ChordStrike

Buena Vista Take 2: Malian & Cuban Musicians Combine

In 1996, World Circuit Records owner Nick Gold and his co-producer Ry Cooder traveled to Havana with the intention of teaming musicians from Mali with local Cuban artists to make a record exploring the musical links between the two cultures.

But the Africans' passports were lost and the project had to be scratched. With studio time booked, Cooder and Gold decided to record the Cubans on their own and the result was Buena Vista Social Club, which has sold millions of copies worldwide and was listed in 2003 by Rolling Stone as one of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.

This happy accident is not dissimilar from banjo-player Béla Fleck’s Throw Down your Heart, the 2009 project wherein Fleck traced the lineage of the banjo to its African roots. He traveled to Uganda, Mali, Tanzania and Gambia to capture the sights and sounds of African music.

Several musicians were featured in both projects, linking Africa’s musical heritage to Latin America’s and the west's.

Fourteen years later Gold and Cooder have finally recorded the album they intended, AfroCubism. Kora player Toumani Diabaté, who also appeared on Fleck’s album, said "My dream since I was young was to open a new door for African music… to bring this music out of Mali and meet other cultures with it.” With music as the lingua franca, it appears these musicians are bringing their dreams to fruition.

--Court @ SoundUnwound

SoundUnwound's editorial team write about the latest big music news and quirky stories which catch the eye. We also post a selection of these news stories on Chordstrike; for much, much more, visit SoundUnwound.com, the new music site from IMDb and Amazon. Follow us at twitter.com/soundunwound.

Brazilian Baby Samba School

OK, so maybe it's old news, but what can I say, I've already established my partiality for tots with musical moves. This one's a Brazilian dance prodigy with a taste for samba music.

Know of more hilarious (real) dancing babies? Drop a comment!

     --Jason Kirk

Manu Chao Records Album with 'Radio Crazy'

Johnny Cash was famous for recording his seminal album in an American prison, Radiohead was famous for introducing a revolutionary pay-what-you-want model of album release, and Manu Chao has taken elements of both to record and release his latest album, Viva La Colifata. Chao took himself to La Borda, a psychiatric hospital in Buenos Aires, Argentina, which is famous for its revolutionary patient-run radio station Radio La Colifata – literally “Radio Crazy,” a name chosen by the residents themselves. During a series of music workshops he got to know the patients, and the end result is a 20 track album inspired by and featuring the stars of Radio La Colifata. Psychologist and creator of the radio station Alfredo Olivera confirmed: "The process was very positive, not only because it tackled the social stigma of mental illness, but because it helped people leave the hospital and develop their own autonomy. Chao is not a psychologist or a psychiatrist but he knows how to listen to the rhythm of each person.” The album is available via a special website which uses the In Rainbows optional payment system, and all proceeds raised will go to the hospital and its radio station.

Here's Manu's "El Hoyo" performed to a raucous crowd in Spain last year...

ManuChao_ Monforte_170508_02_ElHoyo from pcas on Vimeo.

And an interesting 6-minute documentary in English about Radio La Colifata (embedding disabled) here.

--Hazel @ SoundUnwound

SoundUnwound's editorial team write about the latest big music news and quirky stories which catch the eye. We'll be posting a selection of these news stories on Chordstrike every week; for much, much more, visit SoundUnwound.com, the new music site from IMDb and Amazon. Follow us at twitter.com/soundunwound.

Out This Week: Good New Music You Might Have Missed

Zero 7 - "Medicine Man"
Suggested if you like: Solange, Janelle Monae, mixology

Christina Courtin - Foreign Country
Suggested if you like: Madeleine Peyroux, Jolie Holland, sweet tea

Speech Debelle (feat. Micachu) - "Better Days"
Suggested if you like: Estelle, Roots Manuva, hip-hop from over there

Kleerup
Suggested if you like: Robyn, Lykke Li, flashing lights

Drug Rug - Paint the Fence Invisible
Suggested if you like: Apollo Sunshine, Beachwood Sparks, sweet ponchos

Los Pikadientes de Caborca - "Billie Jean"
Suggested if you like: this M.I.S. cover of "Bittersweet Symphony," unlikely tributes

-- Jeff Reguilon