I went into HMV Bond Street as i usually would do browsing around on the upper floor looking through the world music section and this cd caught my eyes, initially i just pick it up because the album cover is jet black and the guy appears aborigine, held it but didnt make much of it and walked away and look to the mali music section picked up amadou and mariam's new cd 'welcome to mali ' which was what i actually came to buy. I was about paying for the cd when i asked what the lady at the till thought about guruumul cd and she is quite good so i paid for both and keep the receipt with the mind of returning it if i didn't like it.
On my way out, i happenend to notice that gurrumul was on the cover of the latest edition of songlines magazine,so i bought the magazine to read on the way home. I discovered he was blind since birth and painfully shy and rarely gave interviews .
He sounds like eva cassidy and has that kind of pain and sorrow in his voice like he know he is dying and singing for a place of pain,peace and sorrow at the same time .
I don't think i want to review this cd but would paste lnks of varying reviews by other people but for me all i can say is it was worth every penny i spent on it
A few reviews
http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2009/feb/27/geoffrey-gurrumul-yunupingu-review
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Gurrumul-Geoffrey-Yunupingu/dp/B0013NFQ8O
enjoy
Friday, July 31, 2009
T. I. A ....This is Africa
Friday 31st July 2009 time 7.55pm
Mali's Rokia Traore's new cd Tchamantche,which is both comtemporary and distinctively african and winner best new artist 2009 http://songlines.co.uk/awards2009/index.php and which
Mojo magazine calls it 'arguably the most adventurous african artist around, strikes gold.
The Guardian http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2008/sep/05/worldmusic.
The Independent on Sunday called it 'exceptional'. http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/features/rokia-traor--the-natural-ascent-to-global-superstardom-1749557.html
Mali's Rokia Traore's new cd Tchamantche,which is both comtemporary and distinctively african and winner best new artist 2009 http://songlines.co.uk/awards2009/index.php and which
Mojo magazine calls it 'arguably the most adventurous african artist around, strikes gold.
The Guardian http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2008/sep/05/worldmusic.
The Independent on Sunday called it 'exceptional'. http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/features/rokia-traor--the-natural-ascent-to-global-superstardom-1749557.html
The new york times says
This is African music at its very best mainly sang in her native bambara dialect, it is guarantee to move and stir the soul, and is what i call 'feel' music and for english speaking listeners she covers gershwin's 'The man i love' giving it an african twist that George and Ira Gershwin would be proud of .
Stand out tracks are Dounia, Zen, kounandi and the last track 'a o ni sou', which is simply stripped down AFRICAN SOUL.... Just Rokia,percussions that creates sweet sweet soul, the african way .This CD comes highly recommended.
Next stop...... Australia's Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu...and his new cd GURRUMUL
This is African music at its very best mainly sang in her native bambara dialect, it is guarantee to move and stir the soul, and is what i call 'feel' music and for english speaking listeners she covers gershwin's 'The man i love' giving it an african twist that George and Ira Gershwin would be proud of .
Stand out tracks are Dounia, Zen, kounandi and the last track 'a o ni sou', which is simply stripped down AFRICAN SOUL.... Just Rokia,percussions that creates sweet sweet soul, the african way .This CD comes highly recommended.
Next stop...... Australia's Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu...and his new cd GURRUMUL
Saturday, July 25, 2009
Realmusicworld AFRICAN Listening Post
- Buena Vista Social Club - Live at Carnegie Hall
- Oumou Sangare -Seya
- Oumou Sangare- Oumou
- Baba Maal-Television
- Rhythm Del Mundo-Cuba
- Tony Allen-Secret Agent
- Rokia Traore-Tchamantche
- Amadou & Mariam-Dimache a Bamako
- Amadou & Mariam-Welccome to Mali
- Richard Bona-Bona make you sweat
Please visit www.amazon.com for reviews and samplers of these great cds
Africa Returns
Hello, it's been about 3 years since i have written on this page, well, a lot has happened both personally and on the music front.
I have been listening to a lot of 'world' music because i am getting tired of listening to 'now' music, every thing seems to be and sound the same, even the videos. Personally, i think music especially black music which i frankly think has lost it soul, everybody now seems to want to be a gangster .
Its all about cars, women, sex ,moneyand drugs produced by the same old set of 'hot' producers .Once a producer, produces a hot track, everybody want a piece of that sound, nobody seems to take a chance and sing from the soul or try something different. Every thing is controlled, the music, the singers, what they say, what they do, how they dress, you name it.
So i am taking a trip back to the source of real music.... AFRICA!! Listening to music from Africa, were at least we still have people that play live music and put some passion into their music and not just programmed beats, but real music and real people, not were you have one person play all instruments.I have also pick up a passion for music from Mali, Congo and and its environ especially music of Mali's Oumou Sangare, Amadou & Mariam , Rokia Traore and Senegal's Baba Maal.I had known of them over the years , but never really checked out their music like i am these days , Rokia's guest vocalled on Daara j's (Senegalese hip hop trio) album Bomerang ,i think the song's called hip hop civilization ( please forgive me if i am wrong cos i am writing off the top of my head ) I recently got Oumou Sangare new cd 'Seya' just to have a feel of Mali and i must confess, didn't particularly like what i heard at a first listen, but just before i went to bed i put the cd in my bose player and let it play from the 1st track to the end and was i blown away boy, can the lady sing no wonder she's called KONO, songbird.
If you want an introduction to Mali music, i think oumou's cd 'seya' is a good place to start your african music journey. I now have a new appreciation of live music and music played using mainly African traditional instruments, Oumou sings in her native language wasaalu which i don't understand a word of but all i can say is that is GOOD music. we have the added bonus of have the human drum machine and co-creator of afrobeat Tony Allen playing drums on 'koroko'.For the outstanding tracks on the album listen to Koroko, Seya(the title track)sounsouma, and donso. Please if you get the chance, go out and get the cd .Highly recommended
As i write, i am listening to Baba Maal's new cd called televison, its a slow burner and it's also a good cd Also worth checking out are Tony Allen's Secret Agent, Amadou & Mariam's 'Welcome to Mali' and Diamache a Bamako , Rokia Traore's 'Tchamantche', Rhythms del mundo Cuba ( a compilation cd ) features covers of popular songs. We have singers as diverse as Dido, Coldplay,Kaiser Chiefs playing music with Cuban feel, i guess they too are all tiring of all the programmed music, we all listening to at the moment and need some soul in their music .
Ps RIP Michael JacksonReviews of the albums above coming shortly.It all started with the music of Cameroun's Richard Bona, and like Bob Marley once said one good thing about music when it hits you, you feel no pain, african music is good music and you sure will not feel any pain
I have been listening to a lot of 'world' music because i am getting tired of listening to 'now' music, every thing seems to be and sound the same, even the videos. Personally, i think music especially black music which i frankly think has lost it soul, everybody now seems to want to be a gangster .
Its all about cars, women, sex ,moneyand drugs produced by the same old set of 'hot' producers .Once a producer, produces a hot track, everybody want a piece of that sound, nobody seems to take a chance and sing from the soul or try something different. Every thing is controlled, the music, the singers, what they say, what they do, how they dress, you name it.
So i am taking a trip back to the source of real music.... AFRICA!! Listening to music from Africa, were at least we still have people that play live music and put some passion into their music and not just programmed beats, but real music and real people, not were you have one person play all instruments.I have also pick up a passion for music from Mali, Congo and and its environ especially music of Mali's Oumou Sangare, Amadou & Mariam , Rokia Traore and Senegal's Baba Maal.I had known of them over the years , but never really checked out their music like i am these days , Rokia's guest vocalled on Daara j's (Senegalese hip hop trio) album Bomerang ,i think the song's called hip hop civilization ( please forgive me if i am wrong cos i am writing off the top of my head ) I recently got Oumou Sangare new cd 'Seya' just to have a feel of Mali and i must confess, didn't particularly like what i heard at a first listen, but just before i went to bed i put the cd in my bose player and let it play from the 1st track to the end and was i blown away boy, can the lady sing no wonder she's called KONO, songbird.
If you want an introduction to Mali music, i think oumou's cd 'seya' is a good place to start your african music journey. I now have a new appreciation of live music and music played using mainly African traditional instruments, Oumou sings in her native language wasaalu which i don't understand a word of but all i can say is that is GOOD music. we have the added bonus of have the human drum machine and co-creator of afrobeat Tony Allen playing drums on 'koroko'.For the outstanding tracks on the album listen to Koroko, Seya(the title track)sounsouma, and donso. Please if you get the chance, go out and get the cd .Highly recommended
As i write, i am listening to Baba Maal's new cd called televison, its a slow burner and it's also a good cd Also worth checking out are Tony Allen's Secret Agent, Amadou & Mariam's 'Welcome to Mali' and Diamache a Bamako , Rokia Traore's 'Tchamantche', Rhythms del mundo Cuba ( a compilation cd ) features covers of popular songs. We have singers as diverse as Dido, Coldplay,Kaiser Chiefs playing music with Cuban feel, i guess they too are all tiring of all the programmed music, we all listening to at the moment and need some soul in their music .
Ps RIP Michael JacksonReviews of the albums above coming shortly.It all started with the music of Cameroun's Richard Bona, and like Bob Marley once said one good thing about music when it hits you, you feel no pain, african music is good music and you sure will not feel any pain
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