Pulverizing the Parameters

 

Once you get to know or think you know a certain type of music, you can’t help but consider what makes it what it is and to what level it can be messed with and still retain (at least your idea of) authenticity. Even keeping in mind that generalized musical categories are going to have a measure of sub-diversity and finer points like an artist’s ethnicity don’t necessarily guarantee what you’re likely to hear, it can be easier to jump to conclusions rather than remain standing on the precipice and give a good listen first.

I fell hard and fast for Philadelphia-based Runa after hearing their wonderful previous release Somewhere Along the Road a few years ago. I didn’t think they could top that one, but they’ve handily done so with Current Affairs (Runa Music, 2014). They’re a Celtic band without doubt, fronted by a lass named Shannon Lambert-Ryan who step dances and plays the bodhran in addition to singing with that lovely yet mighty Irish lilt that’s as familiar as the swirling mandolin and banjo of Dave Curley, the shimmer of Fionan de Barra’s guitar and Maggie Estes’ fine fiddling. What makes them so good is the sheer grace and ease with which they apply balm-like dabs of bluegrass, Appalachian folk, flamenco and jazz fusion that deepen the music along with a variety of subtle grooves anchored by percussionist Cheryl Prashker.

Departing from tradition in their choices of rhythm and melody (as well as instrumentation) works resoundingly in their favor on this disc of mostly traditional songs and covers, including heart-piercing ballads (“The Wife of Usher’s Well,” “The False Knight Upon the Road”), gospel fervor (“Ain’t No Grave”), a few perfectly seamless medleys and an all-around freshness that retains Runa’s status as the favorite Celtic band of many a listener.

 

 

You’d expect fine Afropop from Guinean Sia Tolno. What’s likely to take you by surprise is that her latest, African Woman (Lusafrica, 2014) is predominantly in the Afrobeat style that Fela Kuti pioneered and bands worldwide have picked up on. Tony Allen, drummer extra extraordinaire and co-architect of the Afrobeat sound, is here, both behind the kit and as producer. So the sound is as it should be: Allen’s drums providing a steady but seemingly always shifting beat below a grinding, pulsating wall of guitars, bass, keyboards, horns and percussion. African rhythms, soul, jazz and funk are in constant communion and Tolno’s soaring vocals cry out in songs like “African Police” and “Kekeleh” (the latter taking on the very thorny issue of female genital mutilation) against the same sort of social ills that Fela none too politely pointed out.

A few tracks are on the lighter side while still sporting the relentless forward motion, and Tolno isn’t always as lyrically incendiary as some of the other Afrobeat rousers out there. African Woman is nonetheless a vital and satisfying disc, quite possibly the first Afrobeat album by a female artist. (Unless I’m mistaken, and please, somebody set me straight if I am.)

 

Senegal’s Carlou D is a bit of a shape-shifter who was once part of the hip hop trio Positive Black Soul. After leaving that outfit he put out Muzikr, a splendid work of Sufi-influenced acoustic music. A New Day (World Village, 2015) is a fitting title for his most recent release, which sounds like nothing he’s done previously. But that’s fine. Carlou’s bright, varied Afropop is enriched not only by African tradition but also by Francophone balladry, Western rock and soul and dance floor potential. Though the results can sound a bit uneven, Carlou’s eclectic, whisper-to-wail vocals, guitar skills and knack for producing melodic hooks in any sort of arrangement keep the album engaging, fun and thoughtful.

 

 

Daby Toure was born in Mauritania and spent a lot of his formative years in Senegal. His new release Amonafi (Cumbancha, 2015), features modernized music inspired by both cultures and a good many others besides. Pretty much a one-man affair in terms of handling all the instruments (apart from horns) and production, the disc finds Daby dabbling in Afropop colored by everything from reggae to electronica to straight-up rock and funk. Toure’s got a voice that can handle the resulting nuances, imparting like a griot of old one moment and multitracked in contemporary dance mode the next. It’s an enjoyable album with many a good moment, but do steer clear if it’s strictly roots music you’re after.

 

 

Razia is from the musically rich island of Madagascar, and on Akory (Wake Up Music, 2015), she sings her way beyond Malagasy traditions just a bit. The acoustic rhythms shift and sway with a jazzy looseness, and Razia’s heart-caressing vocals lament the state of affairs in her native land and the world beyond. Similar in tone to her first rate Zebu Nation album but with a more upbeat spark (check the horns on the closing “Nifankahita”) and songs that inspire higher quotients of both dancing and activism (the environment and the future of Madagascar’s children are among Razia’s main concerns). Consider Akory a must-have; each track is a beauty and the whole thing gets better with every listen.

 

 

Indian-born, Toronto-raised Kiran Ahluwalia continues to stretch the boundaries of her home country’s familiar sounds on Sanata: Stillness (Kiran Music, 2014). Disc opener “Hayat” chimes in with a Tinariwen-style guitar riff before adding harmonium and tabla suggestive of Pakistani qawwali to properly propel Ahluwalia’s nimble singing, which mixes traditional and contemporary tones as expertly as the instrumentation. The India/Pakistan/Sahara meeting point echoes through the remainder of the tracks, a set of hypnotic pieces featuring intricate jazz riffing, serpentine rhythms and Ahluwalia’s ghazal-influenced vocal riches. A stunner of an album.

 

 

You might fancy yourself easily able to surmise what sort of tunes an album entitled Afro-Caribbean Party (Putumayo, 2015) would include, but would a song by a Swiss reggae artist be among your first guesses? How about some Bahamian folkloric music by a former member of the Baha Men (known for “Who Let the Dogs Out” and not much else)? Just goes to show how much there is to consider as part of the Afro-Caribbean musical picture, including the delightful swing of Kali’s Martiniquean beguine, popular and traditional sides of Haitian music courtesy of Wesli, Michael Blaise and Jan Sebon’s Kazak International, more reggae from Clinton Fearon and Cuban blends by Ska Cubano, Asere and Chispa Labori. Putumayo’s compilations have long featured the familiar alongside the obscure or-up-and-coming, and every track on this latest assemblage of theirs has something good to offer.

 

 

Of course, sometimes a genre is just a genre. If you’re looking for music that doesn’t stray from its roots and doesn’t need to, check out Honduran Garifuna master Aurelio on his latest, Landini (Real World/Stonetree, 2014). The African/Indigenous/Spanish music of the Central American Garifuna is front and center, unlike Aurelio’s previous Laru Beya, which was more of a fusion album but still very good. Landini brims with lively acoustic guitars and percussion beneath Aurelio’s African-inflected vocals, and the electric twang added by the guitar of musician/producer Ivan Duran (Landini is another of his many fine productions in the Garifuna realm) brings just a touch of modern tastiness. An absolute gem if you’re one of the growing number of Garifuna music fans around the world.