Friday night. Cold and rainy. The wettest start to winter we’ve had in 22 years. The cold cuts to the bone. So to help exorcise that demon I share a fantastic bit of upbeat sunshine music from Suriname.
The Dutch, English, Javanese, Indian culture of this small South American country has produced a ton of infectious music unknown to all but a small clique of aficionados. This rather uninspiring titled collection Songs from Suriname: Vol. 4, is proof that you should not judge a book (or CD) by its cover.
The music herein is bubbly, jazzy, brassy, dancy and fun. A mix of calypso (with some of that naughtiness in the lyrics), island improv jazz and steel drumming this is utterly enjoyable stuff. You want to dance and drink sugar cane wine (known as rum, in most countries) all night long. Sung in the mix of English and Creole by artists with cool names like The Twinkel Stars and The Happy Boys, these songs from Suriname are guaranteed to drive all coldness from the bones.
Shake shake shake!
Track Listing:
01 Ai, mi wani si din [Stan Lokhin Band]
02 Anitri beri [Alberto Gemerts]
03 Disi na smoesi [George Scheermaker]
04 Honeymoonin’ Couple [Caribbean Harmonites Steelband]
05 If joe fas me [Twinkel Stars]
06 Joe nom bemoei [The Happy Boys]
07 Kokoroko [The Happy Boys]
08 Lene Miene Mutte [Max Nijman]
09 Meri go na Brazil [George Scheermaker]
10 Mooi miessie [Johnny Miranda]
11 Oema koto [Twinkel Stars]
12 Papa Jack [Somora Paramerera]
13 Pum pum [Trafassi]
14 Sweet skrantjie pokoe [Somora Paramerera]
15 Ting [Max Nijman]
16 Wasmasjien [Traffasi]
Washerman's Dog 