Like the great documentarians before him — Alan Lomax, Harry Smith, Francis Densmore, Michael Moore — Hisham Mayet of Seattle-based Sublime Frequencies (a label he co-heads with Sun City Girls’ Alan Bishop) sure has it nice, traveling to Asia, Africa, and the Middle East to document visceral performances of non-Western musics for the consumption (and posterity) of primarily Western audiences. But while this might sound like a dream job for some of you traveling-abroad-just-to-end-up-cheating-on-your-girlfriend/boyfriend-but-hey-man-it’s-okay-because-of-the-geographical-and-cultural-distance-between-you-and-your-former-lover-so-it-wasn’t-really-cheating-cheating-anyway types, don’t forget that the scope of such an ambitious project as Sublime Frequencies requires massive amounts of preparation, dealing with the bullshit of visas, and a lot of time spent on Travelocity. Indeed, we should consider ourselves lucky to hear music that could be described as ‘far-reaching’ in both the aesthetic and geographical sense without requiring our asses ever leave the couch cushions.
Aside from Omar Souleyman, perhaps no other Sublime Frequencies artists have proven as indelibly far-reaching to our ears as Western Saharan act Group Doueh (pronounced: ‘doo-way’). And if you didn’t make it overseas for the group’s first European tour in 2009, now you can let them come to you, as leader Doueh (a.k.a. Bamaar Salmou), his electric/transcendent guitar, and his bandmates have just announced a 10-date tour of North America. Since you’re a regular reader of TMT (thanks, by the way; have you clicked on our ads lately?), I don’t need to remind you about their new new album Zayna Jumma (TMT News) — which now has a May 10 release date; adjust your Google calendars — their European tour (TMT News), and their upcoming performance at Animal Collective’s ATP bash, which will see, finally, my personal dream come true: Group Doueh sharing the stage with The Frogs.
While you can blame Western provincialism for confusing the term Sahrawi with a sandwich wrap of lamb, fattoush salad, cucumber, tomato, and pickled turnips, you can only blame yourself for not experiencing the funked-out psychedelia of Group Doueh. First course of action? Head over to the Chocolate Grinder to listen to the premiere of “Ishadlak Ya Khey” off Zanya Jumma.
Zayna Jumma tracklist:
01. Zayna Jumma
02. Ishhadlak Ya Khey
03. Zaya Koum
04. Met-Ha
05. Jaguar Doueh
06. Aziza
07. Ana Lakweri
08. Wazan Doueh
Updated tourdates:
05.11.11 - Manchester, UK - Islington Mill $
05.11.11 - Reading, UK - South Street Arts Centre
05.13.11 - London, UK - The Barbican
05.14.11 - Minehead, UK - All Tomorrow’s Parties (curators: Animal Collective)
05.16.11 - Eastbourne, UK - Winter Gardens *
05.17.11 - Brussels, Belgium - Acienne Belgique
05.18.11 - Nijmegen, Netherlands - Doornroosje
05.19.11 - Aarhus, Denmark - Atlas
05.20.11 - Copenhagen, Denmark - Global
05.21.11 - Gothenburg, Sweden - Nefertiti Jazz Club
05.23.11 - Helsinki, Finland - Korjaamo (Vaunusali)
05.25.11 - Stockholm, Sweden - Södra Bar, Södra Teatern
05.26.11 - Cologne, Germany - Stadtgarten
05.27.11 - Amsterdam, Netherlands - Paradiso
05.28.11 - Paris, France - Villette Sonique
05.29.11 - Lille, France - Aéronef Club
06.23.11 - Asheville, NC - The Grey Eagle
06.24.11 - Minneapolis, MN - Cedar Cultural Center
06.25.11 - Cleveland, OH - Cleveland Museum of Art - Summer Solstice
06.26.11 - Chicago, IL - Old Town School of Music
06.28.11 - Vancouver, Canada - Vancouver International Jazz Festival
06.29.11 - Seattle, WA - Nectar Lounge http://www.nectarlounge.com/
06.30.11 - Portland, OR - Mississippi Studios
07.01.11 - San Francisco, CA - Rickshaw Stop
07.02.11 - Philadelphia, PA - Johnny Brenda’s
07.03.11 - New York, NY - SummerStage Central Park
$ The Brothers Unconnected (Sir Richard and Alan Bishop)
* Animal Collective
• Sublime Frequencies: http://www.sublimefrequencies.com