Madlib – Madlib Medicine Show No. 2: Flight to Brazil

February 24th, 2010  |  by J Meagher  |  published in hip-hop, world music  |  5 comments

This album really changed things for me in terms of appreciating and pursuing jazz music outside of Tribe Called Quest samples. He took sounds I was unfamiliar and uninterested in, and screwed them up in wonderful ways that made me want to listen over and over again (video for a track off this album will be included below). It’s safe to say that Madlib is NOT a one trick pony.

Fool’s Gold – Fool’s Gold

November 5th, 2009  |  by taylor fife  |  published in etheopian, west african, world music  |  2 comments

Fool’s Gold belts out their compositions with confidence surprising and refreshing for a group taking on a borrowed aesthetic. The lead guitar soars over the percussion-heavy beats. The Hebrew and English vocals fit in amazingly—rather than leading the group they fall into the mix as just another one of the nine or so instruments jamming together. The songs don’t feel as if they were crafted, but instead as if they fell together naturally or developed slowly through jamming and collective input.

Live in DC: The Very Best

November 3rd, 2009  |  by jason grishkoff  |  published in live shows, west african, world music

Last night The Very Best sold out Washington, D.C.’s DC9 Club, in part due to a whole lot of hype from websites such as Pitchfork, as well as a few shining reviews in DC’s local newspapers. Perhaps my growing up in South Africa makes me biased on this one, but I’m pretty sure I’ve heard African music done well (whether it be from the North or the South), and this isn’t done well.

toubab krewe – toubab krewe

August 22nd, 2009  |  by daniel surwit  |  published in instrumental, house, west african  |  3 comments

this unique quintet hails out of the rolling hills of asheville, nc with a sound that might as well be coming from several thousand miles around the world. although all five members grew up in and began their music careers on the appalachian trail, most of them spent considerable time learning music on africa’s west coast. think mississippi delta meets mali; santana meets amadou and miriam.

Yonlu – A Society in Which No Tear Is Shed Is Inconceivably Mediocre

August 6th, 2009  |  by jason grishkoff  |  published in acoustic, experimental, folk, world music

yonlu was a brazilian teenager who killed himself in his bathroom. he left a note for his parents telling them to listen to his music whenever they missed him. this album is constructed mostly of songs his parents found on his computer after his death.