Highlife Music From the "Great White North"

Ghana's highlife great Pat Thomas has been experiencing something of a career renaissance lately. 2015 saw the release of  Pat Thomas & Kwashibu Area Band (Strut STRUT126CD), his first new recording in many years, and in 2016 a 2-CD retrospective of his recordings from 1964 to 1981, Coming Home (Strut STRUT147CD) hit the scene.

Thomas has been around for many years. He was born into a musical family in 1951 (his uncle was the legendary King Onyina), but got his first big break in 1966 when he made the acquaintance of Ebo Taylor, a musician who had studiend in London with Nigeria's Fela Ransome-Kuti. Thus began a musical partnership that would continue on and off for many years, producing a number of fine recordings and revolutionizing the Ghanaian music scene.Together, with Ebo on guitar and Pat as arranger and vocalist, they played in the Broadway Dance Band and the Stargazers, two of the most important orchestras of the era. Thomas's breakthrough as a highlighted artist came in with the release of 1974's False Lover (Gapophone LP 02), recorded with the Sweet Beans, official band of Ghana's Cocoa Marketing Board. A few tracks from this landmark recording are included in an earlier post here on Likembe.

Ghana's political and economic travails in the early '80s impelled many musicians overseas, to London, Germany and Toronto, which gave rise to new and exciting permutations of the highlife sound. Ghanaian musicians in Germany, where Thomas lived for a time, developed a disco/highlife hybrid called "Burger Highlife," which took Ghana and its diaspora by storm. In the late '80s Thomas made the journey to Toronto, joining a vibrant Ghanaian exile music scene which included at times musicians like A.B. Crentsil, Alex Konadu and Joe Mensah. He would remain in Canada for ten years, returning to Ghana in 1997.

Although it was recorded in Lomé, Togo, 1986's Highlife Greats Mbrepa (Jap Records JAP 0102) was released in Canada and is a product of this fertile period. It's a great album, which deserves a proper reissue. Perhaps tracks from it will be included in a future retrospective. For now, though, enjoy!

Pat Thomas - Mbrepa Baba

Pat Thomas - Onsu Nyame Ye

Pat Thomas - Adze Akye Henbia

Pat Thomas - Nyi No Nsen Hwe

Pat Thomas - Asembe Nyi

Pat Thomas - Odo A Me Do Woyi

Download Highlife Greats Mbrepa as a zipped file here.

Jùjú-Àpàlà Roots!

Jùjú music, so popular in the 1970s and '80s, seems to have gone into eclipse in southwestern Nigeria, the land of its birth. Even fújì, which took its place for a time, has mutated into something rather removed from its origins. In their places, in the popular music arena at least, are variations on international hip-hop, heavy on auto-tuned vocals and synth.

Styles may come and go, but King Sunny Adé, the best-known jùjú musician outside of Nigeria, still keeps up a busy worldwide touring schedule. It's hard to believe he just turned 70!

Juju-Apala Live (Fortune Records, 2000) captures the King at the top of his form in front of a live audience in Lagos. Maybe it's just me, but before his fellow Nigerians, Sunny and the African Beats seem a lot more relaxed and uninhibited than they've been in front of US audiences, at least at the concerts I've been to. I suspect this CD is a bootleg recording, as it wasn't released through KSA's usual outlets. Moreover, my copy was an unauthorized rip of the original release - a pirate of a bootleg!

What's really ear-opening in this CD is the extended workout on Track 4, "Juju-Apala," with Musiliu Haruna-Ishola, son of the legendary Haruna Ishola, who perfected modern àpàlà music in the '60s and '70s. Àpàlà, a very traditional form, is one of the foundations of jùjú, fújì and other Yoruba musical styles, and Musiliu is ably carrying on his father's work.

The past and the future meet in Juju-Apala Live!

King Sunny Adé - Talking Drum

King Sunny Adé - Oro Ope Ko Ni Kase

King Sunny Adé - O Ya, O Ya Mi Bo

King Sunny Adé - Juju-Apala

Download Juju-Apala Live as a zipped file, complete with album artwork, here.

Lions of the Jungle

Now, this is an album I've been wanting to post for a long time!

Orchestra Simba Wanyika (Swahili for "Lion of the Jungle") was founded by the brothers Wilson Peter Kinyonga and George Peter Kinyonga of Tanzania, who joined the popular Jamhuri Jazz Band in 1966, where they served four years before leaving in 1971 to form the Arusha Jazz Band. A move to Mombasa, Kenya and a name change and in 1973 Simba Wanyika was born! They were to play a crucial role in the East African music scene for more that twenty years, giving rise, directly and indirectly to a plethora of other groups: Les Wanyika, Wanyika Stars, Orchestra Jobiso and many others. For more information about Simba Wanyika and its offshoots, go to the discography I authored with Doug Paterson and Peter Toll some years ago.

Haleluya (Polydor POLP 552, 1985) marks the high tide of Simba Wanyika's influence and creativity, following a flock of hit songs and right at the moment cassette tape piracy began to cripple the East African music scene. The band would go on to tour in Europe in 1989 and internationally in 1991, when they recorded their only world-wide release, Pepea (Kameleon KMLN 01, 1992). Sadly, George Peter Kinyonga passed away on Christmas Eve 1992 after a brief illness, and Wilson followed him in 1995. Although there was at least one recording made under the "Simba Wanyika" tag without the brothers, the band dissolved shortly after.

Enjoy Haleluya!

Orchestra Simba Wanyika - Haleluya

Orchestra Simba Wanyika - Mama Nyange

Orchestra Simba Wanyika - Mapenzi Yaniua

Orchestra Simba Wanyika - Baba na Mama

Download Haleluya as a zipped file here.

And, as an extra special bonus, here's Simba Wanyika's hit 1983 single, "Shillingi"(Polydor POL 543):

Orchestra Simba Wanyika - Shillingi

Easy Ambiance

Two cassettes from Ivory Coast, both by the outstanding ensemble Système Gazeur, one of the many zouglou groups that emerged in that country in the late 1980s and early '90s. About the band I've been able to find little. I can tell you that zouglou arose on the college campuses partly in response to the crisis afflicting the educational system, and accompanied protests against the situation. In the words of a popular tune at the time by the artist Digbeu:

We're tired of your pretty speeches,
Tired of the unemployment rate,
Tired of all these untouchables,
Tired of your hospitals,
Tired of insecurity,
Tired of all these hold-ups.¹ 

Système Gazeur, in Ambiance Facile (EMI E06991-4, 1991) reject the electronic affectations of more recent zouglou artists like Magic System, Sur-Choc and Esprit de Yop, opting for a more organic, traditional vocal and percussion sound. It's truly execptional!

Système Gazeur - Zomammanzo

Système Gazeur - Anangotche

Système Gazeur - Awoulaba

Système Gazeur - Sebosei / Bolisika / Gazer

Système Gazeur - Awoulaba / Akepile / Manhouho / Kalaleda

Download Ambiance Facile as a zipped file here.

Mamie Ton Alloco (EMI E0106292-4, 1992), on the other hand, is well within the zouglou mainstream, with the full complement of drum machines and synth (and apparently a much-reduced lineup). It's nonetheless a great release, an excellent representative of the genre:

Système Gazeur - Mamie Ton Alloco

Système Gazeur - Nathalie Tu Exageres

Système Gazeur - Hommage a Fulgence Kassy

Système Gazeur - Te Memin Houmyoua

Système Gazeur - Depayou

Download Mamie Ton Alloco as a zipped file here.

-------------
¹ "Music is the Weapon of the Future," by Frank Tenaile, Chicago Review Press, 2002

Hot Dance Music from Côte d'Ivoire

Popoko (EMI EO173292-4, 1992) is a lively cassette from Ivory Coast by the group Les Woanthios. All I know about them, and the cassette, is this recommendation from the website NATARI:

Absolutely outstanding in every way. This virtually all girl group, whose popularity in the Ivory Coast is second only to 'Woya', are magic through and through. Which isn't surprising as their rich and varied modern dance music has retained its ethnic roots with a great beat, some really lovely guitar and absolutely smashing vocals. Ble Clotilde shines out both on lead guitar and vocals with a style of music that is very different from what you would normally expect from this part of Africa. My favourite tracks are 'Kopka' and 'Damozode' and that was a very difficult choice to make as dance wise 'Popoko' will leave your socks smouldering!

To that I have nothing to add. It's great!

Les Woanthios - Popoko

Les Woanthios - Tropic

Les Woanthios - Kopka

Les Woanthios - Damozode

Les Woanthios - Damozode (Remix)

Les Woanthios - Popoko (Remix)

Download Popoko as a zipped file here.

Speaking of Fújì....

A few days ago I posted an album by King Wasiu Ayinde Marshal 1, one of the reigning triumvirate of fújì music in the 1980s. The other two were Sikiru Ayinde Barrister and Kollington Ayinla, whom I present today. Kollington is said to have been born as Kolawole Ayinla Ilori in Ibadan in 1953 and started recording when he was in the Nigerian Army in the '70s. By the early '80s he was giving Barrister, fújì's acknowledged king at the time, a run for his money. Until Barrister's death in 2010, the rivalry between the two was fierce and acrimonious, although it's an open question how much of this was real and how much was a marketing ploy. Today Kollington swears his undying love of the late, great maestro.

Kollington Live in America 1997 (Oracle Records AFRO 013. 1997) is truly an odd artifact: Fújì music stripped down to its bare, funky essence - organ, basic percussion and wailing Islamic vocals, uninterrupted for 73 minutes! It's very compelling. Here it is:

General Kollington Ayinla & his Fuji Eaglets - Kollington Live in America

Download Kollington Ayinla Live in America 1997 as a zipped file here, complete
with album artwork.

I'm Glad to Be Back!

Unbelievably, my last post here on Likembe was on April 23, 2013 - more than four years ago! There's no one explanation for the hiatus - I've had other interests, other things going on. Thankfully, there have been no personal crises, no major medical issues (and thanks to the many who've inquired over the years for your thoughtful concerns). But I'm back now, and I'm going to try to post on a more consistent basis - at least once a week from now on.

The African music blogosphere has changed a lot in the last four years, mostly not for the better. Old friends - With Comb & Razor, Oro, World Service and Electric Jive among others, have gone dormant or post infrequently. Others have disappeared altogether. I see Moos over at Global Groove is still hanging in there, and newer outlets like Mangue Music, My Passion for Ethiopian Music and Ndiakass have stepped into the breach. Needless to say, none of us is making any money doing this - it's all for the love. Maybe together we can bring about a revival of the African music scene online!

For Likembe's relaunching I'm posting King Wasiu Ayinde Marshal 1's Consolidation (The Ultimate Music TUMLP 001, 1994)  which was pretty ubiquitous in Lagos, Nigeria during my first visit there in '94 - blaring, it seemed, from every other market stall and taxi. To me, the opening bars of  "Show Colour" will always epitomize that wild, frustrating and fascinating city. I picked up the cassette back then, but the sound quality left a lot to be desired. What should I find, though, during a visit to Dusty Groove in Chicago a couple of months ago, but an almost-new copy of the LP version. Of course I had to share!

The style of music here is fújì, which had its heyday in the Yoruba areas of Nigeria in the 1980s, when it overtook the better-known (in the West) jùjú music popularized by King Sunny Adé and Ebenezer Obey. Fújì derives from earlier Yoruba Muslim styles like àpàlà and like them eschews most non-percussion instruments (although more recent recordings utilize synthesizers and the like). Think of it this way: jùjú musicians are mainly Christian and the music is often influenced by church hyms, while f'újì is performed mainly by Muslims and hearkens back to the sort of music performed at Yoruba Islamic religious festivals. The vocal styles as much as anything else set the two genres apart. But I don't want to create an unnecessary dichotomy here - fújì and jùjú are popular in both communities!

For those interested in further exploring Yoruba Muslim music, I've written two previous posts, "The Alasa of Ibadanland" and "Yoruba Muslim Women's Music."

King Wasiu Ayinde Marshal 1 (b. Wasiu Ayinde Adewale Omogbolahan Anifowsha, 1957) got his start in the Supreme Fuji Commanders of Sikiru Ayinde Barrister, one of the founders of the modern f'újì style in the '70s, and broke out on his own in the early '80s with the confusing moniker Wasiu Ayinde Barrister and a number of smash hit LPs. By the nineties he'd changed his stage name to King Wasiu Ayinde Marshal 1 (later to KWAM I and later still to K1 De Ultimate) and was at the top of his game. He's continued to innovate within the fújì genre, adding new instruments and drawing upon influences like rock and hip-hop. Check out this medley of recent tunes that mostly can barely be described as fújì at all - the percussion section is almost overpowered by saxophone, guitar and synth!

For those interested in exploring further online, the Nigerian media is rife with tales of KWAM 1's acheivements, his controversies with other musicians, and descriptions of his opulent palace in Ijebu Ode, complete with snakes and crocodiles. But for now, let the music speak for itself!

King Wasiu Ayinde Marshal 1 - Show Colour

King Wasiu Ayinde Marshal 1 - Ayinde No Go Die/Consolidation/Cruise Control/Hip-Hop

King Wasiu Ayinde Marshal 1 - Orin Eyo

King Wasiu Ayinde Marshal 1 - Power to the People/Ayinde Lagbade Fun/Late Prince Tunde Ojurongbe/Tulampa/Bosun Olaku of London/Kunle Fayemi/Ade Bendel/Alhaji Rasaq Okoya/Eleganza

Download Consolidation as a zipped file, complete with cover and label art, here.

A Dutiful Wife, An Inconsiderate Husband

Despite his great popularity back in the day, information about the late, great Igbo bard Show Promoter (Nelson Ejinduaka) is as scarce as hens' teeth. All I've been able to unearth is that he was from the city of Orlu in Imo State, spent most of his career in Ikwerreland (near Port Harcourt) and apparently passed on some time in the late '80s. His album Azu Alala (Onyeoma CY Records CYLP 043, 1987) is such an outstanding example of traditional Igbo music that I had to share it!

The title track, "Azu Alala" ("Fish is Scarce & Highly Costly"), concerns an obedient wife and the husband who is oblivious to his family's hardship. A husband gave his wife ten naira to go to the market to buy food for the family. She asked him, "Will ten naira be enough?" but he told her, "Make do with what you have."

She went to the market and spent N5 on gari (cassava meal) and N5 on yam. The money was gone. There  was no money for fish, no money to buy oha leaf (greens) or meat.

The wife came home and didn't know what to do. Her children were crying in hunger, "Please give us food." She went to the kitchen to prepare the food. The children ate, and so did she.

In the meantime her husband was down at the restaurant, drinking and living the life of an onye oriri (man about town). He told his friends, "Come home with me. I gave my wife money to prepare food for us." When they arrived home he called out to her to bring out the food she had cooked. The wife began to cry and presented the pitiful repast she had prepared.The man opened the pot to see that there was no fish, no vegetables and no meat. He jumped up and slapped his wife. She cried, "Ego i nyerem ezughi. The money you gave me was not enough to make soup. I managed with what I had to feed our children. Please don't hit me."

The chorus, "Ogiri k'am, jiri shi ofe, azu alala," means "I made the soup with stock.There is no fish."

Show Promoter & his Group - Azu Alala

In "Onye Ma Ihe Echi Gabu (Tomorrow is Pregnant. Who Knows What it will Be?)" Show Promoter sings, "My brother, who knows what tomorrow will bring? My sister, who knows what tomorrow will bring? Everybody pray to God so it will be good for us." He then proceeds to call out various local notables:

Show Promoter & his Group - Onye Ma Ihe Echi Gabu

"Onwu Ashio (The Death of Ashio)" recounts the tragic fate of a man who died in a traffic accident: "Ka mpkuru obi ya nodi nma (May his heart rest in peace). Anyi sikwa ama nnachi, mu na gi bu kwu nwa nne - a go. (We came from one place, you and I, brothers or relatives).Onwu gburu Ashio (The death that killed Ashio). Ashio a hupu la m laa (Ashio left me behind)."

Show Promoter & his Group - Onwu Ashio

Many thanks to my wife Priscilla for translating the lyrics of Azu Alala. You may download it as a zipped file here.

Four Famous Singers

Many many thanks to Andreas Wetter for translating the liner notes of 4 ዝናኞች ሲያዳምጡ በልብዎ ላይ ሰላምና ፍቅር ያገኛሉ - When You Listen to the 4 Famous Singers You Will Find Peace and Love in Your Heart, a really nice cassette issued by Ambassel Music Shop in Ethiopia in 1992.

With the exception of Martha Ashagari, who was featured in a previous post, I've been unable to find out much about these artists, although judging by the number of Youtube videos available online, they're very popular indeed!

የሩቅ ሰው ትዝታ - "Nostalgia for a far person":

Martha Ashagari - Yä-Ruq Säw Təzəta

ነካካኝ - "He Touched Me Somehow" (i.e. We were together and then he left me):

Martha Ashagari - Näkakkaññ

ዳርልን (ባሌ) - "Let Your Child Marry Our Child" - (literally: give your child in marriage for someone of our family, presumably a boy because usually the family of the boy takes the initiative and asks for the girl's hand):

Martha Ashagari & Teshome Asged - Darəllənn (Bale) 

እማዋዬው የለኝ - "I Have No One to Share My Thoughts":

Teshome Asged - Emmawayyew Yälläññ

አትለይኝ - "Don't Leave Me":

Teshome Asged - Attəläyyəññ

ሸጋው ተወልዷል - "A Handsome Has Been Born":

Elias Tababbal - Shäggaw Täwäldwall

ከከዳህው በል ተወው - "If He Betrayed You Leave Him Alone":

Bezawork Asfaw - Kä-Käddahəw Bäl Täwəw

ልብህን ታዘብኩት - "I Found Out What Kind of Man You Are":

Bezawork Asfaw - Ləbbəhən Tazzäbkut

ወሬዋን አምጡልኝ - "Bring Me News About Her":

Elias Tababbal - Wärewan Amṭulləññ

የኔ አለም - "My World":

Elias Tababbal - Y'ne Aläm

ትክክለኛ ኦርጅናሉን ብቻ ያዳምጡ (Listen only to a real original recording)

ዜማ (Music, melody): ዘላለም መኩሪያ (Zelealem Mekuriya), ማርታ አሻጋሪ (Martha Ashagari), ኤልያስ ተባበል (Elias Tababbal), ያየህይራድ አላምረው (Yayerad Alamrew)

ግጥም (Lyrics): ይልማ ገ/አብ (Yilma Gebre-Ab), ያየህይራድ አላምረው (Yayerad Alamrew), ዘላለም መኩሪያ (Zelealem Merkuria), ማርታ አሻጋሪ (Martha Ashagari), ኤልያስ ተባበል (Elias Tababbal)

አሳታሚና አከፋፋይ (Produceer and Distributor): አምባሰል ሙዚቃና ቪዲዮ መደብር (Ambassel Music and Video Shop)

Download Four Famous Singers as a zipped file here.

Note: I have included the Ge'ez font provided by Andreas for the benefit of anyone using an Ethiopic-language search engine. However, depending on your browser and its settings, this may be visible to you as gibberish, or may cause your computer/smart phone to run slowly or even crash. If you have the latter problem, please let me know in the comments and I will rectify the situation immediately!

A Double Dose of Dembo

Some years ago Sterns/Earthworks released a CD entitled Roots Rock Guitar Party. I remember thinking at the time: how can you assemble a collection of Zimbabwe's greatest guitarists and not include Leonard Dembo?

I would presume that the only reason Dembo was omitted from this otherwise excellent compilation was a matter of licencing. In the early '90s, he had risen to the pinnacle of the Zimbabwean music scene, only to die prematurely of AIDS in April 1996.

Dembo was born as Kwangwari Gwaindepi in 1959 and gained notice in 1982 as a member of a band called The Outsiders. Disagreements with his band-mates followed, and in 1985 he established Barura Express, which quickly notched a series of hits, notably the 1991 smash "Chitekete," about a young man who wishes to marry a beautiful lady. It is one of the biggest-selling Zimbabwean records of all time and is played at weddings to this day.

The Barura Express cassette The Singles Collection Vol. 2 (Gramma ZC 108) is a singular example of modern African guitar music, notably the opening tune "Zii-Zii," a song about a lover who is far away, whose repetitive motifs evoke a feeling of restrained euphoria:

Leonard Dembo & Barura Express - Zii-Zii

Leonard Dembo & Barura Express - Dudzai

Leonard Dembo & Barura Express - Kodzero

Leonard Dembo & Barura Express - Kukura Hakutane

Leonard Dembo & Barura Express - Gire

Leonard Dembo & Barura Express - Sheri Unodada

Leonard Dembo & Barura Express - Ndipeiwo Pokupotera

The Very Best of Leonard Dembo (Gramma ZC 113), covers some of the same ground, and includes "Chitekete":

Leonard Dembo & Barura Express - Shamwari Yangu Warova

Leonard Dembo & Barura Express - Venenziya

Leonard Dembo & Barura Express - Dudzai

Leonard Dembo & Barura Express - Wada Ne N'anga

Leonard Dembo & Barura Express - Chitekete

Leonard Dembo & Barura Express - Manager

Leonard Dembo & Barura Express - Sharai

Leonard Dembo & Barura Express - Vane Mazita Ngavaremwkedzwe

Leonard Dembo & Barura Express - Kukura Kwedu

Leonard Dembo & Barura Express - Zii-Zii

Leonard Dembo & Barura Express - Dambudzo

Leonard Dembo & Barura Express - Murombo

Leonard Dembo & Barura Express - Kukura Hakutane

Read about the Zimbabwean artwork in this post here.