Filed under: Sri Lanka
The pop music of Sri Lanka is unlike anything heard on Earth. Whereas you can hear influences from neighboring India, there are many other cultures that have left their mark.
Probably the best – if not only – compilation of the music of that country would be Akuphone‘s “Sri Lanka : The Golden Era of Sinhalese & Tamil Folk-pop Music“. That compilation contains the title track from the lone single recorded by Nalino Nel: “Gavaskar The Century Maker“.
I have not been able to find any further information about Nalino Nel. If you have any information, please leave it in the comments below.
Catalog number 2296 – 0399 on Inreco of Calcutta (now Kolkata), India. Released 1979.
Filed under: Malaysia
Way back in 2005, before I started collecting the records that would eventually spawn the blog you are reading at this very moment, I used to trade CD-Rs with people all over the planet. There was a guy in Japan who had a GeoCities website that focused on singles from Southeast Asia. I believe his name was Yoshi. Unfortunately, in the intervening years I have lost his information. But this song was the first track on a CD-R he gave me. I spent years tracking down this single.
The Fabulous Falcons were from Ipoh – not to be confused with The Falcons (K. L.) from Kuala Lumpur. This is The Fabulous Falcons first single. They released one other instrumental single and they recorded two singles with Les Lee on vocals and one with Rubia Lubis on vocals.
Catalog number EE-001 on Tigerphone of Malaysia, released 1965.
Filed under: Ghana
♬ See Sane
Another one of those killer Polydor singles from Ghana.
Martin Luther Owusu was the band leader, songwriter and bassist for Adam’s Apple. While not always the lead singer, he provided the lead vocals for this song. Owusu was from the coastal city of Tema, 25 km east of Accra. Adam’s Apple recorded three singles for Polydor and two for Coret Records.
Catalog number PLD 2080114 on Polydor of Ghana. No other information available.
Filed under: Algeria
The person who sold this record to me said it was Raï. It’s from Algeria and sounds like Raï, right? But no. It’s Staifi.
Raï music started in western Algeria – most notably in Oran, as well as surrounding cities of Sidi Bel Abbès and Aïn Temouchent. Staifi music originated from eastern Algeria – primarily Sétif and other cities in the region like Annaba, Guelma and Tebessa.
Bekakchi Khier – also seen as Bekakchi El Khier – is from Sétif. He is apparently still active. Here is a performance from Algerian television from November 2020. Also, someone has uploaded a few of his more recent releases to SoundCloud.
Many thanks to Loïc Guillaume of Phono Mundial and “the Algerian guys working on the bathroom of the flat” for the help with this post.
Catalog number HL 46 on EtHerLux of Setif, Algeria. No release date listed.
Filed under: India
♬ Rote Hue
While the Hawaiian steel guitar is the most prevalent when it comes to Bollywood covers, the “mouth organ” – or harmonica – is probably the second most common. I have seen a few records by other artists – such as Milon Gupta, Madan Kumar, and Saikat Mukherjee – but this is the only one I’ve ever seen by Pankaj Bose.
Other than steel guitar and harmonica, there are plenty of other instruments that have been featured on records of Bollywood covers: accordion – electric and acoustic, clarinet, clavioline, electric bass guitar, electric organ, mandolin – electric and acoustic, saxophone – alto and soprano, Spanish Electric guitar, synthesizer, violin – electric and acoustic, and whistling.
Catalog number KDEP 2101 on Kohinoor Record Co. of Calcutta (now Kolkata). No release date listed.
Filed under: Thailand
This was supposed to be the next record… But for some reason, I never posted it. This has been sitting in draft folder for over eight years. Just sitting there…
Buppha Saichon was an actress and recording artist from Thailand.
You may recognize the first song. Although the name translates to “The Guardian”, it was given the title “Satan’s Nightmare” on the first Thai Beat A Go-Go compilation. That version was recorder by her husband Sripai Jaipra but miscredited as Paiboon – most likely songwriter Paiboon Butakhan.
Besides being included in just about every Thai music series – Sublime Frequencies‘ “Thai Pop Spectacular“, Subliminal Sounds‘ “Thai Beat A Go-Go Volume 3” and both of ZudRangMa “Thai Funk” compilations – you can also find more of her music at Monrakplengthai.
Catalog number KTE-069 on Supanahong Records of Thailand. No further information available.
Filed under: Côte d'Ivoire
Now, where was I?
When I was invited to DJ at the Sublime Frequencies 15th anniversary shindig back in 2018, I started buying records again after a very long hiatus. At first, it was just a few here and there. Then, a few more… Before I knew it, I was back at it harder than ever. Eventually it dawned on me that I should start posting again.
So much has changed during the last few years… First of which is the proliferation of Discogs. More addictive than crack for an OCD completeist like myself. I used to not know that an artist had three or four other singles. And that ignorance was bliss. But now I know! I know that they have those other releases – AND I NOW MUST SPEND EVERY WAKING MOMENT OBSESSING OVER TRACKING DOWN THOSE RECORDS.
Another thing that has changed is all of the amazing music blogs that have fallen by the wayside. Far East Audio? Gone. Psyche Van Het Folk? Gone. Quartertone Fusion? Gone. Voodoo Funk? Gone. Those blogs were the main source of information for many of my posts. The death of Adobe Flash player has rendered a few blogs like Waxidermy obsolete. YouTube has taken over. Instead of writing a post, just make a video. It really is mind boggling just how much music you can find there. But, there are a few other blogs out there that are still alive and kicking like Excavated Shellac and Monrakplengthai.
As for Baba Kienou… I got nothing. The only other copy of this single I’ve ever seen, I lost out on eBay about a decade ago. I saved the 39 second audio clip that was posted with the listing and it has been bouncing around in the back of my brain ever since. But I was finally able to track down a copy. And now I revel in thought that it’s going to be stuck in your brain as well. THAT is why I decided to come back.
Catalog number SHA 001 on Shakara Music of Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire in 1979.
Filed under: (Public Service Announcement)
Sublime Frequencies is celebrating their 15 year anniversary. To mark the occasion, they are hosting a three day festival at Théâtre Berthelot in the Paris suburb of Montreuil, France on November 9-11, 2018.
There will be live bands, multiple documentary screenings from the label’s vast cinema archive, DJ sets from the label founders and SF contributors, as well as an exhibit showcasing the visual history of the label’s 15 year existence with artwork, flyers, posters, and other rare visual esoterica. There will be new and exclusive merchandise available only at this event.
I am scheduled to do a DJ set after The Brothers Unconnected on Sunday. Please come out and say hello, bonjour, hola, ciao, مرحبا, สวัสดี…
7 PM Friday, Nov. 9th / 19h00 Vendredi 9th Nov.
- Bands Porest Group [UK] / Senyawa [Indonesia]
- DJs: TBA
2 PM Saturday, Nov. 10th / 14h00 Samedi 10th Nov.
- Films: Staring into the Sun by Olivia Wyatt / Musical Brotherhoods of the Trans-Saharan Highway by Hisham Mayet / Sumatran Folk Cinema by Alan Bishop & Mark Gergis / Cambodian Videocassette Archives by Mark Gergis
- Bands: Kink Gong [France] / Baba Commandant & The Mandingo Band [Burkina Faso]
- DJs: TBA
3PM Sunday, Nov. 11th / 15h00 Dimanche 11th Nov.
- Films: This World is Unreal Like a Snake in a Rope by Robert Millis / The Pierced Heart and the Machete by Olivia Wyatt / The Divine River by Hisham Mayet
- Bands: Robert Millis & Jesse Paul Miller [USA] / Brothers Unconnected [USA]
- DJs: TBA
Note: This post will be updated as more information become available.
Filed under: Kenya
The Eagles Lupopo (A.K.A. The Eagles Band, Eagles Lupopo 77, King Eagles Lupopo, Daudi Kabaka & His T.B. Eagles) were formed in Nairobi, Kenya by Daudi Kabaka in 1972.
Kabaka was born in Kyambogo, Uganda in 1939. By the time he was twelve, his family had moved to Nairobi. In 1954, Daudi recorded his first composition, “Nie Kabaka Naimba”, for the CMS label (Capitol Music Stores). In 1959, he began working with Equator Sound Studio and soon became a salaried member of the house band – The Equator Sound Boys (A.K.A. The Equator Sound Band, The Jambo Boys).
Through out the 1960s, Kabaka recorded a number of hits for Equator Sound, including “African Twist”, “Harambee Harambee” and “Helule Helule”. In 1967, his song “Helule Helule” was covered by The Tremeloes and it became a hit in United Kingdom – reaching number 14 on the charts. But owner / producer Charles Worrod had registered himself as the composer / arranger of the songs released by his label. This eventually led to a falling out with most of musicians on the label over royalty payments – including Kabaka who by that time had registered with the PRS (Performing Right Society) in London.
Kabaka resigned from Equator Sound in 1972, and with some of his old Equator colleagues launched their own production company – African Eagles Recording, Ltd. The label copied the Equator format of having a house band that sometimes recorded under its own name – African Eagles Lupopo – and sometimes served as a backing group for other musicians and singers. The studio band originally included Gabriel Omolo, Sylvester Odhiambo as well as the Zambian émigrés Nashil Pichen and Peter ‘Tsotsi’ Juma.
You can find two songs by The Eagles Lupopo 77 on two different compilations: “Ajali Ya Mombasa” on AI Records “The Essential East African Collection Vol 1” and “Dina na Jim” on Next Music’s “Essential East African Hits Volume 2”.
Daudi Kabaka, passed away on November 26, 2001.
Catalog number on 2 C 006 – 81152 M on EMI / Pathé, pressed in France. No release date listed.
Filed under: Pakistan
I first came across the Tafo Brothers while working on the Pakistan • Folk and Pop Instrumentals 1966 – 1976 compilation. The master tape for The Blue Birds’ version of “Sun We Bilou Waliya” had been damaged. So, EMI Pakistan sent us the Tafo Brothers’ version instead.
The song “Bura Honda Juwariyan Da” can be found on the first volume of Finders Keepers‘ ‘Disposable Music’ series – The Tafo Brothers • Plugged In Pakistani Pops. Also, the song “Karye Pyar” (featuring Nahid Akhtar) – which was sampled by the Wu Tang Clan‘s Ghostface Killah on the track “Black Tequila” – can be found on the Sound of Wonder compilation. There are five more tracks by the Tafo Brothers on that compilation’s follow up – Life is Dance.
There are two albums of their versions of M. Ashraf tunes – Great Love Songs of M. Ashraf Volume 1 Instrumental and M. Ashraf at His Best Instrumental Volume 2 that you can find on most major online digital media outlets.
Lastly, there are a number of singles that have been uploaded over at the Hindustani Vinyl blog that are worth checking out.
If you have any information about the Tafo Brothers, please contact me or leave a comment.
Thanks to Milan Hulsing for his help on this post.
Catalog number EMCP-5023 on EMI Pakistan, released 1976.
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