April 15, 2007
Unknown Oddity Obscuros (Help Wanted)
Unknown Ghanian Group : ???
taken from a mysterious unlabled piece of orange vinyl
Unknown Middle Eastern Artist : Jeitili
taken from a mysterious 7" with an Express label
Unknown Malaysian Singer : ???
taken from an LP with no English on it except the label name: Eagle
Unknown Russian Group : ???
taken from an LP with no English on it
I usually restrain myself from bringing out the really otherly stuff in my collection: Hungarian sheep herding songs, Armenian lounge music, Puerto Rican political independence protest anthems... I dig this stuff in the proper setting, but I also acknowledge that it would be asking a lot of you all to share my appreciation for these sounds. My closest friends, even my own flesh and blood, have been known to give me strange glances when I play them the latest darbuka drumbreak I've uncovered on a forgotten bellydance album. But today's mysterious selections aren't here just to show off what weird things I enjoy, this time I'm looking for help from some of you. Perhaps there's a reader in Russia (I think that's the language on the cover) who can help identify this crazy black and green record (which also has a nasty drumbreak on it and some crazy heavy bass lines) or an Arabic listener who might be able to identify the voice singing "Jeitili". I once played this orange West African record on my radio show and had a caller tell me that he believed it to be the Ghanian Army Band, but I've had no definitive confirmation of that thus far. And even if you don't know any more information about these artists than I do, try to find something you can get excited about in here.
Also, congratulations to Piotr Bombol from Warsaw and Britton Lacey from Brooklyn for being the first to respond with the correct Anthony Hamilton info. Albums are on their way.