African Music

[kh1958]

Wow, didn't know that - thanks for the info.!

There are lots of videos of him on Youtube, touring with a European blues guitarist. That's not really my cuppa.

There's an album with some would-be blues player named Joep Pelt-i yougoba. Pelt is terrible and sinks almost every song he plays on, but there are two tracks on the album where Pelt is either not playing or is submerged, and Traore shines--but the recording is not really worth buying except for a minimal price for only six minutes of good music.

[seeline]

I think Lobi toured with him (and recorded with him) because it gave his own music and playing some exposure, not because the guy is any good...

[kh1958]

I'm really impressed with the CDs from Kanaga Systems Krush, a small label based in California dedicated to contemporary music from Mali.

http://systemkrush.com/store/index.php

Only nine CDs in their catalog, but the three I've heard so far are stellar.

This morning, listening to Madou Sidiki Diabate, Traditional Kora Music from Mali. Wow--what a stunning and beautiful recording.

The label also has two recent releases from Lobi Traore, an acoustic CD (two guitars, with percussion on some tracks), and an electric band (Raw Electric Blues from Bamako)--both are fantastic records.

On order now, Zani Diabate.

They're doing a great job - to date, I'm mostly familiar with their ensemble percussion albums (for me to learn from), but I love both Lobi Traore (who died far too young, last year) and Zani Diabate, so I'll be ordering those discs in due course. (Interesting that Lobi's session for them is acoustic, since he mostly played electric on gigs.)

There's some fine material on Lobi in Banning Eyre's book In Griot Time (out of print, but you can get it from Banning directly at http://www.banningeyre.com/pages/igt_index.html ).

The Zani Diabate is another good one (it arrived yesterday)--wonderful dual acoustic guitar interplay. But I was dismayed to read on the internet that, like Lobi Traore, Zani Diabate has recently died.

The best way to get this label appears to be directly from the Kanaga System Krush website ($14 plus $2 shipping).

Edited May 12, 2011 by kh1958

[Chalupa]

Buy this.

http://www.kindred-spirits.nl/release_detail.php?idxItem=58352

I'm listening to the vinyl now and it sounds fantastic. The music will knock your socks off.

[kh1958]

Buy this.

http://www.kindred-spirits.nl/release_detail.php?idxItem=58352

I'm listening to the vinyl now and it sounds fantastic. The music will knock your socks off.

Okay; I ordered the CD from dustygroove.

[Stefan Wood]

Good lord, this is fantastic:

[Chalupa]

Good lord, this is fantastic:

I gotta get that.

Hey check out this video....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=adzgfaKbW6g&feature=player_embedded

[Chalupa]

Buy this.

http://www.kindred-spirits.nl/release_detail.php?idxItem=58352

I'm listening to the vinyl now and it sounds fantastic. The music will knock your socks off.

Okay; I ordered the CD from dustygroove.

Hey if you like that one you might want to check out this release by Sorry Bamba. 2 of the tracks are repeats from the Kanaga de Mopti album.

[kh1958]

Good lord, this is fantastic:

I really like this one, the only drawback is that if you have Soundway's Ghana Soundz anthologies, and Analog Africa's Afro-Beat Airways, you already have 5 of the 16 songs.

[Van Basten II]

For those who have a thing for guys like Tiniwaren , may I suggest that you check out the band Bombino , they made quite a hit a few days ago at our festival Nuits d'Afrique.

Edited July 23, 2011 by Van Basten II

[jeffcrom]

I'm listening to an LP I just picked up today - La Kora de Sénégal by Lamine Konté on the Arion label. The subtitle is "Les rythmes, les percussions & la voix du Lamine Konté" on my copy - but not on the picture I found on the web! Otherwise the picture is identical to my LP. The stuff I could find on the web about Konté suggests that he was one of the first Senegalese musicians to put the kora into more "modern" contexts. But so far (I just finished side one), it all seem fairly traditional - the only "modern" touch I hear is the use of an electric guitar on one cut, and even that is well-integrated into the kora part, like Ali Farka Toure's playing with Toumani Diabate.

Again, poking around the web indicates that there are at least two volumes of La Kora de Sénégal in CD form, but neither of them correspond exactly to this LP. The liner notes are in French, which I'm hopeless with, so they don't shed any light for me. There's a pretty cool stamp on the back of the sleeve, indicating that it was sold at a book/record store in Dakar: La Maison du Livre et du Disque. In any case, this is a beautiful record - I'm glad I found it.

And thanks to The Magnificent Goldberg - without his guidance I wouldn't have enough knowledge to discuss a Senegalese record even to this extent. Come back soon, Allen!

Edited July 25, 2011 by jeffcrom

[jeffcrom]

My air conditioner has died (not a laughing matter here in Georgia in July) and I can't sleep. I'm in the mood for more African music, so I'm playing a Nigerian CD I got in Germany last year:

King Sunny Ade: Ekilo Fomo Ode/Togetherness (Masterdisc)

This is rawer and more stripped-down than the King Sunny Ade albums that were marketed in the U.S. during the 1980's and '90's. Very nice stuff.

[ejp626]

Has anyone bought and/or listened to Vieux Farka Toure's The Secret? This landed relatively recently, and I've heard a couple of tracks on the BBC world music shows. I have one waiting for me at Reckless Records, so I should be able to hear the rest this week. Looking forward to it.

[jeffcrom]

I'm listening to a CD I found today, by Kokanko Sata on the Dutch Honest Jons label. It's really wonderful - traditional Malian music by a woman who plays the kamelen n'goni and sings with a rich alto voice. The CD is from 2005; she's accompanied on most tracks by various combinations of balafon, wooden flute, n'goni, guitar, and percussion. Excellent stuff!

[ejp626]

I did get the Ebo Taylor listed upthread and the Sorry Bamba CD.

Towards the end of summer, I managed to see Ballake Sissoko and Vincent Segal play together in Chicago (took my son also). That was a great experience. They have recorded a CD of their duets called Chamber Music (I think I just dl'ed this one).

Finally, I guess DG was promoting this recently, but I got it as an Amazon dl -- Contreband Mentality by les Frères Smith. Definitely worth checking out. If I understand their back story, they are a bit of an African music collective based in Paris.

[ejp626]

Ok, I want this: Africa at 78 rpm 4 CDs of African music rescued from 78s and put on CD for the first time. Price is a little steep (around $50), but not completely outrageous. Currently listening to a podcast with a few of the cuts to see just how revelatory this actually is -- and whether I can hold off for a while.

Ok, having listened to 4 out of 100 of the tracks, this is really quite important from a musicological perspective, but probably wouldn't be something I would listen to for pleasure often (unlike the massive Africa 50 years of music boxset). So I am definitely going to hold off for a while and see if the price drops.

Edited October 23, 2011 by ejp626

[kh1958]

A couple of recent favorites from Soundway:

Black Goddess--a very enjoyable film soundtrack from the 1970s, not rock or funk oriented, but rather African jazz. Terrific saxophone playing on this one.

"Soundway Records are proud to present the original soundtrack to Ola Balogun's legendary movie ‘Black Goddess’ from 1978. The film was written and directed by Balogun (recognized as one of Nigeria's most renowned directors) but shot and cast in Brazil.

The soundtrack, Soundway’s deepest venture into experimental afro-jazz, was composed and produced by one of Nigeria's most successful and original musicians Remi Kabaka (who has played with Steve Winwood, Paul Simon, Paul McCartney and Ginger Baker amongst others).

The record was originally issued in both Nigeria and Brazil, but recorded in Lagos, using four of the Nigerian music scene's most innovative players: Remi Kabaka himself, alongside Biddy Wright, saxophonist Dele Okonkwo and Mono Mono frontman Joni Haastrup.

The resulting soundtrack created by these prestigious musicians is a truly unique and experimental afro-jazz recording that has been out of print for many years, until now."

Of the three recent MonoMono related releases--Give the Beggar a Chance is an excellent afro-rock recording. This is the one to get of the three reissues. Their second album, The Dawn of Awareness, is also pretty good. I would recommend skipping, Joni Haastrup's Wake Up Your Mind.

[John L]

I spent most of my time in 2011 in Nigeria, and this one has been particularly burning up the local dance floor. It may be too much of a modern studio production a la Hip Hop for those of you who appreciate primarily the work of live bands. But hey, we are already well into the 21st century. This is the current sound of the street in Nigeria and there is some highly inspired dance music here:

Edited December 25, 2011 by John L

[Head Man]

I really miss the compilation that Charlie Gillett issued each year containing his favourite tracks from his BBC World Service show. His death last year was a great loss.

I see that many of the compilations are still available at reasonable prices from Amazon:

Charlie Gillett at Amazon

[kh1958]

I came across this short Lobi Traore promotional film--he's interviewed in what appears to be his home in Mali, and there are brief performance excerpts on electric and acoustic guitar.

[seeline]

I came across this short Lobi Traore promotional film--he's interviewed in what appears to be his home in Mali, and there are brief performance excerpts on electric and acoustic guitar.

It's from the upcoming docu on music in Mali by the Kanaga System Krush label.

[The Magnificent Goldberg]

Chief Stephen Osita Osadebe and His Nigerian Soundmakers--Sound Time.

Prior attempts to appreciate Nigerian music/highlife has failed for me; this fine anthology, recorded from 1970-85, ends that drought. It appears to be out of print though.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00005AREW/ref=s9_simh_gw_p15_d0_i2?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=center-2&pf_rd_r=0MER1Q3PP0RY07ER7DV8&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=470938631&pf_rd_i=507846

This is a fave of mine - kinda old school, I think. (As far as I'm aware, that is...)

Have you tried listening to any Ghanian highlife - E.T. Mensah, for one? The style started in Ghana; their version is a lot mellower than the Nigerian version, I think.

Also: http://highlifeturntable.blogspot.com/

This blogger really knows his stuff!

Thanks for that link, Seeline.

I've been listening to a lot of Nigerian and Ghanaian music this year. Osadebe was the most played African artist in my collection last year. Followed by Chief Commander Ebeneezer Obey, Poly-Rhythmo de Cotonou (from Benin), I K Dairo, Bembeya Jazz, Alhaji Sikiru Ayinde Barrister, Admiral Dele Abiodun and Laba Sosseh (from the Gambia).

I've been wonderfully thrilled recently by the Ghanaian band Jerry Hansen & the Ramblers (aka The Ramblers and Ramblers International). Though on one of their LPs, there's a version of Eddie Floyd's 'Knock on wood' that is so execrable that it's almost, but not quite, charming.

MG

[John L]

Good to see that you are still around, MG!

Every Friday night, I get to hear a band in Abuja that plays great Ibo highlife, including classics by Chief Osadebe. That music is timeless! They say that Ebeneezer Obey is now completely retired from performing.

[Noj]

Check out this guys Blog: http://voodoofunk.blogspot.com/

Made a trip to Ghana and Nigeria last month and put out adds and flyers saying records wanted.

Puts a whole new meaning to record digging.

The compilation of what he came up with is here:

http://cdn4.libsyn.com/voodoofunk/danger.mp3?nvb=20100210221210&nva=20100211222210&t=081e4b9ce5f37241bad3d

Better late than never! That's a cool blog.

Just caught up on this thread. I've got several of the Nigeria 70 and Nigeria Special Soundways comps, and I've explored a few other African artists such as Exuma, Kanda Bongo Man, Bembeya Jazz National (thanks to MG's BFT ages ago), and William Onyeabor (awesome!). Much more to learn about here...thanks all.

[Pete C]

Cheikh Lo will be touring the U.S. in April.

http://www.songkick.com/artists/278871-cheikh-lo