mark ernestus presents jeri-jeris swingingly masterful style of mbalax b/w hypnotic, stripped dub

gawlo is a rolling, resplendent tribute to griot life ù gawlo is fula for griot ù spear-headed by none other than baaba maal. superbly expressive interjections by a trio of talking drums are especially lucid on the instrumental version. on the flip, lignou mome is an exhilarating straight-no-chaser of galloping drums, bad-minded bass and layered guitar, before ndeye gueye wraps up proceedings with a third instrumental, propelled by terse, hypnotic figures on guitar and marimba synth. with the drum-kit unattended, octogenarian legend doudou ndiaye rose features on lead sabar.

the opener is a traditional jola rhythm, typically fast and energetic, with tuned, talking and kit drums swarming over a kind of skeletal downhome guitar, somewhere between blues and disco. the mboup brothers make a soaring, impassioned plea for an end to division and bloodshed in their casamance homeland. then a more deeply dug-in, spaced-out funk, edgily spun from a serer rhythm, underpinning mbenes reflective song about parental sacrifice. sama yaye, my mother. both with full instrumental versions.

support: hell, ordle meikle (slam), joris voorn, michel cleis, brendon moeller, ed davenport,milton jackson, chris lattner, d julz!! frenchmen alexkid and rodriguez jnr, both respected producers in their own right, have collaborated on a new release for nrk, out this week on 12inch vinyl.

11th issue of the slow grind fever series from stag-o-lee.

in the 1970s the american composer henry flynt started a series of pieces under the title >new american ethnic music<. in so doing he worked together native styles of music such as blues, country or hillbilly with electronic production methods to make something altogether new. so far in germany it has never been attempted to rework folklore electronically for a compilation. however, this picture changes if one redefines the idea of who the population is. incomers have brought new >national anthems< to germany, which means - even the portuguese fado, the african gnawa, the croatian klapa or the vietnamese quan ho are these days at home in germany. with the cultural project >heimatlieder aus deutschland< (native songs from germany) founded by former spex editor mark terkessidis and label manager jochen kühling all the various styles of traditional folk music now found in germany has been collected. thirteen of the songs recorded for the project have now been transformed by contemporary electronic producers to present a >new german ethnic music<. but why remixes? for one thing electronic music has recently focused a lot on the past (ghost music, hypnagogic pop etc.) – electronic editing is well suited to follow the effects of the immigrant music which the >imaginary national anthems< has created. furthermore the projects instigators were curious how >electronic musicians< would handle folk music and folk songs which is a hugely difficult task. to this end artists were sought out who could get along with the idea of each music style and who are known to already have experimented with the human voice. the results are as varied as the music styles and djs involved. some melodies remain completely intact while others are abstracted beyond recognition. margaret dygas associative approach ensured that she presents a polish song about a girls arranged marriage with a claustrophobic feeling. with his remix of the marrabenta of mozambique mark ernestus has continued the rhythmic experiments he is known for with jeri jeri. thomas mahmoud translated gnawa into dub and finaly ulrich schnauss turned the song of the italian chorus of >donni so< into a hymn for the horizon-expanding power of migration.hopefully this compilation will also expand some horizons.

the essential classic jazz voices.stacey kent, carol welman,jamie cullum, mishka adams,ranee lee,hilary koleenrique marcos..