Ned

Napfumo: Redemption songs

FRICANS ARRIVE:
animals are spoken
for; electroacoustic
music is clipped.
Thomas Mapfumo and The
Blacks Unlimited ~- Corruption,
Island Records 1989
Balafon -- Marimaba Ensemble,
Shanachie Records 1990

as

tchael Becker
RECORD REVIEW

Mapiumo, The Lion Of Zim-
babwe, is back in Vancouver for a
show on Friday, starting at 8:30
p.m. at The New York Theatre on
Commercial Drive.

Corruption, his latest recorded
work, is all about independence
fighters coming in from the bush,
the rift between rich and poor,
war, famine, suffering and the ret-
ativity of truth.

Mapfumo is a political animal.
But what motivates us is some-
thing else. Given the language
barrier, rhythm rules on Corrup-
tion, The music stands out by its
blending of mbira (kalimba or
thumb piano) syncopations with
the multi-layered guitar sound so
dominant in most contemporary
African music.

A new Mapfumo release is due
out in May.

Opening for The Lion is a group
from Eugene, Oregon.

Balafon make relentlessly happy
dance music. The marimba, a
hand-made African xylophone,
translates well in ensemble form.
Nine band members and a floating
contingent of guest musicians
pound out pure joy on bass,
baritone, tenor and soprano
marimbas.

The vibe is refreshingly low-tech
and draws on the same traditional
mbira music modernized by Map-
fumo.

The Third-World wing ding at
The New York Theatre starts early

NEW IN TOWN?
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be sure to call

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atu

Wetame Muon,

SINCE 1930

988-4793 or
926-2753

and ends early (midnizhy. Tickets
are available at Ticketmaster,
Highlife, Zulu and Black Swan,
Various Artists — Tame
Yourself, Rhino Records 1991

This may well yet prove to be
the decade of the benefit album.
Activists of all stripes and shades
of political belief have found a
high-profile, nigh-impact vehicle
with which to move their
messages. And they are running
with it.

Last year, ior example, saw the
release of Nobody's Chile - The
Romanian Angel Appeal. Launch-
ed by Beatle wimmin folk Barbara
Bach, Yoko Ono, Linda McCart-
ney and Ofivia Harrison, the

THOMAS MAPFUMO brings a
13-piece band to The New York
Theatre this Friday at 8:30 p.m.
The Lion of Zimbabwe takes
tvaditional mbira (thumb piano)
music to new heights with an
intzicate guitar sound.

release saw a gaggle of pop gurus
gather to give songs to raise
money for Romanian orphans.
Tarne Yourself takes on meat
eaters, the wearers of leather and
fur products, and vivisectionists.
Proceeds from the the sale of the
release benefit PETA (People for
the Ethical Treatment of Animals.

Artists sharing the PELA um-
brella include our oven k.d. tang,
who was roasted tor her
vegetarian ways by the meat in-
dustry last year, Nina Hagen and
Lene Lovich, Pretenders, B-52's,
R.E.M.’s Michael Stipe paired with
Vancouver's Indigo Girls, Belinda
Carlisle, Raw Youth, Exene
Cervenka and the Goosebumps
with Sass Jordan.

Artisticaily, as is the case with
most benefit releases, st is a hit-
and-miss affair. Motivation is im-
peccable. Delivery is spotty. The
higher points hit with lang’s cover
of the Roche sisters’ Damned Oid
Dog; Stipe and Indigas doing 1'll
Give You My Skin; Jane Wiedlin’s
dance-o-matic Fur; Nina and Lene
doing a revamped Don’t Kill The
Animals, a song chock full of
preciousness — “hey, hey, doc-
tor -- reincarnation, would you
like to come back as laboratory
rat?’

Oh yes, there is nitty product
placement with Paul Mitchell
Salon Products getting thanks and
a logo on the finer notes for pro-
viding a grant to the project and
for being the first majur fine of
haircare products not tested on
animals.

Various Artists -- Electro Clips,
empreintes Digitales 1990

Those not familiar with the
esoteric world of electroacoustic
music could use the more ambient
excursions of Brian Eno’s reduc-
tionist side trips as departure
points.

Electro Clips is a smorgasbord of
electronic soundbites contributed
by 25 electroacoustic composers
fram Mexico, the United States
and Canada.

Thankfully, the nature of the
project limits each composer to a
three-minute “electro clip”
within which to develop ideas.
The framework rules out any pen-
chant for self-absorbed doodling
or unneccessary meandering.

Found sounds, snatched from
the world outside and processed
electronic sounds drawn from the
inside world of computers mix and
match to create a patchwork aural
wallpaper for well-furnished in-
habitants of the information age.

Peter and the staff at Seamates Seafood Restaurant would iike
to invite all their customers and friends to their re-opening.
After months of renovations we are ready to re-open our doors!
Come enjoy one of our fine steak or seafood selections done in
“Seamates Tradition”

Located across from tne Ayaion Hotei

GRAND RE-OPENING

Wednesday, April 10, 1991 - North Shore News - 23

ONE TO ONE HYPNOTHERAPY
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of Woman to Woman magazine — Kathy & Dave Marriott &
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