Welcome back to another edition of Music from Around the World. Today we’re going to be a little bit all over the map, key term being “little bit” as we continue on our journeys through the Cs.
Cape Verde is a group of islands that is in the Atlantic Ocean some 350 miles off the mainland, but yet is considered part of Africa. But yet you have the Canary Islands, 50 miles off of Morocco and that’s part of Spain/Europe…go figure. Anyway, just one quick mention about this island nation of 500,000, they are the ancestral home of New Bedford’s own disco legends Tavares. Who is Tavares you ask? Well, he is a they – they are a group of 5 brothers who had 3 #1 R&B Singles and #1s on the dance charts. They released 31 singles off 12 albums…and in the ‘this is what is wrong with the music industry exhibit A’ 7 greatest hits albums – in 1977 (the last album they made was 1983) 1993, 1996, 1997, 2001, 2002, and 2004. *shakes head* Anyway, they were also known as “Chubby and the Turnpikes,” and they will represent Cape Verde on this list. Also of note – keep an eye out for Walter Tavares (no relation) a 7’3 basketball player from Cape Verde who currently plays in the Spanish league, and will most likely be a second round pick in this year’s draft.
This is Tavares with probably their biggest single “Heaven Must be Missing an Angel”:
The Central African Republic is, as its name implies, is conveniently located in central Africa. They…are not…doing so well. If I recall correctly, they had a violent revolution in 2012 and either late last year or January of this year the government stepped down and there’s no one really in power right now. They are also the home to former Xavier University guard and like 2004 or 2005 2nd round NBA pick Romain Sato. I know with this group I’m starting to get into some obscure places and I can’t keep skipping over countries 10 at a time…and this little jazz funk band popped up, and I am rather impressed by this group – Bibi Tanga & the Seleneites. I think this is a band worth a listen. They released a new single earlier this year, and put out a full length album in 2011. Their video is also a nice simple throwback and plays out sort of like a high-end liquor commercial, even though they drink some red wine at the end.
Chile
Chile is a long South American nation that is sort of an anomaly. They got a couple of major cities (Santiago has about 6 million people) two other areas about a million each, then a mishmash of everything else. They have an extensive wine region, a big forest area, and then on the bottom is close to Antarctica. It’s not very wide either with the Andes on one side and all….and Pisco Sours might be the sneakiest alcoholic beverage I have ever had…but that’s another story for another day. Their music scene is rather small and localized. They do have a few popular acts but are mainly overshadowed by their Brazilian and Argentinian counterparts. Here are a few homegrown acts:
Glup! was a brit pop band who received some moderate success in the late 90’s before disbanding in 2003. I wanted to highlight this band not because of their talent, as it sort of sounds like that Argentinian band that sang ‘mi corazon,’ but because their lead singer looks a bit like Steve Nash. Here they are with “Mi destino”:
Daniel Kauser is a well-known techno artist who is known for pressing play at live shows. His style is 90% house with 10% chillstep I would say. I’m not against techno, just don’t expect me to be impressed when they’re performing “live” Here he is with Aboriginal:
Industrial Company Inc is an industrial/hard rock band from Santiago whom I have heard about for maybe five or six years. They were always that local act that would open for the international artists. I thought they had a sound that could make them a known entity, but for whatever reason that never happened and they sort of stay in Chile. I know when I went down there I went to a couple of record shops and asked about them and got mostly blank stares. Could it be because my spanish rivals that of a 7-year-old? I’m going to say no and these guys have sort of disappeared. They remind me sort of a more programmed Professional Murder Music, whom I’m also surprised they never made it. I mean every nu metal band from 1999-2000 got a major label deal…. Anyway, here they are with the song Across the Universe.
Camila Moreno is a folk artist who has been compared to Sarah McGlaughlan (sans the ASPCA commericals) she is one of the more popular artists and has been nominated for a Latin Grammy. This song, however, sounds more like Norah Jones. Here she is with Te Quise:
Follakzoid is a self-described “cosmic music band” aka they’re a three-piece experimental band with long slow buildups and….if it were faster it could classify as stoner rock almost, but it’s towards the ambient variety. Here they are with 99 off the II album:
Astro are an indie rock group in the mold of MGMT. They are fairly popular these days as they have been showcased at SXSW, been in a Bloomingdale’s ad campaign and featured in FIFA 13. They’re not bad, if Spanish hipster music is your cup of tea.
Canco en piedra, translated to “Stone Pigs” are Chile’s answer to the Red Hot Chili Peppers in the aspects that they are also a funk rock band and the lead singers vaguely sound similar. They have released 11 albums and have headlined many festivals. Here they are with the song “El Impostor”:
Blue Toy was a 90’s Grunge band and the only thing i need to say about this band besides the fact that the song is in English, is that although this band I believe became popular in the late 90’s, this video is straight from 1992. The Lead singer must’ve watched every Pearl Jam video and memorized Eddie Vedder’s chills and distant stares.
Yeah, I know, not much to pick through from these tiny nations, but as always I tried to find something and if you like it, support them…and thank you for reading this.
