TH#101 - The Ocean [Luke's Spring 24 mixtape]

Mixtape number 101 is here! Quite folky / poppy with a bit of an arty-electronics passage. "The Ocean" is taken from the Born Bad Records' far-out "Prend le temps d'écouter" compilation that brings together pieces made by children and teachers in Freinet schools. An ocean of music...

SIDE A
01 - Michel Legrand - Ballade de Polly Maggoo
02 - Mort Garson - They're Off To Find The Wozard
03 - Orquesta Nacional - Ponchito Al Hombro
04 - Tia Blake and Her Folk-Group - Wish I Was A Single Girl Again
05 - Wimple Winch - Lollipop Minds
06 - Ken Boothe - Old Fashion Way
07 - Hudford All Stars - Crying Version
08 - The Jaguars - Night Walker
09 - Lord Sutch - The Cheat
10 - Prefab Sprout - Lions In My Own Garden (Exit Someone)
11 - Grab Grab The Haddock - I'm Used Now

SIDE B
12 - Fools - Snodae
13 - Yasuaki Shimizu - Kakashi
14 - Sil Austin - Aka To Kuro No Blues
15 - You'll Never Get To Heaven - Mad Shadows
16 - Fools - Deefyfe
17 - Bepotel - These Times
18 - Mort Garson - I've Been Over The Rainbow
19 - Tia Blake and Her Folk-Group - Hangman
20 - Nadine Perron - The Ocean
21 - Bibio - Lightspout Hollow 

Thanks : Yippie's Quest, DJ Sofa, fellow bloggers.

TH#102 - Silver Roses And Jade Waters [Graham's Summer Selection 2024]

An eclectic, intercontinental and groovy selection for this summer's road trips, sunny mornings or late night parties ! 

First of all, I wanted to feature songs by Surinami "Chutney" artist Cynthia Bhikharie, as well as instrumentals by Indian percussionist/composer Babla, since their sounds are connected by the phenomenon of Indo-Caribbean fusion. I also discovered some cool late 60's tracks by soul-jazz legends Ramsey Lewis and Nina Simone. And to link back to the Caribbean feel, a reggae version of Nina Simone's "To Love Somebody", beautifully sung by Busty Brown, followed by "Love" by the Twinkle Brothers.

2 magnificent songs by cult Japanese movie-star Meiko Kaji, Anatolian folk track "Metelik" by arranger Esin Engin and Selda's hymn to Anatolia "Gesi Bağları" are followed by 2 important Italian artists from the 70's and 80's : avant-garde pop songwriter Franco Battiato and Southern-Italy's folk legends NCCP. What else ? "Memme Vaev", a groovy collaboration between Apelsin and Collage, two Estonian proggy bands from the soviet era ; and last but not least, contemporary Lebanese producer Charif Megarbane and his morriconesque composition "Pas De Dialogue".

Thanks : Piotr, Dav Grass, Derya, Coco Maria.

TH#100 - LOVE BIRD & TIGER - 100 YEARS OF TRISTES HUMANISTES!

You may ask yourself how we suddenly reached #100 - well if you scroll through the blog history on the right you'll find that it is quite exact. To celebrate this number we decided to re-comp some favourites amongst favourites into an exciting 2x 60 minutes of mellow/emo/trippy tunes here and killer dance tracks there. I say we cos it was together with Graham and the Major my all time chums.

A / LOVE BIRD
Side A:
01 - Sven Wunder - Natura Morta
02 - The Talbot Brothers - Waiting For Mary Jane
03 - Nino Ferrer - Looking For You
04 - Al Massrieen - Mafatshi Leh
05 - Baden Powell & Vinicius De Moraes - Canto De Iemanja
06 - S.E. Rogers - Toomus Meremereh Nor Good
07 - Shira Small - Eternal Life
08 - Özdemir Erdoğan - Uzun İnce Bir Yoldayım
Side B:
09 - V.Ivanova & M. Kokareskova - Iovano, Iovanka
10 - Hibari Misora - Moon Over the Ruined Castle
11 - Zalla - Risaie
12 - Nora Dean - Angie La La
13 - Cork Gamelan Ensemble - Christine
14 - Marie Laforêt - Pour celui qui viendra
15 - Robert Wyatt - Just As You Are
16 - Bitsat Seyoum & Abebe Fekadu

B / TIGER
Side A:
01 - The Meters - Soul Island
02 - Dina Ögon - Ficktjuven
03 - Orchestre Poly-Rythmo de Cotonou - Malin Kpon O
04 - Gulden Karabocek - Mehmet Emmi
05 - Alogte Oho & His Sounds of Joy - Mam Yinne Wa
06 - Lil Albert - Fox Of The Year
07 - Velly Joonas - Stopp, Seisku Aeg!
08 - Althea & Donna - Uptown Top Ranking
Side B:
09 - Zahouania - Loukane tjibou
10 - Thunderfunk Symphony - Sky Blue
11 - The Green Arrows - Nyoka Yendara
12 - Roha Band
13 - Los Originales Shapis - Amor Imposible
14 - Michel Legris - Elida
15 - The Rah Band - Messages From The Stars

 

ps: come to our shows and get the fancy two-cassette box set for a tenner ;)

VA -- Rosemarie [ Le Major's mixtape ]

 

There are two sides to Rose Marie.

Side A is very mellow and cinematic: soulful turkish and iranian singers, italian soundtracks and oddities.. [ Rose Marie by Bora Ayanoğlu is part of the soundtrack to "Aşk, Mark ve Ölüm ", a great documentary about turkish diaspora and its musical scene in Germany. ]

Side B, on the other end, is very joyful, groovy and futuristic. A few classics to (re)discover [Porque Te Vas' spanish singer Jeanette, here with another cool song], and some loony productions [genius UK producer Brenda Ray's Another Dream is the just the tip of the iceberg, Nigerian's Kosmic 3"s groove is just something else!] . You will also find a bunch of fresh urban tunes to spice it up, from London to the East Coast. [Danger Mouse & Black Thought's Cheat Codes is such an amazing Hip hop album]

1. Bora Ayanoğlu - Rose Marie 
2. Lesiman  - Trepido E Llare giorno

3. La Bibliothèque De La Bergerie - L’Homme Qui N’ Existait Pas   
4. Kourosh Yaghmaei - Leila (Leila) 
5. Ferdi Özbeğen - Aldırma Gönül 
6. Ennio Morricone - Ricordi Tanti Fiori 
7. Morteza Mahjubi - Improvisation in Sigah (Golha-ye Rangarang #193) 
8. Ellya Khadam ,Oma Irama & Orkes Melayu - Sepatu Baru  
9. Dariush - Talaafi

10. Jeanette - El Amor Toca El Violin 
11. Galt Mc Dermott - Space
12. Brenda Ray - Another Dream  
13. Metronomy - Mandibules (main theme)
14. Kosmic 3 - I’m Gonna Pack
15. Little Simz - Who Even Cares 
16. Free The Robots - Welcome To Los Angeles 
17. Danger Mouse & Black Thought - Close to Famous 
18. The Sweet Enoughs - Cerberus

Illustration taken from Yann Damezin's Concerto pour Main Gauche
Thanks: The Gray Area, Gerard, Derya, Graham, Radio Campus Dijon, Arci Subasio.
Stay tuned : SPECIAL Tristes Humanistes #100 Mega Comp' out soon !

va - Bel Épok Djaz ! Haïti Meringue & Early Kompa [1954-1968] - Edition Volkov EV#09

 

va - Bel Épok Djaz ! Haïti Meringue & Early Kompa [1954-1968]

Félix's latest research comp on 50's & 60's haitian music, released on K7 on Edition Volkov last year, and available for download above or streaming below. Wicked stuff!

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.