If you are looking for unique, for a collaboration that defies those oft inappropriate genres (again we are looking for that genre-less world – a Riddled Phantasms Magazine eutopia), The Very Best is a collaboration as listed on their MySpace Page and on Radioclit’s myspace page from all over the world specifically from Lilongwe – Malawi to London via France & Sweden, United Kingdom. Try to say that three times fast. I would definately suggest that you take a look at both of these pages, especially Radioclit’s as it has a ton of live tracks, videos, poster art and tracks for sale.
There on THE VERY BEST page you will find 5 songs and on the Radioclit page another 5 plus and also on LastFM, all of which are a thing of happiness, the joy of music in it’s purest form. I couldn’t tell you what they are saying and I doubt many could, though some of the music is in English, it is the sheer exhuberance of the musical sound and the unique quality that makes the knowing of the words irrelevant (think Sigur Ros, but a whole lot happier).
Listen for yourself here:
As Pitchfork describes the aptly titled “Warm Heart of Africa” by The Very Best, their brand new debut album off of Green Owl records, a phrase known throughout the county of Malawi and used by many of their tourism sites, that really is more an identity than a random collection of diction “…The most listenable and flat-out enjoyable record of the year.”
I am by no means an expert on African music or a lot of cultural music and I really would suggest that you look here “Awesome Tapes from Africa” or “The Afro Blog” if after reading this you want an even more traditionalistic take on the sounds of this style of music, but I know when’ something sounds good. The Very Best, simply put, sounds good. I mean after one listen, me and my friend Kate were simply energized, not like that little bunny with the drums, but close and we both said, “Wow, I already feel better,” as she declared the band “musical jello shots”. For us laymen, us new folks to the sounds of Malawi and their musical traditions meshed with the European ultra-smooth vibes of Radioclit, this sound and the upcoming album due out later this fall is a great way to get into the school of African music for the masses. And when I say African music, I do not mean Bobby McFerrin’s “Don’t Worry Be Happy” that came out in 1989. Not that there is anything wrong with McFerrin and his approach, but at best it was an imitating version of African song and while he did win 10 Grammy’s and brought a lot of attention to the African musical sound as being an untapped well of musical waters, especially with his rendition of Dizzy Gillespie’s “Another Night in Tunisia”, which also won several Grammy’s he was born and raised in NYC. It seemed to me that a lot of African music got a push from Live Aid in 1985 that had 99k people in JFK Stadium in DC and 80k+ in Wembly Stadium in London and an estimated 400 million viewers in 60 countries that it was a one and done type deal, more of “Oh look Marge isn’t that neat” type effect on bringing the music forward than creating a lasting effect on the real thing, no matter how hard Bono, Bob Dylan, Paul Simon, Queen and others tried.
It seemed that the once the hype died down so did the passion and mainstream attempt at bringing this type of sound, the kind The Very Best brings as their thing, the Malawi thing, a country nestled between Mozambique, Tanzania, Zimbabwe and Zambia – http://bit.ly/LbzJH with a music that inflicts happiness and not pain and suffering that is so often thought of when the neo-political topic of Africa comes up.
If you want to get a US Senator to visit Africa you do not tell him stories of happy, joyous, spectacuarlly harmonious and free sounds, the kind heard from The Very Best, you best conjure up sounds of desperation and acute suffering that there is that in Africa. Nevermind there is also that same desperation and acute suffering in America as well. Heaven forbid I say that there is more crime and despair in some parts of the United States than a country like Malawi, but in many cases it is true. I would extrapolate the notion that not many people could find Malawi on a map, considering that according to The National Geographic-Roper Public Affairs 2006 Geographic Literacy Study 33 percent of Americans aged 18-24 cannot find Louisiana on a map – even after ALL of the coverage about Hurricane Katrina and the fact that you learn this stuff in elementary school or are supposed to, but who knows? The same study revealed that 63 percent cannot locate Iraq or Saudi Arabia and a whopping 88 percent cannot find Afghanistan.
It is an odd and vicious cycle where the United States and other “developed countries” like Canada, UK, France, Australia, Germany all in some form suffer from with some to a lesser degree and a lot more accepting of international and African music styles. America for all its successes likes to see other countries suffer in all the ways we do, as a Psychoanalyst friend told me that, “We almost as a nation want our media to project our fears, our worries, our crisises upon other countries and continents, especially Africa the same way that individuals like to and feel safer in projecting our worst elements and fears on others be it people or institutions.”
Now as for Malawai here is the map below, where this wonderful music, free of political heartache and frustration and joy can be found. I think it is wonderful that you can have African based music with themes that do not always have to be somber and tugging on your soul to thoughts of killing yourself because your girlfriend doesn’t like you any more or the world is ending because your parents and the teachers at your school do not understand you. The Very Best doesn’t need to delve into the abyss teenange and the sought after 18-24 demographic to make you wake up and listen.
I think it is wonderful that a label like Green Owl Records can commit to making and distributing a record with a positive upbeat message during these hard worldwide economic times. I hope that you will follow their site, sign up for updates and be ready to buy The Very Best – “Warm Heart of Africa” album when it comes out in a couple of months this fall.
The band is made up of the European duo known by themselves as Radioclit and Malawian singer Esau Mwamwaya, together they form The Very Best.
So how did they come about?
What makes this unique collaboration special and worth my time?
The answers lay in the following as this is truly a story of fate, karma, God, or whatever you consider makes the impossible or highly unlikely possible and likely. Whatever it may be, it wanted this music to happen, what else could explain it?
The band came together when Mwamwaya first met Radioclit’s Etienne Tron in 2007 while haggling over a bicycle in the London second-hand furniture shop Esau ran near the duo’s studio. Following the exchange, Mwamwaya was invited to Tron’s house-warming party where he met the other half of Radioclit, Johan Karlberg.
Esau was asked to come to Radioclit’s studio after he told Karlberg he was a drummer. It turned out Esau was a singer too and they decided to collaborate, combining Radioclit’s vast production experience and self-described “ghettopop” style—having produced and remixed tracks for the likes of M.I.A., Lily Allen, Justin Timberlake, Santigold, Britney Spears, TV On The Radio, David Banner, Buraka Som Sistema among others—with Mwamwaya’s emotive vocal approach. Karlberg dubbed Mwamwaya “the African Phil Collins,” and they have been recording songs together ever since.
Once they got together they made a tape of some songs and decided to release the mix tape to friends. Without any promotional aide or financial backing, the songs on the tape remixed by Radioclit, featuring Mwanwaya singing in Chichewa, Swahili, Portuguese and English charted more than 200,000 downloads.
From there the band got signed by Green Owl records out of NY and was on their way. Take a look here and see Warm Heart of Africa (feat. Ezra Koenig).
Their album “Warm Heart of Africa” comes out this fall, but they will tour the United States during the middle of July 2009. For the recording, the band brings some guests on board: M.I.A. for “Rain Dance” and Vampire Weekend’s Ezra Koenig sings on “Warm Heart Of Africa.”
So be on the lookout for more music from The Very Best as we will continue to follow this band and their versatile sound and meteoric rise. We also hope to get you songs from the new album as soon as we can.
So far they have at least four confirmed tour dates:
- July 16 – Los Angeles, CA – The Echoplex
- July 17 – San Francisco, CA – Mighty
- July 18 -New York, NY – Le Poisson Rouge
- July 19 – Chicago, IL – Pitchfork Music Festival
Here is The Very Best (Esau Mwamwaya & Radioclit) – KAMPHOPO – (official Malawi Pride Video) released 1.9.2009. ENJOY!
(As a post script note: Green Owl is a New York City-based record label started by artists for artists with the idea that great music can be sustainable—both economically and environmentally. Green Owl is committed to respecting this planet through sustainable technology, news and information. Please visit www.greenowl.com for more information about The Very Best and bands like them. They certainly deserve your support.)
