Episode 36
Episode 36 was originally posted on February 11, 2019.
Tracklisting:
01) “Spokey Dokey” by the Seatbelts.
From the 1998 Original Soundtrack Cowboy Bebop.
Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture, Japan.
The Seatbelts (シートベルツ Shītoberutsu), sometimes also known as “Yoko Kanno and The Seatbelts,” is most famous for their soundtrack to the incredible anime series Cowboy Bebop. Yoko Kanno has composed for Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex, The Vision of Escaflowne, and Wolf’s Rain, but Cowboy Bebop is perhaps the standout of them all. As Noisey says: “Yoko Kanno and The Seatbelts gave 'Cowboy Bebop' the key ingredient to make it one of the best anime series of all time.” The Noisey essay sums it up well:
You come to Cowboy Bebop for a compelling and complex narrative, and stay for the bangers: blues bangers, bossa nova bangers, heavy metal bangers, jazz bangers and J-pop bangers. The eclectic collection of music complemented the show so well.
Purchase the soundtrack at Amazon.
02) “知道不知道” by 邓丽君 (Teresa Teng).
From the 1967 album 凤阳花鼓.
Baozhong, Yunlin, Taiwan.
According to Wikipedia: “邓丽君 (Teresa Teng) “was a Taiwanese singer, one of the most famous and successful singers to originate from the Mandarin-speaking world. She is known to the Chinese community worldwide (especially in South East Asian countries), even in groups who may not speak Mandarin as their primary Chinese dialect.”
03) “El Pajaro” by Lhasa.
From the 1997 album La Llorona.
Big Indian, New York.
Lhasa de Sela was a Mexican-American singer and songwriter. According Wikipedia:
“Lhasa was born in Big Indian, New York, of a Mexican father, language instructor Alejandro "Alex" Sela, and an American mother, photographer and actress Alexandra Karam. According to Lhasa, her hippie parents did not give her a name until the age of five months; her mother was reading a book about Tibet and the word Lhasa "just grabbed her" as the right name for the baby girl.”
04) “Aesop's Fables” by Guy Warren.
From the 1962 album African Rhythms - The Exciting Soundz Of Guy Warren And His Talking Drums.
Accra, Ghana.
“Guy Warren of Ghana, also known as Kofi Ghanaba (4 May 1923 – 22 December 2008), was a Ghanaian musician, best known as the inventor of Afro-jazz — "the reuniting of African-American jazz with its African roots"[1] — and as a member of The Tempos, alongside E. T. Mensah. He also inspired musicians such as Fela Kuti. Warren's virtuosity on the African drums earned him the appellation "The Divine Drummer".[2] At different stages of his life, he also worked as a journalist, DJ and broadcaster.”
Night Of The Living Vinyl says:
“Guy Warren, in the late 1950s, was on a mission in the US to show the jazz world, and the rest of the musical community, the importance of drumming. Not only that but he was determined to show people that the drums of Africa were as expressive and versatile as any other instrument in America. For Warren, drums were not just for providing a steady background beat while other instruments took the lead. For him the drums were the centre stage instrument.”
Purchase the album at Amazon.
05) “Creation” by Burning Spear.
From the 1973 album Studio One Presents Burning Spear.
Saint Ann Parish, Jamaica.
“Though he is better known for his releases on Island during the mid-'70s, Winston Rodney (aka Burning Spear) wrote an equally important chapter in reggae music during the first half of that decade. The singer began his professional career on a series of recordings for the legendary Studio One label during the years 1969-1974. Aided by singer/producer Larry Marshall and singer Rupert Willington, the resulting music was some of the most innovative of the style eventually categorized as roots reggae.”
06) “Taty Taty” by Ramy Essam.
From the 2012 album Manshourat.
Mansoura, Egypt.
The official website tells us: “Ramy Essam is an Egyptian musician best known for his appearances in Tahrir Square in Cairo during the Egyptian Revolution of 2011. Ramy was born in 1987 in Mansoura, Egypt. Ramy is one of the few singers in Middle East to sing hard rock.”
07) “Gele Beyi” by Ketema Makkonen.
From the 1972 album Ketema Makkonen.
Ethiopia.
The My Passion For Ethiopian Music blog tells us that Ketema Makkonen (also spelled : Ketema Makonnen) was “an incredibly skilled player of the Kirar, or the 6-string bowled lyre” and that his music was: “deeply sorrowful and forlorn,” saying: “these strings kick up a dusty trail of longing, intuitively navigated by his warm, rustic voice.”
Honestly, that’s about all we can find on this one. Anyone have any further information or links?
08) “Angels of Death” by Jennifer Castle.
From the 2018 album Angels of Death.
Toronto, Ontario.
Pitchfork says: “The Toronto singer’s album is a country and gospel-infused meditation on death and mourning that flickers between the broadly universal and the devastatingly personal.”
Not sure what else there is to say.
09) “Goza Mi Trompeta” by Cachao y Su Ritmo Caliente.
From the 1996 album Descargas - Cuban Jam Sessions.
Cuba.
Well . . . sometimes all you have is some sort of weird bootleg CDR that you found at the thrift store because you heard a story on the radio. It has this cover and not much other information or links. You?
10) “Sor Kendine” by Tim Ersen.
From the 2001 compilation Hava Narghile: Turkish Rock Music 1966-1975.
Turkey.
We try to avoid repeats here on the Global Elite Music Radio Podcast Supershow. And, for the most part, we feel like we’ve avoided playing any particular artist more than once. However, we have made no secret of the fact that we love compilation albums to discover lots of new artists from all around the world. We featured "Berkay Oyun Havasi" by Moğollar from the the Hava Narghile: Turkish Rock Music 1966-1975 on Episode 16 and we return to that compilation here on Episode 36 with Tim Ersen, which we honestly can’t find much information about. Can you help?
Purchase the album on Amazon.
As always, browse our interactive map to see where each artist is from. This week’s artists are represented by purple map-points. To highlight a specific episode, use the little window/toggle thingy in the upper-left corner. Since we can only show 10 episodes at a time, see all of the other episodes here.