African Music

[Guest Bill Barton]

Another artist who deserves props is the wonderful Ethiopian singer Aster Aweke, who is superb in concert and has also made some impressive records, including:

Kabu

Aster Aweke

(both of these are widely available)

[The Magnificent Goldberg]

Magic System is a group from the Cote d'Ivoire, one of the leading lights of a new music - Zouglou - being developed there.

I bought Magic System's second album - the first I'd heard of - in 2001. Mainly because it was pressed on me by the friendly proprietor of a record shop in Africa. Cote d'Ivoire was not the main focus of my attention. I thought it was good, of its kind, but I wasn't terribly keen on Zouk music anyway, so it languished a bit on the shelf. That was "Premiere gaou"

This recent CD edition of the album also contains the group's first, "Papito" and a bonus CD of remixes.

I came across their latest album early last year and I got a kind of vibe off it, so I ordered it. That was their fourth "Cessa kie la verite"

Now this one truly blew me away! So I got the "Premiere gaou" CD edition in double-quick time, and also found a copy of "Poisson d'Avril", their third album, now reissued as "Un gaou a Paris".

And listening to all these, plus a couple of other albums from Cote d'Ivoire, I'm beginning to get a feel for Zouglou. Zouglou is derived from Zouk, which is derived from Soukous, which is derived from Congolese Rhumba But unlike all these other kinds of music, with simple, danceable, rhythms that have swept much of Africa, Zouglou rhythms are MUCH more complex and, to me, much more exciting to listen to.

So, here's the NEW Magic System disc, "Ki dit mie"

I've just ordered it from Amazon.fr. Astoundingly, it's coming from Caiman in the US, so all you Americans should be able to get copies cheaply and easily!

I'll let you know what it's like when I get it. There are samples on the Amazon.fr site, but I can't be asked to listen to samples.

MG

[John L]

Thanks, MG. I know Aster Aweke, but I am unfamiliar with Magic System or Zouglou music. I will check them out on your recommendation. Like you, I have grown a bit tired of Zouk over the years, but sometimes a little twist is sufficient to make it sound fresh again.

Edited January 8, 2008 by John L

[The Magnificent Goldberg]

Thanks, MG. I know Aster Aweke, but I am unfamiliar with Magic System or Zouglou music. I will check them out on your recommendation. Like you, I have grown a bit tired of Zouk over the years, but sometimes a little twist is sufficient to make it sound fresh again.

On their early recordings, Magic System simply seem to have the bass line placed differently to Zouk. But on "Cessa kie la verite", there are tracks in 6/8 - and Zouk in 6/8 is REALLY invigorating!

MG

[BruceM]

Some records that are not commercial Afrobeat but retain their sense of "place":

Amadou & Mariam - Sou Ne Tile

Prince Nico Mbarga - Aki Special

King Sunny Ade - Juju Music

Orchestra Baobab - Pirates Choice

Tony Allen - No Accomodation For Lagos

There are many more but the above are some of my favourites.

[jostber]

For the real early stuff, this is a gem:

http://www.yazoorecords.com/7015.htm

This track is pretty undescribable, maybe the Uganda version of pre-avantgarde

4. UGANDA (GANDA),

JAKALIYA OR ZAKARIA KASAS & GROUP,

Ab' omupiira Bebale Okusamba

[The Magnificent Goldberg]

Orchestra Baobab - Pirates Choice

Baobab is a great band. But there are two CDs of "Pirates choice".

The first one to be issued was in 1989 on World Circuit WCB014 (LP)/WCD014 (CD) - this was a reissue of the Diang MCA LP "Ken dou werente" (MCA 307), which itself was a compilation of half of two K7s the band made for Mbaye Gueye when it (the band) was known as Baobab Guygui 82 de Dakar. These two K7s are generally called "Senegambie" and "Ngalam", though they have no titles on the cover. WCD014 also contained alternate takes of "Utru horas" and "Coumba", which have not been issued elsewhere.

In 2001, World Circuit reissued "Pirates choice" as a 2 CD set - WCD063. The tracks on disc 1 were the same as on WCB014 (ie without the alt takes). The tracks on disc 2 were all the other tracks from the K7s "Senegambie" and "Ngalam".

This is a real drag, because you need BOTH "Pirates choice" issues to get the whole of the Mbaye Gueye sessions. And it's even more irritating because there is room on either CD for the alt takes, which amount to about 15 minutes. And to add insult to injury, it would have been better to have sorted the tracks out into their original album issues. In case anyone wants to do that on their hard drive, these are:

[disk 1]

Utru Horas (Senegambie)

Coumba (Ngalam)

Ledi Ndieme M'bodj (Senegambie)

Werente Serigne (Ngalam)

Ray M'Bele (Ngalam)

Soldadi (Senegambie)

[disk 2]

Ngalam (Ngalam)

Toumaranke (Senegambie)

Foire Internationale (Senegambie)

La Rebellion (Senegambie)

Ndiaga Niaw (Ngalam)

Balla Daffe (Ngalam)

MG

[The Magnificent Goldberg]

I thought it might be useful to run down what is available, one way or another, by Orchestre Baboab. In having a look round, I've found a compilation I didn't know about, which has quite a lot of stuff I haven't got - so that's nice, isn't it?

Most material is out of print but a lot can be obtained from Amazon sellers. I'm posting links to Amazon.fr, because the best selection is there, of course. But since the sellers are the main source, you can probably get them from other Amazons.

Made in Dakar - the latest album, issued a few months ago. It's fine; mostly (but not wholly) re-recordings of their classic numbers. The original ones are better but, well, the band's been together now for nearly forty years and they deserve to be cut some slack. And if you can't get the originals, well...

http://www.amazon.fr/Made-Dakar-Orchestra-...3362&sr=1-1

Specialist in all styles. Last but one album (2002). Good. A bit better than above but with guest vocals. There are two sleeve designs as above (it was issued like that, dunno why). They're the same album. But the blue one is a lot more expensive now than the tan one (smiley showing collector shrugging shoulders).

http://www.amazon.fr/Specialist-All-Styles...4039&sr=1-2

A night at Club Baobab. This is the compilation of stuff I haven't got. Judging by the titles (but it's clear that some have been retitled) there is stuff from all over Baobab's discography in here, including a couple of tracks from 1972. Looks pretty interesting though, since the firm can get this stuff, one wonders why they didn't just reissue two whole albums as a twofer.

http://www.amazon.fr/Night-at-Club-Baobab/...4039&sr=1-3

Pirates choice - this is WCD064.

http://www.amazon.fr/Pirates-Choice-Orches...4039&sr=1-4

Classic titles. Hard to make out the track list for this, but it appears to be the same as

African nights. The two CDs are offered by sellers at different prices. This one is a bit cheaper. A lot of these cuts are from the "On verra ca" CD. Others I don't know.

http://www.amazon.fr/African-Nights-Orches...948&sr=1-16

Bamba. Twofer of "Mohamadou Bamba" and "Sibou odia", recorded for Jambaar (and for the latter of which Baobab have never been paid, not even, apparently, for this Sterns reissue). Good stuff.

http://www.amazon.fr/Bamba-Orchestra-Baoba...207&sr=1-13

Next post deals with out of print stuff, much of which you can get.

MG

[The Magnificent Goldberg]

Out of print Orchestre Baobab material (CDs only)

On verra ca. An Amazon.fr seller is offering this at 35 Euro. It's worth it. It's a reissue of two albums made in 1978 for Abou Ledoux, for which, once more, Baobab haven't ever been paid.

http://www.amazon.fr/Verra-%C3%87a-Orchest...500&sr=1-17

Roots & fruit. This is a beautiful (sort of) twofer, which couples a bunch of material from 1973-1977, some of which was previously unissued, with a 1986 album. The idea of the compilation is to focus on Baobab's two singers from the Casamance region. This is getting a bit expensive. This link is to the cheapest one.

http://www.amazon.fr/Roots-Fruit-Orchestre...500&sr=1-19

N'wolof. This is, in my view, the most BEAUTIFUL Baobab album ever!!!! It was recorded in 1970. Most of it was unreleased until Ted Jaspers released it on this Dakar Sound CD in 1998. It's beginning to get expensive. But at 22 Euro, it's a fucking STEAL! (Amazon.fr has copies up to 76Euro - not sure I'd pay that much, but not far off.)

http://www.amazon.fr/NWolof-Orchestre-Baob...500&sr=1-20

Finally

The original Pirates choice on WCD014. You can't get this - not even through Amazon.fr sellers. But it might turn up. Basically, if you get this you're a completist and deserve to pay whatever it costs Mind you, the alternative takes are really alternative and also very good.

MG

[king ubu]

Thanks for that Baobab rundown - all I have by them so far is a few live recordings, all from the past few years, and all at least very likeable. Too bad World Circuit keepnews'd their reissue - such cropped reissues do really suck!

The Classic Titles series, I think, might be the one discussed some months ago in "Songlines"? I'm not quite sure, but that kind of cover design looks familiar. They got decent to good (3-4 stars) ratings, but they only discussed three of them, I think, but Baobab's was among them - will have to look it up.

[paul secor]

Thanks for straightening out out the Baobab recordings, MG. I have a few Baobabs, but was never sure how the recordings I didn't have fit in. At least now I have a sense of what's what.

A wonderful band, at any rate. Everyone should try to hear them.

[The Magnificent Goldberg]

Here's a complete discography of Orchestre Baobab up to September 2006, when Toshi last updated it. So it doesn't have all those recent reissues, or the new one, in yet. Must drop him a line.

http://biochem.chem.nagoya-u.ac.jp/~endo/EABaobab.html

MG

[Guest Bill Barton]

Thanks for all of the info, MG!

[John L]

Yes, thanks MG.

I saw Orchestre Baobob live a couple years ago. It was enjoyable, but pretty standard old school rhumba, not nearly as satisfying as the recordings on "Pirate's Choice."

[The Magnificent Goldberg]

Yes, thanks MG.

I saw Orchestre Baobob live a couple years ago. It was enjoyable, but pretty standard old school rhumba, not nearly as satisfying as the recordings on "Pirate's Choice."

True. But how many bands are there that have been together nearly forty years and still have that same SPARK that made them great? (And how many marriages?)

An individual musician may heep his work fresh by placing himself in different circumstances from time to time - like Hawk. But a band can't do that.

MG

[riverrat]

Probably been said enough times, but thanks for taking the time to provide the detailed info on this great group MG!

I am enjoying this thread very much.

EDIT: Little bit off topic, but that is one magnificent baobab TREE in the photo on the cover of the original "Pirates Choice"!

Edited January 12, 2008 by riverrat

[baptizum]

thanks for the baobab recs, mg. got pirate's choice and bamba a while back and they're both excellent! just orded specialist in all styles

[baptizum]

Konono N° 1 - Congotronics

Congotronics is the sound of an urban junkyard band simultaneously weaving the past and the future into one amazingly coherent structure, and not only that, you can dance to it.

This amazing record is the product of utility, coincidence, and accidental discovery as much as it is a product of academic deliberation, and it manages to sound old and traditional even as it is refreshingly (even radically) new and avant-garde. they took a DIY and utilitarian approach by building their own amplification systems out of junked car parts, magnets, and other flotsam. Once assembled, the system produced a huge hum that Konono No. 1 embraced as part of the sound of the group. At the center of everything were three amped-up thumb pianos tuned to three different registers, and coupled with all manner of pots, pans, whistles, and brake drum snares for percussion and with the vocals blasting through megaphones, all embedded in the huge buzz and hum of the homemade PA system, the group accidentally created a sound that was at once both ancient and traditional and yet eerily akin to experimental 21st century electronica. Congotronics is Konono's second album, and while it was ostensibly recorded in a studio setting, it sounds wonderfully live and immediate, as if the dozen members of the group were standing on a busy street corner like some Congolese version of a second-line Mardi Gras band, only with thumb pianos instead of horns.

[baptizum]

Ba Cissoko - Sabolan

Given his reputation in Europe and his native Guinea, as well as his pedigree, the debut from kora player Ba Cissoko and his group arrives with plenty to live up to. For once, though, all the hype is more than justified. There's plenty of dance music on hand here; all of it from the Manding tradition, but given a healthy, and sometimes daring edge that makes it contemporary without being deliberately modern. Cissoko himself plays acoustic kora, and his skill is quite breathtaking. But things take a tilt into the unknown when the band's other kora player, Sekou Kouyate amplifies his instrument. While you know it's still a kora, the things he does with it turn it on its head — it's little wonder he's been called the Jimi Hendrix of the instrument. The sound becomes totally new, exciting waterfalls of notes that are palpably thrilling. The rhythm section of bass and percussion anchor it all, and keep the groove going quite effortlessly. This is trail-blazing, purely West African music of a kind not heard in far too long, and completely irresistible

the hendrix of the kora

the hendrix of the kora

the hendrix of the kora

the hendrix of the kora

[The Magnificent Goldberg]

If you like "Sabolan", which is getting on for five years old now, you may well like his more recent release "Electric griot land" (Tobolo records), which was previously released (in 2005) on ABC in Australia.

Funny thing about Ba Cissokho; for a guy who's supposed to have a great reputation in Guinea, it's strange that he hasn't made any albums for any of the local record companies - not ever. It's like in the early sixties, if you'd found this bluesman with a great reputation in Chicago but who hasn't ever recorded for Chess, Vee-Jay, Miracle, Cobra, Artistic or Delmark, but only for companies in Paris and London, you'd kind of think, "what gives, here?"

Last May, in Paris, I shared a dinner table at a Guinean gig with a couple of middle class liberal French ladies. And they thought I was really ignorant not having heard of Ba Cissokho.

I have a couple of albums of Sekou Kouyate - they're OK.

MG

[seeline]

I have more than a sneaking suspicion that "the Hendrix of the kora" quote is taken directly from the press release that the record label sent out with review copies, but it's been a few years, and I long ago trashed the paper that came with the disc...

Seriously, Ba Cissoko and band are good, but I think there are more interesting outfits around.

Edited January 24, 2008 by seeline

[jimi089]

A new one in my collection:

Columbiafrica, The Mystic Orchestra - Voodoo Love Inna Champeta Land

A band of Columbian and African musicians exploring the connections between Columbian Champeta music and some of its African roots. Great stuff.

[baptizum]

I have more than a sneaking suspicion that "the Hendrix of the kora" quote is taken directly from the press release that the record label sent out with review copies, but it's been a few years, and I long ago trashed the paper that came with the disc...

Serisouly, Ba Cissoko and band are good, but I think there are more interesting outfits around.

i don't think he can manipulate the kora like hendrix could maipulate the guitar, but it's no understatement to say that his in the top of his class as a kora player. from the record company or not, it's fairly accurate

edit: and "the hendrix of the kora" is just a paraphrase of this:

it's little wonder he's been called the Jimi Hendrix of the instrument.

from a review posted at allmusic.com

Edited January 24, 2008 by baptizum

[seeline]

There are other people who play plugged-in, though - Toumani Diabate is one, though most of his recordings are acoustic-only. I really like his work.

have you heard this?

Should appeal to jazz and African music fans alike, I'm thinking.

And I do like Ba Cissoko - the band is very, very good, and so is he! I think MG - whom I know from another board - and i are coming from a similar place as far as taste is concerned.

Edited January 24, 2008 by seeline

[The Magnificent Goldberg]

There are other people who play plugged-in

Indeed! Mory Kante was probably the first guy to try to bring the use of the kora "up to date" and was very successful indeed in the eighties. I believe he's still active but his innovative years are well past.

Djoeur Cissokho, from Senegal, is another; he is developing a melding of Mandinke and Mbalax traditions there. He's the son of the great kora player Soundioulou Cissokho. You can't get his records in the west.

Djeli Moussa Conde and Djeli Moussa Kouyate are regular session men in the studios used by the Guinean record companies.

Only occasionally amplified, but still bringing the kora into contemporary contexts, there's Djeli Moussa Diawarra; I greatly enjoy his recordings under his own name, as well as those where he's part of the Kora Jazz Trio.

As a general rule, I think it's terribly important for a musician to be seriously commercial within his/her own social context, otherwise the music lacks a framework of social/political/cultural need to inspire its creation, which, in my view, reduces its value outside that context to that of music specifically created for the pop market, eg Britney Spears & co.

MG