Tidiane Thiam :: Africa Yontii

in , , , , ,

Not everyone in my life gets my many musical obsessions.

I grew up in Phoenix, which means that I didn’t have a whole lot of cultural options, but Bob Corritore and the Blues was always a constant in my life. I remember sometimes thinking: “How can this guy play five hours of Blues every week and not get tired of it?”

Years ago, I also knew someone that hosted a regular Reggae radio show that was 3-hours each week and I remember thinking: “How can this guy play five hours of Blues every week and not get tired of it?”

And here I am having professed my love for Tuareg guitar music and music from the Sahel region in general recommending yet another album. I could easily play five ours of Tuareg music, and no, it’s doesn’t all sound the same. In addition to the newest album album by Etran De L'Aïr :: 100% Sahara Guitar, the fabulous Sahel Sounds label recently put out the newest album from Tidiane Thiam :: Africa Yontii.

This one is laid-back.

Relaxing.

Meditative yet driving.

Exquisite interplay. With overlapping melodies.

Enjoy.

Watch “Yewende”:

Etran De L'Aïr - 100% Sahara Guitar Gets The Video Treatment

in , , , , ,

By now you’re familiar with my love of Tuareg guitar music and music from the Sahel region in general. One of my favorite labels, Sahel Sounds, is releasing the newest album by one of my favorite acts, Etran De L'Aïr.

Entitled 100% Sahara Guitar, the album will be out next month. To celebrate, the band has released a video for one of their live staples, “Imouha.” Filmed on a green screen at Vancouver BC's Shoreline Studios Vancouver BC by Christopher Kirkley with additional footage courtesy of Abdou Hamani (Discothèque Ambiance de Tchiro), the song is a great teaser for the full album.

Enjoy.

  • Purchase 100% Sahara Guitar, Etran De L'Aïr at Bandcamp

  • Visit Etran De L'Aïr’s artist page at the Sahel Sounds website

  • Follow Sahel Sounds at Facebook

  • Follow Sahel Sounds at Twitter

  • Follow Sahel Sounds at Youtube

  • Support Sahel Sounds at Bandcamp

  • Browse “Sahel Sounds” at Amazon

Khaira Arby Live For the Tiny Desk

in , , , , , ,
khairaarby853_wide-6c0e24cc121cbb02cda660b8b0da4cfb002772e3.jpeg

I’ve been listening to the new live Khaira Arby album and I’ll tell you what: I’m a fan.

So here’s her 2011 Tiny Desk set for NPR.

If you’re not yet familiar with her, Khaira Arby is something known as “The Nightingale of Timbuktu,” while NPR calls her “the queen of desert rock.” Whatever you call her, her musical influence cannot be denied.

According to Wikipedia, “She began singing at a young age for weddings and traditional festivals, and at the age of eleven, began singing in a musical troupe from the city of Timbuktu.” Even after facing family pressure from her father and husband to abandon music, Arby persisted. And we are thankful.

Setlist:

  1. Salou

  2. Cinquantenaire

  3. Goumou

Giant Sand, Live at Mad Dog Studios/The Atlantic Session (01/30/90)

in , , , , , , ,
R-12505948-1536611502-6236.jpeg.jpg

I don’t know if it’s still around, but when we lived in KY (roughly 2002-2005), I was part of The Sandman Series. This was a CDR series of bootlegs organized by Jim Blackman and Howe Gelb. Basically, the way it worked was that CDRs were sent out to “seeders.” I was a seeder. The seeders committed to recording and mailing the CDRs to a certain number of people (I think it was around 10 but I really don’t remember). I seeded several different discs, but the one I still return to most was called The Atlantic Session.

The core group (at that time) of Howe Gelb, John Convertino and Joey Burns recorded this set as a demo for Atlantic Records at Mad Dog Studios in CA. It was never officially released until the Sandman Series helped bring it to the light of day. As the name suggests, this is a studio recording. The band is tight and the tunes are bitchin.

The set is available at the fantastic Archive.org.

Dive right in.

  • Visit Giant Sand/Howe Gelb’s official website.

  • Follow Giant Sand at Facebook.

  • Follow Howe Gelb at Facebook.

  • Visit the Archive.org page for the show.

  • Browse all posts marked “Giant Sand” here at Holiday at the Sea.

  • Purchase Giant Sand music at Amazon.