The Creole Choir of Cuba – Santiman

Written by . Posted on February 9, 2013
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The Creole Choir of Cuba – Santiman (Real World Records / February 11 2013)

By Helena Cantone

Real World Studios has released the second album by The Creole Choir of Cuba entitled Santiman. The Choir represents a rich musical legacy as descendants of African freed slaves from Haiti who migrated to Cuba in two main historical waves. The first happened in the aftermath of the Haitian Revolution in 1790 when freed slaves were tricked back into slavery by French masters on Cuban sugar plantations. The second major migration took place in the 20th century following the political upheaval and repressive regime of Papa Doc Duvalier in the 1950s to the 70s.

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Balafon legend Kélétigui Diabaté dies

Written by . Posted on December 18, 2012
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The great Malian master of the balafon Kélétigui Diabaté has recently passed away on November 30. One of the founding members of the late 50s band Orchestré de la Garde Républicaine (Première Formation), Diabaté was also founding member of L’Orchestre National ‘A’ de la Republique de Mali, a group that was conceived by Mali’s first president Modibo Keita to mark Mali’s independence from France. Diabaté went on to work with influential group The Ambassadors and vocalist Salif Keita, bringing him international recognition and a long career of collaborations with musicians that include jazz vibraphonist Lionel Hampton, Ella Fitzgerald, Zap Mama, Ketama, Bonnie Raitt, among many others.

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Various Artists – The Rough Guide To Senegal

Written by . Posted on December 18, 2012
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Various Artists – The Rough Guide To Senegal (World Music Network /January 28 2013)

By Helena Cantone

Representing a country as musically rich and diverse as Senegal with 13 tracks isn’t an easy task. The Rough Guide to Senegal is very much a rough guide, with all the greats you would expect to find, including Cheikh Lô, Orchestra Baobab, Mansour Seck, Étoile De Dakar featuring Youssou N’Dour, Baaba Maal, Africando All Stars featuring Thione Seck, Ismaël Lô, alongside more recent and upcoming artists Nuru Kane, Fallou Dieng, Ousmane Hamady Diop, Amadou Diagne, Diabel Cissoko and hip-hop/soul artist Sister Fa – alas, the only female artist featured on this album.

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Watch out for Kuduro

Written by . Posted on December 11, 2012
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A new dance style from Angola known as Kuduro, is hitting the streets of New York and Washington DC, after having left its mark on the urban landscape of Stockholm, Amsterdam and Paris this autumn. Kuduro dance and music draw inspiration from international hip hop styles, but remain strictly Angolan, often commenting on social, political and gender issues and events from the Angolan civil war. This new generation of post-war dancers or heavyweights come together in battles of talent – full of energy, attitude, style and provocation – breaking, popping, locking and voguing to growing numbers of crowds. Kuduro fans include artists M.IA., Björk, and Diplo.

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Diablos del Ritmo: The Colombian Melting Pot 1960-1985

Written by . Posted on October 29, 2012
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Diablos del Ritmo: The Colombian Melting Pot 1960-1985 (Analog Africa/ November 12 2012)

By Helena Cantone

Diablos del Ritmo is a collection of exquisite, rhythmically charged and sometimes raw music from Colombia that is full of surprises and does not disappoint.

These two albums provide a truly electrifying (or should I say funkifying) journey across musical styles and decades, showcasing the rich diversity of the country and its close affinity to Africa and the African Diaspora. Puya, porro, gaita, cumbiambe, mapelé and chandé intertwine with Afro-beat, Afro-funk, psychedelia, terapia, bass-driven palenque and hints of jazz.

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Interview: Josephine Oniyama

Written by . Posted on October 7, 2012
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An interview with Josephine Oniyama

By Helena Cantone

Singer songwriter Josephine Oniyama has just released her debut album Portrait. Her music is an interesting mix of folk, soul, indie and pop.

I ask her to give Musika readers a bit of background to how she came to music and singing. “I started writing songs and playing guitar when I was around 12. I played guitar in after school groups and in a couple of garages and got a gig in Manchester when I was 15”. Josephine has since then worked with Jimmy Cliff, Paolo Nutini and, more recently, Michael Kiwanuka, to mention a few.

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The Krar Collective – Ethiopia Super Krar

Written by . Posted on July 14, 2012
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The Krar Collective – Ethiopia Super Krar (Riverboat Records / September 10, 2012)

By Helena  Cantone

Ethiopia Super Krar is the debut album by London-based Ethiopian band, The Krar Collective. The group is steadily making waves at festivals and venues in the UK, headed by the trio: Temesegen Zeleke (a former pupil of the Ethio-jazz veteran Mulatu Astatke) on krar, Robel Tesfaye on traditional Ethiopian kebero drums, and singer-dancer Genet Assefa.

Inspired by the rich cultural diversity of Ethiopia, a land steeped in history of 80 different language and ethnic groups, The Krar Collective is, of course, all about the krar – a six-stringed harp-like instrument, tuned to a pentatonic scale that is characteristic of Ethiopian and Eritrean music. The krar is often played by singer-poets called azmari, similar to the west African griot, the Italian cantautore or British bard. The lyre itself is an ancient instrument that originated in the Nile River and spread across north and eastern Africa, Europe and Asia. Today the krar is used both as an acoustic, bass and electric instrument, and paired up to compliment the electric guitar.

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Back2Black Festival at the Old Billingsgate Market, London

Written by . Posted on July 5, 2012
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Back2Black Festival – Old Billingsgate Market, produced by the Barbican, London, June 29 – July 1 2012

By Helena Cantone

Back2Black is an exciting new festival that has arrived in London from Rio de Janeiro, where it first took place in 2009. The inspiration for the festival is to reinforce and celebrate the cultural connections between Africa and Brazil. Hosted by the Barbican here in London, Back2Black offered three full days of music with talks, poetry, food and crafts at Old Billingsgate Market on the banks of the Thames. Key acts included Gilberto Gil, Amadou & Mariam, Toumani Diabaté, Hugh Masekela, Femi Kuti, Gilles Peterson, Linton Kwesi Johnson and the Denis Bovell Dub Band.

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Various Artists – The Cinematic Orchestra Presents In Motion #1

Written by . Posted on June 24, 2012
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Various Artists – The Cinematic Orchestra Presents In Motion #1 (Ninja Tune/ June 25 2012)

By Helena Cantone

The coming together of sound and image can be magical: just think of Federico Fellini, Sergio Leone, Martin Scorsese, Jim Jarmush, Quentin Tarantino and Spike Lee. Live music accompanied and interpreted the moods of the first silent films long before they became ‘talking pictures’, with musical scores dedicated to them. The Cinematic Orchestra (TCO) is following this tradition.

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Willis Earl Beal at The Tabernacle, London

Written by . Posted on May 24, 2012
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Willis Earl Beal – The Tabernacle, London, May 16, 2012

By Helena Cantone

You may have come across Willis Earl Beal back in April when he featured on Later… with Jools Holland to promote his debut album, Acousmatic Sorcery. His performance was so emotionally charged, that I checked his tour dates in the UK and booked tickets to his gig at The Tabernacle.

Willis Earl Beal opened the night to a packed audience with just himself and his voice – a deep, soulful and powerful blues voice that recalls some of the greatest artists of all times, from the iconic blues voices of John Lee Hooker and Howlin’ Wolf, to the sweet soul of Otis Redding and Al Green. But you can also hear in his music echoes of Tom Waits, Gil Scott-Heron and Saul Williams. As he howled the words “I’ve been peddling for miles, feel a thousand years old…”, WEB, as he is also known as, transported a crowd of Londoners fully equipped with smart phones and drinks, back in time to the blood and sweat of slaves, to black American struggles for emancipation, to the tribulations of living in the 21st century.

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INTERVIEWS

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    Interview: Stubborn Heart

    May 8, 2013

    An interview with Stubborn Heart By Tim Marshall London-based electronic duo Luca Santucci and Ben Fitzgerald formed officially as Stubborn Heart last year, but had …