Songlines Magazine (March 2014, #98) by Songlines Magazine

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Editor-in-chief Simon Broughton Publisher Paul Geoghegan Editor Jo Frost Deputy Editor Alexandra Petropoulos Art Director Paul Carpenter Subs & Online Manager Edward Craggs Advertisement Manager James Anderson-Hanney Podcast Producer Nasim Masoud Reviews Editor Matthew Milton News Editor Nathaniel Handy Listings Tatiana Rucinska listings@songlines.co.uk World Cinema Editor Ed Stocker ed@edstocker.com Production Consultant Dermot Jones Financial Controller Iwona Perucka Contributing Editors Jane Cornwell, Mark Ellingham & Nigel Williamson Assisted By Jenni Doggett Intern Angel Castro Cover photo Bex Singleton

Printing Polestar Colchester Ltd, Severalls Industrial Estate, Colchester, Essex CO4 4HT. Record trade distribution Worldwide Magazine Distributors, 0121 788 3112. UK newsstand & overseas newstrade distribution COMAG Specialist Division, 01895 433800. All rights are reserved. Reproduction in any manner, in whole or in part, is strictly forbidden without the prior written consent of the publishers. No responsibility for incorrect information can be accepted. The views expressed in the articles are those of the author, and not necessarily of the publisher. While every effort has been made to ensure accuracy of statements in Songlines, we cannot accept responsibility for any errors or omissions or for matters arising from clerical or printer’s errors, or for advertisers not completing their contracts. Songlines is also available in audio format from the Talking Newspaper Association, 01435 866102, www.tnauk.org. uk. Songlines USPS 4638 is published Jan/Feb, March, April/May, June, July, Aug/Sept, Oct, Nov/Dec by Songlines Publishing Ltd. Published by Songlines Publishing Ltd, PO Box 54209, London, W14 0WU. ISSN 1464-8113 © 2014 Songlines Publishing Ltd Songlines logo trade mark, registered under No. 2427714. Directors Simon Broughton, John Brown, Mark Ellingham, Paul Geoghegan, Lyn Hughes & Chris Pollard

he Sun newspaper made space amongst its sex and celebrity stories in mid-December for a feature on Mali’s music. Singer Aliou Touré, of the new Timbuktu band Songhoy Blues, was asked about his hopes for the future: ‘We want to tour all over the world... we want to be like Ali Farka Touré or Salif Keita. We want to do as much as they have done and even more.’ And just in case The Sun readers weren’t up to speed on Malian artists, they gave us a useful introduction to ten top names, including Bassekou Kouyaté, Rokia Traoré and Tinariwen, alongside Ali and Salif. The reason for this sudden interest was the release of the latest Africa Express album, Maison des Jeunes (see p64), recorded in Bamako. It’s a clear indication of how important someone like Damon Albarn is in bringing wider attention to African music. It’s all very well for Songlines to run features on the artists above, but it’s only when people like Albarn wave a flag that a wider world takes notice. However good the music, unless a pop star takes an interest, it isn’t going to get mainstream attention. That’s not Albarn’s fault. It’s the way it is. As well as The Sun article, a documentary on music in Mali was the centrepiece of a whole weekend of African music on BBC 6Music. It was presented by Gemma Cairney who was in Bamako during the Africa Express recording sessions. “The objective is to showcase a new generation of Malian talent,” said Albarn. Cairney asked him about becoming confident enough to play with Malian musicians on stage. “I can definitely play with people now and they are polite enough not to criticise and they will put up with idiots like me.” Thanks to Albarn and Africa Express, Songhoy Blues got their London debut at the album launch (see p86). They are a band to watch and, with a huge leg-up from Albarn and his pals, I suspect we’ll be hearing more of them.

It’s a clear indication of how important someone like Damon Albarn is in bringing wider attention to African music

Simon Broughton, editor-in-chief PS Have a look at the highlights from December’s Songlines Music Awards 2013 Winners’ Concert on our YouTube channel CONTRIBUTORS THIS ISSUE INCLUDE

JANE CORNWELL Jane is a London-based Australian journalist writing on art, literature and music for all sorts of publications in the UK and Australia. She is currently writing a memoir for Harper Collins Australia.

TIM CUMMING As well as being a music writer, Tim is also an artist, poet and filmmaker. His paintings and poems are currently on show at Sladers Yard gallery in West Bay, Dorset until February 23 2014.

GONÇALO FROTA Gonçalo is a journalist for Público and Time Out, based in Lisbon, but born in Alentejo, where local working songs (cante) are known for bringing together monastic and Moorish heritage.

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CONTENTS

52 Salsa Celtica

Archie MacFarlane

UPFRONT

FEATURES

REGULARS

REVIEWS

06 Top of the World CD 08 My World interview

30 Angélique Kidjo 36 Dammed Nations

52 Beginner’s Guide:

60 66 70 77 79 80 82 84 86

11 19 21 22 25 27 29

Andrew Marr & Nuba Nour What’s New 40 The Gloaming Letters 44 Sidi Touré Soapbox 48 Chris Strachwitz & Arhoolie Records Introducing... Derek Gripper & La Chiva Gantiva Spotlight: Carlos do Carmo Quickfire: Keziah Jones, Seth Lakeman & Duncan Chisholm Songlines Music Travel

WIN

54 57 89 95 96 97 98

Salsa Celtica Festival Pass: Mazurkas of the World Postcard from Suphan Buri Gig Guide Subscribe The Essential Ten: Fado Albums Songlines Digital Cerys Matthews

Africa Americas Europe Middle East Oceania Fusion Books World Cinema Live Reviews

ONE pair of tickets to the Elizabethan Session 11 ONE pair of tickets to see Sidi Touré 47 THREE Salsa Celtica CDs 53 THREE Spirit Rising books by Angélique Kidjo 83 THREE Muscle Shoals DVDs 85

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 March 28 2014 (unless otherwise stated)

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07/01/2014 09:49

TOP OF THE WORLD

01 Angélique Kidjo ‘Kulumbu’ (3:47) 02 Jaron Freeman-Fox and The Opposite of Everything ‘Auctioneering Everything’ (5:19) 03 De Temps Antan ‘Mépriseuse de Garçons’ (3:22) 04 Breabach ‘Bha Mise Raoir Air An Àirigh’ (4:41) 05 Aziza Brahim ‘Manos Enemigas’ (4:31) 06 Mostar Sevdah Reunion ‘Namka’ (5:33) 07 The Gloaming ‘Samradh Samradh’ (5:58) 08 Belonoga ‘A Wedding at the Camel Caravan’ (6:38) 09 Neuza ‘Djar Fogo’ (3:49) 10 Driss El Maloumi ‘Douceur pour 2 ‘R’ ’ (3:23)

Free tracks

THE BEST NEW RELEASES

+ ANDREW MARR’S PLAYLIST

TOP

OF THE WORLD

TOP

OF THE WORLD

ISSUE9898 PLUS 5 tracks chosen by Andrew Marr

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

11 Show of Hands ‘Country Life’ (4:01) 12 Tamikrest ‘Djanegh Etoumast’ (3:57) 13 Dick Gaughan ‘No Gods & Precious Few Heroes’ (3:59) 14 Blues Boy Dan Owen ‘Beauty in Disaster’ (3:45) 15 Chavela Vargas ‘Amor Amor’ (2:49)

Featuring Angélique Kidjo, The Gloaming, De Temps Antan, Tamikrest, Show of Hands, Breabach, Mostar Sevdah Reunion and more...

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STWCD74 This compilation & © 2014 Songlines Publishing Ltd. Email: info@songlines.co.uk, www.songlines.co.uk Executive producer Paul Geoghegan. Compiled and sequenced by Jo Frost. Design by Paul Carpenter. 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. Soutak (Glitterbeat Records) & © 2014 Glitterbeat Records. Courtesy of Glitterbeat Records

05 Aziza Brahim ‘Manos Enemigas’ (4:31)

04 Breabach ‘Bha Mis Raoir Air An Àirigh’ (4:41)

10 Driss El Maloumi ‘Douceur pour 2 ‘R’ ’ (3:23)

15 Chavela Vargas ‘Amor Amor’ (2:49)

13 Dick Gaughan ‘No Gods & Precious Few Heroes’ (3:59)

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01 Angélique Kidjo ‘Kulumbu’ with Dr John (3:47)

TOP OF THE WORLD SELECTION

07 The Gloaming ‘Samradh Samradh’ (5:58)

06 Mostar Sevdah Reunion ‘Namka’ (5:33)

11 Show of Hands ‘Country Life’ (4:01)

ANDREW MARR’S PLAYLIST

10 tracks from this issue’s best new albums + 5 bonus tracks exclusively with the March 2014 issue of Songlines

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06 S O N G L I N E S

02 Jaron Freeman-Fox and The Opposite of Everything ‘Auctioneering Everything’ (5:19)

14 Blues Boy Dan Owen ‘Beauty in Disaster’ (3:45)

08 Belonoga ‘A Wedding at the Camel Caravan’ (6:38)

03 De Temps Antan ‘Mépriseuse de Garçons’ (3:22)

From Eve on 429 Records

09 Neuza ‘Djar Fogo’ (3:49)

01 Angélique Kidjo ‘Kulumbu’ featuring Dr John

From Tales from a Forgotten City on Snail Records/World Connection

The Songlines Music Awards 2013 Best

The pioneers of Bosnia’s New Sevdah

Artist winner pays tribute to the women

movement pay tribute to their city,

of Africa with her signature vocals on her

reminding the world of the once

tenth studio album. See p61

religiously tolerant Mostar. See p74

02 Jaron Freeman-Fox & The Opposite of Everything ‘Auctioneering Everything’

07 The Gloaming ‘Samradh Samradh’ From The Gloaming on Real World Records

Hailed as one of the most exciting new

From Jaron Freeman-Fox & The Opposite of Everything on Jaron Freeman-Fox

Irish folk bands in recent times, The

With an undefinable mix of styles and

Gloaming’s debut features a quintet of

genres, Jaron Freeman-Fox’s second

virtuoso soloists with a fusion of the old

release lives up to its title. See p80

and the new. See p72

03 De Temps Antan ‘Mépriseuse de Garçons’

08 Belonoga ‘A Wedding at the Camel Caravan’

From Ce Monde Ici-Bas on L-A be

The Québécois power trio stay true

From Through the Eyes of the Sun on Elen Music

to form with their lively delivery of

Bulgarian singer Gergana Dimitrova, of

traditional French-Canadian and

the Eva Quartet, showcases her talent

original material with a Celtic tinge on

with beautifully imagined, contemplative

their latest record. See p66

music that never hurries. See p70

04 Breabach ‘Bha Mise Raoir Air an Àirigh’

09 Neuza ‘Djar Fogo’

From Flor di Bila on Lusafrica

From Ùrlar on Breabach Records

Neuza’s debut release, packed full of

Widely regarded as one of the finest

traditional sounds from Cape Verde,

Scottish folk bands, Breabach deliver a

features her sweet, enticing voice, and is

beautifully mature and rich mix of subtle

set on preserving the musical forms from

musicianship. See p71

the islands. See p63

05 Aziza Brahim ‘Manos Enemigas’

10 Driss El Maloumi ‘Douceur pour 2 ‘R’’

Like many artists who come from

The Moroccan oud player’s third solo

conflict-torn nations, Aziza Brahim’s

album demonstrates his flawless

Soutak is predominantly a dedication to

technique and playful ingenuity through

the struggles of the people in Occupied

compositions widely varying in mood

Western Sahara. See p60

and style. See p77

From Soutak on Glitterbeat Records

From Makan on Contre-Jour

22/01/2014 11:05

+ ANDREW MARR’S PLAYLIST

11 Show of Hands ‘Country Life’ From Roots: The Best Of on Hands on Music

“‘Country Life’ made me start to think seriously about what was happening to working class people in rural areas... It is beautifully crafted: thoughtful, clever and beautifully delivered.”

12 Tamikrest ‘Djanegh Etoumast’ From Chatma on Glitterbeat Records

The title of this song from the Malian band translates as ‘I Say to the People’ and continues with ‘I say to the people... who are all brothers, anything with dead roots will never grow.’

13 Dick Gaughan ‘No Gods & Precious Few Heroes’ From Sail On on Greentrax Recordings

“Gaughan is a big, angry, but very funny voice writing songs that are much closer to home than somebody like Bob Dylan.”

14 Blues Boy Dan Owen ‘Beauty in Disaster’ From Blues Boy Dan Owen on Howling Records

“Blues Boy Dan Owen played with brio

“ We went to Mali when we were filming The History of the World. It’s a heartbreakingly beautiful country with lovely people, but what’s been happening amongst the Touareg and Saharan tribes is terrible” Turn over for the full interview with Andrew Marr

on our show and got a huge response from our audience... He has the voice of an old black man (although he’s a 21-year-old from the West Midlands).”

15 Chavela Vargas ‘Amor Amor’ From La Luna Grande on Discos Corasón

This track is from the last album the late Mexican singer Chavela Vargas recorded, on which she set the poetry of the Spanish poet Federico García

NEXT ISSUE – RICHARD ALSTON’S PLAYLIST The British choreographer chooses his favourite tracks, which will be featured on the covermount CD of the April/May issue (#99), on sale March 14.

Lorca to music.

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4 issues of Songlines for only £4? Now that’s an offer worth singing about... Call 020 7371 2777 and quote SL98DD or visit www.songlines.co.uk/SL98DD TERMS & CONDITIONS: Only available to new subscribers and the four issues will start with the next issue, April/May 2014 (#99). This offer is not available in conjunction with any other promotion and only available to UK customers when paying via Direct Debit. To pay by Direct Debit, both the billing and postal address must be in the UK. Subscriptions are continuous; after the first payment of £4, a payment of £16 will be collected every six months (4 issues) unless cancelled. No minimum term. Angélique Kidjo performing at the Songlines Music Awards 2013 Winners’ Concert. Photo by Alex Harvey-Brown

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ANGÉLIQUE KIDJO

30 S O N G L I N E S

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ANGÉLIQUE KIDJO

Angélique

KIDJO The New Mama Africa From Adam and Eve to empowering women across the world – there’s not much that Angélique Kidjo doesn’t have an opinion about. Jane Cornwell chats to the singer and activist prior to her new album and book release P O R T R A I T S

G I L L E S

ngélique Kidjo had only just pulled into a village in Samburu County, northern Kenya, when she was greeted by a group of women clad in the colourful garb of the region. It was a hot, dusty summer: nutritional food was scarce. Kidjo was part of a UNICEF initiative tackling childhood hunger and stunting; the welcoming party, a local choir, was similarly involved. “So there I was,” says the Grammy-winning singersongwriter, a Goodwill Ambassador for UNICEF since 2002, “and there were these women in their beautiful gowns. Suddenly they just opened their mouths and started singing. “Oh. My. God.” She feigns amazement. “It just drew me in, and I started singing along with them. At that moment everything I’ve been experiencing with women around the world seemed to come together. A few weeks later I brought my bassist and keyboard player back and we did some recording.” So it is that, with a joyful ululation, Kidjo’s new album Eve kicks off amid the full-throated harmonies of the Samburu women’s choir, with the Kenyan song ‘M’Baamba’ setting the tone for a collection of tracks dedicated to the resilience and beauty of the women of Africa – especially those of Kenya, and of Kidjo’s native Benin. All-female choirs from different villages in the tiny democracy of Benin – a slice of West Africa variously bordered by Togo, Nigeria, Burkina Faso and Niger – sing in an array of local languages including Fon, Goun and

M A R I E

Z I M M E R M A N N

Yoruba: “The excitement they had when I came to visit them! They were like, ‘Pinch us, we’re dreaming!’” Kidjo flashes her mega-watt grin. “And it has been laughter, goofiness, talking about sex and how stupid men can be sometimes… They looked at me funny when I showed them the songs,” she says, “but once they got them, it was like trying to stop a fast train.” It’s a metaphor that applies neatly to Kidjo, 53, a diminutive whirlwind blessed with formidable energy, a rafter-rattling voice and think-I-can, know-I-can determination. The New York-based mother-of-one has transcended the circumstances of her background (more of which in a moment) to forge an international career on the back of multilingual songs that mix traditional African styles with soul, pop, reggae, jazz and folk music. There have been 13 albums – including her first live recording, 2012’s Spirit Rising (reviewed in #85), and 2010’s Oyo (reviewed in #66), which she dedicated to her late father – and numerous awards including a Grammy for 2007’s Djin Djin (reviewed in #47). She’s performed everywhere from Carnegie Hall to the Sydney Opera House and collaborated with the A-list likes of Alicia Keys, John Legend and Carlos Santana; an early big break was supporting her role model, the South African icon Miriam ‘Mama Africa’ Makeba. ‘Miriam was African, she was a woman, and she was a star; I wanted to be just like her,’ writes Kidjo in her new autobiography, also titled Spirit Rising: My Life, My Music

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Songhai Blues The Malian singer Sidi Touré is intent on putting his Songhai culture on the map. He talks to Andy Morgan about growing up in the north-east of the country and how, even though he just plays folk music from Gao, he sings with a strong sense of civic responsibility P H OTO S

A L E X

H A R V E Y- B R O W N

hen he was a child, Sidi Touré was told to go and hunt for bats in the Tomb of Askia. On a good day, he and his harum scarum comrades could bring back ten or more, which made a tidy feast for the family. The monument wasn’t far from his home in the Sané district of Gao, an old trans-Saharan entrepôt on the Niger River that is now the capital of north-eastern Mali. A black and white postcard from colonial days depicts the tomb in a state of geometrically chiselled splendour, pyramidal in shape but stepped like an irregular ziggurat. Today, erosion by the annual rains and desert winds has turned it into the bearded sister of the Great Pyramid of Giza, sensuously curved and bristling with acacia branches that protrude from its adobe walls. “I spent my childhood round about the tomb,” Sidi tells me. “It was my ‘school’ and I know it like the palm of my hand.” It’s hard to fathom what this most striking relic of the Songhai Empire means to Sidi Touré and millions of other Songhai like him. The empire was founded more than 500 years ago by Sunni Ali ‘Ber’ (‘The Great’) and brought to a dazzling climax in the middle of the 16th century by one of his generals, Askia Muhammed Touré, before succumbing to the invading armies of the Sultan of Morocco. It was ruled according to the precepts of Islam, with a meritocratic government administration and educational establishments that attracted scholars from every corner of the Muslim world. The collective myths and memory of the Songhai people, their deepest pride, find their focus in the Tomb of Askia. Like the manuscripts of Timbuktu, its very existence trumps those who like to think that pre-colonial African history was devoid of civilisation. In the summer of 2012, a group of young Songhai men formed a vigilante guard to protect the tomb from the hard-line Islamist Mujahideen of the Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa, most commonly known by its French acronym MUJAO, who had taken control of Gao and imposed a joyless diet of fear and sharia law on its populace. Les Barbus (the Bearded Ones) were pulverising the tombs of Sufi saints in Timbuktu, 400km up river, and the citizens of Gao had good reason to fear for their beloved monument. 44 S O N G L I N E S

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The jihadi assault on local culture didn’t limit itself to tombs of course. In August 2012, a heavily bearded spokesman for MUJAO announced on a radio station in Gao that all music except for Qu’ranic chanting was banned throughout northern Mali with immediate effect. When I ask Sidi for his reaction to the ban, he shakes his head and dishes up a tired little smile. “Even at the time of the Prophet there were griots who sang praises,” he says. “So I don’t see how people can come with other ideas to ban music. And what’s more, Gao is a place of Islam. The manuscripts of Timbuktu attest to that. Our grandfather Askia – it was because he loved Islam that he brought architects from Egypt. When you see the tomb of the Askia it has a pyramidal shape. That means that the architect came from Egypt to build things like that. We adore the same God but it’s moderate Islam that we love.” The shape of the Tomb of Askia isn’t the only thing that ancient Egypt gave to the Songhai people. Almost uniquely amongst the major ethnic groups of the Sahel, the Songhai still possess a rich pantheon of pre-Islamic deities or spirits, which they call the Torou. The founders of this supernatural dynasty are commonly believed to have come from Egypt. One of their offspring was the water goddess and ‘original’ Songhai mother, Harakoy Dikko, whom Sidi refers to as “the siren.” Her first-born son is Marou Kirey: Marou ‘The Red’, and the youngest of her seven children is Dongo, the god of lightning. To commune with these spirits, humans must be eased into a state of trance by means of rhythm, song and dance. An entire corpus of music exists for that very purpose and the Songhai call it holey. “To find Kirey, you have to find Dongo,” Sidi explains. “Or to find Dongo, you have to find Kirey. When one comes along, infallibly, the other will also come. In Gao, when the countryside has a problem due to lack of rain, people have recourse to the holey. They take their violins, their calabashes and they go six or seven kilometres from Gao. There they beat their drums and before they get back to Gao, the rain will come.” In 1984, Sidi Touré, who was then in his mid-20s, won a prize at the prestigious Biennale, Mali’s premier national music, theatre and dance competition, with an original

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SIDI TOURÉ

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BEGINNER’S GUIDE

Archie MacFarlane

SALSA CELTICA

Graeme Thomson takes a look at the career of the fiery Scottish-Latin big band who get legions of fans dancing across the world

oals to Newcastle is all very well, but it takes real chutzpah to deliver cumbia to Cartagena, especially with a uniquely Caledonian twist. When Salsa Celtica travelled to Colombia at the beginning of 2014 to play their first ever South American gig, it was the realisation of a quest that began almost 20 years before in the pubs of Edinburgh. The Scottish big band have since wowed Havana and New York, headlined Antilliaanse Feesten and the Las Palmas Carnaval, and finally seduced South America itself. Blending Afro-Latin salsa with traditional Scottish and Irish folk might seem gimmicky, but Salsa Celtica offer so much more than a spicy main course served with a gratuitous bagpipe garnish. Their music is a natural fusion of whisky and rum, with song titles

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that leap from Gaelic to Scots to Spanish as fiddles, harps, accordion, pipes and banjo weave among brass fanfares, lusty coro-pregón and slinky salsa rhythms beat out on timbales. They formed almost by accident in Edinburgh in the mid-90s. A loose affiliation of Scottish salsa fans mingling on the local live music scene, their emphasis was at first primarily on Latin styles. Their ranks rapidly swelled as members of the local South American community, wooed by the promise of free tequila, were encouraged to jump on stage to sing and play. Socially and musically, it was a period of natural cross-fertilisation. Sharing drinks, flats and gigs with friends like the late Martyn Bennett and Celtic fusion band Shooglenifty, elements of traditional music couldn’t help

bleeding into the musical mix. Salsa Celtica’s principal songwriter Toby Shippey recalls one particular eureka moment, when piper Fraser Fifield joined in with an early tune, ‘Guajira Sin Sol’. “I remember thinking, ‘Wow, that sounds amazing!’ From then on we enjoyed playing with those two things. We’d do a couple of tunes like that and it was always a really exciting bit of the gig; you could feel the electricity in the crowd. It grew from there.” Following the release in 1997 of their first album, Monstruos y Demonios, Salsa Celtica headed for the source, travelling to Santiago de Cuba to spend time with legendary son band Sonora La Calle, soaking up the culture first-hand. You can hear the deepening of the connection on their second album, The Great Scottish Latin Adventure, released in 2000 and their first on Scottish folk label Greentrax. The album’s highlight is ‘Yo Me Voy’, a frantic Latin gallop punctuated with skirling pipes, which became an unlikely hit in the clubs of New York and Los Angeles, leading to an invitation for the band to play dates in the US in 2001. Still raw, and not a little terrified, they nonetheless went down a storm, the tour culminating in a memorable concert at the

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SARAWAK

Salsa Celtica offer so much more than a spicy main course served with a gratuitous bagpipe garnish

BEST ALBUMS El Agua de la Vida (Greentrax, 2003) Once memorably described as the sound of Tito Puente cutting loose at a ceilidh, their third album contains the closest thing to a band manifesto in the stomping ‘Cumbia de Celtica’. Reviewed in #18.

El Camino (Discos León, 2006) Producer Calum Malcolm brings a new clarity to a more ambitious range of material, from the jazzy ‘Córrela’ to Eliza Carthy’s outstanding rendition of English traditional song ‘Grey Gallito’. Reviewed in #35.

The Tall Islands (Discos León, 2014) A fully realised fusion that makes full use of the studio while the songs delve deep into the band’s folk roots. Gaelic singer Kathleen MacInnes is among the guests. Read a review in the next issue, #99.

BEST LIVE ALBUM En Vivo en el Norte (Discos León, 2010)

Lincoln Center in front of 3,000 raucous fans from New York’s Latin American community. Their sound further evolved with El Agua de la Vida in 2003, which reached number five in the European World Music charts. It’s a fine album, but at the time Salsa Celtica were still struggling to fully capture the energy and sense of spectacle of their live shows, which had already established them as a go-to band on the British folk and world music festival circuit. In the new Millennium they became familiar faces at Celtic Connections, WOMAD, Glastonbury, the Edinburgh Fringe and Cambridge Folk Festival; in 2006 they performed a triumphant homecoming gig at Edinburgh’s Hogmanay celebrations. The same year saw the band take a step up in the studio. El Camino (2006) expanded their sound palette with harps, banjo, uilleann pipes and a more pronounced jazz element, while the list of contributing musicians grew to 22, including a guest appearance from Eliza Carthy. In 2009 they toured with another British folk stalwart, Julie Fowlis. If things have been relatively quiet since the release of live album set En Vivo en el Norte in 2010, it’s perhaps little wonder. With 12

core members and a ‘floating’ cast of extras numbering almost as many again, the band is a logistical Rubik’s cube. Still primarily Edinburgh-based, the current line-up includes players from Venezuela, Argentina, Cuba, Ireland, England and New York. They tend to come and go, spending time on other projects before reconvening as Salsa Celtica. The good news is that 2014 promises to be a landmark year for the band. Their sixth album, The Tall Islands, is out in February, coinciding with a UK tour in March. The visit was long overdue, the continent having flipped a few year’s back for the salsa sound of Scotland. The band’s Facebook page is flooded with South Americans, while their records have become party staples. On their last UK tour they were astonished to discover that two Colombian fans had travelled all the way to Sale in order to see them perform. Both literally and figuratively, this unique band have come a long, long way.

+ ALBUM The Tall Islands is reviewed in #99 + DATES See the Gig Guide for March tour details + PODCAST Hear an excerpt from the new

Featuring a mammoth 14-piece line-up, which includes celebrated New York salsa trombonist Joe De Jesus, this captures the thrilling mix of fire and fluency that makes the band such a dynamic live act. Reviewed in #69.

IF YOU LIKE SALSA CELTICA, THEN TRY...

Afro Celt Sound System

Capture: 1995-2010 (Real World, 2010)

For those with a taste for Celtic traditional music given pioneering twists, the band’s terrific 2010 retrospective is a good place to sample their trademark fusion of electronic, West African, Scottish and Irish music.

WIN

We have 3 copies of the new album, The Tall Islands to give away. To enter, answer: What Scottish city did the band form in? See p5 for competition rules and address.

album on the podcast

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THE ESSENTIAL

PORTUGUESE FADO ALBUMS As Carlos do Carmo records a duets album with the best voices of the new fado generation (see p25), here’s our selection of the ten best Portuguese fado albums WORDS SIMON BROUGHTON

01 Various Artists New Queens of Fado (ARC Music, 2012) This is a good introduction to the female fadistas of the new generation, including Mariza, Ana Moura, Cristina Branco, Mísia, Carminho, Katia Guerreiro, Mafalda Arnauth and others.

02 Cristina Branco Kronos (Universal, 2009) Cristina Branco is one of the most prolific of the new fado artists with a dozen albums since her debut in 1997. This is a sort of concept album of songs about time. Branco regularly includes the piano of Ricardo Dias in her band.

03 Carminho Fado (EMI Portugal, 2009) This is the debut album from the youngest of the new fado stars. Carminho was born into a fado family, and here she sticks to the traditional style of performance and writes some of her own lyrics. A very impressive album featuring some of Portugal’s top guitarists. A Top of the World in #77.

04 Carlos do Carmo Um Homem na Cidade (Universal, 1996) A Man in the City, a fado concept album originally released in 1977, is Carlos do Carmo’s most celebrated work. The album sets poems about Lisbon by José Carlos Ary dos Santos to music by various composers, and even includes a song about Lisbon’s trams, ‘O Amarelo da Carris’. It still stands up well 35 years on.

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05 Custódio Castelo The Art of Portuguese Fado Guitar (ARC Music, 2011) Aside from the singer, the other essential artist in fado is the guitarra (Portuguese guitar) player. Custódio Castelo is one of the best contemporary players who has worked extensively with Cristina Branco, Ana Moura and others. Occasionally flirting with morna and tango, The Art of the Portuguese Fado Guitar includes an impressive homage to Carlos Paredes, the great guitarra master of the 20th century.

06 Mariza Transparente (World Connection/EMI, 2005) Mariza is without doubt the current star of the fado scene and, for me, this is her stand-out album with classic fados alongside new songs written specially for her like ‘Montras’ and the title-track about her African grandmother in Mozambique. Lovers of traditional fado with only guitar accompaniment might prefer another of her albums, Fado Tradicional, from 2010. Transparente was a Top of the World in #30.

07 Ana Moura Leva-me aos Fados (World Village, 2009) With her fraternisations with The Rolling Stones and Prince, Ana Moura, with a gorgeous smokey-tinged voice, is perhaps the fadista with most cross-over potential. Leva-me aos Fados, a Top of the World in #69, is her stand-out album to date. One of Ana Moura’s last albums to be produced by Jorge Fernando, it’s a compelling mixture of traditional and modern.

08 Mário Pacheco Clube de Fado: A Música e a Guitarra (World Connection, 2008) Named after the prestigious fado venue in Lisbon’s Alfama district run by Portuguese guitarist Mário Pacheco, this CD and DVD features stars of the new generation including Mariza, Camané and Ana Sofia Varela. A Top of the World in #46.

09 Ricardo Ribeiro Porta do Coração (EMI, 2010) Female fado singers seem more exportable than male ones. Camané is the most celebrated of the men, but Ricardo Ribeiro is rather more characterful – he’s been likened to the quirky Alfredo Marceneiro who died in 1982. This is one of the best fado albums of recent years with the tingling guitar of Carlos Gonçalves. A Top of the World in #78.

10 Amália Rodrigues Busto (CMN, 2013) Amália is the most celebrated name in fado history. There are many compilations, good and bad, but one of the remastered versions of this seminal album, originally released in 1962 on LP, is the best you can get. It features her work with composer Alain Oulman and classic songs like ‘Maria Lisboa’, ‘Povo que Lavas no Rio’ and ‘Estranha Forma de Vida’ with lyrics by Amália herself.

+ ONLINE The best online source for Portuguese releases is www.fnac.pt

+ LET US KNOW What are your thoughts?

Who did we miss? Write or email and let us know, letters@songlines.co.uk

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CERYS MATTHEWS What is it about music that enables musicians and listeners to tap into something beyond themselves? Cerys hopes we never find out...

NEXT ISSUE ON SALE March 14 TOUMANI & SIDIKI DIABATÉ Father and son kora duos SONGLINES MUSIC AWARDS This year’s nominations ARCHIE ROACH Beginner’s Guide BONUS CD Forde Festival 25th Anniversary Sampler CD

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‘HOLY, HOLY, HOLY…’ THE ONE TWO-SYLLABLE WORD is repeated and passed around like a relay baton from pastor’s wife, to choir leader, to choir, back to pastor into a musical break that mimics the throbbing muscle of sound. Melodies and harmonies seemingly conjured from heaven are taken up by a full band – which often includes two organists, a bass player, two guitarists and a drummer – and they throw that sonic wave back round 20-fold, deep into the heart of the congregation. Three-and-a-half hour services on a Sunday and the experience still leaves you wanting more. It’s an event repeated at evangelical African American mega churches every week in the southern states of the US, and well worth seeking out whatever your religious beliefs. It’s extraordinary to see the effect music can have – the most hardened of visitors weep at the altar, stirred by some kind of light pouring into their darkest corners, a kind of release – and all this just by playing witness to the sound of a musical dialogue between faithful servants and their God. That music has this power is fascinating, although church music is an extreme example as it is multiplied with a huge dollop of doctrine, but strip this away and still you’ll find that a certain choice of notes, turn of phrase, delivery or rhythm can hold dominion over man. It’s incredible, because the basics of music-making has no mystery, you just use your voice or take up an instrument and make a noise. With practice you work out how better to control the noise you make, and that’s it. But what’s always marvellous is that even with the most basic of abilities, the pleasure you can get from making a simple sound can make you feel better, or change your perception of that moment. It’s a wonderful thing. I spent 2013 testing this theory – going around the UK with my recipe book for music (Hook, Line and Singer) encouraging people to have fun making their own music, to not worry if it doesn’t sound like what we’re fed on the airwaves, to revel in the glorious variables of the human voice and to enjoy the feel-good factor. By diving into the music you stumble across magic. You find some secret entrance into a universe of love – like a goodly version of CS Lewis’ The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. And once you’ve been in, you always want in; the connection is made and it’s a compelling and enriching one. It works across all art forms – literature and art too change our perception of the world, as Dylan Thomas said, ‘the world is never the same place once a good poem has been added to it.’ Even when you make your chosen art form your obsession or profession, the awareness that there is something beyond our understanding taking place is always there. I’ve often heard artists say that the best performances or songwriting experiences happen when they’re not ‘entirely

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conscious,’ or ‘in their being.’ You may find your best ideas have come to you while you were asleep, or when you weren’t actually thinking about your piece of work at the time, or that you sang at your best when your mathematical, technical or academic ‘you’ was no longer holding the reins, when the subliminal had taken control. During an interview with Ahmad Jamal, he pronounced himself a vessel – if he is in a particular place and all the variables lined up, the spirit from his God comes through him to deliver the message. We all feel that magical reaction, as an audience member or a player. How does it work? What exactly happens when you are inspired like this, when you all feel the power, those goosebumps, that higher consciousness? What is it about music that can have this effect? In a way I hope we’ll never find the answers to these questions. We should just be grateful for it when it happens, and in the meantime, put our noses to the grindstone just in case. O holy, holy moly…

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...the most hardened of visitors weep at the altar, stirred by light pouring into their darkest corners...

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