Al compas del mundo - programa #89, Crusading Potpourri

Everybody in this mix deserves to be here and merits mention. But off the top of my head I’m going to pick on Thomas Mapfumo, the chronicler of traditional Shona music of Zimbabwe who on multiple albums spins it in a modern way while hewing to the roots. Also, the Minyo Crusaders, another example of Japan’s taste for Western music, playing funk, in this case with a Latin twist, and punctuated with bursts of very non-Western trad vocals. Neither Marehamu George Mukabi of Kenya or the USA’s Walter Vinson are exactly household names. I’d never heard of them before discovering these tunes, but they complement each other so well there just had to be a segue in there. I don’t pretend to understand the former’s lyrics (In Kikuyu?), but the latter’s message is loud and clear: “stop spreading your cheddar around!” (Note: Kikuyu is the dominant indigenous language in Kenya. Of historic interest is the fact that in the original Star War’s intergalactic cantina scene, the wildly diverse bunch of space travelers gathered were heard speaking in mostly computer-generated linguistic gibberish. Suddenly, a couple began a conversation in Kikuyu! Movie goers in Nairobi went wild.) I’m not sure how this happens but I oftentimes end up finishing Al Compas del Mundo programs with North African and Arab music. Just lucky, I guess. In this case, sounds from Egypt, Sudan and Morocco, some of my favorite music, will finish off the night…and bid you ilal liqa’i (see you later). J.H.

Potpourri - First broadcast 8-10-23 Run List

01 Thomas Mapfumo and the Blacks Unlimited - Wachiono Chirombo (Zimbabwe)

02 Ofo and the Black Company - Egwu Aja (Nigeria)

03 Minyo Crusaders - Aizu Bandaisan (Japan)

04 Conjunto Casino - Goza Mi Son Montuno (Cuba)

05 Os Kiezos - Comboio (Angola)

06 Termenung, Elly Agus (aka Ellya Khadam) & Orkes Kelana Ria (Thailand)

07 Tlacuatzin - Xochipitzahuatl - Flor Menudita Día de Muertos (Mexico)

08 Marehamu George Mukabi - Bibi Mama Ngani Mzuri (Kenya)

09 Walter Vinson – Rat’s Been on My Cheese (USA)

10 Policarpo Calle - El Pajaro Zenzontle (Colombia)

11 Dolores Vargas - Achilipu (Spain)

12 Malicorne - Le chant des livrées (France)

13 Μέρμηγκας - Παραδοσιακό Κεφαλλονιάς (Greece)

14 Al Tanbura - Heela Heela (Egypt)

15 Firqat Tabyan - title unknown (Sudan)

16 Ousmane - Takandaout (Morocco)

Rats been on my cheese.

[Web guy note: Walter Vinson was in the Mississippi Shieks, and thus responsible for such pivotal blues as Sitting on Top of the World, World Gone Wrong, Shake Hands and Tell Your Daddy Goodbue, and Blood in My Eyes.-J.V.]

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