va -- Beyond The Stars [Graham's Mixtape Xmas 2023]

 

Okay, okay, it's not Christmas yet ! But I couldn't wait to share this new selection/mixtape, which I hope will keep you dancing and dreaming until the new year...

Starting in a cosy mood with Trovajoli's theme tune to "La Famiglia Benvenuti" and followed by Jimi Tenor's fun and cosmic title-track "Beyond The Stars", it features a bunch of funky Arabic pop songs - by Egypt's coolest modern heroes Hany Shnoda / Al Massrieen or Lybian singer Hamid El Shaeri, but also by today's Switzerland-based duet TootArd.

More contemporary tunes : Sven Wunder's "Take A Break" from his latest album "Late Again", reggae/hip-hop producer Budgie's "Touch Me 2" and Fra-Fra gospel singer Florence Adooni's live version of "Mam Pe'ela Su'ure".

And helter skelter : teenage brothers Donnie & Joe Emerson's cult song "Baby", Congolese legend Ray Lema's beautiful "Afcoeur", John Lurie's soundtrack to "African Swim", British folk-soul singer Labi Siffre's "Cannock Chase", Bruce Haack's "Incantation" song from his far-out 1970 album "The Electric Lucifer", London-based MC Ranking Ann's "Liberated Woman" produced by Mad Professor...

Finally, a tribute to Erkin Koray, the first musician to ever perform rock music in Turkey, who passed away recently : one of his most beautiful songs, "Yağmur" ("Rain").

Thanks : Derya, Alba, Mohamed "Radio Barjo"

va - No Place I'd Rather Be [Mixtape #62]

 

Same as usual, though new and fresh: that's the magic of your favourite music blog! Back with 18 delightful tunes including master flutist Roger Bourdin; master ficus-leaf player Biluka; some hot accordeon music; classic soul singers Nunes, Neville, Bland; a bit of UK pop-to-punk oldies; Dick Annegarn's very excentric and dramatic song about wolf hunting; and a library finish (check out Joël "L'aventure des plantes" Fajerman's proto-techno track "Asteroïde"!).

It's all here or below in a stream form.

Side A
01 - Roger Bourdin - Blues Des Andes
02 - Biluka Y Los Canibales - Píllaro Viejo
03 - Pastorita Huaracina - Quisiera Quererte
04 - Pedro Acevedo - El regreso
05 - Lita nelson - Navidad Negra
06 - Canadoes II of Ghana - Okromfod
07 - Artur Nunes - Kisua Ki Ngui Fuá
08 - Aaron Neville - Hercules

Side B
09 - Bobby Bland - Ain't No Love in The Heart of The City
10 - Blue Mitchell - Deeper In Black
11 - Rully Djohan - Bubuj Bulan
12 - Marine Girls - Lazy Ways
13 - The Factory - No Place I'd Rather Be
14 - Grow Up - Night Rally
15 - Dick Annegarn - Paladin Braconnier
16 - Alan Feanch - Young Shepherd
17 - Jan Yrssen & Joël Fajerman - Asteroide
18 - Yasuaki Shimizu - Seiko 4

 Thanks : Alternative Radio, Benny Gordini & fellow bloggers.

va -- Bees & Things & Flowers [Graham's Mixtape Summer 2023]

 "Just bees and things and flowers", quoted from Roy Ayers' timeless classic "Everybody Loves The Sunshine", was a good start and a perfect inspiration for this summer's soundtrack. In the same spirit as "Voyage Sans Retour" (mixtape from 2021), it features many trippy and far-out tracks.

2 hypnotic tracks by Turkish folk singer Fikret Kızılok combine rather well with French pop icon Polnareff's early stuff ; and American jazz harpist Dorothy Ashby's experimental koto-led tunes flow into Najat Al Saghira's beautiful "Bahlam Maak" and Lebanese songwriter Hissam Hajali's epic 11-minute folk fresque "Ana Damir El Motakallim". The psychedelic "Garip", sung by Anatolian rock figure Edip Akbayram, was written by legendary poet and songwriter Mahzuni Şerif, and arranged by genius keyboardist Murat Ses.

A handful of cool intrumentals too : multi-instrumentist and composer Uriah Witztum a.k.a. "YUZ" who kindly sent me his mesmerizing track "Revadim" from his soon-to-come album ; Dominique Guiot's "Iceberg en Voyage" from his cult "l'Univers de la Mer" album, Swedish composer Sven Wunder's cinematic "Snowdrops" from his upcoming album ; 2 great tracks by Italian composers Piero Umiliani and Pino Presti.

The selection ends with Ornella Vanoni's "l'Appuntamento", inspired by the famous song "Cucurrucucu Paloma".

Thanks : Molly, Dav' Grass, Uriah Witztum, Derya, Mambo Chick, Flavien, John "Piano Piano" and Sven Wunder

va - Love Without Sound [Mixtape #61]

A batch of fresh tunes for sunny days ahead. Arty pop songs, fluty jazz, synthy instros. And Isis and Osiris making love without sound.

Side A
01 - Yasuaki Shimizu - Seiko 2
02 - White Noise - Love Without Sound
03 - Marine Girls - Fridays
04 - Antoine - J'ai oublié la nuit
05 - Broadcast - Tears In The Typing Pool
06 - Cvartetul de Jazz Paul Weiner - Căutări
07 - Roger Bourdin - Meditation
08 - Moondog - Heimdall Fanfare
09 - Philippe Sarde - Le Cortege et Course
10 - Bailey's Nervous Kats featuring James Mills - Cobra
11 - Martin Rev - Secret Teardrops

Side B
12 - White Noise - Firebird
13 - Jonathan Bremer & Morten McCoy - Ordet
14 - Vernal Equinox - Sunrise
15 - Remo Fernandes - Jungle Days
16 - Masumi Hara - My Golden Hour
17 - Neon Phusion - It's Another

Thanks Thibaut 'Mus Joutra', Pablo 'Begayne', Jonat 'Société Etrange', Little Axe Rec, Banzzaï.

va -- Voodoo You Love [Le Major's mixtape]

Cinematic spells, Indonesian love balms, soothing melodies and soulful elixirs, this new mix has everything you need to to voodoo you(r) love, whatever that means, hihi !

Side A

1. Maha • Kabl Ma Nessalem We Nemshy 2. El Michel’s Affair • Enfant feat.The Shacks 3. The Rossumovi Univerzalni • Roboti Walz  4. Sven Wunder • Impasto 5. Orkes Kelana Ria • Semoga 6. Ellya Khadam & Rudy Anand • Tak Mau Lagi 7. André Popp • Ophélia 8. Misha Panvilov • Voodoo You Love 9. Don Burrows • Algeciras 10. Sessa • Vento A Favor 

Side B

11. Lorenzo Holden and orch. • Hold On 12. Cartola • Preciso Me Encontrar 13. Orkes Sendja Meraju • Bubuj Bulan 14. Kamuran Akkor • Düşmanlarım Çatlasın 15. Gülcan Opel • Su Gelir Güldür Güldür 16. Arif Sağ  • Aguş 17. Klaus Wunderlich & His New Pop Organ Sound • Let's Do The Latin Hustle 18. L.U.C.A • Valzer Del Risveglio 19. Boris Gardener • A Groovy Kind Of Love

Illustrations taken from Yann Damezin's stunning Majnoun et Leïli . 

Thanks to : Radio Campus Dijon, DJ Rainbow, Padang Moonrise, Derya, Gérard, Central Do Brasil, and our favorite music blogs.

va - DRIFTWOOD [Mixtape #60]

 

Here is mixtape #60. That is not counting Graham's & Le Major's selections, plus a few guest mixes you will find on this blog (Coco Maria, Captain XXI, Roady).

Driftwood is a very smooth voyage that starts in Japan with a short intro from Shimizu's music for commercials and Ohnuki's city pop hit 'Kusuri O Takusan'. Later on we can hear many mellow guitars: the haunting guitar of Yougoslavian/American Branko Mataja ; the burkinabe guitar wonder of Super Volta ; a wonderful huayno by Duo Wayra from Ayacucho, Peru ; 'Traces of the Past' by Los Compadres de Cuba (Compay Primo & Compay Segundo in their young days). You will also come across 'Earl Richard' a song of Olde England from the 60's UK folk revival ; the very expressive and aquatic version of Roger Bourdin's Atlantis by the Blue Bells ; dope rap track by Danger Mouse & Black Thought from their stunning album 'Cheat Codes'. And way out instros on side B by The Wailers (the ones from Tacoma), Roha Band (ethio-groove & jazz backing band), Smith & Erickson (from Berkeley?) and Isle of Wight native Max Brennan.

Pfew, never wrote so much in these pages. It's really just another C60 of sweet music.

Side A
01 - Yasuaki Shimizu - Seiko 3
02 - Taeko Ohnuki - Kusuri O Takusan
03 - Danger Mouse & Black Thought - Identical Deaths
04 - Branko Mataja - Da Smo Se Ranije Sreli
05 - The Monzas - Forever Walks a Drifter
06 - Super Volta - La Guitare De Tinga
07 - The Blue Bells - Atlantis
08 - Gene Sikora - A Song For Mary
09 - Duo Wayra - Camino Del Cielo
10 - Duo Los Compadres - Huellas Del Pasado

Side B
11 - Tim Hart & Maddy Prior - Earl Richard
12 - The Wailers - Driftwood
13 - Max Brennan - From The Temple To The Nile
14 - Smith And Erickson - Midnight Mambo
15 - Roha Band - Track 1
16 - Branko Mataja - Tebi Majko Misli Lete
17 - Antonio Sulca - Yaravi and Fugue Garsila

Thanks to Le Major, Jonat, Paul Wiel, Side One Records

va -- Perfect Harmony [Graham's Mixtape March 2023]

 

How do Senegalese avant-garde storytelling, 60's garage girl groups and acoustic Afro-Brazilian sambas combine ? In perfect harmony !

On this eclectic comp/mixtape, I've chosen (with great difficulty) excerpts from several concept-albums : NYC-based El Michels Affair's cinematic ''Yeti Season'', London's secret soul collective SAULT's ''7'' LP, Count Ossie's triple-long-player spiritual trip ''Grounation' (as The Mystic Revelation Of Rastafari)', Senegalo-Swedish political art project Wau Wau Collectif's first album ''Yaral Sa Doom'', Pastor T. L. Barrett's funky church choir production ''Like A Ship'', and Baden Powell & Vinicius De Moraës' legendary ''Afro Samba'' LP, featuring extraordinary vocal performances by Quarteto Em Cy.

Less conceptual but no less perfect and harmonious : 2 obscure songs from the excellent ''Ghost Riders'' compilation (Efficient Space), respectively by teenage garage boy band the Yardleys and teenage garage girl band The Mod 4 ; 2 songs by 80's UK girl-group The Delmonas (backed by Billy Childish's band Thee Milkshakes) ; Turkish instrumental group Önder Bali 4's first single ''Halûk için'' (featuring arranger Zafer Dilek on guitar), Barbadian soul singer Jackie Opel's ''Higher and Higher'' from his very last recording session ; and Quincy Jones' theme song to 1967 film ''In The Heat Of The Night'', sung by Ray Charles.

Thanks : Gérard, Cam Cam, Anja & Klas, Flavien, Georgia, Benny, Jérome, Le Major, Ella.

va - FLOR DE UN DIA [Mixtape #59]

Happy new Year ! Here's a new selection of soul warming music to fit on a C60 musicassette. Some fine calypsos, lots of instros old and new, a fair amount of andean music (can't seem to get over huayno, puro tayta shanti, and now even tracks from a far out pan flute k7) and a northern UK finish with a beautiful song about Salford, near Manchester, where the sun doesn't shine and the people don't smile...

SIDE A
01 - Blind Blake - Goombay Drum
02 - Lord Christo - Hurricane Janet
03 - Sir Artus and his Calypso Knights - Oken Karangee
04 - سالم البارودي - Fatouma
05 - Denny Reed - Hot Water
06 - Bobby Darin & His Orchestra - Theme From 'Come September'
07 - Ali Affandi - Mapinduzi Tsimtezo    (from this LP)
08 - Francis Bebey - Le Casino de Baden-Baden    (from this LP)
09 - Andes    (from this K7)
10 - Flor De Un Dia

SIDE B
11 - Broadcast - Phantom
12 - Dominique Guiot - Alerte en mer
13 - Alain Goraguer - Un Homme Traqué
14 - Babla & His Orchestra - Jam Chalne Laage
15 - Toni Esposito - Processione Sul Mare
16 - Luzmila Carpio - Amaotayku Avelino Sinani (Chancha Via Circuito Remix)
17 - Los Solitarios Del Ande - Mi Pachito A Muerto
18 - Broadcast & The Focus Group - I See, So I See So
19 - Jean Go Solo - In Salford the Sun Doesn't Shine

Thanks to Jonat, Lulu, Mambo, Seb.

Bonus rips are from albums that didn't seem to be shared over soulseek - check out Bebey, Affandi and Viento en los Andes !