“Egypt” (Used 4 times)

This post & mix are inspired by a recent trip to Cairo, where a tip from Hicham Chadly -- who curated the Algerian Proto-Rai compilation for Sublime Frequencies -- led me to the Mazzika antique shop in Zamalek. The proprietor Hammouda helped me dig thru dusty stacks of records on every speed at the makeshift listening station pictured above, and I played a bunch of these 45s on the radio this morning, along with selections from this FMA mix.

A couple of these tracks were salvaged by a real crate digger: Jonathan Ward of Excavated Shellac (also an FMA curator). Excavated Shellac specializes in digitizing and restoring 78rpm records from all over the world, and both of these selections were recorded in Egypt, in an era before electricity:

* Sheikh Sayed El-Safti (1875-1939) performs a qasida -- a classical Arabic poem -- whose title means "In the Path of God" (read more)

* "Munira al-Mahdiyya (1884-1965) is among the earliest female recording artists of Egypt. She was a celebrity during her day and appeared in films, much like Umm Kulthum" -Excavated Shellac (read more)

This issue of unknown artists is a deep one. Because the stacks of records I had the opportunity to dig through were just the tip of the iceberg compared to what's out there gathering dust.

Last week, a controversial article by Chief Boima compared what he's termed "the Scramble for Vinyl" to "Europe’s 19th Century Scramble for Africa, a mad-dash for rare African minerals". It's a provocative statement that incited some intense debate in the comments from some of the DJs and collectors (called out by name in the infographic) who've made crate digging in Africa a central part of their life's work. The key difference for me is that minerals can't be digitized. Music can. And now that we have the potential to archive all the world's music, what's stopping us?

Every January, NY Balkan music scene pioneers the Zlatne Uste Balkan Brass Band organize the Golden Festival - a massive two-night grassroots Balkan and East European music and dance festival at the Good Shepherd School, 620 Isham Street in the Inwood section of Upper Manhattan.

The Golden Festival is New York's largest Balkan music event, with multiple stages, Balkan & Middle Eastern refreshments, Balkan arts vendors, as well as beautiful Balkan textiles on display.  From international stars to local musicians, modern Balkan stylists to folk traditionalists, over 40 bands provide hours of ecstatic listening, dancing and partying. (via Zlatne Uste's website)

The Golden Festival celebrates its 25th anniversary this Friday and Saturday, and tickets are available here.

For those who won't be able to attend but want to live vicariously, Rob Weisberg's Transpacific Sound Paradise program will broadcast live on WFMU this Saturday from 6pm until midnight NY time. The TSP broadcast will take place from one of the festival's three stages, the "Kafana" stage (Kafana is Serbo-Croatian for "cafe"; and the broadcast hq will once again be conveniently located right next to the beer line!).

To get an idea of what's in store, here are a few highlights from last year's TSP broadcast.