Surprise surprise. I've moved to wordpress.

http://www.abeardofstars.wordpress.com

Cumbias Para Bailar

Orquesta Del Chamaco Avila con Carlos Oropeza al organo - Cumbias Para Bailar (Discos Corona, 196?)

It's not really right to call this a cumbia record, but rather an American re-interpretation of cumbia. There is no information online about Chamaco Avila nor the Carlos Oropeza featured on this record. Discos Corona was an LA based record label that released quite a few Latin-themed records, many of them Mariachi or Boleros. I found THIS website that lists a pretty complete discography (minus the record here, but I'm sending this link asap) and as you can tell a lot of it is exotica compilation type stuff that seems to have been very popular with record labels in the 50s and 60s. 

As it's an American production there is a heavy cha-cha influence throughout the record, with loads of brass and lots of bright organ. The orchestra can't be very big, it's definitely only a few horns, the organ, a conguero, a drummer and some light work on the timbales. The fact that it's a small group is a huge plus because the groove is right in front and not buried underneath a ton of other instruments - the drumming is tight and loud, the organ is pretty funky and the horns only pop when they need to. 

Overall, this is a great record, with some really fiery grooves that will put a smile on your face and get you dancing. Tracks like "Simon," "Cumbiamberita," and "Los Soldados" are heavy hitters with a lot of swing. If you've heard my EN VIVO DESDE EL OTRO LADO mix you're already aware of the dancefloor bomb that is "Canta Pescador," a heavy hitting cumbia-track that is led by the summer-sweet organ work of Carlos Oropeza. I'm listening to it right now and am having trouble sitting still! "Borrachera" is another great track as it storms in with these salsa-influenced heavy horns, and organ that wont quit - really, a late-night track that will seal the deal every time. However, there are a couple of sleepers on here where the cha-cha just gets a little redundant or the organ comes off a little cheesy, but that's just my taste and you may be more interested the tracks that I dismissed.

I'm proud to say that I present to you, dear reader, a record that is neither found online nor is there any mention of the record or the players. And as I always say, if it's not available through Google it doesn't exist. Well, I guess I just gave birth to a 40+ year old cumbia record! 

Link is in the commmmmmments.

Please Inform the Captain This is a Hijack

Please Inform the Captain This is a Hijack - S/T 12" EP (Empire Records, 2003)

This is one of my all-time favorite records for so many different reasons. I was at Super Sabado Gigante Fest in LA in 2003 and my friend Andy shoved this record in my face and demanded I buy it. Based solely on his insistence I knew it was going to be great and when he informed me of the DIY punk royaltly Mike Kirsch (of Pinhead Gunpowder, John Henry West, Bread and Circuits, Torches to Rome) as well as members of Former Members of Alfonsin, I couldn't wait to get home and listen. Upon first listen, I don't think any other record has ever confused and delighted me like this record did. 

The needle slipped into the groove and a voice whispers through my speakers: "blast off" then ushering in an explosion of sounds that breaks down normal conventions of what a "punk" record ought to sound like. The track is put together like a hip hop instrumental as it loops a funky locked groove squeezed between esoteric samples reminiscent of a blaxploitation soundtrack, but all the while with the artistic conviction of a carefully articulated sound collage. The track ends quickly and a hypnotic riff spirals into your ears, it's hypnotic, but foreboding, a perfect calm-before-the-storm as it leads into a furious Nation of Ulysses inspired attack. The track ends and and another funky groove is looped while a sampled narration describes the role of the cosmopolitan epicenter. The formula repeats over and over throughout the record, 6 punk songs with a sound collage between each track. Some of these collages are tightly crafted units drawing samples from jazz and funk such as Ramsey Lewis, but other samples are as simple as a joke from Malcolm X. 


While this record greatly challenged the normal confines of what defined a "punk" sound, these sample-based creations were not new as Mike Kirsch had previously used a Fela Kuti sample on the Bread and Circuits LP and numerous bands had popularized the use of sampling lines from speeches or movies. However, in the way that so much attention and time is devoted to these sample-based tracks defies cliche and somehow makes the record less of a "punk" record and more of a "political" record. Whether it comes from the polyphonic vocal attack, the driving hypnotic guitars, or the samples that simulate a kind of Black Panther Soul Train, this records exudes agitation in a way that is intelligent, but also in a way that is more accessible than the traditional punk song. 

The slick production on the record is mirrored by the amazing design work that makes up lyric booklet. The LP cover itself is not very interesting, but the booklet is done in a crisp style that mirrors the funk and flavor of the samples with the apocalyptic imagery of the fiery riffs. The lyrics are neo-romantic, dripping with post-modern metaphors as the group finds unique ways to criticize capitalism, war and the American government. 

This is a record that I will always buy whenever I run into it because I know there is someone who still hasn't heard it. Give it a listen, expand your musical concepts. In the zip file I have included full scans of the booklet for your viewing pleasure. If you just want to look at the rest of the images, check out my flickr. 


In the coming weeks I will post a rip of their second record as well as with an essay discussing sonic protest through the aggressive nature of politically charged hip hop group Public Enemy and Please Inform the Captain This is a Hijack. 

Link in the comments. Scans with the help of Eydie McConnell.

Goodbye Laura V!

Sorry I haven't updated, I have been having some difficulty pulling together a new post, but trust me a lot of good stuff is coming. 

Just wanted to let everyone know I'm going to be djing Laura V's going-away party at Ashley's Bar in Long Beach this Friday night. Come buy Laura a pitcher. No cover, and I'm spinning until they tell me to stop. 

"

	Ashley's Bar
	1731 E 4th St.
	Long Beach, CA   $3.25 well drinks $3.00 domestics $2.50 pabst pints cheap pitchers!!!

                        "

People & Love

Johnny Lytle - People & Love (Milestone, 1972) 
Johnny Lytle was straight up a baaaad (as in cool) vibe player, this guy was able to really groove and get a lot of energy from an instrument that usually often sounds stuck in the land of bad 60's feel-good soundtracks. He was a player who often eluded fame, but not because of his lack of talent and this record really showcases his full abilities as both musician and songwriter. The record is from 1972 and electric instruments were beginning to show up in jazz bands - fusion was still in its baby steps, but this is is less a fusion record than a funky jazz record that makes wide use of its acoustic instruments with the added power of the keyboard and electric bass.

Bridge into the New Age

Azar Lawrence - Bridge into the New Age (Prestige, 1974)
As you can tell by the cover, this is not your typical coffee shop jazz record. Azar Lawrence is best known for his work with McCoy Tyner and Miles Davis, but his records as a leader were just as powerful and innovative. Bridge into the New Age is the first of three records the sax player recorded for Prestige and I feel it's his most dynamic and interesting to listen to as a whole. His other records get more recognition because of their inclination towards a jazz-dance feel, but this record shows a young player (he was 21 when this record was recorded) taking in the history of jazz and updating it into a time period focused on Afro-centrism, peace and love. 

En Vivo Desde El Otro Lado

Grooves Grooves No. 2: En Vivo Desde El Otro Lado

Latin America is united in its struggle against oppression, whether it is inflicted by foreign powers or from a minority military regime. In the US we are taught as school children that the slaves sang gospels and spirituals and that is where the Blues come from. For most of the Americas the musical influence brought over from Africa (another location of mass oppression) was more grounded in percussion, the cajón being a popular instrument in Cuba and Peru as when under suspicion the instrument returned to its original function as a crate. Hand claps, makeshift drums and group singing have led countless generations to stomp their feet and dance, for a brief moment forgetting the unmentionable daily struggle. Through the dialogue of music and dance, a deeply spiritual experience, groups unified and broke their chains, built their own schools, and taught their own history. Imagine the atmosphere in the back room of a Haitian slave house the night before the revolution, Toussaint L'Ouverture droppin knowledge, sharing strength and love. 

Akwid + Clorofila: FREE at the Echo

Just wanted to announce this last minute FREE show going on this Saturday at the Echo. The show is being put on by VotoLatino in order to celebrate the Latina/o community's participation in the census.

La Mara Tomaza

So, I have this thing that when I find new music, I HAVE to do hours of research and find out everything I can about it. This translates to a new blog entry! Thinking about my workload tomorrow, I should definitely be asleep, but why should I sleep when I could be listening to El Hijo De La Cumbia? 

El Hijo De La Cumbia is a young Argentine producer/DJ who commands prolific knowledge over the vast extent of cumbia regardless of time or geography (cumbia sounds different in every region and have obviously evolved over time). He is dubbed the "Son of Cumbia," and this moniker suits him well as he is the product of hundreds of generations of cumbia before him, but his take on modern cumbia will make him the Father of nueva cumbia, or cumbia new roots. Cumbia has a deep regional characteristic, for example in Colombia the style is strictly percussion and vocals and sometimes accordion, and in his present day Argentina cumbia is of the light-hearted and somewhat goofy villera style. He is able to break away from the norms of cumbia and incorporates elements of instrumental hiphop, dub and dancehall, with a heavy amount of cumbia samples. The end product is nueva-cumbia, a high energy, psychedelic dance groove with lots of spaced-out accordion and obligatory cuts of cumbieros of yesteryear shouting in glee.

Independance Cha-Cha

ParisDjs.com in a recent podcast mix focusing on contemporary African music, state that "Africa is the future" and while I believe this is an undeniable truth, the future wont sound like a Fela Kuti record released in 1975, but rather closer to the music that artsists like Baloji are making today. Unlike many of the artists included in the ParisDJs mix, Baloji is not using the same formula of blaring horn sections, thundering congas and chicken-scratch guitars as his vehicle, but rather using the influence of African music of the last 60+ years to guide his politically charged rapping into the future where Africa is king.

Sonate de Concert

Charles-Valentin Alkan - Sonate de Concert for Violoncello & Piano (1857)

Frankly, I'm excited to post my first classical record. I love classical music, especially that of the Romantic and Modern period. Like Debussy, Alkan is a composer who as a master pianist, writes challenging and intriguing pieces primarily for piano. Unlike Debussy, Alkan is vibrant with emotion as he has can turn from writing a dramatically tongue-in-cheek funeral march for a parrot, to a social critique of war, to writing melodramatic oneiric solo piano pieces that would make John Brian feel a little uneasy.

Verbal Headlock

Clutchy Hopkins has returned with his fourth release for Ubiquity Records and his second "solo" album, The Storyteller. For those not familiar with Clutchy, the man is a mysterious cooperative of talent (I've heard rumors about DJ Shadow being in the mix?) putting together some of the freshest, grooviest, mellow music around. The team incorporates elements of instrumental hip hop, dub, jazz, funk, fusion, and psychedelic rock with the end product fitting into none of these pigeonholes. 

GroovesGrooves No. 1 - Live at the Velvet Lounge

My first mix. Live at the Velvet Lounge explores thick bass lines, smoke-filled horn sections, dripping piano and the hip hop that could never be played on the radio. Can't give away anymore details, but a tracklist is included. This is the soundtrack to your night at the place where champagne dreams and smoke-filled fantasies come true. Cover design by Eydie McConnell.

http://www.mediafire.com/?ynygzgjld5m

DOOD Records back catalog

DOOD Records was a record label I ran from 2004-2007. DOOD was responsible for 9 releases, with the mission statement from day one being to support my local DIY punk/hardcore community in a way that was creative, fun and motivating. I released only vinyl and it wasn't until my last year as a label that I released anything that was even available in another format. DOOD has been defunct for some time now, a lot of the bands I worked with have now broken up and a lot of these releases have not (and perhaps will never) see a reissue. For this reason I have decided to make available those releases which are not currently available. Take a trip through time with me...

Vientos Del Pueblo

I'm back, and you're not even close to ready for what I have in store for you. Before I get into things, I just want to make a few quick announcements:

1. I will be deleting a few of the older entries whose albums are still available in stores (Mulatu, Sun Ra, Miles, Roots of Chicha) and change my focus to only albums that are out of print and hard to find.

2. All uploads from now on will be vinyl-rips from my own personal record collection. I'm still perfecting the art, so they'll be better as time goes on... But please enjoy the 320kbps mp3s.

3. As part of my love for music is: what else is going besides music, I will be doing more infrequent postings but they will be great records and include extensive information.

Thanks, enjoy the blog!



Victor Jara - Vientos Del Pueblo (Monitor, 1976)

Read my analysis of Jara's poetics and politics on Jaguar Press.

I've been wanting to upload this since day one! Victor Jara is the golden voiced folk singer from Chile, killed by the merciless military coup that ousted the worlds first democratically elected socialist president, Salvador Allende. Jara was campaigning for Allende, for the Popular Unity party, for Chileans and for the rights of all those suffering at the hands of Imperialism until his last breath. He was shot in the head while a group of 15 prisoners watched as he sang songs of revolution until his tongue no longer moved. His wife and two children spent four days not knowing of his whereabouts as the military regime placed curfews and patrols shot indiscriminately at anyone who looked suspicious.

Negro É Lindo

Jorge Ben - Negro É Lindo (Phillips, 1971)

Today I find myself in a Starbucks somewhere in Downtown San Francisco. They ran out of bagels, it looks like rain, I have a fifty pound backpack with me and I'm not sure where I'm staying tonight. So obviously, I only need the best feel-good music right now.

I'm posting another Tropicalia album by one of the more discreet figures of the scene. Like Jards Macalé he is also a native of Rio de Janeiro and was somewhat of an outcast of the movement. He did not fit into Macalé's group either as Ben's focus was a bit more light-hearted and reminiscent of street samba of the favelas. What distinguishes and makes Jorge Ben a lasting figure is his heavy use of samba, as well as soul - two styles which were born in and dominate black neighborhoods - and incorporating them with the rock and bossa-nova music his contemporaries were playing. Jorge Ben's music will often fuse samba drumming and whistles, bossa nova piano, and powerful soul singing to create a song that is both soothing and beautiful, but upbeat and danceable.

Negro É Lindo is a great record, but it's hard to go wrong with any of Ben's releases from this time period. The main reason why I posted this record versus any of his others is for the song "Cigana." It opens so sweetly and serenely with a very clean bell and acoustic guitar, Jorge Ben's smooth voice seeps into your ears like honey and dreamy violins ease away all tension. Overall, this is a fantastic album with a perfect blend of oneiric bossa-soul songs and lively samba-soul tracks. Interest in Jorge Ben's music has resurfaced in the US as most of his early stuff has been reissued recently and he is more and more widely appreciated. Get going on this already!

1. Rita Jeep
2. Porque é Proibido Pisar Na Grama
3. Cassius Marcelo Clay
4. Cigana
5. Zula
6. Nego é Lindo
7. Comanche
8. Que Maravilha
9. Maria Domingas
10. Palomaris

Link in comments

Mind Fusion Vol.1

Madlib - Mind Fusion Vol. 1 (???, 2004)

Madlib is one of my favorite hip hop producers of all time. His body of work goes so deep, constantly making groundbreaking beats, and redefining the concept of what a beat is. By thoroughly sampling from the deep bombshelter of jazz, funk, soul, hip hop and more recently Bollywood and Brazilian music, his breadth is huge. This man can boast working with MF Doom, J Dilla, Talib Kweli, Ghostface Killa, Erykah Badu, Mos Def.... basically an endless list of amazing hip hop artists, but also having worked with legendary Brazillian drummer Mamão Conti of Azymuth on a collaborative album. Madlib's alias "the Beat Konducta" is not just a slick nickname, but really a fitting title for him as he literally orchestrates samples, loops and beats to create the perfect track.

There's a lot to say about Madlib, and unfortunately I don't have time right now to fully delve into a deep study on the artistic significance of Madlib's groundbreaking beat constructions. Instead I'm going to look at the album at hand, Madlib's Mind Fusion Vol. 1. There is not much information available about this record (or any of the other 4 Mind Fusion records), and the official Madlib discography page makes no mention of it either. Regardless, this is definitely Madlib's work at hand. Each volume in the series runs like a mixtape, and this first one is somewhat of an early Stones Throw sampler with remixes of Oh No, Quasimoto, Jaylib, Madvillain, but also Method Man and Common.

This is a really great mixtape, a lot of fun to listen to. My favorite track on here is probably the Dudley Perkins song, but the Wildchild tracks are also super ripe. I'm not going to post the tracklist on here, but trust me in that you need to hear this whether you're new to Madlib or not.

For more information on Madlib check out the Stone's Throw website for more info about the Mind Fusion series check out the Rappcats blog.

Link in comments.

Aprendar a Nadar

Jards Macalé - Aprender a Nadar (Phillips, 1974)

Macalé is an interesting character in the Brazilian music scene of the late '60s and '70s. He was involved in the developing Tropicalia movement by writing music for such musicians as Gal Costa, but due to strict censorship by the military dictatorship at the time he was exiled before recording his first album. He returned to Brazil in '72 and immediately became a big player of the art community in Rio, hanging out and collaborating with artists, poets and other musicians. Macalé was never really a part of the Tropicalia movement and as his music never was poppy or commercial enough, he always stayed under the radar of the fame.

Interdisciplinary cooperation was a major point of Macalé's artistic philosophy and Aprendar a Nadar is his first major example of collaboration. The album is a concept album based on the "morbeza romantica," which translates to the romantic morbid-beauty, a phrase developed by Macalé and poet Waly Salomão. The term meant to represent a sentiment of "ill health and beauty," a state which represented the Rio artists of the '70s as they struggled to be creative under the dictatorship. Unlike other artists, the Rio group refused to flee to Europe as ex-patriots, instead choosing to produce art that would get Salomão arrested and tortured and lead poet/journalist Torquato Neto to suicide.

The album itself is a piece of collaborative art in every sense, as the lyrics are put together by Macalé, Salomão, Neto as well as a few other poets and the music is a combination is a mixture of bossa nova, tropicalia, mambo, folk and jazz. The theme of "morbeza romantica" is fully present throughout the album as it is moody, sexy, dark, but just slightly off and uncomfortable. Macalé's vocals are scotch-smooth, tinged with a bit of fire and irony, but trust me this cat can sing! Gotta love this record, it's a bit haunting. If it doesn't grab you on the first lesson, give it a second shot and listen to the way Macalé sings, the way the piano echos and how ironic the strings sound, maybe read some Baudelaire or Marquis de Sade or some Neto.

The following poem by Neto fully illustrates what Macalé and his group were attempting to achieve, it was used in 1982 as a song off Macalé's album Os Últimos Dias de Paupéria:

Let's Play That

when I was born
a crazy, very crazy angel
came to read my palm
it wasn't a baroque angel
it was a crazy, crooked angel
with wings like a plane
and behold, this angel told me,
pressing my hand
with a clenched smile:
go on, pal, sing off key
in the happy people's choir
go on, pal, sing off key
in the happy people's choir
let's play that

1. Jards Anet A Vida
2. Corações/No Meio do Mato/O Faquir da Dor/Rua Real Grandeza/Pam Pam Pam
3. Imagenes
4. Anjo Exterminado
5. Dona de Castelano
6. Mambo da Cantareira
7. E Dai...
8. Orora Analfabeta
9. Senhor Dos Sabados
10. Boneca Semiotica

For more information about Jards Macalé and his involvement in Rio counter-culture read this article by Marcelo Ballve that appeared in Waxpoetics over the summer. If anyone has links to Tropicalia poetry online, please let me know!

Link in comments

Sunflower

Milt Jackson - Sunflower (CTI, 1972)

CTI was on fire at the time of this recording, studio musicians on this album including Herbie Hancock on piano and fender rhodes, Ron Carter on bass, Freddie Hubbard on flugelhorn and trumpet. Sunflower is a very orchestrated and cinematic record, but manages to groove really well. The way Milt Jackson and Herbie Hancock pair each other is fantastic especially with the subtle overtunes by Freddie Hubbard. This is a very beautiful record, and is one that means a lot to me. I find myself going through periods of time where I can only listen to this record. The way the strings cascade in "What Are You Doing the Rest of Your Life?" never fails to give me chills and "People Make the Go Round" has one of the sweetest intros, especially when Freddie Hubard comes in wailing on the trumpet. Needless to say this is a record that is in constant rotation and I don't doubt that you'll find it enjoyable.

Milt Jackson is a vibraphone player most known for his work in the Modern Jazz Quartet, but was most active in the 50's and 60's as a sideman and solo musician. He worked alongside jazz greats including John Coltrane, Thelonious Monk, Miles Davis, Ray Charles, and Wes Montgomery. Although usually a hard bop or bebop guy with soulful elements, Sunflower is a groove-filled record that takes a very symphonic approach. The vibes on this album are subtle and sweet, adding a mellow undertone and keeping a dream-like quality about the whole session. As always Milt Jackson knows when is best to take the lead and when to accent another player.

The original vinyl release only has four songs, but the CD release includes a bonus track. One of my favorite records, a true jazz classic and one of CTI's best releases.

1. For Someone I Love
2. What Are You Doing the Rest of Your Life?
3. People Make the World Go Round
4. Sunflower
5. SKJ

Link in comments

Los Sueños de América

Manduka/Los Jaivas - Los Sueños de América (Movieplay, 1974)

A great lazy day album by Brazilian folk singer Manduka and the Chilean psychedelic group Los Jaivas. There is not much information available in English about Manduka at all, but from what I gather he was a folk musician from Brazil who was born into a family of poets and writers. He lived the bohemian lifestyle as he traveled throughout Latin America playing with different groups and incorporating different influences into his music. According to one account he actually lived in a house with Pablo Neruda at one point - very interesting. On his travels in Argentina he joined up with Chilean psychedelic group Los Jaivas and their meeting resulted in this fantastic album.

Los Jaivas, originally from Chile, were ousted after the coup that overthrew Allende in '73. A Pinochet dictatorship obviously could not handle the rocking political grooves of Los Jaivas so the group moved to Argentina then later relocated again to France. As the first recording since the groups exile, this album must be seen as a reaction to the unjust Pinochet regime. Simply enough in the title, "Los Sueños de América," we find a sense of hope, and as the album has a drifting dream-like quality, we listen as Manduka and Los Jaivas explain the current state of a Latin America struggling for its identity and for hope in the future.

This record is beautiful, epic and very groovy. Manduka said that this album attempts to explain "the wisdom of the mountains, the intoxication of the sea and the hermetic jungle." This geographic dialogue is heard through the extensive use of flute, chanting and percussion. A great record to sip coffee to as you start your day, or perfect for tucking you in at night. Favorite track on here is "Date Una Vuelta en el Aire," absolutely beautiful.

1. Don Juan de la Suerte
2. La Centinela
3. Date Una Vuelta en el Aire
4. Tá Bom Tá Que Tá
5. Traguito de Ron
6. Los Sueños de América
7. Primero Encuentro Latino Americano de la Soledad

Link in comments