1. A trip to Segou Mali for the Festival on the Niger.
2. A chance to Travel to Senegal for Mbalax music Holidays
3. One of their Cuban Music Holidays and Havana Tours with guide Philip Sweeney (author of The Rough Guide to Cuban Music).

How I really wish I could go on one of these……

Sorry for no music recommendations for a while, but I’ve been busy grappling with the implications of changing over to Open Source Software and working with the GPL.

In the meantime though, a good little piece of work has popped up, for those nice people at Songlines, doing SEO and online networking to promote their new service ‘Songlines Music Travel’.

While many of us are already familiar with the idea of traveling to far of places to look for records, Songlines have taken this a step further by arranging special trips to key world music locations and events for your holiday. Imagine this:

The Music of Cuba – 15 days travel around the island of Cuba visiting all the most well know musical locations with tour guide Philip Sweeney (Author of The Rough Guide to Cuban Music). Yep, you heard correct. A trip to Cuba with one of the UK’s top authorities on Cuban music to show you around.

Anyway, as nice as this may sound it is having a side affect upon me and ‘My Word Do I Need a Holiday Now’.

Check it out at Songlines Music Travel for World Music-Culture-Dancing Holidays and Tours.

Sorry for the delay, but the last 3 month have marked a gigantic leap for Rec-Ignition which now prowdly boasts running all its fansites on 100% open source software.

With this all pre-existing fansites have been updated, including a site which was built way back at the start of 2008, but due to delays was not ‘formally’ launched until now.

The site is for a film that is very close to my heart. “The Saragossa Manuscript” by Wojciech Has. Has was the director of the famous Lodz film school for the last decade of his life, over the period when I myself was working in Lodz as a Senior University lecturer.

The Saragossa Manuscript DVD

Anyway, this film is really something else, with comedy performances, great surrealism, and a meta-story structure beyond belief. Be warned through. It took me 3 viewings and a load of help before the film finally clicked.

So just  trust me on this one, hang on in there, and I promise it will be worth your while.

Official Mr Bongo Publicity

Martin Scorsese, Francis Ford Coppola, and Mr Bongo Films Present the full length version of Wojciech Has’ masterpiece film “The Saragossa Manuscript”. A film described at various time by Martin Scorsese, Francis Ford Coppola, Luis Bunuel and Jerry Garcial as their favorite film.

Enter a dazzling, mysterious world of the supernatural courtesy of The Saragossa Manuscript, a magical text discovered during the Napoleonic Wars by a pair of opposing soldiers. Capt. Alphonse van Worden lives out the book’s intricate, devilish storylines as he embarks on a journey across scenic Spain, now populated with ghosts, alluring demons, debauched royalty, and mystical priests. Spanning centuries and nations, the Manuscript’s reach encompasses a wide array of stories both humorous and horrifying, gleeful and grotesque, before the final chilling revelations bring this one of a kind book to a close. Critically applauded and embraced by such admirers as Jerry Garcia, Francis Ford Coppola, and Martin Scorsese, this swirling tapestry has been restored to its original, full length director’s cut with all of its labyrinthine riddles intact.

Director: Wojchiech Has
Starring: Zbigniew Cybulski, Iga Cembrzynska, Gustaw Holoubek, Leon Niemczyk
1965 / B&W / 182 mins / 2:1 Anamorphic Aspect Ratio

“Simulateously horrific, erotic and funny … this is one mother of a film” (David Lynch) “I love the Saragossa Manuscript…exceptional” (Luis Bunel) “Polish genius” (Le Monde)

Sorry for the long break, but loads of stuff happened over the summer (including getting married!) and things are only now beginning to move again including some very nice work for the UK’s best world music magazine Songlines.

Songlines Magazine

Edited by Simon Broughton (who edited the original Rough Guide to world music that had a real effect upon me), Songlines asked for some some online networking (no fansite this time I’m afraid) to raise their profile following the sad announcement that Global Rhythm print magazine is to be discontinued.

Just like vinyls, music mags are special, you can touch and smell them. So I’m all in favor of promoting any quality print mags that are still available. Songlines is a really good example of such with an excellent accompanying free CD. If you don’t believe my try out this link to their interactive sampler. Not bad eh!

So if you’re looking for an alternative world music print magazine to Global Rhythm try Songlines. It won’t do anything other than open you up to a tonne of new music, which is never a bad thing.

Timjim

Hi, yep it’s a site for Mr Bongo’s Brazilian Beats Box Set. I’ve got a soft spot for this series as while I was working as a DJ in Warsaw Poland, I made an attempt to name and promote a new genre of music called ‘Asiento’ after the shipping license that largely determined the location of the Africa Diaspora.

The idea was to play any modern fusion of afro-origin music with modern electronic music, including afro/latin house, nu Jazz and so on. Unfortunately I only ever managed to get one person on board (DJ Maceo Wyro – Warsaw’s finest) and perhaps was a little too early for things to take off (this was in 2000).

Anyway, Mr Bongo succeed where I didn’t and fair play to them there…

Timjim

Official Press Release Mr Bongo Records

Brazilian Beats Box Set

Brighton’s Mr. Bongo has long stood as Europe’s standard bearer of cutting-edge Latin music. No series has done more to consistently bring quality Brazilian music to taste-makers and the dance floors of enthusiasts worldwide than the label’s legendary Brazilian Beats imprint.

Previously only available as separate albums, this renowned series now comes to you in this special-edition 8CD boxset containing all 8 volumes and digital box set containing the first four volumes in the series plus digital-only bonus tracks.

Artists include Seu Jorge, Marcelo D2, Masters At Work, Jorge Ben, Ive Mendes, Trio Mocoto, Tenorio Jr, DJ Marky, Pete Heller, Joao Donato, Toni Tornado, Som Tres and many more.

CRITICAL ACCLAIM FROM THE SERIES:

“Every track is a highlight” Time Out
“True samba magic 5/5” Musik
“This compilation series just keeps getting better and better” 24/7 Magazine
“Anyone with even a passing interest in Brazilian music needs this” DJ Magazine
“The music, as ever with Mr Bongo, is straight from the top drawer” DMC

Just built and launched a website for Nigeria Special on Soundway Records

Nigeria Special

For a long time I’ve been a big fan of Soundway releases. A few years ago (when I was a little more fiery in temperament) Ghana Sounds hit the spot so much for me that I actually rang up Miles Cleret on a number published on the back of the LP sleeve to say thanks for the release.

10 years has passed since then and its good that not only have my tastes mellowed (I hope for the better) but so have Miles’. This record is the first in a series of 3 with the later ones being Disco and psychedelic rock. It was a brave move to release Nigeria Special: Modern Highlife, Afro-Sounds & Nigerian Blues as this, no doubt, is the calmest of the releases.

When talking to Miles about this release he said the records had been selected simply ‘ because they sat together well’. I don’t think anyone can disagree with this.

Timjim

NIGERIA SPECIAL – Modern Highlife, Afro-Sounds and Nigerian Blues, 1970-1976
Release Date 4th February 2008

Soundway Records presents ‘Nigeria Special: Modern Highlife, Afro-Sounds and Nigerian Blues, 1970-1976’, an in-depth look at the extremely vibrant and diverse music scene in Nigeria in the early to mid ‘70s.
Nigeria is most often linked with Afro-beat, Juju & Apala but the musical heritage of Nigeria is much deeper than the Yoruba speaking styles that emanated in the west of the country. This compilation presents some of the best un-reissued and forgotten sounds from Nigeria that have previously been overlooked. The two CD’s cover some of the many styles that emerged and flourished in the early ‘70s. This is by no means meant to be a definitive collection but merely a snapshot of some of the vast amount of music that remains lost since first being issued 30 years ago. This was a time when younger bands expounding Rock, Jazz and Funk were colliding with the older more established Highlife scene of the 50’s & 60’s producing some unique & highly original recordings.

Soundway records label boss and Compiler Miles Cleret has spent five years working on this compilation (and the planned spin-off compilations)– travelling to Nigeria, interviewing musicians, label owners and distributors – tracking down the forgotten sounds of ‘70s Nigeria in dusty warehouses, studios and markets.

He uncovered so much amazing music that the project became a double CD (with two accompanying spin-off albums to come). Over two hours of rare tracks from seminal artists like Celestine Ukwu, the Funkees, Victor Uwaifo, Tunji Oyelana, Bola Johnson, Etubom Rex Williams, as well as many unsung heroes.

The CDs are accompanied by a 32-page booklet with rare photos, cover art and historical information on the musicians, giving an in-depth look at the scene and its influences. The Vinyl release is split into 2 separate high quality double gatefold LPs.

I know I’m biased, but seriously, this is well worth listening to. It’s a compilation of tracks taken from Francis Falceto’s ‘Ethiopiques’ series being re-issued by Union Square Music and it showcases a wide range of modern AfroAmerican/Ethiopian fusions from 1960-80s. If you’re interested drop in on this site www.ethiopiques.info (and yes, I built this site) and have a listen, read, and watch.

Now I’ve done my plug, one more small comment. Incredibly, some of the artists are still performing, and even more incredibly artists such as Mahmoud Ahmed are still evolving! I was unfamiliar with his work before starting this project, but if there was one artist I could chose to see perform live it would be Mahmoud Ahmed at present, so let’s hope he makes it to the UK as soon as possible. Astounding.

Timjim

Union Square Music Official Release Publicity

These 2CDs contain some of the very best tracks from the highly acclaimed ‘ethiopiques’ series featuring, among others, the award-winning Mahmoud Ahmed, national icon Tlahoun Gessesse, the `James Brown’ of Alemayehu Eshete and `Broken Flowers’ movie music of Mulatu Astatqe.

CD1:
1. Heywete – Tesfa Maryam Kidane
2. Yekermo Sew – Mulatu Astatqe
3. Yekatit – Mulatu Astatqe
4. Enken Yelelebesh – Girma Beyene
5. Ewnet Yet Lagegnesh – Bahta Gebre-Heywet
6. Gubelye – Mulatu Astatqe
7/8. Ere Mela Mela/Metche New – Mahmoud Ahmed
9 .Tchero Adari Negn – Alemayehu Eshete
10.Telantena Zare – Alemayehu Eshete
11.Muziqawi Silt – Wallias Band
12.Gedawo – Ayalew Mesfin & Black Lion Band
13.Tchuheten Betsemu – Tlahoun Gessesse
14.Tezeta – Menelik Wesnatchew

CD2:
1. Mother’s Love – Tsegue-Maryam Guebrou
2. Sema – Tlahoun Gessesse
3. Milenu – Tewelde Redda
4. Embi Ila – Beyene Habte
5. Tezeta – Mulatu Astatqe
6. Set Alamenem – Girma Beyene
7. Yemendjar Shega – Muluqen Mellesse & Dahlak Band
8. Antchi Hoye – Getatchew Mekurya
9. Kulun Mankwalesh (1970) – Tlahoun Gessesse
10. Shellela – Getatchew Mekurya
11. Mela Mela – Seyfu Yohannes
12. Atawurulegn Lela – Mahmoud Ahmed
13. Fetsum Denq Ledj Nesh – Mahmoud Ahmed
14. Abatatchen Hoy (Pater Noster) – Alemu Aga

As in the rest of the world, for Ethiopia the 60s were the years of ultimate postwar modernity. They began in violence with a failed coup d’état (December 1960) in which The Imperial Body Guard, as well as many of the musicians that made up its bands, was implicated. But after this warning shot the ageing Emperor Haile Sellassie I compromised and displayed an increasingly progressive approach. Ethiopia became an international showcase of non-alignment and African unity, and Addis Ababa, capital and only metropolis of a very centralised empire, the very essence of modernist audacity.

Music and its enjoyment were part and parcel of this spirit and, for once in tune with the world, ‘Swinging Addis’ sported the daring uniforms of the period: wide-leg or bell-bottom trousers, skinny ties, Afro or beehive hairdos, miniskirts and even the pill.

The main body of Ethiopian vinyl was produced in less than one decade: from 1969 to 1978. All in all, just under 500 45s and around 30 LP albums were released and of these, Amha Eshèté, creator of the Amha Records label, issued around 250 titles. In 1969, aged only 24, Amha decided to start his own record company and in so doing, to defy an Imperial decree that had granted a monopoly over the production and importation of records to Aghèr Feqer Mahbèr – literally ‘The Love of Country Association’ and the first Ethiopian national theatre.

“I had a gut feeling that it was the thing to do”, Amha recalled 25 years later. “I took the risk. Philips couldn’t have done what I did, because they were a big, official company, and a foreign one at that. But I was a young, independent, unknown and gutsy Ethiopian just starting out in the business. I could do things that they would never dare. I thought ‘nobody’s going to kill me for this. At most I might land in jail for a while.’ I talked my plans over with lots of people at the Haile Sellassie I theatre and, of course, at Aghèr Feqer Mahbèr. They all warned me that I was headed for serious trouble … In fact, I was already importing foreign records. I had my first records, two 45s by Alèmayèhu, stamped in India — it was nearby, and cheap. When the records arrived, Agher Feqer threatened me, brandishing the Emperor’s order, but without much conviction. They knew that they had produced almost nothing in the past years, and it all just died down. I didn’t even have to pay them anything, as they had claimed I should.”

After this showdown, the Ethiopian version of the battle between the ancients and the moderns, a real groundswell broke. Amha Eshèté had been right: undue privilege and paralysis had to give way to free enterprise and to greater creativity. Throughout the year 1970, the national press reported the controversies and unrest sown in Ethiopian society by the younger generation. The Emperor who had the last word on everything, probably assessed the seriousness of the conflict and decided to let those determined youths have their way.

As almost everywhere in Africa, it had been the western-style marching bands that prompted the birth of modern music, adapting and rearranging traditional music. The first bands were those of the Imperial Bodyguards, the Army and the Police Force, many distinguished by their impressive brass sections and all the historic singers, men and women alike, started out with these groups. However more and more “private bands” were formed and came to dominate the scene: the Girmas Band, All Star Band, Soul Ekos [Echos], Ibex Band (which later became the Roha Band), Wallias, Shebelle’s, Dahlak, Venus, Ethio Stars and Black Lion, just to name the most important.

All this healthy turmoil was extinguished in 1974 with the fall of the Emperor and the arrival of a particularly brutal military junta. The golden era’s days were numbered and the country would soon wake up to a new regime of repression. Curfews put an end to any nightlife and record production plummeted, disappearing completely in 1978. The audio-cassette, introduced in 1975, became the only witness to a period of censorship and artistic decline — with unfortunately few exceptions and despite a copious output.

The cassette was to flood the Ethiopian music market. Just about anyone could set themselves up as a music producer but especially, and more frequently, as a copier and pirate. As if that weren’t enough, synthesizers were soon to replace not only electric organs but also the big institutional bands – who were simply done away with by the new regime. Censorship, curfews, propaganda, harassment of musicians and the forced exile of many artists decimated Ethiopian music for a long while.

But within all this, from 1973 into the 1990s and particularly after Amha Eshèté went into exile in 1975, there was still a number one promoter on the Ethiopian musical scene. This was the exceptionally creative Ali Abdella Kaifa. His mother owned the ‘Calypso Music Shop’, Ali re-named it the ‘Tango Music Shop’ and, for the next 20 years, he was known exclusively by his wonderful pseudonym, Ali Tango. Born in 1942, son of a Yemenite father and an Oromo-Yemenite mother, Ali Tango went on to publish dozens of cassettes. Whereas record sales generally leveled off at 1,000 or 2,000 copies, Ali Tango raised the sales of his cassettes to more than 100,000 copies – a dizzying level, in any country.

A sharp talent scout, it was he who discovered Aster Aweke, Nèway Dèbèbè and many others. He has also produced some of the greatest hits of major artists like Bzunèsh Bèqelè, Alèmayèhu Eshèté, Ayaléw Mèsfin and Muluqèn Mèllèssè. Not to mention Mahmoud Ahmed’s historic ‘Erè Mèla Mèla’. This much-envied ‘godfather’ also managed, throughout the trying times of the dictatorship, to protect his singers’ and his groups’ freedom of expression, often via somewhat risky manoeuvres.

The recordings were made with a minimum of technical equipment. A microphone for the singer, and another in the middle for the musicians; a two-track tape recorder, no re-recording or mixing, and usually recorded in clubs where, because of the curfew, the dinner bands performed in the early evenings. These gems are all the more precious for having been crafted in such difficult circumstances.

“This is a unique record release series, much of it from the glorious explosion of soulful, sorrowful and joyful music cut between the repression of absolute monarchy and the cultural insanity of the Derg regime. The spoilt complaints of Western pop musicians pale into insignificance compared to the defiant human spirit contained in these recordings. Do yourself a favour and discover the Ethiopian R&B counterparts to James Brown, Elvis Presley and Jackie Wilson but also jazz composers, choral groups, folk minstrels and bluesmen with power and wildness of Bukka White or Son House, or contemplative piano music that might suggest Bill Evans or Maurice Ravel for a moment, but is really from a strange and wonderful place of its own.”

Elvis Costello