Listen Up - Electro-cat Edition
May 13, 2020 Ace, Jack, Jerr, self
From the frozen North nether regions to the broiling or boiling tropics, 38 - 40 species (depending on who is talking) of wild cats still prowl the globe, even while facing pressures from persecution to habitat loss. There the big cats from the Panthera genus. There are wee little cats like the Black Footed Cat. Arboreal cats and cats who dig in the sand, like the appropriately named Sand Cat. Loner Cats and Social Cats. Jungle Cats and Desert Cats. Old World Cats and New World Cats. And even though there are not that many wild cats in the world (and only six in North America), I sometimes find it hard to keep my kitty cats facts straight. If you have suffered from a similar frustration, I hope you enjoy these few fun facts about wild cats:
Pantherine Cats diverged from Felinae Family as long ago as 10 million years. They can roar, but not purr. Within the Pantherinae family, there are the five big cats of the Panthera genus and two specious of cloud leopard in the Neofelis genus.
The Jaguar is the only Panther found wild in the Americas. It is the largest cat in the New World, but would have been drastically outsized by the American Lion, which roamed until about 11.000 years ago.
Cougars, which are the second largest New World Cat, have the largest range of any mammal in the New World, from the Yukon Territory to the Southern Andes. They also have an impressive range in Native American mythologies: from the Underworld (Ojibwa and Algonquin) to the heavens (Inca)
Cougars hold the Guinness World Record for mammal with most commom names, with 40 reported in English. The most common are Mountain Lion, Catamount, Puma (most cross-linguistically recognized name).
Cougars are also called Panthers when referring to Florida cougar, which is debatably a separate subspecies, but most definitely not a true panther.
Black Panthers are panthers, but they are not a species. They are either Jaguars (New World) or Leopards (Old World) who happen to be black.
Another confusing naming convention: The Leopardus Genus, a group of 8 small cats from South America (including my fave the Ocelot), is not really that closely related to Leopards, with Leopards being in the subfamily Pantherinae and Leopardus belonging to the Felinae subfamily. Yes, they all have spots like a leopard, but they more closely related to housecats than Leopards.
There are between 43 and 71 breeds of domestic cats, depending on the organization making the list. They are all one species.
Not counting the hybrids between wildcats and domestic cats (some of which are kept as pets, and some which threaten wildcat species populations, there is one other group of cats that straddles the border between wild and domestic. These are Cool Cats. They don’t hold day jobs very well, despite often being found in urban environments. They swing between aloofness and sociability. Many sustain themselves by living off the local scene, or in cases where the local scene is lame, making their own scene. Many make the scene specifically by playing music that is original and of their place. Here are a few examples of Cool Cats that thrive in hot, dry environments, keeping themselves cool by creating a whirlwind of sounds, both modern and traditional:
Lagrimas blancas
by Mareaboba
The opener for the evening comes from a Bandcamp feature that highlights the psych scene of Northern Mexico. There is not a whole lot of readily available info on the band, so here is a picture one of my fave cats, the Ocelot. They share range with the band. And, if you have ever wondered what Gram Parsons and Salvador Dali have in common, wonder no more. They both kept Ocelots as pets.
Sahel Sounds Label Sampler
by Various
The Sahel is the region of Africa between the Sahara and the Sudanese Savannah. It is semi arid. The Caracal is common throughout the region and also ranges through Turkey, where its name originates, all the way into Pakistan. A much more rare prowler in the Sahel is the Serval, which is common further south on the continent and is exclusive to Africa . Like the Serval, the artists on this sampler are all found in Africa, not terribly common among their counterparts, and are most active at night.
Some of these tracks are a bit more Traditional sounding, some are a bit more electronic. If one track isn’t your jam, hang out and try another.
If you wanna dive deeper,
This is the feature about Hama Jerr mentions
Here is the Guardian article about the ghost ship laden with disco
Also from The Guardian: an article about music shared via cellphones,
And the partial tracklist of the cellphone music put together by the folks at Sahel Sounds, which printed this record.
And just because I’m not sure if we listened to this together on another night: Some early 80’s synth from Mamman Sani (artist from Track 3)
The Electronic Tapes
by Ahmed Malek & Flako
The Sand Cat was first identified by the Western scientific community in Algeria during the mid 19th century. And although it ranges beyond Africa, most live in Saharan Africa.
They are cute as all get out.
They are stone cold killers.
They can bark like a dog.