African Music

[kh1958]

The above recommended Le Super Biton National de Segou collection features amazing guitar playing by Mama Sissoko. I've purchased his solo effort, Soleil de Minuit, and like it a lot.

Any other recommendations for Mama Sissoko?

[Blue Train]

The above recommended Le Super Biton National de Segou collection features amazing guitar playing by Mama Sissoko. I've purchased his solo effort, Soleil de Minuit, and like it a lot.

Any other recommendations for Mama Sissoko?

His first solo recording Amours Jarabi.He and Bassekou Kouyate are also on Ali Farka Toure's Savane.

[Stefan Wood]

Been way too negligent with updating this thread. Here are a couple of relatively new releases that are worth getting:

Another amazing 2 cd collection from Soundway.

Volume 3 of this equally amazing series from Analog Africa.

Beautiful acoustic music.

[uli]

my favorite afro pop at the moment, congolese rumba. np

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E2YRxBPTqYk

[kh1958]

Been way too negligent with updating this thread. Here are a couple of relatively new releases that are worth getting:

Another amazing 2 cd collection from Soundway.

Volume 3 of this equally amazing series from Analog Africa.

Beautiful acoustic music.

I have those three also; all are fantastic.

[Dave Garrett]

Spotted in the always-interesting Twitter feed of Longreads (http://longreads.com/):

Basotho Dance Party - http://roadsandkingdoms.com/2013/famo/

[kh1958]

Another recent release that is fantastic, Dieuf Dieul de Thies, from Teranga Beat.

http://www.terangabeat.com/index.php?/releases/dieuf-dieul-de-thies---aw-sa-yone-vol1/

[The Magnificent Goldberg]

Another recent release that is fantastic, Dieuf Dieul de Thies, from Teranga Beat.

http://www.terangabeat.com/index.php?/releases/dieuf-dieul-de-thies---aw-sa-yone-vol1/

Damn! Dieuf Dieul is a brilliant band! Must get this, but

MG

[kh1958]

Another recent release that is fantastic, Dieuf Dieul de Thies, from Teranga Beat.

http://www.terangabeat.com/index.php?/releases/dieuf-dieul-de-thies---aw-sa-yone-vol1/

Damn! Dieuf Dieul is a brilliant band! Must get this, but

MG

Wow, what a haul!

[Stefan Wood]

very nice!

[robertoart]

Excellent interview/radio doco on Hugh Masakela. He says some funny things about his friendship with Fela Kuti

http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/intothemusic/of-home-and-heart3a-the-musical-journey-of-hugh-masekela/4782334

[John L]

Having lived in Nigeria now for a year and a half, and going to "classic" live music joints on the weekends, I can report that the four artists whose music is played the most often are Bob Marley, Rex Lawson, Fela Kuti, and Chief Osadebe.

Bob Marley is actually played even more than the other three. It is rare to go to a Bush Bar with live music and not hear at least one set devoted almost entirely to Bob Marley performed by a Rasta Nigerian. After that, Rex Lawson is the King of the South South (Niger Delta), Fela Kuti is the King of the South West (Juju and Fuji are not played much any more), and Chief Osadebe is the King of the South East.

Of the three Kings, Cardinal Rex Lawson is probably heard the most. His music is loved all over Nigeria. I heard a lot of Rex Lawson when I was in Ghana as well.

[The Magnificent Goldberg]

Yes, I like Rex, too. Do you hear much Bobby Benson?

MG

[John L]

Yes, I like Rex, too. Do you hear much Bobby Benson?

MG

Yes, I hear Bobby Benson songs sometimes, especially Taxi Driver. Other highlife musicians who are still loved and played include Sir Warrior, Victor Uwaifa, Victor Olaiya, and Oliver de Coque.

[seeline]

I hear Bobby Benson songs sometimes, especially Taxi Driver. Other highlife musicians who are still loved and played include Sir Warrior, Victor Uwaifa, Victor Olaiya, and Oliver de Coque.

I really like all of those guys (but then, I love both Ghanian and Nigerian highlife).

does fuji get much airplay these days? (Barrister, Kollington, etc.)

Edited July 21, 2013 by seeline

[John L]

I hear Bobby Benson songs sometimes, especially Taxi Driver. Other highlife musicians who are still loved and played include Sir Warrior, Victor Uwaifa, Victor Olaiya, and Oliver de Coque.

I really like all of those guys (but then, I love both Ghanian and Nigerian highlife).

does fuji get much airplay these days? (Barrister, Kollington, etc.)

My impression is that Fuji is now played much more than Juju, but the popularity of both has fallen. It is especially rare to hear it outside of the South West. On the other hand, traditional Yoruba music with multiple drums/ percussion is still played quite a bit. Sometimes, a bass player and /or guitarist will join, producing something close in spirit to Fuji. In fact, maybe it is Fuji. I am not quite sure where the boundaries lie.

As far as airplay (on the radio), I don't listen to radio that often, but it tends to be dominated by modern Nigerian pop that no longer has enough diversity to be categorized into clear regional or stylistic subcategories.

[The Magnificent Goldberg]

That's all very interesting, John. What's the clientele of the bush bars? Old? Young? Mixed?

Where are you, at the moment?

MG

[John L]

Right now, I am based in Abuja, but travel to Lagos quite often, as well as to a number of other Southern States. Unfortunately, the security situation at present restricts my travel to the North.

The Bush Bars in Abuja are usually owned by Igbos ,and managed either by Igbos or people from the Niger Delta, which may be one reason why Igbo and Niger Delta music are more common there than Yoruba music, which I hear a lot more of in Lagos. The clientele at the "classic" music Bush Bars is mostly middle age Nigerians who miss the golden age of Nigerian pop music. Unfortunately, I get the feeling that younger Nigerians are increasingly turning away from the classic music in favor of current pop. Some of it is pretty good, but often sounds like it comes out of the very same studio with the very same drum machines that are putting some of the greatest drummers and drum traditions in the world out of work. Young Nigerians typically go clubbing at venues with DJs and no live music. There is still a great street music scene in Lagos with the greatest break dancing that I have ever seen.

The musicians themselves are often quite young however. The Bush Bar that I usually go to on Friday nights (and play a set of American blues/R&B) has one young Port Harcourt musician in his 20s who can sound almost exactly like Rex Lawson both on vocals and the trumpet.

Edited July 21, 2013 by John L

[The Magnificent Goldberg]

Very nice to hear all that. I guess they like your Blues/R&B sets, too, or you'd get chucked out

All over Africa, one seems to hear the same complaints about the modern music. The only exceptions seem to be in Senegambia, Mali and Guinea Conakry, where their classic styles are still in great demand and most of the top singers/bands are still playing in those styles (though of course you get rap all over). Last year, in Paris, I tried some music from Guinea Bissau - I'd never heard any before - but it was indistinguishable from current Ghanaian pop, or anything else.

See? It's not just Eric Alexander who doesn't sound like anyone in particular

MG

[John L]

Very nice to hear all that. I guess they like your Blues/R&B sets, too, or you'd get chucked out

All over Africa, one seems to hear the same complaints about the modern music. The only exceptions seem to be in Senegambia, Mali and Guinea Conakry, where their classic styles are still in great demand and most of the top singers/bands are still playing in those styles (though of course you get rap all over). Last year, in Paris, I tried some music from Guinea Bissau - I'd never heard any before - but it was indistinguishable from current Ghanaian pop, or anything else.

See? It's not just Eric Alexander who doesn't sound like anyone in particular

MG

That's very interesting, MG. It is interesting that the classic styles are still in demand in those countries. Cameroon and Ivory Coast are also similar to Ghana and Nigeria in that regard. It is too bad what you say about Guineau Bissau. The music from the 1970s coming out of there was dynamite.

[The Magnificent Goldberg]

It is too bad what you say about Guineau Bissau. The music from the 1970s coming out of there was dynamite.

Oh - can you point me in the right direction please?

MG

[John L]

It is too bad what you say about Guineau Bissau. The music from the 1970s coming out of there was dynamite.

Oh - can you point me in the right direction please?

MG

Sorry. It would seem that I was misplacing some of the Guinean music in my head to Guineau Bissau. I do have one record that I like quite quite a bit from Guineau Bissau: Super Mama Djombo. Other than that, I am not very familiar with the music of that country. But if that album is any measure of the quality of music coming out of Guineau Bissau in the 70s, it would seem to be quite high.

[The Magnificent Goldberg]

It is too bad what you say about Guineau Bissau. The music from the 1970s coming out of there was dynamite.

Oh - can you point me in the right direction please?

MG

Sorry. It would seem that I was misplacing some of the Guinean music in my head to Guineau Bissau. I do have one record that I like quite quite a bit from Guineau Bissau: Super Mama Djombo. Other than that, I am not very familiar with the music of that country. But if that album is any measure of the quality of music coming out of Guineau Bissau in the 70s, it would seem to be quite high.

Well, I assume that's an artist, so I'll do a search for that name when I've absorbed my recent purchases.

MG

[kh1958]

This kora recording is rather stunning--Madou Sidiki Diabate, Live in India at the Amarrass Desert Music Festival

http://www.amazon.com/Live-India-Madou-Sidiki-Diabate/dp/B008ZDCIXQ/ref=sr_1_3?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1376659133&sr=1-3&keywords=amarrass

[Van Basten II]