A few weeks ago in Rome I had an amazing meal with a colleague that spanned several hours, several courses and many bottles. Then I spent most of last weekend eating good mozzarella in Milan.

The food, the wine, the women, the football, the hearty Catholicism.. Italy has a lot going for it.

So what’s with the music?

Italians are a generally patriotic bunch so I’m hoping that a few of them will have a go at me for saying this: Italian music is horrible.

Ok, ok, that’s a bit harsh. Admittedly I haven’t listened to all that much. And Paolo Conte is alright.. Giusy Ferreri is worth a listen. There are maybe a handful of others, but I’ve never heard anything spectacular.

So I appeal to all Italians, lovers of Italians and lovers of Italian music: please prove me wrong.

In the meantime I thought we’d listen to a perfect example of bad amazing Italian music. These guys (and I stress “guys” – that’s a man singing) are pure gold.

I Cugini di Campagna – Anima mia

These “new posts” are giving me an excuse to armchair research a lot of countries that I really know nothing about. Hungary is a good example. I’ve been to Budapest twice but until recently I only knew it as a beautiful city coming out of the shadow of a 40-year Communist rough patch. There was a rather large gap in my knowledge that fell somewhere between the Habsburgs and the withdrawal of Soviet troops.

I don’t know.. is it because I grew-up in North America that I have such a hard time imagining these European and near-European countries during the second half the 20th century? I get the impression that during the 80s we were taught that civilization ended somewhere in the middle of Germany and didn’t start again until the Korean peninsula.

It turns out that in many areas of the Soviet Union there some periods of positive, cool cultural growth. Musically, for example, there was quite a bit going on behind that Iron Curtain at various times. Hungarians in particular enjoyed periods of relative cultural freedom smack in the middle of their Communist era.

I promise not to ramble on about the cultural history of Soviet-ruled Hungary especially because, as I said, I don’t know much. What I do know is that Budapest experienced a rock’n'roll boom from the late 1960s until the early 70s.

It took me a few days but I’ve managed to throw together a little mixtape of some good Hungarian tunes from this period of Communist-era musical growth in the country. If you’re a big Zombies fan as I am, some of these tracks definitely won’t disappoint. (What is it with the Zombies these days, anyway? They’re suddenly the “band your father was into” for in-bands to reference during an interview. Does this mean that it will one day also be cool to admit owning several Emerson, Lake & Palmer albums? Ok, probably not.. but, yeah, I do.)

We’ll start with a couple tracks by Metró, a very popular Hungarian rock band from the 1960s and 70s. These two lead-off their 1969 self-titled release which you can find re-released on Hungaroton. Looking for the lyrics? I wonder what they’re saying…

Next some more music from Budapest by Illés off their 1969 release, Illesek Es Pofonok. Along with Metró and Omega they were part of what I understand to be a trio of very popular rock groups in Budapest during the late 60s. ‘69 was the year that Beatles released Abbey Road.. comparisons are easy to make. Illés rock it their own way, though.

Omega are up next. I see a lot of incomprehensible Hungarian forum and blog posts on the ‘net about the first track, Gyöngyhajú lány. It was a huge hit and still this is to this day. The title translates into “The Girl With Pearl’s Hair”. Awesome video. It’s off their 1969 release, 10,000 Lepes. I’ve also posted another good track off their 1968 release, Trombitas Fredi.

We’ll finish up with a great, dirty blues track from by Hungarian “super-group”, Lokomotív GT. It was formed in 1971 by members of Omega and Metró. It’s off their 1971 self-titled release.

Unfortunately after about 10 years of musical growth the government cracked-down on rock music in a big way. Many band members left the country and the scene died a quick death. It wouldn’t be until the final years of communist rule, around the end of the 1980s, that (good) contemporary music would once again flourish in the country.

However, as a testament to the cultural resilience of Hungarians the music scene bounced back pretty quickly. As we heard yesterday there are lots of good contemporary sounds coming out of the country these days.

I’d love to hear/learn more about Hungarian music, both old and new. If you’re Hungarian or happen to be into the contemporary Magyar sound please get in touch in the comments.

Metró – Ülök egy rózsaszínû kádban
Metró – Okos szamár
Illés – A beérkezett levelekre válasz
Omega – Gyöngyhajú lány
Omega – Vasarnap
Lokomotív GT – Royal Blues

I’ve always had this mix of fascination and love for Budapest. It’s easily one of the most beautiful cities in Europe and everyone I know who’s been there comes back loving the place.

I first visited the city in 1998 as a tender backpacker. Back then it was an exotic location, the furthest “east” I had ever traveled. These were the days before low-cost airlines, when I was still counting change to pay for coffee and skipping lunch to buy a train ticket. Budapest seemed like forever away.

I remember a city still shedding signs of its pre-1989 communist rule and one in the midst of tense parliamentary elections . There was a surprisingly cool nightlife, a dangerous roller-coaster, many good restaurants and warm baths. Most of all the people we met had a great attitude and an incomprehensible language.

When I returned to Canada a month later I remember thinking that the two B’s were my favourite European cities: Barcelona and Budapest.

Ten years later, as in a few weeks ago, I got to visit the city again. It goes without saying that much has changed but the city remains beautiful and a great destination.

Musically-speaking, Hungary has stayed with me over the years:

In 2000 I found myself living in Paris for the first time. The Buddha Bar was big, as were its compilations. The Hungarian electro group Anima Sound System’s track, ‘68, kicked-off the first volume of the Buddha Bar’s Party album.

Those who knew me at that time may recognize Yonderboi’s intro to his album, Shallow And Profound, as something that led-off a few year-2000 “Matt mixtapes”.

Lastly, a track by Amorf Ördögök off Ugar Record’s Magyar UGAR compilation. Both Yonderboi and Anima Sound System were (are?) signed with them.

Yonderboi – Intro
Anima Sound System – ‘68
Amorf Ördögök – Betyar A Holdon

Unfortunately my travel schedule only allowed me to spend 24 hours in Bucharest, Romania. I admittedly spent almost all my time inside the rather ominous building you see pictured above, the Casa Presei Libere (Free Press Building).

That said, no reason I can’t share some Romanian music that I have lying around. Technically I’ve been there so according to the “new rules” I can still write about it. I put together a short mix-tape of my favourite Romanian sounds to date.

l’ll start off with a track by Johnny Răducanu, a noted jazz musician. I got this track off Sonar Kollectiv’s excellent Romanian jazz compilation.

From there we’ll ease into a little more double-bass, this time with a more modern spin, courtesy the Shukar Collective. You can get their stuff over at Calabash.

Next we’ll hear some nice, smooth hip-hop by Ombladon, one of the founders of the popular Romanian hiphop group, Paraziţii. Video here. The Romanian hiphop scene seems quite vibrant.. lots of good sounds, especially from the members of Paraziţii and their friends.

Next up a remix of a song by Timpuri Noi, a popular Romanian rock group. They’ve been around for a couple decades.. and while this remix doesn’t exactly represent their sound I thought it was good. You can buy this and other MP3s by Timpuri Noi at Amazon for 99 cents each.

I’ll end with a couple Romanian tunes that you might have heard on an earlier Benn loxo post.. but I love them, so we’ll give it another go. One of these days I’ll catch Fanfare Ciocărlia live.

If you’re Romanian or know more about good Romanian music than I do (that wouldn’t be hard), please pass on some tips.

Johnny Răducanu – Balada
Shukar Collective – The Wind
Ombladon – Confidential feat. Bitza
Timpuri Noi – Vecina Gojira & Kosak remix
Fanfare Ciocărlia – Duj Duj feat. Mitsou & Florentina Sandu
Clejani Express – Foaie Verde

A little more from Iceland today.

Have any of you ever tried ice climbing? Seriously fun.. I was like a Canadian stereotype, up there on the ice.

I also happened to have a Cuban cigar in my pocket. There’s nothing quite like blowing smoke rings on top of a glacier, looking out at the sea.

Today we’ll hear a track by Seabear off their 2007 Morr Music release, The Ghost That Carried Us Away.

I remember hearing these guys on the audioblogosphere a year or two ago. I like their simple, acoustic, happy sound. It’s good music for days like today when it’s raining outside and the sun is rising later and later.

You can grab it pretty much anywhere. Thumbs-up.

They also apparently have another album coming out later this year. I’ll keep an ear out.

Seabear – Seashell

I was working in Iceland last week. Wonderful place. And hey, not to profit at others’ expense or anything, but for once it’s actually quite an affordable spot to visit.

Reykjavik reminds me of a lot of Halifax, Canada, another great city where I lived for many years. The downtown area is tiny, even smaller than I expected, but it’s packed with restaurants, bars and clubs.

Most people will tell you the same thing about Reykjavik’s nightlife: at around midnight or 1am hundreds of tall, beautiful blond girls and their Nordic boyfriends form neat little queues in front of very un-smalltown doormen and their velvet ropes. Most places don’t even open until after midnight and the party goes until 6 or 7 in the morning. I would say “until sunrise” except the sun doesn’t rise until late morning this time of year.

There’s live music happening most nights. I saw a few bands, though I wasn’t lucky enough to see anything outstanding. I did, however, make the requisite stop into a good record shop and picked up some albums. You’ll hear from them today and tomorrow.

Today we’ll hear from Retro Stefson, self-described as “the pop in your popcorn and the smooth in your smoothie.” Nuff said.

I picked the first track on today’s post, Papa Paolo III, because it reminds me so much of early Gomez. I loved Gomez’s first release. What was that track called… Whippin’ Piccadilly, that’s it. Great road trip memories associated with that song. Was it really released 10 whole years ago? Man..

The second track, Sensemi, is gratuitous disco rock. At 11 minutes, 45 seconds, it represents the Reykjavik nightlife.. long, late, fun and a bit ridiculous.

Both tracks are from their 2008 release, Montaña. If you know of anywhere online where you can buy this album let me know and I’ll link it here. Thanks to Hinni for the purchase link – you can grab this album in MP3 format for only 9.99 € at the Kimi Record shop.

Enjoy. And yeah, that’s me getting wet/cold in front of the waterfall.

Retro Stefson – Papa Paulo III
Gomez – Whippin’ Piccadilly
Retro Stefson – Senseni

I’ve been travelling way too much over the last few weeks and haven’t had any time to write. Luckily Benn loxo listener, Ian, sent me a great guest post.

I’ve always had a soft spot in my heart for zouk, the syrupy-sweet dance music that spread from Guadaloupe to nearly every French-speaking country in the world. It was the first style of music that I learned to dance to—or, more importantly, the first music that I learned to dance to with a girl. It’s not hard to like zouk on the dance floor: it’s relatively slow, the step is simple, and the dancers’ bodies are pressed together very, very snugly. With the right partner (and maybe a rum cocktail or two) a night of zouk can be quite, you know, inspiring.

Unfortunately, the problem with zouk becomes apparent when you take it out of the disco. It’s just too sweet, too full of high-calorie synthesizers and cloying vocals (its name means “sugar” in Kreyol, after all). It’s not something you can drop on the turntable at a dinner party or bump in your car on the highway. It’s not hip to like zouk; the stuff is musical junk food.

But just as junk food always has a more nutritional alternative, I’ve always figured that there must be guilt-free alternatives to zouk that keep its flavor while cutting down the calorie content. And indeed, there are. Here are some examples that I’ve found recently:

First up is Bwa Bandé, a Paris-based group that plays a style from Guadaloupe called gwoka. Gwoka, which shares its origins with Puerto Rican bomba and Haitian petwo drumming, is typically played on drums made from recycled rum barrels and covered with goat-skin heads. The larger drum, the boula, plays the fundamental rhythm while the smaller, the markeur, matches the movements of the dancers. The drums are accompanied by singers and small hand percussion, like gourd shakers and small wooden casks beaten with sticks. Gwoka vocals usually have a rough edge and a distinctive warbling vibrato that helps them cut through the sound of the drums.

“Toput je pa je,” Bwa Bandé’s ode to the game of dominoes, updates these vocals with dancehall-style toasting from Krys; it also features the one-note trumpets called vaksen used in carnival music.

Next is Emeline Michel. She’s a New York-based Haitian singer best known for mizik rasin, or roots music. It’s a tradition-minded amalgam of several Haitian styles: rara carnival music, twoubadou singing and, especially, vodou ceremonial drumming. All of the songs on Reine du Coeur, her latest album, are built around traditional rhythms like banda and petwo. She modernizes these sounds with electric guitars and bass, but (fortunately) dispenses with the synthesizers so loved by zoukistes.

Last is Jacques Schwarz-Bart, a Swiss-Guadaloupean saxophonist who was raised between Switzerland and Guadaloupe. As a child he learned to play gwoka. After studying jazz saxophone at the Berklee School of Music, Schwarz-Bart went on to play with some big names of jazz and soul, including Danilo Perez and D’Angelo.

On Soné Ka La, Schwarz-Bart melds the rhythms of gwoka with jazz, soul and reggae. “Pe-La” is the most radio-friendly track on the album, thanks to the dancehall-style vocals of Admiral T. “Déshabillé” features Jacob Desvarieux, the gravel-voiced lead singer of legendary zouk band Kassav’. The rest of the album is more jazz-oriented, toeing the line between tropical jazz and the easy stuff you might hear in a dentist’s office.

Check out the videos for these songs, as well as some great examples of old-fashioned gwoka drumming and dancing, here:

Bwa Bandé, “Tout jé pa jé”: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TERZPgil_z8
Emeline Michel, “Gade Papi”: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qn7hHwISric
Jacques Schwarz-Bart, “Pe-la”: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=raHfPqBdPRs
Gwoka in Pointe-à-Pitre, Guadaloupe: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y6h1MJNchoQ
Groupe Lewoz Gwadaloup Dubout, Guadaloupe: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hCMScQ9tUYw

Thanks for the music and insight, Ian.

Stay tuned over the next few week or two for some music from some of the places I’ve been over the last few weeks: Iceland, Romania, Ireland, England, Hungary, Italy, Turkey, Switzerland…

I just heard from Ian that there’s a Jacques Schwarz-Bart concert in NYC tomorrow night. Check it out and get back to us!

Bwa Bandé – Ké Byen
Bwa Bandé – Toput’ Jé Pa Jé
Emeline Michel – Gade Papi
Emeline Michel – Twa Fey
Jacques Schwarz-Bart – Déshabillé feat. Jacob Desvarieux
Jacques Schwarz-Bart – Pé La feat. Admiral T