New Music From GeoRemixed on Calabash Music

Slavic Soul Party Remix

Tue, 07 Oct 2008 09:59:28 -0500

Slavic Soul Party! — one of several GeoRemixed tracks with Balkan and Mediterranean influences — are known for their acoustic mash ups. “Teknochek,” a remix of a track to be released on their forthcoming Spring release, Teknochek Collision, adds an electronic layer to their already funkified big brass sound. “Born from cultural juxtaposition, brass bands are the children of mixed ethnicity, combining local music traditions with the instruments of conquering powers,” explains SSP! percussionist Matt Moran. “The layering continues as modern bands evolve, melding influences to keep the party flowing. The ‘Teknochek’ remix simply amplifies this tradition, folding in the incessant sounds of the electronics which surround us, from ringtones to videogames.”

X Plastaz Remix

Tue, 07 Oct 2008 09:59:28 -0500

Tanzania’s X Plastaz merges hip hop beats made on vintage analog equipment with chants from the Maasai, a semi-nomadic tribe known worldwide for their unique garb and body ornamentation. “Cheza” is among the last tracks that the late X Plastaz member Faza Nelly recorded before he died in March 2006. Whereas “world beat” sounds of the 1980s and ’90s electronically sampled “ethnic” or “traditional” elements to give their tracks flavor, X Plastaz is part of a generation of modern musicians whose diverse band membership builds musical bridges organically.

Bole2Harlem Remix

Tue, 07 Oct 2008 09:59:28 -0500

Remix culture does not inherently mean abandoning cultural roots. Bole 2 Harlem’s Dave Schommer hatched his Ethiopian hip hop hybrid upon finding Ethiopia’s own hip hop scene to be laden with America’s West Coast “babes and bling” lexis and raunchy beats. “‘Minnale’" is a celebration of Ethiopia's diversity, rich cultural heritage and historical value,” says Schommer, “quoting everything from Coffee ceremonies… to the 48 languages spoken… to Lucy. The chorus is derived from a popular folk chant that is now commonly heard at weddings.”

Vieux Farka Toure Remix

Tue, 07 Oct 2008 09:59:28 -0500

Vieux Farka Toure—the son of the late Malian bluesman Ali Farka Toure—has embraced DJ culture in his own way by releasing remix tracks simultaneously with his debut album. On the “3rd Bass Remix” of “Ma Hine Cocore” Ex-Centric Sound System’s bass-heavy Yossi Fine taps his signature remix approach by layering on top of the original, uncut song.

Hip Hop Hoodios Remix

Tue, 07 Oct 2008 09:59:28 -0500

Hip Hop Hoodios is a Latino-Jewish urban collective featuring members of Santana, The Klezmatics, Los Abandoned, and Jaguares. “Hoodío” is a twist on the word “judío”, Spanish for “Jew”. The original version of “Raza Hoodia” was recorded by the group in Brooklyn. Here Argentine producer Tweety Gonzalez (Soda Stereo, Shakira, Acida) stepped in to put his own unique electronic stamp on Los Hoodios’ post-ethnic mayhem.

Shukar Collective Remix

Tue, 07 Oct 2008 09:59:28 -0500

Romanian band Shukar Collective’s “Bar Boot” gets remixed by underground hip hop producer Junkyard. The multiethnic Shukar Collective was born from the convergence of a new generation of musicians with Gypsy traditions of the Ursari community, former bear tamers who make music using instruments like spoons and wooden barrels. “Bar Boot” is a pun on the word “barbut” which is the name of a dice game that was popular with Gypsy men, but banned under the old regime.

Fanfare Savale Remix

Tue, 07 Oct 2008 09:59:28 -0500

The tables are turned when Shukar Collective remixes Fanfare Savale’s “Cantecul Mirelui.” Savale comes from Zece Präjini, a Romanian village of fewer than 200 inhabitants. The story goes that every man in the small town plays at least one brass instrument and the village has more bands per capita than anywhere in Europe. Few of the players read written music, but they are said to be able to play any tune after hearing it only once.

Pacha Massive Remix

Tue, 07 Oct 2008 09:59:28 -0500

GeoRemixed comes full circle with a track straight from The Bronx, the breeding ground of the earliest hip hop. The bilingual mix of dub, cumbia, trip-hop, and funk of Pacha Massive is remixed here by New York underground DJ Tunah on their single “Don’t Let Go” from their new album All Good Things.

Pato Remix

Tue, 07 Oct 2008 09:59:28 -0500

A few years ago, Ben Herson, founder of Nomadic Wax, brought his mobile studio to Dakar, Senegal and put the word out that he would record with anyone who would grab a mic, in an effort to find obscure MCs without the resources for costly studio time. Herson a.k.a. Benny Beats encountered the rapid-fire Wolof rhymes of a young MC named Pato. The original recording of “Keep it Real” had Pato rhyming double-time on top of a beat sounding much closer to a reggae ‘steppers beat’ and about half the speed of hip hop. For this remix, Benny Beats matched the speed and ferocity of Pato’s poetry tit for tat with a barrage of old school double timed break beats.

LF & Laylo Remix

Tue, 07 Oct 2008 09:59:28 -0500

Benny Beats returns with a remix of Brazilian MC Eli Efi and Laylo’s “Marcha Soldado,” a musical call to Black and poor people to struggle for their health, happiness, and dignity. The lyrics say that criticizing an unjust society are not enough. The thunderous bass beat—which Eli Efi and Laylo affectionately refer to as “the elephant beat”—is sweetened with the vocal stylings of female MC/vocalist Lah Tere of Rebel Diaz fame.