Eclectic Grooves

Man, what a tumultuous time I've had since last Thanksgiving! It started with a sudden medical problem which I thought would be cured with antibiotics that spiraled into the need for multiple procedures to determine if I had a fatal illness. If that weren't enough, I have been rear-ended twice in the past 8 months, with the most recent accident resulting in my car being totaled.  I found my quality of life reduced to a steady diet of working all day and then watching TV until it was time for bed. Throughout these months, my condition hasn't gotten any better and it has resulted in me not being able to consume a lot of the beverages and food that I love. It was difficult to deal with my girlfriend's Lyme disease prior to all of this happening, but now normal chores that I would do around the house or running errands are things that rarely occur due to my illness. It's a slippery slope once you fall into the icy depths of depression, and the only person that can bri...

I'm sure that most of you will notice that some cosmetic changes were applied to the layout of Eclectic Grooves last week. These changes were mostly necessary due to the blog taking almost a minute to load in the past few weeks. I tested the site with the layout changes before finalizing everything, and was happily pleased that it now opens immediately. There are some things that I still need to tweak like getting the podcast player to work properly again, but it's mostly ready for prime time. I would love to hear what you guys think of it, as well as if you have any thoughts on making it even better. Onto the music... Mdou Moctar - Chet Boghassa and Maheyega Assouf Igan From: Afelan [Sahel Sounds, 2013] I first became aware of Mdou Moctar's music when I heard "Tahoultine" from the compilation called Music From Saharan Cellphones , released on Sahel Sounds in 2011.  This track was dominated by drum machines and Moctar's specially treated...