05/30/07
ROCK PAPER SCISSORS
TCHEKA/Nu Monda: Cape Verde is known for it’s lady singers and now the curtain is opening wider as a young guitarist that works with Lura and Cesaria Evora is taking the spotlight to step out on his own. A genre splicing stylist that is harvesting a sound from the soil he gets to work with, Tcheka is as charming as the rest of the musical gang this island keeps bringing forth. A tasty guitar treat that’ll click with ears that are digging this scene already.
1804 (Times Square)
NAWAL/Aman: A nice taste of spiritual music from the Indian Ocean general area, this DIY artist has her own vision and vibe and shows there’s more coming out of the region that Bollywood cleffers. A tasty heartfelt music that’s geared toward seekers with a taste for something that will transport them whether doing yoga, meditating for trying to get that sonic getaway.
1307 (www.nawali.com)
TOMPKINS SQUARE
CHARLIE LOUVIN: There’s a reason why the Louvin Brothers were almost a genre all to themselves, they’ve been the inspiration for alt.country avatars before there was even alt.country. With gospel tinged music that was scarier than the preachers that used to be on before tv stations would sign off for the night, for the cat behind stuff like “Satan is Real” and other tunes that inspired Gram Parsons and others, this was not the usual salvation music. With a bunch of his old tunes played here with admiring new pals, this is a cool set on the order of Ralph Stanley’s set last year. Not exactly a tribute, not exactly an exercise in nostalgia, for a act that came to a forced end over 40 years ago, there’s still a lot of life left in the remaining parts. Hot stuff you have to hear to believe.
42
WORLDISC
BENJAMIN ESCORIZA/Alevanta: The voice of Radio Tarifa might have gone solo but he’s made a point of taking his flamenco vibe right along with him. He hasn’t really left his old pals behind, he’s just taking more of a center stage approach. There’s a lot of flamenco practitioners out there, but this guy is one of the first call cats and he’s just not capable of letting you down. A delightfully fire filled date that cooks and cooks and cooks. Oh yeah, it’s hot.
1044 (Riverboat)
BOOKOR BEATS/various: There was a cool collection of 70’s Brazil funk a few years ago and this Ghana set follows right in it’s footsteps. Yep, Ghana had a thriving funk scene in the age of “Shaft” and this is a great time capsule of it, especially since most of us have never heard this stuff before. Basically, collecting the creme in a tasty frappe, this is heady funk that’s easy to enjoy, even if it’s 35 years later and on the other side of the world. This is funk that’ll never be confused with junk.
901627 (Otrabanda)
Volume 30/Number 211
May 30, 2007
MIDWEST RECORD
830 W. Route 22 #144
Lake Zurich, IL., 60047
CHRIS SPECTOR, Editor and Publisher
(c)2007 Midwest Record