We've Had a Dry Winter: Afro Celt Sound System and "Beautiful Rain"

Happy birthday to my co-DJ and spouse, Megan Kamerick! Today's song is called Beautiful Rain and is performed by The Afro Celt Sound System, which fuses modern electronic dance rhythms with traditional Irish and West African songs. The Afro Celt Sound System were formed by British producer Simon Emmerson and afro-pop star Baaba Maal in 1991. Since then they've been proclaimed a world music supergroup, and have collaborated with Peter Gabriel, Sinead O'Connor, Robert Plant, Mairéad Ní Mhaonaigh, Ayub Ogada and many other pop and world stars. Beautiful Rain can be found on their 1999 release Volume 5: Anatomic.

Listen to songs like this and more on the KUNM Global Music Show every Monday night from 10 pm - 1 am Mountain Standard Time. Live streaming, program information and the two-week digital archive can be found at http://www.kunm.org.

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Afro_Celt_Sound_System

Hands On: Family Atlantica and "Manicero"

Family Atlantica performs today's random tune, called Manicero. Family Atlantica is a band that spans an ocean and two continents, South America and Africa, building on African rhythms that came to South America through slavery and colonization. Those rhythms helped build Latin music, and later Latin music went back across the Atlantic to inspire African musicians in the 20th century and today. Listening to the band, you will hear echoes of Cuban rumba, Venezuelan tambor (a dance music) and tonada, Ghanaian highlife, calypso and even Ethiopian blues (a melancholy style of music). Manicero can be found on their 2013 album Family Atlantica.

Listen to songs like this and more on the KUNM Global Music Show every Monday night from 10 pm - 1 am Mountain Standard Time. Live streaming, program information and the two-week digital archive can be found at http://www.kunm.org.

Cross Cultural Seedings: Family Atlantica and "Enjera"

Today's random tune is supplied by Family Atlantica. Family Atlantica is a band that spans an ocean and two continents, South America and Africa, building on African rhythms that came to South America through slavery and colonization. Those rhythms helped build Latin music, and later Latin music went back across the Atlantic to inspire African musicians in the 20th century and today. Listening to the band, you will hear echoes of Cuban rumba, Venezuelan tambor (a dance music) and tonada, Ghanaian highlife, calypso and even Ethiopian blues (a melancholy style of music). This song, Enjera, can be found on their 2016 debut Cosmic Unity.

Listen to songs like this and more on the KUNM Global Music Show every Monday night from 10 pm - 1 am Mountain Standard Time. Live streaming, program information and the two-week digital archive can be found at http://www.kunm.org.

Nocturnal Wanderings: The Afro Celt Sound System and "Even in My Dreams"

Our song today is called Even in My Dreams. The song is by The Afro Celt Sound System, which fuses modern electronic dance rhythms with traditional Irish and West African songs. The Afro Celt Sound System were formed by British producer Simon Emmerson and Afro-pop star Baaba Maal in 1991. Since then they've been proclaimed a world music supergroup, and have collaborated with Peter Gabriel, Sinead O'Connor, Robert Plant, Mairéad Ní Mhaonaigh, Ayub Ogada and many other pop and world stars. Even in My Dreams can be found on their 1999 release Volume 2: Release.

It's Coming Down: The Afro Celt Sound System and "Beautiful Rain"

Today's song is from a world group mixing African and Celtic sounds. Beautiful Rain is by The Afro Celt Sound System, which fuses modern electronic dance rhythms with traditional Irish and West African songs. The Afro Celt Sound System were formed by British producer Simon Emmerson and afro-pop star Baaba Maal in 1991. Since then they've been proclaimed a world music supergroup, and have collaborated with Peter Gabriel, Sinead O'Connor, Robert Plant, Mairéad Ní Mhaonaigh, Ayub Ogada and many other pop and world stars. Beautiful Rain can be found on their 1999 release Volume 5: Anatomic.

Here Kitty Kitty: The Afro Celt Sound System and "Big Cat"

Today's song is from a world group mixing African and Celtic sounds. Big Cat is by The Afro Celt Sound System, which fuses modern electronic dance rhythms with traditional Irish and West African songs. The Afro Celt Sound System were formed by British producer Simon Emmerson and afro-pop star Baaba Maal in 1991. Since then they've been proclaimed a world music supergroup, and have collaborated with Peter Gabriel, Sinead O'Connor, Robert Plant, Mairéad Ní Mhaonaigh, Ayub Ogada and many other pop and world stars. Big Cat can be found on their 1999 release Volume 2: Release.

Very Certain: Afro Celt Sound System and "Sure-As-Not/Sure-As-Knot"

Today's song is from a world group mixing African and Celtic sounds. Sure-As-Not/Sure-As-Knot is by The Afro Celt Sound System, which fuses modern electronic dance rhythms with traditional Irish and West African songs. The Afro Celt Sound System were formed by British producer Simon Emmerson and Afro-pop star Baaba Maal in 1991. Since then they've been proclaimed a world music supergroup, and have collaborated with Peter Gabriel, Sinead O'Connor, Robert Plant, Mairéad Ní Mhaonaigh, Ayub Ogada and many other pop and world stars. Sure-As-Not/Sure-As-Knot can be found on their 1996 debut release Volume 1: Sound Magic.

Gimme Shelter: Zion Trinity and "Shelter of Yahweh"

We aim a little high today, as the random selection has pointed our eyes to heaven. Shelter of Yahweh is by New Orleans female vocal group Zion Trinity. Established in 1997, Zion Trinity sings in the styles of reggae, funk, jazz, African ritual and others. They have opened for international acts such as Burning Spear, Lucky Dube and Rootz Underground. Shelter of Yahweh is from their 2003 album Eyes on Zion, an album that combines original reggae with traditional Orisha chants.

Winds of Hope: Nawal and "Leo ni Leo"

Nawal brings us the random song for today. A musician from Comoros, she takes the traditional music of Comoros and incorporates influences from African and Arabic traditions. She sings in Comorian, French, Arabic and English, and she is a multi-instrumentalist. Nawal is one of the first women from her country to take the international stage and she is known today as "The Voice of Comoros." This song, Leo ni Leo, is from her 2007 album Aman.

Entrancing: Cheb i Sabbah and "Raja Vedalu"

Question: Is trance music of the nineties roughly similar in its goals and effects to the psychedelic music of the 60s and 70s? From what I've read, the answer would suggest yes. Psychedelic music of the sixties developed out of a culture that was clearly into experimentation and usage of drugs such as LSD, and the music was often played by people who were taking these drugs and translating their experiences into music, and the music was in turn listened to by people who were also using drugs and getting not only a chemical but an aural high all at the same time. The music was also known for bringing in new instrumentation, particularly Indian instruments such as the sitar and tabla, as well as using other techniques such as looping, phasing, backward taping and lots of reverberation.

In turn, in the 1990s as electronica became more popular in music, many of these techniques were also used along with repeating melodies, and usually a fast beat though not always. Trance music was also used to replicate the effects of the drug Ecstasy, or X, by amplifying inner peace, self acceptance, heightened mood and euphoria, intimacy and love for others, insight, introspection and clarity, self confidence, desire, drive, motivation, energy, endurance, alertness, awareness, awakening, empathy, compassion and forgiveness while diminishing aggression, hostility, fear, anger and insecurity. Trance music is supposed to do all of this without the harmful effects of drug usage. Glow sticks are also a big part of the trance music scene.

Despite both psychedelic music and trance music having an association with drug usage, I think that they stand well on their own. I certainly like both, and the fact that they have a similar history doesn't surprise me.

The random tune today is a trancy kind of composition from DJ Cheb i Sabbah called Raja Vedalu. Sabbah, who died in 2013 at age 66, was a DJ, composer and producer that combined Asian, Arabic and African sounds. Born Serge el Beze, he was Algerian of Jewish and Berber descent. Born into a family of musicians, he moved to Paris as a teenager and began DJing in 1964, working primarily in American soul records. In 1984, he moved to San Francisco and took the name Cheb i Sabbah which means "young of the morning." He was nominated in 2006 for the BBC's World Music Award in the Club Global category, and he was known for concerts featuring live musicians, dancers and massive projections that backed up his electronic music. He died of stomach cancer in November of 2013 in San Francisco. Raja Vedalu can be found on the Shiva Rea's compilation CD Nataraja (2006) and other compilations as well. It has also been remixed and mashed up a few times.

Occupied by Brazilian Music: Bixiga 70 and "Kalimba"

I have waxed rhapsodic about how much I have enjoyed discovering Brazilian music, in its many styles and rhythms. While I have yet to go to South America, I feel like it is a bucket list destination for me, even if I just went for the music alone. In one country Brazil has an astounding variety of music. Of course, early in my musical education I thought Brazil was all bossa nova and samba. However, I didn't take into account the variety of African influences in Brazilian music, even though the clues are plain for anyone who scans a Brazilian crowd and sees the various hues of skin pigmentation. The Brazilian music that I most often heard was of the type that was heavily jazz influenced (jazz itself is very influenced by African music as well). Growing up in the 70s, it was certain types of Brazilian music that made it to the radio waves - types that would appeal to the American listening palate.

Groups like Bixiga 70 have opened my eyes in the way that they have consciously drawn on African roots of Brazilian music and made its rhythms front and center along with other genres. An example is today's tune Kalimba. Using an African guitar backing melody with African drums and a Latin style melody driven by horns, but also allowing for a modern rock style guitar solo, the song is a melange of styles. And in fact, that's what Bixiga 70 does - they combine African, Brazilian, Latin and jazz rhythms and music into a comprehensive worldbeat. The name of the band is taken from the neighborhood and street number where the band was born in Sao Paolo in 2010. The band has a wide range of influences, from Brazilian musicians such as Gilberto Gil, Pedro Santos and Luiz Gonzaga, among others, but also African musicians such as Fela Kuti and Mulatu Astatke. The band released its first album in 2011, which was listed by Rolling Stone as one of the best of that year. Kalimba is from their newest album, Ocupai, released in 2014. The video is a live version of the song.

Round and Round: Afro Celt Sound System and "Whirl-Y-Reel 1"

I am not really into things that spin around really fast right now, because tomorrow I have to go to the dentist to get a filling replaced and so my experience of whirly things will be a drill. But notice how today's random tune, Whirl-Y-Reel 1 by the Afro Celt Sound System has a "1" added to it. You guessed it! There is more than one Whirl-Y-Reel - three, I think. Two are on the same album.

The Afro Celt Sound System fuses modern electronic dance rhythms with traditional Irish and West African songs. They were formed by British producer Simon Emmerson and Afro-pop star Baaba Maal in 1991. Since then they've been proclaimed a world music supergroup, and have collaborated with Peter Gabriel, Sinead O'Connor, Robert Plant, Mairéad Ní Mhaonaigh, Ayub Ogada and many other pop and world stars. Whirl-Y-Reel 1 can be found on their 1996 debut release Volume 1: Sound Magic. Listen to that talking drum and bodhran go and dance!

Afro-Peruvian Revival: Susana Baca and "Maria Lando"

No matter how many strides we make as a world civilization, we seem to keep coming around to the same mistakes and lessons. Take slavery. The United States abolished slavery in 1865 only after the economy of a good portion of the country had become dependent on it and after a devastating civil war. England abolished slavery in 1833. Many countries in South America were well on their way to ending slavery before the United States, and most slaves in the New World were completely emancipated by the 1870s.

Yet here, in the 21st century, there are still reports of slavery. Nigerian terrorists kidnap hundreds of schoolgirls and threaten to sell them into slavery. The FBI announces that they have freed over 3600 children in the sex slave trade over the past few years. Qatar, the host of the 2022 World Cup, is considered to be a state that survives on slave labor since officials confiscate the passports of guest workers and often don't pay them for months at a time. Thailand was demoted to the lowest rung on the US Human Rights report, and the Guardian reported that the Thai prawn fishing industry is dependent on slaves working Thai fishing boats.

All this in a world that supposedly put slavery behind it a century and a half ago.  All this in a world that is supposedly enlightened.  Modernization, reactionism.  Capitalism begets many good things, and yet begets greed which leads to the worst of human behaviors in the pursuit of wealth and power.

Today's selection, Maria Lando by Susana Baca, is a reminder of the past and hopefully a future we can avoid.  Maria Lando is about a servant girl, which is often a softer name for a slave.  The song opens with a beautiful evocative image of a dawn:

The dawn breaks like a statue
Like a winged statue spreading across the city
And the noon rings, a bell made of water
A golden singing bell that keeps us from feeling alone

The song goes on to tell us that Maria gets no sleep, and for her there is no dawn, no noon, no moon, just broken sleep, a suffering gait and "only work, only work, only work," performed for another.

Susana Baca is a Peruvian singer who is widely credited with reviving the Afro-Peruvian musical tradition.  She grew up in a small coastal fishing village and recounts on her website how black families came together with music.  She heard Cuban music and the music of Celia Cruz, and as she states on her website, "....The culture, music, and our whole selves are all about the mixture of Spanish Indian and African cultures."  Baca has won two Latin Grammys, and in 2011 she was named Minister of Culture, only the second Afro-Peruvian to sit on the Peruvian cabinet.  She also founded the Instituto Negrocontinuo, which collects, preserves and encourages the creation of Afro-Peruvian culture, music, and dance.  She is also one of my wife's favorite world artists.  Her music often utilizes traditional instruments, including the jawbone of a burro, gourd, wooden box, and clay pot, and her singing has been described as "spiritual", even if she is not singing about anything religious.  This video of Maria Lando shows Baca live in a studio with her backing band.