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Various Artists - Ghana Soundz 2: Afro Beat, Funk And Fusion In 70's Ghana (1970-1978) {Soundway SNDWCD003 rel 2004}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 412 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 172 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (jpg) -> 35 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1970-78, 2004 Soundway Records | SNDWCD003
Afro-Beat / Funk / Fusion / African Traditions / Highlife / West African

Afro-music continues to inspire a whole host of musicians, producers and DJs but even now the full picture of Afro-music in the 1960s and 70s is still far from being properly represented. Ghana Soundz Volume 2 goes some way to readdressing the balance.

In conjunction with Jollett’s memoir, The Airborne Toxic Event has completed an album by the same name, a twelve song concept record which draws from scenes and themes in the book. Incorporating real audio from his family, gospel singers, and orchestral flourishes from violins to timpani to horns, the record is Jollett’s attempt to capture the high hopes of his parents, the dash dreams and difficult times which followed, the confusion of an adult life spent nursing the wounds of childhood, and the ultimate redemption which came from looking inward and finding an acceptance of self and love of family. The record was produced by Mark Needham (The Killers, Fleetwood Mac) at east/west Studios in Hollywood.

This feast for the ears almost defies classification. Richard Horowitz is probably best known for his award-winning score to the Bernardo Bertolucci movie, The Sheltering Sky. Featured on the album is Tehran singer Sussan Deyhim; her voice is extremely expressive in an "x-tatic" Middle Eastern style, with its distinctive embellishments and phrasing. Horowitz takes recordings of her voice and layers it in subtle yet exotic tapestries and harmonies. This is not the ripoff sampling done so often on ambient dance albums. Deyhim's voice is the center of the compositions, and her artistry is always honored. At times, her combined voices sound like the Manhattan Transfer, but when the title track features 84 recombined samples of her voice, the result is very unique. Although the sound processing is important, the album features many live musicians, including world music expert Jaron Lanier and members of the Moroccan National Radio and Television Orchestra. Majoun offers layers upon veils of mysteries and never stoops to trite Middle Eastern musical clichés. Highly recommended.

Once again, Ian Carter and Nicola Kearey of Stick In The Wheel took up their recording equipment and ventured to new places within England, both physically and metaphorically. Asking folk and traditional musicians what 'From Here' meant to them: this impulse to make music – From Here – where does it come from? What does it mean to be making this music in 2019, using the framework of English traditional music and culture? England is divided, and we may well look to the past to make sense of the future - in such times of chaos and political uncertainty, these are timely questions.