It feels good to be writing about two Australian spoken word long-play releases in the same week. And particularly good to be writing about a release from a storyteller who  tells the heart of this country, and who is taking storytelling to a whole new level.

Woke up to some nice news this morning (in the south) as spoken word maestro Ken Nordine posted (in the evening of the north) this message:

“Guess what? A 94 years old guy called me (who doesn’t know better yet) has had a big fun of putting together a new CD called “bits & pieces”... Your Honor, forgive me. I confess… I am guilty again of having committed Word Jazz. I couldn’t help myself… I had to do it. And the woman I’ve been married to for nearly 70 years told me I’d better do it… Playing the age card, silly”

If you love conscious spoken word, if you love conscious spoken word you can dance to, hell, if you love conscious spoken word you can dance to on a hot evening with the windows open and the volume dial up high, go get this!

New video from Australian poet Omar Musa. “A beautiful moment of clarity I experienced in Amsterdam.” Only two minutes of your time, a meditation from a rapper with a tender heart.

A new track from Ghana’s Mutombo, first release from an album coming in 2013. This time – and foreshadowing many collaborations – Mutombo works with M3NSA.

Take some time to listen to Mutombo Da Poet, from the city of Accra in Ghana West Africa. 

The artists formerly known as the Belfast Poets who kicked down some great poetic collaborations in Melbourne way back when … Scream Blue Murmur are now kicking poetry around inside musical grooves and it’s really cool to hear these artists pushing their form so decisively.