77 mixes with tracks by “Orchestra Baobab”

May 19, 2012

con Compay Segundo, Cesaria Evora, Gipsy Kings y Buena Vista Social Club....zapateado! Le gusta bailar!

upbeat resto

First half is medium chill, smooths out to full chill around track 8. Culled from years of collecting, mostly from great blogs around the interweb. Nations represented: Ghana (Track 1), Senegal (2), Kenya (3), Malawi (4&5), Colombia (6), Ethiopia (7&10), Zimbabwe (8), Benin (9), Liberia (11), Congo (12&13), Uganda (14&15), Guinea (16).

West Africa is one of the world’s most fertile musical breeding grounds. From the classical and highly technical Malians to the smooth grooves of Senegal and funky Nigeria, west Africa produces high-calibre guitarists with styles as distinctive as their cultures. This 11-track, hour-long mix includes cuts by such masterful musicians as Djelimady Tounkara, Super Rail Band and Orchestra Baobab.

an assortment of sounds

I have a (frankly) bizarre record collection - most of it from fairly far-flung places. This collection of around 70 tracks might sound like the sort of amalgamation a madman might accrue, but I like to think that there's a thread of logic running throughout... Enjoy!
(Full disclosure: Credit where credit's due - many of these tracks came to my attention via Songlines Magazine and the free CD's you get with each issue!)

Fourty-Seven tracks including music by Antibalas Afrobeat Orchestra, Ayalew Mesfin and Babatunde Olatunji. I would have added more.. but 8tracks search engine kinda sucks... A LOT!!

A fifteen-track maelstrom of traditional rhythms and electrified highlife jams from Africa. The mix aims for maximum novelty, drawing from field recordings, modern collaborations, big band orchestras, to tribal, folk, and cafe music. Sourced as far back as 1950 to the present day if that's the sort of thing you're interested in. Tracks by Marijata, Konono N°1, Ali Farka Touré, etc.

Pictured: a window-display on Queen Street East near Broadview Avenue in Toronto, ON.

This Time for Africa...

Africa is filled with the happiest, nicest people on earth.You should see for yourself, and don't let the newscast tell you about it.

18 tracks including Etoile de Dakar, Zaiko Langa Langa, Papa Wemba, and many many more.