Wednesday, 17 December 2014

African Gems - World Music Album of the Year 2014

If you are going to treat yourself to just one 'World Music' LP with your Christmas money this year, I would wholeheartedly recommend 'African Gems' on SWP Records. This isn't Jit-Jive, nor Afro-Beat or even Saharan Desert Blues. 'African Gems' is a compilation of field recordings made in Uganda, Congo, D.R. Congo, Chad and Cameroun between 1965-1984, where droning horns, polymetric xylophones and percussive soda bottles jostle for your attention. It's an extraordinary set of recordings, occasionally verging on the avant-garde while simultaneously remaining hypnotic and accessible.

Here's a 7½ minute sample, containing brief excerpts from a few of the tracks. Find out more about this remarkable LP here.

Posted by at
Labels: , , ,

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Quite extraordinary. Will bookmark that for future reference.

17 December 2014 at 21:55

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)

Greatest Hits

  • Friday Photo(s) #79
    Last week I took a bus over to the town I work in and walked home along country footpaths. I've done the jaunt before, more than once, b...
  • 57 Not Out
    Somehow, don't ask me exactly how it happened, I seem to have reached the grand old age of 57. Last time I checked, I could've sw...
  • The Listening Project - January
    By way of a New Year's Resolution, a friend of mine pledged to read four books per month throughout the coming year. Another has set ...
  • Monday Long Song
    Released 53 years ago today, 'Faust IV' was, remarkably, the band's third LP of 1973. I (along with many of my age group I suspe...
  • Friday Photo #78
    Yesterday evening saw the final ever Late Show with Stephen Colbert, following its cancellation by the CBS network. Colbert's tenure end...