Maria Bethania - A Arte de Maria Bethania (1975)

Alright folks, you're in for a treat tonight. I picked up this scratchy old gem in a record & tape exchange in Notting Hill a month or so ago and its been getting played to death in my house. There's quite a lot of crackle on this I'm afraid, but the sheer quality and brilliance of Maria Bethania's music shines through. The recordings on this 1975 compilation album are quite simple exquisite. Her songs are sophisticated and urbane, yet vibrant and full of emotion, romance and drama. It sounds like there's a fearsome intelligence at work here and maybe that is why she's one of Brazil's most popular and biggest selling female singers.

Tracklist:

01 A Tua Presença
02 Mariana, Mariana
03 Dia 4 De Dezembro
04 Maria Bethânia & Edu Lobo – Pra Dizer Adeus
05 Texto Nº1 De Fernando Pessoa: O Mar (Canção Praieira)
05.1 Suíte Dos Pescadores
05.2 Avarandado
06 Bom Conselho
07 Bom Dia
08 Drama
09 Movimento Dos Barcos
09.1 Baioque
09.2 Texto De Luiz Carlos Lacerda: Esse Cara
09.3 Bodas De Prata
09.4 Tatuagem
09.5 Texto De Fernando Pessoa: Volta Por Cima
09.6 Eu Sou A Outra
10 Sinal Fechado
10.1 Roda Viva
10.2 Rosa Dos Ventos
10.3 Cala A Boca, Bárbara
10.4 Resposta
10.5 Demoníaca
11 Coração Ateu (Da Novela Gabriela)
12 Janelas Abertas Nº 2
13 Olhe O Tempo Passando
14 Maria Bethânia & Jorge Ben – Mano Caetano
15 Maria Bethânia & Edu Lobo – Se Eu Morresse Amanhã
16 Cirandeiro
17 Minha História
17.1 Lembranças
17.2 Doce Mistério Da Vida (Ah! Sweet Mystery Of Life)
18 Maria Bethânia & Chico Buarque & Nara Leão – Cantores Do Rádio
19 Iansã
20 Estácio Holly Estácio
21 Estrela Do Mar
21.1 Meu Primeiro Amor
21.2 Soneto
21.3 Preciso Aprender A Só Ser
21.4 A Lenda Do Abaeté
21.5 Oração Da Mãe Menininha
21.6 Filhos De Gandhi
21.7 Texto De Clarice Lispector: Luz Da Noite
22 Eu Fui À Europa
22.1 Gás Neon
22.2 Luzes Da Ribalta (Limelight)
22.3 Chão De Estrelas
22.4 Sinal Fechado

Get it HERE.

United Bible Studies - The Lunar Observatory (Foxglove CDr 2004)

United Bible Studies are a folk collective from Dublin. With an ever changing line-up the troupe's gentle and meditative improvisations shift and mutate, with spectral melodies drifting in and out of focus like smoke. Their sound on The Lunar Observatory occupies a strange, vertiginous space somewhere up in the clouds, taking in elements of traditional English folk music, experimental improvised jazz and lo-fi noise. I strongly recommend you check this out then have a look at their website and maybe buy some of their music. You could also do worse than check out what's happening over at Foxy Digitalis.

Tracklist:

01		Stag Horn Mountains (Cernunnos Rising)
02		Sea Of Rains
03		The Gibbous Stones
04		Dark Lowland Plains
05		Prosper Henry
06		The Lunar Observatory
07		Old Moon In The New Moon's Arms

Get it HERE.

The Tru-Tones Combo of St. Lucia - Cream of the Crop

This was a fantastic find at this Sunday's boot sale - a great set of funky, instrumental cover versions of classic songs we all know and (probably) love. Yes, yes I hear you say, we've heard it all before, and that would be true, but not quite like this.

Wikipedia has this to say about 'em:

"The Tru Tones are a Saint Lucian band led by Ronald "Boo" Hinkson. The band formed in the 1960s and had a significant following in the 70s in the United Kingdom. They recorded five albums and several singles, most famously "Hungry Belly', "Burning Eyes" and "Sexy Thing" (remake of the Hot Chocolate song).

Since the Tru Tones break-up, Hinkson has had a successful solo career and toured across the world."

I imagine the Tru-Tones set the dancefloors on fire in St. Lucia's hotel nightclubs and cabaret venues.

Tracklist:

01 Light My Fire
02 This Guy's in love With You
03 Aquarius
04 California Dreaming
05 It Must Be Him
06 Pan Man
07 House of the Rising Sun
08 By the Time I Get to Phoenix
09 Don't Let the Sun Catch You Cryin'
10 Sock it to Me
11 My Way

Get it HERE.

Ikenga Super Stars of Africa (1975)

I know this one has popped up on a number of other evil file-sharing blogs over the years, but it really is too good to miss. If you've never come across them before, the Ikenga Super Stars of Africa play the kind of dizzying, funky highlife that is sure to move both asses and minds. The interweaving guitars on these two long songs never fail to send me into a kaleidoscope hypno-trance, and that could never be a bad thing, could it?
And, just in case you're wondering, the file is hosted on mediafire. I've had a think about my options since all this megaupload kerfuffle started, and I've come to the conclusion that we humble muzak bloggers are but small fish. I'm really sorry to those (Moos at Global Groove, Owl at Holy Warbles, the team at Mutant Sounds amongst many others) who have had their files deleted - I can only imagine how upsetting this is - but I'm sure we're all going to be able to find ways to keep on keeping on.

Tracklist:

01 Ikenga Go Marry Me
02 Ikenga in Africa

Get it HERE (while you still can!).

Rais Mohamed Outhnaout

It's been a long time since I posted any music from Morocco as I've been too busy trying to keep up with the gorgeous deluge of Mauresque sounds coming out of the fantastic Moroccan Tape Stash to bother posting any of the stuff I have sitting here in my living room. However, I've been playing this tape quite a bit recently and I'm loving the infectious playfulness of it all. The man with the guitar is Rais Mohamed Outhnaout, a musician from Marrakech. I can't find any biography or anything on the internet (Wikipedia is blacked out today!) but there are lots of fairly recent videos of his performances of youtube. Here's one I picked almost at random:


No tracklist I'm afraid, but you can get it HERE.

As usual, any info or help with translations would be much appreciated.

Orchestra Harlow - Electric Harlow (1971)

Fantastic electrified salsa from Larry Harlow and his orchstra with the wonderful vocals of Ismael Miranda. There is some fabulously funky electric piano stuff going on here and great rhythms that make it extremely difficult to sit still.

Hope y'all enjoy.


Tracklist:

01		La Revolucion
02		Oiga Mi Guaguanco
03		Quien Lo Tumbe
04		Guasasa
05		Con Dulzura
06		Donde Vas Chichi
07		Lo Que Quieras Hacer
08		Tu Cosita Mami

Get it HERE.

Congo Sevens Number 2 - Various Artists

Happy New Year one and all. Hope the new year brings as much joy and light to you as the music in this collection.

Tracklist:

01 Toma I - Orchestre les Noirs
02 Toma II - Orchestre les Noirs
03 Bea - Vicky et l'Orchestre OK-Jazz
04 Rocky a Kovenger Ngai - Vicky et l'Orchestre OK-Jazz
05 Annie Nasiliki - Orchestre Les Rebelles
06 Quatro Bougies - Orchestre Les Rebelles
07 Basi Balukaka Nini - Orchestre Alberthos
08 Kobala Esengo - Orchestre Alberthos
09 Makambo Mibale - Orchestre Bantous
10 Damba - Orchestre Bantous
11 Worriend - Orchestre African Fiesta
12 Ami Maza - Nico et l'Orchestre African Fiesta

Get it HERE.

Congo Sevens Number One is HERE.

Get scans of the covers HERE.