Manu Chao

Manu Chao is a great little find, he has been entertaining my head for a couple of months now.

He is a French Latin folk singer of French and Spanish (Basque/Galician) origin.  He moved to Paris as a very young child, when his parents decided to escape the dictatorship of Francisco Franco.

During the Eightie’s, Manu Chao experimented with a number of different genres of music, including punk and rockabilly, before starting his band Mano Negra with his brother Antoine and some friends. His “stage name” in Mano Negra was Oscar Tramor. Mano Negra played a combination of rock, punk, rockabilly, ska and Latin music, and became wildly popular in Europe and South America.

After the breakup of Mano Negra, Manu Chao began to perform as a solo artist. His music is even more experimental than that of Mano Negra, with an even heavier focus on Ska, Rai and Latin Music. He plays the guitar, and is usually accompanied by a band called Radio Bemba Sound System, which includes horns, keyboards and various world musical instruments.

Manu Chao’s lyrics touch on a variety of issues, from the mundane and even silly (“King of the Bongo”) to love, poverty and world politics. He sings in at least seven languages: French, Spanish, Portuguese, Galician, English, Arabic and Wolof, often in the same sound (you have to love compulsive over achievers).

Manu Chao is decidedly left-wing, politically, and is very critical of various governmental regimes around the world, including the Bush Administration.

From Youtube, Manu Chao – Welcome To Tijuana

Think Punk Afro Carribean with a really solid backing.

Recommended

Websites at www.manuchao.net/ and www.myspace.com/manuchao

El Witeri -The Mighty Red Eyes

This Melbourne Indie crew play smooth Reggae/dub. A big part of their sound includes the trumpet playing of Richard Burns and (Adam)A13 who plays samples and turntable. The dynamics will change with their departure to pursue other options. Meanwhile that still leaves James Orr on sax and Adrien Shaw on trumpet; so they still have a very fine brass lineup.

The rest of the ensemble are frontman El Witeri on vocals and occasionally guitar, Rohan Sherlock on bass, Steve Allingham on drums, King Charlie on guitar and Dan Marsh on keyboards. Together these guys make up a pretty hot team.

THE RED-EYES are led by fiery singer El Witeri who draws on his Maori heritage for inspiration. THE RED-EYES live show is nothing short of incendiary. The pressure builds with melodic slow-burners and sci-fi dub and erupts with fist-in-the-air militant reggae.

Find them on MySpace and they have some more samples on the band website. If they are playing in a state near you, go along and have a listen.

I stumbled over Clint Eastwood & General Saint a week or two back while looking for some old reggae music. A colleague I work with was complaining that all the new reggae music sounds like hip hop. I suspect she is looking in all the wrong place. But I digress.

Dancehall deejay Clint Eastwood first made a name for himself performing with deejay General Saint in Great Britain. Judging from the clip below they had a great live act. Sadly they chucked it in to pursue solo careers in the late Eighties.

Most off the music is fairly lightweight but there is this one killer track. “Another One Bites The Dust”, it is a serious piece of work, really interesting rhythmically and it has a killer chorus.

Here is a cilp from The Old Grey Whistle Test…

Their album has been re-released on Greensleeves, you can find them at www.greensleeves.net/

Recommended

Website at www.myspace.com/clinteastwoodgeneralsaint

Trust me, this guy knows how to write a song, killer melodies (that will haunt you), rhythms from Zimbabwe and the South African townships and some of the most dealy lyrics you will find. He uses bright and happy music to expose the social and political dilemmas and the darkness that confront the people of Zimbabwe. He isn’t the first and wont be the last but he is one of the best. In his lyrics there are metaphors and folk tales that powerful and meaningful messages that have helped address issues that far too often remain ignored or shielded from view. And just to top it off a great voice and guitar playing.

Here is an example, Ndakuvara…

There is a great track over at his Myspace site and a good selection of songs at LastFm, checkout “Neria”. Just heartbreakingly fantastic.

Highly Recommended

Websites at www.tukumusic.com/ and www.myspace.com/olivermtukudzi

Grand Analog have been classed as “rap ’n’ roll dub and soul”. It’s actually not a bad description. The band is fronted by Odario Williams. Members include Darcy Ataman, Damon Mitchell, Ofield Williams, Alister Johnson and Warren Bray.

The thing I like about them is the left of center take on urban music. Head over to www.myspace.com/grandanalog and have a listen to a couple of tracks, Start with “Around This Town“, there is a lot of music lying under the surface here. Bass lines and grooves that just keep pushing at the edges and the vocals and subject matter aren’t the usual fare. Usually with most of this style of music I just hit the next button, there is a just a sameness about it all that doesn’t keep my interest, but these guys have managed to survive a couple of months on the MP3 player.

“Back in the day, if Grand Analog had come out, we would have been tagged as some weird, alternative hip-hop thing and I’d be touring with Arrested Development. Now, especially with all the mash-ups, the mixing of rock and electro and punk bands that have DJs, it’s all acceptable and it’s perfect timing for us”

This is “I’ll Walk Alone” lots of yummy dub goodness…

Websites can be found at www.myspace.com/grandanalog and www.urbnet.com/grandanalog/

Blue King Brown are truly amazing. Their track “Water” has enough life and energy to solve Global Warming. This was the track they played at the Australia Day concert in Canberra and were far and away the best thing on the bill. I was truly blown away by the power and passion that these guys had on stage. Head over to their MySpace site at www.myspace.com/bluekingbrown
and have listen to them.

Fronted by Natalie Paapaa, the band has a strong afro-beat, reggae, world and Latin influence, but they really are quite distinctive.Originally a 5 piece, now ranging from a seven to nine piece band, they are known for their full force, high energy, live show.

In their short time on the touring circuit, BLUE KING BROWN have established themselves as a revered name in the Australian music scene and have amassed a solid national following. Their name can be found at nearly all the major festivals of late and are currently touring as support for “Cat Empire” and then the Santana tour through Australia. (I wish I had bought a ticket now)

B-Side Players from San Diego California have just snuck their way in under my radar with the soulful track Fire In The Youth a combination of syncopated salsa rhythms and Marley inspired Jamaican reggae vocals.

The music of the band’s frontman, and songwriter Karlos “Solrak” Paez explores diverse beats from many styles of music including funk, afrobeat, reggae roots and latin to mention just a few. The band is backed up by a fine percussion and horn sections.

Since 1994 this eight piece band have been playing their politically thoughtful and inspiring music. Their latest release is their first to be released on a major and is a great example of the cultural and musical endowment that these multicultural musicians can bring.

Highly recommended and hopefully the beautiful and uplifting music won’t be overlooked. Just a quick note from Billboard:

Who can throw down references to Emiliano Zapata, Victor Jara and Che Guevara on the opening track of an album and make it sound like a war cry for the most fun party of revolutionaries ever? Though the B-Side Players’ first release on Concord Records … is deadly serious about lifting up La Raza, the music is never secondary to the message.

Sunday Arts on the ABC occasionally has some amazing musicians doing a live track or two in the studio (a previous find was Kaki King back in April). This tme we got dance/reggae/funk outfit BOMBA joined by Ethiopian singing sensation and master of the traditional Masenko, Dareb Desalegn (who I will have to chase up another time).

“All Night Long” is just a killer exercise in groove, they nail the whole vibe perfectly. The guitars, bass and drums are perfect.

Some hype from their site…

BOMBA is renowned for their energetic live shows and passionate performances. The secret of BOMBAs success has always been their eclectic and righteous party blend of riddems, beats, dubs and funky soul! Bombas third album Learn To Breathe blends all these sounds with their impeccable reggae sensibilities and finds them poised to convert new fans not only in Australia, but overseas as well. If you’ve got thirsty ears and itchy feet come out and sample some of the most intense dance grooves, rich harmonies, powerful horns and soulful original material this side of the equator.

“Hold Your Ground” and “High Time” also recommended, and they are playing in Melbourne in August.

Roots, Rock, Reggae… I have always had a soft spot for reggae {note to self… find old Third World album and load it up on the MP3 player} and Chris Cavill does a nice job of it. Considering he was front man for punk-rock band “Marlow”, it’s obvious he is on the long strange trip. I can remember spending ages trying to figure out how to play reggae… I never did but it was a ball trying.

In 2006 he released his EP, ‘First Impressions’. You can have a listen to it at myspace, “This World” is the pick for me, good guitar melodies, traditional blues, reggae technique and strong vocals, lets face it what else do you need?

He’s back in Melbourne and ff you are over East Brunswick way on Sunday 3 June 2007, Chris is playing at the East Brunswick Club in Lygon Street.

Well worth the listen.