Afropop Worldwide’s 2009 Stocking Stuffers program covers some 35 amazing CD releases from the past year. And as promised, we now present picks of our favorites in four categories: African CDs, Latin CDs, Reissue Compilations, and “Africa in America.” Check out our picks and then send us yours! One lucky voter will win 5 top CDs from 2009. Send up to five votes (artist, album, and label) to info@afropop.org. Use the subject line “Best of 2009.”
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TOP 10 AFRICAN LIST
Béla Fleck: Throw Down Your Heart: Tale From The Acoustic Planet, Vol. 3 - Africa Sessions (Rounder)The world’s most adventurous banjo player makes music with a dazzling range of players and singers from many parts of Africa. It’s a feast! And it may take you several sittings to absorb it, there is so much there, from Mali to Uganda and Tanzania, to Gambia, Madagascar and South Africa. Equally good is the DVD film by the same name.
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Justin Adams & Juldeh Camara: Tell no Lies (Real World)
State-of-the-art desert rock and blues from British guitarist and producer Justin Adams and the coolest one-string fiddler around, Gambia
Khaled: Liberté (Universal/Wrasse)
The “King of Rai” goes back to basics with a rich, live-in-the-studio session that shifts between improvised vocal and instrumental introductions, orchestral swell and hard-hitting rai grooves. Khaled’s elemental voice and super-tight band shine throughout as they revisit hits from the distant past and forge new ground as well.
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K'Naan: Troubadour (A&M Octone)
This Somali rapper has set a new standard for African hip-hop. His tough lyrics earn this release a Parental Advisory, but they are smart, funny and provocative. His use of samples from classic reggae and Ethiopian 70s pop are a nice roots touch on this otherwise very slick production. (This just in, K’Naan’s song from this CD, “Wavin' Flag,” was just selected as the 2010 FIFA World Cup anthem!)
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Mohammed Ilyas with the Nyota Zameremeta Orchestra of
Mohamed Ilyas has been called “the voice of
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Oumou Sangaré: Seya (World Circuit/Nonesuch)
After a 6-year hiatus, the grand diva of Malian wassoulou music outdoes herself here. The songs on Seya are deliciously complex, both musically and lyrically. Some 50 musicians participate as Oumou delves deeply into personal and social themes in songs that are strongly traditional even as they shimmer with modern touches. Oumou nightingale voice has never sounded better.
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Staff Benda Bilili: Très Très Fort (Crammed Discs)
This group of disabled street musicians cut their teeth playing near the zoological gardens in
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Tinariwen: Imidiwan: Companions (
The latest from these Tuareg rockers of the
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The Very Best: Warm Heart of Africa (Green Owl)
This “Afropop 2.0” release showcases Malawian singer-songwriter Esau Mwamwaya as processed and beat-mixed by Johan Karlberg (Sweden) and Etienne Tron (France). The beats are light and joyful, the melodies celebratory, and the vibe a new take on ancient-meets-modern. A guest spot from Vampire Weekend lead vocalist Ezra Koenig is a nice touch.
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Vieux Farka Touré: Fondo (Six Degrees)
The prodigal son of the late Ali Farka Touré comes into his own on his second release. There is a more focused band sound here than on his impressively diverse debut. Young Touré proves himself a robust rocker here, offering enough florid guitar breaks to satisfy the Bonnaroo crowd.
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TOP-10 LATIN LIST
Thanks to Louis Head of our affiliate KUNM in Albuquerque, and also Marlon Bishop and Victor Marin for help with this list.
Alex Cuba: Agua del Pozo (Caracol Records)
An unclassifiable blend of son, latin rock, acoustic funk, acid jazz and reggae. The real payoff is the “in-betweens” within the broad sound collage Cuba creates. Cuba’s silken voice is the perfect vehicle for his reflections on love—whether you’re enjoying it or suffering from it.
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Bomba Estereo: Blow Up! (Nacional Records)
Electro tropical... con mucho sabor! The new cumbia sounds out of Colombia! This CD is so full of great music that you should get two copies because you will wear out the first!
Eva Ayllón, Kimba Fa (Times Square Records)
Ayllón, with her gutsy voice and Tina Turner persona, brings thrilling verve to the deep, reflective Afro-Peruvian genre for which she is best known. On her first CD in five years, she takes liberties adding in piano, and sometimes a brass section, as well as jazz harmony and ideas from other Afro Latin styles. Ayllón is big enough to get away with just about anything. Within these wide-ranging 17 tracks, she even indulges her affection for the folksy Creole music that was the dominant sound
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Forro In The Dark: Light A Candle. (Nablu Records, NGM 003)
This New York-based crossover band draws on the rich folklore of Northeast Brazil, like the fleet, bracing rhythmic melodies of the pifano flute. At the same time, this is a plausible rock act. Very creative stuff!
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Omara Portuondo: Gracias (World Circuit/Nonesuch)
Career-capping work from one of the great ladies of Cuban music, and a veteran of the legendary Buena Vista Social Club. Portuondo is 79, but she has a voice any singer 40 years her junior would envy. Here, backed by the best, she revisits songs from her 60 years in the business.
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PALO!: This Is Afro-Cuban Funk (Rolling Pin Music)
Funky Yoruba timba mix out of south Florida from Leslie Cartaya and Steve Roitstein. An of-the-moment surprise to warm the hearts and move the feet of listener.
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Puerto Plata: Casita De Campo (IASO Records)
Dominican sonero Puerto Plata turned 86 this year, and his gift to us is this set of dance songs and ballads that he composed during the brutal regime of dictator Rafael Trujillo.
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Rubén Blades: Cantares del Subdesarrollo (Ruben Blades Productions)
Blades brings us with this marvelous homage to the Cuban son as well as to Puerto Rican greats Ismael Rivera, Tite Curet Alonso and Ray Barretto. Blades is first and foremost a songwriter, and here he tells urban stories from the Global South about love and longing, manhood and the great quest to overcome centuries of oppression and poverty.
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Orlando "Puntilla" Rios y el Conjunto Todo Rumbero: A Tribute To Gonzalo Asencio: Tio Tom 1919-1991 (Smithsonian Folkways)
The late Orlando "Puntilla" Ríos was one of Cuba's greatest gifts to the world and to New York, where he arrived to put vitality into the rumba scene and countless Neoyorican hand percussionists. His tribute to legendary Cuban rumbero Gonzalo "Tio Tom" Asencio is an essential addition to the collection of any lover of Afrocuban rumba.
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Various Artists. ZZK Sound, Vol.2 (Nacional Records)
Named (bizarrely) after Slovenian Marxist philosopher Slajov Zizek, ZZK is a collective of groundbreaking DJs and producers from Buenos Aires, Argentina. Their sound is cumbia digital, a collision of lo-fi cumbia villera from the slums of Buenos Aires with the city's rich electronic dance music culture. With their second compilation, ZZK continues to deliver weird and wonderful cumbias for the 21st century.
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TOP-5 REISSUE COMPILATIONS
Franco & Le TPOK Jazz: FRANCOphonic, Vol.2 (Stern’s/Cantos)
Part 2 of the definitive retrospective on the grand master of Congolese music focuses on Franco’s late period, the 1980s. As with Volume 1, great photos and notes, and song after song, the force and uplift of one of the top dance bands ever.
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Various artists: Ghana Special, Modern Highlife, Afro-sounds, & Ghanaian Blues 1968-81 (SoundWay)
These little known tracks from Ghana’s golden age are priceless. In two, jam-packed CDs—33 tracks—there isn’t a single miss. Quircky, funky, soulful and fun, this is a must for highlife and West African funk fans. Book-length notes and fabulous pictures a plus.
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Various artists: Legends of Benin (Analog Africa)
Another A+ compilation from Analog Africa, revealing the rich and under-recognized world of Benin’s urban music in the 70s. From the African salsa of singer Gnonnas Pedro to the funkified roots adaptations of bands like Orchestre Poly-Rythmo de Contonou, this set is a revelation, beautifully documented with period photos and lovingly detailed notes. Equally good is Analog Africa’s companion release from Poly-Rythmo, “The Vodoun Effect” 1972-1975.
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Various Artists: Tumbélé! Biguine, Afro & Latin Sounds - French
These golden oldies deliver the buoyant, sensuous cadence of the Antillean dance music from the 60s. Biguine blends with calypso and the roots of zouk. The arrangements are inventive and playful. The music is pure delight, and again, admirably well documented.
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Various Artists: 1970s Algerian Proto-Rai Underground (Sublime Frequencies)
A fascinating glimpse at the roots of ’s taboo-breaking rai genre. The notes point out that these recordings reveal a “crucial and defining period” that has been “criminally ignored” by rai historians. The mood is deep and intense as we feel the tension and excitement of a society facing dramatic change.
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