A Musical Tour of the World: All Countries A-Z One Per Day

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by HitAndRun, Jun 7, 2020.

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  1. HitAndRun

    HitAndRun Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Thanks for all the posts everyone.

    I'm slowly catching up, but more are appearing. One thing I'll note is how many bands are appearing that I immediately recognise, but they are bands in the category of 'I should know this band better, but I've missed it somehow.'

    So, having done a bit more research - here we go.

    For @Soopernaut's posting of Tear Gas, The Sensational Alex Harvey Band is one such. So, I've listened a bit more to songs I don't know. 'Giddy Up a Ding Dong' is very far from their most serious song, perhaps being similar in status to Peter Gabriel's 'I Go Swimming', but it is fun.

    For @Jamsterdammer, I was expecting more Jazz :D 'Chance' is my very favourite song by Big Country. But, I like 'Into the Valley' by Adamson's previous (Scottish) band The Skids just as much. So, here it is.

    While we don't have very strict rules, there are some more tracks I could post which aren't quite Scottish enough for me today. E.g. My introduction to The Cocteau Twins was via This Mortal Coil, but Ivo Watts-Russell is English even if Elizabeth Fraser is lead vocalist. Similarly, for @emmodad's posting of The Blue Nile, my introduction to them was through the more poppy cover version of Heatwave by the again very English Stewart and Gaskin.

    While I don't know The Blue Nile that well, my partner does. I asked her to recommend a song of theirs to post. She's off looking. Oh, and she says she has loads of Scottish music and doesn't approve of me choosing 'Loch Lomond' to represent Runrig. There will be a later post from me where I will do as I am told.

    I was wondering which other bands from Scotland I knew well by name but where I wasn't too familiar with their name. A quick search gave me: Arab Strap. Here's an interesting spoken word + music track of theirs: 'The First Big Weekend'.

    Quite often I search on 'jazz funk' to see what I get. The following instrumental track may be more funk than jazz, but I like it. 'Crank' by Federation of the Disco Pimp. It's gone on my playlist for listening to when exercising too.
     
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  2. HitAndRun

    HitAndRun Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Unfortunately it's too late for me to edit the previous post.

    My partner recommended these two songs.

    'From A Late Night Train' by The Blue Nile (linking into @emodad's post.)



    'Coisich A Ruin' (Come On My Love) by Capercaillie.

    Presumably for the above:

    Waulking songs [...] are Scottish folk songs, traditionally sung in the Gaelic language by women while fulling (waulking) cloth. This practice involved a group of women rhythmically beating newly woven tweed or tartan cloth against a table or similar surface to soften it. Simple, beat-driven songs were used to accompany the work. (Waulking song - Wikipedia )

    Just in case, I'll add the following scene from the TV Series 'Outlander' depicting a scene where women are waulking cloth. Outlander "Wool Waulking Song".
     
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  3. Jamsterdammer

    Jamsterdammer The Great CD in the Sky

    Location:
    Málaga, Spain
    The Blue Nile was a great band as well. My favourite track by them is Tinseltown In The Rain from 1984:


    A band that is perhaps a bit forgotten was The Associates from Dundee formed by singer Billy Mackenzie and guitarist Alan Rankine. In 1982 they had a hit with "Party Fears Two", a superb pop song:
    https://youtu.be/wGtw9_XeIss

    I just can't help posting so many songs from the period 1982-1984. I guess it's because in 1982 I started university, which brought me in contact with a much wider and eclectic group of people and experiences that broadened my musical horizon quite a bit in a relatively short period of time.

    Since 2016 the Mark Hendry Octet have become one of the most exciting large Jazz combos in Scotland. Taking influence from traditional Jazz, Classical, Folk and Rock worlds. For Edinburgh Jazz & Blues Festival 2018 he showcased both his Octet and two new suites written for Orchestra (23 musicians on stage). The first is centred around Endangered Species, the second on George Orwell‘s dystopian classic “1984”. Here is Mark Hendry Orchestra with "Ninety Eighty-Four: Part II":
    https://youtu.be/x40I6KvHpK8

    The Fergus McCreadie Trio is based in Glasgow and part of an exciting new wave of Jazz ensembles from Scotland. Here is "Ardbeg", the second song from their debut album "Turas". Absolutely gorgeous:
    https://youtu.be/qvpgTeLvxlE
     
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  4. HitAndRun

    HitAndRun Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Thanks @Jamsterdammer. I particularly liked the piano-led jazz of The Fergus McCreadie Trio.

    I'll add a song that is about an unnamed Scotsman, rather than being Scottish itself. It's called 'The Scotsman' and is a solo a cappella performance by American autoharp player Bryan Bowers. Warning: this song may include stereotypes.

     
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  5. john hp

    john hp Forum Resident

    Location:
    Warwickshire, UK
    Thanks for all the Scottish music, not all to my taste, I do have to admit. My favourite so far was 'Candyskin' by the Fire Engines - it was fun to hear that again, although I do think that was the only song I ever heard by them that I liked. I also enjoyed the Jesus & Mary Chain track, although it didn't seem especially angry to me - perhaps they saved most of their anger for each other.

    My favourite Scottish group from the punk era would have been the Rezillos, although I don't think they were punk (pop-punk maybe?) - 'Flying Saucer Attack' from 1978



    'Party Fears Two' will always remind of BBC Radio 4's "Week Ending" which used the instrumental part as its theme; but I will add the Associates' follow-up single 'Club Country' with more of the late Billy Mackenzie's rather unique voice, having heard this the other day for the first time in many years
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BkTEyDfwU7Q&ab_channel=TimeTravellers

    HitandRun is far too young to have heard Freddy Bell & the Bellboys' original 1950s recording of 'Giddy Up a Ding Dong'..... I'm going to add an earlier 1967 single by Alex Harvey and it is a (fairly different to the original) cover of a song from the Incredible String Band's LP "5000 Spirits or the Layers of the Onion" so the ISB will be represented here today as well. Mike Heron's song 'Maybe Someday'
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NEytJrrAnLc&ab_channel=CatherinePsy

    Karl Denver (aka Angus Murdo Mckenzie from Glasgow) was popular in the early 1960s and he was another with a rather unique vocal style; this is his autobiographical (or maybe semi-autobiographical) song 'Bonny Scotland' from a 1961 B-side
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qloLn3gVdf4&ab_channel=KarlDenver-Topic
    Obituary: Karl Denver

    And why not add some Belle & Sebastian; this is 'Lazy Line Painter Jane' from 1997
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9I42Q-EU50s&ab_channel=JeepsterRecordings
     
  6. leshafunk

    leshafunk Forum Resident

    Location:
    Moscow, Russia
    The most successful British funk band came from Scotland.
    Is it OK to call them MacFunk? Rickey Vincent called them like that, yet I'm not sure this is legit.

    Let's Pick Up The Pieces with Average White Band, y'all!


    Fast forward 35 years, and we find the band with a strange name Federation of the Disco Pimp, who call themselves ' Scotland's premier exponent of modern funk'. If your remember the term, 'eponent' is something that skyrockets very fast.
    I have two CDs of this band, both are quite listenable.
    Here's the official video for 'Pound For Pound' song from 2012 (probably their only official video):
    https://youtu.be/_9ibsBvP-bE
    It was even covered in Japan by some schoolkids!
    https://youtu.be/8d-RpQGEDHY

    Then we should know that the most fearsome pirates are Scottish pirates - Alestorm.
    Unfortunately there are no videos from their debut.
    So here's Shiwrecked from their 3rd album Back Through Time (2011)
    https://youtu.be/ggyC0FOzqHM
    (if there was no Internet, one could've guessed they are from Finland, not from Scotland)
     
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  7. Jamsterdammer

    Jamsterdammer The Great CD in the Sky

    Location:
    Málaga, Spain
    Oh yes, forgot about Belle & Sebastian. Also very good. And the excellent AWB track just posted by Leshafunk brings back some good memories!

    I decided to look around on the islands to see what people are doing there in terms of music. I am especially fond of Island Whisky so I reckon the music should also be good, right?

    Anyway, first the Orkneys. Here are the Wrigley Sisters performing a medley of Orcadian songs at the 2003 Smithsonian Folklife Festival:


    From the Shetlands comes folk musician Vesternor who is playing here traditional Shetland fiddle music called Garster's Dream:
    https://youtu.be/RoNcqR6PukU

    On to the Outer Hebrides, this is Music from the Western Isles, specifically Harris, called "Beanntan na Hearadh". The type of music is called Ceol Mor, which is the original music of the highland pipe (as opposed to the dance-music and marches, most often heard today, but introduced much later). It is one of the most important types of Gaelic music, consisting of long, subtle and beautiful melodies, sometimes of 10 to 20 minutes in length. It is very beautiful indeed.
    https://youtu.be/X0x7TtARghg
     
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  8. HitAndRun

    HitAndRun Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Thanks @John Hp. I was surprised to see that Karl Denver is one of the people who have had a hit with 'Wimoweh', though I found his version ... different from what I expected.

    Looking for more 60s music, I read that The Beatstalkers were Scotland's top beat combo. This is the song 'Mr Disappointed'. I don't know if this will be to your taste, but I can but try.



    @leshafunk has just posted, but I have to go and do 'stuff' and will respond later. EDIT: And @Jamsterdammer too.
     
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  9. john hp

    john hp Forum Resident

    Location:
    Warwickshire, UK
    They were very popular in Glasgow I believe (someone in a TV documentary once claimed that they were more popular than the Beatles there ....) but they didn't make much headway south of the border as far as I'm aware. Probably most famous now for having recorded an obscure David Bowie song 'Silver Tree Top School for Boys' in 1967; but this 1966 instrumental B-side would be my favourite by them - 'Bass Line' (aka 'Base Line'); aka 'I Can Only Give You Everything' as recorded with vocals by Them; the Troggs; and the MC5.


    http://www.rockingscots.co.uk/bstalk.htm
     
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  10. leshafunk

    leshafunk Forum Resident

    Location:
    Moscow, Russia
    A Scottish band Orange Juice had one funky album in 1982: Rip It Up.

    Here's the video fro the title track:


    The CD is selling for ridiculous prices today, both the first press and all the reissues.
     
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  11. emmodad

    emmodad Forum Resident

    Location:
    monterey, ca
    :righton::righton::righton: for mentions of The Sensational Alex Harvey Band, Runrig, AWB, Belle & Sebastian !

    SAHB were a great live show. Saw them 1975 at the Philadelphia Spectrum, shows a few months apart with both Frank Zappa and Lynrd Skynrd. Really energetic and entertaining stage shows on top of great tunes and musicianship. Showmen all the way. To this day I think of "Sargent Fury" and "Delilah"...

    ---

    One more band mention, more up and comers in the past years, who caught a break from the Scottish-American National Treasure that is Craig Ferguson: Dead Man Fall.

    Ferguson was approaching his last Late Late Show hosting (NB: Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson was some of the best late-nite TV ever in the US), retiring from that and heading on to new projects. Dead Man Fall and Ferguson both hail from Cumbernauld, just south of Glasgow; DMF pinged him on social media basically saying hey if you are homesick, check out our vid filmed in town and in Glasgow.

    The vid was for their single "Bang Your Drum," a great and uplifting song.

    Ferguson (who happens to a percussion fanatic) really liked it - so much that he invited DMF to perform it live on his final episode of The Late Late Show. What an opportunity for a group of young guys who perform in pubs and for huge crowds of tens of people: travel to the US, go on TV, and get exposure to an audience of millions!

    Alas, it wasn't to be... due to US immigration authorities who wouldn't issue a performance visa.

    So Ferguson and his team hatched a bit of a plot: they started green-screening, or having vids submitted by, friends and show guests (a plethora of musicians, actors, and friends, even including the likes of William Shatner, Metallica, Betty White, ArchBishop Desmond Tutu...) performing on percussion along with Bang Your Drum.

    The final show's open started in to a montage of all of those guests playing along to Dead Man Fall...which transitioned to live performance on stage by Ferguson backed by the semi-house band Bone Patrol with guest guitarist Steve Jones of Sex Pistols, a choir, and dancing friends, guests, and sheer characters.

    Dead Man Fall's online sales of Bang Your Drum exploded...

    ---

    It's a great tune. Watch the Dead Man Fall original first:



    and then for sheer madness and fun, check out the Craig Ferguson TV spectacle version...
     
    Last edited: Nov 22, 2020
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  12. john hp

    john hp Forum Resident

    Location:
    Warwickshire, UK
    Here's one more from the 1980s -


    'Don't talk to me about love' - Altered Images (1983)

    And from 1958, the first Scottish no.1 record (I'm not counting Lonnie Donegan who moved with his family from Glasgow to London aged 2) - 'Hoots Mon' by Lord Rockingham's XI (from Jack Good's "Oh Boy" TV show). Well Lord Rockingham (aka Harry Robinson) was Scottish - I'm not sure that any of the XI were. And I'm not sure how many from Scotland would have bought a copy
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BktLpmDNwt0&ab_channel=Gaelkaramazout
    Lord Rockingham's XI - Wikipedia
    harry later did string arrangements for Nick Drake and Sandy Denny.

    * .
     
  13. Jamsterdammer

    Jamsterdammer The Great CD in the Sky

    Location:
    Málaga, Spain
    ...And yet another one from the 1980s:

    The Proclaimers - "I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)" (1988)
     
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  14. HitAndRun

    HitAndRun Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Thanks all. After seeing @leshafunk's posting of the AWB track, I wondered what Hamish Stuart was up to. It seems that a couple of years ago he produced a band called 'Jbia' which stands for 'James Brown is Annie'. Here they are from the Hamish Stuart produced album 'James Brown is Annie II' with the song 'Five up High'.



    After seeing the songs posted by @Jamsterdammer from the island, the song that popped into my head was the 'Skye Boat Song'. <- That's a version by Scottish band The Corries.

    And while we're posting a fair amount of 80s music by Scottish acts, here's 'If I Was' by Midge Ure.

    @emmodad - The TV spectacular version of Bang Your Drum is spectacular indeed.,
     
    Last edited: Nov 22, 2020
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  15. Soopernaut

    Soopernaut Forum Resident

    Location:
    Des Moines,IA
    The Headboys were a Power Pop/New Wave band from Edinburgh. They were around from 1977-1980 and did manage to hit the charts with this song;
    The Headboys- "The Shape of Things to Come" (1979)


    ...And for something completely different, Chou Pahrot, mixed Prog/Hard Rock and Folk.
    Chou Pahrot- "The Wee Thing" (From their live album, 1979)
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w35ID3kYKWU
     
  16. HitAndRun

    HitAndRun Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Thanks for the music, everyone.

    Today we're in Senegal.

    I'll start with yet another obvious choice, Youssou Ndour, singing Macoumba. I first became aware of Ndour due to his collaborations with Ryuichi Sakamoto.



    Next I have something that is simple and straightforward, but I like it. The band Touré Kunda are noted for their musical versatility and their political activism. I haven't sampled much of their oeuvre, and assume that there will be music of different styles. So, here we have 'Fatou Yow'. According to their Wikipedia page they have collaborated with international artists including Talking Heads and Carlos Santana.

    Ismael Lo is a Niger born Senegalese singer/songwriter. Here is his song, presumably devotional, Incha Allah.

    There has been a 'modern' bias in my selections so far. So, here is something more traditional sounding (to my ears). Yandé Codou Sene was a singer from the Serer ethnic group, and was the official griot of Léopold Sédar Senghor. Here she is with the song 'Moon'.

    There are of course some world famous Senegalese singers and musicians I haven't mentioned. :)

    Tomorrow we're in Serbia.
     
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  17. john hp

    john hp Forum Resident

    Location:
    Warwickshire, UK
    Thanks for the initial Senegalese selections. These are my choices from my YT trawl -

    'Cheri Coco' by Amira Abed (born in Senegal to Lebanese parents); premiered in April this year with almost 5 million views to date and rather charming I thought. The first video that I remember seeing with skipping .... apart from the one we had yesterday set in a boxing gymn

    warning - does contain traces of autotune
    VIDEO - Qui est Amira Abed, la jeune chanteuse qui fait frissonner les mélomanes sénégalais avec son tube "Chéri Coco" | SAMAREW INFOS
    It appears to be a cover of an original by Pape Djiby Ba, who said that he had chills when he heard Amira Abed's recording
    igfm - Pape Djiby Ba auteur de «Chérie Coco»: «J’ai eu des frissons en écoutant Amira Abed

    From 2008 a song simply called 'Music' by Titi (aka Ndeye Fatou) which does have some men hitting things content. Wikipedia notes that she lived in Guinea for three years but was persuaded by her inspiration Youssou Ndour to return to Dakar. I wondered if it was an Otis Redding quote around four minutes in.
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vlnu7QBof3w&ab_channel=CALIROE26
    Titi (singer) - Wikipedia

    Now for "Kora et chants traditionnels du Senegal" - Soukeyeà la voix d'or et Bayla à la Kora
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f8jt1pcysZw&ab_channel=AlainduJou

    'Fouta' by Aby Ndour a singer and TV host; from 2011
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qvf6OgDR71A&ab_channel=Baba
    https://www.unhcr.org/ibelong/aby-ndour/

    'Massio Thiono' by Diogal Sakho from 2000 with the (French?) guitarist Jean-Baptiste Nallet
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-RcgCDqVC9k&ab_channel=InaMusicLive/InaMusiqueLive
    Frank Bessem's Musiques d'Afrique / Senegal : Diogal Sakho

    And for the forthcoming video compilation Even More Men Hitting Things - Yelly Thioune's African Ndiguel group of more than fifty dancers and percussionists - Pecc Mi
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AfzIN8hYLYo&ab_channel=olelculture
    https://www.africanndiguel.com/about
     
    Last edited: Nov 23, 2020
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  18. emmodad

    emmodad Forum Resident

    Location:
    monterey, ca
    hmmmm... a thread deficiency that need be cured: Deacon Blue

    "Real Gone Kid" then...




    ...and a somewhat-more-recent vintage
     
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  19. emmodad

    emmodad Forum Resident

    Location:
    monterey, ca
    hmmmm... a thread deficiency that need be cured: Deacon Blue

    "Real Gone Kid" then...




    ...and a somewhat-more-recent vintage
     
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  20. emmodad

    emmodad Forum Resident

    Location:
    monterey, ca
    apropos thread deficiency: Aztec Camera

    a nice 1988 live "Oblivious"







    [ apologies for the odd double of Deacon Blue, perhaps due to timeout auto-logout while I was distracted while composing/posting...mod/ThreadCapo, can you delete the duplicate? ]
     
    Last edited: Nov 23, 2020
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  21. emmodad

    emmodad Forum Resident

    Location:
    monterey, ca
    @HitAndRun: Youssou N'Dour, Touré Kunda, and Ismael Lo - quite a start!

    Among others, Peter Gabriel is certainly to be thanked for helping raise the profile of Youssou N'Dour outside of Africa and the French-speaking world; fortunately youtube is awash with examples of their crossover/collaborations featuring N'Dour's magnificant voice. A favorite performance of a mature N'Dour with PG is here (performing "In Your Eyes" to honor Nelson Mandela); another I can't find at the moment includes Paula Cole with N'Dour while she was touring with PG, having replaced Sinéad O'Connor on the Secret World tour.

    But it's the younger, developing N'Dour whose voice has always enthralled me the most, from the Star Band to Étoile de Dakar and then Super Étoile de Dakar. A 1980 TV performance by Étoile de Dakar with ~20-year-old N'Dour can be seen here; and then on to a fabulous 1989 Montreux concert by Super Étoile de Dakar:

     
  22. HitAndRun

    HitAndRun Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Thanks @John Hp and @emmodad.

    Both of you have posted very enjoyable and melodic music.

    As a quick reply, I note the presence of Youssou N'Dour today, and also my favourite track from John's post was that by Aby Ndour. So, as a quick and easy to reply to everything, here is Any Ndour and Youssou N'Dour with 'Xarit'. This is I think not quite as distinctive as 'Fouta' but still a good song.

     
    Last edited: Nov 23, 2020
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  23. Jamsterdammer

    Jamsterdammer The Great CD in the Sky

    Location:
    Málaga, Spain
    We're back in Africa! :bdance:Senegal is another powerhouse of African music as today's posts so far attest. I really liked the Yelly Thioune video John posted as a contribution to the every expanding "men hitting things hard" compilation and the Yandé Codou Sene song posted by HitAndRun. Emmodad already posted a song by Super Étoile de Dakar, so let me go back even more with the Star Band's song "Nabolinata":


    Orchestra Baobab is a Senegalese band established in 1970 as the house band of the Baobab Club in Dakar. Many of the band's original members had previously played with Star Band de Dakar in the 1960s. Orchestra Baobab became one of the dominant African bands of the 1970s, recording 20 albums before their breakup in 1987. Here they are with "Fayinkounko":
    https://youtu.be/B2S_l_WFriU

    Baaba Maal and Mansour Seck are two very famous Senegalese musicians who are lifelong friends and have collaborated on various albums, including the magnificent Djam Leeli from 1989. Here is a very nice video filmed in an informal setting where they are playing the song "Njégoulé Fama":
    https://youtu.be/uvntwqL55H8?list=PLJlzlxn4JDKgkSPA1vpzQ8YtR7m9v5K8Z

    Cheikh Lô is a member of the Baye Fall, a movement within the Mouride Sufi order of Islam. As such, he has dreadlocks, which is part of the order's customs. The reggae influence in his music, along with his dreadlocks, often leads to the misinterpretation that he is Rastafarian. As a Sufi musician, he is of course well aware of other Sufi musical traditions and when in 1997 the great Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan passed away, he wrote a tribute song to him, called Zikroulahi, which I like very much. It starts with a prayer, followed by him singing "hommage a Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan" and then starting a very spiritually uplifting song:
    https://youtu.be/BLmKaSy4y-A

    I could post a lot more, but will leave it for later today.
     
    Last edited: Nov 23, 2020
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  24. HitAndRun

    HitAndRun Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Thanks @Jamsterdammer. I'll listen to your videos and respond properly later. I just wanted to comment that we end up the full country list with Zambia, and then Zimbabwe. And, I hope to cover Zanzibar and Western Sahara in the very last rest/catch-up day. So, we're scheduled to go out with a very African bang. Baaba Male and Cheikh Lô were the main artists I was thinking of when I said I'd left some very well known Senegalese artists for others.
     
    Last edited: Nov 23, 2020
  25. Jamsterdammer

    Jamsterdammer The Great CD in the Sky

    Location:
    Málaga, Spain
    I know! And soon we will have South Africa, which is another treasure trove of great music.
     
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