Best of November 2023.
A month ago I wrote that I hoped my monthly recommendations would appear on a regular, rather than quarterly, basis, and here I have made good on the promise I made to myself. Below is a rundown of the 15 albums I listened to the most in November. Most of them were released this month, some were not, but they found their way into my players last month...
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Almir Mešković & Daniel Lazar - Family Beyond Blood (Alda Records 2023.)
Almir was born in Bosnia and Daniel was born in Serbia. They both grew up with folk music in the heart of the Balkans, where music and cultures meet and break. Yet, they met in Oslo at the Norwegian Academy of Music, and there they developed their own expression, drawing on all the beauty and pathos of the accordion and fiddle in a spirit of living tradition. On their second album, they mix many different musical styles and influences from all over the world. In addition to their virtuosity, this album is carried by excellently selected guests, of whom Toumani Diabate, Vahid Taha and Marja Mortensson deserve special mention.
Alpacas Collective - Big Words (Selfreleased 2023.)
The easiest way to describe Alpacas Collective is as another ethio-jazz/afrobeat band from Europe, but there are many more layers to their music. Certainly, it is important to mention that Alpacas Collective has the sitar, on which some brilliant solos are played. There are many different influences, and above all, an incredible energy that can be heard in every note. Last year's album "Seven Wisdom Of Plutonia" totally blew my mind, and with "Big Words," the band has gone one step further. Both albums are hard to stop listening to, and the best part is that Alpacas Collective is even better live. Don't miss the chance to see them if you get the opportunity.
Anoushka Shankar - Chapter I: Forever, For Now (Leiter Records 2023.)
What else is there to write about the music of Anoushka Shankar? The daughter of Pandit Ravi Shankar has been a virtuoso sitar player for more than 25 years, creating powerful and exciting music. While in earlier years she combined various other instruments with the sitar, this EP is made almost exclusively for the sitar, with everything else complementing her musical performance. For this EP, Anoushka Shankar collaborated with Arooj Aftab, who produced the EP and wrote one song with Anoushka and great Nils Frahm played on "Daydreaming".
Assiko Golden Band De Grand Yoff - Magg Tekki (Mississippi Records 2023.)
Swedish producer Karl Jonas Winqvist is responsible for two excellent albums by the band Wau Wau Collectif, and now he has presented us with the first album for Assiko Golden Band de Grand Yoff. This band has gathered around the Senegalese poet Djiby Ly, who has surrounded himself with singers and drummers on 14 (!) different percussion instruments. The result is an album that constantly invites you to dance and offers genuine, untouched African music. Music like this has rarely been heard in recent years.
Caamaño & Ameixeiras - Quitar o aire (Raso Music 2023.)
There is something magical in Galician music, and I am convinced of this year after year. A new fantastic release based on the music from this Spanish region comes from the duo Caamaño & Ameixeiras. Vocals, accordion, and violin – that is their formula that carries this album. For something more, I have transcribed a brilliant description of their music from their Bandcamp profile: 'Reinterpreting some of the deepest traditional Galician verses, Caamaño & Ameixeiras take us on a journey from sadness to exorcism, from mourning to sexual impulse, from magic to the harshest reality. A songbook where the most straightforward foundations of Galician and Iberian folklore engage in direct dialogue with attitudes closer to punk and textures that nod to dub, tango, singer-songwriter style, or the soundtrack of a masterpiece.'
Catrin Finch and Aoife Ní Bhriain - Double You (Bendigedig 2023.)
There is music that simply captivates you with its beauty, and that is what Catrin Finch and Aoife Ní Bhriain achieve. The Irish-Welsh duo came together a few years ago and the synergy was immediately present and almost tangible. It was clear from the start that the two would continue their work together, and that is exactly what has happened. Now we have an album called "Double You" and even if you're not a fan of Celtic folk (and I'm not one of the biggest enthusiasts of the genre either), this album will completely draw you in and transport you to magical realms.
Hashshashin - Śaraṇaṃ (Art As Catharsis Records 2023.)
Lachland Dale began his musical journey in metal bands, especially those dedicated to a progressive and somewhat post-metal sound. He later discovered traditional instruments and melodies and combined them with his original love. In the group Hashshashin, we hear a post-rock approach to song composition as well as prog elements, while Dale plays the rubab, the Afghan version of the lute. Three songs on this EP are inspired by Afghan folk music, but all these traditions are overlaid here and put into a new perspective. "Śaraṇaṃ" is a completely hypnotic release, psychedelic and modern.
Lenhart Tapes - Dens (Glitterbeat Records 2023.)
Their music is difficult to explain. You will come across this phrase in announcements of performances by artists who merge different, often theoretically incompatible musical genres, use strange instruments, or play music unlike anything you've heard before. Often, these words tend to be exaggerated, but with Lenhart Tapes, that's not the case, as this group not only satisfies one of these descriptions but all three. Lenhart Tapes definitely merges different musical genres by combining (not only) Yugoslav folk melodies with industrial, noise rhythms. They don't use strange instruments, but in creating music, they use samples, and in live performances, they use tapes, which you rarely see these days. The extent to which their music is different from anything you've heard before is best described by the fact that Glitterbeat Records, their record label, coined the term 'ethno-noise' and used the following sentences to describe Lenhart Tapes: 'Hypnotic Walkman jams meet industrial rhythm loops and trad-folk songs. A magical, beauty-and-the-beast encounter of dirty noise and righteous folk.'
Ndox Electrique - Tëdd ak Mame Coumba Lamba ak Mame Coumba Mbang (Bongo Joe 2023.)
Ifriqiyya Electrique was a band in which François R. Cambuzat and Gianna Greco explored Maghrebi music, mixing it with intense industrial sounds. Those who attended one of their concerts witnessed an incredible experience, and now Gianna and François have taken a step further, heading to Senegal. The Ndox Électrique is a possession ritual from the Senegalese n'döep ceremonies. Wild, dark and solar, feminine and powerful, calling the spirits to challenge the modern world with incantations, dances and ancestral percussions, electric guitars and computers. On stage, healing mistresses & musicians make a pact with the demons: it will take much more than good intentions but sweat and enormous volume to achieve emancipation & deliverance.
Orchestre Poly-Rythmo De Cotonou - Le Sato 2 (Acid Jazz 2023.)
I've written it several times, but I'll say it again: if I have a time machine, one of the trips would be to Benin in the 1970s to see Orchestre Poly-Rythmo De Cotonou live in one of their multi-hour performances at the local club, The Zenith. However, since I don't have a time machine, I can only enjoy recordings of the greatest African band ever. Orchestre Poly-Rythmo De Cotonou played a lot and recorded a lot, and there are constantly new reissues of their brilliant albums like this one.
PoiL Ueda - Yoshitsune (Dur et Doux 2023.)
This is a crazy year for the French-Japanese project PoiL Ueda. In March they released their first joint album together ("PoiL Ueda"," Dur et Doux), and after that they toured all over Europe, including Zagreb. Now they're back with a new album, "Yoshitsune"." The wonderful combination of the Japanese artist Junko Ueda and the French band PoiL once again brings a mixture of medieval Japanese music with chants and solo parts on the satsuma-biwa, the Japanese version of the lute, with progressive rock elements. If the album "PoiL Ueda" was a more than successful exploration, "Yoshitsune" is a confirmation that it is currently one of the most interesting combinations on the scene.
Sababa 5 - Aspan (Batov Records 2023.)
Sababa 5 have released several excellent singles over the year, and now they have treated us to their second album. The Israeli group bases their style on a mixture of deep funk, psychedelic rock and traditional Middle Eastern rhythms. "Aspan" is a delightful 40-minute journey through wonderful music that invites you to dance or to comfortably settle by the window of a pleasant train (so, not one in the Balkans) and enjoy the view.
Soema Montenegro - Circulo Radiante (Mais Um 2023.)
Soema Montenegro has been called the 'shaman-poet' and she describes her new album as 'an embrace of territory; an encompassing sonic ode to Latin American sounds, landscapes and people.' Her distinctive voice accompanies a tranquil yet somewhat experimental music that is another example of how traditional music can seamlessly integrate into a contemporary approach.
Togo All-Stars - Spirits (Excelsior Recordings 2023.)
Regular followers of Izvorišta know that Afrobeat is my favorite music, and I especially love it when good Afrobeat albums come from artists from Africa. For a while there weren't too many, but recently there have been some excellent bends. One of them is Togo All Stars, a group that impressed me last year with the album "Fa" and released an even better album this year called "Spirits". This album is fantastic from start to finish, with no weak moments, and its particular charm is that my 8 year old son loves it very much. Great rhythms with excellent messages, that's what Afrobeat is all about. Togo All Stars is a band I'd love to see live.
Vladimir & Kalafat - Evala Mare Evala (PDV Records 2023.)
Vladimir and his Kalafats have been playing with traditional Dalmatian musical heritage since 2018. and the album "Riva degli Schiavoni". This is their third album, and like its predecessors, it is carried by Vladimir's brilliant voice, which dances on the edge of falsetto practically all the time. He combines the klapa vocal style with sevdah influences in a somewhat experimental way. The music is also experimental, ambient and somewhat dark, making it one of the most interesting albums of the year in the Balkan region
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