Non-English Mixes
Y.T. on the m00n vol. V
Sound of Mecca - The Blazers
Buuraha U Dheer - Group RTD
Mama - Roger George
Los Golpeadores de la Cumbia - Meridian Brothers
Alto’s Interlude - Group RTD
Vay Dünya - Altin Gün
Another mix without English lyrics and an upbeat vibe. The first track comes from a So-Cal band called that Blazers that I heard off of a compilation called, “Technicolor Paradise - Rhum Rhapsodies & Other Exotic Delights” which explores the musical side of the post war Tiki boom, which itself is a trauma response to the horrors of WWII Pacific Theater atrocities that would have been familiar to a lot of men on the West coast during that time. It’s also plays into the minor Islam-spolitation (my coinage, think of it as a less classy and more specific orientalism) present in parts of mid-century LA. You can still see it somewhat if you pay attention to the names of older bars and apartment buildings. It’s not uncommon in parts of Hollywood to see “The Garden of Allah Apartments” or “The Seventh Veil” club which also trace back to this time and a brief, orientalist interest in “Islam.” Group RTD, which stands for, Radiodiffusion-Télévision Djibouti, after where it was recorded, is a sort of super-group from Djibouti who put out an album called, “The Dancing Devils of Djibouti” which, due to government restrictions, had to be recorded in 3 short days and is the only Djiboutian recording intended for circulation outside of the country. It highlights a trans-Indian Ocean cultural exchange that I think is underappreciated outside of South Asia and East Africa. I can hear both Ethio-Jazz, especially on the second track I included here, “Alto’s Interlude” as well as some of the driving funk of Somali music. But, I’m not an expert in any of those musics so take all that with a grain of salt. The Meridian Brother’s track is a from an album the Colombian group put out last year. I like that the song is about Cumbia music itself (I think, my Spanish isn’t great) and I appreciate the sentiment, “Es que la cumbia suene más fuerte que los problemas.” The Turkish track is also from a recent release, from 2019, and feels very dipped in 70’s Anatolian funk, a genre that deserves more shine. According to google, the lyrics mean “wow world” and the song seems to be about how the world is a lie. Far out stuff.
Vol. iv
Blue Beats - Dynamics II
Hasosora - Lala Njava
Zindagi Ke Haseen Mod - Jaipur Kawa Brass Band
Ngôma Hoe - Papa James
Sini Lindile - Nganeziyamfisa No Khamba Lomvaleliso
Sunset and the Mockingbird - Duke Ellington
More non-English music. I was worried that people would assume I meant music not made in the USA as well as non-English so I bookended this mix with Americans. Dynamics II is a Miami bass act and this song is from MACHINE LEARNING from 1992. This mix is also heavy on Malagasy music, the first is from Lala Njava. Hasosora doesn’t really sound like other Malagasy music, or traditional Malgasy music, from the instrumentation to style of singing. It’s from an album that came out in 2013 called MALAGASY BLUES SONGS, which might explain its unique sound. Hasosora means “annoying” in Malagasy. The Jaipur Kawa Brass Band is a favorite of mine. I found out that Kawa is a person’s name and that the titular Kawa is an tabala who studied music in Paris and fell in love with that sort of Roma/Gypsy-tingned band music that I associate with Gogol Bordello and took this energy back to India where they already had a history of marching bands as a legacy of British colonialism. I believe the title means “Beautiful turns in life.” Papa James is the second Malagasy artist on here, this song is a little closer to what I think of as “regular” Malagasy music. The song is from ‘79 and I can’t figure out the title. “Ngôma” is not a Malagasy word that I know. I have found an online dictionary that suggest that it is an alternative spelling of “goma” which means “big or or large.” It’s also the Kswahili word for “dry” or a type of drum (I don’t speak Kswahili so this is based on google translate). Finally, it’s also a type of drum found in Mayotte, which is part of the Comoros islands, that accompanies a dance called Biyaya so it seems possible that it could be any of these. Can someone who speaks better Malagasy tell me what this means? Either way, the song slaps. Sini Lindile is from a collection of music from Soweto and is quite beautiful. I believe the title means, “What are you waiting for?” Finally, I got into some less “jazz-y” Ellington from a CD of suites he wrote and this piece, part I of 1959’s THE QUEEN’S SUITE, really stood out. That central melody is so soothing and peaceful. Very Satie-esque to me. You can certainly hear the sunet, less so the mockingbird.
Chaudhary - Mame Khan
La Vida Es Un Carnaval - Celia Cruz
Platonic - Haruomi Hosono
Vibes From the Tribe - Phil Ranelin
Um Canto de Afoxé Para o Bloco do Ilê - Caetano Veloso
Dance of Maria -Elias Rahbani
More chill jams without English lyrics. The first track here is a live recording from a venue called Coke Studios which is one of the longest running TV shows in Pakistan and incredibly popular in India as well. The show is made up of live performances and really does feature a good overview of all the different subcontinental musical styles. When I lived in India, my friends would pull up the Coke Studios YouTube after we stumbled home drunk and sing for hours. Of all the ones I heard, I think I enjoyed this track the most. It’s Rajasthani and I really dig the instrumentation, especially the weird, percussive vocal noises towards the beginning. Plus, that guy’s voice is amazing. Celia Cruz is a longtime favorite, yelling out “Azucar!” really is a lot of fun. This song in particular has a great message and chorus. I believe I started listening to it on repeat because it was recommended by the Mexican-American rapper Ohgeesy. Haruomi Hosono is incredibly popular in Japan, both solo and as a member of various groups. I’m only really familiar with him through the various Light in the Attic compilations so perhaps I should dive in deeper. Google has told me his grandfather survived the Titanic. Ranelin is a trombone guy, which means he has a soft-spot in my heart, and this track is very laid back and groovy. An Afoxe is that beaded gourd instrument you hear sometimes in African or Brazilian music. “Ilê Aiyê is the name of a carnival group (or “block”) from Salvador, Bahia, Brazil. The name originates in the Yoruba language: ilê - home; aiyê - life. It is the oldest Afro-Brazilian block,” according to the net. Interestingly, this song doesn’t sound like something you’d sing at carnival itself, since it’s pretty slow, but maybe it’s for the comedown afterwards. Finally, the Dance of Maria is a personal favorite of mine, that groove is really unbeatable. I believe I first heard it on one of those YouTube vinyl shows. Either way, Rahbani really finds the sweet spot between Middle Eastern music and Western rock music. Sadly, Rahbani passed due to COVID19 in Lebanon last year.
Y.T. on the m00n vol. 2: No English lyrics but more upbeat
Durban Road - West Nkosi
Line - Bossa Combo
Koya Mo Were We Baramu (Now You Are Like a European) - Wayo
Bumaye - Zulumbi
Yeh Kali Kali Aankhen - Jaipur Kawa Brass Band
Indoda Yejazi Elimnyama (The Man in the Black Coat) – Amaswazi Emvelo
This mix is also in the genre of “Music without English language lyrics” but this time the vibe is more upbeat and higher energy. I know very little about the artists represented in this mix. The first and the last artists are both South African. The second track comes from the same Haitian compilation I used on the first mix. “Bumaye” is also from the same CD of Samba music that “Não Precisa” is from. The Jaipur brass band is interesting to me since you don’t often hear this particular instrumentation outside of marching bands at football games. I’m guessing this is some bizarre result of colonialism since the trumpet is absolutely an imperial instrument. They manage to hone in on the power and force that only this sort of brass band can muster. Some of their other tracks blend this (more familiar to me) style with more classical Hindustani motifs so I’ll probably plop that down on a future mix. The 3rd track is from the world’s newest (recognized) nation, South Sudan. The whole CD is interesting and engaging, I choose this track not only for it’s strange groove but also for the title. Apparently, Wayo is not the name of a person or even a group, but rather the name of a village that produced this music together in a large gathering. The title refers to people who left South Sudan during the war(s) and have returned, only to find they no longer fully fit in with South Sudanese society. That’s a pretty common motif around the world and it’s interesting to get South Sudan’s spin on it. The final track is my favorite, I think. Like I said, it’s from South Africa and slaps hard. I particularly enjoy the singer’s “gggggrrrrrrrr” noise, it reminds me of Desus and Mero. The translated lyrics that came with the CD suggests the song is about a man in a black coat always trying to steal the singer’s money. Possibly a taxman? Did people in Soweto (where all the music on this CD is from) pay taxes in that way? Who knows?
Y.T. on the m00n vol. 1: Mostly chill music w/o english lyrics
By Water - Stratis
In My Jungle - F.O.E.
Pahadi - Hariprasad Chaurasia, Shivkumar Sharma, Brij Bhushan Kabra
Gadé Moune Yo - Râ Râ De Léogane
Não Precisa - Luciano Salvador Bahia & Ava Rocha
Live with the Moon - Chayns
Ti Hore - Te Runga Rawa
I play music basically constantly. In the sense that there are 2 types of books, “Fiction” and “Nonfiction” there exists only 2 genres of music, “With English Lyrics” and “Without English Lyrics.” Beyond that, music also gets subdivided into “Chill” or “Energetic” though, admittedly, these 2 categories are more subjective than the first 2. I typically take out “World Music” (a terrible term) CDs by the dozens at the Seattle Library, basically at random, play them constantly in my house and burn any track that stands out (typically, 2-5 per CD), all of these songs were discovered using that method. As such, I usually don’t have very much context for the music, a state of affairs without precedent in human history. I know the first song is from a CD of early electronic music and, according to German Wikipedia, Stratis is 2 people from Cologne who released a lot of chiller early electronic music in the 80’s. “In My Jungle” is from a band I can’t find any info about, though it comes from a compilation (from local label Lights In The Attic Records) of “City Pop, AOR and Boogie” from the mid 70’s-mid 80’s. There is technically some English on this record but rules are stupid and I’m allowed to break them. “Pahadi” comes from a collection of Himylanian music that alternates between the chill, almost doctor’s-office vibe of this track to much more dissent drone-y stuff that I’ll put on some future mix. “Gadé” is from a collection of Rara (some disagreement online over whether this is one word or 2) music from Haiti, featuring the vaccine, a strange Haitian horn-like instrument I’m fond of. Haiti might be the country I’m most interested in that I haven’t visited. Them or Nigeria. “Não Precisa” is comes from a huge stack of Brazilian music I worked my way through. It’s the most recently recorded of all the tracks on here and, according to some light googling, the title means “don’t worry” which is always good advice. “Live with the Moon” is from the Numero Group’s compilation of “Exotica” music. “Exotica” in this context refers to a mid-century genre that is sort of the musical equivalent of a tiki-bar, a phenomena where WWII war vets were trying to create an exotic vibe by piecing together half-remembered and mis-understood facets of Pacific Islander culture they’d witnessed during the war. The final track is from actual Pacific Islanders, specifically the Maori of New Zealand. I played rugby in High School and College so I’m more than familiar with the Haka (and YT rip-offs), the most famous Maori musical offering. This track includes some of the power and force of the Haka without being as directly aggressive.