Al compás del mundo - programa #123

Al compás del mundo - programa #123 – Sudan and Ethiopia

This will be the second time around on Al compas del mundo featuring the music of Sudan and Ethiopia. Apart from the totally mesmerizing and distinct sounds from these East African neighbors, there are two major underlying motives for my appreciation. When we lived in Cairo for a year back in 1982-83, one of our August vacation options was Sudan and its capital of Khartoum. Similar desertic topography to Egypt and a summer time average temperature of 105-115 degrees steered us toward the alternative: Turkey – green, Mediterranean, and politically stable (mostly). Still, I (almost) left my heart in Sudan. The music did all it could to win me over.

Purchasing cassettes of Sudanese music in the streets of Cairo, I was exposed to the mellifluous strains of Sudanese orchestras, soloists, and singers. There’s no other music on the planet quite like it. Cuts 2, 7 and 9 may be exceptions only in that they are straight out of the country and unlike the urban sounds I’m particularly enthralled with (though representative and savory).

Ethiopian music takes up the second half of the program and fills it with more unique stylings found only in that region of Africa. To my ears, Ethiopian music epitomizes “exotica.” Not to trivialize or fetishize with my Western ears, but the scales used, particularly minor notes, evoke in me a certain mood, both tenebrous and exultant. Another reason for the attraction goes back to my days wooing Ms. Claudia in Mexico City. One of the many things that brought us together was the fact we had each dated Ethiopians. Each had shared music from back home and we both became converts. Fortunately, she waited for me and ended up in San Francisco and not Addis Ababa.

Of course, none of these meager descriptions of the music presented herein do any sort of justice to the actual product. Find these tunes wherever you can and listen. An education and pleasure will be your reward. - J.H.

RunList for 'Sudan and Ethiopia'
First Broadcast 4-11-24

01 al-Bilabil - al-Bysel ma bituoh (Sudan)

02 anonymous - Wed al-ballah howidi (Sudan)

03 Solomon Mahmoud - Ashwak (Sudan)

04 Mohammed Wardi – al-Sourah (The Photo) (Sudan)

05 Abu Obaida Hassan - Nas fi nas (Sudan)

06 Sayed Khalifa - سلام بالبسمة (Sudan)

07 Seed al-Khala - Audhiya azab (Sudan)

08 Abdelkarim al-Kabli - Hal Fatma (Sudan)

09 anonymous – folk music on the rebab (Sudan)

10 Thona'i al-Nagham - al-Akhdar al-limuni (Sudan)

11 Seyfu Yohannes - Mela mela (Ethiopia)

12 Girma Beyene - Ene negn bay manesh (Ethiopia)

13 Mahmoud Ahmed - Atawurulegn lela (Ethiopia)

14 Muluken Melesse - Hédètch alu (Ethiopia)

15 Asselefetch Ashine & Getenesh Kebret & Army Band - Metche new (Ethiopia)

16 Ayalew Mesfin & Black Lion Band - Feger aydelem wey (Ethiopia)

17 Tlahoun Gessesse - Sema (Ethiopia)

18 Ayalew Mesfin & Black Lion Band - Gedawo (Ethiopia)

Black Lion Moving

Comments

Al compás del mundo - programa #99 - Los Folkloristas

This week’s Al compás del mundo earns a pair of dedications. Primarily, to Las Folkloristas, a group of Mexican musicians who first came together in 1966 and who continue to the present day, delighting their public and educating them as to the breadth of folk music genres and instrumentation found in every corner of Latin America. The second dedication is to me and my sweetheart wife Claudia – we met at a concert of Los Folkloristas at the Sala Agora in Mexico City, in 1976. And yes, we too are still together. Get out your handkerchiefs and dry your eyes because there’s a story to be told as evidence that there’s a soulmate out there for everyone. You just have to make the effort to look, even if it takes you to a foreign land. And so it goes like this: I spent all of 1976 living in Mexico City, ostensibly to learn Spanish, but en realidad to loaf around, drink beer, practice my saxophone, and maybe, just maybe, look to meet a señorita. I lived in a pension (boardinghouse) owned by Jul...

Al compas del mundo, programa #92 - Japan

The Japanese historically have been a most creative people, excelling in aesthetic conventions like architecture, painting, culinary arts, theatre, music, and more. A craftsman’s care and an artist’s flair have come to define everyday household objects such as articles of clothing and kitchen ware, designed with a sensibility that imbues them with import and elevated status. After WWII in the United States however, an item inscribed “made in Japan” usually indicated a tchotchke of mediocre quality. A perfect example is the large number of Northwest Coast Native American-style bone totem poles made for the tourist shops in the Northwest. There is a distinctive difference in these “artifacts” from the real, home-made variety that illustrates someone from another culture tackling aesthetics they don’t fully comprehend. And that leads us to some of this week’s musical choices. Imitating Western pop, rock and jazz, Japanese artists have recorded many forgettable efforts – not unlike those o...

Al compas del mundo - programa #114 - potpourri of fun, fun, fun

Fun, Fun, Fun. And I do mean fun. Sometimes this summary of a weekly radio show veers off to a serious side, but not today. Not with this batch of winners. Not when we’re leading off with Los Xochimilcas. Like a mix of The Three Stooges and Spike Jones, they clamor for a round of “pulque for two!” with an eloquent danzón accompaniment. Then there’s Pigbag showing off some serious jazz chops…but is it jazz? Then again, who cares? Why fret over labels when we’re here to have fun?! So The Magnetic Fields’ tune isn’t exactly light-hearted glee and all, but fun comes in many packages. I had fun when I first heard I Die You Die. They sounded like the Velvet Underground had they hailed from West Virginia instead of New York. That’s not fun? Relatively speaking, there’s always room for Ennio Morricone. That lonesome whistle thrills me, along with the chorus of grunting injuns. A Spaghetti Western at its stereotypical best. Allen Toussaint, by the way, is one hell of a song writer, in cas...

Search This Blog