Music from the Far North

Music from the Far North
The Living Tradition series
produced by Deben Bhattacharya
ARGO, ZRG 533, Made in England, 1967

They're not quite the true academic field recording records, but much more authentic than the Souvenir from... records tourists used to gather. They're field recordings that are sold commercially. They're an important part of my record collection which is becoming more and more like a stamp collection that doesn't have a topic but holds stamps from all over the world. A collection that's more about diversity than about depth. Records like the one above were owned by people that had a serious interest in some geographical entity, not quite an academic interest but certainly well beyond a tourist's interest in the music of a region. They're records of traditional music, typically played not by the areas biggest stars, but not by the remote and isolated rural population either. The musicians are the in-between musicians, semi-professional, well regarded locally, that would perform in regional cultural festivals. Music from the Far North features traditional music out of Finland and from Sweden. It features the solemn Finnish music on the kantele, and some wild fiddling gatherings from Sweden. There's enough excitement in the music on this record to last a midsummer night but I chose to share here today the two Lappish joiks that are featured at the end of the record. They're not the most interesting joiks I've ever heard, they're not the best tracks on the record, but they're joiks. There aren't that many joik recordings in the world. Joiks are the age old musical singing traditions of the Sami people of Northern Scandinavia. The singing sounds a lot like the chanting of Native Americans. The Sami are remote descendents of the Chukchi people, a handful of whom are believed to have crossed the Bering Sea and are the common ancestors of all American Indians.

The singer of the joiks featured here is Karin Stenberg. She was recorded by Deben Bhattacharya in or before 1967 in Arvidsjaur, Sweden . The first example is a joik about reindeer and the second about mountains. 

p.s. I've never been to Sweden but I have a Volvo. I learned yesterday that if you buy a new Volvo, directly from the factory, they'll fly you over, put you up, and ship the car back for you. Now my Volvo is getting pretty old...

Obey

Chief Commander Ebenezer 
Obey and His Miliki Sound
Decca, WAPS 78
Made in England, 1973

Here's then the second entry concerning Nigerian records found in Florida thrift stores. As promised last week I'll share a song from an album by Chief Commander Ebenezer Obey. The song is Alowo Majaiye, it's the opening track on the album. As with Anyinla Owomura's last week, I only estimated the break between the first two songs as all tracks are woven together medley style. At that point I faded it out, hoping not to cut off anything from the track in question. Really, both side one and side two are just two continues songs that happen to have multiple titles. Kinda like an opera, except that it doesn't sound anything like an opera. It's all about Obey's guitar breaks. The guitar playing throughout this record is magnificent.

African Records

Ayinla Omowura and His Apala Group, Vol. 8
Procuced by Taoreed Adedigba
Nemi (LP) 0110, EMI, printed in Nigeria

There's gotta be a few notes written in the margins of the above statement because "a whole history of music" turns out to be a very subjective term. The statement holds the people of a city or region in very high esteem when the truth is that especially those people that are represented in the collection of thrift stores are not as expansive and discriminate more than one would hope. Africa is arguably the continent with the most interesting (and on average highest quality) of commercial LPs. Yet records from this continent arrive in thrift stores few and far in between. Occasionally you will find one produced in the West for the Western market (either by Africa's biggest selling stars, like Miriam Makeba, or else compilations of traditional music, both of field recordings and of commercial intent) but hardly ever records plucked from the streets, popular by locals but unknown beyond. The last time I found some of the latter was about five years ago, when I got two Nigerian records in a thrift store in Saint Augustine, Florida. One is by Ayinla Omowura, the other by Chief Commander Ebenezer Obey. Obey is fairly well known in the West but of Omowura I had never heard. Both records belonged to a certain Bergmann. As always when I find multiple records that once belonged to the same person, I am curious about the circumstances. Bergmann got his (or hers) in the US I think. I don't think Bergman bought the records in Nigeria because the Obey one has an import sticker on it from an African market in Brooklyn. The Obey record was pre-owned when Bergmann got it. That's all the clues I have to the Bergmann puzzle. The two records are remarkably similar in production and content. Both records are recorded in medley style, apparently produced for dancing. The songs that are listed as being played are not separated by any noticeable clue (the sound clip below is faded out somewhere in the second song of side A of the Omowura record). It feels like they could be playing forever. In fact Omowura's record is Volume 8, and I wouldn't be surprised if all eight records were recorded in a single or maybe two recording sessions. The opening seconds of both records are spectacular instrumental introductions by (I assume) the respective instruments of the bandleaders: Obey's guitar and the talking drum of Omowura. From an objective point of view these opening seconds are probably all you need to know about, the rest only becomes interesting when you engage in it (like dancing). Next week I'll discuss Obey's (my favorite of the two) some more. The songs you can listen to below are the opening minutes of the medley on side A; Akigbo wo awon and part of Chief Adeniyi Idowu. The word "Yoruba" printed on the label of the vinyl probably refers to the language used in the lyrics. I estimate the recording to be from the early 1970s.

Country Records

Sammi Smith – New Winds, All Quadrants
Produced by Ray Baker
Elektra Records, 6E-137, New York, 1978

There's a reason why I don't collect country records. I don't like them. If I did, I would have had an enormous collection because on my numerous visits to thrift stores as I always see ones I'd never seen before. That's not to say that I don't have any country records, I actually have quite a few, but I really don't add to these much any more. And that I don't like them is of course a too broad generalization. There are plenty great country records out there that I really like. I love David Allan Coe, Dolly Parton, Kinky Friedman, Hank Williams (Sr.), to name just a few. What I don't like about country records most is the political conservatism that oozes off these records, and the pathos. Well I don't mind pathos, but in the wrong ignorant hands it all ends up being pathetic. While this is not a podium to be critical of any record (it's a celebration about the vastness of the record universe, and the many jewels it contains), I will indulge for once and have a rant about this country record I bought for a dollar the other day. You can read it as a celebration of (bad) records that are not included in the canon of the popular music history if you'd like, because that's the purpose here. This record by Sammi Smith has so much pathos embedded in it, that it becomes embarrassing to listen to. It's not so much Sammi Smith per se—her voice is good, her singing is sound, not overly dramatic or emotive, and she had produced really good country before (like her hit Help Me Make it Through the Night, written by Kris Kristofferson)—but the songwriting on this record is poor to say the least. Take the song Norma Jean (that you can listen to below), a narrative song about Marilyn Monroe, the lyrics of which would have gotten a B- in a sixth grade English class. No matter how well or how sincere Sammi Smith's performance of this song is executed, it could never save it. Now it doesn't help that I speak English, maybe it is possible I would have liked the song if it were in Polish or some other language I couldn't understand but I will never find out because I just can't listen to the song without hearing the words. Now the songwrit(h)ing is grave throughout the disc but I have to admit that I selected the worse one to share with you. (Most others wouldn't be appropriate for grade school anyway, adding yet another layer of embarrassment—too frank, too honest, which are bad qualities for badly written lyrics.) Needless to say after this rant that, instead of putting in my record recycle bin, I will gladly insert the record into my collection (hers will be right after my Patti Smith records). On a more positive note about the production: I think the record title New Winds, All Quadrants, is cute, and witty, and smart, I would expected it on gospel record. On a less positive note about the production, this question: Why is the title of the song about Marilyn Monroe spelled Norma Jean, and not Norma Jeane?