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

Thanks for the music, everyone.

Today's country is Canada. It would clearly be possible to fill a whole post with the Canadian mega-stars, such as Neil Young, Joni Mitchell, Brian Adams, Celine Dion, Nickleback, Shania Twain, and Justin Bieber. However, I personally want to go a little more left field.

I lead with a track by Grimes, whom I feel is an interesting artist with left-field tendencies who does it all herself (she even brought her video production in-house by having her brother take over). And is somehow married to Elon Musk. This is her track Kill vs. Main. I can't find the quote I'm looking for, but I think she was offended when a producer said that she was writing pretty songs, so she went off and wrote this. It's written form the perspective of Al Pacino in The Godfather II, except that he's a vampire, and can travel through space and switch gender.



Another album I've had in my collection for much longer is KD Lang's All You Can Eat. Here is one of my favourite songs of hers, 'If I Were You'.

I wanted to find something interesting and new, the same way I've found acts for countries I'm less familiar with. Here's an, in my opinion, very nice if short electronic track by Dan Snaith recording under the name Caribou, called 'Sister'.

Looking for traditional music from Canada, there are a number of First Nations in Canada. Here is some Inuit throat singing, 'Mosquito Song' by Nukariik (two Inuit sisters) From the Sagkeen First Nation, here is 'Eagle Song' by the Red Shadow Singers.

Finally, something else new to me. Here is a random track I found which is described as 'alt-rock' but sounds quite grungy to me: 'Hometown' by Cleopatrick.

 

Many thanks to H&R as always. I have to add Leonard Cohen; The Band (except Levon); and Kate & Anna McGarrigle (not forgetting Martha & Rufus) to your initial list, but of course they all have threads of their own on this forum (as does Gordon Lightfoot who I should have included)

In 2014 Light in the Attic Records issued "Native North America (Aboriginal Folk, Rock, and Country 1966-1985)". They chose 'I Pity the Country' a circa 1971 recording by Willie Dunn from Montreal for the first track (the notes inform that he had a Mi'kmaq mother and a Scottish-Irish father)


Willie Dunn - Wikipedia

'I shouldn't have did what I done' by the Chieftones ("Canada's All Indian Band") was one of the earlier tracks included (ca. 1966)
YouTube
they later became Billy ThunderKloud & the Chieftones
Billy ThunderKloud & the Chieftones - Wikipedia

A short promo film for the Light in the Attic release in which some of the artists are seen
YouTube
Native North America | Light In The Attic Records

'Fight for the Rights' - Kelly Fraser (2017)
YouTube
she tragically died at the end of last year, aged just 26
Kelly Fraser, Inuit singer-songwriter, dies aged 26

R.I.P. Kelly

Finally, here's a clip with Joni talking about Buffy Sainte-Marie in a documentary
YouTube

 

And I'd like to add a short clip of Kelly Fraser (posted to YT just the other day) in which she is seen performing a traditional Inuit song welcoming the sun back following the 24 hours of darkness each day during the Arctic winter

 

Neil Young will always be my favorite Canadian musician (even though he's American now). Other famous groups not mentioned yet are Bachman-Turner Overdrive and Arcade Fire. But let's go even further left field and we get Montreal, where the Constellation record label has been at the forefront of experimental rock since its foundation in 1997. The label and the bands and artists it signed up has turned Montreal into a avant garde hub for what many refer to as Post Rock, with bands such as Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Thee Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra & Tra-la-la Band, Do Make Say Think, HṚṢṬA, Hangedup, Fly Pan Am and others. I actually have quite a collection of albums from this amazing label and these bands.

So let me post here a few track by Godspeed You! Black Emperor. They are a music collective with seven albums so far, with such interesting names as "F♯ A♯ ∞", "Lift Your Skinny Fists Like Antennas to Heaven", "Yanqui U.X.O.", "Allelujah! Don't Bend! Ascend!", etc. Their music is mainly instrumental with heavy drones of multiple guitars and violin, mixed with tape loops and field recordings. During their shows they show amazing film loops. I saw them in Istanbul in 2015 and was truly amazed. You'll be excused, however, if this is really not your thing. It's definitely an acquired taste.

YouTube
And as a bonus, a link to the debut album of A Silver Mt. Zion "He Has Left Us Alone but Shafts of Light Sometimes Grace the Corner of Our Rooms..."
YouTube

 

Very nice. I have not been to the arctic, but I did manage once to go up to Yellowknife, the capital of the Northwest Territories and 400 km south of the arctic circle, in February. the temperature was a balmy -30 - -40 C, but it was a lot of fun and I did manage to see the northern lights in all its glory...

 

So that we don't think that Candians are all low-key men and women-of-the-earth, watch Great Big Sea play Lukey surrounded by a very excited crowd in the Great White North:

 

One of the most respected and prolific Canadian musicians is Bruce Cockburn. Cockburn was born in 1945 in Ottawa, Ontario. Cockburn has written more than 300 songs on 33 albums over a career spanning almost 50 years, of which 22 have received a Canadian gold or platinum certification. In 2014, Cockburn wrote and released his memoirs, Rumours of Glory. His styles range from folk to jazz-influenced rock and his lyrics cover a broad range of topics including human rights, environmental issues, politics, and Christianity. A virtuoso guitarist, Cockburn has also released several instrumental albums to wide acclaim.

 

I can't resist adding this 1965 version of 'Shakin' All Over' by Guess Who? (aka Chad Allan & the Expressions)

 

Little-known outside of Canada, The legendary band Crowbar. Check out that slide guitar...I have a feeling Duane Allman listened to these guys, since they were Ronnie Hawkins backing band for a while. Some great/weird stuff on this compilation album.

As part of Pierre Trudeau's bid to gain the youth vote, his wife Margaret Trudeau (who was a Crowbar fan) asked the band to become the opening act of Trudeau's re-election campaign in 1972. With rallies in such venues as Maple Leaf Gardens, Trudeau won the campaign and Crowbar became a household name in Canada!



Crowbar at Discogs

 

Crowbar "Oh What a Feeling (....What a Rush)
The Canadian blues legends had their biggest hit with this one-off hippie-pop song


Collectable original gold-foil cover "Bad Manors"

Crowbar History at Discogs

 

There's also Klaatu, which, because of their somewhat beatlesque sound and hidden identities in their early days, were rumored for some time to be the actual Beatles. They made I kind of progressive rock and pop and their first two albums "3:47 EST" from 1976 and especially "Hope" from 1977 are their best in my opinion. Here is the track "Calling Occupants Of Interplanetary Craft" which became better known as covered by The Carpenters.

And here is "Around The Universe In Eighty Days" from their second album
YouTube

 

Segue posted a Bruce Cockburn video above. May I add one? What a gorgeous song, Wondering Where the Lions Are:

 

Have to include 'Four Strong Winds'

 

Anybody into Martha And The Muffins? "Echo Beach" is one of the songs that captures the zeitgeist of the very early eighties for me.

 

The greatest of all Québec chansoniers was Félix Leclerc. Many a Quebecker is familiar with the lyric "mes souliers ont beaucoup voyagé" (my shoes have greatly traveled). He was a profilic writer, stage director and poet also popular in France and many other francophone countries. A good compilation of his work is this 10 CD boxset that appeared in 2008: Félix* - Le Grand Bonheur - Intégrale Des Enregistrements Polydor / / Philips

The video below comes from an iconic 1974 concert where Mr. Leclerc performed together with Gilles Vigneault and Robert Charlebois, two other towering figures of the Québec chanson. Mr. Charlebois in particular is often compared to Elvis Presley, while Mr. Vigneault authored "Mon pays" ("My country") a song in which Québec is described as being the embodiment of Winter season. "My country is not a country", wrote Vigneault, "It's winter".

The song below is a folk number called La danse à St-Dillon.

 

Québec was the epicenter of a rich progressive rock movement during the 1970s. Many bands from the period are well known around the world, even in non-French speaking countries. I'm not an expert nor I could say that I'm particularly fond of this type of rock music, but I know that many here are, and I also know for a fact that there's a thread buried here inside Stevehoffman.tv where Québec´s progressive rock bands are discussed by people who are much more knowledgeable of the subject. I didn't want to miss the opportunity to write a quick note about this, I should also add that recently there was a reissue in many vinyl and CD deluxe formats of a seminal Québec progressive rock album, L'Heptade by Harmonium. Unfortunately when I wanted to order mine the best colour vinyl formats had already been sold out.
L'Heptade - Wikipedia

 

Lots of posts today. I have been working through playing them, but it's 10:46pm here and I have an exercise class I'll catch up tomorrow.

In the meantime, I thought it would be good to post this Canadian band. (Though, key members were born in the US to Canadian parents.)

 

Moving to more contemporary artists I will mention two. First one is Jean Leloup. I admit that I've posted this song two or three times before, but I wouldn't miss the opportunity to do so again. Leloup has been a staple of Québec's pop rock scene since the 1980s, and in 2002 he released La Vallée des réputations, which was later chosen as rock album of the year by Québec's record industry association.


The second band is an entity known as Les Cowboys Fringants. Their sound is a combination of traditional folk music combined with rock and country elements, and according to wikipedia "the usual subject matter of the group includes: environmentalism, poverty, anguish and family troubles, as well as the denouncing of consumerism, exploitation, state-controlled gambling, cynical government attitude and political apathy". The song I chose here is called "Lèttre à Lèvesque" witten in honor of an old Québec primer miniter who governed during the 1970s and early 1980s.
YouTube

 

Just before we move on to another country, I'll see if I can sneak in 'Big Town Boy' by Shirley Matthews



Shirley Matthews - Wikipedia

 

Thanks for the music, everybody.

Today's country is the Central African Republic. I was surprised to find that the CAR has been the hardest country for me so far to find a range of current music for. The Wikipedia page for Music of the Central African Republic says "Popular music in the Central African Republic generally comes from the music of the Democratic Republic of the Congo or elsewhere in Africa." without listing any current artists.

Here's Idylle Mamba with Sango et Vous



Mamba has recorded a song with Youssou N'Dour of Senegal where the Christian Mamba and Muslim N'Dour sing for unity in Africa, but it's typically credited to N'Dour featuring Mamba, so it may appear in this thread in several months time

Here's another modern track from the CAR. Sengue Sengue by Visgame.

EDIT: And just as I post that, I wonder what happens if I google 'biggest music star in Central African Republic'. I find that Laetitia Zonzambé is said to be that person. Here she is with Dodo. Her music is produced in a more natural style than much contemporary pop music from Africa.

The primary religion of the CAR is Christianity, with Protestantism being the largest branch. There is plenty of religious music done in a modern African style. Here's Jesus a yo ngbanga ti mbi by Centrafrique Musique Spécial Famille.

It's said that one of the most influential bands in the CAR is Zokela. Here they are with Ndai Ndai. Note: It's notable that in demonstrations of traditional African dancing for tourists etc. in Africa it's near universal that the female dancers will adopt Western mores by covering their breasts. In this video one dancer does not. I don't want to say 'NSFW' as this is done in a natural, non-sexual, manner. But, I will warn in case anyone following this thread has a particularly reactionary employer.

However, more than any other country I've seen so far there is an abundance of traditional music, preserved from the time before significant European cultural influence. In general googling for music of the CAR, it's the traditional music that dominates the results.

Here's Children's Round: Yangare (Banda-Linda) from this album (Spotify link). There are a lot of recordings of traditional music on that album, all of different styles. I'm having to be careful however as the first track on the album is by 'Dendi singers', but the Dendi traditionally hail from a number of countries, but according to Wikipedia the CAR is not mentioned: confused. Here's Drummed message, also from the Banda-Linda tribe (as they are often mentioned, but two separate tribes often grouped together I read). From the same album, here is Song for Ancestors' Souls: Ze ze ze kuluze (Ngbaka). Again, I'm a bit worried as the Ngbaka people also hail from surrounding countries, but have a strong presence in the CAR it seems. I hope I haven't just posted music from the Democratic Republic of the Congo here. (Research doesn't fully confirm.) The term Ngbaka is used to refer to different groups and languages, but the album is titled 'Central African Republic'.

Also a bit tricky as to whether the music comes strictly from inside the boarders of the CAR is the music of the pygmy tribes. Here is some music from the Aka Pygmies, Dikoboda Sombe. Note that this is an audio-only youtube video, but the still image has nudity. I've seen a lot of music by the Baka Pygmies attributed to the CAR, but again research shows that they traditionally lived in other countries.

The sanza, often called kalimba or thumb piano is a popular traditional instrument, as it is in many countries in Africa. Again, here is a track from an album clearly labelled as being CAR music, but the traditional homelands of the Gbaya people span multiple countries. So, I hope this is right. Yaa-tia (Naa-yanga).

The Central African Republic really has been a hard country to research. Perhaps there are too many music tracks in this post, but I presume people reading will pick and choose what they sample.

 

Many thanks to H&R - a lot more selections than I thought there might be today - I particularly enjoyed Idylle Mamba, Musique Special Famille, and the pygmy singers. Idylle has relocated to Cameroon, I see
Idylle Mamba — Wikipédia

I'll add this clip I found from 1966 when a 21 year-old (or alternatively 18 year-old) Mpyemo guitarist Pierre Gwa was apparently filmed and recorded playing his home-made guitar in Linjombo


Jazz Transatlantic, Volume I

There is more information on a pdf file which can be downloaded
PIERRE GWA - CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC, 1966

 

I cannot forgive my self for failing to post a track by the amazing guitarist, vocalist, songwriter and producer Daniel Lanois under Canada yesterday. Anyway, let's move on.

It doesn't surprise that it is hard to find a lot of (information on) music from CAR on the internet. This is one of those sad countries that, besides (and largely as a consequence of) the crimes of French colonialism, have known little else but abject poverty, violence and incompetent governance during its history. I remember the long-time dictator Jean-Bédel Bokassa getting so crazy that he declared himself emperor of the "Central African Empire" in 1977. He got deposed in a coup two years later. Since 2004 the country has had endless civil wars. In fact, it is heartening to see that there is still music coming from that country, although I assume most musicians who do not make purely traditional music do so from abroad.

Bibi Tanga is the son of diplomats and therefore had the privilege of being able to move to France and develop an eclectic form of Afrojazz, solo as well as with a band called the Selenites. I found this description of the man and his music:

Born in Bangui, BIBI TANGA is attracted to groove in all its shapes. Curtis Mayfield, James Brown, Sly Stone and also Fela, the TPOK Jazz of Franco in Kinshasa, the National Guinean Bembeya Jazz remain his references. All bodied in 2000 into his first album “Le vent qui souffle “ marked by his encounter with THE MALKA FAMILY and HIPI MUSIC label. The “Yellow Gauze” album is marked by an encounter with LE PROFESSEUR INLASSABLE, another music junkie who started devoting himself to « a fundamental research », and it's been released by l'inlassable disQue. Le Professeur Inlassable released “Leçon Numéro Un (Lesson Number One)” on ICI D’AILLEUR label in 2004, a record that displays an obvious signature in terms of musical genre blending and organic ambiences. “Yellow Gauze” has no rules. Influenced by hip-hop as much as Gospel music, funk or jazz, this album evokes a musical kaleidoscopic vision, warm and resolutely urban. In 2008, the duo evolved into a powerful band, the Selenites (the moon inhabitants). They recorded the album 'Dunya' to be released in France and Europe in February 2010 and in May 2010 in the USA via Nat Geo Music label. When the music of Bibi Tanga wafts in your general direction, it's quite easy to visualise his record collection. You imagine there's plenty of Curtis Mayfield and Sly Stone in there, packed in alongside the albums of Fela Kuti, Franco, Gil Scott-Heron and Arrested Development. But that these inspirations are clearly discernible isn't a criticism. Sure, he jumps around all over the shop - funk, soul, hip-hop, Afrofunk - but this is no scattergun approach. Instead Bibi, born in the Central African Republic but raised in the Parisian suburbs, moulds these influences to create something both invigorating and bearing his own signature. And that his music, unleashed over the course of three albums thus far, finds a kindred spirit in Sun Ra's cosmic Afrofuturism is born out by the derivation of his band's name - The Selenites were the moon-dwelling civilisation in HG Wells' The First Men In The Moon. (Biography by Nige Tassell 2010 - from the Womad Artists page)


BIBI TANGA & THE SELENITES - Kangoya: YouTube

 

Thanks for the music, everyone.

I did notice how things were in the Central African Republic, including its renaming as an Empire. I've since expanded that knowledge, admittedly by reading the Wikipedia page on the CAR, and also that of the Pygmy peoples. I didn't know that they themselves don't like the term 'Pygmy', consider it pejorative, and prefer to be referred to by the names of their ethnic groups, Baka, Aka, Twa, Mbuti, and so on. So, I'll do that in the future. The history and current situation of both the countries and the 'Central African Foragers', as they are now sometimes referred to, is not good at all.

 

Today's country tis Chad. Chad neighbours the Central African Republic, and was also colonised by France. Chad has over 200 ethnic groups, and over 100 languages.

I'll start with a 'motivational' song of the Gourane people (also called Dazaga) Gueni Djak. This appears to be being sung by soldiers with AK47s on clear display.



Here is Chad artist Audrey Lynda Shey (sometimes spelled differently) with a song Dja Ndam Bbi about violence against women. Google translate says that the comment she put on the video (her official account) says 'My Country is not just a country of war. We will taste this PEACE one day!'. Even with the serious topic, this is a really catchy track. She is said to be the first female Chadian artist to release an album.

Going for something traditional, here is a song by people of the Djaya ethnic group. Note that while I find it ... not good that the western world has forced its mores on people from other cultures, the women in this clip are dressed as per African tradition, which might be NSFW if someone has a particularly reactionary employer. This is described as a 'pleasure dance'. The volume is quite low on this clip. Here, without images that might shock very conservative employers, is Fada Tam Tam by 'Villagers from Fada'. Fada is the capital of the Ennedi Ouest department of Chad, and with more than 23,000 people doesn't appear to be a 'village'. This recording is from Smithsonian Folkways Recordings, which comes up quite often in my searches for traditional music.

Something contemporary is Dian koudj by Melodji. Melodji was a member of a female vocal group Matania, and this song is from her second solo album.

And finally, Stop Palu, Chad's anti-Malaria anthem. As the description on Youtube says: 'The Chad national malaria anthem, performed by top Chadian musicians and produced by Hakim Abdulsamad, inspires each and every Chadian to take action and protect oneself from malaria.'

I think this is the first post where I've only posted tracks from my pre-researched notes. My difficulty was in deciding what to leave out.

 

Thanks for the usual interesting selection, I particularly liked Audrey Lynda Shey, although I'm not sure that I would have gleaned her message from just watching the video, but perhaps she is looking forward to a time when the violence will have ceased.

My YT search wasn't helped by the number of men having Chad as a first name; but I did find this recently posted video -

'Maman' by Matibeye (Genevieve)



She has also participated on a Covid-19 song
YouTube
I'm not sure whether Yann Kess and Isis Kingue are from Chad or not

Matibeye Géneviève - Wikipedia