Issue 73 / Dec 2016/Jan 2017

18
Bido Lito! Dec 2016/Jan 2017
2016
M.I.A.
AIM
Polydor
9th September
LEONARD COHEN
YOU WANT IT DARKER
Columbia Records
Released: 21st October
FURTHER LISTENING
Kanye West – The Life Of Pablo
Listen to the paranoid mind of an artist wrapped up in
celebrity culture desperately trying to be one step ahead.
Refusing boats, fencing in,
dental checks, dismantling
camps and building walls
– xenophobia has crept
into our everyday lives and
made itself at home. Step
forward M.I.A. and AIM – a
hybrid-sounding celebration
of migrant culture and
resilience. Take her visually
arresting video for Borders
– placid brown bodies lying motionless on boats, attempting
to scale fences, wrapped in gold-foil shock blankets on foreign
shores. M.I.A. doesn’t shy from the imagery of the humanitarian
crisis played out on European waters and, lyrically, it’s just as
cutting and poignant – “borders”, “politics”, “police shots”,
“identities” and “your privilege” are juxtaposed with the social
media tat that keeps us immersed in our own fragile egos and at
a distance from empathy (“being bae”, “your goals”, “slaying it”).
AIM is not without controversy (a misdirected questioning of
the Black Lives Matter movement; pissing-off Paris St Germain;
scuffles with her label and MTV). But it is a scattered collection
of songs full of compassion for migrants and refugees – Survivor
touches on her own experience of coming to London as a child
refugee from Sri Lanka via India, in Freedun, featuring Zayn,
she sings that “refugees learn about patience”, and Ali R U OK?,
inspired by an overworked Uber driver, tackles the exploitative
work carried out by migrants and the obligation to send home
remittances.
In a world that feels hell-bent on inciting fear of the 'Other',
AIM is a record full of global reverb: a vital acknowledgement of
the moveable feast of migrant culture and the shit people endure.
BG
You Want It Darker coaxed
LEONARD COHEN, cold
winter air, like his one-time
lover and muse, Marianne
Ihlen, to whom he wrote as
she was dying - a letter that
brought a wandering tear
to many an eye. His words,
as ever, lay testament to
the trying and suffering and
the slithers or swathes of light that mark the human condition;
belief, loss, sensuality. The inevitable mortality played out like
King Herod and the baby boys in this year Anno Domini 2016,
Cohen himself one of the most recent casualties.
But there is a hopefulness to be found in his life and work.
Take Hallelujah. Pored over for five years, his genius belies the
instant gratification-type brilliance we so often associate with
the greats. In the arduous craft of the song, there is hope – that
perseverance can produce greatness. To grasp that Cohen only
came to terms with touring in his 70s. To know his depression
lifted. To learn he enjoyed the sensory experience of swimming.
To understand it took the help of others for Hallelujah to be
recognised. To tell a story of a Biblical hero committing two
mortal sins, adultery and murder, but to know he is forgiven.
There is hope in all these things.
Or take the final line on You Want It Darker, sung on String
Reprise/Treaty: “I wish there was a treaty between your love
and mine.” A prerequisite for that wish of a guarantee of love is
a hope for the future. Now, more than ever, we need that hope.
BG
Chance The Rapper – Coloring Book (Chance 3)
Forced the Grammys to change their submissions process
to include streaming-only releases after becoming the
first album to chart solely on streams.
Jessy Lanza – Oh No
The fears and anxieties of a generation writ large and
sprinkled over some of the most sensuous RnB you’ll hear
this decade.
Skepta – Konnichiwa
Took grime to the top of the tree by scooping the Mercury
Prize, but even then he was still overshadowed by his
mother.
Viola Beach – Viola Beach
Hats off to those in the biz for getting this album to Number
1 in memory of the four young musicians and their manager
who tragically passed away before their time.
A Tribe Called Quest – We Got It From Here… Thank You
4 Your Service
No-one expected this record after 18 years out of the
game, but the secret recordings with Phife Dawg before
his passing are as on point as they ever were.
Watch out for further views from our team of contributors on their
most memorable photos, gigs and music of 2016 over on our
new-look bidolito.co.uk.
Glyn Akroyd – Mbongwana Star at Africa Oyé
“By the time headliners Mbongwana Star hit the
stage, only the hardcore were left in the worsening
rain. I got the nod that I could shoot from the back
of the stage, and Theo Nzonza was all motion
and demanded attention. His triumphantly raised
fists at the end of one song seemed to capture his
defiance.”
Robin Clewley – Different Trains at Edge Hill station
“I’d tried to imagine what it was going to look
like before I arrived but I wasn’t prepared for the
number of people crammed in to the cobbled street.
There was little room to manoeuvre and almost no
available light – but at the same time it was an eerily
peaceful place to be for a memorable experience.”
Paul McCoy – Sleaford Mods at Mountford Hall
“The thing about this gig is that it all happened so
fast, I don’t remember a thing! You only have the first
three songs and the lights are blinding, but it’s an
intense rush with three or four other photographers
around you. Jason Williamson has got to be the most
intense performer this year!”
Read Craig G Pennington's review of this show on page 34.