04-06-2020 > WORLD:MUSiC:MiX # 33 selected ETHNiC FUSiON tracks 1974-1963 # WmW

g l o b a l  m u s i c a l   v i l l a g e

PLANXTY

04-06-2020 > WORLD:MUSiC:MiX # 33 selected ETHNiC FUSiON tracks 1974-1963 # WmW:   Planxty, Fela Kuti, Lafayette Afro Rock Band, Steeleye Span, Jorge Ben and Trio Mocotó, Willie Colón, Pentangle, Carlos Paredes, Baden Powell, Violeta Parra, Ravi Shankar, Eduardo Rovira

M  U  S  I  C / WmW

if you want excitement PRESS SHUFFLE!

LISTEN THE PLAYLIST ON DEEZER.COM

1974-1963

Veritable supergroup of Irish traditionalist helped spark an Irish folk renaissance in the 1970s. Along with groups like the Bothy Band, Planxty helped to usher in a new era for modern Celtic music. While their sound remained rooted to traditional music, the band's virtuosic musicianship and high-energy delivery reflected modern influences, while their unique vocal harmonies and instrumental counterpoint were unprecedented in Irish music.
Planxty
Cold Blow and the Rainy Night
Johnny Cope 5:15
from Cold Blow and the Rainy Night 1974
Irish stalwarts Planxty begin Cold Blow and the Rainy Night -- their third record for Shanachie -- with a rousing version of the Scottish battlefield classic "Johnnie Cope." It's a fitting opening to a record that essentially rounded out their recording heyday as the members splintered off to form equally influential Celtic acts like the Bothy Band, Moving Hearts, and De Danann. Co-founder Dónal Lunny, despite contributing instrumentally to a few tracks and taking a seat in the production chair, left the group, allowing newest member Johnny Moynihan to take over bouzouki and -- along with Andy Irvine and Christy Moore -- vocal duties. The title track is one of the finest of their career, utilizing Liam O'Flynn's expert uillean pipes and the band's peerless harmonizing to a tee.... Cold Blow and the Rainy Night, along with The Well Below the Valley, and their legendary debut, are essential listening for those in love with, or merely intrigued with, the genre.

Nigerian singer who was a key figure in the development of Afro-beat, blending agit-prop lyrics and dance rhythms as a medium for social protest. It's almost impossible to overstate the impact and importance of Fela Anikulapo (Ransome) Kuti (or just Fela as he's more commonly known) to the global musical village: producer, arranger, musician, political radical, outlaw. He was all that, as well as showman par excellence, inventor of Afro-beat, an unredeemable sexist, and a moody megalomaniac.

Fela Kuti 

Alu Jon Jonki Jon (Feladey & Friends) 

Jeun Ko Ku (Chop'n Quench) (Feladey & Friends) 

from Afrodisiac 1973

The four (lengthy, as usual) songs occupying this album were originally recorded in Nigeria as 45 rpm releases. Afrodisiac consists of re-recordings of these, done in London in the early '70s. While it's true that Fela Kuti's albums from this period are pretty similar to each other, in their favor they're not boring. These four workouts, all sung in Nigerian, are propulsive mixtures of funk and African music, avoiding the homogeneity of a lot of funk and African records of later vintage, done with nonstop high energy. The interplay between horns, electric keyboards, drums, and Kuti's exuberant vocals gives this a jazz character without sacrificing the earthiness that makes it danceable as well. "Jeun Ko Ku (Chop'n Quench)" became Kuti's first big hit in Nigeria, selling 200,000 copies in its first six months in its initial version.

The often-sampled funk masters Lafayette Afro Rock Band emerged initially as The Bobby Boyd Congress then Ice, before claiming this moniker.

Lafayette Afro Rock Band 

I Love Music 

Conga (Lafayette Hudson) 

from Malik 1972

We can speak about "Killer french Funk" with this second lp from the band, issued in 1972 on french "America" label. Also enjoy the second press issued on US "Makossa" label (Makossa 2311). Recorded in Paris and New York under the production & direction of Pierre Jaubert ('Berjot') & Roland francis , the Lafayette Afro-Rock Band were a jazz super session group that created a heavy, ghetto funk that has since been sampled by everyone (Public Enemy for exemple) After the first release "Soul Makossa" LP, everyone recognize the talent in this group. The response was immediate with new rhythm music, that deliver the contemporary funky soulful disco feeling with "Malik".

Pivotal English folk-rockers who brilliantly interpreted traditional material before going electric behind Maddy Prior's ethereal voice. A highly influential British band who helped deliver folk-rock to the mainstream in the mid-'70s, Steeleye Span have enjoyed a lengthy tenure at the vanguard of British roots music, innovating their country's traditional songs while adding a host of their own original material to its canon. 

Steeleye Span 

The Blacksmith (Traditional) 

Boys of Bedlam (Traditional) 

from Please to See the King 1971

The debut of Steeleye Span (Mark II), with Peter Knight on fiddle and Martin Carthy on guitar, is more solid in almost every area from repertory to production. The group still had its feet in both modern and traditional sounds simultaneously, so Please to See the King mixes very beautiful, distinctly archaic sounding songs such as "Boys of Bedlam" with amplified, electric numbers like the rousing, ironic "Female Drummer" (which was a highlight of their concerts)... The use of electric guitars was also unique, and quite different from rivals such as Fairport Convention, occasionally mimicking the sound of bagpipes here...

Brazilian singer-songwriter and guitarist whose skilled blend of samba and western pop has been popular since the 1960s. One of the most important Brazilian composers and performers to appear in the 1960s, singer and songwriter Jorge Ben proved successful at infusing samba with soul music.

Jorge Ben and Trio Mocotó

The Trio Mocotó is a group that shaped a style that would be known as samba-rock, resulting in the fusion of the two genres. The trio influenced many artists who were searching for some kind of fusion between Brazilian and American pop music, like Tim Maia and Jorge Ben, whom they backed in recordings and performances both in Brazil and internationally.

Oba lá Vem Ela (Jorge Ben) 4:12

O Telefone Tocou Novamente (Jorge Ben) 3:48

Força Bruta (Jorge Ben) 5:08

from Forca Bruta 1970

The combination of Jorge Ben and Trio Mocotó had already produced great things when Força Bruta first appeared in 1970... Força Bruta was a slightly different album, a slice of mellow samba soul that may perhaps have been the result of such a hectic schedule during 1969. One of the hidden gems in Jorge Ben's discography, it's a wonderful album because it kept everyone's plentiful musical skills intact while simply sailing along on a wonderful acoustic groove that may have varied little but was all the better for its agreeable evenness. The songs may have been more difficult to distinguish -- virtually every one began with acoustic guitar, similar instrumentation, and Ben's caressing vocals over the top -- but it made the record one of the best in Ben's hearty career.

Trio Mocotó

A legendary salsa pioneer, one of the first Fania Records signings, and a cultural hero throughout Latin America. Trombonist, composer, and bandleader Willie Colón is one of the pioneers of Latin American music and a noted social and political activist.
Willie Colón
Che Che Colé (Willie Colón)
No Me Llores Más (Willie Colón / Kent Gomes / Héctor Lavoe)
Ausencia (Willie Colón / Héctor Lavoe)
from Cosa nuestra 1969

Willie Colón's first masterpiece benefits from the inventive arrangements of Colón and "recording director" Johnny Pacheco, plus the most precise, intricate group playing heard from any second-generation salsero leader. And Hector Lavoe's vocals are probably his best on record, opening with the brisk, catchy, effusive "Che Che Cole" and "No Me Llores Mas," but extending through slower material like the magisterial "Ausencia."... Featuring musicians as brutal as the hitman on the cover and some of the smoothest vocals of any New York salsa LP, Cosa Nuestra is not only Willie Colón's first masterpiece, it's his best.

Were Pentangle a folk group, a folk-rock group, or something that resists classification? They could hardly be called a rock & roll act; they didn't use electric instruments often, and were built around two virtuoso guitarists, Bert Jansch and John Renbourn, who were already well-established on the folk circuit before the group formed. Yet their hunger for eclectic experimentation fit into the milieu of late-'60s progressive rock and psychedelia well, and much of their audience came from the rock and pop worlds, rather than the folk crowd. With Jacqui McShee on vocals and a rhythm section of Danny Thompson (bass) and Terry Cox (drums), the group mastered a breathtaking repertoire that encompassed traditional ballads, blues, jazz, pop, and reworkings of rock oldies, often blending different genres in the same piece.
Pentangle
Watch the Stars (Traditional)
I Loved a Lass (Traditional)
In Time  (Terry Cox / Bert Jansch / John Renbourn / Danny Thompson)
Moondog (Terry Cox)
from Sweet Child 1968
Sweet Child, released in 1968, at the peak of Pentangle's career, is probably the most representative of their work. A sprawling two-record set, half recorded in the studio and half live at the Royal Festival Hall, showcases just how versatile Pentangle was in their unique brand of English folk, jazz, Celtic, blues, and pop styles... John Renbourn and Bert Jansch's guitar tapestry... Jacqui McShee, swings sweetly... In all, Sweet Child is an awesome and delightful collection, and probably their finest hour.

The Portuguese guitar is a 12-string instrument with double courses (string pairs) and a small body, similar in tone to the mandolin or Greek bouzouki. Its penetrating sound is championed by Carlos Paredes, a sensitive, even shy performer who balances tradition and spontaneous invention. His original approach was likened to the freshness of Ornette Coleman by bassist Charlie Haden, who is himself a minor cultural hero in Portugal.
Carlos Paredes
Variaçães Em Re Maior
Fantasia
Dança
from Guitarra portuguesa 1967
Acoustic Guitar – Fernando Alvim (tracks: A1 to B3, B5)
Liner Notes – Alain Oulman
Photography By – Augusto Cabrita
Portuguese Guitar – Carlos Paredes

A legend of Brazilian guitar, emerging on the cusp of the bossa nova boom of the 1960s. Baden Powell is a Brazilian musician with a solid international reputation. A gifted instrumentalist and composer, he bridges the gap between classical artistry and popular warmth and was a key figure in the bossa nova movement.
Baden Powell
Labareda (Vinícius de Moraes / Baden Powell)
Canto de Xangô (Vinícius de Moraes / Baden Powell)
Tempo de Amor (Samba Do Veloso)(Vinícius de Moraes / Baden Powell)
from Os Afro Sambas 1966
This album was released originally in 1966 in Brasil. A collaboration with Vinicius de Moraes. And it was an absolute landmark in the bossa nova movement.

Daughter of a music teacher and a singer/guitarist, Violeta Parra was influenced by her parents since being a child. 
Violeta Parra
Gracias a la Vida feat. Javiera Parra (Violeta Parra)
Run Run Se Fue P'al Norte feat. Javiera Parra  (Violeta Parra)
Volver a los 17 feat. Javiera Parra  (Violeta Parra)
from Las últimas composiciones de Violeta Parra 1965
At the age of nine, the young girl started singing and playing guitar, soon composing traditional Chilean music. After getting married to Luis Cereceda in 1952, the singer/songwriter began touring the country, assimilating the natural charm of her native land, which mostly inspired her work. In 1954, Violeta Parra moved to Europe, deciding to settle down in France, where the artist started recording her poetic songs. When returning to Chile in 1958, Violeta Parra got involved in painting and sculpture, extending her artistic skills even more. In 1961, the singer returned to Europe, this time singing along with her daughter Isabel Parra and her son Angel Parra being responsible for keeping their mother's legacy alive.

The foremost exponent of Indian classical music, largely responsible for introducing the sitar to both pop and classical Western audiences.

Rabindra Shankar Chowdery, aka Ravi Shankar, was born on April 7, 1920, in Varanasi, India, into a well-off orthodox Brahmin family. His father, ShyÆm Shankar, was employed as a diwan (minister) by the Maharajah of Jhalawar...

Ravi Shankar 

Tala Rasa Ranga feat. Paul Horn

Tabla-Dhwani feat. Paul Horn

Song from the Hills feat. Paul Horn

from Portrait of Genius 1964

Ravi Shankar has been described as one of the greatest musicians on the planet. This record, one of his classic World Pacific albums, clearly lends credence to that statement. But the thing that makes this record interesting is the fact that it contains a unique fusion of Shankar and his group performing with respected jazz flutist Paul Horn. It's an extremely gratifying combination, and Horn plays with a true jazzman's restraint on the five short selections that open the record... Shankar's awesome ability and stamina is matched only by that of his ensemble, especially Alla Rakha on tabla. Essential for any fan of Shankar or Indian music. Awesome.

Eduardo Rovira was an Argentinian composer, bandaneón player, and musical arranger best known for expanding El Nuevo Tango to unpredictable lengths. If it weren't for the Lanusian composer, tango would have probably never met with such intriguing composition techniques like twelve tone and counterpoint.

Eduardo Rovira 

Simple

Elegía Para el Amigo Negro

Contrapunteando

from Tango vanguardia 1963 

1963's "Tango Vanguardia" (Tango Avant-garde) reflects this positively anti-customary thinking.

One of the album's first tracks is the string dominated "Elegía Para el Amigo Negro", this track is a nostalgic reflection of disaster that showcases Rovira's poetic expertness. It is followed by "Contrapunteando" which, like the name implies, is an example of Rovira's strange relationship with counterpoint whose academic realization is by all means amplified by Nuevo Tango's seductive verses... Of course tango music wouldn't be tango music if it went by all the dodecaphonic norms, and that is exactly where Rovira's genius comes in, 12-tone music doesn't lose its whim and nor does Rovira's cerebrally engaging tango ideals.

Replete with intelligently adjoined harmonies, poetic bandoneón lines, and marvellous execution, "Tango Vanguardia" proves itself one of Nuevo Tango's most transcendental achievements.