Nicole Willis And The Soul Investigators

One of the main reasons why I’m not keen on making personal year end lists as far as music is concerned, is that most of the time, I discover the real gems months after their initial release date. A few weeks ago for example, I finally decided to check out Nicole Willis And The Soul Investigators’ ‘Keep Reachin’ Up’ album from 2006. The record floored me immediately: I could hardly believe that I was listening to a contemporary album! The combination of an awesome northern soul groove, ace song writing and wonderful vocals make ‘Keep Reachin’ Up’ one of the best albums in recent times. The funny thing is: Willis is American-born; the Soul Investigators are Finnish! Nicole Willis used to perform with early incarnations of the Brand New Heavies and Deee-Lite before leading the NYC-based band the Repercussions in the early ‘90s. A couple of years ago, she relocated to Finland (the homeland of her husband Jimi Tenor) where ‘Keep Reachin’ Up’ was released in 2005 on a tiny Finnish label. A couple of weeks ago, the album has finally been released in Europe by Rough Trade while Lights in the Attic will release the album in the States in late-July. Get it now and get down!



Last Sunday, Nicole Willis & The Soul Investigators played a damn fine show at the Gentse Feesten although I think live-wise, she would benefit much more from a soulful black backing band than from a bunch of ice-cold Finns, with all respect due.

Persepolis (Marjane Satrapi, Vincent Paronnaud - France) ***1/2



Persepolis was not part of the festival but since I wanted to see the original French version rather than the dubbed English version that is scheduled for Flanders after the summer, I went to see this Cannes prize-winning animated movie in a regular Brussels theatre. Persepolis tells the autobiographical story of the director when she was growing up in Tehran during the Islamic Revolution in the 1970s. It’s a great joy to see how the powerful black-and-white comic strip images come to life in a movie that perfectly blends the historical with the personal. Witty, moving and illuminating!


Una Ballata Bianca (Stefano Odoardi - Italy/Netherlands) *1/2

Poetic and contemplative art house film in which an ageing couple looks back on love, life and approaching death. The couple is played by non-professional actors but the old man didn’t convince me at all. Too theatrical and bombastic for my taste.


Ce Que Je Sais De Lola (Javier Rebollo - France/Spain) **

An entertaining but rather banal story about a loner who falls in love with his new neighbour, a vicacious Spanish woman, and begins to follow her life. Well made but of little substance…

California Dreamin’ (Endless) (Christian Nemescu – Rumania) ****



What makes a good film festival? The number of Cannes revelations? It’s been a long time since I’ve seen so many good films on such a short period of time! CALIFORNIA DREAMIN' (ENDLESS) by Romanian director Cristian Nemescu was awarded the Un Certain Regard prize at Cannes. Unfortunately, the 27 year old director was killed in an automobile accident last summer, just before the montage phase of the movie. The film however was left the way he edited and cut his work and although it’s length of 155 minutes, Nemescu’s first feature-length film doesn’t suffer at all from this rough cut. The plot is simple: during the war in Kosovo, in 1999, in a small Romanian village, the chief of the railway station, who happens to be the local gangster as well, stops a NATO train transporting military equipment. The transport, supervised by American soldiers, is crossing Romania without official documents, based only on verbal approval of the Romanian government. Their arrival changes the place into the village of all opportunities. Nemescu’s universal language is both very entertaining and compelling. A real festival hit!


Brand Upon The Brain! (Guy Maddin – Canada) **



Canadian film maverick Guy Maddin’s latest extravaganza ‘Brand Upon The Brain!’ has everything you would expect of Maddin: filmed in the style of the silent film and featuring major doses of memory loss, conflicts and romantic intrigues. This silent, semi-autobiographical tale tells the story of a young Maddin who lives with his teenage sister on a mysterious island that they are one day to inherit. They share this space with a group of orphans who have installed themselves in a lighthouse. From the top of this their every move is observed by Guy’s tyrannical mother, while his father – a scientist-cum-inventor – works away in secret day and night down in the cellar. When a series of strange wounds appears on the head of several orphans, Wendy and Chance Hale, a pair of teenage detectives, begin their investigation. A typical Maddin but far from spectacular.

The Mourning Forest (Mogari No Mori) (Naomi Kawase – Japan) *****


With 'The Mourning Forest', Japan’s Naomi Kawase has made another cinematographic masterpiece. Her previous works (Suzaku, Hotaru, Shara) made it to the top 5 of my year end lists and her new one will do just the same. 'Mogari No Mari' is a stunningly beautiful film about a care-worker in a small rest-home in the Japanese hinterland who is drawn to a dementia-affected patient who is still mourning over the loss of his wife 33 years ago. Burdened by the death of her young son, the young caregiver follows the elderly patient into the depths of the Mogari forest where a mutual mourning process unfolds. 'The Mourning Forest’ feels like a serene prayer; its intense and profound feelings leave you spellbound. A well deserved winner of the Grand Prix at the most recent Cannes festival and one of the top 5 movies of the year!


Pas Douce (Jeanne Waltz – Switserland/France) ***


A film about a nurse in a remote village who decides to commit suicide but in place accidentally wounds a young boy who she nurses subsequently. I found the plot not very interesting but again, Isild Le Besco shows what a terrific talent she is by delivering an intense & gripping performance as the young adolescent looking for self confidence.

L’Âge d’Or/Cinédécouvertes + Brussels European Film Festival

L’Âge d’Or/Cinédécouvertes - the film festival held by the Royal Film Archive in Brussels (aka the Brussels Film Museum) - is one of 4 interesting film festivals I attend every year. Together with the International Film Festival Rotterdam (January), the Flanders International Film Festival Ghent (October) and the Cinema Novo Film Festival in Bruges (March), the festival covers a broad spectrum of recent festival hits and other remarkable movies. A combination of these 4 film festivals enables me to track down every
worthwhile movie that has been released during the last year. In recent years, the l’Âge d’Or/Cinédécouvertes has joined forces with the Brussels European Film Festival and takes place at the beautiful Flagey building in the heart of Brussels. Still, both festivals are
separate and have their own jury. The l’Âge d’Or/Cinédécouvertes remains the more interesting one because it doesn't limit itself to Europe and selects its quality films mostly from the renowned Cannes and Berlin film festivals. I will spend a few words on the
12 films I selected this year...

Body Rice (Hugo Vieira da Silva - Portugal/Germany) ***1/2

An existential movie that follows young German delinquents in a desert-like part of the Alentejo in Portugal where they have been sent as part of a rehabilitation project. Their stay however is one of extreme lethargy & apathetic doom where the only highlight seems to be dancing to very loud techno in bare landscape. (besides Joy Division, X-Mal Deutschland and Einsturzende Neubauten, the soundtrack mostly consists of raw techno by Joey Beltram). Body Rice mixes the documentary-like observation of Sharunas Bartas with the desperate dramaturgy of Teresa Villaverde. A remarkable film!

Tout est pardonné (Mia Hansen-Løve – France) **

An unbalanced film about a couple with a young daughter that separates because of the good-for-nothing husband’s junkie habit. Some 11 years later, we get to see the confrontation between the father and his daughter.


XXY (Lucia Puenzo – Argentina) **

A film about a 15-year-old hermaphrodite who lives with her/his parents in an isolated corner of the Uruguayan coast. The arrival of a doctor with his wife and 16-year-old son disrupts the daily routine. A well-made and genuine (teenage) film that will please a large audience.


Yumurta (Egg) (Semih Kaplanoglu – Turkey) ***

After his wonderful "Angel's Fall" from 2005, Turkish director Semih Kaplanoglu tells the story of an Istanbul bookseller returning to his village after his mother’s death. There, he meets his brother's granddaughter who'd looked after his mom and who asks him to perform the sacrifice of a ram his mom had never been able to. “Yumurta” will be the first film in a trilogy, "Honey, Milk and Egg," which will be presented in reverse order. A good movie but Kaplanoglu is not yet on par with fellow countryman Nuri Bilge Ceylan.


La Influencia (Pedro Aguilera – Spain/Mexico) ***1/2

The story of a vulnerable woman with 2 young children that falls into a deep depression. The assistant to Carlos Reygadas for “Battle in Heaven” and Amat Escalante for “Sangre”, Pedro Aguilera presents a début feature of extreme harshness: an appalling, almost unbearable chronicle of a relentless breakdown. Very good.


Meduzot (Etgar Keret & Shira Geffen – Israel/France) ****

The winner of the Camera d’Or at Cannes (the award for best debut feature) is both a very clever and intriguing comedy about three women in Tel Aviv. A subtle film that mixes humor with intense emotions and originality.

Madhouse

more great eurotouring pics here

Last Saturday was another fun night at the Pit’s: a wild beer-soaked rock ‘n roll party that ended in a messy punk jam with the audience! THE FEELERS played a wild & amazing show and gave their all. This wasn’t very surpising since the bass player’s mom and dad had especially flown over from the States to see the apple of their eye playing some fierce & reckless punk tunes. From the first song on, the hyperactive singer took a spot in the middle of the club and screamed his lungs out. The sheer energy the band radiated was irresistible so we all kept on shouting for more! The Feelers ended their intense set with a cover from fellow townsmen Cheater Slicks and although I didn’t recognize the song as such (the guy next to me told me The Spits do cover the same song), it was a great way to end a terrific high-energy show!

I don’t own any records by the CLOROX GIRLS because I thought their sound is a bit to clean & poppy for my ears but their half hour live set proofed me wrong. The singer, a young Greg Sage lookalike, poked fun at us by telling that the French fries are better in France but when he joked he actually prefered German beers, I immediately treated him on a trappist shower in order to convince him of the brewing qualities of our monks. Fortunately, he didn’t kick my ass but kept on rocking full throttle. From then on, the party broke loose and everybody had a great time, some on stage, some off stage. The grand finale was a distribution of the instruments among the audience which resulted in a wild punk jam. A great party from 2 great live bands. Thanks a lot guys!!!

STELLET LICHT (SILENT LIGHT)

It looks like Carlos Reygadas has made another masterpiece after his brilliant debut film JAPÓN. You can read all about it here, in Dutch...

Will Oldham or how the past deforms reality...

I bought Palace Brothers’ “There is no one what will take care of you” album around 1994. I immediately loved the record (bonjour tristesse) and went to see Will Oldham at the Lintfabriek in Kontich near Antwerp. Only a handful of people showed up and for once, the absentees were right because the show was a drag: the band played miserable country music and the self-indulgent navel-gazing made me leave the club after half an hour. On the way home, for one full hour I was stuck behind an exceptional road cargo that was transporting a huge part of a bridge and I was really pissed off: what a shitty night! Consequently, I didn’t follow Will Oldham’s career and didn’t bought any of his solo albums under the moniker of Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy. But last year, I saw the critically-acclaimed low budget film “Old Joy” in which Oldham plays one of two old friends who reunite for a weekend camping trip in Oregon’s Cascade Mountains. Although nothing much happens in the movie, it got stuck in my head and I still rate it as one of the most genuine movies of 2006. A definitely must see! So I become interested again in Oldham’s music and downloaded “I see a darkness” from 1999 and “Ease down the road” from 2001. On my way to the International Film Festival Rotterdam last January, I played the records for the first time in my car and it soon became clear that I missed a lot because songs so pure and honest through and through can only be made by an immensely talented singer-songwriter. I immediately bought both gems on CD and they are still in heavy rotation over here. Just last week, I stumbled upon this add in some local music magazine and it once again became clear that Will Oldham is pure gold! The only question that remains, however, is whether that sudden concert was really that bad…

D.I.Y.

It looks like Bryan Ferry's wife has just finished a Photoshop workshop...



Oh well, you can't judge a book by its cover, right?

Some live reviews

Phew… it's been busy around here, especially concert wise. Early April, I went to see the Demon’s Claws at the mighty Pit’s club near the French border. The band only played for half an hour (due to the Pit’s infamous curfew at 10:00 PM) but the show was really amazing. The Demon’s Claws have this wonderful raunchy country rock ‘n roll sound: heartfelt vocals & guitars galore. Totally my kinda thing! The band before the Demon’s Claws was M.O.T.O. whose poppy punk tunes were hard to bear…

A couple of days later I went to see Josephine Foster because Jay 'Detailed Twang' Hinman is a big fan of hers and since he’s one of the few guys I trust music wise, I didn’t want to miss her second passage to Ghent. I’m glad I did because the show was a revelation! Foster actually hums more than she sings but it’s amazing how she soaks the listener into her own hermetic wonderland. She was backed by a tremendous electric guitar player whose beautifully subtle playing made the show a true delicacy. I also enjoyed Bridget St John’s acoustic solo gig although I think my niece got it right when she said her lyrics were too much of the ‘open sandals and woolly socks’ type if you know what I mean. The headlining band that night was a Belgian band with the silly name Kiss the Anus of a Black Cat. Because the influences were too obvious (Current 93, Swans, 16 Horsepower…) we left the club after a few songs, not in the least because of the ugly rock sound.


Mid-April, I went to see Kaushiki Chakrabarty, a superb young Indian classical singer whose ‘Pure’ album on Sense World Music collected the coveted BBC World Music Award for Asia/Pacific in 2005. It’s the kind of spiritually uplifting and meditative album that gets you in the right mood after a hard working week. Before the show, my wife and I visited a delicious Indian restaurant called Saffraan so we were really in the right mood for the show. Besides Chakrabarty on vocals, Vyasmurti Anandteerth Katti on harmonium and Subhasis Bhattacharjee on tabla, a white female called Julia Ohrmann played the tanpura. This is quite a remarkable instrument since it resembles a sitar except it has no frets. The neck is hollow, and it has four or five wire strings, which are plucked one after another in a regular pattern to create a tonic resonance field, the so-called tanpura drone. The performance was splendid.

Later that week, I went to see the Melvins. Don’t ask me why because when I saw them some 15 years ago at a place called Democrazy in Ghent, I left for the bar next doors after 3 songs. I guess I wanted to give them another chance after having read a rather interesting interview in The Wire by Phil Freeman. I entered Belgium’s rock temple when (Men of) Porn were playing. Their experimental macho-metal rock was embarrassing so I went for a drink at the bar; way too expensive and sold by some of the most pretentious cunts I’ve come across in a long time. God, how I hate this place! And I’m not even talking about the bullshit security guards! Oh well, I saw about 1,5 minutes of Big Business (both bands are side-projects by Melvins members… yawny yawn yawn) and I was constantly asking myself what the fuck I was doing there. Bored to death, I went for a walk outside and once back in the big hall where the Melvins had started to play, I realised how much I hate these big rock concerts with their bombastic sound and acritical audience. No more Melvins for me, that’s for sure!



The 8th edition of The Ultimate Americana Music Fest Blue Highways in Utrecht, Holland revealed some real surprises: Pieta Brown for example played an enchantingly beautiful set; imagine the first Cowboy Junkies album if it was produced by David Lynch. Brown's intimate devotion and Bo Ramsey's delicate guitar playing were a formula for success! Without a doubt, one of the best shows of the year! The Road Kings featuring Jesse Dayton played some of the meanest rockabilly I ever witnessed on stage. You might get an impression of their raucous set if I tell you that the stand-up bass player wore a Morbid Angel t-shirt and Dayton spitted on stage like a mad bull. Hell yeah! The Hacienda Brothers' wonderful Chicano soul was another real highlight with some tremendous guitar playing by ex-Paladin Dave Gonzalez. Wow! I also very much enjoyed Danny & Dusty’s set (blinking nostalgia from my eyes), the few songs I saw of Kris Delmhorst & Band and Kevn Kinney’s S.T.A.R. who closed the festival in true style. Of course, I had to skip some concerts (Po’Girl, Diana Jones, Hayden Thompson, Joe Ely) but the ones I saw were all great, except for the terrible hard rock of Shooter Jennings who sounded like a mix between Stone Temple Pilots and Guns ‘n Roses: Ouch!!!



At the festival, I missed Ollabelle’s performance because I absolutely wanted to see Danny & Dusty but I went to check out this wonderful quintet a week later in my hometown. Ollabelle features Levon Helm’s daughter, who you all know as drummer for The Band, as well as another delightful front woman and 3 amazing musicians. The Staple Singers turned out to be a big inspiration for the band but besides gospel music, Harry Smith and Alan Lomax also seem to be of big importance. They played a wonderful Blind Willie Johnson cover as well as a majestic Al Green-like soul ballad. A band to cherish!

Pistolera, also from New York, was the supporting band that night and treated the few visitors to a great mix of Latin American music (tex mex, ranchera, cumbia, reggae etc.). The quartet sounded like a sexier version of Brave Combo and turned me into a dancing fool! Fun!!!

This week finally, I went to see The Sadies just across the border in Holland. The band played for free at a coffee shop in Terneuzen and they were truly wonderful. Again, a very exciting mix of many great styles (surf, bluegrass, Ennio Morricone-esque spaghetti Western, and 60s punk…) and some very good & nice musicians. Me gusta mucho! Two days later, Los Lobos played a terrific set at the Ancienne Belgique and because it’s one of the very few bands whose releases I keep on buying, a Los Lobos concert for me is always a triumphal thing. Viva Los Lobos!!!

3 current household favourites...

The following 3 records probably got the most spins over here in the last couple of weeks:

THE GOLDWAX STORY Volume 1 (Ace Records 2001)

At The Golden Circle, Volume One - ORNETTE COLEMAN (Blue Note Records 1965 CD)

Aman Iman: Water Is Life - TINARIWEN (Independiente Records 2007 CD)

The latest & third CD by TINARIWEN is the first real masterpiece of 2007 and I am thrilled to bits that the band will be playing together with the amazing TARTIT ensemble & TOUMAST in Brussels on May 8th! A musical trip to the Sahara and without a doubt a night to cherish!!!

Jah Shaka in late 70s session

I will try to post great MP3's & YouTube videos in the future. Let's start with this damn cool Jamaican video...

At the movies

It looks like 2007 is going to be a great film year. Here are my favourites so far, as well as other movies I enjoyed recently...

1) Summer Palace
2) Climates
3) I Don’t Want To Sleep Alone
4) Inland Empire
5) Opera Jawa
6) Daratt
7) Syndromes and a Century
8) Khadak
9) The Host
10) Les Anges Exterminateurs

Hamaca Paraguaya, A Bittersweet Life, Time, Walking on the Wild Side, Prendre Femme, Koorogi, Exiled, The Journey, The Optimists, Jardins en automne, Ca brule, Bamako, Half Moon, Bes Vakit, Weed, Scream of the Ants, Still Life, Rain Dogs, Nue Propriété, Our Daily Bread, Letters from Iwo Jima

Nuri Bilge Ceylan

Iklimler (Climates), the latest film by Turkish director Nuri Bilge Ceylan (Uzak) who plays the main character together with his wife Ebru Ceylan, is a cinematographic masterpiece. Ceylan tells the story of a university professor who breaks up with his lover, wanders between lethargy and hesitation, looks out for her again only to abandon her once more. Ceylan is very poised in what he does and tells his story in a brilliant slow narrative style. The breathtaking perfection of the image frame and the extraordinarily beautiful photography left me completely in awe. Definitely one of the year’s very best movies!

CINEMA NOVO FILM FESTIVAL

The CINEMA NOVO film festival made another terrific selection of the best movies in contemporary world cinema. I will try to write some more this week about the films seen in Bruges...

Lollipop Shoppe

Fuck! I finally bought myself a decent vinyl copy of The Lollipop Shoppe’s 1967 psych masterpiece “Just Colour” on some bootleg label, paid way too much cash only to find out NOW that the album has just been officialy reissued and authorized by Fred Cole and features 6 extra tracks to the original album! Grrrrrrr!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The Black Keys

I went to check out The Black Keys yesterday to see what all the fuzz was about. Although I really do like the two-piece band’s first two albums I own, I always found it rather strange that they draw hundreds of people while similar bands (Deadly Snakes, Jack Oblivian, Reigning Sound, Digger & The Pussycats, etc.) play for a mere handful of people. The Black Keys however seem to have their hearts on the right place: the set was never less than exciting. The drummer kicked ass like a real wildman and the singer/guitar player fuckin’ ROCKED! Think Jimi Hendrix, Cream, The White Stripes, Junior Kimbrough & one raw white-ass soulful singer. A damn fine gig!

Richard Minne

Het leven is een dans, o ja,

getrappel in de malsche sla.

Maar hij echter die dansen moet

met blooten balg en barrevoet,

trapt in de distels, ré, mi, fa.

Gone to Rotterdam

R.I.P. ALICE COLTRANE

I am listening to Ptah, The El Daoud, one of my favourite Alice Coltrane albums. Only 3 years ago did I discover the amazing music of John Coltrane’s widow. Ever since, her albums have become cherished gems that I keep on returning to. Consoling and genuine masterpieces that often result in pure transcendental bliss. RIP Alice, I hope you are in Turiya Loka now.

Soul gem hidden between sludge mayhem

I have these 4 double 7” compilations called CRY NOW, CRY LATER released by Theologian Records in conjunction with Pessimiser fanzine in the early 90’s. Every one of these 4 volumes is filled with misanthropic sludge core that gets me in the right mood every now and then.

At the end of some of these 7-inches comes a 10 seconds fragment of a 60’s soul track that is supposed to contrast sharply with the heavy sludge mayhem. At the end of Side 2 of the second compilation however, comes a 10 seconds fragment of a song that I wish I could identify because it reveals an immense beauty of deep soul desperation. The lyrics go like this:

“I’m standing here crying - why, oh why? - because our love is dying.”

I really don’t know where to start my investigation. I could address my question at one of these specialised music message boards (what I once did which helped me to identify an awesome track Jah Shaka played at a live show) but I am afraid the soulsters won’t own records by bands called Excruciating Terror, Eyehategod or Man Is The Bastard.

Anyhow, I am convinced that in 2007, I will identify this majestic soul song. It is my personal objective for this year. To be continued…


P.S. If you know what I’m talking about, I enabled the comments option just in case…

FUCKED UP

It’s been ages since I went to a hardcore show. Last time I considered going to one (Regulations from Denmark), I decided not to go at the very last moment because I didn’t feel like watching 3 boring bands before the one I came for went on stage. At punk rock shows in Belgium, most often two bands are scheduled to play, whereas hardcore shows always tend to be small festivals with a lot of crappy bands. Yesterday too, I was bored to death before FUCKED UP went on stage. But once they did, this Canadian hardcore band showed why they are held in high esteem by many punk rock fans worldwide: FUCKED UP plays the ultimate mix between raging hardcore and furious punk rock. With a PA system, the sound would have been better but still Fucked Up managed to blast out some of the most amazing adrenaline-ridden Black Flag-style hardcore punk I have ever witnessed. A great start for 2007!

2006 AT THE MOVIES

I have listed my favourite films of 2006 on my site. As in 2005, I didn't see a single movie that I think was a downright masterpiece. Still, I did see a lot of great movies. 2006 was a strange year: Almodóvar's latest got halfhearted reviews while I think that 'Volver' is one of his very best. The same can be said about Alejandro Gonzáles Iñárritu's fascinating 'Babel'. On the other hand, I really don't understand why movies like 'Children of Men' and 'United 93' were regarded as masterpieces. Oh well, opinions are like assholes, remember?

The 38th International Film Festival Rotterdam has announced its two filmmakers in focus : Hong Kong director Johnnie To (Breaking News, Election) and Abderrahmane Sissako (Heremakono, Bamako). On first sight, a bit of a letdown after the wonderful homages of the previous years (Kinji Fukasaku, Nagasaki Shunichi, Stephen Dwoskin, Girish Kasaravalli, Jean-Claude Brisseau, Guy Maddin, Stan Brakhage).

Favourite Live Shows of 2006

copyright Garage Savage

With only one show left (The Hipshakes), it’s time for another year-end roundup:

1. GREEN ON RED (03/09/06 – N9, Eeklo)
2. THE INTELLIGENCE (07/05/06 – Pit’s, Kortrijk)
3. WILLIAM PARKER & HAMID DRAKE (30/10/06 – Damberd, Gent)
4. KING KHAN & BBQ SHOW (14/01/06 (+Fredovitch) - 10/04/06 (+The Magnetix) – Pit’s, Kortrijk)
5. THE SEATSNIFFERS (14/01/06 – N9, Eeklo)
6. DIGGER & THE PUSSYCATS (14/03/06 – Pit’s, Kortrijk)
7. THE KIDS (01/04/06 – Den Tap, Kortrijk)
8. LINVAL THOMPSON/THE CONGOS (05/08/06 – Reggae Geel)
9. JACK OBLIVIAN & HARLAN T. BOBO (04/11/06 – Lintfabriek, Kontich)
10. NAPALM DEATH (05/11/06 – Nijdrop, Opwijk)

While my pal Tom is exploring Mali, I found myself listening to some rather obscure but delightful Malinese records from the recent past:

Kulu - N'GOU BAGAYOKO (Frikiyiwa, 2002)



Recorded by Frédéric Galliano in Bougouni in January 2002, this is some truly wonderful Malinese finger-picking blues with great female guest appearances by the likes of Maïmouna Keita, Maï Sanogo, Fanta Koné and star Nahawa Doumbia. Subtle and echanting music for the bon vivants among you.

Déli - BALLAKE SISSOKO (Label Bleu/Indigo 2000)



Together with Toumani Diabaté, Ballaké Sissoko is probably the best kora player of the new generation. Mama Draba is younger and lesser known abroad than Kandia Kouyaté, Amy Koita or Oumou Sangare but still one of the great performers of the epic Griotic Bambara and Malinké traditions. (Also check out Ballaké Sissoko's follow-up album on the same French label called "Tomora" and his collaboration album with Toumani Diabaté called "New Ancient Strings")

Segui – DJELIMADY TOUNKARA (Label Bleu/Indigo 2001)



The guitar hero of Manding music and one of the founding members of the Super Rail Band (a modern electric group, financed by the Malian Railway Company and comfortably installed in the Buffet Hotel de la Gare in Bamako to entertain the youth of Bamako as well as foreign visitors and Heads of State). On “Ségou”, Tounkara is backed by an acoustic outfit with superb female choruses. (Also check out his follow-up album on the French Marabi label called “Solon Kôno”)

Jako Baye – ADAMA DIABATA (Stern’s Music 1995)



Mesmerizing Wassoulou music by one of the new Malinese divas. A wonderful clash between acoustic and electric guitars, between traditional kora music and electric programming. The song “Sabafolo” must’ve been made in heaven. A contemporary classic!

Beat Expo festival

Last Saturday, I attended the first Beat Expo festival in Ternat near Brussels. Because of a rather obscure bill and cutthroat competition from Dick Dale headlining a Roots Night in Antwerp, the venue was barely half-full (say 150 people). Afterwards, people told me Dick Dale was boring as hell, but heck, what else did you expect? The Beat Expo however was great! The fact that the hall wasn't packed, created a cosy atmosphere, some kind of intimate rock 'n' roll party for the in-crowd. I missed THE AMBASSADORS, a local band from Antwerp and the second band, PRESTON PFANZ & THE SEATON SANDS who featured 2 members from The Thanes, played very boring Shadows-like instrumentals (The Twanging Wankers would have been a more appropriate name!). Next was CURLEE WURLEE!, a band from Düsseldorf whose enthusiasm made up for a total lack of decent songs. It was party time nonetheless and the band set the tone for the rest of the night. Some of you might know the Italian band THE HORMONAS from a 7-inch on Shake Your Ass Records but I myself had never heard of 'em before and was very impressed by their 120mph psycho-rockabilly trash. The female drummer as well as the rest of the band (including stand-up bass - yeah!) played very very tight and the songs were top-notch. I am really looking forward to their upcoming album on Billy's Bones Records! THE THANES from Edinburgh treated us on some mighty fine tunes: this was beat punk par excellence! Their cover of Dylan's "It's All Over Now, Baby Blue" might as well be my favourite live moment of 2006 (together with Jack O & The Tearjerkers godlike rendition of Booker T & The MG's "Time Is Tight"). Check out 'Evolver', their great 1987-2001 songs collection on Rev-Ola Records and cherish this band for the rest of your life! The headlining MORLOCKS (it was already 1.30AM) didn't disappoint to say the least. OK, it was a rather unbalanced set but Leighton was fun to watch, the guitars were loud & mean and you don't get to see many 1980s garage-revival bands who still can stand the test of time, right? So yeah, if you like The Fuzztones, The Stooges or The New York Dolls, fat chance you would've loved The Morlocks set! Anyway, some Morlocks footage of Saturday's show can be found here. Hopefully, there's still some courage & cash left for a Beat Expo II next year...

Paul Vernon's iPod Delta Blues

There's a great feature in the latest issue of fROOTS magazine where blues connoisseur Paul Vernon selects his favourite prewar blues songs. Here's the complete listing :

1. Cotton Field Blues – Garfield Akers
2. Mississippi Bottom Blues – Kid Bailey
3. Saturday Blues – Ishman Bracey
4. Future Blues – Willie Brown
5. Fare Thee Well Blues - Joe Calicott
6. Jailhouse Blues – Sam Collins
7. Down The Big Road Blues - Mattie Delaney
8. Bullfrog Blues – William Harris
9. My Black Mama – Son House
10. Got The Blues, Can't Be Satisfied - Mississippi John Hurt
11. Devil Got My Woman – Skip James
12. All Night Long Blues - Louise Johnson
13. Preachin' Blues – Robert Johnson
14. Cool Drink Of Water - Tommy Johnson
15. The Gone Dead Train - King Solomon Hill
16. Mississippi Jail House Groan – Rube Lacey
17. Shake 'Em On Down - Tommy McClennan
18. Sittin' On Top Of The World - The Mississippi Sheiks
19. So Cold In China – Issiah Nettles
20. Friar's Point Blues – Robert Nighthawk
21. Down The Dirt Road Blues - Charley Patton
22. Catfish Blues - Robert Petway
23. Outside Woman - Blind Joe Reynolds
24. Farrell Blues – Henry Sims
25. Motherless Child Blues – Elvie Thomas
26. Bedside Blues - Jim Thompkins
27. Sic 'em Dogs On Me – Bukka White
28. Get Away Blues – Robert Wilkins
29. Baby Please Don't Go - Big Joe Williams
30. Last Kind Words – Geeshie Wiley

Big sale at Document Records!

There's a big sale going on at Document Records. Until the 31st of January, there are 109 CDs on offer. If you are looking for more information about the CDs, go to Roots&Rhythm and search for 'Document'. Some of these CD's are highly recommended. This is a terrific deal!

Boogie Nights!

Roel Bentz van den Berg

Stoffer & Bentz are back on the air! They have a one hour show every weekday which can be listened to online here and here. I treasure so many records that I first heard at their legendary radio shows! Check it out!

Handy Boxes

I finally found great & handy boxes for my 7-inch collection at IKEA for a mere € 7,00. Me happy!

WILLIAM PARKER & HAMID DRAKE

picture by Johan Malot

On August 9th 2003, I saw a free jazz trio that totally blew my mind. It happened to be my first visit to the yearly FREE MUSIC XXX festival in Antwerp and for the last time, this small festival took place in a cosy little theatre. The Trappist beers were dirt-cheap and the ambiance was superb: about 250 jazz-aficionados were ready and waiting for some musical adventure. The first two bands were interesting nonetheless: MIKE (Mike Goyvaerts, Willy Van Buggenhout, John Edwards) as well as FRED & IVO (Fred Van Hove, Ivo Vander Borght, Maurice Horsthuis, Michel Doneda) took us on an experimental but very enjoyable musical ride. The headlining band however was no other than powerhouse trio PETER BRÖTZMANN, WILLIAM PARKER and HAMID DRAKE who put the audience in some kind of musical trance during the next 2 hours. It was one of the most impressive concerts I have ever witnessed. The spiritual majesty of the music left me speechless.

Last year, I saw this amazing trio again, this time at the Kunstencentrum Vooruit, and it turned out to be another fabulous gig. Parker had brought along his 8-string doson ngoni (traditional hunter's guitar from West Africa), Drake proved his master ship on a gigantic hand drum and Brötzmann scribbled incredible high notes on his alto clarinet. Again, I was totally mesmerized by the raw beauty of the music. It was unlike anything else I had heard before: some kind of exciting mix between world music and free jazz, without the ugly fusion element or the academic dullness. This music was ruthless, fierce & challenging.

Last Monday, Parker and Drake played another show at the Damberd café in Ghent, this time without Brötzmann. Between 2 long jams (one called 'Vietnam III' and another was a tribute I think to Dewey Redman), Drake played the gigantic hand drum and sang wonderfully (I think Moroccan). After some time, Parker changed his bass for what I think was a ghaita, a Moroccan folk oboe, and both master musicians took us to unknown territory. The gig started late and lasted until 1.45 AM. Yet, nobody left the place during this mind-blowing 2,5 hours session. Killer!

Some of the best music by William Parker and Hamid Drake has been released on the wonderful Aum Fidelity label from New York. The CD's as well as the shipping costs are very reasonably priced and label owner Steven Joerg is a terrific person to deal with. Do check out some of the fabulous music made by these fantastic musicians. You won't regret it!

Flanders International Film Festival - Ghent

EYES WIDE SHUT (Stanley Kubrick) ****

RABIA (Oscar Cardenas) ***

REQUIEM (Hans-Christian Schmid) ****


BLISS (Sheng Zhimin) ***

FROZEN CITY (Aku Louhimies) ***

SLUMMING (Michael Glawogger) ***

EL VIOLIN (Francisco Vargas Quevedo) ****


2001 : A SPACE ODYSSEY (Stanley Kubrick) ******

SALVADOR (Manuel Huerga) **

QUELQUES KILOS DE DATES POUR UN ENTERREMENT (Saman Salour) ***

FIREWORKS WEDNESDAY (Asghar Farhadi) ***

SEHNSUCHT (Valeska Grisebach) *

LA PERRERA (THE DOG POUND) (Manuel Nieto Zas) ***

COLOSSAL YOUTH (JUVENTUDE EM MARCHA) (Pedro Costa) ***½

NOCTURNES (Henri Colomer) *

CLEO DE 5 A 7 (Agnes Varda) **

MADEINUSA (Claudia Llosa) ***½

TRANSYLVANIA (Tony Gatlif) **

PRINCESS (Anders Morgenthaler) **½

OFFSIDE (Jafar Panahi) **

LE DERNIER DES FOUS (Laurent Achard) **½

ANCHE LIBERO VA BENE (Kim Rossi Stuart) ***

AND STILL I BELIEVE (Mikhail Romm, Marlen Khutsiyev & Elem Klimov) ***

A SHORT FILM ABOUT THE INDIO NACIONAL (or the prolonged sorrow of filipinos) (Raya Martin) *

SHORTBUS (John Cameron Mitchell) **

DIGITAL SHORT FILMS BY THREE FILM MAKERS 2006 : TALK TO HER (Darezhan Omirbayev, Eric Khoo & Pen-ek Ratanaruang) ***

LUCY (Henner Winckler) ***

AMERICAN HARDCORE (Paul Rachman) *

FIRST LOVE (Jukinari Hanawa) ****

LES OISEAUX DU CIEL (Eliane de Latour) *

OUBLIER CHEYENNE (Valérie Minetto) **

4:30 (Royston Tan) **

TAXIDERMIA - György Pálfi

I don't feel like writing a review of the Cannes 2006 shocker TAXIDERMIA so here's the press info that should wet your appetite. Taxidermia is definitely a Hungarian cult-classic-in-the-making. You really must see how György Pálfi films the vulgarity with incredible cinematography. Mmm... delicious!!!

Taxidermia contains three generational stories, about a grandfather, a father, and a son, linked together by recurring motifs. The dim grandfather, an orderly during World War Two, lives in his bizarre fantasies; he desires love. The huge father seeks success as a top athlete -- a speedeater -- in the postwar pro-Soviet era. The grandson, a meek, small-boned taxidermist, yearns for something greater: immortality. He wants to create the most perfect work of art of all time by stuffing his own torso.

Historical facts and surrealism become intertwined as magical realism, like in the works of Gabriel García Marquez or the Hungarian writer Lajos Parti Nagy; the script is based on two of the latter’s stories. Palfi added the third story, that of the grandson the taxidermist.

The first section begins with a disembodied voice pontificating obliquely about creation and three generations, explaining that if something has to end, the beginning has to be important. Immediately we see the grandfather, Vendel Morosgoványi (Csaba Czene), who is berated by his lieutenant in a remote outpost, with only the lieutenant’s fat wife and two beautiful daughters around. He retreats into the realm of gratification, no matter how extreme. He peeps in the daughters’ bath, drinks the girls’ dirty bathwater, masturbates until his penis emits flames of fire, and sleeps with the lieutenant’s wife. She becomes pregnant and the lieutenant blows off Vendel’s head — but raises his child, Kálmán.

In the second part, Kálmán (Gergõ Trócsányi) has become obese and competes for Hungary in eating competitions that their backers hope will be recognized by the International Olympic Committee. Against a backdrop of empty Communist spectacle and military poseurs, Kálmán strives to win. He meets up with an oversized woman, Gizella (Adél Stanczel), another speedeating competitor, and the two get married, although she has sex with his teammate during the wedding party. She and Kálmán embark on a long honeymoon, returning to their respective factories to practice. Gizella gives birth to a tiny, tiny son, Lajos.

Section three, which is contemporary, is calmer, less manic than the previous two. Lajos (Mark Bischoff) has become a quiet taxidermist who has no prospects in love; he is rejected by the supermarket cashier, for one. He is as frustrated in his way as his grandfather was in his, but Lajos’s fertile imagination will prove to work in a very different way. His father, Kálmán, has reached enormous proportions and can no longer move. Kálmán’s wife has long ago left him, so Lajos brings food and cleans the apartment where Kálmán (now Gábor Máté, in a fatsuit) sits amidst boxes of food and the three cats he pushes to overeat. One day Lajos finds Kálmán dead, possibly having exploded from overeating or having been mauled by one of the cats. He stuffs him, and immediately after, begins stuffing himself by locking his body onto a board surrounded by perfectly attuned machines. At the end of the procedure, a glass blade he has set up decapitates him and an electric saw severs his right arm. The two men are found by a customer, Dr. Regõczy (Géza Hegedžs D.), who puts them on display at a chic art exhibition. Dr. Regõczy, whose lecture is a continuation of the voiceover at the very beginning of the film, maintains that one can mount one’s father and oneself but can not mount the essence, that being what Lajos felt at the moment the blade cut off his head. The camera moves into the black void beyond Lajos’s bellybutton.