Billy Bragg "Tooth & Nail"

I've always been a fan of Billy Bragg's shtick. Those early 80's solo shows introduced us to his uniquely unselfconscious abrasive electric guitar style and his ever-so-clever lyricism - sometimes poignant, sometimes funny, often political and always incisive.
Anyone who can get away with rhyming "unrequited" and "a party to which I was never invited" is in my book a great lyricist. His poetic genius has been confirmed many times over the years - not least on 1988's "Workers Playtime" when he sang of his girlfriend telling him
"No amount of poetry would mend this broken heart,  but you can put the Hoover round if you want to make a start".

So Bragg has set a very high bar for himself. Maybe that's why it's been five years between drinks - 2008's "Mr Love & Justice" was a somewhat patchy affair with some real gems and some that didn't meet the high expectations he has created. With the release of "Tooth and Nail" it is apparent that here is a man in his mid-fifties who is absolutely at the top of his game. He's taken control of the means of production and using the internet to communicate with and sell directly to his loyal and extensive audience. He's taken off to the Californian sun and recorded a bunch of great songs with top producer Joe Henry and a bunch of very talented, mainly accoustic musicians. Greg Leisz's pedal steel guitar gives the project a genuine bluegrass feel that suits Bragg's present persona perfectly.

He revisits the Woody Guthrie songbook for "I Ain't Got No Home", a biting and highly relevant critique of the plight of the dispossessed worker in the depression. He penned "There Will Be A Reckoning" to express his disgust at the Neo-Nazi merchants of hate who tried to run for political office in his home town of Barking, Essex. He tries to sum up his own socialist beliefs by borrowing from the Bible in "Do Unto Others". "Noone Knows Nothing Anymore" tries to make sense of the "atoms spinning round and round deep down in the underground" and ends with "one head being banged against a wall".

He bemoans the fact that he can't be the handyman his partner wants him to be: "Don't be expecting me to put up shelves or build a garden shed, but I can write a song that tells the world how much I love you instead" is a line which must surely have won him brownie points with Juliet. But it's his wrestling with, and trying to get to grips with, the emotions that come with the ups and downs of a long-term relationship that are the most compelling songs - "January Song", "Swallow My Pride", "Your Name On My Tongue" and "Chasing Rainbows" all draw the listener back for more plays to peel back the layers of meaning. It's great to see and hear Billy in such fine form. He could even be talking to an Australian election year populace when, in the CD's closer, he sings "To the misanthropic, misbegotten merchants of gloom....Tomorrow's Going To Be A Better Day, we're going to make it that way"

Lo'Jo "Cinema El Mundo"

In September 2011 the members of Lo'Jo gathered at their farmhouse - "La Fontaine du Mont" - in the Angers countryside in the West of France. It was time to put together a record to celebrate thirty years of playing genre-defying music and travelling the world together, and what better venue than the place they had used as a communal base for so many of those years.

Special friends were invited: Stephane Coutable with his bassoon, Vincent Segal and his viola, Guo Gan and his Chinese erhu, and Andra Kouyate brought his n'goni. Assorted singers and percussionists, guitarists and brass and woodwind players showed up. As did Robert Wyatt with that golden voice. Friends from Tinariwen even dropped by. One of the groups founders, Denis Pean had written some fine poetry for the occasion which he delivered with his own totally uniquely French, alternately whispering and growling voice. Pean's delivery was balanced as ever by the haltingly, serenely beautiful harmonies of the Nid El Mourid sisters, Nadia and Yamina.

Between recording sessions, round the giant table in the kitchen, sumptuous feasts of rustic peasant food and wine were enjoyed by all. The assembled musicians, singers and storytellers take us on a journey all over the Earth, as if re-tracing their own global experiences of the last thirty years. It is such a cliche to call music filmic, but with this album it is hard not to. I don't know whether the title "Cinema el Mundo" came first or whether it seemed the obvious title for such a collection of vignettes, but filmic it most certainly is. The chosen (often sparse, sometimes lush) instrumentation gives each piece its own unique sense of place - with "Vientiane" and "Alger", for example, we are right there, within the first few bars.

Each of the fifteen songs tells its own story, like a self-contained short film, with Pean's masterful poetry to the fore - "Tout est (All is) fragile, important, fugitif. Tout est eternel" The "Marseillaise en Creole" is a mad and glorious look at all that is great about multicultural modern-day France Reciting poetry in perfect French, Robert Wyatt opens the CD. He returns to sing on the sublime title track. My own favourite is "African Dub Crossing the Fantoms of an Opera" which features the ensemble at their dance-able best.

With musicians from all over the place and all manner of genres visited, Pean describes this venture as "an affaire of the world, collective, sometimes extreme, but also engaged and political" He is often compared to Tom Waits, largely because he stands outside the mainstream of the music "industry", remaining true to his own self and free to create whatever he chooses at his remote farmhouse. This latest creation is a fine way to celebrate thirty years of doing just that.

Jama Ko - Bassekou Kouyate & Ngoni Ba

I've been featuring the music of Bassekou Kouyate and his group Ngoni Ba on 2BBB's Local Global Show for five years now. Ngoni Ba's first two releases, "Segu Blue" and "I Speak Fula", were amongst the most feted releases to come out of Mali in recent times, with the focus on the Ngoni being of great interest to musicians and audiences far and wide.

 When Bassekou was 18 and playing music with Bamako's famous Rail Band, he made his first solo trip to the USA at the invitation of Taj Mahal. On visiting an African-American Museum, he saw that early slaves had taken the Ngoni with them across the Atlantic, only for it to evolve (with the addition of machine heads and other adjustments) into what we call a Banjo. The original Ngoni is like a hollowed out cricket bat with strings and Ngoni Ba were the first to experiment with a larger, bass version of the instrument as well as other sizes and tunings.

 Bassekou Kouyate comes from a long line of griots who have specialised in the art of playing the Ngoni, and he is now obviously enjoying the fact that his own sons are of an age when they too can join him and their mother, the beautiful, talented and renowned Malian singer Amy Sacko, on stage at festivals and concerts all over the planet. One of my favourite tracks on this new CD is the closer "Moustafa", written by Moustafa 'Vieux' Kouyate in which he thanks his Mum and Dad for putting him through school and teaching him the Ngoni. He and his brother Madou, who plays the Ngoni bass, are only in their early twenties but they've been playing the instrument ever since they could pick one up and carry it.

 The new family-oriented line-up - with father, mother, two sons and a nephew in matching colourful traditional robes - blew audiences away recently at Womadelaide with their totally-in-synch togetherness. They are as tight as any band I have ever seen and with this new CD "Jama Ko", there has been something of a shift, with performances being taken to a whole new level. There is now a far greater use of electronic effects, in particular the wah-wah on Bassekou's lead Ngoni which lends an air of breathless excitement and urgency.

 Perhaps it is a reflection of the circumstances in which the album came to be recorded in Bamako in March 2012. Producer Howard Bilerman (renowned for his work with Arcade Fire) had been flown in from Montreal and Studio Bogolan booked, only for the city and country to descend into utter chaos as an unexpected military coup took place, ousting Kouyate's friend and supporter President Amadou Toumani Toure. Shots rang out barely a kilometre from where the recordings were taking place, with the radio station being the centre of the fighting. The coup changed the mood of the country overnight but somehow, between power cuts, fuel shortages and daily curfews, the recording still took place.

 It is best exemplified by Bassekou's insistent "Ne Me Fatigue Pas" (Don't wear me out) a fast-paced, trance-like put down of all the shenanigans taking place around them. The chaos in the capital meant that things also changed rapidly in the North of Mali, with Islamist insurgents taking advantage and taking control, to impose sharia law and ban music in a country where music is in the blood. The title track "Jama Ko" means 'a great meeting of people' : Bassekou explains the meaning thus: "There are over 90% Muslims in Mali, but our form of Islam here has nothing to do with a radical form of Sharia: that is not our culture....If the Islamists stop people making music, they will rip the heart out of Mali". If you would like to discover the heart of this incredibly diverse and highly musical nation, you should track down a copy of this CD.

The Life and Times of....... - The Hot 8 Brass Band

If you have ever watched "Treme" (the latest much-lauded HBO TV show from the makers of "The Wire") you will have seen the Hot 8 Brass Band in action. It is a fascinating series that documents people returning to post-Katrina New Orleans to pick up the pieces of their lives. Much of the action centres on the lives of the musicians and it vividly portrays just how central music is to the everyday life of the city.

Whether playing in the "second line" New Orleans parades, at a traditional Jazz funeral, or in a crowded bar in the Treme area, the Hot 8 grab our attention because they are so young, so talented and so together musically. Most have been playing in bands since starting High School and their youth means they bring an energy and a "street" / hiphop feel to whatever tunes they play. They do a couple of covers on their new CD: The Specials' "Ghost Town" (very redolent with meaning with post-flood New Orleans in mind) and Basement Jaxx's "Bingo Bango" - and they make both tunes very much their own.

There is a real sense of Joie de Vivre in their music that belies the hard times they have been through. Three founding members died as a result of handgun violence, with one of them killed by the often brutal NOPD with his hands in the air and in possession of little more than a trombone case. Another member was lost to drugs. A third band member gets around in a wheelchair after getting out of one car and into the path of another speeding vehicle. Many of the group struggle with health issues, with youth obesity and diabetes being such epidemic killers in their part of the world, particularly amongst African American working class neighbourhoods

"War Time" struts along, angrily propelled by the heavyweight Sousaphone and Bass Drum, with some wild Jazz saxophone, trumpet and trombone letting rip. But we're having a Party here, with a capital P, so the wild solos always give way to the catchy refrain. This is eminently dance-able music. The hiphop chants in this and "Let Me Do My Thing" illustrate their immense self-belief these days. They are now signed to TruThoughts Records in the UK and are making waves far and wide. There is a touch of the swagger of Funk and Stax Soul about the songs on this CD.

The track I keep coming back to for the Local Global Show is "Steamin' Blues" - a truly riotous piece, swinging along and featuring virtuosic displays by all of the ensemble in the best Jazz traditions but with a thoroughly modern day street-oriented take on proceedings. Further emphasising this, the sleeve is adorned with an array of amazing graffiti artworks created by Banksy in New Orleans after the flood, which cleverly satirise the social issues facing the Hot 8, their neighbours and the other inhabitants of Treme.

Archie Roach "Into The Bloodstream" This new CD from one of Australia's living national treasures is an absolute revelation. I've always appreciated his work - his breakthrough "Charcoal Lane", his atmospheric soundtrack for "The Tracker" movie and his last release "Journey" are testament to Roach's strong song-writing and story-telling abilities. But I've never really enjoyed his music. His pain was so transparent - and for very good reason, given his stolen childhood and his struggles to cope as an adult - so that his music often made for very uneasy listening. In the liner notes to "Into The Bloodstream" Roach reveals that his own attitude to Pain was transformed during the making of this latest album. He used to think that letting go of his Pain was the only way to get over it, but he came to understand that the Pain may always be there, and that a different attitude to life, some good medicine and the creative process of writing songs about it gave him ways of coming to terms with it. To say that he's had a challenging few years is something of an understatement. First, he unexpectedly lost his soul mate Ruby Hunter. Then, during his grieving, he suffered a debilitating stroke. While recovering from that, he was diagnosed with lung cancer and had to have half a lung removed. Little wonder that he was initially finding it hard to find his muse when first trying to gather ideas for "Into The Bloodstream". The opening title track is familiar territory to those who know his work. But there are hints of a positivity and a lightness that we haven't heard before. The next track "Song To Sing" is a full-blown Gospel number that simply soars. Check out the video for it on YouTube and I defy you not to shed tears of joy. Shot with an indigenous choir and a large ensemble in St Brigid's church in Archie's hometown of of Killarney, it is truly inspirational. "Mulyawongk" is a beautiful tribute to Ruby and her many virtues. "Wash My Soul In The River's Flow", though penned by Roach, sounds like a New Orleans standard and allows Archie to revel in his discovery of whole new registers to his voice. "We Won't Cry" is a gorgeous duet with his old mate Paul Kelly. "Hush Now Babies" (with Emma Donovan) and "Old Mission Road" are touching tributes to his much missed Mother and Father, celebratory without being maudlin. There is so much to like about this album. All I can say is get down to your local record store and BUY IT - without further ado. As Archie says in the sleeve notes (and what lovely artwork too): "Doing this album has been good medicine for me! I hope listening to it will be the same for you!"

"Traces" by Karine Polwart

It has been a fair while between drinks for fans of Scottish songsmith Karine Polwart. Her new CD "Traces" contains songs that have had a 2-3 year gestation period during which they have been performed live and finely honed to perfection. The title refers to traces of things, people or places left behind when they are gone. The wonderfully poignant "Salters Road" is a eulogy for a beloved 90 year old neighbour who passed away. "Strange news" is a song written in a state of disbelief on hearing of the sudden death of a cousin. There are also eulogies to particular places and what makes them personal to Polwart. There is pure poetry in the lyrics of Polwart's songs, words which wash over you and leave vivid imagery in their wake. The instrumentation and voices are sparse and sweet. Often it is the space in between the sounds which speaks volumes. Brother Steven Polwart plays guitar, Inge Thomson plays accordion and both harmonise beautifully with Karine's own voice. The sound is augmented by such instruments as Indian harmonium, Shruti box, piano, clarinet, flute, trumpet, marimba and other percussion. It is a distinctly accoustic and analogue feel on the whole and the overall feel of the album is life affirming and uplifting. "Don't Worry", "Cover Your Eyes" and "King of Birds" all have great political relevance. All 10 songs are cut and polished gems where layers of sounds build to dramatic and cinematic effect. Most definitely one of the best releases of 2012.

Bending The Dark - The Imagined Village

It's five years since Simon Emmerson took a break from the Afro Celt Sound System to embark on a new venture called The Imagined Village. Recognising the multicultural balti that England had become, Emmerson brought together an extremely diverse bunch of musicians to help bring English Folk kicking and screaming into the 21st Century. There have been quite a few personnel changes along the way to this, their third CD, and these changes have only added to the spice and variety of the project. This incarnation has brought together English Folk legends Martin Carthy and daughter Eliza, Jackie Oates, sitar player extraordinaire Sheema Mukhterjee, dhol drummer Jonny Kalsi, and the rock steady drum and bass duo Andy Gangadeen and Ali Friend, together with a red hot brass section. The set opens with Jackie Oates and a sweetly sung but sad and perfunctory finger-in-the-ear story about the heartless slaying of "The Captain's Apprentice" on a ship bound for Spain. It segues into "New York Trader", which introduces the whole ensemble with a brightness and communal vigour that we haven't quite heard in their previous releases. The schedule of writing together, playing live, then recording and then touring to promote the CD seems to have paid handsome dividends. Some of the tracks, such as "The Guvna", have great immediacy - Lush arrangements, with touches of dub and drum & bass and bursts of dhol drums, are overlaid with fiddles and sitar. But for the first few listens, some of the songs don't quite gel - there is so much going on that there is a danger of it all becoming just too muddy. But perseverance pays off. While not as immediate as the first two releases, Bending The Dark is a complex, adventurous work, with twists and turns and layer upon layer of rewards in store. The best example of this is the 12 minute title track which finishes off the CD. Written by Mukhterjee as a commission for the River of Music Festival that was held during the Olympic Games, it plays on the theme of "bending the dha" (a note on the sitar) and with time signatures that thoroughly test the ensemble, it is a remarkable celebration of the modern day multicultural nature of England.