RhoDeo 1352 Roots

Hello, we still find ourselves in an environment that gave rise to the worlds monotheistic religions be that on the Arabian peninsula, here we stay in the Saharan/Sahel band stretching from the West-Atlantic coast to the highlands of Ethiopia in the east of the continent, a vast area where fresh water useally tends to come at a premium , where the sun is burning down during daytime and nighttime can be cold, where the moon is the sole light source apart from the warming campfires. Is it any surprise then that singing and making music together lifted the spirits of those gathering in these desolate landscapes. And the moon became their God.

Today we wander further East into Ethiopia, that ancient region where altitude keeps tempertures within bounds and defendable hence the fleeing Jews decided to bring the ark there.... Coptic christians find their origen there too. The Templers made it there too in search of the Ark Of The Covenant, whatever they found they did build an interesting complex there on an island in a lake, industrious fellows those Templars. Meanwhile the Ark is still paraded around once a year and it's guardian has to be replaced every 10/15 years which suggests some deadly radiation if you ask me. Alas nobody is alowed to go near it besides the guardian. Mysteries ......N'joy

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Although Ethiopian culture and music have ancient roots (not to mention a tradition of Coptic liturgical music that dates back to the 4th century A.D.), the story of Ethiopian pop music doesn't begin until the 1930s, when the Emperor Haile Selassie introduced the first Western-style military brass bands. By the later half of the '40s—after the disruptions of the Italian occupation (1935–'41) and World War II—these bands had developed into full orchestras, playing American-inspired swing arrangements with Amharic lyrics and a distinctly Ethiopian modality.

But it wasn't until the late 1960s, toward the end of Selassie's long reign, that Ethiopian popular music—or "modern music," as it was called—really began to take off. The country was opening itself up to the swinging '60s, and a musical explosion fuelled by rapid urbanization and a short-lived economic prosperity was just beginning. Young singers and musicians were influenced by imported jazz, pop, R&B and soul music from the U.S. Artists like Mahmoud Ahmed, Alemayehu Esheteand and Mulatu Astatke combined these cool new imports with traditional Ethiopian sounds, while groups like the Wallias Band, the Roha Band and the Ethio Stars plugged in to newfangled Western instruments.

Unfortunately, this golden age didn't last. After Selassie was deposed in a military coup in 1974, a provisional administrative council of soldiers, known as the Derg ("committee") installed themselves as the governing junta. The Derg years were brutal and austere, and the dictatorship closed down the nightclubs and imposed censors on a thriving recording industry. The party was over.When the Derg dictatorship finally collapsed in 1991, the lid again came off Ethiopian musical creativity.

Traditional Ethiopian music instruments include the masingo, a one-stringed violin like instrument that is played with a bow; the krar, a six-stringed lyre, played with fingers or a plectrum; the washint, a flute made from bamboo; and various drums. There are three types of drums that are used in different occasions: the negarit (kettledrum), played with sticks, the kebero, played with hands, and the atamo, tapped with the fingers or palm. Other instruments include the begena, a huge, multi-stringed lyre often referred to as the Harp of David; the tsinatsil or sistrum, which is used in churches; the meleket, a long trumpet without fingerholes, and the embilta, a large, one-note flute used on ceremonial occasions.

In addition to the above traditional music instruments, Ethiopian music also includes various types of modern music instruments that are used by bands playing Ethiopian jazz, pop, and the like. Modern Ethiopian music instruments include the guitar, percussion, violin, saxophone, mandolin, clarinet, accordion, etc. The masinqo is one of the most popular traditional Ethiopian music instruments used throughout Ethiopia. It is one of the fixtures in Ethiopian culture. Although it looks simple, the masinqo can, in the hands of an expert musician, produces a wide variety of melodies. It is often played by wandering minstrels as well as professional musicians.

In the new millennium, Ethiopian pop continues to evolve and garner wider international attention, attracting Western artists as diverse as the avant-jazz ensemble Either/Orchestra to Jamaican sax virtuoso Cedric Brooks. In fact, the county still exerts a very real pull for Jamaican musicians, as exemplified by 2005's Africa Unite festival, which drew many members of Bob Marley's family (three of whom performed) .

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Mekurya began his musical studies on traditional Ethiopian instruments such as the krar and the masenqo, and later moved on to the saxophone and clarinet. Upon reaching adolescence, he began his professional career in 1949 as a part of the Municipality Band in Addis Ababa. In 1955 he joined the house band at Addis' Haile Selassie I Theatre, and in 1965 joined the famous Police Orchestra. He was also one of the first musicians to record an instrumental version of shellela, a genre of traditional Ethiopian vocal music sung by warriors before going into battle. Mekurya took the shellela tradition seriously, often appearing onstage in a warrior's animal-skin tunic and lion's mane headdress. Mekurya's playing style has been compared to free jazz, but developed in isolation from it during the early 1950s. He continued to refine his instrumental shellela style, recording an entire album in 1970, Negus of Ethiopian Sax, released on Philips Ethiopia during the heyday of the Ethiojazz movement. Mekurya continued to work alongside many of the biggest orchestras in the Ethiopian capital, accompanying renowned singers Alemayehu Eshete, Hirut Beqele, and Ayalew Mesfin. Mekurya reached an international audience when his album Negus of Ethiopian Sax was re-released as part of the Ethiopiques CD series.

Gétatchèw Mèkurya - Negus Of Ethiopian Sax  (flac  384mb)

01 Yégènèt Muziqa 4:30
02 Shellèla 5:06
03 Aha Gèdawo 4:47
04 Antchi Hoyé 3:47
05 Ambassèl 5:41
06 Almaz Yèharèrwa 3:46
07 Yèné Hassab Gwadègna 5:32
08 Shèmonmwanayé 3:22
09 Gofèré / Antchi Hoyé 7:05
10 Aynotché Tèrabu 4:33
11 Akalé Wubé 4:05
12 Tezeta 4:39
13 Gèdamay 3:48
14 Muziqa Heywèté 3:06
15 Shellèla Bèsaxophone 2:43

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Traditional Ethiopian music instruments include the masingo, a one-stringed violin like instrument that is played with a bow; the krar, a six-stringed lyre, played with fingers or a plectrum; the washint, a flute made from bamboo; and various drums. There are three types of drums that are used in different occasions: the negarit (kettledrum), played with sticks, the kebero, played with hands, and the atamo, tapped with the fingers or palm. Other instruments include the begena, a huge, multi-stringed lyre often referred to as the Harp of David; the tsinatsil or sistrum, which is used in churches; the meleket, a long trumpet without fingerholes, and the embilta, a large, one-note flute used on ceremonial occasions.

In addition to the above traditional music instruments, Ethiopian music also includes various types of modern music instruments that are used by bands playing Ethiopian jazz, pop, and the like. Modern Ethiopian music instruments include the guitar, percussion, violin, saxophone, mandolin, clarinet, accordion, etc. The masinqo is one of the most popular traditional Ethiopian music instruments used throughout Ethiopia. It is one of the fixtures in Ethiopian culture. Although it looks simple, the masinqo can, in the hands of an expert musician, produces a wide variety of melodies. It is often played by wandering minstrels as well as professional musicians.

VA - Music Of Ethiopia   (flac  357mb)

01 Lemma Gebre Hiwot - Medina - Zelesegna (4:51)
02 Abyssinia band - Yedejih abeba negn (6:47)
03 Yohannes Afework - Ambassel (4:33)
04 Abyssinia band - Mis men gidifkini (4:22)
05 Asnakech Wortu - Tizita (4:50)
06 Abyssinia band - Endenew yisemah (5:32)
07 Areru Shegane-Teka Tema-Yohannes Afework - Tigrigna (3:19)
08 Yared Orchestra - Alegntaye (5:33)
09 Alemayehu Fanta - Salamta (3:03)
10 Abyssinia band - Yiberral libbe (4:26)
11 Sne Bahel - Haya wolalome (2:31)
12 Alemayehu Fanta - Anchihoyelene -- Tizita (7:05)
13 Abyssinia band - Esketayew (4:37)
14 Sne Bahel - Dowa dowe (3:24)
15 Abyssinia band - Tizita (7:11)

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“Ethiopians believe that when Zion is mentioned in the bible they are speaking about Ethiopia,” Gigi explains. With that in mind, the album, Zion Roots, is exactly what the name implies: music rooted deep in Ethiopian culture. On this latest concept project, Gigi was able to realize her longstanding dream of melding elements of East and West African elements into the music of her home country. "This traditional project is something that I wanted to do to keep in touch with the music of Ehtiopia. This does not represent me as a solo artist but more me introducing Ethiopian traditional music in different settings, as a concept project.

Abyssinia Infinite chose the songs for this album to convey a traditional spirit. Though quite sparsely furnished, this music is deep and powerful - a state-of-the-art marriage of ancient (handclaps, flute, harp) and modern technology that aims to transcend both. They use traditional instruments such as the kirar—which is referred to as King David’s harp in the Bible and is perhaps one of the oldest surviving East African instruments—and the washint—a simple bamboo flute. The band is composed of prominent players in the world music community including the magical Senegalese percussionist Aiyb Dieng, the virtuoso tabla-player Karsh Kale, the guitarist/accordionist Tony Cedras (known for his work on Paul Simon's Graceland project), the Ethiopian saxophonist Moges Habte, and world music producer/musician Bill Laswell, with a rare performance on acoustic guitar.

Abyssinia Infinite - Zion Roots  (flac  299mb)

01 Bati Bati 3:45
02 Gela 6:08
03 Alesema 7:26
04 Monew Natana 5:12
05 Embe Ashafergne 4:27
06 Gole 6:03
07 Aba Alem Lemenea 4:15
08 Gedawo 4:42
09 Lebaye 4:47
10 Ethiopia 6:15


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Rhodeo 1352 Hobbit 7

Hello,  so i watched the desolation of Smaug last night, hmm I'm afraid i found it disappointing, very violent and hardly suitable for 12 year olds, this considering Tolkien's Hobbit is a children's story. It was full of 3D for 3D sake sequences and the end..oh my god leaving not 1 but 4 scenes open ended. I'm afraid Jackson lost the plot but then part 3 is already mostly shot and he didn't plan the split between part 2 and 3 well enough.

Meanwhile on some current and disturbing news F1 star Michael Schumacher is in coma after a nasty encounter with a rock. The motor racing legend had been skiing slightly off-piste with his son and friends in the upmarket Meribel resort, when he fell and hit his helmet protected head. It didn't look too bad initially but his condition deteriorated and he was moved to the Grenoble hospital where has now seen to by renowned Paris neurosurgeon, doctor Gerard Saillant. Brain haemorrhage can become very nasty, let's hope he'll be able to enjoy his 45th birthday coming friday.


J. R. R. Tolkien's 1937 children's fantasy novel The Hobbit  is already at it's penultimate episode today. The series was adapted by Michael Kilgarriff and produced by John Powell in eight half-hour mono episodes for BBC Radio 4 ... NJoy

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The radio series follows the plot of the original novel (revised 1951 version) very closely, except for the addition of The Tale Bearer, a narrator whose account of the story is often interrupted and embellished by the protagonist Bilbo Baggins in the role of secondary narrator.

Bilbo is approached by the wizard Gandalf to undertake a dangerous adventure, and despite his initial reluctance he soon finds himself accompanying Thorin Oakenshield and his party of dwarves on a long and difficult quest to recover the dwarves' treasure from Smaug the dragon. On the way, he encounters trolls, goblins, and giant spiders, and finds a magic ring with the power of invisibility. The show's production was complicated by the inclusion of multiple sound effects (often inserted live while recording the actors' performances), songs from the novel, and special sounds and electronic voice treatments created by the BBC Radiophonic Workshop. All of the trolls, goblins, elves, wargs and eagles have treated voices, as does Gandalf when imitating the trolls.

With:
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The Tale Bearer – Anthony Jackson
Bilbo Baggins – Paul Daneman
Gandalf – Heron Carvic
Gollum – Wolfe Morris
Thorin Oakenshield – John Justin
Elrond – John Pullen
The Elvenking – Leonard Fenton
Beorn – Denys Hawthorne
Bard the Bowman – Peter Williams
Balin – Peter Pratt
Smaug – Francis de Wolff
Other parts are not individually credited

Music – composed by David Cain, performed by David Munrow with The Early Music Consort
Special sound effects and voice treatments – David Cain and Dick Mills, BBC Radiophonic Workshop
Producer – John Powell
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The Hobbit 07 The Gathering of the Clouds (24mb)

07 The Gathering of the Clouds 26:46

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previously

The Hobbit 01 An Unexpected Party (25mb)
The Hobbit 02 Out of the Frying-Pan into the Fire (25mb)
The Hobbit 03 Riddles in the Dark (25mb)
The Hobbit 04 Strange Lodgings (24mb)
The Hobbit 05 Barrels Out of Bond (24mb)
The Hobbit 06 A Warm Welcome (24mb)

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Sundaze 1352

Hello,

Today's artists are floating us with "deep sounds". their music style can be best described as "modern electronic listening music" ranging from ambient to space and experimental soundscapes. They compiled the soundtracks for the german cult TV-series "Space Night", and played at many "chill out events", and they released three electronic and atmospheric albums..... N'Joy

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Aural Float was formed in 1993 as an "electronic ambient project" with lots of electro acoustic and creative interplay. Aural Float members are: Alex Azary, Gabriel Le Mar and Pascal FEOS, who share a passion for music, computer graphics, science fiction and art in general. Since many years their names stands for cutting-edge and ambitious sound design.

A lot could be told about Aural Float, this ‘Supergroup’ of electronic music. After all, Azary, Le Mar and FEOS are constitutive pioneers of electronic music as single protagonists as well. Their names stand for cutting-edge and ambitious sound design. Pascal FEOS e.g. can look back on a DJ carreer of more than 20 years, but also considerably influenced German Techno culture by his productions for his PV label, and especially by his Sonic Infusion and Resistance D. projects. Gabriel Le Mar has produced countless albums, e.g. for Spirit Zone, Blue Room and Superstition, where he always managed to blend the borders between Dub, Downbeat, Ambient, Trance and Techno in a most pleasant way. And as the former sales excutive of AMV, DJ, club and event manager and, last but not least, as visionary motor of his Elektrolux label and the groundbreaking TV formats SPACE NIGHT and FLOWMOTION, Alex Azary plays an important role in the history of electronic music

2007 By their first DVD release in the more than 10 year history of Aural Float, the ambient project founded by Alex Azary, Gabriel Le Mar and Pascal Feos, the three pioneers of the electronic music scene have set a multimedia-based benchmark once again. Finally, they are moving with the continuity of the origins of the project at the beginning of the nineties. Then, Azary and Le Mar hosted the legendary Sunday Chill Sessions in the Frankfurt cult club XS, Germany´s first ambient club where they already worked with visuals quite intensively. From this germ cell, the Aural Float story did not only lead to their revelled debut album 'Introspectives' in 1995, but to the founding of the exclusive label platform Elektrolux as well.
In 1996, the team took over the creative direction of SPACE NIGHT. As a proto type of a holistic TV concept with spectacular images and visionary sound spheres, it received international attention. Until today, SPACE NIGHT is a synonym for chillout. Four years later, another outstanding platform for video artists and chillout producers was created by the Aural Float masterminds: FLOWMOTION on the hr channel. During the past five years, about 400 videos were produced especially for FLOWMOTION. In 2001, the second Aural Float album, 'Freefloat', was released – a kind of musical résumé of the SPACE NIGHT and FLOWMOTION activities. In 2005, the musical focus continuously shifted towards modern and perfectly produced electronic pop by the third album „Beautiful Someday" without breaking up with the ambient roots.
With a consequent focus on Aural Float as multimedial avant-garde, 'Moving Images' includes selected Aural Float tracks as well as comprehensive bonus material in an exclusive DVD edition. The tracks are interpreted anew in an exciting way by well-known video artists, based on high quality film material. The DVD has been produced and published in cooperation with corbis motion, one of the world´s most famous image and film agencies for digital media. Moreover, Azary und Le Mar are back on tour again and present their music as an optical and acoustic piece of art live on stage.

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As "Introspectives", the title of the album already indicates, the heads behind Elektrolux demonstrate into which musical territories they will take their listeners in the future. And those territories promise to be far out. On their debut album ,dub, electro and ambient combines to drench the listener in long warm trips to far away places. Very dramatic but never cheesy. 1995 in all it's glory. A good example how terrific music has no genres and that in 1995 how creative that time was when this was made. Dub, ambient, electro all combines to a trance mood and even slight goa progressions. Don't you just luve 11 to 15 minute tracks of deepness?! Epic.

Aural Float - Introspectives (flac  341mb)

01 South Of The Clouds Pt.1 13:23
02 South Of The Clouds Pt.2 12:58
03 Internal Movement (In Imaginary Rooms) 16:13
04 Pick Up The Virus 11:13
05 Introspection 13:28

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A True Classic in the Electronic-Chill, Downtempo genre. Astronauts should play this while orbiting earth... Lovely & Ambient in places (e.g. "Perspectives") but proper dance floor'tastic' in other parts (e.g. New Frontiers"), a fantastic mixture of both laid back grooves, very Dub like basses and lovely uses of samples. This isn't just music to sit back and loose yourself in like most ambient work, its very fat & large in places this album has opened up my mind into more dub orientated ambient work & this style is quite unique.

Aural Float - Freefloat (flac  407mb)

01 Perspectives 9:07
02 Freefloat 6:52
03 Switchin' The Wave Of Thought 3:20
04 Soulsearching 5:46
05 Travelogue 6:55
06 At The Crossroads 8:48
07 New Frontiers 5:21
08 Zwei G 7:05
09 Session 5 8:43
10 AF Study II 6:25
11 Switchin' The Wave Of Thought (Reprise) 4:44

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Five years after the last album ‘Freefloat’ and 10 years after the first album ‘Introspectives’, the beginning of the all-time success story of their Elektrolux label, Alex Azary, Gabriel Le Mar and Pascal FEOS deliver ‘Beautiful Someday’. And, by the way, having significantly influenced Ambient und Chillout along with soulmates like The Orb or Pete Namlook in a way still defining the aesthetics of the genre today. Is there a more suitable coronation for the 10th Elektrolux anniversary as this long overdue sign of life of the probably most renowned German Chillout formation? . On the other hand, you don´t have to look back into the past, because Aural Float have to tell a lot here and today as well. Their third album ‘Beautiful Someday’ strikes surprising new paths, particularly with the increased use of vocals by Kim Sanders, Nada Nadia Vagioka and Catenia Quentin. To Aural Float, Ambient definitely means more than mere escapism to mellow spheres, but stands for an organic consensus between Pop Music and Chillout never been heard in such a perfect visionary power (‘How Deep’, ‘Him & Her’, ‘Still Here’) before. Having gathered lots of experience in all this time, Aural Float, in an almost playful easiness, present the way from the experimental search of the beginning to a clearly structured high-end version of sensual cutting-edge Pop Music. Nevertheless, the system always stays open enough to e.g. allow a winking cross reference to their impressionistic Ambient Trance past by epic tracks like ‘Dreamer´s Dream’ or ‘Gone Forever’.

Aural Float - Beautiful Someday (flac 428mb)

01 How Deep 5:24
02 Dreamer's Dream 8:47
03 Him & Her 5:42
04 Interlude I 1:35
05 Beautiful Someday 5:40
06 Gone Forever 6:37
07 Still Here 6:35
08 Simplicity 6:34
09 Interlude II 1:29
10 I Adore You 4:36
11 Männerwirtschaft 4:51
12 Be As You Are 3:38
13 Interlude III 1:09
14 Life In Dub 6:33

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RhoDeo 1352 Beats

Hello, As the UK had a Xmas they'll remember with storm, heavy downpoors, flooding, a trains infarct and general misery for travellers, despite all this mayham consumerism continued, ah yes it's a disease alright." To have or to have not" that's the real question in this day and age. Let's not despair about that materialistic sickness, the first signs of healing are visible and before you know it the real question will become "To share or not to share"..

These months Frenchies rule the beats and they have plenty to offer even though not that much reaches the world as  the music scene is rather dominated by the Anglo - American industry. Meanwhile the French enjoyed themselves in their own niche so to speak, and they did rather well. Today's artist, compared to his cohorts in the new wave of French dance music, looks much farther afield for his influences. his inspiration comes from the Continental jet-setting faux-jazz of the 1950s and early '60s, though the whole is updated by his long years of experience as a house DJ. A lot to get thru here today, pick and choose be your own Playboy DJ, have a suave New Years PArty ....... N'joy

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Dimitri from Paris is the ultimate DJ Playboy. He plays music that gets the high class socialites shaking their booty’s at times were they would normally be seated on a leather couch perusing the cocktail menu. He has over 30 years experience in creating the perfect party atmosphere and with gigs at consistently A-list parties, you could say that Dimitri has cracked the global house music sphere.

Contrary to his musical pseudonym, Dimitri was born not in Paris but in Istanbul, Turkey. Born in Turkey to Greek parents, Dimitri grew up in France where he discovered DJing at home, using whatever he could find to "cut and paste" samples from disco hits heard on the radio, blending them together to make tapes. This early experimentation helped him launch his DJ career.He started out by DJ'ing at the French station Radio 7, before moving on to Skyrock and finally to Radio NRJ, Europe's largest FM radio network, in 1986. There, he introduced the first ever house music show to be broadcast in France, while simultaneously producing under the direction of sound designer Michel Gaubert, runway soundtracks for fashion houses such as Chanel, Jean-Paul Gaultier, Hermès and Yves Saint-Laurent. He also released two solo EPs from 1993 to 1994 and contributed to the Yellow Productions compilation La Yellow 357.

In 1996 Dimitri gained worldwide recognition with the release of his first full album, Sacrebleu, released on Yellow Productions. A blend of diverse influences including jazz, original film soundtracks, samba, and organic house, Sacrebleu sold 300,000 copies worldwide and was named Album of the Year by UK's Mixmag magazine. The 1997 mix album Monsieur Dimitri's De-Luxe House of Funk, however, showed the Frenchman coming back to his house roots

In 2000, Dimitri followed Sacrebleu up with A Night at the Playboy Mansion (Virgin) and Disco Forever (BBE), followed by My Salsoul in 2001, After the Playboy Mansion in 2002. In 2003, Cruising Attitude was released, to be closely followed by his first outing on UK's premier dance music label Defected: Dimitri from Paris In the House. He has followed a somewhat glamorous musical path by recording soundtracks and advertising campaigns for fashion houses Chanel, Jean-Paul Gautier and Yves Saint Laurent and remixing hundreds of artists as diverse as Björk, The Cardigans, James Brown, New Order and Quincy Jones. He also did the music for the anime Tsukuyomi: Moon Phase and mixed the soundtrack for the French luxury dessin animé Jet Groove produced by Method Films.

2005 saw Dimitri go back to his Funk and Disco roots, with Japanese hip hop producer and über collector DJ Muro for Super Disco Friends a double CD mixdown. In 2006 he offered his House of Love outing to Valentine's Day's lovers. Later on Dimitri produced Los Amigos Invisibles "Super Pop Venezuela" album which grabbed a nomination for a grammy award. 2007 saw the release of the Cocktail Disco project with longtime partner BBE, a handful of Disco classics remixes and other surprises down the line.2009 saw the release of the Night Dubbin', a post-disco R&B compilation remix album. Followed by Get Down With The Philly Sound, 2010, Knights of the Playboy Mansion, 2011, The Remix Files, 2011 and Back In The House, 2012

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On A Night at the Playboy Mansion, Dimitri from Paris pulls together some of the best sounds from the past and gives them a fresh twist. The 14-song set includes three freshly remixed songs from the late '70s and the original version of Cerrone's "Give Me Love" from 1977. The entire album has a strong disco feel from beginning to end. The beats thump at a mellow pace with a syncopated sense of funk. This disco sense also comes from the constant appearance of synthesized strings lingering during each song's melodic hook. Most of the 14 songs use vocals to varying effects. For example, the Sunburst Band's "I'll Be There for You (Joey Negro Vocal Mix)" includes a number of vocal tracks acting as background effects, sampled refrains, and peak outbursts. In the end, the heavy use of vocals can wear on the listener, who is more often accustomed to instrumental house tracks rather than an entire set of vocal tracks. Since every song has its own distinct vocal melodies, the set really has no salient peak or rest period. Instead, the entire set comes loaded with vocal hook after vocal hook and melody after melody until Dimitri from Paris's fiery remix of Ashford and Simpson's "Found a Cure." The set would be more rewarding with a few breathers but will surely satisfy anyone who appreciates a heavy dose of mid-tempo disco house loaded with vocals.

Dimitri From Paris - A Night at the Playboy Mansion ( flac 560mb)

01 Bah Samba - Reach Inside (Restless Soul Mix 2) 8:20
02 Mecca Headz - Star (Original Centerstage Mix) 4:20
03 Astrojazz - The Groove EP (Vocal Mix) 5:07
04 Originals - Down To Love Town (Dim's Secret Re-Edit) 6:43
05 La Pregunta - Shangri-La (Dim's Mansion Anthem Re-edit) 3:42
06 Stetsasonic - Talking All That Jazz (Torti's Old School Mix Of Edits Dub) 6:07
07 Salome De Bahia - Outro Lugar 4:04
08 Atmosfear - Motivation (Dim's Dubwize Mix) 7:32
09 Cerrone - Give Me Love 4:19
10 Sunburst Band - I'll Be There For You (Joey Negro Vocal Mix) 5:00
11 Terry Hunter - Sweet Music 3:50
12 Pascal Featuring Mr. Day - The Place Is Rockin 3:57
13 Black Masses - Wonderful Person 6:34
14 Ashford And Simpson - Found A Cure (Dim's Blue Losange Re-Edit) 7:03

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Dimitri from Paris, increasingly the ultimate insider's disco DJ (enough so to receive the blessing of Hugh Hefner, the Sultan of Sensual himself), followed on from 2000's A Night at the Playboy Mansion with After the Playboy Mansion, a two-hour collection of house/disco nuggets from the late '70s to the present. The double-disc set is divided into "A Laidback Selection" for the first disc and "An Uplifting Selection" for the second -- the two are also available (separately) on LP. Laid-back is right on target for the first, which begins with Tony Humphries' languorous, eight-minute mix of "Nyce & Slo" by Lil' Louis, then deliberately winds its way through some seriously obscure, seriously sensual midtempo house. As on previous mixes, Dimitri shows off his deep, deep crates and knack for colliding the old school of underground garage (Maze, Gwen Guthrie, T.S. Monk, Tata Vega, Linda Clifford) with the new (Jephté Guillaume, Llorca, Boris Dlugosch, Alexkid). Of course, there simply aren't as many undiscovered disco/house chestnuts left, and the result is a selection tending toward the bland side of house, with a nearly endless parade of solid house chestnuts resulting in a lack of peaks (or valleys). Still, those with amorous intentions surely won't be paying attention to all the obscure selections on tap.

VA - After The Playboy Mansion 1  (flac 487mb)

A Laidback Selection (70:53)

01 Lil' Louis & The World - Nyce & Slo (Tony Humphries Wildlife Mix) 8:21
02 Imagination - So Good, So Right (Dim's Re-edit) 5:52
03 Maze Featuring Frankie Beverly - Twilight (Remix) 5:22
04 Les Nubians - Makeda (DJ Spinna And Ticklah Mix) 2:14
05 Beautiful People - I Got The Rhythm (Hip Hop Mix) 4:34
06 Ralph Myerz & The Jack Herren Band - Nikita 3:28
07 Tata Vega - Get It Up For Love (Dim's Re-edit) 6:32
08 Deep Sensation - Can't Give You Up 4:13
09 Jephté Guillaume - Ibo Lele (Ginen Tét Réd Mix) 6:32
10 Gwen Guthrie - Peanut Butter (Larry Levan Remix) 4:08
11 Grace Jones - Feel Up (Danny Tenaglia Remix) 6:56
12 Rinder & Lewis - Lust 6:09
13 Blaze - Seasons Of Love (Blaze Club Mix) 6:27

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VA - After The Playboy Mansion 2 (flac 515mb)

An Uplifting Selection (69:37)

01 T.S. Monk - Candidate For Love 3:47
02 Emma Nilsdotter - Fran Mig Till Dig (Marcus Enochson Remix) 5:23
03 Next Evidence - The Body Theme 6:38
04 Paul Murphy & Marc Woolford Project - Jazz Room 4:30
05 Llorca - Indigo Blues (Original LP Mix) 5:10
06 Best Friend Around - So Good To Know 6:00
07 De La Soul - (It Ain't) All Good!? (Can 7 Supermarket Mix - No Rap) 4:49
08 Linda Clifford - Changin' (Blaze Shelter Mix) 7:15
09 Jon Cutler - It's Yours (Tiefschwarz Remix) 5:58
10 Boris Dlugosch with Róisín Murphy - Never Enough (Sir Piers & Ed Funk Club Remix) 6:54
11 Alexkid - Bienvenida 5:41
12 Harold Melvin And The Blue Notes - Don't Leave Me This Way (Dim's Re-edit) 8:47
 

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The uptempo first disc includes almost a dozen monster club hits including strong-voiced Jocelyn Brown belting out her version of Side Effects’ classic “Always There”, Kenny Thomas’ early Urban radio hit “Keep The Fires Burning”, the familiar “Show You My Love Girl” by Goldie Alexander, Lorraine "Feed The Flame" Johnson giving enough respect to Teddy Pendergrass’ “The More I Get, The More I Want” and a great lead mix into the second edition of Musique which featured Mary Seymour, and “Love Massage”. The mix ends up continental-style with the suave voice of Mario Biondi on “This Is What You Are” (one of those French Riviera grooves) before Dimitri tips his hand going into his slow jam bag slightly prematurely while previewing the second disc with Pendergrass’ “Come Go With Me”.

Seeming to really dig the “Teddy Bear”, Dimitri languishes Philly-style on “Close The Door” as he begins a more quiet storm/slow jam disc deux that he calls “Sexy Time”. In this mix are the obligatory Barry White, Marvin Gaye, Melba Moore and William DeVyawn’s “Be Thankful For What You’ve Got” type staples seasoned with a nice France Joli cut that you almost never hear in ‘Your Good Lovin’”, and a cool number called “Un Po D’uva E Un Liquore” (A Pour Of grape and a Liqueur) from Pino D’Angio which segues seamlessly into Amii Stewart’s rarely heard yet very pleasant “Friends”. Equally smooth are the transitions and selections from the fabulous Jean Carne, Blue Feather, and a real welcome “You Are My Melody” from one of the many reincarnations of the group Change.

Dimitri likens his mix to “an old fashioned heart warming soup [that] goes down well, [he] likes it and wants other people to taste it.” He stirs his pot-liquor successfully, encompassing the past two-and-a-half decades while maintaining a degree of musical unpredictability and within the limits of obtaining four frolicking, finger-lickin’ stars. I'm not sure if there are any other DJ's out there who could do a remix of this nature and quality besides Dimitri. You can feel his personality in the music from the eclectic mix of young and old which is typical of his style.

VA - Return to the Playboy Mansion 1  (flac 548mb)

Partytime (78:20)

01 Jamiroquai - Cosmic Girl 5:14
02 Incognito Feat. Jocelyn Brown - Always There (Masters At Work Remix '96 - Dylan Re-Edit) 4:59
03 DJ Fudge Feat. Mani Hoffman - Liv & Love 4:00
04 Kenny Thomas - Keep The Fires Burning (Toni Economides Club Mix) 3:54
05 Robert Strauss Feat. Leroy Burgess - Hot Like An Oven 3:12
06 Goldie Alexander - Show You My Love (DFP Re Edit) 3:07
07 Weird Science - Feel The Need (Boogie Down Remix) 3:41
08 Timmy Vegas - Call My Name 4:19
09 Lorraine Johnson - The More I Get, The More I Want (Promo 12" Remix) 4:26
10 Musique - Love Massage 3:51
11 Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terell - Ain't No Mountain High Enough (DFP Re Edit) 4:24
12 Fish Go Deep & Tracey K - The Cure & The Cause (DJ Meme Philly Suite Mix) 5:20
13 Don Ray - Got To Have Loving 4:57
14 Gary's Gang - Let's Love Dance Tonight (Leonard Part Sixx Edit) 2:12
15 Young & Company - I Like It (What You're Doing To Me) 4:06
16 Jimmy "Bo" Horne - Is It In (12" Remix) 2:36
17 Mr. A.L.I. Feat. Carla Prather - Midnight Interlude (Original Version) 3:24
18 Mario Biondi And High Five Quintet - This Is What You Are (Monti And Gottardi Restyle) 4:39
19 Teddy Pendergrass - Come Go With Me 6:01


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VA - Return to the Playboy Mansion 2 (flac 514mb)

Sexytime (75:52)

01 Teddy Pendergrass - Close The Door 5:07
02 Barry White - I'm Gonna Love You Just A Little More Baby 4:18
03 Pino D'Angio - Un Po' D'uva E Un Liquore 3:15
04 Amii Stewart - Friends 6:50
05 Eugene Wilde - Gotta Get You Home Tonight 4:56
06 Loose Ends - Sweetest Pain 4:34
07 Marvin Gaye - I Want You 3:18
08 Richard Rogers - Can't Stop Loving You (Original Marshall Jefferson Version) 3:31
09 William DeVaughn - Be Thankful For What You Got 3:28
10 Jean Carn - Don't Let It Go To Your Head 4:45
11 Flowers - For Real 5:46
12 Blue Feather - Let's Funk Tonight 5:30
13 Change - You Are My Melody 4:43
14 France Joli - Your Good Lovin' 4:00
15 Brand New Heavies, The Feat. N'Dea Davenport - Never Stop (The Blaze Axis Mix) 5:29
16 Melba Moore - Standing Right Here 6:24
 
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RhoDeo 1351 Goldy Rhox 140

Hello, today the 140th post of GoldyRhox, classic pop rock in the darklight are a British rock band that formed in 1967. The band consist of their three longest-tenured members: founding members Tony Banks (keyboards) and Mike Rutherford (bass, guitar); and Phil Collins (vocals, drums), who joined in 1970. Former members Peter Gabriel (vocals, flute), Steve Hackett (guitar) and Anthony Phillips (guitar) also played major roles in the band in its early years.

They quickly evolved into a progressive rock band with the incorporation of complex song structures and elaborate instrumentation. Their concerts became theatrical experiences with innovative stage design, pyrotechnics, extravagant costumes and on-stage stories. This second phase was characterised by lengthy performances such as the 23-minute "Supper's Ready" and the 1974 concept album, The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway. In the late '70s and early '80s the band's musical direction changed once again, becoming more pop oriented and commercially accessible.

In 2007, Banks, Collins and Rutherford reunited for a 20-city tour of Europe and North America, which included a free concert at Rome's Circo Massimo in front of 500,000 fans. They were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2010. The future of the band remains uncertain, with Collins's retirement from the music business and the other members' solo work, but Banks indicated the band had come to an end in an interview in 2012. They are among the highest-selling recording artists of all time, with approximately 150 million albums sold worldwide.

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Most of the albums i 'll post made many millions for the music industry and a lot of what i intend to post still gets repackaged and remastered decades later, squeezing the last drop of profit out of bands that for the most part have ceased to exist long ago, although sometimes they get lured out of the mothballs to do a big bucks gig or tour. Now i'm not as naive to post this kinda music for all to see and have deleted, these will be a black box posts, i'm sorry for those on limited bandwidth but for most of you a gamble will get you a quality rip don't like it, deleting is just 2 clicks...That said i will try to accommodate somewhat and produce some cryptic info on the artist and or album.

Today's mystery album was released 12th of October 1973, is the fifth studio album by the band and it's first gold album  The album has a storybook quality, it plays as a collection of short stories, fables, and fairy tales, and it is also a rock record, which naturally makes it quite extraordinary as a collection, but also as a set of individual songs. The band has never been as direct as they've been on the fanciful yet hook-driven "I Know What I Like (In Your Wardrobe)" -- apart from the fluttering flutes in the fade-out, it could easily be mistaken for a glam single -- or as achingly fragile as on "More Fool Me," sung by Phil Collins. It's this delicate balance and how the album showcases the band's narrative force on a small scale as well as large that makes this their arguable high-water mark. The album cover is a painting by Betty Swanwick called The Dream. The original painting did not feature a lawn mower; the band had Swanwick add it later as an allusion to the song "I Know What I Like. In 2012, the album ranked seventh in Rolling Stone's "Readers' Poll: Your Favorite Prog Rock Albums of All Time" Here in it's 2008 remaster.


Goldy Rhox 140   (flac 344mb)

Goldy Rhox 140   (ogg 137mb)

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RhoDeo 1351 Aetix

Hello, been to Mass this year ? Not interested in that silly fairytale ? Or did you succumb to peer pressure and join the sanctimonious crowd ? But then the reward a secured place in heaven..yeahh. Seriously those snake oil priests have been selling us something that's not for them to sell, in fact it can't be sold or bought. However, it helps if you believe in the afterlife, that is accomodating in the necessary cleansing. Unfortunately there are many lead astray by materialist science, yes those smart people that don't have a clue, can't measure consciousness therefor it doesn't exist. Well that's that then no chance of an afterlife for them (not really). The beauty of life is that it's all consciousness and even socalled dead matter can contain or receive consciousness after all everything comes from consciousness. We should call the universe..Thoughtspace this would enhance the quality of live for everything and everyone...


Time for another Aetix episode; In many ways, they were the definitive Los Angeles hardcore punk band. Although their music flirted with heavy metal and experimental noise and jazz more than that of most hardcore bands, they defined the image and the aesthetic. Through their ceaseless touring, the band cultivated the American underground punk scene; every year, the band played in every area of the U.S., influencing countless numbers of bands. Although their recording career was hampered by a draining lawsuit, which was followed by a seemingly endless stream of independently released records, todays artists were unquestionably one of the most influential American post-punk bands. A full decade and a half before the fusion of punk and metal became popular, they created a ferocious, edgy, and ironic amalgam of underground aesthetics and gut-pounding metal. Their lyrics alluded to social criticism and a political viewpoint, but it was all conveyed as seething, cynical angst, which was occasionally very funny. . . ....N'Joy

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Initially called Panic, Black Flag was formed in 1976 in Hermosa Beach, California. Ginn insisted that the band rehearse several hours a day. This work ethic proved too challenging for some early members; Ginn and singer Keith Morris had an especially difficult time finding a reliable bass guitarist, and often rehearsed without a bassist, a factor that contributed to the development of Ginn's distinctive guitar sound. Ginn's brother Raymond Pettibon and SST house record producer-to-be Spot filled in during rehearsals.

Chuck Dukowski, bassist of Würm, eventually joined, forming a committed quartet with Ginn, Morris and drummer Brian Migdol. The band held their first performance in December 1977 in Redondo Beach, California. To avoid confusion with another band called Panic, they changed the name to Black Flag in late 1978. The name was suggested by Ginn's brother, artist Raymond Pettibon, who also designed the band's logo: a stylized black flag represented as four black bars. Pettibon stated "If a white flag means surrender, a black flag represents anarchy." They played their first show under this name on January 27, 1979 at the Moose Lodge Hall in Redondo Beach, California. The band spray painted the simple, striking logo all over Los Angeles, attracting attention from both supporters and the Los Angeles Police Department. Pettibon also created much of their cover artwork.

Though Ginn was the band's leader, special note should be made to Dukowski's contributions to Black Flag. Ginn was tireless and profoundly disciplined, however was also rather quiet. Dukowski's intelligent, fast-talking, high-energy persona attracted significant attention, and he was often Black Flag's spokesman to the press. Dukowski acted as the group's tour manager even after he no longer performed with them, and he was likely as important as Ginn in establishing the band's DIY punk ethic and demanding work ethic.

 Early in 1981, Black Flag signed a record contract with Unicorn Records, a subsidiary of MCA. The band delivered their first full-length album, Damaged, to Unicorn; the label refused to release the record, citing the content of the music as too dangerous and vulgar. Undaunted, Ginn released the album on his own SST Records. Upon its release, the album received considerable critical acclaim. Soon after it appeared on the shelves, Unicorn sued Black Flag and SST over the release of Damaged. For the next two years, the band was prevented from using the name Black Flag or their logo on any records. During that time, the group continued to tour, and surreptitiously released Everything Went Black, a double-album retrospective that contained no mention of the band, although it listed the names of the members on the front cover. The dispute ended in 1983, when Unicorn went bankrupt and the rights to the Black Flag name and logo reverted back to the band (by this time, Cadena had left to form his own group).

Morris performed as vocalist on Black Flag's earliest recordings, and his energized, manic stage presence was pivotal in the band earning a reputation in Southern California. Migdol was replaced by the enigmatic Colombian drummer Robo, whose numerous clicking metallic bracelets became part of his drum sound. The band played with a speed and ferocity that was all but unprecedented in rock music; critic Ira Robbins declared that "Black Flag was, for all intents and purposes, America's first hardcore band." Morris quit in 1979, citing, among other reasons, creative differences with Ginn, and his own "freaking out on cocaine and speed." Morris would subsequently form the Circle Jerks.

After Morris's departure, Black Flag recruited fan Ron Reyes as singer. With Reyes, Black Flag recorded the Jealous Again 12-inch EP and appeared in the film The Decline of Western Civilization. This was also the line-up that toured up and down the West Coast for the first time, the version most fans outside of L.A. first saw. In 1980, Reyes quit Black Flag mid-performance at the Redondo Beach venue The Fleetwood because of escalating violence.

The more reliable Dez Cadena – another fan – then joined as singer. With Cadena on board, Black Flag began national touring in earnest, and arguably saw two peaks: first as a commercial draw (they sold out the 3,500-seat Santa Monica Civic Auditorium, a feat they were never able to manage again); and second, perhaps seeing the peak of attention from police in the Los Angeles area, due to the violence associated with Black Flag and punk rock in general. By the summer of 1981, however, Cadena's voice was worn. He had no formal training or previous experience as a singer, and had severely strained his voice during Black Flag's nonstop touring, and he wanted to play guitar rather than sing.

Twenty-year-old fan Henry Rollins (birth name Henry Garfield) — then living in Washington D.C. and singing for hardcore band S.O.A. — had corresponded with the band, and met them when they performed on the U.S. east coast. Since vocalist Dez Cadena was switching to guitar, the band then invited Rollins to audition. Impressed by his stage demeanor, they asked him to become their permanent vocalist.  Rollins acted as roadie for the remainder of the tour while learning Black Flag's songs during sound checks and encores, while Cadena crafted guitar parts that meshed with Ginn's. Rollins also impressed Black Flag with his broad musical interests during an era when punk rock music and fans were increasingly factionalized; he introduced Black Flag to Washington D.C.'s go-go, a distinctive take on funk music.

Rollins was Black Flag's longest-lasting singer, and has remained active in music to the present. When he joined Black Flag, he brought a different attitude and perspective than previous singers. He was a dynamic live performer and powerful singer, who usually appeared onstage wearing only shorts. Ginn once stated that after Rollins joined, "We couldn't do songs with a sense of humor anymore; he got into the serious way-out poet thing."

With Rollins, Black Flag began work on their first full-length album. The sessions for the album (chronicled in Michael Azerrad's book Our Band Could Be Your Life) were a source of conflict between the band and engineer/producer Spot, who had worked with the band and the SST label since their early years. Spot had already recorded many of the Damaged tracks with Dez Cadena on vocals (as well as Keith Morris and Ron Reyes) and felt that the band's sound was ruined with the two guitar line-up (these versions can be heard on the albums Everything Went Black and The First Four Years). Whereas the earlier four-piece versions are more focused and much cleaner sounding, the Damaged recordings are more akin to a live recording, with little stereo separation of guitars, and somewhat muddy. However, the artistic content and expression on the album showed the band pushing punk or hardcore music to a new level, with deeply personal and intensely emotional lyrics. As such, Damaged is generally regarded as Black Flag's most focused recording.

Early in 1981, Black Flag signed a record contract with Unicorn Records, a subsidiary of MCA. The band delivered their first full-length album, Damaged, to Unicorn; the label refused to release the record, citing the content of the music as too dangerous and vulgar.
Undaunted, Ginn released the album on his own SST Records. Upon its release, the album received considerable critical acclaim. Soon after it appeared on the shelves, Unicorn sued Black Flag and SST over the release of Damaged. For the next two years, the band was prevented from using the name Black Flag or their logo on any records. During that time, the group continued to tour, and surreptitiously released Everything Went Black, a double-album retrospective that contained no mention of the band, although it listed the names of the members on the front cover. The dispute ended in 1983, when Unicorn went bankrupt and the rights to the Black Flag name and logo reverted back to the band (by this time, Cadena had left to form his own group).

With Rollins on board, Black Flag and The Minutemen made their first tour of Europe in the Winter of 1981. As the front man, Rollins was a frequent target of violent audience members, and became known for fist-fights with audience members. Rollins developed a distinct showmanship on stage, where he could entertain an audience just by talking to them. As the band was about to return home from the European tour, UK customs detained Colombian drummer Robo due to visa problems, and he was not allowed back into the country. This would be the end of his tenure with the band. Black Flag eventually got Bill Stevenson of Descendents to join permanently (he had filled in from time-to-time before). While the Unicorn Records court injunction prevented the group from releasing a new studio album, they nonetheless continued to work on new material, and embarked on a period which would mark a pronounced change in the group's direction.

1983 found Black Flag with fresh songs and a new direction, but without a bass player (Dukowski had retired), and embroiled in a legal dispute over distribution due to SST's issuing Damaged. After Unicorn Records declared bankruptcy, Black Flag were released from the injunction, and returned with a vengeance, starting with the release of My War. The album was both a continuation of Damaged, and a vast leap forward. While the general mood and lyrics continue in the confrontational and emotional tone of Damaged, and the album would prove influential to grunge music as the decade progressed. Lacking a bass player, Ginn played bass guitar, using the pseudonym Dale Nixon.

Freed legally to release albums, Black Flag was re-energized and ready to continue full steam ahead. The band recruited bassist Kira Roessler (sister of punk keyboardist Paul Roessler, of 45 Grave) to replace Dukowski, and began its most prolific period. With Roessler, Black Flag had arguably found their best bassist. Dukowski was a powerful player, but Roessler brought a level of sophistication and finesse to match Ginn's increasingly ambitious music, without sacrificing any of the visceral impact required for punk rock. 1984 saw Black Flag (and the SST label) at their most ambitious. This year they would release three full-length albums, and toured nearly constantly, with Rollins noting 178 performances for the year, and about that many for 1985.

After My War and Family Man  were recorded, the group added bassist Kira Roessler and cut Slip It In, its third official album of 1984. In addition to those three albums, Black Flag released the cassette-only Live '84 and the compilation The First Four Years in 1984, as well as reissuing Everything Went Black with all the proper credits restored. The group's touring and recording pace didn't slow in 1985; they released three records: Loose Nut, The Process of Weeding Out, and In My Head. By the end of the year, Anthony Martinez replaced Stevenson on drums, and for group's 1986 tour in support of the live album Who's Got the 10½?, Cel Revuelta took over for Roessler on bass.The live album Who's Got the 10½? shows the evolving line-up, with Kira and drummer Martinez, to be a powerful and entertaining unit.

By 1986, Black Flag's members had grown tired of the tensions of their relentless touring schedule, infighting, and of living in near-poverty. The band had been together almost a decade, and true commercial success and stability had eluded them. The band's erratic artistic changes were a barrier to their retaining an audience – Ginn was so creatively restless that Black Flag's albums were often very dissimilar.
Black Flag played its final show on June 27, 1986, in Detroit, Michigan.

In the fall of 1986, Ginn broke up the band. He recorded two albums with the more experimental Gone, but he primarily concentrated on running SST Records, which had become one of the most important American independent labels of the era. By the time Black Flag broke up, SST had already released albums by such bands as Hüsker Dü, the Minutemen, Meat Puppets, and Sonic Youth. For most of the late '80s, Ginn retired from performing, choosing to operate SST instead; during this time, the label released the first recordings from bands like Soundgarden, Dinosaur Jr., and Screaming Trees. Ginn returned to music in 1993, releasing a solo album on his new record label, Cruz, and over the next 20 years he would release dozens of albums, some under his own name and others with such groups as Confront James, Hor, Jambang, El Bad, and the Taylor Texas Corrugators.

Following Black Flag's breakup, Henry Rollins formed the Rollins Band. For the rest of the '80s, he released music recorded with the Rollins Band on a variety of labels, as well as solo spoken word recordings, becoming one of the most recognizable figures of alternative music. In 1994, Rollins published Get in the Van, a memoir of his years in Black Flag, and the book's success helped spark greater interest in the band's legacy. While both Ginn and Rollins refused to perform Black Flag's music for many years, Rollins made an exception for a 2002 benefit album, Rise Above, a collection of Black Flag covers with guest vocalists which raised money for the legal defense of the West Memphis Three, three young men wrongly accused of murder. Rollins Band supported the release with a benefit tour, with Rollins and Keith Morris singing Black Flag's best-known songs. In 2003, Ginn briefly revived the band for three shows to benefit cat rescue organizations, though many fans were disappointed that only Robo, Cadena, and Revuelta appeared from previous lineups.

In late 2011, as part of a 30th Anniversary celebration for the California concert promotion firm Goldenvoice, Keith Morris, Chuck Dukowski, and Bill Stevenson joined with Stephen Egerton, guitarist with the Descendents, to play a short set of early Black Flag tunes. Response to the impromptu performance was so strong that the foursome set up a concert tour in 2013, with Dez Cadena joining the group now known as FLAG. Around the same time FLAG announced their tour, Greg Ginn revealed he was re-forming Black Flag for a series of shows and a new album, with Ron Reyes returning as vocalist and Gregory Moore (aka Gregory Amoore), who had worked on Ginn's solo projects, on drums. The re-formed Black Flag released What The ... in late 2013, roughly two months after a judge ruled against Ginn in a trademark-infringement lawsuit he'd filed against the members of FLAG.

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When Everything Went Black was first released in 1983, Black Flag was in the middle of a backbreaking legal dispute with Unicorn Records. As a result of litigation, the band was prevented from using the Black Flag name on any records. Hence the original packaging for this album, which listed only the names of individual bandmembers on the cover (this was rectified on subsequent issues). It's a double-album (on vinyl) compilation of previously released material and outtakes -- though the European edition features a wholly different running order. The material, dating from 1978 to 1981, is excellent in places, average in others. However, only obsessives need track it down -- as signified by the inclusion of two versions of several songs (including stalwarts "Damaged" and "Police Story"). The fourth side of the original vinyl issue also included a sequence of radio spots discussing forthcoming Black Flag gigs, which is entertaining stuff, but it's more useful as a historical document than a listening experience.

This compilation provides an excellent collection of Black Flag tracks from the pre-Rollins era. Morris, Chavo, and Dez all added a unique character to the band, and this album makes it obvious. The progression of the band's sound is apparent, the multiple version of Gimme Gimme Gimme make it clear, but overall the listener hears the band's sound get more aggressive and faster as the LP progresses. Overall a great record to buy to see the progression of Black Flag as a band, prior to Rollins taking over in 1981.

Black Flag - Everything Went Black  (flac 372mb)

(Johnny "Bob" Goldstein Era)
01 Gimmie Gimmie Gimmie 1:57
02 I Don't Care 0:58
03 White Minority 1:09
04 No Values 1:58
05 Revenge 1:01
06 Depression 2:07
07 Clocked In 1:29
08 Police Story 1:30
09 Wasted 0:42
(Jealous Again Era-Chavo)
10 Gimmie Gimmie Gimmie 1:40
11 Depression 2:40
12 Police Story 1:33
13 Clocked In 1:36
14 My Rules 0:58
(Jealous Again Era-Dez)
15 Jealous Again 2:24
16 Police Story 1:35
17 Damaged I 2:05
18 Louie Louie1:27
19 No More 3:00
20 Room 13 2:06
21 Depression 2:40
22 Damaged II 4:13
23 Padded Cell 1:50
24 Gimmie Gimmie Gimmie 1:46
  -
25 Crass Commercialism 17:34


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Perhaps the best album to emerge from the quagmire that was early-'80s California hardcore punk, the visceral, intensely physical presence of Damaged has yet to be equaled, although many bands have tried. Although Black Flag had been recording for three years prior to this release, the fact that Henry Rollins was now their lead singer made all the difference. His furious bellow and barely contained ferocity was the missing piece the band needed to become great. Also, guitarist/mastermind Greg Ginn wrote a slew of great songs for this record that, while suffused with the usual punk conceits (alienation, boredom, disenfranchisement), were capable of making one laugh out loud, especially the protoslacker satire "TV Party." Extremely controversial when it was released, Damaged endured the slings and arrows of outrageous criticism (some reacted as though this record alone would cause the fall of America's youth) to become and remain an important document of its time.

Black Flag - Damaged  (flac 225mb)

01 Rise Above 2:19
02 Spray Paint 0:32
03 Six Pack 2:18
04 What I See 1:47
05 TV Party 3:11
06 Thirsty And Miserable 2:05
07 Police Story 1:30
08 Gimmie Gimmie Gimmie 1:50
09 Depression 2:45
10 Room 13 2:03
11 Damaged II 3:23
12 No More 2:23
13 Padded Cell 1:50
14 Life And Pain 2:48
15 Damaged I 3:50
16 Louie Louie 1:35

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After a rancorous three-year legal battle with their label Unicorn, which prevented them from releasing any new material, Black Flag binged in the mid-'80s, releasing a flurry of records that had even the most devoted fans scrambling to keep up. They did, however, start this period somewhat inauspiciously with My War, a pretentious mess of a record with a totally worthless second side. Featuring three tracks of slower-than-Black Sabbath muck with Henry Rollins howling like a caged animal, it was self-indulgence masquerading as inspiration and about as much fun as wading through a tar pit. Side one, however, was quite good, with the title tracks especially intimidating.

Black Flag - My War ( flac 222mb)

01 My War 3:45
02 Can't Decide 5:20
03 Beat My Head Against The Wall 2:32
04 I Love You 3:26
05 Forever Time 2:29
06 The Swinging Man 3:02
07 Nothing Left Inside 6:32
08 Three Nights 6:12
09 Scream 6:48

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RhoDeo 1351 Roots

Hello, we still find ourselves in an environment that gave rise to the worlds monotheistic religions be that on the Arabian peninsula, here we stay in the Saharan/Sahel band stretching from the West-Atlantic coast to the highlands of Ethiopia in the east of the continent, a vast area where fresh water useally tends to come at a premium , where the sun is burning down during daytime and nighttime can be cold, where the moon is the sole light source apart from the warming campfires. Is it any surprise then that singing and making music together lifted the spirits of those gathering in these desolate landscapes. And the moon became their God.

Today we find ourselves amidst the music of Sudan. Disproportionate to its status as Africa’s largest country, Sudan has seemingly not yet been musically mined to the same extent as smaller countries like Mali, Senegal, or Ethiopia. Perhaps because Sudanese music, doesn’t share the easy rhythms, bluesy affinities or star power of the aforementioned countries, but the spirit and passion of the music show that there’s no reason for the nation’s relative musical obscurity to continue......N'joy

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In Sudan there's an added dimension to the ages-old argument over the legitimacy of music and dance under Islam: one third of the people affected by it are not even Muslim. And whatever their religion, Sudan's people - 300 ethnic groups - embody such a collision of Arab and African cultures that it's often impossible to tell where one culture ends and the other begins.

Arab tribes arrived in the 14th and 15th centuries from across the Red Sea and the northern fringe of Africa; in the 16th century West Africans began journeying through northern Sudan on the pilgrimage to Mecca. Both settled and intermarried with the indigenous people. Southern Sudan, largely cut off until the mid-19th century by the vast swamps of the White Nile, was treated as a source of slaves, ivory, ostrich feathers and gold. No wonder the continent's largest country has an identity problem alongside a deep-rooted civil war. With seperation of mainly christian and pagan South Sudan in July 2011 the dust hasn't settled curremtly the south Sudanese are warring amongst themselves. South Sudan is at war with at least seven armed groups in 9 of its 10 states, with tens of thousands displaced.[26] The fighters accuse the government of plotting to stay in power indefinitely, not fairly representing and supporting all tribal groups while neglecting development in rural areas.

Well at least they are alowed to make music and dance again, since the 1989 coupe by the National Islamic Front that emposed a severely oppresive regime, ah yes Islam, hell style, inhumane beyond belief and still those religious nutters destroy laughter. In Sudan there's an added dimension to the ages-old argument over the legitimacy of music and dance under Islam: one third of the people affected by it are not even Muslim. And whatever their religion, Sudan's people - 300 ethnic groups - embody such a collision of Arab and African cultures that it's often impossible to tell where one culture ends and the other begins.

Arab tribes arrived in the 14th and 15th centuries from across the Red Sea and the northern fringe of Africa; in the 16th century West Africans began journeying through northern Sudan on the pilgrimage to Mecca. Both settled and intermarried with the indigenous people. Southern Sudan, largely cut off until the mid-19th century by the vast swamps of the White Nile, was treated as a source of slaves, ivory, ostrich feathers and gold. No wonder the continent's largest country has an identity problem alongside a deep-rooted civil war.

The Nuba are caught on the dividing line between the warring cultures of north and south Sudan, but are fighting back against a government programme of "ethnocide" with their own reawakening identity. Under the squeeze of the government's crude "Islamisation" campaign, the diverse, multi-religious Nuba communities are uniting in resistance, defending their own culture as much as their land. The Kambala, or harvest festival, is still celebrated, and there is a proliferation of new songs and artists. The vibrant Black Stars are part of a special "cultural advocacy and performance" unit of the rebel Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) in the Nuba Mountains. Their most famous vocalist is Ismael Koinyi, an accomplished guitar player who sings in Arabic and in several Nuba languages. Other vocalists include Tahir Jezar, Jelle and Jamus.

Don't confuse the Nuba of south-west Sudan with the Nubians, like Wardi and Hamza al-Din, who are from Nubia in the far north of the country - between Dongola and the Egyptian border at Wadi Halfa (and beyond). Both groups are indigenous Sudanese, rather than of "Arab" origin, but any link is ancient history.

Few Northern Sudanese wholeheartedly support the government's obsessive division of the sexes, lots are repressed dancers, and many older ones look back nostalgically to the era before 1983 and Sharia law. That was when President Nimeiri, with NIF support, closed the bars in Khartoum and chucked the alcohol in the Nile. Two years later, the Sudanese people chucked Nimeiri out. But in 1989, the NIF came back, seizing total power in a military coup.

Hostile to art that it cannot control, the NIF has introduced an "Islamisation of Art" programme in an attempt to dictate the terms of the discourse. All performers and works of theatre, cinema and music are supposed to be approved by religious jurists. Songs in praise of the para-military Popular Defence Force and jihad are broadcast all the time. The diverse range of folk music and dance within Sudan itself often fails to meet the criteria, or is relegated to condescending "ethnological" broadcasts. The Morality Monitoring Unit of the shadow "police force" known as the General Administration of Public Order extends its remit to musical performances at wedding parties - the most frequent venue for music. Weddings are regular targets for raids on the grounds of Public Order Act offences, mixed dancing, or "unapproved" songs or singers.

Relatively few Sudanese musicians have access to modern recording studios, although a couple more have recently been built in Khartoum. A growing number of Sudanese CDs has been released on the international market, but few people in Sudan have CD players and many classic performances are still on tape only - if you can find them at all.

A good selection of cassettes is available from Natari in the UK and Africassette in the US. For information on field recordings, including Zar and women's music, contact Sudan Update, PO Box 10, Hebden Bridge, West Yorkshire HX7 6UX, England (sudanupdate@gn.apc.org).

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A collection of songs culled from recordings made during a stop in a European tour by three of Sudan's more popular artists in 1986; Abdel Gadir Salim, Abdel Aziz El Mubarak, and Mohamed Gubara recorded a number of tracks while touring together. Abdel Gadir Salim, accompanying himself on the oud, provides a look at the more rural sounds from the Kordofan area of Sudan. El Mubarak gives a much more urban sound, complete with influences from the greater world. Mohamed Gubara provides a contemporary palette lyrically, but accompanies himself on the ancient tambour lyre. The sound is an interesting one throughout the album, with careful picking on the ouds mixed with the basic bouncing accompaniment strokes. Accordion work from Azhari Abdel Gadir helps push the music of the two oud players considerably as well. Vocally, the first two are mildly similar, holding a good deal of the same vocal aesthetics. Gubara, on the other hand, sings in an abnormally high range, not quite at falsetto level, but getting there. Without delving into full-fledged modern Sudanese pop, there aren't a terribly large number of artists or albums of Sudanese semi-traditional music on the market. This album is one of a few in a relatively narrow field, and does well as such. Give it a listen as an introduction to the music of a rather large region of influence that doesn't quite conform to the sounds of the rest of North Africa.

VA - Sounds of Sudan (flac  383mb)

01 Umri Ma Bansa - Abdel Gadir Salim
02 Al Noam Djafani - Abdel Gadir Salim
03 Maqtool Hawaki Ya Kordofan - Abdel Gadir Salim
04 Afra El-Helwa - Abdel Aziz el Mubarak
05 Ya Izzana - Abdel Aziz el Mubarak
06 Ya Marri Bebaitna - Abdel Aziz el Mubarak
07 Noora - Mohamed Gubara
08 Guroosh Edjin - Mohamed Gubara
09 Rahiel Gumriyiel - Mohamed Gubara

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The Ingessana and Berta people of Blue Nile, bordering Ethiopia, are under pressure from war and commercial agriculture and mining, and their way of life is changing fast. This is a rare chance to hear their traditional music, including horns, lyres and balafons, recorded by Robert Gottlieb in the mid-1980s. With booklet.

VA - Sudan, Music Of The Blue Nile Province   (flac  228mb)

Music of the Ingessana
01 Ceremonial Dance-Songs 7:56
02 Solo Songs With Lyre Accompaniment 1:00
03 Solo Songs With Lyre Accompaniment 7:58
04 Kamdin. Bal-Ensemble 1:46
05 Kodger. Bal-Ensemble 2:32
06 Jen Anatai. Bal-Ensemble 2:05
Music of the Berta
07 Al Shammasha. Waza-Ensemble 1:57
08 Sozea Gaita. Waza-Ensemble 1:10
09 Wadaberi. Waza-Ensemble 1:18
10 Afinandigi. Waza-Ensemble 1:17
11 Gundi Aja. Waza-Ensemble 1:04
12 Abba Musa. Waza-Ensemble 1:14
13 Adodo. Waza-Ensemble 0:56
14 Ya Musa. Waza-Ensemble 1:40
15 Watana Numeiry. Bulhu-Ensemble 1:15
16 Watana Numeiry. Bulhu-Ensemble 3:30
17 Bulhu Scale 0:25
18 Ania. Bulhu-Ensemble 3:23
19 Aferi. Bulhu-Ensemble 3:04

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Kudos to Rough Guide for doing something that other world music samplers often fail to do: presenting the music in an even-handed and empathetic manner. The liner notes include a brief but informative overview of Sudan’s musical history up to the present as well as helpful bios for each of the featured musicians that aid the listener in understanding the context and creation of the music presented here. The clear sense that the people at Rough Guide are interested in the music on its own terms is in stark contrast to less culturally conscientious labels like Putumayo, who seem intent on reducing world culture to the status of coffee shop soundtracks.

Lucky for the listener, the stand-alone quality of much of the music is strong enough to transcend any would-be attempts at marketing dilution. A single track like the otherworldly and utterly beautiful chanting of the Omdurman Women’s Ensemble on Daloka Bet El Mal (which sounds like a prayer but is about drinkin’ hooch and smokin’ herb), especially in the soft memory of a post Live 8 world, serves to remind western listeners that Africa’s afflicted countries deserve to be thought of as more than just charity cases and instead acknowledged as being the home of vibrant populations creating equally vibrant culture.

All cultural implications aside, much of the music on Desert Rhythms & Savannah Harmonies just plain cooks. Tarig Abubakar’s & the Afro-Nubians makes like a suave Saharan James Brown on Tour to Africa where, backed by a cool groove, he runs through African nations like a funky conductor. A sense of cool sophistication is also evidenced in the sensuous intertwining of Arabic strings and a smoky saxophone on Abdel Azziz El Mubarak’s Na-Nu Na-Nu.

As the result of their lack of traditional western musical training, there may be an unfortunate tendency to regard African musicians as naturals take their estimable skill for granted. Don’t. Even on a musically sparse tracks like Muhamed El Amin’s Habibi, which features just vocals and oud, the ability to the flowing virtuosity needed to casually render complex picking patterns while singing is nothing short of astonishing.

When placed alongside such refined brilliance, certain tracks that attempt to weld traditional and modern sounds somewhat suffer in comparison. The thin-sounding drum machine and synthesizer on Emmanuel Jal’s Gua mars what is an otherwise interesting convergence between traditional Sudanese music and hip-hop. On other songs, the keyboards sound like they’d be more at home in Toto’s Africa than today’s Sudan. The delicate balance between old and new is best managed on Mohammed Wardi’s Azibbni, where accordion and fuzz guitar come together to build something new on top of old foundations. While Sudanese music may not yet have the cultural cache of some of its geographic neighbors, don’t wait for the cultural cognoscenti to check your passport. The border’s open.

VA - The Rough Guide to Sudan (flac 335mb)

01 Rasha - Aguis Mahasnik Biman 3:23
02 Abdel Karim El Kabli - Kabbas 5:33
03 Emmanuel Jal - Gua 3:53
04 Tarik Abubakar & The Afro-Nubians - Tour To Africa 4:13
05 Setona - Sawani 4:09
06 Joseph Modi - In Kadugli 3:11
07 Zar Omdurman - Chant 1 2:11
08 Abdel Aziz El Mubarak - Na-Nu Na-Nu 7:10
09 Mustafa Al Sunni - Ya Jamil Ja Mudalal 4:56
10 Mohammed Wardi - Azibni 7:03
11 Muhamed El Amin - Habibi 7:16
12 Omdurman Women's Ensemble - Daloka Bet El Mal 3:10
13 Didinga Singer - Ee Wayi, Wayi, Hauya Agreement Tilaloni 1:41
14 Abdel Gadir Salim - Mal Wa Ihtagab 5:28

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