Amid chaos, world music still rocks
Riding high at the top of this month’s Transglobal World Music Chart is the Isreali-Persian singer, songwriter and social activist Liraz Charhi.
Her new album, Zan, which means “women” in Farsi, was released last November. Given the dire situation for the entertainment industry, it seems appropriate that this album was crafted secretly through collaborations with musicians in Iran. The album is a mix of traditional beats with rock and jazz, and features Liraz’s superb voice.
The chart features a number of politically charged albums, from the Kronos Quartet’s celebration (with lots of collaborators) of Pete Seeger’s songs and music to the “in your face” political rap and songs of Nigeria’s Bantu with their searing release Everybody Get Agenda and Leyla McCalla’s musical tribute to the late African-American poet Langston Hughes. The latter album was actually released in 2013 and was later picked up by Smithsonian Folkways and given a proper release late last year. It’s a terrific album that also not only has words set to McCalla’s music but also snatches of Haitian music and Kreyol (creole) — simply and beautifully presented.
But the band that really caught my attention was the Star Feminine Band from Benin (long-time readers know my weakness for music from Benin, especially from one of my favourite African bands, Orchestra Poly-Ritmo de Cotonou). In 2016, the seven founding members, all girls of secondary school age, of the band met at a musical training camp; they were aged from 10 to 16. They learnt the basics of several African pop styles such as highlife and Congolese rumba, decided to use three drummers and supported by their teacher began to create their raw, energetic music and release it first locally, then on the international circuit. Worth it just to hear their melancholic Femme Africaine or the upbeat, and uplifting call for unity on the song Iseo. Joyous music indeed.
During the long days of what was left of the festive season, I have been tucking into a comprehensive 4-CD set on Ghana’s influential, pioneering musician, composer and bandleader E.T. Mensah, RetroAfric’s monumental E.T. Mensah & The Tempos – King Of Highlife Anthology. RetroAfric is a brilliant tribute to one of Africa’s biggest stars. Here’s what the blurb says on the back of this essential collection: “E.T. Mensah is the founding father of dance band Highlife, the first pan-African pop music, which is the basis for contemporary genres like Afrobeats, Afropop, hiplife and a seminal influence on Congo rumba, soukous, mbalax and the original Afrobeat. During the 1950s and 60s E.T. Mensah and the Tempos re-Africanised American swing, blending it with Caribbean melodies, Latin rhythms and indigenous elements from the musically rich culture of Ghana (Gold Coast). Highlife spread like a bushfire across Africa and beyond. If you enjoyed Soundway’s wonderful 2015 compilation Highlife on the Move, this one is for you.”
Liraz Charhi’s Zan.
A number of music films and TV series are currently in the cinemas and on the small screen and are worth looking out for: the animation film Soul, a story about jazz and life from Disney/Pixar which is currently in local cinemas; a Hollywood biopic on the life of jazz great, Ma Rainey, and a recording session set in 1927 at the start of the record industry, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom; and Lover’s Rock, a TV series by Oscar-winning UK director Steve McQueen on the late 1970s/early 1980s reggae scene in London (especially South London), which led to the creation of the only reggae sub-genre created in the UK — lover’s rock. I was living and teaching in Brixton, a centre for British people of Caribbean ancestry, and the music scene then was very lively indeed.
The key theme song of McQueen’s is one of the hits of the time, Janet Kay’s Silly Games, but for me, the best song of this era was Carol Thompson’s sultry Hopelessly In Love. I went to some of those “blues” parties, organised by my students, and saw the two main styles being played by DJs — heavy, rootsy dub music with its booming bass lines, which all the guys enjoyed, and lover’s rock, which was a blend of early reggae and US soul music and was preferred by the ladies at the parties. Interestingly, the series looks at the Afro-Caribbean experience in London and is available to stream.
Transglobal World Music Chart:January 2021
1. Liraz · Zan · Glitterbeat (9)
2. Wowakin · Wiazanka · Baba Studio (13)
3. Kronos Quartet · Long Time Passing: Kronos Quartet & Friends Celebrate Pete Seeger · Smithsonian Folkways Recordings (1)
4. Derya Türkan & Sokratis Sinopoulos · Soundplaces · Seyir Muzik (10)
5. Elida Almeida · Gerasonobu · Lusafrica (20)
6. The Rheingans Sisters · Receiver · Bendigedig (2)
7. Afel Bocoum · Lindé · World Circuit (3)
8. Star Feminine Band · Star Feminine Band · Born Bad (17)
9. Coco’s Lunch · Misra Chappu · Coco’s Lunch (-)
10. Songhoy Blues · Optimisme · Transgressive / Fat Possum (36)
11. Zedashe · Silver Sanctuary · Electric Cowbell (32)
12. Bantu · Everybody Get Agenda · Soledad Productions (5)
13. Sofia Labropoulou · Sisyphus · Odradek (-)
14. Tara Fuki · Motyle · Indies Scope (-)
15. Eliseo Parra · Cantar Y Batir · Dalamix (-)
16. A.G.A. Trio · Meeting · Naxos World (8)
17. Djely Tapa · Barokan · Label 440 / Disques Nuits d’Afrique / DT Productions (14)
18. Sutari · River Sisters · AAUU (-)
19. Nakany Kante · De Conakry A Barcelone · Kasba Music (26)
20. Leyla McCalla · Vari-Colored Songs: A Tribute To Langston Hughes · Smithsonian Folkways Recordings (18)
