2010 Top Ten

Writing a top ten list is such an egotistical effort, but a close friend asked me for one, and after a bit of thought I came up with something. Most of these are tracks I listen to at my desk at work, in the car, and in some cases from behind the dj booth. Here they are, in no particular order, and watch out for NSFW imagery, images, lyrics, and everything else that makes a track good:

Mungo's Hifi feat. Brother Culture "Wikidness" (Tes La Rok remix)
Conscious lyrics and evil bass conspire to shake the foundations.


Hypnotic Brass Ensemble "Spottie"
Brilliant cover of the Outkast classic. I deejayed a friend's wedding (a rarity for me), and suggested this for a recessional. Of course they loved it. This record absolutely turns out any late night Atlanta crowd.


French Montana feat. Curren$y "So High"
Sunroof music. Curren$y is amazing. Somebody clue me in on the vocal sample.


Big Boi "Sir Lucious Leftfoot: The Son of Chico Dusty"
I'm just gonna post the intro because the whole thing bumps from start to finish. You already know.


Nas & Damian Marley feat. Dennis Brown "Land of Promise"
The album definitely had some weak moments, but this was not one of them. I have spent entire days blasting this with the bass all the way turnt up.



The-Dream "Yamaha"
I usually listen to this and think, "Damn, I need to listen to more The-Dream."


Cut Chemist "Sound of the Police"
This mix is perfect. South American and African classics and a new take on turntablism? I haven't really even heard the term "turntablism" since about 2001 and somehow Cut Chemist makes it all relevant again. Read my full review, written back in August, here.


Sissy Nobby "Lay Me Down" (DJ Sega remix)
I couldn't find a youtube clip for DJ Sega's version, so you'll have to follow that link, or listen to this L-Vis 1990 take. Unfortunately, the video doesn't feature any of Nobby's raunchy lyrics, but my good buddy Ben Coleman of Judi Chicago is an L-Vis 1990 fan (and he's turned me onto the stuff a bit) so the clip stays.


Major Lazer feat. Collie Buddz & Lindi Ortega "Good Enuff (Cash Flow Dub)"
Gorgeous tune.


Los Rakas feat. Faviola (Uproot Andy Hold Yuh Riddim Remix)
Here's another one that I was really digging all summer. I considered putting Gyptian's "Hold Yuh" on the list as well, so we'll just let this count for both songs. I'm really impressed with the Spanish raps from Los Rakas, and Uproot Andy rarely disappoints. Truly a great tropical song.

Tropicaaliyah

A little late with this one, but at POLYRHYTHMIQUES we always keep our clocks set to Island Time, and we definitely don't wear wristwatches. Brooklyn's DJ Still Life hooked up a serious set of Aaliyah remixes last week on the 9th anniversary of her death. Still Life's cumbia treatment of "Try Again" is the pick here, and kudos go out to anyone willing to rethink three of Timbaland's masterful turn-of-the-century productions. All four tracks available free here.

Muqabla Hum Se Na Karo

Amazing dance off complete with costume and style changes, from 1969's Prince, with vocals by Bollywood legends Lata Mangeshkar, Mohammad Rafi, and Asha Bhosle.

RIP Sugar Minott

I remember grabbing this album from Hoodlum's in Tempe, AZ, having learned about it from an Easy Star records e-mail (they used to spam me with info on what sounded like the dopest parties in NYC). Never got to see Sugar live, but I always wondered if Goodie Mob knew they shared a track title.

REMOTE CONTROL

Back in April of ought-eight, DJ Godtrilla 3K (ATL/LA) cued up the turntables in the deep forested West Sussex Studio for a little twitterpatin'. REMOTE CONTROL is a smooth succession of Caribbean and African sides, along with a little narration from the one-and-only Charlton Heston. Uplift your consciousness as you step into spring. Download link here.

Polyrhythmiques Upgrade

Dookie Platters is assuming his government name and writing for Atlanta newspaper Crib Notes blog. Check out the first post on Yung Joc 's Atlanta-to-Africa connections. Crib Notes is focused on Atlanta's local musical happenings, so we'll still be posting that international goodness here at Polyrhythmiques on our normal erratic basis.

Other Lands

Brasil-based producer, deejay, and remixer Maga Bo recently dropped another 40-minute mix of impossibly unclassifiable heat. Vocalists from all corners attack the mic over a stew of diverse drum patterns, dub-hall basslines, and electronic flourishes. Surprisingly pleasing stuttering cellphone speaker buzz shows up in track three for that special touch of genius. Check here for the tracklist, here for Maga Bo's slightly more drum-n-bass-y Os Cacos mix, and look down for his outstanding collaboration "Fire" with Senegalese emcee Xuman (from 2008's Archipelagoes on Soot Records).

Blues Run the Game

(special shout out to my man John R. aka DJ Gnosis over at Black Century for this posting's title.)

As infrequently as this blog is updated, rest assured it is even more infrequently read. Surprisingly, that didn't stop the good folks at World Circuit Records (of Buena Vista Social Club fame) from stopping by to drop off a copy of their latest release from two musical legends. 'Kala Djula' is an instrumental number from Malian recording artists Ali and Toumani (not to be confused with this duo), better known as Ali Farka Touré and Toumani Diabaté. The tune displays the virtuosity of these two incredibly diverse African musicians, with Touré on guitar, and Diabaté on the countrymen's native stringed gourd, the kora. The result is a beautiful balance of dancing melodies, more reminiscent of an 19th-century Italian drawing room than a 21st-century "digital single." The album Ali & Toumani is available on itunes, amazon, etc. and "Kala Djula' is streaming on World Circuit here.
I first heard Ali Farka Touré on 1994's Talking Timbuktu with perennial "world musician" (and guitar legend in his own right) Ry Cooder. Although Touré passed in 2006, he is still recognized by many as one of the greatest guitar players to walk the planet. The link between West African music and the American blues is all but invisible when Touré picked up his instrument. I'll let him explain it in his own words...

Scorpio Sound System

Ten full minutes of Jamaica's Scorpio Sound System in the yard at Hellshire Beach back in 1993.

¡Roomba!

Few places better define the musical diaspora than Cuba. African and Spanish rhythms conspired here to create countless genres, one of the most popular (and exportable) being the rumba. Of course, anybody with a Lowery Odyssey is familiar with the "Rhumba" setting, but the beat's origins are a far cry from ballrooms and big band LPs.
1984's Roots of Rhythm, hosted by none other than Harry Belafonte, highlights the global success of Latin music, but more importantly finds the rumba alive (at least alive 25 years ago) in the streets of Matanzas, Cuba...


Perhaps the streets of Matanzas still breathe these rumba roots, as 2006's La Fuerza del Tambor provides us with this glimpse of Cuban life...


(further reading at, and props to ¡Vamos a Guarachar!)

Fuego means Fire...

Columbia's Bomba Estereo light it up with the lead single off of their latest album, "Blow Up." Thier brand of la cumbia sicodelica presented in video form pretty much sums up the party Polyrhythmiques wishes it could be: A pulsing beat that begs your partner to dance a little closer, vocalist Liliana Saumet with an uber cute haircut spitting tough rhymes, and a dude break dancing with a patio chair. Out now on Nacional Records.

Windy, Rainy Lagos

Tony Allen invented Afrobeat alongside Fela Kuti over 40 years ago.

We'll let that statement stand alone. Today, Tony is still deep in the game, making the music that made him famous and staying relevant (but not corny) with collaborations from all sorts of younger artists. Back in 2001, he worked with French producer Doctor L to create Psycho on Da Bus. I remember buying the disc from Hoodlum's music, where the stoner-owners called it "electronic Miles Davis." Recently, Allen's work received the electronic treatment again, as perennial Polyrhythmiques favorite Honest Jon's Records presented Lagos Shake. It was through this project that Tony encountered Chicago's Hypnotic Brass Ensemble, a nine piece that plays syrupy jazz with a head nod towards the head nodders.
Tony, Hypnotic, great LDN emcee Ty, and the legendary Baaba Maal all got together for a party thrown by Red Bull's Music Academy (your guess is as good as mine). Stream that here, or check out Elewon Po, a single from Tony's upcoming album Secret Agent, over on his myspace.

Skylarking

Horace Andy has been blessing the mic for over 40 years. He's done it all, from cutting singles (and his teeth) at the legendary Studio One, to collaborating with that other band from Bristol. These days, he's teamed up with UK producer Ashley Beedle for a little Inspiration Information. Ashley hasn't had a quiet career himself, he gave us several soul-inspired disco house classics in the 90s, and went on to remix Amadou and Mariam's "Coulibaby" before most of us knew who they were.
Now I might leave their version of "Angie" over there on that side of the pond, but bringing in yet another Bristol artist, DJ Pinch, for a dubsteppy remix of "Watch We" is a definite right-on.

(download it vowels and all at RCRD LBL)

Revival

David Murray here calling Jesus through the tenor sax. Y'all know I got a soft spot for some Chuuuch. Revival in a green field, a first breeze blowing through the tent flaps, taking the spirit out to the passing clouds. Whatever makes this music makes this music.

Hatred vs. Hot Beats

We here at Polyrhythmiques love dancehall reggae. Marching beats, synthed-out bass, and raw lyrics bring out some instinctive desire to raise two fingers in the air and buck shots. However, we have always been disappointed with the close-mindedness reggae artists maintain towards gays. Case in point: Movado's 2008 "Dem a Fag", on the Self Defense riddim. Turns out Movado was actually referring to rival Jamaican deejay Vybz Kartel. The two have been battling since 2006, and while Movado's accusations against Vybz's sexuality are harsh, the slightly auto-tuned cries of "fuck ya mudder" on Mr. Kartel's "Wha Dat Fah" seem far more incendiary. Fortunately, both artists bring precise delivery to almost evey riddim they touch, so the feud is far from becoming boring.

Movado: "Dem a Fag"


Vybz Kartel "What Dat Feh"

2008-bit Future Ish

Screwston, TX's Squincy Jones has produced an excellent mix to wrap up the oh-eight; a brilliant cocktail of where sound is right now.  With Nintendub, he blends wobbly dubstep with chopped and screwed Southern rap, topping the whole concoction off with 8-bit Nintendo loops.  Primo.  (via dj/rupture, sort of).

Kwaito

In ZA the gangster musik that makes you scared comes equipped with kick drum on every beat - musik that still reps the tuffest of the tuff but aims to keep folks steady dancing. South Africa's Kwaito music matured alongside 90's era stateside hip-hop, but with a stronger injection of Chicago house influencing the pace. If you want the info, go check whoever put all this in. Or listen to this writer's alma mater give it the documentary treatment.


Here's a couple joints from that web video site thing.


Mzekezeke:




And a lil Tkzee:

Menahan Street Band, Lil' Pookie!

This shit is jammin. I found it on Emusic. Which is the shit, if you don't know. Then i see Soul-sides O-dub done already done a write up. Go listen over there. In a nutshell "Dude from the Dap-Kings does his own ting." Aside from a slightly suspect Rocky rendition, this is on some instrosoul that you need when you're looking out the window at work and it's 4:30 and already getting dark. Young Hova already took it pop though, so even when your lil' pookie goes diggin in your crates for the futurefunk rave music that they vibe to you can be like, "That shit got sampled before it even hit the shelves! Keep looking, pookie."

Keeper of the Drums

Perhaps no deity represents the melding of cultures better than Shango (alternatively Chango), the Yoruba God of Thunder and the keeper of music.  The worship of Shango, initiated by the Oyo of West Africa, survived the horrific Middle Passage and found a new home in the Caribbean.  With manifestations throughout the West Indies, South America, and his native Africa, the power of Shango resounds, much like the double-headed Bata drum he controls.  The heartbeat of the Motherland proves unhindered in its planatary thump.

(photo courtesy Santeriamistica)