World music
Track: Rachel Singh’s dreamy single ‘Owl Eyes’ has an ethereal and haunting beauty.
‘Owl Eyes’ from Mumbai’s Rachel Singh is a gorgeously delicate track with Singh’s voice a deliciously soft and expressive veil over a muted instrumentation, punctuated by a wind instrument with wailing cry in the distance. She has the tone and range that remind me of The Cocteau Twins’ Elizabeth Fraser: a floating ethereal aura that …
See: Zawraq – ‘Fate El Foute’: a little gem from Moroccan newcomers
EVERY once in a while at Backseat Mafia a little gem pops up from nowhere … cue the first single from the Moroccan newcomers Zawraq, “Fate El Foute”. Coming with a whisper of low-key publicity, the track is a collaboration between Zawraq and US instrumentalist/producer John Mock, who has country folk form playing and writing …
News: Orchestre Tout Puissant Marcel Duchamp are set for an album in July; hear ‘Beginning’
IS IT a band, is it a group, is it a collective or an ensemble? No it’s the one and only Orchestre Tout Puissant Marcel Duchamp, the makers of the most essential music that may have passed you by. Revolving around the mercurial bassist/composer Vincent Bertholet and emerging from the Geneva avant music scene in …
News: Rey Sapienz & The Congo Techno Ensemble announce a July album; hear a new track, ‘Eza Makambo’
IN CASE you hadn’t noticed, the sound of afrobeat is taking on a new dimension: riding on a surge of youthful energy; absorbing rap’s bite and electro’s drive; committed to the cutting edge but respectful of sources. Rey Sapienz and his new collective The Congo Techno Ensemble look set to add their dynamic to this …
Album review: Mdou Moctar – ‘Afrique Victime’: a coming together of the West African and western rock
MDOU MOCTAR is at last gathering momentum; but it’s been an epic journey since 2008, when his raw emotional guitar music first began to spread across West Africa via the DIY network of traded SIM cards. Picked up by Chris Kirkley of Sahel Sounds, who sent Mdou a much-needed left-handed Strat, then released his first …
Album review: Kasai Allstars – ‘Black Ants Always Fly Together, One Bangle Makes No Sound’: maybe more restrained, but still surprises
SOMETIMES a record comes along that disrupts your expectations. Since their debut album in 2008, Kasai Allstars have been one of the cornerstones of Congotronics, that vibrant assemblage of polyrhythms and scrapyard instrumentation which bolted a whole new wing to the afrobeat star-liner. Buzz drums, wired-up thumb pianos, hubcap percussion and salvaged guitars mixed with …
Album Review: Dead Can Dance’s Lisa Gerrard and Jules Maxwell’s new album ‘Burn’ is an enthralling cinematic vision that mesmerises
Australian duo Dead Can Dance (consisting of Lisa Gerrard and Brendan Perry) were an extraordinarily innovative band signed to the legendary 4AD label (becoming their highest selling artists), fusing medieval music with gothic undertones and ambient textures. The band has disbanded and reformed over the years since it began in 1981 – the most recent being the release of the album …
Album Review: Serendip Quartet – Queen of Fire; a homage to the Women of Congo.
There is a need to begin this review with a direct quote from its band leader, saxophonist Arnaud Guichard : “This record is dedicated to all the victims of sexual violences in DRC and to Dr. Denis Mukwege and his team who work hard at restoring the pride and dignity of all the victims of …
Track: Okute release new track ‘ Quiere La Rumba’ and forthcoming album
In the same way that BCUC went to the root of their roots to inspire some wild new afrobeats, Okute look set to do the same for Cuban music. The eight piece collective of seasoned players, based in Havana, are steeped in rumba/ Son cubano with a focus on the tradition’s afrocentric heartbeat. That may …
Album Review : Adam Moezinia’s ‘ Folk Element Trio’ – A Sonic Travelogue
New York based guitarist Adam Moezinia first debut album ,’Folk Element Trio’ is what we at Backseat Mafia have suspected it would be , after premiering its single ‘Celebration’ last month : a triumphant celebration. It is a union of global folk traditions featuring elements of Beninese, Malian, Welsh and American folk music in a contemporary …