PalmTree Culture - Series 1 : Many Styles
This is the first in a series of Spotify playlists I've put together. The content is influenced by my personal listening, which ranges from folkloric drumming to salsa and samba to nu world club. Heavy on the Brazil and Carribean, but not to the exclusion of other palm-tree cultures. The first is a link to the entire playlist, and then personal notes for each song below.
Yes, you'll need Spotify, which is unfortunately only currently available in Europe.
PalmTree Culture - Issue 1 : Many Styles (Spotify URL for the entire playlist)
Milton Nascimento – Clube Da Esquina Nº 2
The theme song for my late night show 15 years ago (on college radio). The album is a heady trip into psychedelic Brazilian rock of the 60s-70s - and is the perfect setup for the kind of of musical selection I want to present - a Brazilian inflected "club on the corner."
Caetano Veloso – Irene - Remixed Original Album
Thanks to Santero for introducing me to this album years ago, even if I was familIar with Caetano before then. His "white album" is a welcome edgier entry amongst the mass of "soft Brazilian singer" albums he has put out over the years.
Curumin is something else.... Japanese-Brazilian, not so unusual in Brazil, but with a great out-of-the-Brazlian-box musical sensibility. His second album is even more sophisticated and mature, but since it's not available on Spotify - and since this song is such a great culture clash song - here ya go.
Nouvelle Vague – Confusion - Inédit
Ahhhh, There's much to be said about Nouvelle Vague - "Bossa Nova meets New Wave" - and I recommend all of their albums. This song is off of a special Air France mix, and features a great (and misleading) capoeira berimbau intro. A great song for any New Order + Brazil music lover. (Hmmmm - this song has been removed from the French Spotify site... Keeping it in this list in case it's available elsewhere..)
Cascabulho – Prosa De Rio E Oferenda De Siri
A random discovery, on an equally random but great mix of songs of the Seven Seas. Wow, who knew?
Mestre Suassuna and Dirceu – A Morte Do Capoeira
I've listened to my share of capoeira albums, and they tend all to be just a berimbau and slightly off-tune singers. Not that I dislike it, but I can imagine it gets tiring for others. This, however, is a well-rounded and musical album - this song mixes berimbau and guitar (in a song called "The Death of Capoeira"). More of this album to come - it's awesome.
Orchestre National de Barbès – Khati Hlima
A nod to Santero again to introducing me to ONB. Barbés is a neighborhood in northern Paris known for a high concentration of North Africans. ONB mixes reggae and protest ska with more "traditional" sounding maghrebian music. Here's a taste.
I've seen a lot of love for Novalima here in Paris. And for good reason. They do a great job of remaking Afro-Peruvian music for the club world.
I don't remember how I discovered Rene Lacaille. He's from Reunion, a French colony in the Indian Ocean - and their mix of influences reminds me of .. well, something very different yet very familiar. The rhythms give a sense of Haiti, the songs a sense of France, and the whole thing a sense of something else entirely.
Speaking of something else - whoa.... WHOA..... Music of the Garifuna, from Belize. Deep shit.
Ahhhh, yes. An original classic. And best in this form - check the heavy conga drumming at the beginning. All the orchestral reinterpretations to follow offered little in improvement. Nonetheless, watch for more variations on this theme.
Lorna Pierre Orchestra – Jungle Blues
A special treasure I discovered on Spotify - occasionally you'll run across something way random and cool, like Dirty Jazz from Down South. This is a great sample of 30s-40s jazz with a heavy Latin inflection.
Another random deep "crate digging" treasure available on Spotify - a series of classic recordings from Angola in the 60-70s. A pick at random - they are all good.
NACOBETA & PUTO PORTUGUÄS – MAMA KUDI
Oh, and this is what Angola sounds like in the 2000s. Kuduro - which is a homonym for "hard ass... not as in tough, but as in "lovely".
Perhaps an obvious choice, but any 6/8 hip-hop song is always a winner on my list - and this song has little to go against it.
Marcelo D2 – Desabafo / Deixa Eu Dizer
Moving to the club vibe here. The main hook is awesome. Marcelo D2 is someone to check out.
Taken from the the deep house Osunlade album Passage. Every now and then, you gotta appreciate the warmth that deep house can bring.
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