Zanzibara

Since we moved to Toronto last year, one of my favourite record shops is Kops on Queen Street. They have a nice selection of cds and vinyl and have been marking down the prices lately so I have picked up quite a few bargains.

Recent purchases have included Zanzibara: Golden Years of Mombasa Taarab 1965-1975 [Buda Musique 860119]. This collection is wonderful and the music displays centuries of cross-cultural contact and assimilation with Bollywood filmsong particularly looming large over the mix of Arabian musical forms, Western and Eastern instrumentation (the Tashkota, a Japanese instrument being a popular addition) over "...a strong Kenyan coastal and Swahili tinge". As usual Buda Musique has done a first rate job with informative liner notes, photos and cover scans.

What can I say, there is so much music in the world and I want to hear it all.

Next up is Lucio Battisti's 1972 album Umanamente Uomo: Il Sogno [Water Music. Water 175]. The sticker blurb caught my attention with references to "experimental pop" and "gorgeous, unusual arrangements" and the cd does deliver an engaging blend of singer-songwriter plaintiveness with progressive rock and lite-psych flourishes. Special mention should be made regarding the avant-garde closer "Il Fuoco" which calls to mind some of Sonic Boom's dronecentric cuts.

If you enjoy David Axelrod's late 60's/early 70's albums, Serge Gainsbourg or (perhaps) Tim Buckley, I think you'll be pleased with the album. I was.