So today's Sound Travels ended up being particularly out there for today's set of new music. For one, I played a song that is only new if you figure in the fact that it's only been recently re-discovered. I rarely play two songs from one release, and I did that today. Other than that, it was some reggae from a band called Natural Flavas that anchored this set in something even remotely familiar.
The start was with a super-rare cut from a scene that only existed briefly; the psych-rock scene in pre-revolutionary Iran. In particular, an artist named Kourosh, who stands as the godfather of Persian Rock and Psychedelia. Alongside his brothers, the guitarist Kamran and the keyboardist Kambiz, the trio created fuzz-guitar masterpieces, striking on some uniquely Iranian themes. I don't know what this on is about, but it struck me...
Kourosh "Reyhan" Back From The Brink: Pre-Revolution Sounds From Iran
The pair of cuts that share the same disc, both came from an excellent release of African music called Stronghold Presents: The Audio Refuge Collection. While the title on this release is a bit unfortunate, the music is not. It's quite excellent in fact. I played a nice lil Gnawa jam from a band(also unfortunately named but quite excellent) called Gnawa Kronik. A heady excersize in North African trance sounds in a style known as gnawa is what they have. Also, I played music from a group called Wontonara who combine the traditional Mandingue music of West Africa with influences from throughout the Caribbean. With members hailing from both Guinea, West Africa and the northeastern United States, this Burlington, VT based collective of musicians brings a fair amount of flavor wherever they perform.
Gnawa Kronik "Waynkoum Ya Reejal"
Wontonara "Sabu Fanye"
Speaking of flavor, had Natural Flavas at the end of the set with a refreshing and original reggae tune. Natural Flavas is one of Vancouver’s premier original reggae bands. They rock a mix of Roots, Rocksteady and Dancehall sounds and lush vocal harmonies, Natural Flavas have established themselves as the foremost purveyors of reggae music in Vancouver’s live music scene and just made the set with their latest single "Cool Rock"...
Natural Flavas "Cool Rock" Single