I had the good fortune to spend a week in Seoul, South Korea, this past February. The weather was hazy and cold almost every day and the pollution hung in the air like a bad Beijing day, but I still thought the city was pretty cool. It was much bigger than I imagined and it [...]

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Who knew that the day would finally come when Charlotte Dada was revealed: http://combandrazor.blogspot.com/2009/05/charlotte-dada-revealed.html You know it's the only track that I never remove from this blog? Many thanks to With Comb & Razor for this precious late night Sunday moment. I feel like we should throw a party. Wait, we will! I don't want [...]

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I spent a week in Hong Kong on the same trip that took me to Seoul. I'm rarely wowed by a city these days but Hong Kong really blew me away. What an amazing place. True, I was set-up in a great hotel on the island with a view of the harbour and, true, the [...]

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Despite what some people think, Parisians are fascinated by the Anglophone world. English-speakers are often surprised to learn that it's the dream of many French youth to leave France for the UK or N. America so that they can escape the constraints of their relatively conservative society. Those without the gift of language skills look [...]

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Now I've never been to Panama but my friend, Rob, has. "There is a lady called Elena Montilla in a little town in the middle of Panama called Ocù. She's one of the last panama hat makers since they are almost all made in Ecuador these days. But though Ocù's hat industry may be dwindling, [...]

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I was in Brussels last weekend for the 3-day Couleur Café music festival. It was my third Couleur Café - it's becoming a bit of a tradition. If you've never been you should definitely check it out next year. I think the venue is changing in a couple years, so next year will be your [...]

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Last night I drank too much beer and danced on a beach to live Canadian-German rock and yéyé 45s at the Glaz'art Plage. What a great place. It was said that it didn't feel or look like Paris, what with these youth in interesting outfits - Parisians generally don't do costumes - cheering on a [...]

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Last week the good people at Rock Paper Scissors introduced me to Chieck Hamala Diabate's upcoming release, Ake Doni Ani. I always approach new-world/old-world West African albums with care, but on this one things come together nicely. The opening track that we'll hear today, Den Woulou Lalou, features Corey Harris' slide guitar blending well with [...]

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What's most interesting to me about Crammed's Congotronics bands, Konomo No. 1 and the Kasai All-Stars, plus their compatriots Staff Benda Bilili, is that they're for real. When you read an intro like "a group of Congolese street musicians fronted by four eldery, disabled men in wheelchairs and backed by formerly abandoned street kids" or [...]

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Yes, there haven't been many posts lately. Let's just say that Benn loxo du taccu is on pause until further notice. It'll likely be back in some form, at some stage, but for now we rest. Thanks for following me this far: five years and nearly 500 posts. Cheers, Matt

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