Heterocephalus

meditating on a cactus

I think the cactus balances the picture out well, it feels like a counterweight to the meditating person.

I note the various supplies around him?

My imagination turns those into tea ceremony supplies, I think that fits the meditative atmosphere. In reality I have no clue what they are of course.

he could play with those settings however he fancied… and produce masterpieces no matter what

Yes indeed!

Just free-associating here, but I recall the early Christian bible being written in… Aramaic? Could “Amharic” be an offshoot of sorts?

Interesting question! I never thought about it, so I gave it a quick check and it turns out you are right. Both languages not only belong to the Afroasiatic language family but also to it´s branch of the Semitic languages. The branch is divided into sub groups, with Aramaic belonging to the Central Semitic and Amharic belonging to the South Semitic sub groups, which are both part of the Western major sub group, as far as I understand it.

Anyway, I’ll get listening to the Satta Massa Gana und Heart of the Congos albums, tout de suite! <3

Enjoy, those albums are the Crème de la Crème!

You certainly have a good taste in music, Mr. Enzyme. Those two songs are considered the best Roots Reggae songs ever recorded by many connoisseurs of the genre.

Satta Massa Gana is Amharic (an Ethiopian-Semitic language) for "Give thanks and praise". The song, which was partly inspired by Carlton & The Shoes - Happy Land, is a deeply spiritual Rastafarian anthem, that is even used in religious services by certain Rastafarian tribes. It is the title song of the album Satta Massa Gana by The Abyssinians, which I wholeheartedly recommend. The riddim/instrumental of the song spawned a huge number of versions and as common in Reggae, was covered by different vocalists many times. You can check out a bunch of those here.

Satta Massa Gana lyrics

Row Fisherman Row, from the album Heart of the Congos, was recorded and mixed by my favorite producer of all times Lee "Scratch" Perry, bringing together some of the finest musicians and singers of the era, in his Black Ark Studio, at the peak of his artistic career. The way he arranged Cedric Myton’s falsetto and Roy "Ashanti" Johnson’s tenor is what makes this album so unique. Backing vocals by Gregory Isaacs and members of the Meditations and the Heptones -all artists that would usually not sing backing vocals but were celebrated stars of the genre themselves- perfected the outstanding vocal dynamics. The song is about hard working Rasta fishermen, rowing out to sea to catch fish, to feed their children and the people at home.

Row Fisherman Row lyrics

I agree with you about Soca and Calypso, Jamaican Ska also sounds happy. Reggae (although the message is always positive) can sound happy, but also quite sad. Here are two examples.

THE ABYSSINIANS - Satta Massa Gana [1969]

The Congos - Row Fisherman

I know, buddy! I just meant to add my two cents.

It might be because it´s about music and not BD but I also think that some people here have serious issues with NSFW content. Anyway, there is always the neutral option to just not upvote something, so why even downvote a fine post like this? @JohnnyEnzyme@lemm.ee is running this community for all of us to enjoy and he does it with a lot of effort, always posting quality BD content like no one else. In fact without him this community would not even exist. Lurkers who do nothing for the community and at the same time downvote anything that does not cater particularly to their preferences can fuck off!

I would also like to recommend some music that I enjoy while reading:

Mad Skanker - Misanthrope

Mystical Warriah - Nomadub Meets Cogli P

Skunk kut - Le Terrier Du Lapin Blanc

Skunk kut - Mash it up Now

Impressive! The technique seems inspired by traditional Wayang-Kulit theater from Indonesia / Java.

https://youtu.be/FJXxWfWHvBc?si=aIDb_81ILo6ShjUl

XD

I remember this series and especially Jocko. He is so cute!

Interesting, I did not know about Midam. I like how video game inspired Game Over is. The fact that every strip ends with the protagonist dying reminds me of roguelite games.

Wow, I never would have guessed those two came out of a Citroën partnership. oO

I usually hate advertisements. Whatever Mœbius does turns out well though. It´s a sign of his ingenuity imo.

Will catch up on messages soon enough…

Take your time, buddy.