Last Week
You can hear all of last week’s show on Mixcloud.
You can listen to all of the music from last week’s show without the talking between the songs on both iTunes and Spotify on the blog. See the running order of all the songs played there, too.
This Week
Music From: Denmark, Brazil, Canada, Catalonia, Chile, Congo, Eswatini, France, Louisiana, Morocco, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Senegal, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, Taiwan, Togo, and USA
Music By: AySay, Ævestaden, Almir Meskovic & Daniel Lazar, Bab L' Bluz, Bholoja, Carola Ortiz, Corey Ledet Zydeco, dadá joãozinho, Dick Dale, DjeuhDjoah, Lieutenant Nicholson & Guts, Dumai Dunai, Hrdza, Jackson Browne, JhenYueTang/震樂堂, Les Amazones d'Afrique, Les Mamans du Congo & RRobin, Lina, Mon Laferte, OKAN, Orchestra Baobab, Togo All Stars, Vumbi Dekula, and Xabi Aburruzaga.
This week’s Featured Album - Mount Matsu by YĪN YĪN
This week’s featured album is Mount Matsu by YĪN YĪN .
YĪN YĪN - Tokyo Disko
On first hearing you might think that YĪN YĪN - who have a new album called Mount Matsu – are probably from Japan. But “YĪN YĪN” isn’t Japanese. Mount Matsu is a fiction (although Matsu translates as Pine) and when you learn that the lineup is Kees Berkers (founder and drummer), Remy Scheren (bass), Robbert Verwijlen (keys) and Erik Bandt (guitar) then it’s less of a surprise to hear they are Dutch – from Holland's southernmost city, Maastricht.
Most of the songs are instrumentals drawing on Southeast Asian psychedelia and pre-disco funk inspired by the musicians on the Stax record label in the 60s and 70s and Japanese instrumental folk music (sōkyoku) which was popular in the 17 and 18th centuries. So quite a mix from YIN YIN who also draw on Kraftwerk and surf guitar music.
“We’ve decided to only sparsely use vocals, which leaves plenty of room for the listener’s imagination. You can really let your fantasy run wild as you listen and dance to it,” says drummer Berkers.
This, their third album, was recorded in their own studio in the Belgian countryside. Maastricht shares a border with Belgium is where the band have their studio. Mount Matsu was preceded by The Rabbit That Hunts Tigers (2019) and The Age Of Aquarius (2022).
“Art and ideas are personal and precious and the process of doing this truly together has been about more than just making an album. It was also a study of how collectives work,” notes Scheren, YĪN YĪN’s bass player since day one. “It’s sometimes hard seeing your own artistic ideas challenged as a member of a group, but we’re very proud of the result. When you truly co-create, literally every sound on a record has been tested through and through,” keyboardist Verwijlen adds.
Mount Matsu is available on Glitterbeat, a label that has gathered some of the most interesting musicians in Europe and beyond and have released some of the most interesting albums around. They are available through Bandcamp.
dadá Joãozinho - Habitual (Official Video)
Much as the featured album this week from YIN YIN draws on loads of influences, so that debut album by Brazilian musician dadá joãozinho pulls in styles ranging through dub, reggae, and hip hop, to punk and samba. The album is tds bem Global. Babysteps magazine reports
“Hailing from Niterói, a city across the bay from Rio de Janeiro, João Rocha relocated to São Paulo in 2020 alongside his bandmates from ROSABEGE, an artistic collective they formed in 2017. With the COVID-19 pandemic stalling their promotional plans, João Rocha delved inward, embracing his alter ego dadá Joãzinho. The name "dadá" pays homage to a special creature, while "zinho" means "little." This provocative persona allowed Rocha to remain open to new possibilities, alternative ways of singing, and unconventional sources of courage.”
Togo All Stars
Spirits is the new Togo All Stars album. According to the band’s website it “is dedicated to the spiritual awakening of the world, and the continent of Africa in particular, in these troubled times we are currently experiencing.”
The website continues:
Take a close look at the map of West-Africa and look for the city of Tomé, and try to visualize what the music of this environment sounds like. A hundred miles to the west lies Accra, Ghana, where the highlife movement came to fruition in the fifties. Another 160 kilometres to the east lies Cotonou, the birthplace of the renowned Orchestre Poly Rythmo. And yet another 50 miles further down the road you enter Lagos, where Fela Kuti pioneered his afrobeat.
All these influences come to the forefront in the music of one of Lomé’s most influential bands: Togo All Stars. The group infuses its music with another highly original element: the Togolese sound that’s rooted in voodoo rhythms and afrofunk.
'Spirits', the new Togo All Stars album, is dedicated to the spiritual awakening of the world, and the continent of Africa in particular, in these troubled times we are currently experiencing. Everybody has to wake up, contribute and play their part, that's the message. With a special role for the artist.
Planning 2004
Booking a trip – keep music events in mind. For many of us this is the time to plan holidays and – if you are lucky enough – visits to music conferences and showcases. Here is a list of events I’ve been looking at.
Tallinn Music Week 2023 Official Aftermovie
I was at in 2023 and sometime I will go again. It is a beautiful city and itself should be high on your list of places to go. Tallinn Music Week is a focus for bands and music businesses in the Scandanavian region but their net is cast wider. 35 countries will be represented by 165 artists in the 15th TMW, 3rd – 7th of April.
Here are a few more,
Slovenia Ment 21 - 23 Feb in Ljubljana
WOMADAdelade beginning of March
WOMAD New Zealand mid-March
WOMAD UK - End of July
SXSW (South by Southwest) in Austin Texas, (8 - 16 March is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and conferences organized jointly that take place in mid-March in Austin, Texas.
Budapest Ritmo - Mid April the following week in April
Coachella music and arts festival in California
Rock in Rio Lisboa two weekends in June (15, 16, 22, 23)
Glastonbury Festival UK end of June
Tomorrowland electronic dance music festival Belgium from 19 June
Roskilde Festival end June beginning July in Denmark
Fuji Rock Festival (Japan) End of July
Half a million people expected at Sziget Festival Budapest beginning of August
Brno Music Marathon Czechia in August
Half a million people expected at Sziget Festival Budapest beginning of August
Rock in Rio Brazil mid to late September
WOMEX end of October in Manchester.
Listen here:
You can listen as the programme is broadcast or streamed on the radio stations below. You can catch up next week on Mixcloud and you can find out more at davysims.com
Saturday:
RCFM (Radio City FM) Duisburg, Germany 3:00 - 5:00 pm CET
World FM 10:00 pm local New Zealand Time (11:00 am GMT, 12:00 noon CET)
Essential Radio Midnight to 2:00 am GMT (1:00 am CET)
Sunday:
West Coast FM Namibia 10 am to 12:00 noon Central Africa Time (8:00 am to 10:00 am GMT)
NFRS Osaka Japan: 12:00 noon local time (3:00 am UK time 4:00 am CET)
Bangor FM 107.9 (Radio Garden) 7:00 pm local time (8:00 pm CET)
Slice Audio 10:00 pm local time (11:00 pm CET)
Ferry FM 10:00 pm local time (11:00 pm CET)
Radio Larne 10:00 pm local time (11:00 pm CET)
Armagh City Radio 10:00 pm local time (11:00 pm CET)
Monday:
Reverse FM: 00:00 am GMT (01:00 CET)
SparkFlame Radio: 00:00 amGMT (01:00 CET)
Waterwaves Radio: 8:00 pm GMT (21:00 CET)
KNC Radio St Lucia 6:00 am local time (10:00 am GMT 11:00 am CET)
BR2 Pure Gold Radio - Costa Blanca, Spain 10:00 pm local time (CET)
Akaroa World Radio 10:00 pm local New Zealand Time (11:00 am GMT, 12:00 noon CET)
World FM 10:00 pm local New Zealand Time (11:00 am GMT, 12:00 noon CET)
Tuesday:
Lisburn’s 98FM (Radio Garden) 7:00 pm local time GMT (8:00 pm CET)
FM105 Down Community Radio (Radio Garden) 7:00 pm local time GMT (8:00 pm CET)
Wednesday:
World FM 4:00 am local New Zealand Time (5:00 pm Tuesday GMT, 6:00 pm CET)
Slice Audio 4:00 am local time GMT (5:00 am CET)
Global Music Radio: 6:00 pm GMT (7:00 CET)
Radio Skye (Radio Garden) 10:00 pm GMT (11:00 pm CET)
Friday:
Akaroa World Radio 2:00 pm local New Zealand Time (3:00 am GMT 4:00 am CET)