Elza Soares & Miltinho - Elza, Miltinho e Samba (1967)

Gorgeous, delicate and summery samba from Brazil. Try it, you might like it like I like it.

Tracklist:

01 Com Que Roupa - Si Voce Jurar
02 Beijo Na Boca - Moreninha do Pom Pom Grenat - Tem Que Ter
03 Boogie Woogie Na Favela - Bonitao - Eu Quero Um Samba - Pourquoi
04 Se Voce Visse
05 Todd Dia e Dia
06 Enlouqueci - Fica doido Varrido - Obsessao - So Eu Sei - E Bom Parar - Calado Venci - Vai Que Depois Eu Vou - Ja Vae
07 Mal de Amor
08 Antonico
09 Louco de Saudade

Get it HERE.

Los Exitos de Lucho Bermudez y su Orquesta

This little gem was dug out of a pile of old records in a flea market a couple of months back. Lucho Bermudez was a Colombian clarinet player and band leader who blended local Colombian dance styles such as the cumbia and porro with the big band sound coming from the US. The result is a big, brassy and very danceable noise all pinned down by that heavy cumbia beat. The fabulous Soundway record label have just issued some of this fella's music on 7" which you can purchase here, and there's more lp's to download here and here.

Here's a sample of Lucho's itchy sound:


Tracklist:

01 Los Primos Sanchez
02 Mi Sahagun
03 Jalaito en Monteria
04 Cartagenerita
05 Marlene La Negrita
06 Caracoli
07 Hombre Al Agua
08 Palmar
09 Gaita de las Flores
10 Pacho Herrera

Get it HERE.

Dr Ilaiyaraja - Gold Hits

I picked up a few cds of Tamil film music at a boot sale about 6 months ago and was lucky enough to find this one which came in the case of a completely different movie soundtrack. What we have here is 18 songs of wonderfully demented Kollywood sounds from Sri Lanka. Expect wild guitars, crazy synths, jarring percussion and impossibly high pitched singing. As the cd came without a cover, I have no idea what the titles of the songs might be so any help with identification would be wonderful. The films though are:

Annakilli (1976)


Badrakaali (1976)


Chittukkuruvi (1978)


Niram Maaraatha Pookkal (1978)


16 Vayathiniley (1977)


Get it HERE.

The excellent record label, Finders Keepers has just released two volumes of film music by Dr Ilaiyaraja (which you can buy HERE), and this is what their website has to say about this chap's wonderful music:

"Ilaiyaraaja, Ilayaraja, Ilayaraaja, Isaignani, The Maestro... The undeniable prince of Kollywood cinema, India's second largest film industry, Ilaiyaraaja is more than equal to his forward thinking contemporaries in Bollywood and Lollywood in both productivity and experimentation. However, once you have exhausted all possible leads using his various names (and the numerous misspellings) you're faced with the unenviable task of sifting through a 34-year career spanning more than 900 film scores in Tamil, Hindi, Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada in order to unearth some the heaviest dancefloor friendly electronic pop to ever emerge from Southern India.
Impossible to pigeonhole and characterised by his own indefinable style the man is a genre in his own right."

Well, time has passed and the African Music Recycler has been kind enough to provide us with:
Tracklist:
01 - Annakkili (from Annakkili, 1976)
02 - Machsana Pathingala (from Annakkili, 1976)
03 - Muththu Muththa (from Annakkili, 1976)
04 - Anpum Ellai (from Annakkili, 1976)
05 - Attukutti (from 16 Vayathinile, 1977)
06 - Senthoora Poove (from 16 Vayathinile, 1977)
07 - Manja Kulicha (from 16 Vayathinile, 1977)
08 - Sevvandhi (from 16 Vayathinile, 1977)
09 - Ketteley Angay (from Badrakaali, 1976)
10 - Kannan Oru (from Badrakaali, 1976)
11 - Otha Ruba (from Badrakaali, 1976)
12 - En Kanmani (from Chittukkuruvi, 1978)
13 - Adada Maamarakiliye (from Chittukkuruvi, 1978)
14 - Unnai Nambi (from Chittukkuruvi, 1978)
15 - Kaaverikkarai Ponnula Ponnula (from Chittukkuruvi, 1978)
16 - Aayiram Malargale (from Niram Maratha Pookkal, 1979)
17 - Muthal Muthalaga (from Niram Maratha Pookkal, 1979)
18 - Iru Paravaigal (from Niram Maratha Pookkal, 1979)
Many thanks African Music Recycler!

Swell Maps - International Rescue (1999)

Noisy and experimental, Birmingham's Swell Maps experienced little commercial success during the course of their chaotic career, but in hindsight they stand as one of the pivotal acts of the new wave: not only was the group an acknowledged inspiration to the likes of Sonic Youth and Pavement, but their alumni -- most notably brothers Nikki Sudden and Epic Soundtracks -- continued on as key players in the underground music community.

Although Sudden (vocals/guitar) and Soundtracks (piano/drums) formed the first incarnation of the Swell Maps (named after the charts used by surfers to gauge wave intensities) as far back as 1972, the group did not begin to truly take shape until 1976, when the siblings enlisted bassist Jowe Head and guitarist Richard Earl. In the spirit of punk's D.I.Y. mentality, they formed their own label, Rather Records, and issued their debut single -- the brief, jarring "Read About Seymour" -- in the early weeks of 1978. Local media support soon won the Swell Maps a distribution pact with Rough Trade, but they did not resurface until over a year later with the single "Dresden Style."

In mid-1979, the band released its full-length debut, A Trip to Marineville, a crazy quilt of punk energy and Krautrock-influenced clatter. After the release of the speaker-shredding single "Let's Build a Car," the group recorded one final studio LP, Jane from Occupied Europe, before breaking up. A series of outtakes and singles collections -- 1981's Whatever Happens Next, 1982's Collision Time, and 1987's Train Out of It -- followed, while the members followed their own career paths: Sudden formed the Jacobites, Soundtracks joined Crime and the City Solution, and Head played with the Television Personalities. All later enjoyed solo careers as well.

AMG

Gloriously chaotic compilation of singles, outtakes and unreleased bits and bobs, this record seems to collect together a wonderful bunch of Swell Maps' punkiest numbers and dispenses with their more experimental outings. To remedy that, I have included the two songs, English Verse and Monologues, which make up the b-side of their second 7", Real Shocks.

Here's a taste:


Tracklisting:

01 International Rescue
02 Real Shocks
03 Black Velvet
04 Ammunition Train
05 Ripped & Torn
06 Spitfire Parade
07 New York
08 Forest Fire
09 Winter Rainbow
10 Dresden Style
11 Vertical Slum
12 H.A.K.
13 I Really Love You
14 Hey Johnny! Where's The Chewing Gum?

Bonus 1 English Verse
Bonus 2 Monologues

Get it HERE.

Mbaraka Mwinshehe & Morogoro Jazz (1971)

Mbaraka Mwinshehe was one of the most popular guitarists and singers in East Africa in the late '60s and early '70s. It's beautiful music, and obviously heavily influenced by the rumba drifting East along the Congo, but this music lacks the fluidity and suppleness of someone like TPOK Jazz, it feels slightly more rigid or regimented. Or maybe its my ears.

Tracklist:

01 Expo 70 No. 1
02 Expo 70 No. 2
03 Bivelina
04 Sarakasi Ya Yasinta
05 Urafiki Mwisho Wa Mwezi
06 Afrika Tuko Tayari Kufa
07 Pole Dada
08 Watalii

Get it HERE.

Chief Commander Ebenezer Obey & His Inter-Reformers Band - Sound of the Moment (1980)

I'll start by apologising for the lack of recent posts - I've been rather busy with one thing or another and just haven't been able to make the time for music posts.

However, I'm returning with the sweet musical sunshine. I picked up this beautiful chunk of balmy Nigerian juju heat at a recent bootsale and it's helping to make up for the lack of sunshine here.
If you've never heard the juju, then this is as good a place as any to start your habit. If you have, then you'll know the score: gloriously woozy slide guitars, mesmeric talking drums and sublime vocal harmonising all blended up into a lazy psychedelic gumbo.

Previous Ebenezer Obey posts can be found here.

Tracklist:

Side One: Kaiye Mi Ko Dun Ko Dero / Aja Kole Ba Agbo Kan / Ewure Ile Komo Oyi Ode / Mo Mo Iyi Enia Mi / Omode Yi Nwo Mi Loju / Ade Komolafe

Side Two: Chief Muraina Adisa Makinde / Borikan Ba Sunwon / Folaranmi / Kenimani Sebi Ogun Ni

Get it HERE.

Super Jhankar - Naag Mani (1991)

This is a cassette of fantastic bangra style remixes of songs from the 1991 Bollywood movie, Naag Mani which starred a former Miss India.

Compare and contrast the movie original with the SUPER JHANKAR BEATS version that follows:




Tracklist:

01 Mera Long Gawaacha
02 Dil Toot Gaya Tha
03 Chann Pardesi Mere
04 Aashiqon Ka Naam Hum
05 Parbat Ki Unchaai
06 Dushman - E - Jaan Ko Hum
07 Dil Jo Hamaara Aahen
08 Zindagi Men Jeete Jee
09 Pal Pal Meri Jaan
10 Aao Khelen Sanam Sanam

Get it HERE.