NPR Music is making their first venture out to the Western desert in their five years of existence, and making Ace Palm Springs their homebase during Coachella and Desert Gold. They’re doing field recordings in the area and capturing impromptu poolside recordings with artists staying with us during Desert Gold, and shooting some video. Tonight, they host karaoke in the Amigo Room with guests like Third Man Records, Warp Records, Modular, We Are Free and Stereogum, and we hope to see you on the mic as well. See the full Desert Gold schedule and get a room.

LOS ANGELES : WOMBLETON RECORDS

Jali Musa Jawra is from the Kankan region of Guinea in West Africa. The Jali (or “Djeli”) prefix on his name means “musician by birth”; both of his parents were jalis as well, you see. Traditionally speaking, Djelis were more or less wandering minstrels in this part of Africa. He is best known for playing the Kora, a 21-string bridge-harp, though he also mastered the balafon, basically a wooden xylophone from the idiophone family of tuned percussion instruments. He plays guitar and sings, too — but doesn’t everyone. Am I right Hollywood?

Moving to Abidjan in the Ivory Coast to play in Mory Kante’s band in the late 1970s put Jawara in a more progressive state of mind. When he split from Kante in ’83 he developed his own, hypnotic and exciting style of modern African Mandinka music. The album this tune was taken from, “Soubindoor”, was recorded in London in 1988 and was released on Island’s Mango imprint.

The song is about how suspicion and mistrust can ruin otherwise loving relationships. So to put it in your frame of reference, Wombleteens, this song is like West Africa’s answer to “Love Will Tear Us Apart”. I’d like to hear what Jawara could do with “Shadowplay” or “Disorder”, wouldn’t you!

AUDIO OF SOUBINDOOR (1988)

- From the selectors at Wombleton Records in Highland Park — all vinyl all the time for all the people.

The dude known as Desert Gold abides.

Pleased to meet you — these are Chris Haycock’s little, tiny guys. Sadly he couldn’t bring them to Desert Gold, but they’re definitely here in spirit. Catchella! We couldn’t help ourselves on that one… If you missed it today, you can catch The Do-Over next Sunday afternoon at the Commune at Ace Hotel & Swim Club in Palm Springs.

Grandnephew of Alice and John Coltrane Flying Lotus spread a collective, energetic smile over the lot of us last night in the Amigo Room with DJ Day at ¡Reunión!, the official kick-off party for Desert Gold at Ace in Palm Springs. Tonight, we rage happily on.

Photos by Iggy Photography

Alia Penner created this twenty-foot-wide backdrop for Father John Misty’s Coachella show this year. There’s a lot going on here — kind of like a mashup of John Ford movies, Monty Python and the Care Bears — the perfect visual alchemy for this year’s circus in the Bermuda Triangle of post-industrial America that happens to be our Southwest home and the site of Desert Gold. Stop by any time.