Vieux & Cheick Niang/Guguou - Brothers (Purplish) [World Music]

The Slow Music Movement
Jul 8, 2024
2 min read

The cassette tapes for Vieux & Cheick Niang/Guguou - Brothers albums; top shows musicians Vieux & Cheick Niang, bottom shows abstract art. Bright orange cassettes, beige background.

A Few Brief Thoughts

I've finally arrived at the Purplish Records party, a new cassette reviving, world exploring label that launched in February. I'm a fan. Their latest double headed release is from Vieux & Cheick Niang & Guguouu. The Niang's are two brothers from Mali with telepathic duet superpowers & an innate ability to transcribe the notes of traditional African instruments to guitar. Next up is Guguou, an Istanbul collective with a lysergic, playfully serious, improvised electroacoustic fusion sound - just take a listen. There are 4 other LPs so far & I've compiled them all on a mind opening playlist synced on various services, which you can link to in the new TSMM newsletter.

PRESS SHOT

What The Release Notes Say

Vieux & Cheick are brothers musicians, instrumentalists from Mali. They come from a large family of musicians. Their late father was a pioneer of tradi-modern music, and afro jazz. That cultural origin stands out in their music with a combination of traditional notes and modern instruments. With the guitar, this pair can transcribe the notes of N'goni, Kora and other traditional instruments. Creating music together was a way of living for them as they grew up together. Today, they live and play in different countries, different environments, so these reunions, are special / precious moment when they reconnect. Recording this album was a moment to rekindle the spirit of their childhood, pay tribute to their late father and simply enjoy the blood connection

Guguou: Great Place To Be Locked Up

Utilizing low-tech and electro-acoustic tools to process sounds and vocals, they create strategies to distort and manipulate them, while incorporating experimental forms and techniques of popular music with improvisations and lyrics written in everyday language. Inspired by Dada and situationism, their productions blur the boundaries between life and art and approach the art in a playful, interventionist, and performative manner.creditsreleased July 5, 2024