Travel Without Moving

Compilations that offer windows into faraway worlds....

It’s February, time to see how those intentions and resolutions are holding up. One evergreen for many musicians and artists – awakening (or reawakening) curiosity and a sense of adventure – is particularly challenging right now. The rapidly mutating pandemic has changed the terms and conditions of travel, effectively ending last-minute spontaneous jaunts. Planning an international trip remains a logistical minefield.

The next best thing: Traveling without moving. Using sound waves as vehicles for teleportation.

After recurring trips through thoroughly engrossing ‘60s and ‘70s music recorded in the Pernambuco region of Northeast Brazil, I spent a few hours doing semi-random shot-in-the-dark searches for music from faraway places. I used the title of the terrific 2011 compilation from Mr. Bongo, Psychedelic Pernambuco, as a template, then just selected a location and also a random, fairly generic musical trait or style.

Turns out there’s lots to choose from. Who knew there was a Surinam Funk Force? (Very ‘80s disco, not recommended.) In recent years, musicologists and collectors have scoured remote locations for hidden audio relics. Their work is often organized into compilations devoted to a specific sound or theme; among the shining examples from 2021 are Analog Africa’s Edu Funk Explosion and Essiebons Special 1973 – 1984 // Ghana Music Power House. The label’s archivists are not merely sleuths – they’re also historians who are keen on framing the work of key artists and producers in larger historical contexts. Each anthology has a story.

The same can be said for David “Mr. Bongop” Buttle, who has alternated between reissuing lost classics and assembling sharp, thoroughly researched compilations featuring lesser-known artists. Psychedelic Pernambuco looks at the rock-adjacent music that exploded far away from trendsetting Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo, in the smaller historic cities of Recife and Olinda and the surrounding area. While most of Brazil was enthralled by Tropicalia and the pop/rock hybrids classified under the umbrella term MPB (Musica Popular Brazil), the players of Pernambuco were plugging in and stretching out according to their own whims. They built epic compositions from a rhythmic foundation with roots in the old (forro, maracatu) and the new (James Brown), then added elements of mysticism and stirring prog-rock solos and group interaction.

The compilation features tracks from the still-astonishing 1975 landmark Paebiru by the scene’s leading experimenters, Lula Cortes and Ze Ramalho, and pieces from an exceptional work by Marconi Notaro, No Sub Reino dos Metazoarios. These artists and others represented here influenced subsequent generations of provocative artists – including the late great Chico Science, whose band Nação Zumbi spearheaded the manguebeat cultural movement of the 1990s.

Next search: Cape Verde and “electronic.” I only know a smidgen about the cultures of the Lusophone Atlantic – nations including Guinea-Bissau and Cape Verde that are proximate to Africa yet, due to Portuguese imperialism, were for decades somewhat isolated from African culture. The most widely known artist from the Cape Verdean islands is probably evocative singer Cesaria Evora (look her up for your next Great Singers playlist!).

Synthesize The Soul: Astro-Atlantic Hypnotica from the Cape Verde Islands 1973-1988 promises encounters with underknown artists from a scene that has, by necessity, engaged in smash-up fusions of sounds and bits of folkloric heritage from various sources including Western pop. Much of the music has the driving percolation of merengue from the Dominican Republic – there’s a shared emphasis on metallic percussion. Though synthesizers and other electronics are present, this isn’t about space-age ambient hypnosis; the synths are mostly used in layers and pads, to reinforce the tempo. On Tulipa Negra’s infectious Afrobeat homage “Corpo Limpo,” spiderweb-spinning guitar arpeggios sit in the front of the mix, with repetitive keyboard stabs relegated to the sidelines.

Next search: India/South Asia and “Dance.” Up came the erratic and eclectic Naya Beat: South Asian Dance and Electronic Music 1983-1992. This survey has some familiar names – Sheila Chandra’s transfixing “The Awakening” opens the set, and there’s a curious Hindi cover of Michael Jackson’s “Smooth Criminal” by the legendary Asha Puthli, whose discography includes an appearance on Ornette Coleman’s Science Fiction.

Naya Beat tracks the blinding sheen of ‘80s dancepop down some curious sidestreets. Much of it is mapped on the familiar dance grid – flautist Remo’s “Jungle Days” is a multi-tracked fantasia of loops and textures, while more restless tracks recall the music used behind the closing credits of a Bollywood hit. Among the eye-openers is a remix (it’s actually credited as a “Rework,” by Turbotito and Ragzi) of a spry 1986 track from a 13-piece band from the Netherlands called Shakti. There’s little chance this crew will be confused with the more famous fusion group Shakti led by guitarist John McLaughlin: Though “Pi Pi” visits several distinct moods and draws on an array of textures, this band is clearly aiming at the dancefloor.

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To the reader: When Echo Locator started, Spotify was an easy choice as a source for music – it was (and remains) the only streaming service with a free tier, which meant that a newsletter reader could link to a piece of music (or, sadly, a tiny excerpt) to get an idea of the work. Given assorted controversies over Spotify’s business practices, it seems unwise and possibly hypocritical to rely on that database. This week I attempted YouTube, but I’m open to suggestions – email address is below.

Why yes, we have a fancy digital suggestion box. Share your favorite Underloved/Overlooked records here: echolocatormusic@gmail.com.

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