What's happening to Country & Eastern you might wonder?
Well, due to giving up tobacco, the first half of this year has been slow and boring. Now, however the temperature is rising and this is what we have breewing for this fall:
We will release three albums, hopefully on october 16:
ce07 The Music of Ammasu - Ghana 1976
A musical portrait of the Village of Ammasu in the Brong-Ahafu region of Ghana with a whole lot of photos. The Ammasu Akapuma Band is the hottest funeral band in the region. On this album you will find ritual and recreational drumming, singing in sorrow and happiness, children's music, a brass band and more.
More Ammasu mp3 albums will be available later at www.countryandeastern.se:
cex06 The Music of Ammasu - more drumming
cex07 The Music of Ammasu - more singing
cex08 The Music of Ammasu - analytical drumming
Photos will also be put up on the site showing the making of the Atumpan drums as well as portraits and life in the village.
2. ce08 Horn Please - Jonas Knutsson
Swedish folk- and horn music on six saxophones, bass and percussion.
Led by saxophonist/composer/arranger Jonas Knutsson some of the more prominent younger swedish folk musicians are presented in music that moves from the traditional to the newly composed - from the strictly arranged to the improvised.
Swedish folk music with a sound you never heard.
3. Bitter Funeral Beer Band Live - Frankfurt 1982
with Don Cherry and K.Sridhar
From a live concert at the old opera house in Frankfurt.
We also have some video clips from the concert that we will tease you with soon.
Another very good concert, from Nürnberg 1984, was also recorded and we will release it as an mp3 album. There is video from this one as well.
Some other stuff:
Country and Eastern will take part in the world music expo in Sevilla october 25-28. In booth C-14 you will find Beche, Jon and Lars Fredriksson with a few hundred of his crickets.
On the sampler with the september issue of Lira you can enjoy a preview from the Horn Please album: 1:a Lorikspolskan efter Pers Hans Olsson och Björn Ståbi, a traditional swedish polska.
In the october issue of Global Rhythm you will find two Country & Eastern tracks on the sampler: Hori Rang from Sebastian Åberg's Sangeet Project and a preview from the Ammasu album with children singing and playing .
Today we are launching a myspace page. We don't have any friends yet, so come and join us.
We are preparing our own place at Virtual Womex. Check it out.
Last but not least, Jon and Jonas at Electric Boogie has added some nice things to our own site.
So - enjoy!
Beche
P.S. There will be a big thing happening on december 1; you will be informed.