Hikkaduwa dreams…

elephant foot - dreaming (mp3)

after seven weeks in my new found homeland, it pains me to say that i haven’t stumbled across a single 12” record, or in fact, a single legitimate cd store…

the main reason for this is simple. the piracy trade out here is rife. normally this would bother me somewhat (a man with scruples running an mp3 blog, surely not…?), but you see it doesn’t, it doesn’t bother me at all. why? well simply because 100% of these cd’s are either r-kelly/puff daddy/scooter/shakira or some other ‘run-of-the-mill’ drivel, which on a daily, sometimes hourly basis, are polluting my ears - if it’s not on the radio, it’s in the supermarket, the bars, the clubs, the restaurants, the god damn buses…

now i am generally a man with a high tolerance level, but there’s only so much a man can take till breaking point – and if i am being honest, that point is near. so, in an extremely selfish and nonsensical way, my only slight bit of enjoyment from this constant annoyance, is the fact that the people who put out this tripe are in some way or another getting ‘done over’…

so, with my ‘stevo’ esque rant over, imagine my delight when i was away last weekend, and i actually saw a legitimate, non generic cd for sale…

having a ‘get away from it all’ weekend in a beach town called hikkaduwa, i stumbled across a stall selling albums by local bands, the band in question here, ‘elephant foot’. hailing from a sleepy surf town on the south coast (near hikkaduwa), the three brothers and ‘their buddies’ have, apparently, been making music for many a year. their new album ‘dalu – the feelings of percussion’ has - so the sleeve notes tell me - ‘crafted sounds harmoniously so they drive away the cold and bring sunshine into your life’. on my first listen, i could not agree more. combining african rhythms with both western and eastern influences, this album is perfect listening for a lazy day on the beach. the track ‘dreaming’ is my personal favourite from the album, and i think you will agree, it’s got a certain bit of the ‘andreas vollenweider’ about it…

now, don’t get me wrong. this album is not going to win any awards for innovation, or creativity. but considering i am in a country where it’s hard enough trying to find a box of frosties, milk that’s in date, and cheese that isn’t processed slices; finding a cd that beholds tunes that aren’t in the european/us top 40, then this is what you might call ‘an achievement’…

so, to make sure these guys get their dues, why don’t you pop on over to this site and buy their album on line (oh, the hypocrisy)…

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