Playlist: Kamau Mucoki

Kamou Mucoki, a blogger/photographer, is next up in Africa is a Country‘s “Playlist” series.

He blogs at africa.visual_media. The rule with the Playlist is 10 songs. It could be what you listen to in the car, at work, your favorite tracks of all time, genre-based top 10 lists. It doesn’t matter. As Kamau informed me, the list below represents “… stuff I am digging right now. In a couple of months I will probably listening to something else.”

Anyway, I’ll shut up and let him introduce his own playlist:

“… Of late I have been doing the iTunes, free (legal) MP3s, YouTube thing so I have been casting a wider net musically than if I was in a record store figuring what to spend my hard earned cash on. As a result my iPod now sounds like a college radio station; new and not so new stuff from all over the musical map, all jammed together. Maybe it’s because I’m of a certain, ahem, age but so much of the new music I like is reminiscent of the house/dance/new wave/R&B of the 80′s (I guess if you live long enough everything old is new again, or something).”

So here’s his list:

(1) “H.I.V.I.P. Dzemba Liazonz” Mixtape by Spoek Mathambo and (2) ‘Epitoli’ by DJ Teakay and Maeli. I have been intensely interested in South Africa’s house music scene since hearing DJ Mujava’s “Township Funk“. The Spoek Mathambo mixtape has a stripped down club feel (good for drowning out subway sounds on my commute), while ‘Epitoli’ has a more soulful deep house/gospel vibe that would fit quite well in a Masters At Work club set.

(3) “Politicians in My Eyes” by Death. Black proto-punk trio from Detroit who released one single around 1974. A family member recently discovered original masters of an album they had recorded before they broke up. Reminds me of early (‘Maggot Brain’ era) Funkadelic.

(4) “All the Damn Kids (Let’s Go To War Remix)” by The Carps. R&B meets punk, what Larry Graham would probably sound like today if he had explored the rock side of the rock/soul fence Sly Stone and the Family straddled (sprinkled with some new wave).

(5) “We Won’t Break” by Zoot Woman. I can’t explain why I like electroclash (80′s nostalgia?)

(6) “Searching” by Young Chris (featuring Wale). I know next to nothing about Young Chris. Most hip hop (hip pop?) is dead to me for its lost potential. But I’ve followed Wale since hearing “Back in the go-go” early last year; “Searching” captured my attention for its introspective undercurrent (it was pretty cool to reference Marvin Gaye’s “What’s Going On” period with the sample/hook).

(7) “We Here” by Illa J. The late J Dilla’s little brother lays some vocals over big bro’s seemingly bottomless bag of “golden era of hip hop” beats.

(8) “Drama Inside” by Amp Fiddler with Sly and Robbie. Amp Fiddler does this effortless, ambienty soul music (he played for George Clinton’s P-Funk All Stars for years and is obviously deeply influenced by Bernie Worrell). Laid back collaboration with laid back beat masters Sly and Robbie.

(9) “Red Clay” by Freddie Hubbard. Classic jazz to keep it all in context musically.

(10) “Tumbanga” by Orlando “Cachaito” Lopez. Yet another member of the Buena Vista Social Club group passed away recently. “Tumbanga” features a collaboration with Hugh Masekela from his 1999 album “Cachaito” that was deconstructed, experimental Latin jazz; far away from the typical BVSC fair. R.I.P. Cachaito.