Hailu Mergia.

More music from Ethiopia ! 

It has been on the agenda for a few months already, it's now out : the new reissue by Awesome Tapes From Africa is Hailu Mergia's "Hailu Mergia & His Classical Instrument". Originally a cassette tape, Awesome Tapes released it as vinyl, and also obivously as a tape. 

For those who don't know, Hailu Mergia is the author of one of the most expensive (because rare) Ethiopian records ever. He's a former member of the legendary Walias band, and played with fellow legend Mulatu Astatke. And he plays the legendary synthetizer Yamaha DX7, which I addressed in a previous post on this blog.  

The recent release got a nice review from Pitchfork. Nice treat, I want it.

Mulatu's come-back.

Good news fellas : the great Mulatu Astatke is scheduled to release a new album in September 2013, titled "Sketches Of Ethiopia". A "live presentation" has been dropped on the internet, courtesy of Jazz Village Music. 

Expect more interpretations of "Yegelle Tezeta" and other classics from the Horn of Africa.

For more Mulatu in 2013, here's an interview he gave to The Quietus.  

want records ?

Do you want records ? Do you have space (I mean, a loooooot of room available) ? Do you have $10,000 (without shipping) ? 

Those 70,000 records could then be yours.

some stuff.

A lot of things emerged on the web that I need/want to show using this blog, sometimes a bit late, sometimes not, but in any case, I don't really care about the freshness of an info, since this blog is not about giving a constant flow of "news". 

So, here are a few things you should/could be interested in. 

As a long-time fan of the Masters At Work, I feel obliged to direct you towards the post of XLR8R, which includes a podcast. When you know the skills of both Louie Vega and Kenny Dope on the 1&2's, you know you'd better listen. You can even download it for further audio pleasure. 

A few newspapers published articles about the resurgence of vinyl records. This is becoming a trendy topic, and to say the truth, I'm kinda fed up with it. So, when you come across an article which addresses the subject in an original manner, it's a bit refreshing. Here's an article by TimesDaily, to which I can relate to, somehow. 

I also had an article of The New York Times in stock, but it turned out to be no longer available for free... fuck. 

Are you a webdigger ? Are you fed up with paying twice the price of your purchased record (yeah you're proud of ripping off the seller who doesn't know what he sells... and you're right to feel so) in postage fees ? Here's an idea, relayed by Flea Market Funk. Still needs to be worked on in my opinion, as it includes few labels, but the fact that the issue is addressed by somehow is a good start. 

Gaslamp Killer is a member of the Brainfeeder family, and also has a close relationship with the Stones Throw/Now-Again camp. He did a mix of tracks by The Heliocentrics, posted on Rappcats. If you don't know GLK, he's a very good DJ, and crazy about it also. That results in a crazy mix. 

WhoSampled had the great honor to sit down with Steve Arrington, one of those heavily-sampled artists from the 70's. So, of course, the interview focuses a bit on sampling, but not only. Arrington also gives news about his projects, including an album with Stones Throw signee Dam-Funk. Now this is good news. 

Lately, the Mississippi Records got so many reissues out that I can't follow anymore. These guys used to release obscure (to say the least) tapes, but now it seems they're reissuing on vinyl the who Buda Musique ethio-jazz catalog. So, who knows what's next ? Maybe you'll know better by subscribing. Yeah, record susbscriptions are back in fashion. Light In The Attic do it, Numero Group do it also. And now Mississippi Records is next in line. But they still need to improve their visibility on the web, because you won't go far with a website like this one : although they announce good news, with more releases, there's no date of posting... who knows when this news got published. Anyway, good to know they're still alive and working. 

Like it or not, Urban Outfitters is also a record retailer. So, the question is asked : is it OK to buy records there ? I remember seeing good editions of classic records there, and for cheap. So, who cares what's "authentic" or not ? 

And oh, the most serious stuff I could come with related to records : is record collecting a new market of collectible items ? Not really a novelty, but today it's a relevant question.      

Inner Space, Solar Flares, My Thing etc.

Sven Libaek, anyone ?

Let's put it this way : an absolute legend of library and soundtrack music composing. Born and raised in Norway, professionally trained in Australia, Libaek is responsible for putting out iconic records like "Solar Flares", "My Thing" or "Inner Space", among others such as instrumental cover records. If you own an original copy of one of his records, you're sitting on gold. Almost.

Somehow, someway, It's Psychedelic Baby managed to get an interview of Sven Libaek. An essential read, in which Libaek breaks down his resume, and gets an overview of his career, from childhood to his current semi-retirement. 

Egon.

The latest episode of Fuse's "Crate Diggers" series features one of the ultimate maniacs of them all, Egon, the guy behind Now-Again Records, but also one of the spirits backing Madlib as a producer, and Peanut Butter Wolf as a label manager. 

For those who don't know, Egon has a passion for digging places you wouldn't imagine going to. Well, these days, it's most likely to be virtual or mail digging, as he almost never travels to the places he buys his records from. Those absolute rarities (espcially because Egon manages to put his hands on records in very good condition, which is a miracle for African records for example) come to him in the mailbox, providing huge amount of money sent through Western Union. Modern digging... a costly but efficient one, obviously. 

A good episode, even if Egon doesn't display a lot of unknown. Most of the records he shows have already of will pretty soon be reissued (watch out for the Heitkotter's record). 

with a little bit of Finesse.

As a digger, you gotta love and respect Lord Finesse. This man, already responsible for producing monster rap hits within the past decades, is true to the game. I mean, he DIGS. Almost on a daily basis. And he does it obviously because he's addicted. 

He told Wax Poetics a little about his addiction, and gave more insight about some of his favourites records (by Miles, Axelrod, Quincy, Dizzie...)... at the moment. Because this kind of list constantly changes, you know.

Anyway, true vinyl talk in there.