Desert Rock Tinariwen brings rebel music out of the Southern Sahara. By Jeffrey Callen A slow Hendrix blues riff, deep, rough and insistent, slashes through the aural space. Broken down and repeated, the opening riff is joined by the offbeat upstrokes of a second, trebly electric guitar establishing a shuffle counterpoint. A fast rap barely [...]
"Postmodern Traditional Music"
Postmodern Traditional Music How Tim Eriksen became perhaps the only musician to play with both Kurt Cobain and Doc Watson. By Jeffrey Callen Without doubt, Tim Eriksen is one of the most original American singers working today. Once you hear his voice, it is impossible to forget; its richness and intensity seem hauntingly appropriate whether he [...]
Deciphering Watcha Clan: Interview with Jeffrey Callen
As the year wound down, I found myself thinking a lot about my favorite albums of 2009. They’re not falling into an easy categorization but there is a thread that ties them together. They all are based on crossings of musical boundaries. My runaway favorite album of 2009 is Omar Sosa’s Across the Great Divide, [...]
"The Virtual Maghreb" (The Beat, Vol. 28 #1 — 2009)
The Virtual Maghreb: ”The digital world has created greater access for artists, particularly those from small markets whether due to geography, language or genre. Particularly good news for alternative artists in small countries and that brings us to alternative music artists in Morocco. The virtual world has created a platform for alternative artists in Morocco (hip-hop, fusion, rock, electronica, singer-songwriters) that was hardly imaginable [...]
Review of King Sunny Ade at the Independent in San Francisco (Afropop.org)
King Sunny Ade in San Francisco – review of King Sunny Ade in San Francisco in June 2009 and the re-release of Seven Degrees North.
"The Blues Metaphor" (Moroccan Roll column from The Beat, Vol. 27 #4)
_The Blues Metaphor_ (Moroccan Roll column from Vol. 27 #4) — discusses the often-tenuous use of the blues as a metaphor to describe and pigeonhole genres of popular and traditional music, particularly music from Africa or the African diaspora).
“The Sentir is a Whole Civilization” (Moroccan Roll column from The Beat, Vol. 27 # 3)
“The Sentir is a Whole Civilization” (Moroccan Roll column from Vol. 27 # 3) — A look at the use of Gnawa music, particularly the sentir (or hajhouj), in Moroccan pop music from the ’70s Folk Revival (i.e., Nass el Ghiwane) to “fusion” efforts of the last decade in Morocco, Algeria and beyond
"Family Ties" (Moroccan Roll column from The Beat, Vol. 27 #2)
Family Ties (my first “Moroccan Roll” column in The Beat in 2008) — Tarik Batma was an early member of the fusion movement in Morocco in the 1990s. He is also belongs to an influential musical lineage, the Batma family: his father and uncle were prime movers in the ’70s Folk Revival (Morocco’s first fusion [...]
Review of Melvin Gibb's Ancients Speak (Afropop.org)
Ancients Speak (published in Afropop.org in March 2009) — review of Ancients Speak, a journey by Melvin Gibbs’ Elevated Entity through the past, present and possible future of the “Black Atlantic continuum.”
Article on Moroccan rapper Don Bigg (Afropop.org)
Don Bigg Works the Room (February 2009 article on Moroccan rapper Don Bigg — published at Afopop.org) - I interviewed Don Bigg in 2008 in Casablanca and he told me about his work and gave me a primer in Moroccan rap styles. Steeped in the history of hip-hop, Don creates music that is firmly rooted [...]
