soleil rare.

The dude akabrownssugar crafted a tribute to this very blog, although it's been pretty silent for a while... 

A 9-track beattape with a ruff sound. Available on Bandcamp. Enjoy. 

Beats : akabrownsugar. 

Photo : w.nolland.

Amha Eshèté.

He's the man who made it possible in Ethiopia. Without Amha Eshèté, there wouldn't have been a private company pressing vinyl records in the 1970s. He dared to defy the regime by making records that wouldn't commissioned or sponsored by the government. 

After leaving Ethiopia and the DERG regime, M. Eshèté pursued a career as an entrepreneur, in both catering and music venues, relying on the Ehiopian community of the United States. Then back to Addis. 

The whole Ethiopian scene which is now massively reissued owe a great deal to M. Eshèté, who recently died. 

He said it all to the Pan-African Music website in a two-part interview (in French). 

Respect. 

Jazz Funéral.

Once again, I have to talk about Capitaine Hadôken, aka Koffi Gnato, aka many other monikers and characters... Usually, he builds beats around random vinyl records, and break our necks with surprising beats. 

On his latest project, the vibe was different. This one is a testimony to his late father, Jean-Pierre Liou, who used to play double-bass in local jazz bands of the Lyon area, France. It was all natural that the Capitaine would use samples from his father's performances to deliver this very unique hommage. 

The whole beat tape is available on Bandcamp. 

Emile Sornin.

The man officially known as Emile Sornin his better known as Forever Pavot, one of the most interesting authors of the current psychedelic pop wave coming from France. He's made music in several bands, from Arun Tazieff to La Récré, and as a solo act, always coping with different genres with great inspiration.

Now the owner of his own studio, Forever Pavot recently presented his love for instruments. And I must admit, it's very entertaining to listen to him. Sadly for non-French speakers, it's... only in French. 

For those who don't know, five yeard ago, in 2016, Forever Pavot issued a 7", "Le Bon Coin Forever", that perfectly express his love for instruments. The concept : visiting people who posted ads to sell their unusual instruments, trying these, recording parts and assembling them in original compositions. It is now pretty difficult to track down. 

Swedish wonder.

Sven Wunder is a a bit of a mystery. A multi-instrumentalist, apparently capable of embracing the subtleness of exotic instruments, with a passion for library music. Maybe seclusive, he mainly works alone. He's responsible of two wonderful albums, one inspired by the Turkish sounds, another one diving into the atmosphere of Japan. 

His label, Piano Piano Records, has just announced the third opus of the guy, titled "Natura Morta", with a first track called "En plein air". 

Besides the announcement, Sven Wunder issued a mix of favorites from the library music genre. It includes pretty much a best-of of the genre (just take a look at the following list : Janko Nilovic, Stefano Torrossi, Ennio Morricone, Arawak, Piero Umiliani, Jay Richford, François de Roubaix, Rahul Dev Burman... what a dream team), hosted on the Aquarium Drunkard website. Good news, it's a mp3 file that you can download, instead of a streaming link (which I kinda hate for some reason...). 

The goodies don't stop here. Sven Wunder had already made mixes for the release his "Wabi Sabi" album, which are available on the same website.  

Do yourself these favors. 

lockdown : vinyl find #53.

This is lockdown #2. Although it doesn't feel the same as the volume 1. But still, it contributes to the shitty year that is 2020. 

Under these circumstances, one of the best remedies to the soul must be Brazilian music. It provides the warmth in winter, the sun in the short days, the emotion in the gloomy times. So, besides the classics of Brazilian music (bossa nova, MPB...), I often go back to a cheap record I thought I had found in Toulouse but... no. I found it in Strasbourg, France in 2016, at an excellent shop called "L'Occase de l'Oncle Tom". 

This fantastic compilation is called "Brazilian Wave" and it costed me 4€. On two records, all the stars of Brazilian music are reunited : Astrud Gilberto, Marcos Valle, Luiz Bonfa, Stan Getz, Antonio Carlos Jobim... Ok, a few are missing, like Gilberto Gil, Caetano Veloso, Gal Costa... But still, it flows naturally, from one track to the next one, without the need of skipping any track, with a pleasant balance between instrumental tracks and vocal ones, calm songs and more danceable ones.  

Imagine a movie scene, a sunset on Copacabana, girls and boys playing football on the beach, pretty women licking ice creams... this compilation is the soundtrack to that. 

Various Artists - Brazilian Wave.

For your listening pleasures, a few contributions by Stan Getz & Charlie Byrd, Marcos Valle, Bola Sete...

500 best albums.

Is "Whats's Going On" by Marvin Gaye the best album of all time ? That's what Rolling Stone thinks, writes and publishes. 

Their list of the 500 best albums of all time is available here. 

I know, it's a short post. 

Shitao - Aleph.

2020 has been a shitty year, that's for sure. But it made Shitao very productive. After "The day she arrives", released in June, the buddy has just dropped "Aleph", his brand new opus. 

Served with a fantastic artwork by pyramid.ink, the album is inspired by a novel by Jorge Luis Borges. 

In Shitao's words, "Alpeh is the story of a woman plotting revenge, a monster stuck in a labyrinth, a deserter and a translator. "Aleph" is the story of an obsession, a dead man, a Byzantine general  and the memory of Beatriz". 

Available on Bandcamp for free, "Aleph" is also available for pre-order as a vinyl on Qrates. All we need is 100 pre-orders ; please make it become real !

ST live.

In these strange times we're experiencing, live shows are a rarity. Well, there are some, but without any audience. That's exactly what Sébastien Tellier did, taking over the stage of La Gaîté Lyrique in Paris on November 13th, 2020. 

Backed by a handful of musicians (two keyboard players and a drummer, with various skills), he delivered his unique mood for an hour long of concert. 

The concert was coupled with the release of the digital version of this newest album, "Simple Mind", which includes new stripped versions of some of his previous hits. 

The perfect glamour show for a gloomy dark sunday. 

OK Computer demos.

 

For those who don't mind downloading 17 hourw worth of music from Radiohead, the aforementioned Funk It (Facebook post) has assembled demos and outtakes from the legendary "OK Computer" sessions. 

Those archives were previously known by the fans as bootlegs from Minidiscs.  

As detailed by Funk It himself : 

Y'all remember when those Radiohead OK Computer Minidiscs leaked last year? Well, I condensed 17 hours of outtakes and rehearsals and demos to a manageable listen. Check it out.

https://mega.nz/folder/xrJVXA5Y#pAbkzOv92Kl2tqtnXroECA FLAC

https://mega.nz/folder/8ihAEYAb#nHkMBc4V5WfaxgCA2wN09Q MP3

and here's the full 17 hour set, but tracked out instead of hour long files: https://mega.nz/folder/wmIXzAZB#WWlVkkGbQ1SKa_7Sb6WzfQ

rare Miles.

 

The excellent Funk It published a rare audio recording of a concert Miles Davis gave in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in 1974. 

40mn of jazz for your listening pleasure. 

re-up gang.

I found in an old hard-drive the 28 episodes of the "le soleil est rare" compilations that I used to assemble back in the days on this blog. I had a lot of fun listening to, selecting, commenting on each and every track that I chose... the good old days...

All the links must be dead by now, so here are the re-ups of the first seven episodes, and the tracklistings, minus the comments and covers. Available for seven days. 

#1 : mondovision

Os Baobas - Bye Bye My Darling.

Stavros Xarhakos - Annabel. 

Amorf Ördögök - Betyar A Holdon

Asha Bhosle - Dum Maro Dum. 

Kourosh Yaghmaei - Gol-e Yakh. 

Galt MacDermot - Coffee Cold. 

Cesaria Evora - Partida. 

Okukuseku International Band Of Ghana - Black Beauty. 

Galatasaray Lisesi - Zazie. 

Meiko Kaji - Fushigi Ne.

Jean-Claude Vannier - Danse Des Mouches Noires Gardes Du Roi. 

#2 : motions

François de Roubaix - Un Peu, Beaucoup, Passionnément...

Acanthus - Sleeping Beauty (Samba Des Vampires).

Chan Kwong Wing - I Want To Be A Good Guy.

Guido & Maurizio De Angelis - Speed Fever.

Bruno Nicolai - Whisky.

Michel Magne & Jean Yanne - Luttons Pour Le Marché Commun.

The Chemical Brothers - The Devil Is In The Details.

Eric Demarsan - Thème De Mathilde.

Alain Goraguer - Déshominisation I.

David Holmes - Lifting The Building.

#3 : bits

Rza - Flying Birds.

Dr. Who Dat? - Viberian Twilight Part 2.

Infinitskills - Morning Lights.

Fat Jon - Spacesuit proper.

KenLo - "Bass". 

J. Rawls - A Tribute To Troy.

Exile - Love Line. 

Madlib - Dillalade Ride (Contact Hide). 

Count Bass D - All Shook Up. 

Onra - Come Closr (Kicks & Claps Edit).

#4 : blankets

Curtis Mayfield - Hard Times.

Gary McFarland - (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction. 

MPB 4 & Quarteto Em Cy - Because. 

El Michels Affair - Shimmy Shimmy Ya. 

Stevie Wonder - Bang Bang.

Ben L'Oncle Soul - Crazy. 

Syl Johnson - Come Together.

Takkhalha - Play With Fire.
Seu Jorge - Ziggy Stardust.

#5 : the L word

Minnie Riperton - Stay In Love.

Marvin Gaye - Need Your Lovin' (Want You Back).

Smokey Robinson & The Miracles - Everybody Needs Love.

The Stylistics - Love Is The Answer.

Willie Hutch - Lucky To Be Loved By You.

The Three Degrees - Get Your Love Back.

David Ruffin - Still In Love With You.

Teddy Pendergrass - Love T.K.O.

Barry White - It's Only Love Doing It's Thing.

Curtis Mayfield - So In Love.

#6 : sippin

Kavinsky - Testarossa Autodrive. 

A-Trak - Say Whoa.

Simian Mobile Disco ft. Chris Keating - Audacity Of Huge

MSTRKRFT - Street Justice. 

Sébastien Léger -P.Y.T. 

DJ Mehdi - Pocket Piano (Brodinski Remix).

Jaydee - Plastic Dreams (Laidback Luke Bootleg).

TTC - Dans Le Club (Instrumentale Version). 

David Guetta ft. Kelly Rowland - When Love Takes Over.

#be blessed, be back

01 - Idéal J - Uniquement pour les miens
02 - DJ Mehdi - We crying
03 - 113 ft. Doudou Masta - Truc de fou
04 - Etienne de Crécy - Out of my hands (DJ Mehdi remix)
05 - 113 - Prologue
06 - Idéal J - Pour une poignée de dollars
07 - DJ Mehdi - Signatune (Thomas Bangalter edit)
08 - Rocé - On s'habitue
09 - 113 - Tome III
10 - The Cambridge Circus - La Nursery
11 - Fabe - Excusez-nous
12 - DJ Mehdi ft. Vinia Mojica - Anything is possible
13 - DJ Mehdi ft. Fafi - Lucky boy
14 - 113 - Ouais gros
15 - Wayne Shorter - Footprints (dub) (DJ Mehdi remix)
16 - Booba - Couleur ébène
17 - 113 - Tome II
18 - DJ Mehdi - Keep moving
19 - Karlito - Orly à Orly
20 - Carte Blanche - Gare du Nord
21 - The Cambridge Circus - Spanish Harlem
22 - MC Solaar ft. Bambi Cruz - Wonderbra
23 - DJ Mehdi - My time my days
24 - Idéal J - J'ai mal au coeur
25 - DJ Mehdi - Along the way
26 - Idéal J - Si je rappe ici
27 - Joss Stone - Tell me about it (DJ Mehdi remix)
28 - DJ Mehdi - Love is the blues
29 - Rohff - Appelle moi Rohff
30 - The Cambridge Circus - Ulysse
31 - Idéal J - Un nuage de fumée
32 - Karlito - T'inquiète...
33 - 113 - Tonton du bled
34 - New Young Pony Club - Ice cream (DJ Mehdi remix)
35 - KDD ft. 113 - Artifices
36 - Karlito - La rue cause

37 - Karlito - Contenu sous pression 

Sign O' The Times - 1987.

Hate it or love it, the Prince Estate have opened the gates to the deepest secrets of the vaults of Paisley Park, and only God knows where it'll stop. Looks like there is no end to this. 

In the video field, it allowed plenty of previously blocked (by decision of Prince himself) videos to (re)appear on various platforms. This concert, given at Paisley Park in 1987, is one of those. And it features the one and only Miles Davis. 

Let's enjoy it before it's taken down again... 

Medicine Show.

Call it data screening, Big Brother's effect, coincidence or whatever... As I was looking into Madlib's catalog and more particularly into his "Medicine Show" series, Bandcamp incidentally published an article about it. 

Basic info, sure, but a good way to get to know Madlib's intent with these obscure records, in which he tackled many genres and styles, acted in a total free way and therefore showcased the best of his creativity. 

ASP.

ASP is a collective of beatmakers, consisting of akabrownsugar, Shitao and Pi-Pol, since 2006. They have been reviving the old flame lately, so here's a recap of the latest releases :

Pi-Pol - R&¶ : a collection of wonderful remixes, available on Bandcamp : https://pi-pol.bandcamp.com/album/r

Shitao - The day she arrives : spooky and cinematographic instrumentals, available on Bandcamp : https://shitao.bandcamp.com/album/the-day-she-arrives

A vinyl can be pre-ordered on Qrates : https://qrates.com/projects/20804-the-day-she-arrives

akabrownsugar - noodles : reissue of this old project, this time available on Bandcamp : https://akabrownsugar.bandcamp.com/album/noodles-2

akabrownsugar - ruff batch : a collection of beats previously posted on Soundcloud, available on Bandcamp : https://akabrownsugar.bandcamp.com/album/ruff-batch 

  

Support tha movement.

mixtapes.

Back when cassette tapes where ruling thanks to the possibility they offered to record almost anything (live sounds, radio, vinyl, CD, tapes...), it was the favorite format of teenagers, who would trade or offer personal compilations to their friends and loved ones. To be honest, it was a magical time. The format then gained fame within the hip-hop community as a way for DJ's to spread their mixes. And it opened a glorious era, full of discoveries, sonic gems, and sane competition. 

Then the CD arrive, and the same actors switched to this format, which allowed an even faster and wider distribution. Then it became uncontrollable when the mp3 and later the streaming possibilities came into play. That's where we are nowadays.

Many rappers owe their introduction in the game to the mixtape scene. As a DIY way of making and distributing music, for a genre like hip-hop, it's a natural thing. 

Mainstream acts like Kanye West, 50 Cent, Drake, Migos, Future, Gucci Mane, Lil Wayne and alternative cats like Earl Sweatshirt, Tyler the Creator, Lil B, Danny Brown, Run The Jewels, Chance The Rapper (who won a Grammy with a mixtape) used the mixtape for several reasons : as a business card cleverly placed on the desk of the music industry executives or as a way around the limits of their respective contracts with labels and majors. Indeed, several rappers kept releasing mixtapes after their break out in the music industry : the examples of Drake and Lil Wayne are famous. Lots of mixtapes even became considered as albums after they gained success and were pressed on physical formats. 

Now, if you're looking into a ranking of the best (post-cassette era) mixtapes, Pitchfork made an attempt at listing a few. XXL Mag has the same idea a few months ago. Far from being exhaustive, but a simple way to get into this essential page of the hip-hop story book. 

Capitaine Hadôken.

In the world of beatmakers, among the heavyweights, Madlib is prolific, Knxwledge is prolific, Alchemist is prolific, and many underdogs are prolific as well. 

Lurking in the underground for many years now, the guy behind the Capitaine Hadôken moniker falls in this category as well. 

Despite a one year and a half-hiatus between his two latest projects available on Bandcamp, he used this period to improve his game on his portable turntable and Boss SP404 sampler. Plus, he operates under other personae. 

The result is a monster project comprising of 150 beats, which amounts to around 4 hours of music, available on Bandcamp. 

The French loopdigga. 

Groupe RTD.

When Ostinato Records announced the release of an album by a band from Djibouti, I felt interested, curious. Somalian music had crossed borders within the last decade, through the efforts of a few labels such as Awesome Tapes from Africa or Analog Africa, but music from Djibouti remained a mystery. Sure, Djibouti is a tiny country, so the influence of Somalia is huge on both the population and culture.

While chasing Somalian sounds, the guys at Ostinato Records got the idea of asking for the authorization of the Djibouti government to dig into the archives of the national radio. Smart move. Incidentally, they heard a live band rehearsing, and that's how they knew the Groupe RTD. Getting to record the band was apparently another administrative hassle, but Ostinato Records managed to do it. Can't wait to listen to the album, "The Dancing Devils of Djibouti". 

The whole story behind the release is told by Radio France International. And more on Bandcamp. And on Okayafrica. And on World Trasures Music.

lockdown : vinyl find #52.

This may be the last post of the "lockdown : vinyl find" series, as the lockdown will officially end tomorrow. But I might go on ; it's been fun so far. 

In Auckland, New Zealand, armed with my paper list of record stores, I found a small one I was looking for. It took me a few minutes to find some space to park my rental car, but as soon as I entered the store, I knew I would be in good hands. The owner inquired about my tastes and what I was looking for. Actually, I had no idea so I said something like "local stuff, psych rock mainly". It took him two seconds to point his finger on "Doug Jerebine is Jesse Harper". He summed up the story of Doug Jerebine, and I knew right away that the album would be an interesting listen. The owner guaranteed the finest quality, and I trusted him.  

Doug Jerebine won't ring many bells, but he's a legend in New Zeland and should be beyond those parts. But today's record was recorded in London at the end of the 1960's. At the time, Doug Jerebine had made a name for himself as a prodigious guitar player and songwriter. His songs would be sung by Kiwi rock legends Human Instinct, and Doug could certainly count on his undisputed talent to blow up on the rock scene with his Hendrix-ish style. But this record did not see the light of day. And no other recording either. Until 2012 that is.  

Truth is : Doug Jerebine is the most psychedelic character one could be. He went from being an industry hype (under the Jesse Harper moniker, hence the title of the album), recording an unreleased album, press it on acetate, forget it, to living in India for thirty years as a member of the Krishna movement, becoming a translator, a sitar expert and an instructor. Even George Harrison can't top that story.

And forty years later, he had the most interesting reaction to the release of his long-awaited album : he was glad because it meant that he could go back to play on stage. 

Fully licensed under Doug Jerebine, the album was even mastered with his involvement in the process. This release could not have been more respectful of the author's wishes and intentions. So, thank you to the folks at Drag City for chasing down the original acetate and share their find with the world ; so much blues and psych in this album that it genuinely sounds like the 1970's.  

Doug Jerebine - Doug Jerebine is Jesse Harper.

Some of the tracks can be listened to from a Doug Jerebine YouTube account.

For those interested, the resurrection of Doug Jerebine made the headlines in New Zealand, so his return was quite documented : here are a few examples.

lockdown : vinyl find #51.

My first encounter with Donny Hathaway dates back from my student years. I was uploading mixtapes online, and Donny featured in one of them though I don't remember how I got to choose one of his tracks to feature. I tried to have my Beatles-fanatic friends to listen to "Jealous guy" by Donny, and they hated it because of Donny's piano-bar style and vibrato. I shared the "Live" album with my best friend, and he loved it. We both consider it one of the best albums we've ever heard. 

Donny Hathaway seemed to be a troubled guy, and it kinda makes its way in his music. Despite his virtuosity on the keys, which makes playing look effortless and sound like a natural language, his voice contains sadness. I guess people called it "emotion" while he was still alive. 

This album is actually a collage work. The first side comes from a concert at the Troubadour in Hollywood, while the B side comes from a concert at the Bitter End in New York. But they added a bass solo played at the Troubadour in one song, "Voices inside (everything is everything)", of side two. Nevertheless, the listening flows well, without any filler or weak point. 

Playing both covers and his own songs, Donny Hathaway felt comfortable in both : his "The ghetto", playing for more than 12 minutes, is an unmatched marvel, his covers of Carole King's "You've got a friend" is so legendary that many people think he's the author of the song. 

A real live album, in which the artist interacts with the audience. Makes me want to travel back in time in order to have the opportunity of participating. 

Donny Hathaway - Live.

Here's the album, as a YouTube playlist.