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Expression Sessions VII

The Epilogue (with Eve Olution)

Sadeq- Ibastila taflest

Afel Bocoum Inkey

Toumani Diabate Playing The Kora In New Delhi Saturday, Dec 3, Nehru Park[1]

Transparent Water is the new studio collaboration between 7-time GRAMMY-nominated pianist-composer-bandleader Omar Sosa and Nottingham-based Senegalese singer and kora master Seckou Keita.  It’s slated for release in February 2017.

The project idea grew out of Sosa’s impromptu addition to a mid–2012 date with drummer Marque Gilmore at the CLF Art Café in London, in what was Sosa and Keita’s first musical encounter.  Profoundly moved by the experience, Omar told Seckou he wanted to invite him to work together on a future recording project.
Given their respective touring and recording schedules, it took a year, but in July 2013 Omar and Seckou went into the Fattoria Musica recording studio in Osnabrück, Germany and laid down the core tracks for Transparent Water.

Another chance meeting informs Transparent Water:  in April 2013, Galician bagpiper-pianist-composer Cristina Pato invited Omar to Santiago de Compostela, where Pato hosts an annual residency frequented by associates of Yo-Yo Ma’s Silk Road Ensemble.  There Omar met Silk Road charter member and sheng master Wu Tong, whom Omar was moved to bring into the project.  In connection with a concert date in Shanghai in July 2014, Omar arranged a side trip to Beijing to record Wu Tong’s traditional flute overdubs.

Tokyo-born, Paris-based koto player Mieko Miyazaki came to Omar’s attention via her recorded work with French jazz guitarist Nguyên Lê.  When Omar finally had the chance to meet her, Mieko’s creative spirit utterly impressed him, and he enlisted her distinctive voice for Transparent Water.

For percussion, Omar turned to longtime collaborator Gustavo Ovalles, who divides his time between France and his native Venezuela.  Ovalles (who can be heard on three prior Sosa projects—Sentir, Ayaguna, and Eggūn) brings the polyrhythmic soul of the African Diaspora to Transparent Water.

Paris-based drummer-producer Steve Argüelles crafted the mix with Omar, having previously worked on Sosa’s award-winning Mulatos and Afreecanos CDs.

Transparent Water is the latest example of Omar Sosa’s transcendent determination to seek new combinations, a manifestation of improvisatory freedom wherein the musical destination is subordinate to the extemporaneous joy of shared artistic expression.  Omar observes that, as he did with Sentir, “What I wanted to do was create something totally improvised.”

Transparent Water—suggestive of translucence and flowing light—is a deeply spiritual recording that reveals its inspiration in the close and compassionate listening of artists engaged in a genial and captivating musical conversation, liberated from time itself, reaching across five continents to probe the collective spirit of the human condition.

Tama-Tama(4.55)

The Old Growth Cypher

Vieux Farka Touré- Borei

Pre-order (World)
LP/CD/Digital: bit.ly/2qoP6Xo
www.wonderwheelrecordings.com

Pre-order (Italy)
LP/CD: latempesta.bigcartel.com
Digital: apple.co/2qYKWsj
www.latempesta.org/international

Populous is Andrea Mangia, a producer hailing from Lecce, a small city on the heel of Italy's boot. In 2003, he made his first jaunt into the music world with the album Quipo (via Morr Music). In 2005 he released Queue For Love, influenced by his reggae/hip-hop-infused surroundings (Lecce is known as Italy's Jamaica, as reggae and dancehall are extremely popular there) and in 2008 he released Drawn in Basic. Both albums were widely received by international critics, earning him a spot on the global music map. He became known for the way he seamlessly blends digital sounds with the analog warmth of soul/hip-hop/whatever else he's influenced by at the time.

Azulejos, his forthcoming release, has a South American tinge to it (and is even partly in Spanish). He moved to Lisbon, Portugal to start work on the album bringing with him only a laptop, a small MIDI keyboard, and a microphone. "Lisbon became both my studio and my muse," he says. He wandered the city collecting field recordings— from trams to people singing on street corners. He sifted through flea markets for records to use for sampling (exclusively Portuguese and South American). Populous describes Lisbon as a city 'halfway between South American soul and European modernity, African in some aspects, and dramatically melancholic." He channeled these poignant fusions into Azulejos, named for the typical tiled facades in Portugal— simultaneously bright and decaying. The album features collaborations with Nina Miranda of Smoke City and Ela Minus, among others. It's a love letter to Lisbon, and a dreamy quilt of sounds he both grew up with and heard for the first time during his influential stay in Portugal.

Azulejos

Buy Digital/CD/LP

Populous - Batismo (feat. Riva)

After releasing the World re-known "Arabadub" album in 2013, The Spy from Cairo returns with a deeper & more cosmic dance-floor sound. Coming back from numerous travels abroad with bigger club & festival performances, he switched from the traditional Oud to an electric Oud, which made things much easier traveling & live. The first two songs we get to hear from his forthcoming album in Autumn 2017 are here. "Sirens of the Nile" is a late night 110 BPM driving four to the floor groove mixed with live Oud, violin/ orchestra lines & echoing vocals. "Open Sesame" features the Oud over hypnotic electronic sounds & a crisp 90+ bpm boom bap beat. The cover was a photo taken from a previous tour in Egypt mixed with a photo of the burnt ambers of a late night festival around a fire.

Sirens Of The Nile / Open Sesame 

Open Sesame

Arve Henriksen - Blue Silk

Akalé Wubé songs available for streaming

Nebyat (Live in Paris)

Fafa~Vieux Farka Touré

Akalé Wubé - "Bazay"
Live at La Maroquinerie (Paris), 2012

Bazay (live)

Vieux Farka Touré's beautiful latest album was recorded as an homage to his homeland. Being that his native Mali has been splintered by territorial fighting between Tuareg and Islamic rebels since January 2012, his new album, Mon Pays, is devoted to reminding the world about the beauty and culture of his homeland.

‘For me it is a statement for the world that this land is for the sons and daughters of Mali, not for Al Qaeda or any militants. This land is for peace and beauty, rich culture and tolerance.This is our heritage, what we must always fight to protect in any way that we can. For me, that means making music that reminds the world of who we are.’

Translating as ‘My Nation,’ this predominantly acoustic undertaking had been planned before the invasions began. Inspired by his work with Israeli pianist and vocalist Idan Raichel, Touré initially went into a Bamako studio to honor the acoustic blues tradition of Northern and Southern Mali. Since that time, Mon Pays transformed into an artifact of cultural preservation.

Two songs on the project -Future’ and ‘Peace’ feature Sidiki Diabate’s kora leading an emotional charge complemented by Touré’s spectacular guitar work. Both tracks represent an important generational "passing of the torch" as Sidiki’s father, Toumani is considered one of the greatest living kora masters and was a close friend of Vieux’s father Ali. Their two records together, In the Heart of the Moon and Ali and Toumani, were awarded Grammies. At the 2011 ceremonies, Vieux accepted the prestigious award for his father, who had recently passed from bone cancer.

Mon Pays is the most mature and lovely record yet from one of this generation's most exciting artists to come out of Mali and one of world music's true rising stars.

02 Vieux Farka Toure -Safare

Six Degrees Records produces and markets accessible, genre-bending records that explore world music traditions, modern dance grooves, electronic music, and overlooked pop gems. The label’s catchphrase, “everything is closer than you think,” is a real reflection of Six Degrees’ commitment to different styles of music that appeal to a curious and increasingly sizable audience.

Vieux Farka Touré- Borei

Six Degrees Records

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