World

Jon Lusk takes a trip in sounds ancient and modern from Australia to Nigeria

WORLD CHOICE

Celebrating Yunnan

This diverse collection of tracks is a great way to get to know China’s most musical province

The Rough Guide To The Music Of Yunnan
Various Artists
World Music Network RGNET1421CD

Sometimes the opening cut from a classic album announces its importance like a light being switched on. So it is with that from The Rough Guide To The Music Of Yunnan as Gen Dequan’s ‘Ancient Melody of the Dai gourd pipe’ kicks in, launching this overview of what might just be China’s most musical province. Despite occupying only 4.1 per cent of its total land mass, this geographically and culturally diverse province in China’s far southwest punches above its weight, for which it has long been revered by musicologists. Any readers who enjoyed the music of the group Manhu, whose international debut featured in the July 2020 issue, will soon recognise the gleeful folkloric tone of some of these artists. In fact, Manhu can even be heard collaborating with Jenny and the Hog Drovers on ‘Banquet Dance’. Although much of Yunnan’s folkloric wealth is ‘frozen in time’, there’s an obvious readiness to embrace foreign or western sounds like rock and reggae, which gives this collection an accessibility that those new to Chinese folklore will probably find appealing, while a canny track sequence adds listenability. ★★★★★

November round-up

We last met Melbourne’s experimental group Bush Gothic in November 2016, and now their third album Beyond The Pale finds them moving outside their early inspiration of traditional bush ballads into more contemporary poems. These address post-penal Australian matters such as industrial relations; ‘When they jail a man for striking it’s a rich man’s country yet’ sings pianist and double-bass player Dan Witton on ‘The Ballad of 1891’, giving singer/multi-instrumentalist Jenny M. Thomas her break. The trio are accompanied by The Lonely String Quartet and furnished – as ever – with abundant ear worms. (Fydle Records Fyd005) ★★★★

Since two of these three Australasians claim Welsh ancestry, they would probably appreciate the new disc by Welsh harpist Catrin Finch and kora player/Senegalese singer Seckou Keita. They too are onto a third album. Their second disc featured in the July 2018 edition of this round-up, and Echo features an immaculately well integrated string section. ‘Conversation’ might be an alternative title, describing the way these two well-matched players respond to each other’s musical phrases with such rare chemistry. (Bendigedig BEND19) ★★★★★

Harp lovers will also thrill to Out Of The Desert by Tasha Smith Godinez, director of the San Diego Harp Academy. On her more athletic excursions, she seems to leave almost no string untouched. Her penchant for the avant garde is here complemented by Domenico Hueso on viola and Christopher Garcia on percussion and vocals. Imaginative interweaving of studio and field recordings creates a delightful virtual portrait of the Californian city beside the sea that’s become both magnet and melting pot for musicians from afar. Although she’s never toured the UK or Europe, that possibility is pending so fans will find out whether she gives good sequin in the same manner as Catrin Finch, who appears like a gracefully moving cloud of fire-flies behind a taut wall of harp strings during mesmerising shows with Seckou Keita. (Ennanga Records ENN 20003) ★★★★★

Some say the ‘west is the best’ in the US, and the same could easily be said about Africa. Benin’s biggest star to date is without doubt Angélique Kidjo, so it’s fitting that this nation’s latest sensation are Star Feminine Band. It’s comprised of seven small-town girls aged between 12 and 18, which might account for the energy with which they tear through a phenomenal range of styles including Congolese rumba, Nigerian afrobeat, local vodun and sato as well as Ghanaian highlife on their second album, Star Feminine Band In Paris . While their fans dance, titles like ‘Le Marriage Force’ and ‘Women Stand Up’ underline that they have serious messages among their giddyingly syncopated rhythms and retro synths. (Born Bad Records BB157) ★★★★★

The same is true of The Muslim Highlife Of Alhaji Waziri Oshomah,also titled ‘World Spirituality Classics 3’. Highlife is generally synonymous with Nigeria and Ghana’s largely Christian south, but Oshomah hails from the Nigerian community of Afenmailand in Edo state, where togetherness is emphasised. His ‘broken English’ seems to work as well as the ‘unbroken’ or native variety while relaying his moral messages, which often focus on jealousy. He also sings in Etsako and other local languages. You’ll surely become a believer soon after first listening. (Luaka Bop CDLBOP100) ★★★★