SSwans2011
Hall of Famer
'Niche' feels like a wank term, but I'd been wanting to start a thread like this for ages. Feels like a good way to introduce people to entire, potentially untapped, areas of music that we might never have come across.
Over the past few years, I've been increasingly getting into styles of music from songs or albums I've haphazardly stumbled across. Although there's quality websites out there that can be quite helpful, it can still be a daunting task uncovering the gems, so I'm hoping this thread can be used as a neat entry point into musical scenes and history that people haven't ever tapped into.
I have a few in mind, but for starters, I've gotten quite into the music of the Mandé people. RateYourMusic provides this neat run-down of Mandé music.
This album (which contains a song that JoshWoodenSpoon was robbed of a Song Contest victory after nominating) has grown to be one of my all-time favourites:
And here's a few other choice selections:
Over the past few years, I've been increasingly getting into styles of music from songs or albums I've haphazardly stumbled across. Although there's quality websites out there that can be quite helpful, it can still be a daunting task uncovering the gems, so I'm hoping this thread can be used as a neat entry point into musical scenes and history that people haven't ever tapped into.
I have a few in mind, but for starters, I've gotten quite into the music of the Mandé people. RateYourMusic provides this neat run-down of Mandé music.
Mande music encompasses the diverse musical forms of the Mande peoples, a group of West African ethnic groups who speak any of the Mande languages. Some of the largest Mande ethnic groups are the Mandinka, the Maninka, the Bambara, and the Soninke.
Mande society is traditionally caste-based, with the musician caste known variously among Mande groups as jeli or jali. Their role was to act as historians, storytellers, advisors, and arbitrators, and to preserve Mande history and traditions through their music. The main instruments associated with jeli are the kora, a 21-string harp, the balafon, a wooden xylophone, and the n'goni, a small lute.
This album (which contains a song that JoshWoodenSpoon was robbed of a Song Contest victory after nominating) has grown to be one of my all-time favourites:
And here's a few other choice selections:
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