African Music

[jimi089]

Can anyone recommend a Boubacar "Kar Kar" Traore disc? I heard some stuff of his that was absolutely beautiful and was wondering where to start. Thanks for any guidance you might be able to provide.

[seeline]

Stern's used to have some nice releases. There's also a soundtrack disc for the documentary on him, "Je chanterai pour tois." And I think some of his songs are on one of the Golden Afrique sets, but I'm not 100% sure. (Though you really can't go wrong with those!)

this is nice, too -

Edited February 11, 2008 by seeline

[A Lark Ascending]

Stern's used to have some nice releases. There's also a soundtrack disc for the documentary on him, "Je chanterai pour tois." And I think some of his songs are on one of the Golden Afrique sets, but I'm not 100% sure. (Though you really can't go wrong with those!)

this is nice, too -

I have that record - really excellent. In fact I'll give it a play now!

This is about to hit the shops in Europe later this month:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Mande-Variations-T...8446&sr=8-1

The blurb says:

The Mandé Variations is the highly anticipated solo album from Africa’s most brilliant instrumentalist and king of the kora, Toumani Diabaté. A moodier, more reflective and mature sound than we have heard from him previously, it features interpretations of classic themes alongside groundbreaking improvised pieces.

Edited February 11, 2008 by Bev Stapleton

[The Magnificent Goldberg]

Stern's used to have some nice releases. There's also a soundtrack disc for the documentary on him, "Je chanterai pour tois." And I think some of his songs are on one of the Golden Afrique sets, but I'm not 100% sure. (Though you really can't go wrong with those!)

this is nice, too -

I have that record - really excellent. In fact I'll give it a play now!

This is about to hit the shops in Europe later this month:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Mande-Variations-T...8446&sr=8-1

The blurb says:

The Mandé Variations is the highly anticipated solo album from Africa’s most brilliant instrumentalist and king of the kora, Toumani Diabaté. A moodier, more reflective and mature sound than we have heard from him previously, it features interpretations of classic themes alongside groundbreaking improvised pieces.

Hm, that looks like one to get.

Back to Boubacar. There's a great book by the Dutch writer Lieve Joris. She traveled around in Senegal and Mali and eventually met up with Boubacar Traore and stayed with him for what seemed like several months. Apart from the early bits, the book is mostly about Boubacar and his family and their squabbles. Oh, the book's called "Mali blues", published by Lonely Planet.

MG

[jimi089]

Thanks for the info folks. Looks like I'll be paying import prices for Boubacar unfortunately, but I'm looking forward to digging in. Thanks for the book recommendation too, sounds great.

[seeline]

Well hey, the book MG mentioned is news to me - and so is the upcoming disc by Toumani Diabate. I think it takes a bit of conferring to stay in the loop, y'know?

So - thanks to Bev and MG both! [::scrawls more titles on shopping list::]

[The Magnificent Goldberg]

Just did a quick check on "Mali blues" - seems to be out of print, though it was only published in English in 1998. Should have been issued by Delmark

MG

[jimi089]

For those of you that are stateside, what is your preferred online outlet for buying international discs like the ones mentioned in this thread? Stern's obviously has a great selection, but the exchange rate these days with pounds to dollars is not favorable.

[seeline]

Stern's also has some presence in the US, albeit on the small side, as both a label and as a distributor... So I'd suggest checking prices on sites like CD Universe and Amazon.com for starters.

[Kari S]

Anyone interested in afrobeat should check a 3CD compilation called "Nigeria 70"... I think it's oop everywhere, but you might be able to find a copy.

Here's a nice cd, 4 of Tony Allen's LP's packed into one... Includes the amazing title track, used also in the movie "The Last king Of Scotland"

[seeline]

Lately I've been listening to this (issued by Stern's in the US), and would recommend it highly to anyone interested in African guitar (and more) -

[The Magnificent Goldberg]

Lately I've been listening to this (issued by Stern's in the US), and would recommend it highly to anyone interested in African guitar (and more) -

I never really got much out of Congolese music. I was never really keen on the singers and the voicing of the backup vocals and horns. I'd really appreciate your views on the guitarists, who all seem to me to play the same riff over and over in their solos, and to play the same solo on each cut. What am I missing?

Gotta admit it's easy music to dance to, which is usually reckoned the reason it has been so successful throughout the Bantu-speaking area of Africa (though personlly, I think it's the voicings).

MG

[seeline]

But the guitar style has been hugely influential throughout the whole continent, including Senegal, Guinea and Mali. It's there in a lot of Orchestra Baobab's recordings, for example...

So maybe it's just a question of taste, MG? I like the ties to Cuban music that I hear in Congolese music (melodies, rhythms, harmonies, the works) and think there's much more going on than "voicings" per se. But that's neither here nor there in terms of why one person likes something and another doesn't.

And maybe whatever it is that you've heard might not do much for me, either!

Edited February 13, 2008 by seeline

[The Magnificent Goldberg]

And maybe whatever it is that you've heard might not do much for me, either!

You could be right. I have about 2 albums of it - had a compilation but couldn't get anything out of it. Never tried any of the big names, however. John Peel used to play tons of this stuff back in the eighties and I think that's what I mainly heard. Perhaps that's a bad sample, too, though.

MG

[seeline]

I'll 'fess up to having heard quite a few Congolese tracks that have turned me off, too - and I'm not sure what it is about those tracks, as I've heard others (by the same artists!) that I really like.

Might just be a case of needing to give something another chance? There are things in music that I love now but which made absolutely no sense to me 10 years ago - or even 3 months ago, in some cases. And back when I was writing reviews I noticed that I'd just get a bit overloaded and good albums and artists started to sound alike - dull, predictable, etc. In some cases, that was true, but in others, it was because I was tired or had listened to too much of X style and needed a break... or maybe I just wasn't in the right mood to listen to whatever and be able to appreciate it.

Even now, I find that some things strike me as brilliant when I'm wide awake, boring when I'm feeling drowsy. (And I'm talking about the same albums/cuts, etc.)

So - for me, at least - there's a ton of subjectivity involved, much of it having nothing to do with music per se.

Edited February 13, 2008 by seeline

[The Magnificent Goldberg]

Found this the weekend before last and it turned up today, by Airmail from Ghana!

Castro Destroyer - Toffee - Frimprince

(And how could you resist a guy called Castro Destroyer?)

It occurred to me, while listening, that there is a core of contemporary Ghanaian music which has incorporated military band music from Britain, Swing and Bebop from America, to create Highlife, and further infusions of R&B, Hard Bop, Soul, Funk and now Hip Hop, have changed this core not one whit!

I'm going to get a lot more of this stuff! Not only Hiplife but earlier Ghanaian music, which is very hip and very high!!!

MG

[seeline]

The thing about brass band music is this - the Europeans might have introduced the instruments, but they were quickly taken up by Africans, South and East Asians, etc. (I'm nuts about Indian brass bands, for example.)

The guy who runs the Boot Sale Sounds blog has posted vinyl rips of brass-band highlife, though that was a long time ago -0 he might re-up if he gets requests, I'm thinking. (Am not sure of his URL offhand, but you should easily be able to find it via Google.)

Now I'm waiting for the next installment of your Ghanian purchases!

[jostber]

Stern's used to have some nice releases. There's also a soundtrack disc for the documentary on him, "Je chanterai pour tois." And I think some of his songs are on one of the Golden Afrique sets, but I'm not 100% sure. (Though you really can't go wrong with those!)

this is nice, too -

I have that record - really excellent. In fact I'll give it a play now!

This is about to hit the shops in Europe later this month:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Mande-Variations-T...8446&sr=8-1

The blurb says:

The Mandé Variations is the highly anticipated solo album from Africa’s most brilliant instrumentalist and king of the kora, Toumani Diabaté. A moodier, more reflective and mature sound than we have heard from him previously, it features interpretations of classic themes alongside groundbreaking improvised pieces.

I've pre-ordered The Mande Variations, thanks for the tip.

Has anyone heard this?

[seeline]

Yes - it's really good! Andy Palacio (leader of the group) died last month... I've got a small tribute to him on my blog. (Click on the link in my signature to get there, then scroll down a bit...)

[jimi089]

I've been meaning to pick up that Andy Palacio.

Anyone heard this? I've heard good things:

[A Lark Ascending]

I've been meaning to pick up that Andy Palacio.

Anyone heard this? I've heard good things:

I'm but a dabbler in African music so can't comment on its place in the grand scheme of things, but I've greatly enjoyed it over the last few months. I think you can buy with confidence.

fRoots - the main UK folk/world music magazine - had it as album of the year as voted by a large panel of people from the music business world.

You can see the results here:

http://www.frootsmag.com/content/critpoll/

[The Magnificent Goldberg]

Thanks for posting the fRoots link Bev. I wasn't really expecting to get much out of it - and indeed, it's all stuff that appears to have been released in the West. But I noticed at #6 on the album of the year list was

Justin Adams & Juldeh Camara - Soul Science (Wayward)

Juldeh is a guy I met when I first visited West Africa in 1993. He's a great riti player and a powerful vocalist. I think me I had better cop this album soon. By the way, who's Justin Adams?

MG

[A Lark Ascending]

Thanks for posting the fRoots link Bev. I wasn't really expecting to get much out of it - and indeed, it's all stuff that appears to have been released in the West. But I noticed at #6 on the album of the year list was

Justin Adams & Juldeh Camara - Soul Science (Wayward)

Juldeh is a guy I met when I first visited West Africa in 1993. He's a great riti player and a powerful vocalist. I think me I had better cop this album soon. By the way, who's Justin Adams?

MG

MG

I'm not sure - though you might want to get a copy of the new issue:

Should be in the shops any day now. I've not read the article yet (I have a subscription so mine appeared a couple of days back) but will do so a bit later today.

fROOTS has people writing for it who are deeply into different musics from all over the world, including various parts of Africa. I find the editor somewhat abrasive and given to some peculiar viewpoints (he loses all sense of perspective when America is mentioned!!!!) but he's done an amazing job at keeping the magazine going, often against the commercial tide, for 30 odd years.

It's coverage of African music is probably a bit too limited for someone with your depth of interest, but that has more to do with its brief to cover more wide ranging 'roots' music, including British folk. In fact it doesn't have a clear genre reference point - just a vague coverage of 'things we like' that are 'rooted in a local tradition'. I have my own scepticism about the use of the latter as a measure of quality but I can't fault the magazine for going where most magazines dare not go.

Edited February 17, 2008 by Bev Stapleton

[seeline]

fRoots is definitely quirky, but the quality of the writing (and features) is far, far higher than is the case with most mags that cover the same - or similar - territory.

The editor is married to a woman from Madagascar (a singer from the group Tarika), so there's actually a ton of good info. about Malagasy music available on the fRoots site, including discographies with lots of rare recordings, etc.

As for what Bev's said about the way things are approached, I have to agree, but a lot of their enthusiasms are contagious, and some highly knowledgeable people have been writing for them over the years. Definitely worth looking into!

I haven't heard the ngoni quartet album as yet, but want to buy a copy. Sometimes - and only sometimes - non-African producers are tuned into recording/producing things that African musicians would *like* to release for the local market, but really can't, due to market demands. I think this album might be one of those. (Some of Toumani Diabate's recordings definitely fall into that category as well.)

Info. on Justin Adams here.

Edited February 17, 2008 by seeline

[jimi089]

Thanks for the info Bev! I appreciate it.

That fRoots magazine looks great.