Grafonola

JILALA - Jilala ( Rogue Frequency Recordings ) Until Now, Jilala has been a much sought-after phantom in relation to their better-known musical and spiritual contemporaries, The Master Musicians of Jajouka. Culled from three and a half hours of 1965 recordings by writers/artists/poets Brion Gysin and Paul Bowles, the first batch of Jilala recordings were released on a 1965 LP that was scarce even upon its initial release. The second batch of Recordings, which this LP has drawn from, came in the form of a CD by Baraka Foundation in 1998, which is also now long out of print. In the original liner notes Ira Cohen provides a breakdown of the Jilala ensemble: "The instruments used are the shebaba, a long transversal cane flute, which leads the way; the bendir, a handheld drum resembling a tambourine without cymbals; and the karkabat which is a double castanet made of metal. On this record, there are usually three flutes, six drums, and one pair of castanets." In conjunction with t...

TNT ROOTS - Supreme Dub ( África Mãe Do Leão Brazil ) [AML1002] TNT Roots is the mysterious dubplate anthem provider who operated in the shadows and became revered for supplying some of the toughest Soundsystem tunes for Aba Shanti-I for many years, and he has been slinging tunes in DIY style via CDs over the last decade or two until more recently he reared his head on wax via our friends Bokeh Versions and via a fine, unexpected linkup with John T. Gast. But ultimately, the vibe is – no fuss, no hype, just music – and this music happens to be some of the most cantankerous, charged steppers noise we’ve ever heard. This unexpected 10″ here for Brazilian label África Mãe Do Leão suits the DIY style of TNT to go along with what feels right at the time, and these cuts somehow combine that overdriven bassbin UK dub sound with a hint of grimey / Brazilian percussive rhythm in there somewhere (even if we’re just imagining that by association now – it kind of makes sense). Supreme is the k...

George Mukabi - Furaha Wenye Gita ( Mississippi Records) George Mukabi is a mythic figure across East Africa, known for his incredible fingerstyle guitar and hard living. Mukabi invented a solo technique in which melody, rhythm and bass lines all merged in two hands on one guitar. Combined with his gentle raspy voice, wood and glass percussion, and the harmonies of his companion Jack Malenya, he created a sweet and thriving “omutibo” music that belied his tough reputation and untimely death. An imposing man who was both respected and feared, he sang of the tumults of marriage, morality and life in Kenya on the cusp of independence. He sold hundreds of thousands of records in East and Central Africa before his murder in 1963, leaving behind just a few dozen beautiful songs and a complicated legacy. This is the first comprehensive release of his music outside of East Africa. We traveled to Kenya to meet Mukabi’s surviving son Johnstone, as well as a generation of the artists he inspire...

Heisei No Oto: Japanese Left-field Pop From The CD Age, 1989-1996 (digital version) by Various Artists VA. - eisei No Oto: Japanese Left​-​field Pop From The CD Age, 1989​-​1996 (Music from memory) Music From Memory is excited to announce a special compilation that they’ve been working on for some time now; MFM053 – VA – Heisei No Oto – Japanese Left-field Pop From The CD Age (1989-1996). Compiled by long-time friends of the label, Eiji Taniguchi and Norio Sato, Heisei No Oto delves into a world of music released almost exclusively on CD and brings together a fascinating selection of discoveries from a little known and overlooked part of Japan’s musical history. The last ten or so years have seen a global wave of interest in Japanese music encompassing ambient, jazz, new wave, and pop records from the 1980s, some of which is increasingly considered the most innovative and visionary music of that time. Although some music from this period, in the form of ‘City Pop’ or ‘rare groove’ rec...