Mr York and co. have offered up a new tune on the W.A.S.T.E. site/as a torrent called These are My Twisted Words. Amid an awful lot of rumour and guesswork (as ever with Radiohead) the song first appeared as a rather suspicious torrent before the band stopped the rumour mill and and posted it on their blog for free.
Anyway, it is pretty darn good and proves that Radiohead have definately still got it.
Twisted Woods artwork
13:27 by , under download, mix, mp3, Rhythm 'n' Roots
To celebrate July and my return to the UK I have changed the layout of the blog (one template for a prettier one!) and have completed the next instalment of the Rhythm 'n' Roots Mixes.
Number four of the ongoing mix series 35 minutes of old songs, new songs, remixed songs and songs fused together. Download here (or click the sheep) and check out the tracklisting and artists beloow:
16:30 by , under Aymara, bolivia, downlo (ad, hip-hop, mp3, remix.
The first I heard of Bolivian rapper Abraham Bojorquez was, unfortunately, his tragic and untimely death in May this year. Aged 26, he was run down by a bus in the city of El Alto (the huge sprawl which sits above La Paz.) I read an article on this website and since reading it have been on the lookout for some of his music. Thanks to Ghetto Bassquake I have managed to find an album by Ukamau y Ké, his group, and it lives up to the reputation.
10:13 by , under download, dubstep, grime, London, mp3, Rinse FM, UK Funky House
To celebrate Rinse FM's 15th birthday, the label is giving away a selection of tracks from some of it's contributors and hosts which happen to include some of the best producers around (Skream, Geenus, Skepta, Plastician.)
Coming back to Perú I inevitably became reacquainted with Huayno and as I descended the highlands towards Bolivia it became clear Huayno is the popular music of the Andean people. It is a mestizo music: taking the traditional Huayno rhythms and vocal styles of the Incas and mixing it with Spanish lyrics and instruments such as harps and accordions. The musicians play repeated phrases, stretched brass lines and swirling violins accompanied by harping vocals and music box like plucked strings; at times it sounds a long way from Latin American music. It uses a lot of the pentatonic scale, used in folk music across the world, perhaps explaining why at times the harp phrases sound rather more Asian than Latin American.
13:41 by , under Argentina, cumbia digital, download, Fauna, mp3, remixes, ZZK
ZZK Records have just published the results of the Fauna Remix competition from a few months back. The tracks chosen are a mixed bag of remixes and cut ups from of the five tracks from La Manita de Fauna album by a group of relatively unknown artists.
Go check out the site and download the 10 remixes chosen by members of the ZZK crew. It introduces a whole host of new artists to get into; a whole afternoon's worth of Myspacing!
I am a fan of the Lagartijeando sea-shanty-cumbia remix of Las Mil Caras:
Fauna - Las Mil Caras (Lagartijeando RMX)
14:55 by , under Colombia, cumbia, cumbia colombiana, download, mp3
A "lost" weekend in Santa Fé has left me a little bit behind with the music so it is time to catch up. Still in Ecuador, which borders Colombia, I bought a disc of Colombian cumbias (I was unable to make it Colombia for a lack of time.) I somehow left Ecuador with music from anywhere but Ecuador!
I wanted to upload all of these tracks as they are just great! I have restrained myself however, and limited it to just three. In comparison to the aforementioned Bachata, this stuff is a breath of fresh air. Music to put you in a good mood, the perfect remedy for a grey, stormy Buenos Aires day. Furthermore the lyrics are great. I have already charted, briefly, the history of cumbia so I will leave it to Grant Dull from ZZK to refresh the memory: "Africa, Colombia, America."
First tune which I featured in my Rhythm 'n' Roots Mix Volume I and is a classic cumbia called Cumbia Cienaguera as interpreted by a Conjunto Tipica Vallenata (this appeared sampled on a house track by Samin called Heater and has been interpreted by many).
Conjunto Típica Vallenata - Cumbia Cienaguera
Second track is by Gustavo "el loco" Quinteros and is called Baracunatana. Made famous by Colombian rock group, Aterciopelados (youtube) but Gustavo Quinteros seems to be quite a character and the song is about him not bringing a prostitute home with him (the one who got on the moto with that idiot!)
Gustavo "el loco" Quinteros - Baracunatana
The final track is called Tabaco y Ron by Rodolfo Aicardi who is a big name in the history of música popular in Colombia. He sang all sorts of styles from ballads to cumbias to boleros, and alongside Gustavo Quinetero, (above) he spent time as a member of the legendary Los Hispanos group. He was even responsible for taking cumbia to the world, performing in Europe and Asia in the 80s and 90s. This song is, surprisngly, about tobaco and rum.
Rodolfo Aicardi - Tabaco y Ron
11:01 by , under bachata, Dominican Republic, download, Ecuador, El Chaval, love, mp3, south america, travel
Ecuador: Nuevas Bachatas #113
Part II takes us to the Dominican Republic via Ecuador. A genre formerly known as "amargue" (bitterness), Bachata is usually is about relationships breaking down. Though I purchased this in Ecuador, Bachata is a style which originated in the Dominican Republic. It has since spread across South America hence why I found it in a CD shop in a town in the Ecuadorian andes. They say it evolved from Bolero, integrating a lot of guitar and is not too dissimilar from Merengue . The music really took off in the Dominican Republic of the sixties. This disc however, is modern, popular Bachata with electric guitar and drums and I have to admit it is rather cheesy: every one has to indulge once in a while and it is a little more acceptable when in another language. What's more I am intrigued by the fact that nearly every song is about heartbreak.
04:40 by , under download, folklorico, huayno, mp3, Perú, south america, travel
In January I left BA and hit the road for three months taking in Chile, Perú, Ecuador, Bolivia and Northern Argentina. Along the way I managed to amass a collection of music ranging from Música Nacional Bolivia 2009 to Nuevas Bachatas #113 2008. For the most part I didn't see anything which resembled what I know to be a record store, all the music shops were filled with mountains of pirated CDs with badly photocopied inlays. Think 300 tracks on one CD for $4. I guess the RIAA and the IFPI don't hold much sway round these parts...I brought it all back and did some digesting and now it is time for the regurgitation!
For the next week or so I am going to offer up one track from each CD per day (ish) each with a short description and the track itself for listening/downloading. I suppose you could call it musical geography. I offer you my musical journey through South America.
Southern Peru: Pioneras del Huayno
Starting with a disc purchased in Tacna on the border of Chile and Peru after a taxi driver introduced me to Huayno. It is a music and dance which comes from the mountainous regions of Perú and is characterized by the rhythm; one long, two short, the andean instrumentation (charango, harp, drum etc) and it's shrill singing. Each song on this disc also includes an introdcution by a chap bigging up said chantante or offering some words of wisdom such as, "treat your woman well, she deserves it." Modern Huayno often fuses the traditions with other elements such as cumbia, rock and even reggae!
The ladies on this disc, however, are the pioneers. It features the delightful Flor Pilena, Mina Gonzales, Sally, Alicia Delgado and Wilma Contreras. Alicia Delgado was tragically killed last week amid rumours that her fellow folk singer Abencia Mezaso masterminded the murder. Thus, I have chosen two songs from this disc, one in memory of Alicia and the other a personal favourite.
Alicia Delgado - Luna
Mina Gonzales - Aguila Negra
The track I have chosen is a reverb laden ode to a black eagle...I love the Huayno rhythm which is so hard to pin down and the vocals are so rhythmic. The verse on this one is just great. "Que corazón tan variable!"
19:36 by , under cumbia, download, dubstep, mash-up, mp3, rock nacional, Villa Diamante
The previous post's post is has now been fufilled and the monstrous collection of Villa Diamante mash-ups are up and available for donwload from heeeere (or click the pic): Diamante Style.
"Un disco triple de mashups que recorre en mas de 40 tracks un impensable viaje musical donde las referencias culturales se ven alteradas, los géneros se mezclan para dar lugar a lo inaudito."
12:52 by , under 2-step, Bristol., dubstep, half-step, mix, mp3, release, tectonic
This post is inspired by the release (MP3, CD came earlier) this month of Tectonic Plates Volume II, the second compilation of Tectonic's vinyl releases. Run by DJ and producer Pinch, the Bristol based label is one of the most important and interesting dubstep imprints around and this release proves why.
The first disc comes with the tunes and includes names like RSD, Martyn, 2562, Skream and of course Pinch himself (worth it just for the RSD and Martyn tunes!) The second CD is a gold mine mix done by Pinch which includes many hard to find/deep tunes from Pevrelist's Blues, Answer Me by Mala and the word Dubplate repeated a lot (special!) It is really spot-on, the mixes are smooth-as and the selection is second to none. Full release info can be found here. An interview with Mr Pinch can be found on Sonic Router.
Suddenly finding myself with a bunch of, what I think to be, really great tunes, I decided to make a short mix in which the music takes priority. I have learnt from learning to mix (CDs Vinyl) that things don't need to be fancy and complicated, I also have a lot of respect for DJs putting vinyl mixes together like the aforementioned. This mix (MP3s) lets the music speak for itself and the music chosen does just that. It has a 2-step, tech-step, moving groove vibe and it flows.
Download here: Strictly Rhythm Mix
Playlist
After being drawn into starting my own music blog I soon discovered that the world of music blogging reaches far wider than you could imagine. All across the world people are blogging and promoting the music they love. I could easily spend a whole day trawling through blogs downloading music, reading about the latest musical happenings or hidden gems from the Ivory Coast to Brooklyn. Each blog in turn links to it's own favourite blogs which in turn lead you to more and more. The sphere is endless. For a fan of "world" music or of music as a whole, it is an inexhaustable gold mine.
Exaple: yesterday I had a few hours spare and decided to catch up on the blogs I have in my blogroll (<--- see over there.) I then headed to their own favourite blogs which in turn led to more, whose posts had links to more. I arrived at a blog called Awesome Tapes from Africa which uploads and shares music from cassettes found accross Africa. Ethiopian Jam's, Eritrean pre-banjo, banjo music, mixtapes from Mali, Nigeria, Ghana, Senegal and more. An incredible gem of a site. Then I found Radiodifusion which hosts a large collection of MP3s sorted by country. Then there is the blog of then man who spent three years in West Africa digging for rare records and coming back to Brooklyn and sharing them with the world. Not to mention the sites which bring all of this stuff together like Ghetto Bassquake.
Awesome tape from Africa
Music blogs are great, lots of free music but what has got to me over the years is not being able to listen to music. The fact that I am a little ignorant of the ways of HTML and such mysteries has left me searching for an easier option. After a bit of a dig I found Dewplayer and Tilidom which allow you to upload tunes and put them into a streaming application. Means people can listen to the tunes! Woo. On that celebratory note here's one I made earlier, a sort of rhythmic work out:
El Buho - Polynesia
Well, it is easter, I have no classes and no money to get out of the city so I have dedicated my time to mixing music I like together. It has a cumbia hip-hop feel to it with a few surprises.
Download here:
Rhythm 'n' Roots Volume I
Or here:
Rhythm 'n' Roots Volume I
Tracklist
TTC – Trop Frais
El Remolon – Bolivia
Conjunto Tipico Vallenato – Cumbia Cienaguera
Los Tigres del Norte – El Otro Mexico
King Coya – Cumbiatron
Zonora Point – Huachita (Douster Remix)
Roots Manuva – Toothbrush
The Very Best (Esau Mwamwaya and Radioclit) - Hide and Seek
Syem – Song of Sky
Easy – Horisont
Spartan Lover – Polka Grease
Los Locos del Ritmo – Borrachito
Fauna – Los Piratas del Zanjon
Pibes Chorros – Andrea
Oro 11 – Brooklyn Cumbia
La Integración - La Casa de Fernando
Santogold – Shove It (Toy Selectah Cumbia Rmx)
Black Twang - Red Letter
The Peronists – Travestis Tarot Supercone
