, even branches. Their main instrument is the likembe, a kind of thumb piano. Konono features three of 'em (bass, medium and treble) and the sound of the electrified and amplified likembe is what defines their sound. Accompanied by dancers and percussionists, the likembes wail and drone, buzz and moan, totally overblown and distorted, sounding a little like sixties fuzz guitars, turning a glorious high life jam into something much more strange and wonderful. Super rhythmic, and thick with the buzzing melodies of the likemebe's, Konono weave a massive sound. It's the wildest weirdest street party you've ever been to. Throbbing with energy and emotion, rambuctiously rollicking and totally infectious. Seven lengthy tracks that all sort of bleed and fuse into one epic world-psych jam. The African high life Hawkwind? So so great!
Check out this video clip:
http://www.crammed.be/craworld/movies/konono_promo.mov
MPEG Stream: "Lufuala Ndonga"
MPEG Stream: "Masikulu"

KONONO NO.1 Congotronics (Ache Records) lp 16.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
The vinyl version of AQ mega-fave Congotronics is BACK IN STOCK! Here's our review from way back when we first listed the cd:
Some of us have been waiting forever for this record, or at least ever since we discovered a tiny, super compressed, thirty second long sound clip on the internet over a year ago. In all of half a minute, we became OBSESSED. Completely captivated by this band's totally alien, lush, organic 'world music' weirdness. We eventually tracked down a (great) live record by Konono No.1, which we listed here a few weeks back, and then after tons of internet sleuthing and a bunch of emails we finally managed to get in touch with someone at the Crammed label in Belgium who was willing to sell us this brand new studio album directly, since they are without US distribution. Phew! So was it worth it? Hell yeah! Anyone who heard that infamous sound sample (which was from this album), or who got to hear the live record, knows that this band is totally amazing, and indeed this record is beautiful, wild and wonderful, chaotic and festive, totally perplexing but completely mesmerizing. For those who missed out on the live record (which we've also just restocked!) or are new to the wonders of Konono No.1, here's the story: twenty five years ago, Konono formed in Kinshasa, an area between Congo and Angola, performing their own version of traditional Bazombo trance music, incorporating the then-unwanted distortions of their haphazard homemade sound system. They left the bush and settled in the capital where they were forced to compete with the harsh sounds of the city: cars, trains, buses, shouting, etc. So with very little to work with they fashioned pick-ups, microphones, loudspeakers and amplifiers from stuff they could find on the street -- old car batteries, pots and pans, magnets, even branches. Their main instrument is the likembe, a kind of thumb piano. Konono features three of 'em (bass, medium and treble) and the sound of the electrified and amplified likembe is what defines their sound. Accompanied by dancers and percussionists, the likembes wail and drone, buzz and moan, totally overblown and distorted, sounding a little like sixties fuzz guitars, turning a glorious high life jam into something much more strange and wonderful. Super rhythmic, and thick with the buzzing melodies of the likemebe's, Konono weave a massive sound. It's the wildest weirdest street party you've ever been to. Throbbing with energy and emotion, rambunctiously rollicking and totally infectious. Seven lengthy tracks that all sort of bleed and fuse into one epic world-psych jam. The African high life Hawkwind? So so great!
Check out this video clip:
http://www.crammed.be/craworld/movies/konono_promo.mov
MPEG Stream: "Lufuala Ndonga"
MPEG Stream: "Masikulu"

KONONO NO.1 Live At Couleur Cafe (Crammed Discs) cd 12.98
Yay! These AQ faves -- everyone's faves -- from Kinshasa are back with another exciting dose of their "Congotronics". Chances are, especially if you're a regular AQ customer, that you know all about 'em already, and maybe even got to see them at one of the shows that (lucky for us!) they've played over the past couple years in San Francisco. Live is where it's at for them, a sweaty, joyous, unstoppable, never-ending groove heavily laced with the sound of their signature instrument: the DIY homebuilt electric amplified African thumb-piano (called a likembe). In the hands of Konono No.1, it produces a bright, burbling, somewhat distorted, almost-electronic-keyboard sort of sound that we immediately fell in love with way back when we first heard the band. But that of course is not all, there's plenty of percolating percussion underpinning the likembe melodies, over which they do exuberant vocal toasts and call-and-response chants. When they get going full-on, you'll want to turn it up LOUD and let the whole neighborhood enjoy the energetic density of Konono No.1.
Eight tracks, 52 minutes total, recorded live (sounding great!) in Belgium. Some songs you might recognize from versions on the previous two Konono discs (Lubuaku and Congotronics), others are previously unrecorded. All will get your body moving, guaranteed. This is dance music, nothin' but. At home alone, unwilling to dance? It'll still bring a mesmerized smile to your face for sure.
MPEG Stream: "A.E.I.O.U."
MPEG Stream: "Nsimba & Nzuzi"

KONONO NO.1 Lubuaku (Terp) cd 18.98
We have been totally obsessed with these guys (as have the rest of you judging from how many folks have called and emailed about them and already bought a ton of copies from us before this review even was written) for at least a year if not more and until now there hasn't been a thing (other than a minute long mp3 sample available on Crammed Discs' website) which has been taunting us with the promise of a full length from these guys. So until that fabled Crammed Discs release actually comes out we've got this little nugget to tide you over. And it's no small shakes neither. Though we only learned of them recently Konono No.1 have been around for some 25 years. Hailing from Kinshasa, Congo, Konono No.1 are true African punk rock. They are real D.I.Y. Not putting on shows and printing zines, no, how about building their own instruments from found scraps and dismantled machinery and retrofitting and electrifying traditional instruments! For instance the lead musician Mingiedi Mawangu has taken his likembe (thumb piano), rigged it up to pickups (self-built from hammered parts purloined from car starter motors) and amplified it with a custom built amplifier driven by a car battery, using microphones built out of copper wire and branches. How cool is that! And the sounds these instruments produce is amazing. The likembe, with its muted gentle melodic thrum, is turned into an overdriven buzzing melodic powerhouse that sounds like nothing you've ever heard. Well, sometimes it sounds a bit like some sort of psychedelic alien fuzz guitar, but mostly it just sounds amazing and bizarre. The songs are all very melodically similar and mesh into one massive hour long jam, with wild percussion, chanted vocals, and of course the wailing Likembe. So completely amazing. Every time we play this in the store, someone buys one. Immediately.
Seven extended tracks, recorded live and released on the Ex's label Terp.
MPEG Stream: "Ditshe Tshiekutala"
MPEG Stream: "Ku Hollande"

KONONO NO.1 / THE DEAD C Split Series 18 (Fat Cat) 12" 6.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
If there was ever a more unlikely split record, we sure can't think of one. But if there was ever a split we'd most like to see, it would be hard to do better than Konono No1 and the Dead C. Not sure if the two bands are a perfect fit, or just happen to satisfy our weirdly eclectic tastes, but this split 12" is fucking amazing. Two new tracks from Konono No 1, who if you are an avid reader of the AQ list are no doubt already familiar with ( we carry both their full lengths, their live record Lubuaku, as well as their studio album Congotronics). An African ensemble led by a trio of amplified Likembes (thumb pianos) and whose equipment is cobbled together from car parts, branches, batteries and other urban detritus. The sound is wild and joyful, rollicking and totally exuberant, the likembes sounding like some alien underwater psychedelic guitars. Wow. And then there's the Dead C. What can you say? One of the most important bands to ever come out of New Zealand. The masters and originators of the NZ free rock sound that has influenced hundreds of bands and been copied by hundreds more. The first 5 tracks are locked grooves, but skip past those (or not!) and you'll find three brand new tracks, 17 minutes of the Dead C in clattery chaotic rock mode, bursts of stumbling, distorted, propulsive free rock, like some lost Krautrock classic, played through crappy practice amps and on a beat up old drum kit, everything drenched in tape hiss and recorded in some cavernous space. Now if they had only managed to get Konono to record WITH the Dead C...
MPEG Stream: KONONO NO1 "Masikulu"
MPEG Stream: THE DEAD C "2"
MPEG Stream: THE DEAD C "3"

KOUYATE, BASSEKOU & KGONI BA Segu Blue (Out Here) cd 16.98

KOUYATE, BASSEKOU & NGONI BA I Speak Fula (Sub Pop / Next Ambiance) cd 13.98
With all the recent reissues of lost '70s West African musical gems, it's important to remember that there is amazing music being made RIGHT NOW over there, of course. And with so many of today's indie bands like Animal Collective and Vampire Weekend borrowing so much from African music its nice to go right to the source and hear some brand new sounds from that region, that are overflowing with such beauty and the rich tradition of storytelling through song that has long been a part of Ngoni culture.
Bassekou Kouyate has been a major player in the West African music scene for years, from back in his days playing in a trio with Keletigui Diabate and Toumani Diabati and then branching out to form his own ensemble, where he has invented and perfected his own instrument known as the bass ngoni, which has the ability to reach such rich harmonic states of sound. On I Speak Fula, the first release on Sub Pop's new international imprint Next Ambiance, Kouyate and his band show how rich, peaceful yet trance inducing the music they create can be. With guest spots from his former musical partner Toumani Diabate as well as vocals from Vieux Farka Toure on a few tracks, this is such an amazing display of some of the most talented musicians in West Africa today. So much on the record reminds us of some of our favorite releases on Terp, like Lanaya or Djibril Diabate, only with the addition of some seriously enchanting vocals. The first, fantastic release from a new label that definitely seems poised to bring us more great unfiltered sounds from across the globe. So good!
MPEG Stream: "Musow - For Our Women"
MPEG Stream: "I Speak Fula"
MPEG Stream: "Saro (Featuring Vieux Farka Toure)"

KUBAN, ALI HASSAN From Nubia To Cairo (Piranha) cd 21.00
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Anyone captivated by the hypnotic grooves found on the great "Ethiopiques" series should check out this not-dissimilar music by one of Ethiopia's neighbors to the north. The late Egyptian bandleader Ali Hassan Kuban, who passed away this summer at the age of 72, had a thirty-plus year career playing his unique brand of Nubian dance music. Indeed, he was a major million-selling artist known as "The James Brown of Nubian Music", and this new cd collects some of his biggest hits. Blending Sudanese, Egyptian, and Western traditions and technologies (from early on, his band utilized electric guitars, basses and organs along with horns and various ethnic instruments), his music is fun, funky and infectious!
RealAudio clip: "Amira"
RealAudio clip: "Yah Nasma Yah Halina"

KUBAN, ALI HASSAN Real Nubian (Piranha) cd 21.00
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
A fairly recently recorded collection by the "James Brown of Nubian music." Ali Hassan Kuban has been both celebrated for fusing jazz / popular music with traditional Nubian music by many and reproved for debasing it by others. Nevertheless, Kuban made an indelible mark on Nubian and Egyptian popular music, selling millions of copies of his records in his 72 years. "Real Nubian" was recorded between 1997 & 2000 and demonstrates that Kuban was not shy, even in his golden years, to incorporate new and modern elements into his arrangements. So it should come as no surprise that this album has a greater presence of synthesizer and electric bass, but also harmonica, saxophone, bagpipes and even a little bit of vocal processing a la Cher's "Believe" on one track. It all gets a little too Peter Gabriel at times and maybe a little rich for some palates, but if you can get past the chilled white wine and restaurant dining al fresco production values of this album the same Ali Hassan Kuban spirit and inventiveness remains there underneath it all.
RealAudio clip: "Gammal"
RealAudio clip: "Koma Wo Beda"

KUTI AND THE AFRICA '70 WITH GINGER BAKER, FELA Live! (MCA / Universal) cd 15.98
Oh my god! We're overwhelmed with this sudden spasm of Fela Kuti reissue activity -- a dozen cds (many of them containing two LPs worth of music) in the last couple weeks alone, with more on the way! Needless to say, we're not YET able to offer reviews of each individual disc, but when we've plowed through them perhaps we'll re-list any especially stand-out gems. On the whole, though, we're pretty certain you can count on the majority to be essential '70s Afro-Beat from the originator and master of the style.

KUTI, FELA Army Arrangement (MCA / Universal) cd 17.98

KUTI, FELA Beasts Of No Nation (MCA / Universal) cd 17.98
Here's three more in the continuing onslaught of reissues of classic records by the King of Afro-beat. Since we're still working sifting through the last dozen, again we'll just list that we have these and hopefully provide some more specific reviews at some future date!

KUTI, FELA Best Of The Black President (Knitting Factory Records) 2cd 21.00

MPEG Stream: "Lady"
MPEG Stream: "Water No Get Enemy"
MPEG Stream: "Coffin For Head Of State"
MPEG Stream: "ODOO"

KUTI, FELA Coffin For Head of State / Unknown Soldier (Universal) cd 16.98

KUTI, FELA Everything Scatter / Noise For Vendor Mouth (MCA / Universal) cd 17.98

KUTI, FELA Expensive Shit / He Miss Road (Universal) cd 16.98

KUTI, FELA Ikoy Blindness / Kalakuta Show (MCA / Universal) cd 17.98

KUTI, FELA J.J.D. / Unnecessary Begging (MCA / Universal) cd 17.98

KUTI, FELA Live In Amsterdam (MCA / Universal) cd 17.98

KUTI, FELA Monkey Banana / Excuse O (MCA / Universal) cd 17.98

KUTI, FELA Open & Close / Afrodesiac (MCA / Universal) cd 17.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.

KUTI, FELA Opposite People / Sorrow Tears and Blood (Wrasse Records) cd 15.98

KUTI, FELA Original Suffer Head / I.T.T. (Universal) cd 16.98

KUTI, FELA Roforofo Fight (MCA / Universal) cd 17.98

KUTI, FELA Stalemate / Fear Not For Man (Universal) cd 16.98

KUTI, FELA Teacher Don't Teach Me Nonsense (MCA / Universal) cd 17.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.

KUTI, FELA The '69 Los Angeles Sessions (MCA / Universal) cd 17.98

KUTI, FELA The Best Of Fela Kuti: Music Is The Weapon (Wrasse) 2cd + dvd 33.00
Here's a mighty impressive set for all you Fela Kuti fans out there: two cds packed with his best (Gentleman, Zombie, No Agreement, Coffin For Head of State and more) and the legendary 1982 documentary on Fela shot in Lagos, Nigeria. While the running time is only 53 minutes, there's nary a moment of un-necessary footage. Along with shots of Lagos and interviews with Fela there's plenty of footage of rare live performances at Fela's Shrine club and at the collective where he and his group reside. It must also be noted that this DVD includes both the French and English versions of the documentary which are different -- so it is recommended that you watch both.
MPEG Stream: "Zombie"
MPEG Stream: "Coffin For Head of State"

KUTI, FELA The Two Sides of Fela: Jazz & Dance (Universal) 2cd 24.00
Two disk anthology of Fela Kuti's grand ouevre. As the title implies, one disk focuses on Fela's jazz oriented cuts and the other on his dance elements -- though parsing those two, which are so entwined in all his music, is somewhat tough. Never the less, this is a pretty good introduction to the music of Fela Kuti, spanning twenty years of his prolific career (with tracks from as far back as 1972 and as recent as 1992) and is recommended to those who are curious about his work, but have yet to make any commitments.

KUTI, FELA The Underground Spiritual Game (Quannum Projects) cd 16.98
Fela Kuti is on of those artists that's really difficult to pull off putting together a "best of" collection. Not necessarily because it's just too hard to choose selections for such an anthology, but because his songs are just too damn long to fit much more than four tracks on a disc. That doesn't really make much of a greatest hits album. I'm not sure whether this was Quannum intent on putting this together, but a DJ mix running through some of Fela's greatest tracks works really well as a best of. As a continuous mix The Underground Spiritual Game is able to retain the feeling of Fela's extended song structure, but also give the listener a taste of a variety of Fela tracks. As such this disc makes a fine introduction to Fela for those yet to dive into his extensive oeuvre.
MPEG Stream: "Trouble Sleep"
MPEG Stream: "Unnecessary Begging"

KUTI, FELA Underground System (MCA / Universal) cd 17.98

KUTI, FELA Upside Down / Music of Many Colours (MCA / Universal) cd 17.98

KUTI, FELA V.I.P. / Authority Stealing (Wrasse) cd 15.98

KUTI, FELA Zombie (MCA / Universal) cd 17.98

KUTI, FELA & HIS KOOLA LOBITOS S/t (Klimt) lp 27.00

KUTI, FELA AND HIS AFRICA 70 s/t (Fela Fela Fel) (Kalakuta Sunrise / Knitting Factory) 10" 16.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
4 songs, recorded in LA in 1969; cover is replica of first Nigerian Fela Kuti record, LIMITED TO 1000 COPIES.

KUTI, FELA RANSOM Lagos Baby: 1963-1969 (Light In The Attic) 2cd 28.00

KUTI, FELA RANSOM Lagos Baby: 1963-1969 (Light In The Attic) 2lp+10" 38.00

KUTI, FEMI Fight To Win (MCA ) cd 17.98
New album from the son of Fela Kuti -- the king himself -- and I'm sure it's just as hard not to draw comparisons to his father as it is for him to live in his shadow, but that's the way it is. Femi's got a big studio budget, uses all the appropriate "world beat" signifiers in his arrangements, and the result sounds like a head on collision betwixt Fishbone and Peter Gabriel... Ouch. I'll stick with papa's old tricks.
RealAudio clip: "Walk On the Right Side"

L'ORCHESTRE KANAGA DE MOPTI s/t (Kindred Spirits) lp 19.98

L'ORCHESTRE NATIONAL A DE LA REPUBLIQUE DU MALI s/t (Mississippi) lp 14.98
**MISSISSIPPI RECORDS ALERT** **MISSISSIPPI RECORDS ALERT** **MISSISSIPPI RECORDS ALERT**
One of two new Mississippi Records releases this week, this one from L'Orchestre National De La Republique Du Mali, one of several groups (this one designated 'A' as they were the first) organized as the National Orchestra for Mali, on the heels of Mali's independence, featuring the best musicians in the country, each sworn to "serve their country by contributing with all their genius to the protection and revalorization of Malian musical art". As not all the musicians could perform in the same band, thus were born the different National Orchestras, those designated 'B' and 'C'.
This version of Mali's National Orchestra was led by legendary Malian musician Keletigui Diabate, and the record is so fantastic, lush and melodic, with warm lustrous guitars, gorgeous vocals harmonies, and while most of the record is festive and celebratory, there are a few tracks that are a bit darker, more minor key, and those are the ones that definitely stand out, "Janfa" is the tale of a lost love, and sounds like it, intense and dramatic and melancholy, with some incredible and complexly melodic guitar playing, while "Duga" is an extended almost Ethiopian style groove, with tendril like guitars, incredible sung/spoken vocals, emotional and moving, the whole thing strangely and subtly psychedelic, those tracks perfectly balancing the rest of the records ebullience. So good.
Pressed on super thick vinyl, and housed in a heavy full color sleeve, the back featuring the liner notes from the original release.