MacUmba

MacUmba - Damp Carpet


Live in London

MacUmba are a unique group of musicians based in Scotland who mix the traditional sounds of Scottish bagpipes with the infectious rhythms of Brazilian percussion.

Starting as a batucada (or drumming group) in the early 90's, MacUmba grew out of a series of drumming workshops held at the Glasgow School of Art. Soon after, MacUmba added various combinations of flutes, guitars, bass, voices etc. to the batucada, and performed at many events throughout Scotland.

The inception of the current MacUmba formation happened when they were asked to play at a major Scottish football cup final. It was decided to add bagpipes to the batucada in order to be more in line with the football tradition of pipe bands. This combination proved hugely popular, and as a result MacUmba was born.

Fela Kuti for the Afternoon

Teacher Don't Teach Me (1986)


Rare early footage (shot by Ginger Baker) featuring Fela & Afrika 70 performing in the rainy southeastern town of Calabar, shortly after the the Nigerian civil war.


From his 1973 album "Gentleman". The late great Fela Anikulapo Kuti, (15 October 1938 - 2 August 1997), real name Olufela Olusegun Oludotun Ransome-Kuti, the pioneer of Afrobeat music. A Nigerian multi-instrumentalist musician and composer, human rights activist, and political maverick.

Regarding his name change. He was known as Fela Ransome-Kuti until about 1978, when he renamed himself Fela Anikulapo Kuti, the middle name meaning 'he who carries death in his pouch'. He was a human-rights revolutionary who started his own political party, Movement Of The People, to protest the kleptocracy in Nigeria. He had his own compound called the Kalakuta Republic, in Lagos, which he declared independent from Nigeria, where he and his uncountable number of wives lived, and were constantly terrorized by the government. His influence on funk and African music is unsurpassed with approximately 77 albums.

The musical style performed by Fela Kuti is called Afrobeat, which is essentially a fusion of jazz, funk, psychedelic rock, and traditional African chants and rhythms. It is characterized by having African-style percussion, vocals, and musical structure, along with jazzy, funky horn sections. The endless groove is also used, in which a base rhythm of drums, shekere, muted guitar, and bass guitar are repeated throughout the song. His band was notable for featuring two baritone saxophones, whereas most groups using this instrument only use one. This is a common technique in African and African-influenced musical styles, and can be seen in funk and hip-hop. Some elements often present in Felas music are the call-and-response within the chorus and figurative but simple lyrics. Felas songs were almost always over 10 minutes in length, some reaching the 20- or even 30-minute marks, while some unreleased tracks would last up to 45 minutes when performed live. This was one of many reasons that his music never reached a substantial degree of popularity outside of Africa. His songs were mostly sung in Nigerian pidgin, although he also performed a few songs in the Yoruba language. Felas main instruments were the saxophone and the keyboards, but he also played the trumpet, guitar, and took the occasional drum solo. Fela refused to perform songs again after he had already recorded them, which also hindered his popularity outside Africa. Fela was known for his showmanship, and his concerts were often quite outlandish and wild. He referred to his stage act as the Underground Spiritual Game.

His album output slowed in the 1990s, and eventually he stopped releasing albums altogether. The battle against military corruption in Nigeria was taking its toll, especially during the rise of dictator Sani Abacha. Rumors were also spreading that he was suffering from an illness for which he was refusing treatment. On 3 August 1997, Olikoye Ransome-Kuti, already a prominent AIDS activist and former Minister of Health, stunned the nation by announcing his younger brothers death a day earlier from Kaposis sarcoma brought on by AIDS. (Their younger brother Beko was in jail at this time at the hand of Abacha for political activity). More than a million people attended Felas funeral at the site of the old Shrine compound. A new Africa Shrine has opened since Felas death in a different section of Lagos under the supervision of his son Femi Kuti.

Feryal Öney- Aynalı Körük

Morning music as huge chunks of snow melt and crash to the ground outside my window. drums...crash...drums...crash...

New Music from Three Groups

Pocahaunted-Ashes is White
Download Dusk by Pocohaunted


Brain Bombs - Jack the Ripper Lover


Stag Hare @ Kilby Court / July 24, 2008 from Michael Biggs on Vimeo.
Part of Stag Hare's set at Kilby Court in Salt Lake City, July 24 2008

Sally Golding

Film Performance. London. 25 July 2008.

Idrissa Soumaoro - N'badenw

Idrissa Soumaoro

The musical credentials of Idrissa Soumaoro are impeccable. Having learnt his trade with Les Ambassadeurs with Salif Keita in Bamako, he has been a force within Malian music for a number of years, receiving the Knight of the National order of Mali in recognition of his contribution to Malian culture and music. This came to the notice of famed African producer, Ibrahim Sylla (Salif Keita, Baaba Maal, Ismael Lo), who has taken Idrissa and created the beautiful album Köte

Fregan Love

Freegan Love from Reel 13 on Vimeo.

Free things are everywhere.

Earth (Gaia) by The Orb (1993)

My epiphany came in late 1993. I was at a rave in the forest outside Sydney. While I was sober at the time, the scene around me resembled a dream by a chemically enhanced Fellini. I was lying on a small foot bridge over a stream enjoying the early morning sunshine (this was a three-day occasion) watching the clouds in the sky floating over me. Suddenly 'Gaia' began on the decks, I realised there was water passing under my body, water passing over my body (as clouds) and my body was largely composed of water. Three in One. Everything was going to be OK.
The mountains shall drop sweet wine, and the hills shall melt....

Blogomentary

BLOGUMENTARY playfully explores the many ways blogs are influencing our media, our politics, and our relationships. Personal political writing is the foundation of our democracy, but mass media has reduced us to passive consumers instead of active citizens. Blogs return us to our roots and re-engage us in democracy. Shot in candid first-person style by director Chuck Olsen.

NOTE: This film is presented here for non-profit, educational use only. You can make a donation at blogumentary.org if you're so moved

Green Eggs and Ham