David Dalle
Thursday December 30th, 2021 with David Dalle
Favourite albums from 2021. Music from Ghana, Niger, Mali, Nigeria, Columbia, Ethiopia, Iceland, Romania, Iran, Netherlands, Thelonious Monk, Sun Ra, Vijay Iyer and more.
The last show of 2021, with no end in sight of the pandemic. It has been a hard year for many, but I will be grateful. Grateful to our listeners who continued to demonstrate their support for CKCU and grateful for all the wonderful music that continues to be created and shared. Today we will hear from my favourite albums from 2021. There are too many to hear all in one program, but of course most of them have already been featured extensively over the past year and I encourage you to listen to past programs on-demand!
Here is the full list, in no particular order:
• Hasaan Ibn Ali "Metaphysics - The Lost Atlantic Album" Omnivore Recordings
• Sun Ra "Lanquidity" Strut
• Urban Village "Udundolo" No Format
• Fanfare Ciocarlia "It wasn't hard to love you" Asphalt Tango
• Various "Edo Funk Explosion vol. 1" Analog Africa
• Various "Cameroon Garage Funk" Analog Africa
• Les Filles de Illighadad "at Pioneer Works" Sahel Sounds
• Shujaat Husain Khan, Katayoun Goudarzi, Shaho Andalibi, Shariq Mustafa "This Pale" Lycopod Records
• Thelonious Monk "Palo Alto" Impulse!
• Ballake Sissoko "Djourou" No Format
• Ballake Sissoko "A Touma" No Format
• Nahawa Doumbia - Kanawa - Awesome Tapes From Africa
• Various "La Locura De Machuca" Analog Africa
• Vijay Iyer, Linda May Han Oh, Tyshawn Sorey "Uneasy" ECM
• Danish String Quartet "Prism III" ECM
• Noam Lemish "Erlebnisse" Independent
• Bara Gisladottir, Skuli Sverrisson "Caeli" Sono Luminus
• Jakob Bangso, Tallinn Chamber Orchestra, Kaisa Roose "Guitar Concertos" Orchid Classics
• Omsar Sosa, Seckou Keita "Suba" Bendigedig
• Brooklyn Raga Massive "Quarantine Dreams" BRM
• Lakha Khan "Live in Malmo" Amarrass Records
• Bagga Khan "Bhajan" Amarrass Records
• Sofia Gubaidulina/Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, Andris Nelsons "Dialog: Ich und Du - The Wrath of God - The Light of the End" Deutsche Grammophon
• Utsav Lal "Visangati" independent
• Utsav Lal "Raga Shuddha Sarang - Raga Shorts" independent
• Utsav Lal "Raga Shuddha Sarang - Raga Bhairav" independent
• 4 Mars "(Djibouti Archives Vol. 1) Super Somali Sounds from the Gulf of Tadjoura" Ostinato Records
• Hossein Alizadeh & Rembrandt Trio "Same Self, Same Silence" Just Listen Records
• Femi Kuti, Made Kuti "Legacy+" Partisan Records
• Ustad Saami "East Pakistan Sky" Glitterbeat
• Philip Glass/Anthony Roth Costanzo, J'Nai Bridges, Disella Larusdottir, Zachary James, The Metropolitan Opera Orchestra and Chorus, Karen Kamensek "Akhnaten" Orange Mountain Music
• John Coltrane "A Love Supreme: Live in Seattle" Impulse!
• Jake Heggie/Joshua Hopkins, Jake Heggie - Songs for Murdered Sisters - Pentatone
• Various "Essiebons Special 1973-1984" Analog Africa
• Anna Thorvaldsdottir/Spektral Quartet "Enigma" Sono Luminus
• Patricia Kopatchinskaja and Sol Gabetta "Sol and Pat" Alpha Classics
• Namgar "Nayan Navaa" ARC
• William Parker "The Music of William Parker - Migration of Silence Into and Out of the Tone World volumes 1-10" Centering Records
• Mdou Moctar "Afrique Victime" Matador Records
• Toumani Diabate and the London Symphony Orchestra "Korolen" World Circuit
• Hailu Mergia "Tezeta" Awesome Tapes From Africa
• Frank Horvat "Music for Self Isolation" Canadian Music Centre
• Josef Lhevinne & Rosinna Lhevinne "The Complete Josef Lhevinne" Marston Records
| Analog Africa continues to rescue fantastic music of Africa and the African diaspora from being lost to time. We start with the most recent release, a loving tribute to the powerhouse Ghanian producer and record label owner Dick Essilfie-Bondzie. Essilfie-Bondzie died this past year aged 91. He had spent most of his life steering popular music in Ghana, not only as a producer who had a great ear for talented musicians, but he also founded the first record producing company in West Africa in 1969 in Accra, Ghana. He also created a music label, Essiebons. Both were enormously successful, not just in Ghana, but attracting interest from throughout West Africa as a way to produce records within Africa instead of shipping the masters to Europe, which had been the practice. It was a very important step in the decolonization of West African music. Analog Africa's Samy Ben Redjeb first met Essilfie-Bondzie in 2005 and started a very fruitful friendship. By that time, Essilfie-Bondzie had been retired from the music business for a decade, but with the new interest spurred from Analog Africa, he decided to jump back into the business and he released more music into the 2010's. He was working on this compilation of music from the early years of Essiebons when he died. This wonderfully funky album showcases the bleeding edge of Ghanian Highlife from the 70's.
https://analogafrica.bandcamp.com/album/essiebons-special-1973-1984-ghana-music-power-house |
| Tinitini Seaboy & Nyame Bekyere - Essiebons Special 1973-1984 - Analog Africa 
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| Ahwene Pa Nkasa Joe Meah - Essiebons Special 1973-1984 - Analog Africa
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| Africa Is My Root Osayomore Joseph - Edo Funk Explosion Vol. 1 - Analog Africa |
| Ma Wde Wa Los Camaroes - Cameroon Garage Funk - Analog Africa |
| El Tomilito El Grupo Folclorico - La Locura De Machuca` - Analog Africa |
| Nefas New Zemedie Hailu Mergia & The Walias Band - Tezeta - Awesome Tapes From Africa |
| Where Pathways Meet -alternate take Sun ra - Lanquidity - Strut |
| Epistrophy Thelonious Monk - Palo Alto - Impulse! |
| Ya Habibti Mdou Moctar - Afrique Victime - Matador Records |
| Moon Kaira Toumani Diabate and the London Symphony Orchestra - Korolen - World Circuit |
| The following cut might just be my track of the year, I have certainly listened to it enough times! |
| Un vetement pour la lune (with Feu! Chatterton) Ballake Sissoko - Djourou - No Format |
| The next set starts with a short piece from Swiss jazz pianist and composer Julien-François Zbinden, featured in a stellar duo recording from the iconoclastic violinist Patricia Kopatchinskaja and cellist Sol Gabetta. They prefer performing and recording music "from the borders of the repertoire". Dare I be so bold as to say their eclectic approach to programming music is similar to my approach to my radio program? This short six movement piece is a caricature of Swiss National Day in a Swiss village. Zbinden composed this work in 1947 and he was still alive when this recording was made and conversed with the duo by email! He passed away last March aged 103 years old. |
| La Fete Au Village Op. 9 Julien-Francois Zbinden/Patricia Kopatchinskaja, Sol Gabetta - Sol & Pat - Alpha Classics
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| Caeli is two hours of deep improvisation from two Icelandic bassists, music to sink deep into late at night! |
| Stretching Skies Bara Gisladottier & Skuli Sverrisson - Caeli - Sono Luminus |
| Namgar is led by Buryat singer Namgar Lkhasaranova from the Russian Republic of Buryatia. |
| Urda uula Namgar - Nayan Navaa - ARC |
| Entrustment Vijay Iyer, Linda May Han Oh, Tyshawn Sorey - Uneasy - ECM |
| Listen to my conversation with Utsav Lal last February where he speaks in-depth about creating the unique piano technique required to play Indian classical music on the piano.
https://cod.ckcufm.com/programs/105/50847.html |
| Neer Bharan Kaise Jaon Utsav Lal with Nitin Mitta - Visangati - Independent |
| Torkeman Hossein Alizadeh & Rembrandt Trio - Same Self, Same Silence - Just Listen Records |
| After a set of deep and sometimes dark listening, I will end the year with the pure ecstatic joy of Fanfare Ciocarlia! I wish everyone a safe and happy New Year! |
| Cruzzzando el Campooo Fanfare Ciocarlia - It Wasn't Hard To Love You - Asphalt Tango |
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2:07 PM, December 30th, 2021