Midweek Bonus Picks - AI Rhumba Fakery, A Fela Cover & Drum Troupes
Midweek Bonus Picks are short bits of interesting stuff that we've come across.
Is it live or is it Memorex...or is this 1973 album of Rhumba music merely an AI-generated goof? Zaruret Records makes no bones about it being the latter. They describe themselves as "a fictional production company. We share with you unique and wonderful music genres from all around the world in high quality through AI."
It's a Felabration. This clip of the group Kokoroko performing Fela's "Colonial Mentality" is from 2016. We featured it as a Song of the Day in our Notes section last week.
From 2013, it's a live piece featuring The Orb and the Kakatsitsi Drummers. The latter are from Ghana. They're performing The Orb's song, "Little Fluufy Clouds."
In the same vein, here's a snippet of footage featuring Echo And The Bunnymen and the Royal Burundi Drummers, live at the WOMAD (World of Music, Arts, and Dance) Festival in July 1982. The footage originates from a new mini documentary about the festival that has just been uploaded to the Real World Records channel and which we've highlighted in our Notes section.
I saw Kokoroko last October when they did their first US tour, and they were superb. They didn't play 'Colonial Mentality,' but the band was still on fire. And, having spent a week in Havana this past March, there is a colorful rumba festival every Sunday that we just happened to find ourselves in (and it most definitely wasn't AI-fakery!)! Thanks, as always, for sharing!