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THE IMAGINED VILLAGE Bending The Dark ECC 006
The third IV album and quite a radical change of direction as they move beyond multi-cul- tural theory into a band driven by insistent rhythms and original writing. There’s no Chris Wood (or Billy Bragg come to that) any more and very little grandstanding as global roots are absorbed into a far more personalised sound on an album they themselves describe as “about group survival”.
After two highly successful albums of material mostly rooted in the English tradi- tion , it’s a bold and risky diversion, especially with no obvious big tracks as a centrepiece, and I must admit that I was initially disap- pointed. Yet, beyond the sound of a proper band gelling and sometimes – as in Sheema Mukherjee’s climactic finale sitar rampage on the title track – flying, you slowly feel the full force of their organic amalgamation, the sharp social commentaries embedded within it… and a rich sense of humour in the way they’ve assembled it. There’s a big, bad and thoroughly convincing John Barry homage filtering through Eliza Carthy’s excellent Fish- erman, inspired by protesters at St Paul’s Cathedral; an orgy of seductive skank pro- vides the backdrop to The Guvna; more fabu- lous sitar as Get Kalsi adopts the robes of a 1970s English film soundtrack; variations on a weird Cornish dance tune on Wintersinging; a Johnny Kalsi/Andy Gangadeen drum battle suddenly bursting into flames on Bending The Dark; and vigorous programmed beats escort us into Sick Old Man, a discourse on attitudes to immigration set around the Rag- gle Taggle Gypsies theme.
It’s very much an ensemble effort, though there are some striking individual moments. Jackie Oates’ unaccompanied opening to The Captain’s Apprentice and the purity of Eliza Carthy’s gorgeous lullaby Washing Song – all the more telling for the simplicity of the fiddle/piano arrangement – spring to mind. There are moments when you feel some sense of character may have been sacrificed in the various textures. The atmo- spheric build-up to New York Trader is too restrained for its own good and for all its broody tension, I’m not entirely sure Nest works at all until Martin Carthy enters the fray to sing the chorus with Eliza Carthy.
It’s certainly very different to their previ- ous two albums and you have to admire Simon Emmerson’s impressive resilience and determination to change the landscape dur- ing the course of many difficulties that have stretched above and beyond the practical problems involved in directing a band of such high profile individuals on a cohesive, co-ordinated and credible fresh journey. An album considerably better than it may seem on first hearing.
www.eccrecords.co.uk/theimaginedvillage Colin Irwin Imaginary Villagers…
PUBLIC IMAGE LIMITED This Is PiL PiL Official PIL002CD
Well, John Lydon keeps telling people that he’s a folk singer and I don’t think it’s entirely one of his characteristic wind-ups. And folk singer or not, I never saw PiL live back in their 1980s incarnation, so when I finally caught up with them at the Electric Ballroom about 18 months back I simply wasn’t prepared for just how good a singer Lydon is, full stop. Their two and a half hour set was charisma-soaked and thrilling, with the added joy of watching our Uncle, Lu Edmonds (possibly better known in this parish as a Mustapha, Mekon, Bloke of Bragg, Triabolique and Yat Kha-ist) in full blown rock axe hero mode, including stints on his trademark electric saz.
Aside from Lydon’s monumental vocal
talents, it’s Lu’s world-traveller rucksack full of musical references that turn this PiL line up from being simply (simply?) a class art rock band with a great rhythm section into some- thing that goes places most English rockists couldn’t even imagine. I’m not going to sit here and write some Sunday broadsheet art- waffle justifying Lydon’s genre claims, but knowing that many fRoots readers have tastes extending well beyond the remit of these pages, this is just a tip to check out what will surely be one of the rock world’s albums of the year. Consider this a kind of analogue ‘Like’ button.
Meanwhile I will continue to drop hints to Lu about pinning his boss down and extracting an electric saz and feral howl ver- sion of Long Lankin from him. Now that would be something!
www.pilofficial.com Ian Anderson
DIABEL CISSOKHO Kanabory SiyamaWorld Village 450021
The debut album proper from London- based Senegalese singer and kora play- er Diabel Cissokho is
a veritable tonic. Recorded in his birth and adopted homes, it’s semi-acoustic, deep in the tradition and yet ready to look outwards and onwards. Crucially (and unlike many a kora player) Cissokho can really sing. His sinewy tenor sounding right at home whether letting rip in Dakar backed by mem- bers of his family (the Cissokhos are about as big as it gets in griot circles) or with new- found friends in London, including slide gui- tar-toting Anglo bluesman Ramon Goose (with whom Cissokho recorded 2010’s Mansana Blues for France’s Dixiefrog label). The stately, passionate Xalebi is a plea for the world’s children on which Cissokho plays everything: kora, ngoni, acoustic guitar and gives his most impressive vocal performance
(the point where he wails up into a higher register is a real spine-tingler).There’s a nice solo kora instrumental and a fair bit of African blues, three tracks of which feature Ramon G’s slide, including the rattling opener Allah Lako and the closing Samfall which has a kind of West African gospel-style call and response. The title track asks for honesty and openness amongst Senegal’s myriad ethnic groups and features some razzle-dazzle instrumental passages. Crisply produced by the man himself, this is just about the best album I’ve heard in any genre for quite a while.
www.diabelcissokho.com/ Jamie Renton
OKI MEETS MISAKO OSHIRO Kita To Minami Tuff Beats UBCA-1026
MIEKO MIYAZAKI & GUO GAN Nen Nen Sui Sui Daqui 332050
The West meets East collaboration is so com- monplace, as to have become a bit of cliché. So, it’s nice to see two East meets East collab- orations, without a hint of contrivance.
Some scholars
believe the Ainu, the officially recognised indigenous people from the far northern
Japanese island of Hokkaido, and the Oki- nawans, from the deep southern islands of Okinawa, share a common ancestry, dating back to the ancient Jomon period. So, the only surprise is there haven’t been more Ainu/Okinawan collaborations in the past.
Well, the reason is probably Oki, as just about the only creative light in Ainu music, hadn’t got around to it yet. It’s Oki’s vision and ingenuity that is the driving force behind Kita To Minami (North And South) as produc- er as well as playing several instruments, including his stringed instrument, the tonkori.
However, for the most part Oki remains tastefully in the background. Misako Oshiro, one of the greatest of the traditional singers, is allowed to take centre stage on what is essentially an Okinawan album. Oshiro’s voice is complemented by her own sanshin, Oki’s guitar, bass, a touch of percussion and synthe- siser. Providing help on sanshin and percus- sion is Kanako Horiuchi, originally from Hokkaido but long time Okinawan resident, and the occasional Dub Ainu Band member.
Seven of the ten tracks are Okinawan traditional tunes sung by Oshiro. Oki sings one Okinawan tune, Red Ojisan, by Shokichi Kina, and two of his own songs, the title track and final complementary, dubby, Minami To Kita. It all sounds, uncluttered, unfussy, entirely natural.
Photos: Rob O’Connor
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