Africa

Leave a comment Posted on Africa, Central Africa, Southern Africa, World Music

Upcoming Summer Vibes))

Just passing by to share a couple of the summer’s most anticipated African releases.. (well, it’s sort of winter down there- but these are definitely meant for a global audience).

South African DJ Nozinja, creator of a style dubbed ‘Shangaan Electro‘, makes futuristic dance music without compromising any African authenticity.  In another world, he would be as big as Michael Jackson (but so far barely 1000 likes on facebook?!).  Here’s the delightful new video, from his forthcoming debut on Warp Records:

Congolese electric trance orchestra Kasai Allstars release double album ‘Beware the Fetish‘ in late June..  an intoxicating mix of several African cultures, this is music unlike anything else in the solar system.  Visitors will come from Neptune to hear them play..

Considering their ingenuity, it’s rather ridiculous these artists aren’t more popular.  Help spread the good groove to brew in open minds!

 

Leave a comment Posted on Africa, Central Africa, Music

Wooden Trumpets & Water Drums

In the depths of the great African jungle is a nation forgotten by the modern world.. or perhaps never known.  Welcome to the Central African Republic (a.k.a. Centrafrique).

Bayaka Tribesman // Extreme Honey Collecting

Bayaka Tribesman // Extreme Honey Collecting

While global eyes are on the power struggle in Ukraine, the CAR (a nation of roughly the same size) is currently experiencing its own internal division that is bordering on civil war.  The country has long been split between Christian (from the French colonial period) and Muslim (from northern Africa) populations, echoing the same violent saga that ruptured Sudan.  May the people come together and forgive their differences!

Though political struggles have prevented the development of the CAR music industry, many local talents have nonetheless drawn influence from the potent sounds of neighboring countries (notably, Cameroon and the DR Congo) to carve their own masterwork of contemporary rhythms, including the Bangui Rumba.  These boys were tops:

But the sweetest sounds of all remain gloriously hidden in the great jungle connecting CAR, Cameroon and Gabon, preserved from the rolling ball of modern religion and style. The so-called Baka ‘pygmies’ (a term to describe smaller than average humans) of the forest make some of the wildest, most futuristic-sounding, ancient music on the planet.  (In timeless cultures, everyone is a singer!)  Even Herbie Hancock snatched the Baka’s style.  Oh yeah, they rock on guitars too.

Hear these fine sounds and more on the Wandering Rhythms {{CENTRAFRIQUE SPECIAL}}.

Leave a comment Posted on Africa, Current Episode, Music, World Music

Avant-Garde Africa

Pioneering Gambian musician, Bai Janha

Gambian pioneer of electric wizardry, Bai Janha

In celebration of Black History Month, we feature an hour of experimental music from Africa and the African diaspora.  Yes, African musical traditions run incredibly deep, but there is also a pressing need to acknowledge the amazing contributions that Africans have made to modern music around the world.  Blues, jazz, samba, cumbia, rock, funk, reggae, hip hop.. all globally dominant styles that originated in the struggle for freedom that Africans have faced since being forced from their ancestral homeland.  As we all try to make sense of the modern age of mixing, the African quest for cultural and creative freedom has indeed made the universe a much richer place.

Hear samba-funk, mystic chants, saharan-disco, bizarro-rap, interstellar jazz, and much more on…

AVANT GARDE AFRICA: {{STREAM HERE}}

Also on the program, a late-night interview with the wonderful UK-based singer/accordionist Anja McClosky, who discusses her victorious first tour through snowy BC and Alberta with guitarist Dan Whitehouse in support of their sublime new Still EP.  Hear the interview with Anja {{HERE}}

Leave a comment Posted on Africa, East Africa, Music

Harmonic Soulstice

As people in the northern parts of the planet begin to anticipate the return of the sun, here is a wacky and wonderful animated video from Ethiopia (middle-earth) that will warm even the farthest polar-dwellers:

Happy Solstice to all!  It has become easy to forget that Christmas and many other religious celebrations began as a way of deepening our connection with the natural world and its rhythmic cycles; remember this to stay grounded during the mad festival of consumption that we still call holy-days.  Let us sync back into the planet’s rhythms and swim in the harmonies.