Around the World In 80 Posts

[Bulldog]

Around the World In 80 Posts

Well, it may or may not turn out to be that long. Anyway, apart from showing off my image-posting skills, what's the point of this thread?

There are a few sides to this really. Firstly, this last few weeks I haven't really been feeling as good about getting new music as I should be, so it occurred to me that there isn't really a much more exciting and reinvigorating way of hunting for new music than looking for it in areas you're totally unfamiliar with. In this case, for me, this is the big wide world that exists outside of the Anglosphere.

Secondly, there's plenty of music that ranges from truly fantastic to noteworthy which wasn't spawned in the UK, Ireland, US, Australia, New Zealand or Canada, as this thread should end up proving.

Thirdly, I need something to do when I don't really feel like contributing anywhere else on the boards, and as a kinda side-project from mine and Zarko's thread here.

And fourthly, this is more or less guaranteed to keep me busy around here for a while, which is always a good thing.

Because of the fact that a lot of these albums are gonna be pretty obscure and, therefore, I don't exactly know a lot about them, all these reviews will be quite short - in the sort of one or two paragraphs area. There'll be two of these per every post I make here, those being a fairly brief little look at each album. Most of these'll be from the pre-2000s, just so reviews don't conflict with mine and Zarko's thread that's already in this forum. Needless to say, if anyone here has any such albums they'd like to share with the MB populus, feel free to share them here as well. As I say, reviews don't have to be anything spectacular.

I'm out tonight, and I'll probably be too busy working on various uni-related crap tomorrow, so the first few reviews'll probably go up at the weekend. Just thought I'd get this out in the open here and now.

So, yeah, stay tuned!

[Schizotypic]

Great thread, can't wait to start checking the stuff you post. Between this Conan's Indian Music Journal I should be getting a tad more into world music then I have been. Looking forward to this.

[someonecompletelyrandom]

Looking forward to this! It's funny, I was thinking about making one like this but made another instead.

[Bulldog]

Originally Posted by Conan

Looking forward to this! It's funny, I was thinking about making one like this but made another instead.

I promise I haven't ripped your journal off here

As it happens, indigenous Indian music is an area I'm very thin on the ground with myself. I've got a lot more of Latin American, Carribbean, mainland European and African musicks than a lot else, but nonetheless I'll be trying to keep the scope of this thread as evenly-spread as possible, one way or the other.

Either way, as I say, it'll keep me occupied for a bit, which is never a bad thing eh.

I'm a bit tipsy of cheap wine at the minute, and therefore in no state to think about music in an analytical sense, so keep an eye on this thread over the next few days!

[Bulldog]

About time I got this off the ground. Plus, I'm still trying to think of a good album to review for mine and Zarko's thread here (so don't think for a moment that I've forgotten about it) - that one'll be going up after I get back from uni tomorrow evening, maybe even tonight if I get bored enough. Anyway, in the mean time...

Slovakia

Ján Boleslav Kladivo - Nahá (1995)

This is a very difficult album to describe for a number of reasons. 1 - I don't speak Slovak (not sure if you sussed that one by now) and 2 - it's just one of those albums that's pretty hard to sum up without going into a really long review about it, which isn't really the idea I had for this thread. Oh, and 3 - there's nothing of this guy to be seen on youtube, which makes this slightly more difficult. Nevertheless, I'll do my best!

Kladivo here easily ranks with me as one of the most fascinating singer-songwriters in all of Europe because of the eerily unique sound that he has and the cold, wintry soundscapes they make. Part of this is down to his strange, off-kilter vocal, which is odd as it's kind of throaty and deadpan at the same time. Even if the lyrics are quite literally Slovak to me, it really is something to be admired. All that wouldn't really amount to much if it weren't for the great musical backings that he supplies him here. I guess alternative folk would be the most appropriate thing to call it, mainly for how you'd think you're listening to a simple, melodic little ditty with, say, a repetitive (lone) trumpet figure to punctuate it before an electric guitar riff, so out of place yet so effective, just kinda jumps out of the mix at you.

It's an album that starts to truly unravel its appeal as a unit after two or three listens, and a thoroughly rewarding one - something that needs to be heard to be believed somewhat. It varies from some truly memorable, melodic little folk rockers with the said alternative/avante-garde twists of synth, skewiff basslines and so forth to slightly more stripped-down, pensive and quieter moments. Highly recommended, though not exactly what I'd call the most accessible thing I've ever heard.
The best bits: Mariena, Klop Na Bránu, Budem Tu

Indonesia

Sore - Centralismo (2005)

This, on the other hand, is! Goes without saying that I don't mean that in a disparaging way at all. To say that Sore (pronounced as it looks, I think - means 'late afternoon' in Indonesian) are a Jakarta-based indie band would probably give the wrong impression about them as well. While, as I say, their sound is hardly the most difficult you'll ever come across, and they therefore won't challenge you in the way that the above effort from Mr. Kladivo does, it'd be unfair to just cop a glimpse of the word indie and draw up instant comparisons with a lot of the stuff we associate the word with this side of the year 2000. While it's true to say that they share a lot in common with the more bearable side of modern indie, there's slightly more to them than meets the eye, as the below video may or may not suggest.

At least that's what I get from them. I mean, don't take my word for gospel or anything because, at the end of the day, these are just the opionated ramblings of some over-enthusiastic English gent. They're definitely a very melodic outfit, and that whole part of the equation does play a massive role in their sound, but there's a lot more light jazz thrown into the proceedings than a lot of modern indie that I've heard. At least in areas anyway - there are patches on this album which do sound a lot more conventional, and even a couple of rockers sung (convincingly as well) in English. There are quiet moments, soulful ones, hard-hitters, alternating lead vocalists - all pretty cool stuff really.

Think of a cross between the Beatles, Aztec Camera and Steely Dan, the South Pacific and modern production techniques and you're half-way there. All in all, a very good and much more light-hearted affair than the above Kladivo album.
The best bits: Aku, Keangkuhanku, Lihat

Links are up for grabs if you want them. I may or may not get round to throwing a mixtape or two together at some point too.

[Caleb48kb]

this is great! if i was king i would sticky!! i'm gonna keep an eye on this. great stuff, really

[Urban Hat€monger ?]

I tried doing this a while ago, did quite well too.

If you want some Inuit hip hop from Greenland give me a shout

[Burning Down]

This is a great idea!

[Bulldog]

Thanks guys There'll be more on the way later this week - I owe Zarko's thread a review which I kinda forgot about yesterday, so that takes priority for now.

Originally Posted by Urban Hatemonger

If you want some Inuit hip hop from Greenland give me a shout

Funny you should mention that, being one of the first things I thought of and all I might actually have to take you up on that sometime, especially as most of the stuff I've got's from Latin/South America and Africa.

And, yeah, just noticed your pretty similar thread a moment or two a go. You should get it started up again - we can have a musical race around the world or something

[NumberNineDream]

Great idea indeed. No one can truly delve into music while sticking to the anglophone countries. Sometimes other countries' folk, can be considered as progressive or even experimental and avant-garde if compared to the music we usually listen to.

If you need some albums from the central Mediterranean part of the world, just give us a shout =P.