king ubu Posted October 13, 2006 Report Share Posted October 13, 2006 http://www.putumayo.com/ I am not aware of any thread dedicated to this label and it's compilations of music(s) from around the world. A few months ago I bought the Mali disc and enjoyed it a lot. Now yesterday I got the Cape Verde one and love it even more. I have no idea how these compilations stand up with listeners that are familiar with the respective music, but to me, who enjoys this kind of stuff but doesn't know a lot, they're great. Lovingly compiled in nice digipacks, with comments to each track/artist... the Mali disc even includes a recipe for a traditional dish! Any recommendations? Any discs you have and like? I'm not asking for comments like "get into Nonesuch explorer" or anything... I am aware there's much more in depth documentation available, but I have neither money nor time to embark on some such trip, so let's restrict this thread to the Putumayo label. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
king ubu Posted October 13, 2006 Author Report Share Posted October 13, 2006 Sorry, I first opened this in the wrong forum! I hope no one lost any half-typed-up post yet! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert J Posted October 13, 2006 Report Share Posted October 13, 2006 so that's what happened! I have about a dozen of the discs from Putumayo. And yes they are somewhat "lighter" than say the other labels you mentioned, but sometimes this is good and suprising. I like to put them on at summer parties. I'd say for the complilations there's usually just 2-3 throw-away items. Stay away from any of the "groove" or "electronica" ones - just your basic DJ or trance beats to world music. If you liked the Mali one try: Mali to Memphis: an African-American odyssey. Off the top of my head, other faves are: African Odyssey Music from the coffee lands Reggae around the world Blues Around the World Mexico Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
king ubu Posted October 13, 2006 Author Report Share Posted October 13, 2006 Thanks! You know, I am usually *very* sceptical about any sort of compilation, unless it's by some treasured artist and includes some unreleased or rare stuff I don't have yet... Same with Putumayo, I read at least four or five very positive label portraits or disc reviews and never bought anything, but of late they're on sale here for around 13-15 € in at least two stores, so I just impulsively bought the Mali some time ago, and again yesterday the "Cape Verde"... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
king ubu Posted October 13, 2006 Author Report Share Posted October 13, 2006 Thanks for weighing in, clem, and thanks for taking care of the critical thinking I put away for a few minutes... I have some Ali Farka Touré and Toumani Djabaté live recordings and enjoy them a lot. Same for Orchestra Baobab... One day I'll really have to dig deeper! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JSngry Posted October 13, 2006 Report Share Posted October 13, 2006 i say it's fine to use a Puta Yeah, but the Mayo costs extra. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul secor Posted October 13, 2006 Report Share Posted October 13, 2006 What Clem said. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rostasi Posted October 13, 2006 Report Share Posted October 13, 2006 (edited) ...but I like the idea of hearing someone (ubu) talk about his interest in this label on a purely musical level. I'm agreeing with Clem on this too (I'd add a few others to that list too: Trikont for bizarre explorations, fer instance), but Ubu doesn't have the Starbucks uber-hip lifestyle culture music in his face the way it is here and this is good to hear his side of what he truly enjoys. rod Edited October 13, 2006 by rostasi Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Head Man Posted October 13, 2006 Report Share Posted October 13, 2006 http://www.putumayo.com/ I am not aware of any thread dedicated to this label and it's compilations of music(s) from around the world. A few months ago I bought the Mali disc and enjoyed it a lot. Now yesterday I got the Cape Verde one and love it even more. I have no idea how these compilations stand up with listeners that are familiar with the respective music, but to me, who enjoys this kind of stuff but doesn't know a lot, they're great. Lovingly compiled in nice digipacks, with comments to each track/artist... the Mali disc even includes a recipe for a traditional dish! Any recommendations? Any discs you have and like? I'm not asking for comments like "get into Nonesuch explorer" or anything... I am aware there's much more in depth documentation available, but I have neither money nor time to embark on some such trip, so let's restrict this thread to the Putumayo label. I can't comment on the putumayo label but for compilations I can really recommend the ones compiled by Charlie Gillett, who used to have a weekly 'world music' programme on the BBC World Service until he had to retire recently due to ill health. He issues a 2xCD compilation of the best tunes from his programme each year with the catchy title 'World 2001 2002 etc.' They have been released on a variety of labels - 'Virgin', 'Wrasse', 'Narada World' etc and cover music from virtually every country in the world. They are absolutely terrific and I would recommend that you try one and if you like it, buy all the others. They started to be issued in 2001 so there are six to choose from. If your interested here's this years compilation on Amazon: Amazon.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
king ubu Posted October 13, 2006 Author Report Share Posted October 13, 2006 ...but I like the idea of hearing someone (ubu) talk about his interest in this label on a purely musical level. I'm agreeing with Clem on this too (I'd add a few others to that list too: Trikont for bizarre explorations, fer instance), but Ubu doesn't have the Starbucks uber-hip lifestyle culture music in his face the way it is here and this is good to hear his side of what he truly enjoys. rod I started this thread shortly before I was through a boring day at work, so my replies before were a bit short. Needless to say, I was fully unaware (and plead not guilty, therefore) that these discs were marketed in the US as a lifestyle product. I've never seen any of them outside CD or book stores (which is ok, since they have all the audio books, too). We have two or three Starbucks here in Zurich, but needless to say I can get good coffee (or actually I'd prefer what the italians just call cafe, short and black and strong) in many places, so there's really no need for Starbuck (unless you want cinnamon flavoured - note the "u"... - coffee or other oddities, which I don't). I've been a bit deeper into indian classical, seen Chaurasia and Zakir (together once, and apart also) and others live, got some discs by Bismillah Khan also, not an expert, but I did a little bit of reading, and I wouldn't need any compilations for that, but much of the other parts of the world are not that familiar to me, musically (another exception may be ZA, but then again only old stuff, Kippie, Epistles, Dollar, Mannenberg... I'm not really interested in the new hip hop coming from there, can't even rememeber how they call it...) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert J Posted October 13, 2006 Report Share Posted October 13, 2006 I didn't go on about further recs - I have a ton of better world music on a number of labels. But you asked about this specific label itself and I said it was OK for what it's worth. It works well at parties where people aren't listening too intently and just want to have fun. I usually only pull them out in the summer. Some discs were actually suprising in what they had and I noted them above. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
king ubu Posted October 13, 2006 Author Report Share Posted October 13, 2006 That's fine, really! I learn from this thread that I definitely should look further! Might be rather tough to locate good stuff, as "world music" sections in local stores are usually thin and filled with "rough guide to..." discs and some World Circuit (I don't say all of those are bad, mind me) releases. Thanks everybody for the various suggestions! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rostasi Posted October 13, 2006 Report Share Posted October 13, 2006 That's fine, really! I learn from this thread that I definitely should look further! Might be rather tough to locate good stuff, as "world music" sections in local stores are usually thin and filled with "rough guide to..." discs and some World Circuit (I don't say all of those are bad, mind me) releases. Thanks everybody for the various suggestions!Sure Ubu - I just wanted to say that I'm not holding anything against you I'm just grateful to be able to hear from someone who has great taste in music who makes a discovery thru his own ears - unbiased by the commodity hounds. I'm with Robert on these too - I've been surprised by some of what's included on these comps. Also, if you are interested in making the jump to find out more about music from other cultures, there's a fun, informative magazine that I get called Songlines that comes with a CD. Rod Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr. Rat Posted October 13, 2006 Report Share Posted October 13, 2006 Clem's recommedations are all good. But in defense of Putumayo, they've made some pretty solid comps since Jacob Edgar went there. And they are pretty much intended to be cool little introductions to the musics in question. Which purpose they serve pretty well. For someone who's just interested in an intelligent, pop-oriented selection, Putumayo's stuff is often just the ticket, even if they do buy it at a cafe. --eric Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
king ubu Posted October 13, 2006 Author Report Share Posted October 13, 2006 Inspired by this thread I just played this one: I see that many (or all? didn't check so closely) of these are listed on the zweitausendeins.de website (but at 10 euro they're not exactly a steal...) - anyone familiar with this series? Any recommendations? Here's the label's website. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Magnificent Goldberg Posted October 14, 2006 Report Share Posted October 14, 2006 Putamayo don't just do compilations. I have one by Habib Koite - "Ma ya", PUTU146, issued in 1999, which is nearly as good as his first CD. Koite is a little lightweight, kind of poppy musician, whose use of western harmonies separates him quite a bit from other Malian musicians. But the music is very entertaining and his first album, "Mousso ko", which included his big hit single "A bana (no more cigarette)" was very popular in Mali. I don't know whether Putamayo recorded "Ma ya", in which case it's unlikely to have been accessible to the Malian public, or licensed it from one of the Malian record companies. It doesn't say on the sleeve, which implies (I guess) that Putamayo recorded it themselves. "Ma ya" is a pretty nice album which makes no concessions to westerners' desire either for the "authentic" or for the overtly "made specially for white people" types of music. In other words, it sounds like slightly unconventional (for Mali) Malian pop music. I like it. (I have the feeling Putamayo has subsequently issued another one of his, but I'm not sure.) Oh, now I've checked here http://www.geocities.com/fbessem/frames/framemus.html I see he has two more out. MG Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Pusey Posted October 16, 2006 Report Share Posted October 16, 2006 Ubu, for Rostasis plug for Songlines, every issue, I end up buying 2 or 3 albums on the strength of what I hear on the free cd. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
king ubu Posted October 17, 2006 Author Report Share Posted October 17, 2006 I've been looking for Songlines to no avail so far... doesn't seem to be a rag generally carried by newspaper shoppes up here in the remote areas of the alps... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Head Man Posted October 17, 2006 Report Share Posted October 17, 2006 I've been looking for Songlines to no avail so far... doesn't seem to be a rag generally carried by newspaper shoppes up here in the remote areas of the alps... I'm not sure if it is available through retailers - I get mine by post through an annual subscription. Can I add my plug as well. It's a great read and always comes with a free CD containing tracks from many of the recordings that are reviewed. Without it I'm not sure how I would ever hear about what is available and like Tony I invariably end up buying a few CDs on the strength of their reviews. If you're interested in taking out a subscription then their website is here: Songlines Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
king ubu Posted October 17, 2006 Author Report Share Posted October 17, 2006 I'd like to see an issue or two before jumping ahead and get a subscription... I have too many things I cannot keep up with reading (some daily and weekly newspapers, Wire, the one swiss jazz magazine in existence... plus all the stuff I need to read for university). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
king ubu Posted October 18, 2006 Author Report Share Posted October 18, 2006 I'm not sure if it is available through retailers - I get mine by post through an annual subscription. Seems you're right... I tried all the larger international press/newspaper shops in Zurich mainstation... only chance might be a music shop, but I doubt I'll find it. Is it coming out monthly, so a 7 issue subscription would be for only half a year? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Head Man Posted October 18, 2006 Report Share Posted October 18, 2006 I'm not sure if it is available through retailers - I get mine by post through an annual subscription. Seems you're right... I tried all the larger international press/newspaper shops in Zurich mainstation... only chance might be a music shop, but I doubt I'll find it. Is it coming out monthly, so a 7 issue subscription would be for only half a year? No, it's bi-monthly so 7 issues will take you up to the end of 2007. I don't think you'll be disappointed with it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
king ubu Posted October 18, 2006 Author Report Share Posted October 18, 2006 Ok then... but I wait for the next payday... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Head Man Posted October 18, 2006 Report Share Posted October 18, 2006 definitely pull the trigger on those Golden Afrique sets, Roi-- both are tremendous, tho' as you can see pricey here in the states (I got on each on sale for $30 here in New York.) more anon-- congolese clementine I second the positive review of the two 'Golden Afrique' releases. Of the two, I prefer Vol.1 so I would try that first. BTW there are a couple of used copies currently available here: Amazon.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
king ubu Posted October 18, 2006 Author Report Share Posted October 18, 2006 (edited) These Golden Afrique sets are up for 20€ on zweitausendeins! Just ordered them... since I also have a 10€ thingie there, I will get them without shipping costs! I see in a few days a third volume will be released, too! 23€ from amazon.fr (edited to put in the org/amazon.fr link, in case someone buys it...) Edited October 18, 2006 by king ubu Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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