Just Let It Go: Afro Celt Sound System and "Release It"

The Afro Celt Sound System, a fusion band that mixes modern electronic dance rhythms with traditional Irish and West African songs, brings us today's random song, called Release It. 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. This song, Release It, is an instrumental that can be found on their 1999 album Volume 2: Release.

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: http://www.afroceltsoundsystem.com/; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Afro_Celt_Sound_System

Sibling Success: Touré Kunda and "Casalé"

Touré Kunda brings us today's random tune, a reggae inspired piece called Casalé. A Senegalese band formed by brothers Ismaïla and Sixu Tidiane Touré in the 1970s, the band worked their way up the music scene in Paris before releasing their first album in 1979. After a long tour of Africa in the mid 1980s, they returned to France to find that they were critical darlings in the French press, leading to an invitation to play for Nelson Mandela in 1992. They are well known for their musical versatility, and sing in Soninké, Wolof, Fula, Mandingo, Diola, and Portuguese creole. They have collaborated with musicians such as Carlos Santana and the Talking Heads, and are also very well known for their political activism. You can find Casalé on their 1992 album Sili Béto, on their their 1999 retrospective album Légende and on the 1994 various artists compilation Putumayo Presents: The Best of World Music-World Dance Party.

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/Tour%C3%A9_Kunda

Ancestors: Youssou N'Dour and "Generations"

A giant of global music, Youssou N'Dour, brings us today's random tune. Already a legend among African musicians, Youssou N'Dour is a singer, songwriter, composer, percussionist, actor, politickan and one of the most visible personas of Senegal. A man born into a griot family, he didn't take the traditional griot path (but he is considered a modern griot anyway) and he is the driving force behind the popular Senegalese music called mbalax, which he combined with a variety of international influences. He came to world notice thanks to his collaborations with Western musicians like Peter Gabriel, but his music stands on its own. He has released 33 solo albums. This song, Generations (Diamono), is from his 1994 album The Guide (Wommat).

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/Youssou_N%27Dour

Destruction: Habib Koité and Bamada with "Woulaba"

Habib Koité, a Senegalese singer, guitarist and songwriter based in Mali, brings us today's random tune. Koité's band, Bamada, is a West African supergroup made up of many well-known African musicians. Koité tunes his guitar to a pentatonic scale and plays it on open strings, much like the one would play the African ngoni. His music can be reminiscent of both blues and flamenco, two styles he has picked up in his musical career. He also has an intimate and relaxed vocal style that makes his music sound calm and even moody. Born to musician parents, he learned how to play by watching and listening. After graduation from the Bamako Institute of the Arts, he formed Bamada in 1988. He began touring outside of Africa in 1994, and his music got a huge boost when three of his songs were included with the Microsoft Windows Vista operating system. He has released eight albums - his latest came out in 2014. This song, Woulaba, is from his 2001 CD Baro, and is about the destruction of the African countryside by humans.

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/Habib_Koit%C3%A9

It is Golden: Youssou N'Dour and "Silence (Tongo)"

Today's song is by one of the giants in global music. Youssou N'Dour is already a legend among African musicians. A singer, songwriter, composer, percussionist, actor and politician, he is one of the most visible personas of Senegal. A man born into a griot family, he didn't take the traditional griot path (but he is considered a modern griot anyway) and he is the driving force behind the popular Senegalese music called mbalax, which he combined with a variety of international influences. He came to world notice thanks to his collaborations with Western musicians like Peter Gabriel, but his music stands on its own. He has released 33 solo albums This song, Silence (Tongo), is from his 1994 album The Guide (Wommat).

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/Youssou_N%27Dour

The Pain of Women: Habib Koité and Bamako with "Tere"

Today's random tune is by Habib Koité, a Senegalese singer, guitarist and songwriter based in Mali whose band, Bamada, is a West African supergroup made up of many well-known musicians. Koité tunes his guitar to a pentatonic scale and plays it on open strings, much like the one would play the African ngoni. His music can be reminiscent of both blues and flamenco, two styles he has picked up in his musical career. He also has an intimate and relaxed vocal style that makes his music sound calm and even moody. Born to musician parents, he learned how to play by watching and listening. After graduation from the Bamako Institute of the Arts, he formed Bamada in 1988. He began touring outside of Africa in 1994, and his music got a huge boost when three of his songs were included with the Microsoft Windows Vista operating system. He has released eight albums - his latest came out in 2014. This song, Tere, is from his 2001 CD Baro. The song refers to bad luck, especially that of women.

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/Habib_Koit%C3%A9

Mashup: Boy Gé Mendes and "Cumba Iétu"

Today's random song is by a Senegalese musician of Cape Verdean descent. Gerard Mendes, who is known more popularly as Boy Gé Mendes, was born in Dakar, Senegal and raised in the expatriate Cape Verdean community there. He was steeped in the music of his culture such as morna and coladeira, but also exposed to music from other parts of Africa including Senegal, Mali, Guinea and other African countries of the region, as well as rock, R&B and Cuban music. Moving to France, he formed Cabo Verde Show with his brother and other musicians. The band eventually became one of the most popular Cape Verdean act of all time. His influences still range widely due to his extensive travels in countries such as the United States, Brazil and West Africa and one of his children, Mika Mendes, has become a well-known zouk singer. You can find this song, Cumba Iétu, on his 1998 CD Lagoa, a remixed version on his 2011 CD Best of Boy Gé Mendes, and on the compilation CD Putumayo Presents: Cape Verde (1999).

Morning Has Broken: Carlou D and "Begge Sa Reew"

Today's world random tune is by Carlou D, a Senegalese artist widely considered to be on the brink of international stardom. He first gained notice as a member of the African hip hop group Positive Black Soul, but has since branched out and incorporates a number of different styles into his music. This song, Begge Sa Reew, which hearkens back to 70s afrobeat, can be found on his 2015 release A New Day.

Bad Luck: Habib Koité and "Tere"

Today's random tune is by Habib Koité, a Senegalese singer, guitarist and songwriter based in Mali whose band, Bamada, is a West African supergroup made up of many well-known musicians. Koité tunes his guitar to a pentatonic scale and plays it on open strings, much like the one would play the African ngoni. His music can be reminiscent of both blues and flamenco, two styles he has picked up in his musical career. He also has an intimate and relaxed vocal style that makes his music sound calm and even moody. Born to musician parents, he learned how to play by watching and listening. After graduation from the Bamako Institute of the Arts, he formed Bamada in 1988. He began touring outside of Africa in 1994, and his music got a huge boost when three of his songs were included with the Microsoft Windows Vista operating system. He has released eight albums - his latest came out in 2014. This song, Tere, is from his 2001 CD Baro. The song refers to bad luck, especially that of women.

Griot with Gravy: Diabel Cissokho and Ramon Goose with "Totoumo"

Hello! Today's random tune is Totoumo, by Diabel Cissokho & Ramon Goose. Cissokho is a Senegalese musician from a griot family who had an early musical pedigree with his family's band Bannaya. He has served as Baaba Maal's kora player, as well as many other acclaimed musicians. He now partners with bluesman Ramon Goose, an English guitarist, singer and producer known for his West African Blues Project and the hip hop band NuBlues. He is a master of the slide guitar, and has produced a number of other blues recording artists such as Boo Boo Davis. You can find Totoumo on their album Mansana Blues (2010) and on the compilation album Putumayo Presents: African Blues (2012)

Praiseworthy: Youssou N'Dour and "Allah"

Today's song is a beautiful song of praise. Youssou N'Dour is already a giant among African musicians. A singer, songwriter, composer, percussionist, actor and politician, he is one of the most visible personas of Senegal. A man born in a griot family, he didn't take the traditional griot path (but he is considered a modern griot anyway) who was the driving force behind the popular Senegalese music called mbalax. He came to world notice thanks to his collaborations with Western musicians like Peter Gabriel, but his music stands on its own. This song, Allah, is from his 2004 CD Egypt. The album combines West and North African music, as well as instrumentation in its use of the West African kora and the Arab oud. It promotes the tolerance of Senegalese Islam, and the album won a Grammy award. The video to this song is beautiful - but the sound is not as good.

Carrying the Torch: Ousmane Touré and "Dimba"

Let's tango! Ousmane Touré brings us our random tune of the day, entitled Dimba. Touré is a Senegalese musician who lives in Paris. Formerly the leader of Touré Kunda, he now is a solo artist who blends griot singing and African lyrics with western styles. You can clearly hear the tango influence in Dimba, in which Touré sings about the Olympic flame and the respect it has in all cultures. Dimba can be found on Touré's 2006 release Avenue du Monde, and on the 2007 compilation Putumayo Presents: Tango Around the World.

Joking Around: Habib Koité and "Baro"

Today's song, Baro, comes to us from Mali. Habib Koité is a Sengalese singer, songwriter and guitarist based in Mali whose band, Bamada, is a supergroup of West African musicians. Koité is an unusual guitarist, tuning his guitar on a pentatonic scale and playing on open strings like one would play an African n'goni. His styles can often sound like blues and flamenco. His singing is more relaxed and intimate as compared with his contemporaries. Baro can be found on his 2001 album of the same name and on the Putumayo compilation CD Acoustic Africa. Title of the song means "The Chat," and talks about the Malian tradition of joking around with each other which in turn helps foster social peace and harmony between people and groups.

Anything but Plebian: The Pleb with "One for Senegal"

Our random tune comes from Italy by way of Africa. The Pleb is one of the performing names of Moreno Visini (He is also known as DJ Zeb). From Northern Italy, he left home at age 14 and ended up in London, where he learned electronic programming and sequencing, and where he was heavily influenced by Asian and Arabic music. In the mid 1980s, he was invited to join the American alt-rock band The Indians, but after they disbanded in 1994, he went back to experimentation with electronica and world music. This song, One for Senegal was inspired by the song Amadou Tilo by Senegalese band Touré Kunda in honor of a fallen brother who had died of a heart attack on stage in 1983. Visini heard it late one night in his apartment and was transfixed. He sampled the song, a mostly a capella, rootsy style of track, and put a funky Afrobeat drum rhythm and guitar riffs under it. The surviving members of the band have greatly admired Visini's interpretation of their song. You can find One for Senegal on the compilation CD Putumayo Presents: African Groove (2003).

Afri-laxing: Habib Koité and Bamada with "Batoumambé"

Today's song, Batoumambé, comes to us from Africa. Habib Koité is a Sengalese singer, songwriter and guitarist whose band, Bamada, is a supergroup of West African musicians. Koité is an unusual guitarist, tuning his guitar on a pentatonic scale and playing on open strings like one would play an African n'goni. His styles can often sound like blues and flamenco. His singing is more relaxed and intimate as compared with his contemporaries. Batoumambé can be found on his 2001 album Baro.

Tolerance: Youssou N'Dour and "Touba - Daru Salaam"

Today's random tune is by a legendary African musician. Youssou N'Dour is a singer, songwriter, composer, percussionist, actor and politician, and one of the most visible personas of Senegal. Born in a griot family, he didn't take the traditional griot path but he is considered a modern griot anyway. He was the driving force behind the popular Senegalese music called mbalax. He came to world notice thanks to his collaborations with Western musicians like Peter Gabriel, but his music stands on its own. This song, Touba - Daru Salaam, is from his 2004 CD Egypt. The album combines West and North African music, as well as instrumentation in its use of the West African kora and the Arab oud. It promotes the tolerance of Senegalese Islam, and garnered a Grammy award for N'Dour.

African Signals: Habib Koite & Bamada with "Tere"

One of the things that has surprised me in my education into world music is the place that Senegal and Mali occupy presently in the music coming out of Africa. Partially, my surprise comes from my recent efforts to compile a directory of the world music that I have (these efforts have actually made these daily random tunes possible). When I catalog music from Africa, it is actually a surprise if the music isn't from Senegal or Mali or related to those countries in some way. Actually, that's not completely true - Algeria also has a thriving music scene (though it comes across as more Arabic/Middle Eastern music than what I would regard as African music), as does South Africa. And, in the 70s Nigeria and Ghana were the African music powerhouses. But Mali in particular seems to have a huge variety and depth of music, from the desert nomad traditions in the north of the country to the more African music traditions of the south. I just find myself typing Mali a lot. And Senegal's music tradition is also strong - a lot of this has to do with Youssou N'Dour but there are other fine musicians coming out of Senegal as well.

One musician that straddles both countries is Habib Koite. Koite is a Senegalese singer, guitarist and songwriter based in Mali whose band, Bamada, is a West African supergroup made up of many well-known musicians. Koite tunes his guitar to a pentatonic scale and plays it on open strings, much like the one would play the African ngoni. His music can be reminiscent of both blues and flamenco, two styles he has picked up in his musical career. He also has an intimate and relaxed vocal style that makes his music sound calm and even moody. Born to musician parents, he learned how to play by watching and listening. After graduation from the Bamako Institute of the Arts, he formed Bamada in 1988. He began touring outside of Africa in 1994, and his music got a huge boost when three of his songs were included with the Microsoft Windows Vista operating system. He has released eight albums - his latest just came out in 2014. This song, Tere, is from his 2001 CD Baro.

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!

Ramblin': Baka Beyond and "Wandering Spirit"

Well, I know that anyone who reads this little blog of random world tunes waits with bated breath every day for my little bon-mots and homespun wisdom. Unfortunately, there are times like yesterday and today when I don't have the luxury and only have the time to bring you the random tune with the meticulously researched background (cough, cough...Wikipedia) of the bands that I write in each post. To those of you who wait for my ramblings, I apologize that I cannot always provide them.

Speaking of ramblings, today's random tune is by one of the more established "world' groups. Baka Beyond, formed in 1992, calls themselves "the original Afro-Celtic dance band," probably to distinguish themselves from the Afro Celt Sound System which formed around the same time. Baka Beyond fuses Celtic and other western styles with the traditional Baka music of Cameroon. It started when vocalist Su Hart and her husband, Martin Cradick (guitar, bazouki and mandolin), went to Cameroon to live with the Baka pygmy tribe to record their music. At first Hart and Cradick worked with English musicians to try to recreate the Baka music sounds and integrate it into their music. However, as the group evolved it began to include more musicians from African countries such as Senegal, Sierra Leone, Congo, Ghana and Cameroon. The group has also kept its relationship with the Baka people, returning regularly to record their music and integrate with the music created by the band. The band donates much of its profits to rainforest preservation and at the request of the Baka tribe, has built a music recording studio in their tribal area and has helped the tribe deal with various social and health issues in their villages. The BBC's Andy Kershaw has said that Baka Beyond's music may be the definition of world music. The group has released 11 albums, including one this year in 2014. This song, Wandering Spirit, can be found on their 2002 CD East to West.

All Those Who Came Before: Afro Celt Sound System and "House of the Ancestors"

This will be a short post today because I am getting ready for the second day of our great global music festival, Globalquerque. A bonus for you for the next few days will be that I am taking some video of some of the great acts we are seeing and will be posting them up on this blog.

House of the Ancestors by the Afro Celt Sound System is a special song for us. Because we host the KUNM Global Music Show on the first Monday of each month, in November our show always coincides very closely with Day of the Dead. I believe, though don't hold me to it, that House of the Ancestors was the first song we played on our first Day of the Dead global show. We've done these for a few years now, and House of the Ancestors seems to make it's way more often than not on that playlist.

As I get older, I'm starting to lose people in my life - particularly the previous generation. My uncle died about half a year ago, and a couple of other uncles have gone in the past 3-4 years. My mom is in her 80s and feeling the effects of older age. The concept of Day of the Dead gives me comfort that for at least one day, my ancestors share this world with me before the curtain is drawn between their world and ours. I would like to think that they are still somehow present in my life, even if they seem gone.

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. House of the Ancestors can be found on their 1996 debut release Volume 1: Sound Magic.