Alphabet Soup Week 17: Artists Filed Under I

Slim pickings from the I Artists had me digging deep into the vault of compilation CDs where I managed to unearth some real gems!

Welcome to the week 17 installment of Alphabet Soup, the playlist series comprising tracks that appeared on CDs in my physical collection prior to ripping everything to mp3 in the early 2000s.

Ever since my Week 9 entry, in which I posted a chart showing the distribution of artists and releases by week, I’d known that compiling a decent playlist of artists beginning with the letter I would present a challenge. I’d originally anticipated having a couple dozen artists from which to craft a decent playlist. But after digging into my library and filtering out some of the releases that had arrived in digital form during my more piratical days, I found myself with less than 10 artists totaling 21 albums. That just wasn’t gonna work.

Thankfully there had always been a Plan-B-break-in-case-of-emergency solution to fall back on - my vast universe of compilation CDs. I’d estimate that by the time I digitized and offloaded my CD collection, 10-20% of the total, perhaps as many as several hundred releases, were compilation albums, from soundtracks to genre compilations to decade compilations. I spent last Saturday afternoon digging through those and have managed to fashion a fairly eclectic playlist which has proven to be aurally satisfying to me over multiple listens.

Hopefully you’ll enjoy some or all of this this week’s selections. If you do, please drop a comment below to let me know what resonated with you.

Happy listening!!

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ALPHABET SOUP WEEK 17: Artists Filed Under I

This week’s selections:

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ARTIST: Index

TRACK: "Como el Aguila" from Flamenco Chill Sessions (2004)

Index appears to be the alias of Argentinian producer Leo Portela, who also performs as Dubrider, Liongold, and Wax Hero. This track appeared on the 2004 compilation Flamenco Chill Sessions.

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ARTIST: Invisible Pair of Hands

TRACK: "Oil Oil Oil" from Disparation (1997)

In 1997 the Bristol-based trip hop record label Cup of Tea Records released two excellent compilation CDs featuring a bevy of artists that I’d immediately come to love including Statik Sound System, Purple Penguin, and Monk & Canatella. If you’re a fan of trip hop and downtempo, I’d urge you to give both of these albums a listen as they’re filled with absolute gems. The second compilation introduced me to Invisible Pair of Hands whose Oil Oil Oil appeared on their only album, 1997’s Disparation.

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ARTIST: IKON

TRACK: "Last Night" from Między Nami | Cafe 4 (2005)

I’ve not been able to discover much about IKON outside of the description on their Bandcamp page: “Comprising of singers, musicians and producers, IKON is about producing lush, imaginative music and recreating sounds in an original way yet tricky to categorise. bossa nova melodies seem to seep effortlessly into epic cinematic productions, which mutate into slick drum and bass rhythms”

This track, Last Night, featuring the divine vocals of Alison David, is the opening track on the fourth in the compilation series from Polish cafe Między Nami. It originally appeared on IKON’s 2003 self-titled debut.

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As you make your way through this week’s playlist, I’d love to hear your thoughts. Do any of these tracks really stand out for you? What do you like? What don’t you like?

Please click the button below to leave a comment.

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ARTIST: Ibeyi

TRACK: "Stranger / Lover" from Ibeyi (2015)

Ibeyi, the Yoruba word for “twins” is the French musical duo of twin sisters Lisa-Kaindé Diaz and Naomi Diaz. The Diaz sisters’ father, Anga, was best known for his work with Irakere, Afro-Cuban All Stars, and Buena Vista Social Club. After spending the first two years of their lives in Cuba, the Diaz twins moved to Paris where they were educated and have spent most of their lives. The pair was signed to XL Records in 2013 and released their self-titled debut in 2015.

Ibeyi, which achieved moderate success, peaking at number 36 in the UK and at 166 on the US Billboard 200 chart, was my fifth ranked album in 2015. My love for the album was perhaps amplified by seeing them perform live at the Royale in Boston, where they provided a breathtaking performance in an intimate venue. Although I was well into streaming by that point, I did stop by the merch table and came home with a physical copy of the album.

While they’ve yet to put together as magical a release as they did with Ibeyi, they have had a couple more enjoyable albums. I’m still somewhat mystified that they haven’t gained more traction or widespread critical acclaim.

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ARTIST: Issa Bagayogo

TRACK: "Saye Mogo Bana" from African Groove (2003)

The first of two tracks in this week’s installment from the Putumayo World Music record label. The label was the brainchild of Dan Storper who had been compiling international music to play in his chain of Putumayo stores that specialized in world handicraft and clothing. The label, which launched in April 1993 with a two-volume series The Best of World Music, would go on to release hundreds of themed compilation albums.

Issa Bagayogo, a Malian singer and musician who played the kamele n’goni (a six-stringed West African instrument typically crafted from wood or calabash stretched with animal hide), released four albums between 1999 and 2008. This track, Saye Mogo Bana, which originally appeared on Bagayogo’s second album 2002’s Timbuktu also featured on the 2003 Putumayo release African Groove.

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ARTIST: Ifang Bondi

TRACK: "Salimata" from The Rough Guide To The Music Of Senegal & Gambia (2000)

Since 1994 the UK-based record label World Music Network has been releasing “world” music under four imprints (Music Rough Guides, Riverboat Records, Introducing, and Think Global). The Music Rough Guides label, by far the most prodigious of the four, has released hundreds of albums that are incredibly diverse in scope (from Wikipedia: “Music Rough Guides have covered destinations as diverse as Afghanistan, Ethiopia, Japan, and Hungary. They have also covered musical styles such as merengue music, klezmer, salsa and Bollywood.”)

The short-lived Gambian band The Super Eagles released one album in 1969 before disbanding in 1970. Three years later they would reunite as Ifang Bondi and go on to release half a dozen more albums including the 1998 album Gis Gis on which Salimata originally appeared.

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ARTIST: Ijahman Levi

TRACK: "Miss Beverly" from The Best Of World Music: Reggae (1994)

The second of two Putumayo World Records releases comes in the form of Ijahman Levi’s Miss Beverly which appeared on one of the earliest Putumayo Compilations, 1994’s The Best of World Music: Reggae. Born Trevor Sutherland in 1946, Ijahman Levi changed his name after his conversion to Rastafari in the early 1970s. He would go on to release dozens of albums between 1978 and 2008 including 1979’s Are We a Warrior on which Miss Beverly originally appeared.

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ARTIST: Ibrahim Ferrer

TRACK: "Silencio" from Buena Vista Club Presents Ibrahim Ferrer (1999)

In 1997 Nick Gold’s World Circuit Records released a trio of albums - A Toda Cuba le Gusta, Introducing...Rubén González, and Buena Vista Social Club - that began opening my eyes to a much wider world of music. What a joy to discover these legendary Cuban musicians that otherwise may not have received the international acclaim they so richly deserved. Reviewing Buena Vista Social Club for the Guardian, Philip French had this to say of Nick Gold’s work in Havana: “The result was as significant and as romantic as John and Alan Lomax discovering Leadbelly and re-discovering Jelly Roll Morton in the Thirties, or the editors of Jazzmen and Rudi Blesh pulling the ageing Bunk Johnson out of the Louisiana ricefields, buying him a trumpet and a new set of teeth and putting him together with other forgotten veterans to launch the New Orleans revival in the early Forties.” That comparison to American musicologist Alan Lomax is high praise indeed given the wealth of material Lomax was able to compile in his long and storied career.

In 1999 World Circuit released a lovely album of songs by Ibrahim Ferrer which fit in beautifully with the earlier three releases. Silencio, recorded with another legendary Cuban singer, Omara Portuondo, remains my favorite of the album given the tender performance depicted in the 1999 Wim Wenders film Buena Vista Social Club. The film documented Ry Cooder’s work with Ferrer and his efforts to bring together the Buena Vista Social Club for live performances in Amsterdam and Carnegie Hall.

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ARTIST: The Ivories

TRACK: "Please Stay" from 100 Hits Northern Soul (2009)

The Northern Soul music and dance movement emerged in Northern England in the late 1960s and 70s. The scene thrived on lesser-known American soul music and the DJs and dancehalls that could present the most obscure and undiscovered gems became magnets for young folks that would dance the night away. At some point I came across the 5-disc compilation 100 Hits Northern Soul which proved to be a decent primer on the music and helped further expanded my musical tastes. The Ivories were a short-lived Chicago trio: Marilyn McThune, Carol Samuel and Angela Sanford; who met in high school and performed locally as the Simplistics. Jerry Butler signed the band, renamed them as The Ivories and had them record Tom Dorsey’s Please Stay, which was released on Despanza Records in 1966.

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ARTIST: The Isley Brothers

TRACK: "That Lady (Pt. 1)" from Have A Nice Decade - The 70's Pop Culture Box (1998)

Wrapping up this week’s playlist with the funkified remake by the Isley Brothers of one of their earlier releases. Originally released as a single in 1964 in a classic R&B style, Who’s That Lady gained little traction until it was reworked almost decade later as That Lady (Part 1). Released as the lead single from the band’s 11th album, 1973’s 3+3, the song peaked at #6 on the Billboard Hot 100. This track made its way into my collection as part of the mammoth seven-disc box set, Have a Nice Decade: The 70s Pop Culture Box released by Rhino Records in 1998. Of course, if you’re gonna invest in a collection like this you have to go for the limited edition, which I did. The box is covered in avocado-green shag carpeting, embroidered with a happy face, and includes a 90-page booklet with historical photos and essays/snippets on notable events, fads, and people.

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Life in the key of I: Intermission

At the risk of being accused of burying the lede, I have some important news to announce - I’m retiring! Last week I handed in my notice at work and this week the news became public both within my company and within my social circle (as announced by the photo below posted to my IG).

I’ll be finishing up work on June 21 and in July will embark on what I’ve started referring to as “my intermission”. This break between the second and third acts of my life involves four and a half months of hiking, followed by a handful of European city breaks, and a brief trip back home to Bermuda, before relocating to the UK to live in early 2025.

On July 2 my wife and I will set off on our biggest hiking challenge to date, taking on the entirety of the UK’s longest National Trail, the 630-mile South West Coast Path. After a few days in London to catch our breath (and get a massage!) we’ll head to Europe for an even bigger adventure - hiking the Swiss and Italian sections of the Via Francigena. We’ll spend much of the Autumn hiking 730 miles through Switzerland, Valle d'Aosta, Piedmont, Lombardy, Liguria, Emilia Romagna, Tuscany and Lazio before finishing up in Rome in late November.

At the end of November, we’ll head back to Europe for city breaks in Stockholm, Copenhagen, Vienna, and Prague to enjoy the Christmas markets and all the other sights, sounds, and cultural (and edible!) treats these gorgeous destinations offer. Then it’s back home to Bermuda for a couple weeks to ring in the holiday season and say farewell to family and friends before relocating to the UK in early January.

Needless to say, I’m excited! Also a little overwhelmed. But we’ve been planning this adventure and the next chapter of our lives for ten plus years. Many of our decisions over the last decade have been directed to getting us here, and it’s rewarding to see that we’re finally on the brink. I feel incredibly blessed.

Act One of my life delivered challenges, no doubt, but also an opportunity to develop resilience and to begin laying a foundation for an amazing life. Act Two was beyond my wildest dreams, bringing my wife, best friend and soulmate into my life, along with deeper and more meaningful relationships with family and friends, and a satisfying and rewarding career.

And now, The Intermission, bringing with it a whole new level of freedom. And Space. To breathe. To walk. To BE. In the world. A human being rather than a human doing. It’s a gift to be able to enter this transitional stage, and something I don’t take for granted. Losing two good friends last year, one at 52 years old and the other at 66, really clarified the importance of following my dreams while I still can.

What will Act Three bring? Well, we’ll have to wait and see. For me, for the next eight months, I’ll be focused on living one day at a time, taking life as it comes, and looking for contentment where I can find it.

Thanks for hanging in here again for another installment of music and musings. Until next time, whether the sea of life is smooth or choppy, I’m hoping you’re able to find some joy and peace along the way…

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Here’s the link to the running playlist which is updated on a weekly basis as each new installment is published:

ALPHABET SOUP RUNNING PLAYLIST

Tracks missing from the Spotify playlist:

• Allegory by Murray Attaway (Week 02)

• Face Me and Smile by The Lover Speaks (Week 12)

• From Your Mouth by God Lives Underwater (Week 13)

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Thank you for reading Joy in the Journey, I appreciate you being here! If there’s someone in your life you think may enjoy this post, feel free to share it.