mantras-in-motion-blog

[mantras-in-motion-blog]

1 day…

So tomorrow is the day I leave for Malawi to volunteer for a beautiful charity whose name represents their simple yet powerful message… Love. Support. Unite.

As my last post I leave you with this music from Diko Fils. This is Kiri…

Please is you have any spare pennies and have enjoyed this Music for Malawi then please donate to my Just Giving page here: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/lovesupportunitemalawi

It feels good to give and the love will be received whole-heartedly from the people of Malawi and Love Support Unite, who really are changing lives…

[mantras-in-motion-blog]

6 Days...

Nneka Lucia Egbuna is a Nigerian hip-hop, soul, reggae singer, songwriter and actress. She sings in both English and Nigerian Pidgin. She sings about political issues in many of her songs, talking of the plight of the Niger Delta and the corruption in her homeland.

My soul sister Lainey introduced me to this beaut… This is her 2007 single; Africaans…

[mantras-in-motion-blog]

11 Days...

Fatoumata Diawara is an Ivory Coast born singer and guitarist, mixing her own style with traditional Wassoulou sounds. She released her first album in 2011 on World Circuit Records and has worked with the likes of Cheick Tidiane Seck and Oumou Sanagaré. In 2012 she launched a campaign called “30 songs/30 days” to support multi-platform media project Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide. Around the sae time she also boarded the Africa Express Train, a project started by Blur front man, Damon Albarn. 80 artists from 45 different countries literally boarded a train in the UK for 1 week and travelled around giving performances in different cities!

This is Bissa taken from her 2011 album, Fatou…

[mantras-in-motion-blog]

Recordings from Hugh Tracey

Hugh Tracey (1903–1977) was a twentieth century ethnomusicologist. He and his wife collected and archived music from Southern and Central Africa. He began making field recordings of music in the early 1920s, through the 1970s.

Tracey was particularly fascinated with the Mbira, an instrument found nowhere else in the world. Tracey founded the International Library of African Music (ILAM) in 1954 and we have him to thank for the 100s on intimate recordings he made during his investigations. He took sample digging to a whole other level, often heading into the Congo to record the sounds of so many different tribes.

It’s hard to just pick a few, as they are so great, but here goes…

Baziri Teofili, a Mbira player from the Congo in 1952.

Bakia Pierre of the Congo, playing the Kundi – a type of harp.

[mantras-in-motion-blog]

13 Days

HAPPY SATURDAY!!!

Afefe Iku is the protege of Osunlade. Many have mistaken him to be Osunlade himself, however this is not fact. Working closely with Osunlade, and utilizing his I'lle Studios, Afefe has been afforded the sound palette of the Yoruba sound. Hailing from the ancient island of Manda, near Lamu Town off Kenya's coast. Afefe Iku completed his debut album project for Yoruba Records, released in early 2007. This is, Mirror Dance.

[mantras-in-motion-blog]

14 Days...

At aged 80, the legendary Ebo Taylor is still bopping about the music world. He is quite possibly one of the funkiest guys around and has been a prominent figure of Ghanaian music for over 6 decades. Taylor was a great friend of Fela Kuti whom he collaborated with and received great advice from. It was Fela that told him to move away from strictly jazz and do his own thing. This result is a mix of traditional Ghanaian music, afro beat, jazz and funk. This track is taken from his first international album, Love and Death.

[mantras-in-motion-blog]

Fela Kuti was a pioneer for Afrobeat, a charismatic human rights activist and political maverick. His music displays a combination of funk, jazz, salsa, calypso and traditional Nigerian music. His rebellious lyrics echoed his views on the greed and corruption present in politics. He was inspired by Malcolm X and the Black Power movement of the 1960s and later formed his own political party – MOP (Movement of the People). He also ran for president of Nigeria, twice.

Fela Kuti has had a documentary made about him and a Broadway show.

In 1978 Fela married 27 women all on the same day… He later divorced them all.

He released over 20 albums during his music career so there’s a lot to explore but I think this track has to be one of my favourites… Water No Get Enemy.

[mantras-in-motion-blog]

16 Days…

I didn’t manage to do a post yesterday… too many pancakes! So I will make up for it today with a special Moroccan treat… thanks to Mo The Navigator from Viveylate for these.

The first delicacy to feast your ears upon is ‘L’étoile au Sahara’ by Samarabalouf. Samarabalouf are a gypsy band who are actually from France but I had to make an exception for this one after assuming it had to be from North Africa… It’s beautiful.

The next two are from Moroccan multi-instrumentalist, composer and teacher, Majid Bekkas. He has been the co-director of the Jazz au Chellah festival in Rabat since 1996 and has participated in many international pazz projects and festivals over the years.

He became familiar with the music of the desert from a young age and with the rhythms of the aqallal and roukba dances, a cross breeding of Arabo-Berber cultures and sub-saharan Africa. He is a particular fan of merging traditional Gnaoui music and Afro-American blues, as can be heard in his music…

And here are some stunning photos taken by Mo taken during his adventures around Morocco...

[mantras-in-motion-blog]

18 Days…

 Today I’ve chosen music given to us by the Traditional Music Channel… We have a whole hour of African Zulu Voices… so relaxing! And one hour of Burundi Drumming…awesome!

[mantras-in-motion-blog]

19 Days...

A Sunday chill session from Ali Farka Touré and Toumani Diabaté. Touré was a multi-instrumentalist and singer from Timbuktu, Mali. He was one of Africa’s most internationally renowned musicians. He was given the nickname “Farka” which means “donkey” – an animal admired for its tenacity and stubbornness. It is custom in Africa to give a child a strange nickname if you have had other children that have died. He was the 10th son of his Mother but the only one to survive past infancy.

In 2005 Touré released an album with Toumani Diabaté called In the Heart of the Moon. This is a track from that album, performed live in Brussels the year before he died. He has the warmest smile! Touré plays the guitar here, whilst Diabaté  plays the Kora – a West African 21-stringed harp.

[mantras-in-motion-blog]

20 Days…

A classic cartoon to go with your Saturday morning cereal! The Lion King is the only Disney film to be translated into an African language other than Arabic. This is Scar’s Be Prepared in Zulu… it fits so well! Listen out for the *clicks* in the language.

[mantras-in-motion-blog]

21 Days...

HAPPY FRIDAY!! Sometimes referred to as “The Songbird of the Wassoulou”, this is Oumou Sanagé. She is a Malian Wassoulou musician, a place where the music descends from age-old traditional song. By the age of 5, Oumou was already well known for her talents as she sang to help her Mothe feed their family. By the age of 16, she was on tour with percussion group, Djoliba. This is one of her many pieces of music - Wele Wele Wintou, which means something like ring the bells!

Don’t forget to donate to Love Support Unite or buy love specs and other gifts here…

https://lovesupportunite.org/about-us/our-vision/

http://lovespecs.org/shop.html

[mantras-in-motion-blog]

22 Days...

“The numerous relocations, all the travel, and the global adaptability this entailed – all these things strongly influenced me. Yet I feel no sense of displacement or inner conflict. On the contrary, it is all these stages of a journey, all the impressions and experiences en route, which together, form a sum that is greater than its parts – a greater whole – the sum of me, my totality.”…

Strong words from Y’akoto when she was questioned about her nomadic lifestyle. She is half Ghanaian, half German, grew up in Ghana, Cameroon and Chad and now resides between Hamburg, Lomé and Paris. A restless wanderer that has no plans to stop – I know a fair few wonderful people that feel exactly the same way!

This is “Tamba” taken from her debut album Babyblues. You can definitely hear the Badu influence in her music…

[mantras-in-motion-blog]

23 Days... Released in 1978 this is ‘Amida’ taken from the album I Can’t Understand You, written and performed by Zambian musician, Nike Nyoni. A smooth groove addressed to a beautiful girl, urging her to stay out of trouble and protect herself from vultures! 

[mantras-in-motion-blog]

24 days...

I LOVE this one!

Paris' Heavenly Sweetness label is rightly proud of this 30th volume in the Ethiopiques series. It's a cross-generational collaboration between legendary Ethiopian singer and keyboardist Girma Bèyènè - best known for his jazz work in the late 1960s - and contemporary Parisian band Akalé Wubé. Given that the latter is dedicated to creating music inspired by Ethiopian music of the '60s and '70s, it's little surprise to find that the album, Mistakes On Purpose is a hugely enjoyable and authentic-sounding set (think funk, soul and jazz with an East African twist). Taken from the album, this is ‘Muziqawi Silt’

Don’t forget that all this music is to raise awareness for Love Support Unite!  Get your love specs, kaleidoscopes and other beautiful items here... http://lovespecs.org/shop.html 100% of the profit goes directly to the people of Malawi. Thank you for your support xxx 

[mantras-in-motion-blog]

25 days...

Marijata on a Monday… 

Marijata was a Ghanaian group of three members, Addison 'Electric' Kofi on guitar, Bob Fischian on the organ and Nat Osmanu also on guitar. Marijata were, "attempting to bring some freshness and the return of Raw Funk" in their recordings. Their first LP: "This is Marijata", on the Gapophone label, is pure Funk Rawest Africa. Gapophone Records was a label founded by a young producer, Mr. George Appiah Prah, after his return from London where he lived for a period. Marijata has only two LPs on Gapophone but both stand essential for any collector of vinyl Afro Funk.The name Marijata is a homage to the founder of the Mali Empire – Mari Djata. They chose the name because it represented the groups’ Pan-African consciousness and veneration of the achievements of Africa’s past.Taken from their 1976 album ‘This is Marijata’ this is ‘I Walk Alone’. 

[mantras-in-motion-blog]

26 days...

The amazing Bako Dagnon was a griot singer from Mali - West Africa. A griot is a storyteller, praise singer, poet and/or a musician. Franic Beby writes about the griot in his book African Music, A People’s Art, “The griot knows everything that is going on… He is a living archive of the people’s traditions… The virtuoso talents of the griots command universal admiration.”

In 2009 Dagnon was made a knight of the National Order of Mali – the highest honor one can achieve. The order was set up in 1963 to celebrate Mali’s independence from decades of French colonization. 

Taken from her 2007 album Titati, this is ‘Salimou’.