V.A. BLEEDING AFRICA (2008)

40 TRACKS FROM THE WORLD'S MOST DIVERSE CONTINENT
ARTIST`````VARIOUS
ALBUM`````BLEEDING AFRICA
GENRE`````WORLD, FUSION, FUNK, POP, TRADITIONAL, FIELD RECORDING
YEAR````````2008

WHAT?
I made this compilation for the cocktail after-party of the opening of the African museum in my hometown. My first ever 40 tracks long compilation of various popular and forgotten African performers, spanning the entire continent, from popular 70's kitch tunes over some hot funk and senegalese pop to more traditional and tribal standards. I am hardly an expert in african music but I just had to use my huge library of albums I collected in recent years and try to make a solid compilation so criticism is welcome.

The most important song here is definetly "Mbube" by Solomon Linda (South Africa, Zulu tribe) who wrote this gorgeous accapela in 1939 and later had to sell the rights to Gallo Record Company for 10 shillings (less than $US 2). Over the decades this song was ripped, abused and destroyed beyond any reason but Solomon Linda never recieved any credit and died a poor man's death during the apartheid in South Africa. Its most famous "version" is "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" which we all know. The song had earned US $15 million for its use in The Lion King alone and who knows how much more when decades of rights abuse are combined. It took 18 years to erect a decent toombstone on Solomon Linda's grave.

You can read more on Solomon Linda here.

TRACKLIST:
01 Mahotella Queens - Thina Siyakhanyisa
02 T.P. Orchestre Poly-Rythmo De Cotonou - Hwe Towe Hun
03 Hewale Sounds - Kalabule (Hewale Sounds-Ghana)
04 Dark City Sisters - Langa More
05 Orchestra Makassy - Mambo Bado (Orchestra Makassy)
06 Sir Victor Uwaifo & His Melody Maestroes - Dododo
07 Solomon Linda's Original Evening Birds - Mbube
08 Baaba Maal & Mansour Seck - Loodo
09 Boubacar Traoré - Bebe Bo Nadero
10 Boubacar Traoré - Mali Twist
11 Habib Koite & Bamada - Barra
12 Abagqomi - Bakhuzeni
13 Burundi Traditional Musicians - Chant de femmes
14 Ladysmith Black Mambazo - Nomathemba
15 Hewale Sounds - Kpanlogo (Hewale Sounds-Ghana)
16 Mapumba - Mwafwako
17 Ebo Taylor - Heaven (Ghana)
18 Marijata - Mother Africa (Ghana)
19 Ray Lema & Tyour Gnaoua - Mimouna
20 Youssou N'dour - Letter
21 Armand Frydman & Dennis Hekimian - Ewondo
22 Franco - Finga Mama Munu
23 Camille Feruz - Cha Cha Cha Bay
24 Kokanko Sata - Be Ni DJigui
25 Kokanko Sata - Tie Farin Shiw
26 Yoruba Tribe - Drums From Benin
27 Kenya & Tanzania Ritual Music - Coconut Picklers Song
28 Orchestra Baobab - Mouhamadou Bamba
29 Ifeanyi Eddie Okwedy - Happy Survival
30 Oumou Sangare - Kun Fè Ko
31 Oumou Sangare - N'Guatu
32 Morikeba Kouyate - Landing Majang (Instrumental)
33 Samburu Warriors' initiation (Kenya) - Ceremonial Music
34 Seleshe Damassae - Hoya Hoya
35 Sierra Leone's Refugee All Stars - Smile
36 Tata Dinding Jobarteh - Bitillo
37 Assane Ndiaye & Le Raam Daan - Nguisstal
38 Kosinus - Tambacounda
39 Vieux Diop - Sutu Kun
40 Wagogo Marriage Ritual (Tanzania) - Ceremonial Music


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MARTIN REV - SEE ME RIDIN' (1996)

IT'S TIME TO GET REACQUAINTED
ARTIST````MARTIN REV
ALBUM````SEE ME RIDIN'
GENRE````INDIE, ELECTRONIC, SYNTH POP, MINIMAL, BUBBLEGUM POP
YEAR``````1996

WHY:
Since Suicide are one of my favourite 80's underground asshole acts, Martin Rev just comes along naturally. This album is his best work (maybe even including the Suicide albums). Everything is here: Martin's naive I-dont-give-a-fuck voice, glorious I-dont-give-a-fuck childish lyrics (I love you, yes I do, and I always want to be with you, yeah) and minimal stylish I-dont-give-a-fuck rhythms and melodies. Even those few instrumental songs are somehow...really good.

It is amazing how such simple and basic compositions sound so fresh and out there. Basicaly, he was out there in the 1980's, 1990's and damn he still is. See me Ridin' sounds incredibly fresh today so you all synth-indie-wanaabees can just go and bleed to death in a smelly corner.

ALBUM REVIEW:
by Greg Prato

On Martin Rev's 1996 solo album, See Me Ridin', the co-founder of the legendary electro-rock band Suicide steps out on his own, and offers 16 tracks of minimalist bubblegum power pop. But don't worry longtime Suicide fans, drum machines, Rev's trademark synthesizers, and his half-sung/spoken vocals are the basis for each song, while Suicide's hypnotizing repetition is used to great effect as well. Although a wide variety of musical artists and styles come to mind when listening to the album (Buddy Holly, Guided by Voices, Legendary Pink Dots, and David Lynch-like soundscapes), it's still unmistakably Martin Rev. What carries the compositions is Rev's strong sense of melodicism -- "Pillars," "Be Mine," "Secret Teardrops," and the title track contain such strong melodies that they sound hauntingly familiar.

Attention industrial/techno-heads, it's time to get reacquainted with one of the genre's founders...Martin Rev.

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Get him @ myspace
See his shitty site
See a crappy fan site with some info and miserable photos

DRIVING STEREOLAB (2007)

COVER DESIGN IS BY ME:-) just a little tribute.
YOU WANNA SUPER MOTORIK RIDE?
ARTIST`````````````STEREOLAB
ALBUM`````````````DRIVING STEREOLAB
GENRE`````````````INDIE PROG-KRAUTROCK
YEAR```````````````2007
COMPILATION BY VALENTIN

WHY?
This band is probably my first aware encounter with the indie post rock fever of the 1990's. I used to listen Stereolab insanely from 1998 till late 2002 - collected all their albums, EP's, singles and live performances and could consider myself being a fan (I hate that word). Many people find them irritating but also - many find them to be brilliant . I find them to be imortant for personal reasons - their "catchiness" and at the same time "alternativness" and "indieness" freed my musical taste (opened my eyes to say it in a kitchy way:) They present a positive, most original underground look on our naive world.

Few days ago I found my long lost Stereolab discography CD and added some missing albums (from 2002 - 2007). Now I present you my personal selection which only I could call "Best of" or "Stereolab's greatest". This selection spans their entire career, except for their first 2 albums which I didnt include because of poor production.

For people who dont know who they are - read the "BASIC BIOGRAPHY" txt below. Enjoy this fine, most influental super-cute and long lasting, seriously independent band.

BASIC BIOGRAPHY
Called "one of the most fiercely independent and original groups of the Nineties", Stereolab were one of the first bands to be termed "post rock". Their primary musical influence is 1970s krautrock, which they combine with lounge, 1960s pop, and experimental music. They are noted for their heavy use of vintage electronic keyboards, and their sound often overlays a repetitive "motorik" beat with female vocals sung in English or French. Stereolab often incorporate socio-political themes into their lyrics. Some critics say the group's lyrics carry a strong MarxistSurrealist and Situationist cultural and political movements. However, Gane is skeptical of labels such as "Marxist pop", and defends the band against accusations of "sloganeering".

message, and Gane and Sadier admit to being influenced by the

Although many of the band's albums have been underground hits, they have not found larger commercial success. The band were released from their recording contract with Warner Music when Warner's imprint Elektra Records folded. The release was reportedly due to poor record sales, and since then Stereolab's self-owned label, Duophonic Records, has signed a distribution deal with Too Pure. Duophonic holds the copyrights to the band's recordings, and on the label the band have released many limited-edition records.

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MAX TUNDRA - MASTERED BY THE GUY AT THE EXCHANGE (2002)

A COMPLETE SURPRISE FOR ME. ONE OF THE MOST TALENTED LESS KNOWN MUSICIANS TODAY. A MUST HAVE.
ARTIST`````````````MAX TUNDRA
ALBUM`````````````M. BY THE GUY AT THE XCHNG
GENRE`````````````EVERYTHING???
YEAR```````````````2002
























MY VIEW:
Here it goes: naive pop, parody post-rock, bubblegum pop, funk, trash, acoustic, Commodore 64, children's music, moog synthesizers, superfast -supercute beats with spacey effects, drill n' bass breaks, heavy electronics THAT ALL FIT INTO ONE 4 MIN SONG. And it sounds complete. It doesnt sounds like an experiment. Its like he was born with this ultra-music in his head.
This is a complete surprise to me. Enjoy this super-talented madman.

ARTIST BIOGRAPHY:
Ben Jacobs is notable for his musical schizophrenia, his back catalog for Warp and Domino a jumpy collision of found sounds, Squarepusher-type beat thrashes, and jaunty wrestling with "real" instrumentation. His second album for Domino sees Jacobs find his voice, no doubt back-flipping around the sound booth as he laid down lyrics to his funk-fueled spliced tape excursions. "MBGATE" is typical of the album -- a magically messed-up fusion of horn pushes, distorted songs, and general subverted pop craziness that does nothing but encourage the belief that if Prince hadn't burnt out in the early '90s, he'd have taken the name Max Tundra and hung out with a certain Guy Davie at a mastering house on North London's Randolph Street.

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DAN DEACON - SPIDERMAN OF THE RINGS (2007)

FREAK THE FUCK OUT! HARDCORE ELECTRONIC MUSIC THAT SOME AWESOME TALENTED 6 YEAR OLD KIDS WOULD LOVE TO MAKE.
ARTIST`````````````DAN DEACON
ALBUM`````````````SPIDERMAN OF THE RINGS
GENRE`````````````ELECTRONIC/BUBBLEGUM POP
YEAR```````````````2007

MY VIEW:
A fat, bald, ugly, introspective (quite educated) master of music screaming for ice-cream and dancing like a teddy bear on LSD.

ARTIST BIOGRAPHY:
Electronic music composer Dan Deacon is based in Baltimore, MD, and is equally influenced by such diverse elements as Devo, Talking Heads, Scratch Orchestra, Raymond Scott, and Conlon Nancarrow. After several self-released projects, he moved to Baltimore and became an instant figurehead of the fledgling electronic music community. In November of 2004, he lost 60 pounds while making the transition from a diet of chicken and cookies to a healthy vegan lifestyle. Though he releases several projects in limited quantities, Acorn Master and Spiderman of the Rings were released by Psych-O-Path Records in 2006.

ALBUM INFO:
READ THE ENTIRE REVIEW HERE

Despite its cacophonous electronic surface, the best of Spiderman of the Rings hits the pleasure centers with a string of great pop singles. "The Crystal Cat" could almost be a straight-up surf-rock tune until the moment when Deacon's leader-of-the-pack goon croon becomes a grotesquely twisted helium shriek and the drums explode like illegal fireworks. "Okie Dokie" is basically "Wooly Bully" rewritten with Deacon's handmade tone generators and ring modulators.

See, Deacon makes "noise rock" that taps directly into the great lineage of batshit bubblegum pop. Spideman connects at various points with Kasenetz and Katz, Sam the Sham, happy hardcore and gabba techno, "Surfin' Bird", the twinkly melodies of an infant's mobile (the unexpectedly gorgeous "Big Milk"), the Ramones, Koji Kondo (composer-in-residence for the Nintendo Entertainment System), Max Martin, and Daft Punk. On an earlier EP, 2006's Acorn Master, Deacon covered Bobby Darin's "Splish Splash". That spastic take on a rock'n'roll classic feels with hindsight like an obvious run up to Spiderman.

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