OUR FAVORITE NEW MUSIC & MOVIES! - Amoeba Music

Egypt Noir: Nubian Soul
Treasures – Various Artists
(pIrANHA)
Another Mahmoud Fadl (a Nubian drummer
based in germany) project of swinging, driving
southern Egyptian/Sudanese music, featuring the
late Ali Hassan kuban, Abou Saleh, and others.
Next Stop Soweto 2 – Various
Artists (STrUT)
One would have to buy this compilation for
the Heroes’ “Funky Message” as well as other
groovy South African underground tracks from
the ’70s. Not much mbaqanga or jazz here (as
on the other comps on the same label) but soul
& funk.
dj yAyA
International DJ since 1996…
Lykke Li – Little Bit EP
(LL rECOrDINgS)
Kanye West – My Beautiful
Dark Twisted Fantasy (DEF JAM)
Nicki Minaj – Pink Friday
(CASH MONEY)
Crystal Castles – Crystal
Castles (II) (FICTION rECOrDS)
M.I.A. – Maya (INTErSCOpE)
Mi Vida Loca/My Crazy Life
(1994) – Directed by Allison
Anders
Tip:
Check out ILHAME PARIS, her voice is poignant, sultry,
spirited & rich. She mourns of love lost, offers hope & sings
with candor. Check out her world tour!
www.ILhame-Paris.com
Check out BEAUTY IS PAIN BOUTIQUE & RECORDS AD
NAUSEAM, 1443 N. Highland in Hollywood. They have
one of a kind & rare merchandise from records & band
tees, to sequins dresses & art. Incredible original clothing
designs by Rio Warner. In-store theme parties with the best
DJs & bands. Open 12-10pm everyday.
Check out LIVE FOOTAGE, a Brooklyn-based band, with
Topu Lyo (electric cello) & Mike Thies (drums, synth). I saw
them perform at a hip-hop show in Brooklyn. Check out
their California tour! www.livefootagebrooklyn.com
90 MUSIC WE LIKE H Spring/Summer 2011
If you’re a new “DJ,“ please read this book…How To DJ
right:The Art & Science of playing records, by Frank
Broughton & Bill Brewster.
DJ YaYa presents.. NO SEGREGATION IN MUSIC!
ANYTHING GOES! JAM SESSIONS @ BEAUTY IS PAIN
BOUTIQUE, 1443 N. Highland in Hollywood. Every
Tuesday with Guests DJs from around the globe. To benefit
Autism Charities, dedicated to my brother Michael.
Free DJ YaYa Mix-tapes:
www.percussionlab.com/sets/dj_ya_ya/mixtape_2010
www.soundcloud.com/djyayamix
www.myspace.com/djyayamix
zAC bOUVION
Jazz Room / Freeway
Abner Jay – Last Ole Minstrel
Man 10” (MISSISSIppI)
This is a ten-inch addendum to Mississippi’s already
stellar documentation of Jay’s howling ’60s
& ’70s one man band set-up, recorded near the
end of his life, with the barest of accompaniment.
Sounding far more frail and ghostly than
the blustery stomp & shout of his early works,
there’s a gorgeous rendition of Delta staple, “Sitting
On Top of the World.”
Daphne Oram – Oramics
(YOUNg AMErICANS Uk)
Fascinating 4-Lp overview of this unsung heroine
of electronic composition. Oram was the first
director of the BBC radiophonic Workshop,
and created a large and diverse canon of material
using techniques developed in her own studio.
Like Delia Derbyshire and raymond Scott,
many of her experiments were put to commercial
work in radio/TV pitches — some are
contained here, alongside concrete forays & film
score material. Oram should definitely be added
to the list of great Ladies of Early Electronics
(here’s looking at you, Derbyshire/Oliveros/radigue).
Sadly there’s no historical documentation
to accompany the four discs of bleeps & bloops,
but there’s tons of info online.
Ramases – Space Hymns
(MExICAN SUMMEr)
Mexican Summer has really had my number
in the reissue department lately. Lots of stuff
I’ve hunted for/known on disc (Fraction/Beausoliel),
now dressed up in gorgeous packaging
for another chance at infamy. This 1971 oddity
was originally released on Vertigo, and features
the familiar mix of astral prog, raga, and plucky
acoustic hymnal found on classic albums of many
contemporaries & labelmates. Space Hymns tells
a warped tale that encompasses Egyptian &
Christian mythology, and a unique concoction
of Astro-spiritual otherness. Druggy and obtuse,
but not exclusionary, ramases’ voice bears some
resemblance to Bolan circa Tyrannosaurus rex,
but replacing the playful whimsy with brooding
mysticism. kitchen-sink percussion & chanting
like Incredible String Band — Twink’s legendary
Think Pink album also comes to mind.
Aguaturbia – Aguaturbia/
Volumen 2 (LION prODUCTIONS)
ripping femme-fronted psych pop from Chile.
Apart from some Latin percussion, there is
nothing to give away its origin musically —
these records are every bit as “turned on” as
any parallel American or Brit traveler circa ’69.
Heavy West Coast psych vibes (Jefferson Airplane
en Espanol), rambling downer moments,
Yoko-esque treated vocals, interesting takes on
American pop, and very forward sexuality. The
second album (1970) is slightly darker in tone
and harsher in orchestration — swinging from
mournful, to full-on screaming and fuzz riffs.
Valhalla Rising (2009) –
Directed by Nicolas Winding
Refn
Breathtaking in its bleak austerity, and savage
brutality. Uniformly grim, until the drugs kick in.
The stunning lack of a score in crucial parts adds
so much to the film’s environment. The New
World is indeed Hell.
Street and Gangland Rhythms
– Beats & Improvisations by
Six Boys in Trouble (SMITHSONIAN
FOLkWAYS)
Another doozy from Folkways. 1959 field recordings
documenting day-to-day life for kids in
New York’s worst slums. pre-teen street-corner
percussion bands banging on whatever they can
get their hands on, and boastful proto-rap that is
as much nursery rhyme, as beat-speak. Most of
the lyrical content is playful, but you can already
hear the violence seeping in. Utterly unique, but
recalling some indirect Haitian or Jamaican influence
in the paint-bucket Voodoo drums and
Calypso cadence. (I hope they reissue my record
of Native American Mushroom Ceremonies
next…)
Tip:
- Seeing Jandek perform was an honor and a privilege
(and the music was fucking stellar too). Mike Watt was
right-on and the gentleman himself seemed to be enjoying
the volume and propulsion of the set — hope we’ll be
seeing him around more.
- Check out Marc Maron’s WTF Podcast.
- RIP - Captain Beefheart
KAREN
there were a whole lot of great records
to choose from this time around....
Daniel Martin Moore –
In the Cool of the Day (SUB pOp)
i LOVE this record. maybe my favorite of the
bunch. it struck me at the right time — being
joyful and reflective and simmering and spiritual
all at once. there is a warmth here, with the
gospel songs and the originals laced seamlessly
between each other. the echoes of the piano and
the mandolin are nothing but soulful. the sound
and the production is… well…sweet. it is
soothing. and mystical. My Morning Jacket’s Jim
James is on banjo. moore's voice is really comforting.
if you like iron and wine, joshua james,
ray lamontagne — you’ll like this record.
Jose James & Jef Neve –
For All We Know (VErVE)
another amazing soulful voice. jose james’ voice
is SO lovely and SO understated that it seeps
into you long after hearing it. this is a straightup-jazz
record. vocals and piano — and that’s
it. jazz standards that you will know well. jose
was the vocalist for gilles peterson’s electronic
records, but this is nothing like those. and even
with a bit of a pacing problem (most of the songs
MUSIC WE LIKE H Spring/Summer 2011 91