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  • From Brazil with love →
  • @ Ground Zero
  • El Aleph
  • If You Can't Stand the Heat
  • Harlem to Bahia to the Planet
  • Why a "Matrix"?

From Brazil with love →

@ Ground Zero

 

Have you, dear friend, ever noticed how different places scattered across the face of the globe seem almost to exist in different universes? As if they were permeated throughout with something akin to 19th century luminiferous aether, unique, determined by that place's history? It's like a trick of the mind's light (I suppose), but standing on beach or escarpment in Salvador and looking out across the Baía de Todos os Santos to the great Recôncavo, and mindful of what happened there, one must be led to the inevitable conclusion that one is in a place unique to history, and to the present*.

 

 

"Chegou a hora dessa gente bronzeada mostrar seu valor / The time has come for these bronzed people to show their value..."Música: Assis Valente of Santo Amaro, Bahia. Vídeo: Betão Aguiar.

 

*More enslaved human beings entered the Bay of All Saints and the Recôncavo than any other final port-of-call throughout all of mankind's history.

 

These people and their descendants created some of the most uplifting music ever made, the foundation of Brazil's national art. We wanted their music to be accessible to the world (it's not even accessible here in Brazil) so we created a platform by which everybody's creativity is mutually accessible, including theirs.

 

El Aleph

 

The network was built in an obscure record shop (Kareem Abdul-Jabbar found it) in a shimmering Brazilian port city...

 

...inspired in (the kabbalah-inspired fiction of) Borges' (short story) El Aleph, that in the pillar in Cairo's Mosque of Amr, where the universe in its entirety throughout all time is perceivable as an infinite hum from deep within the stone.

 

It "works" by virtue of the "small-world" phenomenon...the same responsible for the fact that most of us 7 billion or so beings are within 6 or fewer degrees of each other.

 

It was described (to some degree) and can be accessed via this article in British journal The Guardian (which named our radio of matrixed artists as one of ten best in the world):

 

www.theguardian.com/travel/2020/apr/17/10-best-music-radio-station-around-world

 

With David Dye for U.S. National Public Radio: www.npr.org/2013/07/16/202634814/roots-of-samba-exploring-historic-pelourinho-in-salvador-brazil

 

All is more connected than we know.

 

Per the "spirit" above, our logo is a cortador de cana, a cane-cutter. It was designed by Walter Mariano, professor of design at the Federal University of Bahia to reflect the origins of the music the shop specialized in. The Brazilian "aleph" doesn't hum... it dances and sings.

 

If You Can't Stand the Heat

 

Image above is from the base of the cross in front of the church of São Francisco do Paraguaçu in the Bahian Recôncavo

 

Sprawled across broad equatorial latitudes, stoked and steamed and sensual in the widest sense of the word, limned in cadenced song, Brazil is a conundrum wrapped in a smile inside an irony...

 

It is not a European nation. It is not a North American nation. It is not an East Asian nation. It straddles — jungle and desert and dense urban centers — both the equator and the Tropic of Capricorn. Brazil absorbed over ten times the number of enslaved Africans taken to the United States of America, and is a repository of African deities (and their music) now largely forgotten in their lands of origin. It was a refuge (of sorts) for Sephardim fleeing an Inquisition which followed them across the Atlantic (that unofficial symbol of Brazil's national music — the pandeiro — was almost certainly brought to Brazil by these people). Across the parched savannas of the interior of Brazil's culturally fecund nordeste/northeast, where wizard Hermeto Pascoal was born in Lagoa da Canoa (Lagoon of the Canoe) and raised in Olho d'Águia (Eye of the Eagle), much of Brazil's aboriginal population was absorbed into a caboclo/quilombola culture punctuated by the Star of David. Three cultures — from three continents — running for their lives, their confluence forming an unprecedented fourth. Pandeirista on the roof. Nowhere else but here.

 

Oligarchy, plutocracy, dictatorships and massive corruption — elements of these are still strongly entrenched — have defined, delineated, and limited Brazil.

 

But strictured & bound as it has been and is, Brazil has buzz...not the shallow buzz of a fashionable moment...but the deep buzz of a population which in spite of — or perhaps because of — the tough slog through life they've been allotted by humanity's dregs-in-fine-linen, have chosen not to simply pull themselves along but to lift their voices in song and their bodies in dance...to eat well and converse well and much and to wring the joy out of the day-to-day happenings and small pleasures of life which are so often set aside or ignored in the European, North American, and East Asian nations.

 

For this Brazil has a genius perhaps unparalleled in all other countries and societies, a genius which thrives alongside peeling paint and holes in the streets and roads, under bad organization by the powers-that-be, both civil and governmental, under a constant rain of societal indignities...

 

Which is all to say that if you don't know Brazil and you're expecting any semblance of order, progress and light, you will certainly find the light! And the buzz of a people who for generations have responded to privation at many different levels by somehow rising above it all.

 

"Onde tem miséria, tem música!"* - Raymundo Sodré

 

And it's not just music. And it's not just Brazil.

 

Welcome to the kitchen!

 

* "Where there is misery, there is music!" Remarked during a conversation arcing from Bahia to Haiti and Cuba to New Orleans and the south side of Chicago and Harlem to the villages of Ireland and the gypsy camps and shtetls of Eastern Europe...

 

Harlem to Bahia to the Planet



Why a "Matrix"?

 

I was explaining the ideas behind this nascent network to (João) Teoria (trumpet player above) over cervejas at Xique Xique (a bar named for a town in Bahia) in the Salvador neighborhood of Barris...

 

Like this (but in Portuguese): "It's kind of like Facebook if it didn't spy on you, but reversed... more about who you don't know than who you do know. And who doesn't know you but would be glad if they did. It's kind of like old Myspace Music but instead of having "friends" it has a list on your page of people you recommend. Not just musicians but writers, painters, filmmakers, dancers, chefs... anybody in the creative economy. It has a list of people who recommend you, or through whom you are recommended. It deals with arts which aren't recommendable by algorithm but need human intelligence behind recommendations. And the people who are recommended can recommend, creating a network of recommendations wherein by the small world phenomenon most people in the creative economy are within several steps of everybody else in the creative economy, no matter where they are in the world..."

 

And João said (in Portuguese): "A matrix where you can move from one artist to another..."

 

A matrix! That was it! The ORIGINAL meaning of matrix is "source", from "mater", Latin for "mother". So the term would help congeal the concept in the minds of people the network was being introduced to, while giving us a motto: "We're a real mother for ya!" (you know, Johnny "Guitar" Watson?)

 

The original idea was that musicians would recommend musicians, the network thus formed being "small world" (commonly called "six degrees of separation"). In the real world, the number of degrees of separation in such a network can vary, but while a given network might have billions of nodes (people, for example), the average number of steps between any two nodes will usually be minuscule.

 

Thus somebody unaware of the magnificent music of Bahia, Brazil will be able to conceivably move from almost any musician in this matrix to Bahia in just a few steps...

 

By the same logic that might move one from Bahia or anywhere else to any musician anywhere.

 

And there's no reason to limit this system to musicians. To the contrary, while there are algorithms written to recommend music (which, although they are limited, can be useful), there are no algorithms capable of recommending journalism, novels & short stories, painting, dance, film, chefery...

 

...a vast chasm that this network — or as Teoria put it, "matrix" — is capable of filling.

 

  • Yacouba Sissoko
    I RECOMMEND

CURATION

  • from this node by: Matrix

This is the Universe of

  • Name: Yacouba Sissoko
  • City/Place: New York City
  • Country: United States
  • Hometown: Kita, Mali

Life & Work

  • Bio: Yacouba Sissoko of Mali is one of the finest kora players in the world. He has toured and recorded with Lauryn Hill, Baaba Maal, Regina Carter, Harry Belafonte, Paul Simon and others.

    His own band SIYA is anchored in Africa tradition but explores also other musical realms.

Contact Information

  • Email: [email protected]
  • Telephone: 917 554-0582

Media | Markets

  • ▶ Twitter: sissokoyacou
  • ▶ Instagram: yacouba.sissoko
  • ▶ Website: http://yacousiskora.com
  • ▶ YouTube Channel: http://www.youtube.com/channel/UC2OkAHB88C6JWEWz2nW9y4A
  • ▶ YouTube Music: http://music.youtube.com/channel/UCTdK-zHBdXTbQ-c_SKNPs6A
  • ▶ Spotify: http://open.spotify.com/album/1T7Y2XS0DCAgUnZjAq7L5R
  • ▶ Spotify 2: http://open.spotify.com/album/6AB86eDe4QJbL3HkUG2LY4

Clips (more may be added)

  • On the Lawn #AtTheBandshell
    By Yacouba Sissoko
    444 views
Previous
Next

YOU RECOMMEND

Imagine the world's creative economy at your fingertips. Imagine 10 doors side-by-side. Beyond each, 10 more, each opening to a "creative" somewhere around the planet. After passing through 8 such doorways you will have followed 1 pathway out of 100 million possible (2 sets of doorways yield 10 x 10 = 100 pathways). This is a simplified version of the metamathematics that makes it possible to reach everybody in the global creative economy in just a few steps It doesn't mean that everybody will be reached by everybody. It does mean that everybody can  be reached by everybody.


Appear below by recommending Yacouba Sissoko:

  • 0 Griot
  • 0 Kora
  • 0 Mali
  • 0 New York City
  • David Simon Television Writer
  • Bruce Molsky Old-Time Music
  • Gevorg Dabaghyan Armenian Folk Music
  • Carlos Malta Saxophone
  • Jack Talty Ireland
  • Emily Elbert Guitar
  • Jau Singer-Songwriter
  • Maria Rita Rio de Janeiro
  • Nancy Viégas Designer Gráfico, Graphic Designer
  • Greg Kot Journalist
  • Chico César Paraíba
  • Kim André Arnesen Oslo
  • Musa Okwonga Uganda
  • Cássio Nobre Viola Machete
  • Abhijith P. S. Nair Indian Classical Music
  • Antonio García Arranger
  • Questlove Drums
  • Garth Cartwright Poet
  • Marcelinho Oliveira Songwriter
  • Ronell Johnson Singer
  • Garvia Bailey Writer
  • Eric Coleman Documentary Filmmaker
  • João Callado Rio de Janeiro
  • Anouar Brahem Tunis
  • Afrocidade Brazil
  • Betão Aguiar Brazil
  • Tony Trischka Bluegrass
  • Aaron Parks Composer
  • Daniil Trifonov Russia
  • Nicholas Payton Trumpet
  • Ben Azar Guitar
  • Gel Barbosa Cantor-Compositor, Singer-Songwriter
  • Eric Galm Caribbean Studies
  • Daniel Jobim Samba
  • Chano Domínguez Composer
  • Georgia Anne Muldrow Hip-Hop
  • Jimmy Dludlu Highlife
  • Sarah Hanahan Saxophone
  • Perumal Murugan Novelist
  • Jam no MAM Bahia
  • Celso de Almeida Drums
  • Bongo Joe Records Café
  • Papa Mali Guitar
  • Paulinho do Reco Percussion
  • Nilze Carvalho Rio de Janeiro
  • Joshua Redman Saxophone
  • Henrique Araújo Escola de Choro de São Paulo Faculty
  • Linda Sikhakhane Johannesburg
  • Damon Albarn Film Scores
  • Edivaldo Bolagi Produtor Cultural, Cultural Producer
  • Steve Earle Country
  • Kiko Loureiro Rio de Janeiro
  • Guto Wirtti Multi-Instrumentalist
  • Luciano Calazans Brazil
  • Gord Sheard Piano
  • Michael Cuscuna Writer
  • Ben Okri London
  • Júlio Caldas Viola Caipira
  • Paulo Aragão Choro
  • Hélio Delmiro Composer
  • Abhijith P. S. Nair India
  • Carlos Lyra Bossa Nova
  • Deesha Philyaw Columnist
  • Ronald Bruner Jr. Los Angeles
  • Zé Luíz Nascimento Salvador
  • Alex Rawls Music, Culture Website Owner, Editor
  • Zigaboo Modeliste Funk
  • Léo Rodrigues Percussion
  • Hendrik Meurkens Jazz
  • Cory Wong Funk
  • Maia Sharp Guitar
  • Jamz Supernova Record Label Owner
  • Joey Alexander Jazz
  • Ashley Pezzotti Jazz
  • Cimafunk Havana
  • Chau do Pife Forró
  • Bernardo Aguiar Brazil
  • Ofer Mizrahi Multi-Cultural
  • Gord Sheard Multi-Cultural
  • Victor Gama Composer
  • Lina Lapelytė Vilnius
  • Siba Veloso Viola Nordestina
  • Carwyn Ellis Samba
  • Isaias Rabelo Salvador
  • Ana Tijoux Rapper
  • TaRon Lockett Drums
  • Reggie Ugwu Journalist
  • Chico Buarque Samba
  • Daniel Jobim Rio de Janeiro
  • Rosa Passos Samba
  • Caroline Shaw Violin
  • Romero Lubambo Jazz
  • Zebrinha Cineasta Documentarista, Documentary Filmmaker
  • Seu Jorge Brazil
  • Luis Perdomo Piano
  • Clarice Assad Composer
  • Anissa Senoussi VFX Artist
  • Gevorg Dabaghyan Armenia
  • Nigel Hall R&B
  • Munyungo Jackson Los Angeles
  • Tommaso Zillio Guitar
  • Ceumar Coelho Brazil
  • Antonio Sánchez Composer
  • Pasquale Grasso Guitar
  • Rowney Scott Diretor Artístico, Artistic Director
  • Dale Barlow Flute
  • Célestin Monga Harvard University Faculty
  • Diedrich Diederichsen Cultural Critic
  • Mateus Alves Pernambuco
  • João Bosco MPB
  • Donald Harrison Saxophone
  • Arthur L.A. Buckner Drums
  • John Edward Hasse Jazz
  • Alan Brain Writer
  • Philip Ó Ceallaigh Romania
  • Henrique Araújo Mandolin
  • Horace Bray Record Producer
  • Miles Mosley Composer
  • Ben Wendel Saxophone
  • David Byrne New York City
  • Dani Deahl Journalist
  • Eamonn Flynn Keyboards
  • Ron McCurdy Jazz
  • Tshepiso Ledwaba South Africa
  • Eric Bogle Folk & Traditional
  • Gian Correa Samba
  • Nic Hard DJ
  • Casa da Mãe Bahia
  • Kirk Whalum Saxophone
  • Keyon Harrold R&B
  • Arthur Verocai Guitar
  • Kyle Poole Jazz
  • Roots Manuva Dub
  • Patty Kiss Compositora, Songwriter
  • Celino dos Santos Samba de Roda
  • Aubrey Johnson Jazz
  • Steve Earle Singer-Songwriter
  • Swami Jr. Brazilian Jazz
  • Babau Santana Chula
  • Marco Pereira Classical Guitar
  • Jericho Brown Poet
  • Luis Perdomo Jazz
  • Nate Chinen Journalist
  • Joe Newberry Bluegrass
  • Sharay Reed Bass
  • Nicholas Daniel Oboe Master Classes
  • Africania Brazil
  • Daphne A. Brooks Liner Notes
  • Bule Bule Forró
  • Congahead Afro-Cuban Jazz
  • Shamarr Allen Singer-Songwriter
  • Ry Cooder Americana
  • Isaak Bransah Bahia
  • Celso Fonseca MPB
  • Ben Allison Double Bass
  • Marcos Portinari Rio de Janeiro
  • Abel Selaocoe Singer
  • Brooklyn Rider Brooklyn, NY
  • Rudy Royston Composer
  • Toninho Horta Composer
  • Jason Reynolds Writer
  • Diosmar Filho Brasil, Brazil
  • Chris Acquavella Classical Music
  • Catherine Bent Composer
  • Ben Williams Composer
  • John Archibald Pulitzer Prize
  • Kirk Whalum Jazz
  • Dudu Reis Brasil, Brazil
  • Celsinho Silva Pandeiro Instruction
  • Paulo Paulelli MPB
  • Monk Boudreaux Percussion
  • Negrizu Dançarino, Dancer
  • Cashmere Cat Hip-Hop
  • Lalah Hathaway Record Producer
  • Tito Jackson Singer-Songwriter
  • Luciano Salvador Bahia Bahia
  • Sérgio Pererê Actor
  • Robb Royer Country
  • Tommy Orange Writer
  • Nei Lopes Singer-Songwriter
  • Amitava Kumar Literary Critic
  • Jason Reynolds Young People's Literature
  • Nettrice R. Gaskins Ford Global Fellow
  • Alexa Tarantino Saxophone
  • Carla Visi Salvador
  • Jay Blakesberg San Francisco
  • Gord Sheard Keyboards
  • Frank Negrão Jazz
  • Gal Costa Salvador
  • Dwandalyn Reece Ethnomusicologist
  • Safy-Hallan Farah Somalia
  • Brandon Seabrook Guitar
  • Arturo O'Farrill Composer
  • John McWhorter Author
  • Moreno Veloso Singer-Songwriter
  • Jared Jackson Harlem
  • Marcus Gilmore New York City
  • Cleber Augusto Poet
  • Aindrias de Staic Ireland
  • Terri Lyne Carrington Drums
  • Kiko Freitas Brazil
  • Jonathan Scales Multi-Cultural
  • Wynton Marsalis New York City
  • João Teoria Trompete, Trumpet
  • Casey Driessen Bluegrass
  • Nelson Ayres Brazilian Jazz
  • Cedric Watson Louisiana Creole Music
  • Caoimhín Ó Raghallaigh Violin
  • Sarah Hanahan Saxophone
  • King Britt Record Producer
  • Shaun Martin Songwriter
  • Eamonn Flynn Funk
  • Simon Brook Paris
  • Justin Stanton Keyboards
  • Michael League Multi-Instrumentalist
  • Mary Stallings Jazz
  • Seth Swingle Old-Time Music
  • Eliane Elias Brazilian Jazz
  • Dani Deahl DJ
  • Lalah Hathaway Piano
  • Antonio García Film Scores
  • Jill Scott Actor
  • Stacy Dillard Composer
  • Bob Lanzetti Brooklyn, NY
  • John Francis Flynn Singer-Songwriter
  • BIGYUKI Composer
  • Errollyn Wallen Royal Conservatoire of Scotland
  • Horácio Reis Compositor, Composer
  • Nancy Ruth Jazz
  • Lina Lapelytė Lithuania
  • Patricia Janečková Czech Republic
  • Elza Soares Singer
  • Kenny Garrett Composer
  • Amilton Godoy Composer
  • Gerônimo Santana Trombone
  • Caroline Keane County Kerry
  • Nilze Carvalho Cavaquinho
  • Fred P Future Jazz
  • Edmar Colón Berklee College of Music Faculty
  • Lucía Fumero Composer
  • Rick Beato Multi-Instrumentalist
  • Cuong Vu Jazz
  • Arthur L.A. Buckner Gospel
  • Elif Şafak Turkey
  • João Teoria Brasil, Brazil
  • Munir Hossn Multi-Instrumentalist
  • Taj Mahal Multi-Cultural
  • J. Cunha Figurinista, Costume Designer
  • Dan Trueman Composer
  • Aurino de Jesus Brazil
  • Gabriel Policarpo Brazil
  • Oded Lev-Ari Arranger
  • Dan Moretti Saxophone
  • Curly Strings Americana
  • Laércio de Freitas Piano
  • Arismar do Espírito Santo Bass
  • Fábio Zanon Author
  • Nath Rodrigues Belo Horizonte
  • Renato Braz Drums
  • Jahi Sundance DJ
  • Jan Ramsey Louisiana
  • Mateus Asato Brazil
  • Jorge Pita Salvador
  • Lilli Lewis Folk Rock
  • Dhafer Youssef ظافر يوسف Tunis
  • Lula Galvão Choro
  • Dhafer Youssef ظافر يوسف Composer
  • Tal Wilkenfeld Singer-Songwriter
  • Shez Raja London
  • Jaimie Branch Trumpet
  • Tony Allen Africa
  • Kermit Ruffins New Orleans
  • Hopkinson Smith Basel
  • Ed O'Brien Brazil
  • Jared Jackson Writer
  • Geraldo Azevedo Forró
  • Dadá do Trombone Brasil, Brazil
  • Demond Melancon Big Chief
  • Edil Pacheco Salvador
  • Michael Pipoquinha MPB
  • THE ROOM Shibuya Jazz
  • Plínio Fernandes London
  • Yamandu Costa Samba
  • Nancy Viégas Brasil, Brazil
  • Dudu Reis Samba
  • Jaimie Branch Composer
  • Louis Marks Record Label Owner
  • James Andrews Jazz
  • Cut Worms Singer-Songwriter
  • Roberto Mendes Singer-Songwriter
  • Philip Ó Ceallaigh Ireland
  • Marília Sodré Salvador
  • Yoron Israel Composer
  • Armandinho Macêdo Frevo
  • OVANA Homemade Instruments
  • Rodrigo Caçapa Record Producer
  • Herbie Hancock Piano
  • Mateus Aleluia Salvador
  • Ênio Bernardes Brasil, Brazil
  • Júlio Lemos San Francisco
  • Marcelinho Oliveira Record Producer
  • Filhos da Pitangueira Samba
  • Joel Ross Vibraphone
  • Andrew Finn Magill Samba
  • Ibrahim Maalouf Flugelhorn
  • Bukassa Kabengele Congo
  • John Harle Guildhall School of Music & Drama Faculty
  • Nettrice R. Gaskins STEAM Advocate
  • Pretinho da Serrinha Rio de Janeiro
  • Rez Abbasi Microtonal
  • Roberta Sá Singer
  • John Edward Hasse Music Historian
  • Ramita Navai Tehran
  • James Poyser Multi-Instrumentalist
  • Ben Monder New York City
  • Nicolas Krassik Rio de Janeiro
  • Carlos Lyra Singer-Songwriter
  • Chris McQueen Songwriter
  • Paulo Dáfilin São Paulo
  • Brian Jackson Jazz
  • David Byrne Film Scores
  • Mike Moreno Aaron Copeland School of Music Faculty
  • Simon Shaheen Composer
  • Marcel Camargo Arranger, Orchestrator
  • Capinam Poeta, Poet
  • Giorgi Mikadze გიორგი მიქაძე Composer
  • Edsel Gomez Multi-Cultural
  • Shaun Martin Ropeadope
  • James Martins Jornalista, Journalist
  • Adriano Giffoni Rio de Janeiro
  • Swizz Beatz Rapper
  • Brian Blade Composer
  • Neo Muyanga Contemporary Classical Music
  • Mikki Kunttu Lighting Designer
  • Christone 'Kingfish' Ingram Singer
  • Doug Adair TechBeat
  • Marcelo Caldi Rio de Janeiro
  • Michael Garnice Reggae
  • Jupiter Bokondji Congo
  • Hank Roberts Ithaca, New York
  • Maria Bethânia Salvador
  • Arturo Sandoval Timbales
  • Ben Allison Radio Program Scores
  • Angel Deradoorian Multi-Instrumentalist
  • Thana Alexa New York City
  • Harvey G. Cohen Cultural Historian
  • Riley Baugus Old-Time Music
  • Adam Cruz New York City
  • Horace Bray Guitar
  • Noam Pikelny Bluegrass

 'mātriks / "source" / from "mater", Latin for "mother"
We're a real mother for ya!

 

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