Songlines Magazine (July 2015, #109) by Songlines Magazine

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+44 (0)20 7501 6683 Editor-in-chief Simon Broughton Publisher Paul Geoghegan Editor Jo Frost Deputy Editor Alexandra Petropoulos Art Director Calvin McKenzie Content & Marketing Executive, News Editor Edward Craggs Advertisement Manager James Anderson-Hanney Reviews Editor Matthew Milton Listings Editor Tatiana Rucinska listings@songlines.co.uk World Cinema Editor Yoram Allon Cover Photo Antoine Tempe

Following the songlines...

pair of feet on a long desert walk make a trail of deep impressions in the sand. The picture cuts to deep clefts of rocks and mountains. From close-up to wide-shot the image says a lot about the relationship of the Australian Aborigines to the land. These are some of the images shown in a film at the beginning of Indigenous Australia: Enduring Civilisation at the British Museum, the first major UK exhibition on the subject, which runs until August 2. ‘We have grown the land up. We are dancing, singing and painting for the land. Removed from the land we are literally removed from ourselves,’ says Mick Dodson, a barrister of the Yawuru people and quoted in the exhibition. Aboriginal culture in Australia goes back 60,000 years, representing the oldest unbroken tradition on earth. We take the name of this magazine from the European word ‘songlines’ describing the creation myths of Aboriginal people tracing journeys across the landscape and celebrating these in art and song. In the catalogue Howard Morphy and John Carty write: ‘No one person can sing the whole songline without the help of other people who are custodians for its different sites and the different verses of the song associated with those sites.’ Indeed these long oral histories, several of which are represented in paintings in the exhibition, are among our most impressive monuments of oral culture. The white haloed figures of Wandjina, spirit ancestors with wide, dark eyes, as painted by Charlie Allungoy are truly haunting. It’s the connections we all have with our environment and history though our music, that is our subject matter in Songlines. Cheikh Lô fervently connects with his Mouride spiritual guides in his music. In a different way, it’s true of Brazil’s Criolo. Listening to local rappers, he says: ‘it really seemed like they were talking about my neighbourhood.’ Follow those songlines. Simon Broughton, editor-in-chief

Contributing Editors Jane Cornwell, Mark Ellingham & Nigel Williamson Subscriptions Director Sally Boettcher

CONTRIBUTORS THIS ISSUE INCLUDE

Publishing Director Sian Harrington Managing Director Jon Benson CEO Ben Allen Chairman Mark Allen Published by MA Business & Leisure Ltd

© MA Business & Leisure Ltd, 2015. All rights reserved. ISSN 1464-8113. MA Business & Leisure Ltd is part of the Mark Allen Group www.markallengroup.com Printing Pensord Press Ltd Record trade distribution WWMD Ltd 0121 788 3112 Newstrade distribution COMAG 01895 433600 The paper used within this publication has been sourced from Chain-of-Custody certified manufacturers, operating within international environmental standards, to ensure sustainable sourcing of the raw materials, sustainable production and to minimise our carbon footprint.

EDWARD CRAGGS A Cambodian-music loving graduate, Edward first met Songlines in a Glastonbury field and joined as an intern. Nearly four years later, he is now news editor and a marketing executive at MAG.

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CHARLES DE LEDESMA Charles was a contributor to the Rough Guides to World Music, and has written widely, recently publishing The Psytrance Party. This issue he looks at the career of merenguero supremo, Juan Luis Guerra (p48).

ELOISE STEVENS Eloise is a writer and radio producer, particularly interested in Indian and Brazilian music and culture. This issue she talks to musicians of an ancient Rajasthani caste about the future of their heritage (p44).

Songlines was launched in 1999 and is the definitive magazine for world music – music that has its roots in all parts of the globe, from Mali to Mexico, India to Iraq. Whether this music is defined as traditional, contemporary, folk or fusion, Songlines is the only magazine to truly represent and embrace it. However, Songlines is not just about music, but about how the music fits into the landscape: it’s about politics, history and identity. Delivered in both print and digital formats, Songlines, through its extensive articles and reviews, is your essential and independent guide to a world of music and culture, whether you are starting on your journey of discovery or are already a seasoned fan.

@SonglinesMag

facebook.com/songlines

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CONTENTS

36 Criolo

Na Lata

UPFRONT

FEATURES

06 Top of the World CD 08 My World interview

28 32 36 40

11 16 19 21 22 25 27

REGULARS

Cheikh Lô 48 Beginner’s Guide: Juan Luis Guerra Le Vent du Nord Joss Stone Criolo 50 Festival Pass: Glatt & Verkehrt What’s New & Obits Omara Portuondo & Eliades Ochoa Who’s Touring 53 Postcard from Nagore, India Letters 44 Rajasthani Folk Music Soapbox 87 Gig Guide Introducing... 92 Subscribe Daymé Arocena & 94 Overseas Festivals Keston Cobblers Club 97 Dispatch from Jinja, Uganda Spotlight: Lyre of Ur Quickfire: Natasha 98 Essential Ten: Solomons, James Cuban albums Shepard & Nancy Kerr

WIN

REVIEWS 58 62 64 71 73 75 76 81 82 84

Africa Americas Europe Asia Middle East Pacific Fusion Books World Cinema Live Reviews

Brazilian rapper Criolo’s new album, Convoque seu Buda 39 Natasha Solomons’ novel The Song Collector 81 Kumiko, The Treasure Hunter DVD 83

COMPETITIONS Send entries, marked clearly with the competition name, your name, address, email and telephone number to the address on p3 or email: comps@songlines.co.uk. Winners will be chosen at random. Only one entry per household. No cash alternatives. If you would prefer not to be sent details of other Songlines products and services, or products from other carefully selected companies, please state clearly on your entry. Closing date August 7 2015 (unless otherwise stated)

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top of the world

01 Cheikh Lô ‘Degg Gui’ 02 Canzoniere Grecanico Salentino ‘Taranta’ 03 Titi Robin & Mehdi Nassouli ‘Diplômé’ 04 Seckou Keita ‘Mandé’ 05 Anna & Elizabeth ‘Troubles’ 06 Curro Piñana ‘De Amor Enfermo’ 07 Nguyên Thi Lân ‘Road to Home’ 08 Dele Sosimi ‘You No Fit Touch Am’ 09 Rura ‘The Smasher’ 10 Efrén López ‘O Gios Tou Lykou’

Free tracks

THE BEST NEW RELEASES

JOSS STONE’S PLAYLIST

top

of the world

TOP

OF THE WORLD

ISSUE 109 PLUS 5 tracks chosen by Joss Stone

On your free CD – the editor’s selection of the top ten new releases reviewed in this issue

11 Oum ‘Taragalte’ 12 Bongeziwe Mabandla ‘Mangaliso’ 13 Bholoja ‘Mbombela’ 14 Gisela João ‘Meu Amigo Está Longe’ 15 The Infamous Stringdusters ‘By My Side’ Exclusively with the July 2015 issue of Songlines. STWCD85. This compilation & © 2015 MA Business & Leisure Ltd

Featuring Cheikh Lô, Efrén López, Seckou Keita, Dele Sosimi, Titi Robin & Mehdi Nassouli, Rura, Canzoniere Grecanico Salentino and more... SLTOTWCD-109-onbody.indd 1

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STWCD85 This compilation & © 2015 MA Business & Leisure Ltd info@songlines.co.uk, www.songlines.co.uk Executive producer Paul Geoghegan. Compiled and sequenced by Simon Broughton and Jo Frost. Design by Calvin McKenzie. Mastering by Good Imprint. CD pressing by Software Logistics Ltd. The producers of this CD have paid the composers and publishers for the use of their music. Anna & Elizabeth (Free Dirt Records) & © 2015 Anna & Elizabeth/Trade Root Music Group LLC. Courtesy of Free Dirt Records

05 Anna & Elizabeth ‘Troubles’ (2:17)

15 The Infamous Stringdusters ‘By My Side’ (3:32)

SLTOTWCD-109-sleeve.indd 1

02 Canzoniere Grecanico Salentino ‘Taranta’ (3:08)

01 Cheikh Lô ‘Degg Gui’ with Flavia Coelho & Fixi (4:07) TOP OF THE WORLD SELECTION

07 Nguyên Thi Lân ‘Road to Home’ (5:54)

13 Bholoja ‘Mbombela’ (5:16)

06 Curro Piñana ‘De Amor Enfermo’ (3:11)

11 Oum ‘Taragalte’ (excerpt, 4:39) JOSS STONE’S PLAYLIST

10 tracks from this issue’s best new albums + 5 bonus tracks exclusively with the July 2015 issue of Songlines

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06 Curro Piñana ‘De Amor Enfermo’

From El Alma Lastimada y Otros Poemas on Nuba Records

This may be his first album in five

Curro Piñana taps into one of the many

years, but Cheikh Lô’s music still has

deep wells of influence that have enriched

a serpentine funk. He’s joined here by

flamenco by setting the poetry of 11th-

Brazilian singer Flavia Coelho and

century Andalusian Sephardic poet

French accordionist Fixi. See p59

Solomon Ibn Gabirol. See p66

02 Canzoniere

07 Nguyên Thi Lân

Grecanico Salentino ‘Taranta’

‘Road to Home’

From Hanoi Masters: War is a Wound, Peace is a Scar on

From Quaranta on Ponderosa Music & Art

Glitterbeat Records

The Italian ensemble from Salento

Producer Ian Brennan has collected

celebrate 40 years together while

haunting recordings of musicians who

spreading their tarantella rhythms from

all have deep, personal connections to the

Puglia around the world. See p64

upheavals of the Vietnam War. See p71

03 Titi Robin & Mehdi Nassouli ‘Diplômé’

08 Dele Sosimi

‘You No Fit Touch Am’ From You No Fit Touch Am on Wah Wah 45s

From Taziri on World Village

Nobody is keeping Fela’s Afrobeat flag

The French guitarist and bouzouki player

flying as proudly as Dele Sosimi, and his

Robin teams up with Mehdi Nassouli

third album proves he is a force to be

from southern Morocco, who draws on his

reckoned with– its bass lines and bari sax

Berber and Gnawa heritage. See p79

are heavy, heavy, heavy. See p60

04 Seckou Keita ‘Mandé’

09 Rura

The innovative kora player Seckou Keita

This is an infectious, exhilarating and

follows up his excellent collaboration

downright sweaty toe-tapper of an

with Welsh harpist Catrin Finch with

album, which firmly establishes Rura’s

this solo album of meditative grace and

position as one of the most exciting

consummate elegance. See p58

bands on the Scottish folk scene. See p67

05 Anna & Elizabeth ‘Troubles’

10 Efrén López

Drenched in biblical imagery, this

The multi-instrumentalist deftly finds

mostly traditional collection of 16 tracks

his way around everything from Turkish

evokes the earthy and ethereal sounds of

dance music to flamenco, drawing on Ross

Appalachia, one of the last great bastions

Daly’s Labyrinth school of the world’s

of American folk music and song. See p62

modal musical traditions. See p73

From 22 Strings on ARC Music

From Anna & Elizabeth on Free Dirt Records

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08 Dele Sosimi ‘You No Fit Touch Am’ (excerpt, 4:26)

09 Rura ‘The Smasher’ (5:21)

03 Titi Robin & Mehdi Nassouli ‘Diplômé’ (5:49)

From Balbalou on Chapter Two

01 Cheikh Lô ‘Degg Gui’

04 Seckou Keita ‘Mandé’ (4:27)

‘The Smasher’ From Despite the Dark on Rura Music

‘O Gios Tou Lykou’ From El Fill del Llop on Buda Musique

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+ Joss Stone’s playlist 11

11 Oum ‘Taragalte’

From Soul of Morocco on MDC Oum, from Marrakech, blends Gnawa and Berber music with soul and jazz. As Joss Stone says: “OK, it’s not Motown, but it’s still soul.” This song is named after the southern Moroccan Berber town.

12 Bongeziwe Mabandla ‘Mangaliso’ Previously unreleased; to be released on Black Major later this year Born in South Africa’s Eastern Cape, Mabandla has twice been nominated in the South African Music Awards. He fuses elements of traditional Xhosa music, mbaqanga, soul, hip-hop and dub.

13 Bholoja ‘Mbombela’

From Swazi Soul on Sheer Sound Mbongiseni Ngubane (aka Bholoja) became interested in music at Sunday school in Swaziland where he heard gospel singers and the acoustic guitar for the first time. Swazi Soul is his debut album.

“ I like to find an artist that somehow sounds like the place that they come from. And to find a special sound that we don’t have” Turn over for the full interview with Joss Stone

14 Gisela João ‘Meu Amigo Está Longe’ From Gisela João on Edições Valentim de Carvalho

Gisela João is from the north of Portugal – not traditional fado territory, but with her eponymous debut album, she has become the new rising star. This was a song made famous by Amália Rodrigues.

15 The Infamous Stringdusters ‘By My Side’ From Let is Go on High Country Recordings

This award-winning, newgrass band

All Top of the World and playlist albums are available to purchase through the new Songlines CD Shop. Delivered worldwide and with free P&P for all UK orders. See p10 for more details.

www.songlinescdshop.co.uk or call+44 (0)1689 888 888

started out in 2007 and have released five albums to date. Joss Stone is a friend of Andy Falco, the guitarist in the band.

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INTRODUCING...

Daymé Arocena

Jane Cornwell speaks to the Cuban singer that may just be the neo-soul saviour we’ve been waiting for

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Casey Moore

aymé Arocena was just a child when she appeared on Cuban TV, singing ‘Let it Be’ in a voice that many felt was godgiven. As well it might have been: even as a baby the Havana-based diva apparently never cried, preferring to make her own soft scatting sounds or copy the melodies she heard playing on the television. “I was singing before I could talk,” says Arocena, now 23. “Everyone thought I was just this crazy little kid. It was only when I won this kid’s singing competition, doing an adult song by [Mexican popstrel] Selena, that my family started taking my passion seriously.” Naturally gregarious, the young Arocena would play dress ups then stand on street corners in her lively barrio, Diez de Octubre, singing her heart out and charming everybody who saw her. Aged ten she gained entry to a prestigious conservatory of classical music, opting to specialise in choir conducting; aged 14 she was fronting a big band called Los Primos and – having been advised to explore other music – immersing herself in the old-school oeuvres of great female jazz singers like Billie, Ella and Nina. Then came jazz-fusion quintets and gigs in Canada; always, there was the street rumba of Diez de Octubre. “My neighbourhood is poor but filled with people who love singing, dancing and partying,” Arocena says. “You can feel that in my music. I’m always laughing and joking like a street girl.” A street girl who takes her craft super-seriously. As she does her AfroCuban religion. Dressed always in white, this spiritual daughter of two female orishas – Yemaya of the sea and the beautiful Ochun of the fresh waters – sings the chants and song repertoires

of this syncretic faith. Just as her debut CD, Nueva Era (on Brownswood), also explores the intersection of jazz, funk, rock and what’s been described as Cuban neo-soul. Poised on the brink of the big time, Daymé Arocena feels like one of the most exciting young artists to come along in years. A highly anticipated live set at St Pancras Old Church in London in April both fulfilled expectations and hinted at greater things to come. Backed by a crack quintet – producer Simbad on thumb piano and cajón, Oli Savill on percussion, Neil Charles on keys and the prodigiously talented pianist and bandleader Robert Mitchell – Arocena shook her ankle bells, beat out rhythms on her chest and sang of mothers, men, heat and dust in a voice that had the chapel glowing. Each song was introduced with an easy, guileless warmth: ‘Dust’

was written about a dirty house in Toronto that left the asthmatic Cubana struggling to breathe. The ballad ‘Come to Me’ was a neo-soul delight; a song dedicated to ‘a crazy guy’ who broke her heart went from sweet to fiery as Arocena rocked out on air wah-wah guitar, finishing with a definitive ‘I hate you!’ battle cry. Lead single ‘Don’t Unplug my Body’ had all the sold-out crowd with its clutch of homesick Cuban ex-pats calling, clapping and vibing as if Arocena was the neo-soul saviour they’d been waiting for. Which, if she can shrug off the pressure, work on her lyric writing and be allowed to go her own way, she just might be. Watch this space.

+ ALBUM Daymé Arocena’s debut

album, Nueva Era, is out now and will be reviewed next issue, #110

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Keston Cobblers Club

The folk-pop outfit talk to Alexandra Petropoulos about their mishmash of sounds

nce upon a time in a town not so far away, Keston, there lived an old shoemaker. Times were tough for the poor shoemaker, nobody wanted their shoes mended and business was slow. The cobbler, who was also a fiddler, played his heart out in the local tavern, lamenting his bad luck. Soon the people came to listen and they danced and danced until their shoes wore thin and were in need of repair. The more he played, the more shoes needed mending. It is this delightful folk tale on which the Keston Cobblers Club have based not only their name, but their ethos: “We just try and make people come and dance. We try and do stuff that draws people in in some way,” says Julia Lowe. The five-piece folk-pop outfit is fronted by Julia and her brother Matt. With folk musicians for parents, from a young age the two were often brought along to local folk clubs, ceilidhs and folk camps. “It was essentially all these hippies and me in the woods doing folk music,” says Julia, “and Matt was just like, ‘this is awful. I’m surrounded

by these women with hairy armpits dancing around me!’” Matt pipes in flatly, “it wasn’t my idea of a holiday when I was ten years old.” Brother and sister are joined by Tom Sweet, Bethan Ecclestone and Harry Stasinopoulos, with no band member sticking to just one instrument. “Bar maybe Harry on the drums,” Matt says, “we kind of generally all switch around. There’s not really one person who plays one thing… It is a real mishmash.” More than just their instrumentation (which includes tuba, ukulele, trumpet, accordion, banjo, children’s toys and more), this mishmash also extends into their style. Their second album, Wildfire, is an endearing mix of genres – folk, pop and everything between – but tightly-knit vocal harmonies and an orchestral sense of composition tie the whole album together. Opener, ‘Laws’ is a delicate waltz with rolling moments of gloom. ‘St Tropez’ begins with beautiful a capella singing before busting out into some poppy synth and excellent brass lines, and ‘Contrails’ is a charmingly

catchy folk-pop aubade. The anthemic title-track is about Julia’s phobia of fire. “I used to have OCD,” she admits. “I was awful… We came halfway back from holiday once because I thought I’d left the iron on.” But more than that, the song is also about being free and wild. It’s this desire to run free that inspired a rather creative way to launch their album – the world’s first adult-only, album launch ‘Questival.’ The Wildfire Adventure Camp is “about being somewhere where you can be wild and free,” Julia explains. Asked to ‘leave your modern day lifelines at the door,’ the camp encourages punters to dive into the activities – including archery, swing dancing, and silversmithing – without the distractions of everyday life (no electronic devices allowed). “It’s not just your ears that can enjoy music, we want to give people an overall experience.”

+ ALBUM Wildfire will be reviewed in +

the next issue, #110 DATE The Wildfire Adventure Camp takes place on June 19-21

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CHEIKH LÔ

A Sufi Stance Peter Culshaw catches up the Senegalese veteran at home in Dakar and chats to the singer about his spiritual antidote to hardline Islam

heikh Lô is on the terrace of his house in the suburbs of Dakar, with a fabulous view over the city’s rooftops. “And that is the Cheikh Lô bus stop” he indicates below, clearly amused, “on Cheikh Lô Road.” I ask if that’s official. “Mais oui. Usually you have to die to get such accolades – I am happy I have not had to die first.” It must, I suggest, be handy if he is out for the night and has to remember the right bus stop to get off on. He laughs, but it’s fair to say Cheikh Lô doesn’t do buses – he is one of the most successful of Senegal’s older artists, especially in Europe. He’s nearly 60 and full of life, and his new album, Balbalou, a Top of the World this issue and his first album since 2010’s Jamm, is about to be released on an unsuspecting world.

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Cheikh starts dancing on the rooftop terrace, and launches into an a capella version of James Brown’s ‘It’s a Man’s, Man’s, Man’s World’, serenading Flavia Coehlo, the Brazilian singer who is guesting on his album, with the lines from the song ‘but it would be nothing, nothing without a woman or a girl.’ Afterwards he reminisces about seeing James Brown in 1974 in Dakar, and how Brown rearranged the way he thought about music. Cheikh was actually born in Burkina Faso before his family came to Dakar in 1978. “My music is as much funk as mbalax,” he says, referring to the dominant pop rhythm of Senegal, whose best-known exponent is Youssou N’Dour, the superstar who produced Cheikh’s debut album, Né La Thiass. As for following Youssou into politics, he says “I left school

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Antoine Tempe issue 109

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â&#x20AC;ş songlines

03/06/2015 12:36

Robert Astley Sparke

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â&#x20AC;ş issue

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Criolo

Soul Searching The hugely popular Brazilian rapper Criolo is refreshingly self-effacing when he meets Russ Slater to talk about his work and his worries about the problems facing Brazil

riolo has become one of the most important musicians in Brazil in the space of just a few years. His music, as well as his passionate personality, has become synonymous with Brazil’s fight against inequality, corruption and the glorified overspending that reached a head in 2014 with the FIFA World Cup arriving on Brazilian shores. It was in 2011 that Criolo first came to people’s attentions when his second album, Nó Na Orelha (In the Ear, reviewed in #86), seemingly came out of nowhere, arriving first as a free download from his website. Despite coming from a rap background, the record saw Criolo sing samba, reggae, Afrobeat and even a ballad in the shape of ‘Não Existe Amor em SP’ (Love Doesn’t Exist in São Paulo), a hauntingly poetic account of feeling alone in the Brazilian megalopolis. It chimed with everyone in Brazil: the public, the critics and even the country’s musical royalty – Criolo sang the song as a duet with Caetano Veloso at MTV Brasil’s VMA awards. It took three years before Criolo followed up with another release – Nó Na Orelha’s success afforded him the opportunity to tour around the entirety of

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Omara & Eliades

¡Adios Buena Vista!

Philip Sweeney chats to Cuban veterans Omara Portuondo and Eliades Ochoa and concludes that there is still plenty of life left in the old BVSC stalwarts…

Christina Jaspars

he Buena Vista Social Club, in its 18 years of activity, must have contributed to many hundreds of livelihoods: musicians, publishers, recording engineers, immigration officials, hotel staff. And cartloads of journalists. Personally I’m still hoping for more, and by the time Songlines readers consign this article to the recycling bin, I may well be typing out the opening paragraph of a ‘Welcome Back Buena Vista’ story, while Omara Portuondo calls up her son Ariel to remind her, yet again, whether it’s Mexico City or Copenhagen next week and to check they haven’t forgotten the creamy soup (never tomato) specified among the pages of backstage requirements on the long contract rider. Three months ago I was talking to Omara in the lobby of Havana’s Hotel Victoria about the alleged final tour of the world’s premier oldie supergroup. She didn’t seem in very terminal mode then. “Oh, we keep saying Adios! Then we’re back again!” Now it’s a suite in another hotel off Kensington High Street, London, and she’s gearing up for another bout of concert promo. This time she’s in the company of Eliades Ochoa, the country music king and fellow BVSC stalwart. So how was Australia in the interim? “Good, good, lots of kangaroos and koalas dancing the chachachá…” Omara likes her animal jests, and I’ve learned never to overlook any conversational opening, no matter how unpromising. Last time she showed

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me a photo of herself with a crocodile, to which the shape of the island of Cuba is often compared. In the subsequent reptile badinage, I gleaned precious nuggets of information on the role of Celia Sánchez, Castro’s old revolutionary compañera, in the modernisation of Cuban crocodile farming. So we know about Omara’s views on the subject, but Eliades, is this really the last BVSC tour? I persist doggedly. “Well…” says Eliades, “the thing is, we did promise to do some dates in Asia in 2016…” OK, let’s leave the Farewell Tour 2017 till after the 2016 Comeback Tour, and concentrate on the current Farewell Tour, which, whatever the musicians may say, is now drawing to a close in Europe. At the risk of boring the interviewees

comatose, I ask what legacy Buena Vista will leave. Omara already gave me her assessment in Havana – “As important as the contribution of anything in Cuban music,” she replied and risking death by lightning bolt for blasphemy, “including Pérez Prado and the mambo.” So what does Eliades think? “Depends what you mean by the legacy,” he says. “The effect on young musicians? Or do you mean in economic terms?” No, the general effect on Cuba and its music. “Well,” says Eliades, “I’ve said it two thousand times, and I’ll probably say it two thousand more, the effect of Buena Vista was gigantic. It took Cuban music into every last corner of the planet, even though it was already well-known, and today all the little groups that play across Cuba know all the hits of BVSC: ‘Chan Chan’, ‘El Cuarto de Tula’, and play them, and well…” A generous assessment, given the irritation some BVSC members feel at the assortment of self-styled Buena Vista acts playing around Havana, but also a realistic one: rip-offs or not, most of the tribute acts are pretty competent. The effect of BVSC on its protagonists’ lives is well-documented. Forgotten old artists such as Ibrahim Ferrer and Rubén González emerged from poverty to spend their last years basking in adulation and concert fees. Hard-working professionals like the bassist Cachaíto López suddenly began to supplement their minuscule state orchestra and teaching salaries with bill-topping gigs at the Sydney Opera House or the Royal Albert Hall. Omara

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Omara & Eliades

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RAJASTHANI FOLK MUSIC

Reviving Rajasthan’s Folk

As traditional patronage dwindles, Rajasthan’s traditional musicians are devising new and inventive ways to find different audiences. Eloise Stevens talks to Lakha and Kutle Khan

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RAJASTHANI FOLK MUSIC

Duncan Campbell

Main image: Kutle Khan and friends playing at last years’ Songlines Music Travel trip; above: Lakha Khan performing in Delhi

t the tranquil hub of the Lodi Garden Restaurant in central Delhi, Lakha Khan swoops the bow of his sarangi into the first melancholic notes of the acclaimed ‘Kesariya Balam’. All he can see the from the stage are the lanterns hanging like fireflies from the trees. The audience, he knows, sits serenely beneath them, attentively nibbling on pitta bread and babaganoush. Before he has even begun the verse, an elderly, suited gentleman has placed 1,000 rupees – five days’ minimum wage – before his crossed legs. As a 70-year-old member of the Manganiyar community, an ancient musical caste from Rajasthan, Lakha Khan is delighted that his community’s traditional folk songs are being recognised in this way. Since medieval times, the low-caste Manganiyars, among other musical communities, such as the Langas and the Dholis, have been performing for the high-class Rajputs, auspiciously called upon to inaugurate their births, marriages and funerals. The majority of their songs were tales of local folk legends or of worship to the huge pantheon of Hindu gods and goddesses, but it was recitals of their patrons’ genealogies that were their greatest trump card. These oral family trees, into which are woven a number of Rajput conquests, are the official validation of these families’ power. The musicians would be rewarded with enough food for the year, but if they had really excelled themselves, they might find a camel or a sum of gold delivered to their door a few days later. Yet since Independence, this sort of patronage has been ebbing away. Many Rajputs are migrating to the cities where they no longer need to call on traditional musicians, and are quickly gaining a taste for Bollywood and Westernised music. Lakha Khan is painfully aware that the token of appreciation placed before him is a direct result of ‘Kesariya Balam’, which skyrocketed in popularity after featuring in the hit Bollywood film Dor. As Bollywood permeates even the furthest flung corners of India, it is the glitzier versions of these folk songs that stick in both the musicians’ and the listeners’ imaginations. Consequently the traditional repertoire is gradually shrinking, especially in the hotels and desert resorts of Rajasthan, where musicians are eager to please urban and international tourists with renditions of the ‘hits.’ But Lakha-ji is determined to continue playing the vast traditional repertoire, songs he has been learning since first picking up a sarangi aged 12. “We can’t forget the old song book,” he says about these ragas, “I want to get them out as much as possible.” Fortunately for Lakha, a master of the Sindhi sarangi, an ancient 27-stringed instrument that originated in Sindh Pakistan, he has full reign of his output. His talent, under the guidance of the late ethnomusicologist Komal Kothari, and now the record label Amarrass, has earned him a loyal and robust audience. Yet not, as one might expect, in India. Aside from the fact that Western

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Africa 58 Americas 62 Europe 64 Asia 71 Middle East 73

Pacific 75 Fusion 76 Books 81 World Cinema 82 Live Reviews 84

Reviews

We only review full-length world music albums (not singles or EPs) with UK distribution. Please send a copy marked ‘FOR REVIEW’ to the address on p3

Cameroonian guitarist Blick Bassy releases a unique new album, Akö, see p58

Denis Rouvre

‘Sanou’s lead guitar reverberates like a Touareg Duane Eddy, while Diarra pumps out the heavy rhythms with crunching ferocity and the hand claps drive the tempo with clattering pandemonium’

We have three copies of the novel The Song Collector (p81) and the DVD Kumiko, The Treasure Hunter (p83) to give away. Turn to p5 for competition rules

WIN

Terakaft review, p61

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Africa REVIEWS Elida Almeida Ora Doci Ora Margos Lusafrica (48 mins)

★★★★★

Stunning debut by young Cape Verdean singer Who is Elida Almeida? Across 2015, many other music lovers will ask the same question. That is because this, the debut album from a 21-year-old Cape Verdean singersongwriter, hints at a stunning new talent. Firstly, there’s her voice: silvery, bruised, questing and seductive, it grabs you right from the opener, ‘Lebarn Ku Bo’. And then there are the songs; 11 of the 13 here are originals.

They are mornas (traditional Cape Verdean songs) yet are imbued with a contemporary flavour and Brazilian touches that add an international appeal. When Almeida’s voice is at the forefront, her enchanting Creole blues shimmer. The album’s producer is José da Silva, who discovered and produced Cesaria Evora, and he wraps Almeida in a similarly lush Latin production style. Actually, at times Almeida would have benefitted from a more acoustic approach. But even the over-the-top electric guitars, busy percussion and prominent keyboards cannot subdue a talent this strong. Note the name – though it will be impossible to forget, once you’ve heard her sing. GARTH CARTWRIGHT

TRACK TO TRY Lebam Ku Bo

Bamba Wassoulou Groove Farima Editions Label Bleu (61 mins)

★★★★★

Why have one amazing guitarist when you could have three? Anyone seeking pure guitar energy and signs of a healthy musical revival in Bamako need look no further. Led by three guitarists, notably Moussa Diabaté of Super Rail Band fame, Bamba Wassoulou Groove both electrify old Malian classics and compose endearing new Bamana tunes. Under the guidance of musical director Bamba Dembélé, the

seven-man band reinvent the great 1970s standard ‘Bina’ and allow Diabaté’s guitar new unbridled freedom in songs like ‘Fadegnacouma’, ‘Lolo’ and the title-track. Dembélé’s reputation reaches back to the Super Djata Band that he founded in the late 70s. The percussionist proves he has lost none of his agility in marrying rock, native blues and rhythms from the southern Wassoulou region. The warm voice of Ousmane Diakaté drives many Dembélé’s compositions to telling effect, but this is a collective effort where the balafon of Mory Kouyaté shoulders the dizzying riffs of the guitar trio. This is likely to light up the dance floors throughout the African continent. DANIEL BROWN

TRACK TO TRY Fadegnacouma

Blick Bassy Akö No Format! (30 mins)

★★★★★

Elegant Cameroonian soul

Andy Morgan

TOP

OF THE WORLD

Seckou Keita 22 Strings

TRACK 4

ARC Music (51 mins)

★★★★★

What Keita did next After his sublime album, Clychau Dibon, with Welsh harpist Catrin Finch that won Best Cross-Cultural Collaboration in the 2014 Songlines Music Awards, the Senegalese-born but UK-based kora player follows with a mostly instrumental solo album of meditative grace and consummate elegance. The title tells a tale for the harp-like instrument conventionally has 21 strings. Yet according to legend, centuries ago when the djinns (spirits) gave the griot Jai Mady Wuleng the first kora, it had 22 strings. When he died, his fellow griots took one string away in his memory. In the southern Senegalese province of Casamance, where Seckou was born, the 22-stringed kora has survived. Despite the extra string, on

these ten compositions Seckou’s style is distinctly more minimalist than the rich flurries of notes favoured by the poet laureate of the instrument, Toumani Diabaté. In particular, the vocal tracks such as ‘If Only I Knew’, ‘Kana-Sila’ and the gorgeous ‘Mandé’, sung by Seckou in a soulful voice of great poise, have an attractive folk simplicity, although there’s a more classical feel to several of the instrumental pieces. The overwhelming mood is stately, some might even say sombre, for there is clearly serious griot business at work here. The best is kept to last with ‘Future Strings in E’. At almost seven minutes, it’s a stunning instrumental showcase for Seckou’s inventiveness on all 22 of his ancient strings. NIGEL WILLIAMSON

TRACK TO TRY Future Strings in E

GET THIS ALBUM FREE Readers can get 22 Strings when subscribing or renewing with Direct Debit. See CD flyer

58 S O N G L I N E S

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Born in Cameroon in 1974 but resident in Paris since 2005, Bassy spent ten years in the jazz fusion group Macase, before releasing two solo albums on World Connection, which marked him out as a unique world music auteur, influenced by Gilberto Gil, Marvin Gaye and Louis Armstrong as well as Cameroon’s giant Manu Dibango. He combined bossa nova rhythms, jazz elements and rhythms drawn from across West Africa and Cape Verde, sung in a wonderfully warm voice full of subtle, summery funkiness. Now signed to No Format, Akö is more stripped-down and intimate than the sophisticated arrangements of previous albums but it is arguably even more adventurous, spanning the African diaspora in a similar way to, say, Taj Mahal or Corey Harris – only coming from the opposite end of the Atlantic. With Bassy’s guitar and haunting voice (he sings in both English and the Cameroonian Bassa tongue) backed by Clément Petit’s cello, Fidel Fourneyron’s trombone and Olivier Ker Ourio’s harmonica, it’s an elegant minimalist delight from the Afro-blues of ‘Ake’ to the old-time jug band feel of ‘Kiki’, via ballads, jazz syncopation and African folk traditions. A unique album by a singular artist who defies categorisation. NIGEL WILLIAMSON

TRACK TO TRY Tell Me

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Africa REVIEWS Djeli Moussa Condé Womama Buda Musique (43 mins)

★★★★★

World citizen brings reggae, jazz and funk to Malian roots Hailing from Guinea, living in Paris and with spiritual roots in Mali and Gambia, Djeli Moussa Condé’s experience is one that will be familiar to many West Africans living in France. The music on this, Condé’s second solo release, reflects his status as a citizen of many countries. Condé provides lead vocals, guitar and kora backed by a French band and with several West African guest musicians. European influences sit next to the West African styles easily, and the album journeys through reggae, jazz and funk without ever leaving the Mande influence behind. The album is strongest during its more Latin phases, such as the tracks ‘La Salsa Africana’ and ‘Palma’ (an ode to the Balearic city), and the disco Afrobeat piece ‘African Bond’ is great fun, managing to be both cheesy and extremely funky at the same time. There are no weak tracks on this album as such, but there is an amount of filler: pieces that are listenable but essentially unexciting. Nevertheless, this is a good album, and the standout tracks make the less interesting parts well worth wading through. JIM HICKSON

TRACK TO TRY La Salsa Africana

Leila Gobi Leila Clermont Music (42 mins)

★★★★★

Globetrotting Gobi gets going The competition is getting tough out in the Saharan desert, but singer Leila Gobi fares well with her eponymous third album, the first to be released outside of Mali. The first six tracks were recorded with a four-piece band in upstate New York, with the remaining pair laid down by a different (though not entirely dissimilar) crew in Bamako. The two line-ups have a shared sonic zone, suggesting that Gobi’s vision is strong, supplanting her career’s early role as a chorus singer. She enters the fray accompanied by a pair of rugged lead guitarists, but the presence of the American keyboardist Pete Levin adds a subtle

jazz frisson, with organ and Fender Rhodes textures. The opening ‘Hari Nafa’ sways with a shoulder-dipping motion, acidic guitar interjections forcing a sudden increase in pace towards its climax. Gobi’s words cover both international conflict and personal love, sung in multiple Malian languages, her youthfully high, nasally-pitched voice cutting through the competition of the flying guitar solos with power and precision. MARTIN LONGLEY

TRACK TO TRY Hari Nafa

Miriam Makeba Mama Africa Milan Records (70 mins)

★★★★★

A welcome reminder of the young Makeba’s first steps Ignore the title. For although Makeba – who died in 2008 aged 76 – richly deserved the ‘Mama Africa’ soubriquet, this 27-track disc is not a career overview. Rather it’s a welcome reissue of her first two solo albums, recorded in 1960 after she had sought exile in the US when, still in her 20s, she was Africa’s bright-eyed ingénue daughter rather than the continent’s ‘earth mother.’ The 14 tracks from the LP Miriam Makeba find her in simple folk vein, accompanied only by Perry Lopez’s guitar and the Harry Belafonte Singers. The Zulu and Xhosa folk songs include a stirring version of ‘Mbube (The Lion Sleeps Tonight)’ but her finest vocal performance arguably comes on an extraordinary version of ‘House of the Rising Sun’, magically sung in a voice that combines the elegant purity of Joan Baez with the deep soul of Nina Simone. The dozen tracks from the LP The Many Voices of Miriam Makeba combine the same folk simplicity with a small jazz combo that includes Hugh Masekela on trumpet, and more expansive material that includes a Congolese lament, a Brazilian carnival song and a West Indian calypso. As a bonus we get the first version of ‘Pata Pata’, recorded in 1959 as a gentle swaying township folk song rather than the upbeat global dance tune it was to become in 1967. Makeba’s later recordings may have reflected more deeply on the pain and suffering of apartheid and exile, but she never sounded more exquisitely charming and innocently irresistible than she does here. NIGEL WILLIAMSON

TRACK TO TRY House of the Rising Sun

TOP

Cheikh Lô Balbalou

OF THE WORLD TRACK 1

Chapter Two Records (44 mins)

★★★★★

He’s stepped off the Circuit, but he’s still got it… It’s five years since Cheikh Lô’s fourth and final album for the World Circuit label but thankfully little has changed in the Senegalese singer’s rippling Afro-Cuban rhythms. His voice still maintains a gentle caress and his music still has a serpentine funk. But there are fresh, subtle and unexpected nuances here too, as his new Swedish producer Andreas Unge nudges Cheikh in an even more expansively cosmopolitan direction. The opening track, ‘Bamba’, adds plangent piano to the familiar talking drums and riffing horns. ‘Degg Gui’ features a soupçon of tango accordion and a vocal duet with the Brazilian singer Flavia

Coelho. ‘Doyal Nanniou’ is a protest song, Cheikh berates African politicians with diva-esque support on the final climactic verses from the mighty, wailing Wassoulou voice of Oumou Sangaré. ‘Gemou Ma Ko’ is a lovely, korabased lullaby and the title-track has a late-night Afro-jazz funk groove, floating on some haunting Miles Davis-influenced trumpet from Ibrahim Maalouf. Fears that the famously laidback Cheikh might struggle to match his previous work without the drive and energy of producer Nick Gold from World Circuit behind him have proved unfounded. Balbalou is the equal of any of his previous albums – and that is high praise indeed. NIGEL WILLIAMSON

TRACK TO TRY Degg Gui

GET THIS ALBUM FREE Readers can get Balbalou when subscribing or renewing with Direct Debit. See CD flyer for details

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03 Titi Robin & Mehdi Nassouli ‘Diplômé’ (5:49)

04 Seckou Keita ‘Mandé’ (4:27)

05 Anna & Elizabeth ‘Troubles’ (2:17)

06 Curro Piñana ‘De Amor Enfermo’ (3:11)

07 Nguyên Thi Lân ‘Road to Home’ (5:54)

08 Dele Sosimi ‘You No Fit Touch Am’ (excerpt, 4:26)

09 Rura ‘The Smasher’ (5:21)

10 Efrén López ‘O Gios Tou Lykou’ (4:45)

JOSS STONE’S PLAYLIST

13 Bholoja ‘Mbombela’ (5:16)

15 The Infamous Stringdusters ‘By My Side’ (3:32)

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JUAN LUIS GUERRA JOSS STONE’S PLAYLIST LE VENT DU NORD BUENA VISTA SOCIAL CLUB

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Dominican Republic, Uganda, Canada, Austria, India & more Featuring Cheikh Lô, Efrén López, Seckou Keita, Dele Sosimi, Titi Robin & Mehdi Nassouli, Rura, Canzoniere Grecanico Salentino and more... OF THE WORLD

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essential

Cuban Albums With Buena Vista Social Club bidding the world adios, Jane Cornwell reminds us of a wealth of releases that prove Cuba has always been a musical powerhouse

01 Afro-Cuban Allstars A Toda Cuba Le Gusta (World Circuit, 1997)

Earthy yet polished, unassuming yet slick, this lively recording was overshadowed by the powerhouse that was the Buena Vista Social Club, which was released on its heels. Helmed by tres player Juan de Marcos González, and featuring the likes of crooner Ibrahim Ferrer, bassist Cachaíto Lopez and pianist Rubén González alongside other veterans, it mixed up everything from bolero, chachachá and salsa to danzón and son montuno and was nominated for a Grammy in the process.

02 Buena Vista Social Club Buena Vista Social Club (World Circuit, 1997)

Omara, Rubén, Ibrahim, Compay, Cachaíto, Anga... No surnames required for the stars of this word-of-mouth phenomenon, the biggest selling Cuban album (and film) in the world. Named after a member’s club in Havana, and featuring a bunch of elderly maestros, the Ry Cooder-produced disc soundtracked every late 90s dinner party, sparking a revival of international interest in traditional Cuban music and a zillion salsa classes.

03 Cachao

Master Sessions Vol 1 (Crescent Moon/Epic, 1994)

A lesson in the history of modern Cuban music. The Grammy-winning bassist, composer and so-called ‘Father of Mambo’, Israel ‘Cachao’ López might have faded into obscurity had the Hollywood actor Andy Garcia not produced this, with its sensual sones, mambos, danzóns and rumbas all livened by the complex vitality at their core. There are chants, horns and guitars but really – it’s all about that bass. 98 s o n g l i n e s

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04 Celia Cruz & Johnny Pacheco Celia y Johnny (Fania, 2006)

Mega-diva Celia Cruz was the queen of salsa. This clever collaboration with Dominican-born flautist and percussionist Johnny Pacheco combined groove and charm and launched Cruz as one of the most dynamic salsa singers around. Opener ‘Quimbara’, a fierce rumba, remains a classic; the track ‘Toro Mata’ features some of the most inventive adlibs Cruz ever came up with. Magic.

05 Rubén González

Introducing… Rubén González

(World Circuit, 1997)

The debut studio album by the 77-year-old Afro-Cuban pianist. Cut in a day after the Buena Vista Social Club recording, Introducing… contains some of the finest, most romantic Cuban piano music you’ll ever hear. Deft percussion and lone trumpet are the cherry on top.

06 Irakere Indestructible (Sony, 1997)

Irakere changed the face of Latin jazz. Founded in 1973 this small Cuban-style big band merged jazz, rock, classical music and traditional Cuban rhythms including those of Santería; discovered by Dizzy Gillespie, they created an extraordinary body of work including this glorious dance recording.

07 La Lupe The Best (Orchard, 2011)

La Lupe was wild, often unhinged and frequently misunderstood. She was also one of the greatest voices of Spanish-language music anywhere, ever. If her onstage theatrics – biting

her arms, tearing off her clothes – made her infamous, this sublime Best Of is a reminder of her strong, sensual take on ballads. Think a Spanish-speaking version of Judy Garland.

08 Orishas A Lo Cubano (Universal Latino, 2000)

This is the album with which the innovative Afro-Cuban hip-hop group exploded onto the international scene. Melodiously mixing rap and funk with everything from son and timba to guaguancó, the lyrics touch on everyday life in Havana.

09 Mongo Santamaria Afro Roots

(Prestige Records, 1989)

A CD reissue of the first two albums by the great conguero Ramón ‘Mongo’ Santamaría, who arrived in the US steeped in traditional Afro-Cuban ritual music and let rip on his drums, laying the foundations for Latin jazz. It features the frequently covered jazz standard ‘Afro Blue’, along with rhythms including rumba, merengue-rumba and a sophisticated mambo, ‘Mazacote’. Listen out, too, for Pablo Mozo, a maestro of the cowbell.

10 Los Van Van Songo (Mango, 1988)

This 15-piece juggernaut have been soundtracking life on Cuba for over three decades. Songo was the album that unleashed Juan Formell & co on an unsuspecting US, chock-a-block as it is with trombones, guitars, synth hooks and other rhythms aside from their self-styled, ever danceable songo. Laced with a retro tropical vibe, all eight songs on this disc are winners.

+ MORE Read more about BVSC’s legacy on p40 + LET US KNOW Have any other suggestions? Write and let us know, letters@songlines.co.uk

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