Sunday, April 15, 2018
Wanyika Memories
Posted by John B. at 11:59 PM 3 comments
Labels: Kenya, Les Wanyika, Swahili, Tanzania
Tuesday, April 10, 2018
Mind-Blowing Sounds from Mali
Posted by John B. at 11:59 PM 4 comments
Labels: Djelimady Tounkara, Mali, Rail Band
Wednesday, April 4, 2018
$850 for a Cassette? Oh, Come On!!!
I have long been astounded at the sort of prices some African music fans are willing to pay for scratchy old vinyl from the Continent - and in this case, not even vinyl, but a no-doubt-inferior cassette version of same! It puts one to mind of the 17th Century tulip mania.
But you don't need $850 to listen to this recording. The blog Snap, Crackle & Pop posted it a few years back and you may have grabbed it then (the link to the file is now broken). And now I'm posting it again. You can have it for free!
Strictly speaking, what I'm making available is not Master Guitarist Vol. 5 but another pressing that came out around 1984. What happened was, when King Sunny Adé caused a sensation internationally around 1982 with his African Beats band, some smaller record companies hoped to cash in on the craze by reissuing material that had been recorded years earlier in Nigeria. This fly-by-night company Imported Nigeria licensed Master Guitarist Vol. 5 from African Songs, which had been Adé's record company in the early '70s, and issued it under the title Vintage King Sunny Adé (Imported Nigeria K001).
What's doubly confusing is that the tracklist on Vintage doesn't even agree with that of Master Guitarist Vol. 5. In fact, the listings on the sleeve and record labels on Vintage don't agree either. But they are indisputably the same recording. In fact, I think Vintage is not even a "pirate" pressing - it was apparently officially licensed and legitimately issued.
If all you have heard of King Sunny Adé is his recordings from the '80s and later, Master Guitarist Vol. 5 may come as something of a revelation. The Green Spots were Adé's first band, founded in 1967 after he left Moses Olaiya's Federal Rhythm Dandies, and their sound is not as dense and "sophisticated" as that of the later African Beats. Sunny Adé's brilliant guitar work, of course, shines through loud and clear.
Here's Master Guitarist Vol. 5. I'm following the tracklisting from that pressing, and not that from the later Vintage King Sunny Adé. Enjoy!
Sunny Adé & his Green Spots Band - Late Dr. Nkrumah / Ka Ma Buni Lole / I. S. Adewale / Ololade Wilkey
Sunny Adé & his Green Spots Band - Sunny Special / Owo Ko Nife / Awon Ti Won Yo / Alhaja Bintu
Download Master Guitarist Vol. 5 as a zipped file here. I've included scans from Vintage King Sunny Adé also. The record sleeve scans of Master Guitarist Vol. 5 are from Snap, Crackle & Pop. Thanks!
Posted by John B. at 6:05 PM 11 comments
Labels: Juju, King Sunny Adé, Nigeria, Yoruba
Thursday, March 29, 2018
Mmmmmm . . . Sweet '80s Highlife Music!
Posted by John B. at 11:59 PM 1 comments
Labels: A.B. Crentsil, Ghana, Highlife
Saturday, March 24, 2018
An Early Cassette by Cheikh Lô
Recorded before Cheikh Lô's ascension to world fame, I've found Dieuf Dieul bears repeated listening. It's moving and infectious. Enjoy!
Cheikh Lô - Bambaa Bakh
Cheikh Lô - Niani Bañna
Cheikh Lô - Guney Senegal
Cheikh Lô - Babylone
Cheikh Lô - Saly
Download Dieuf Dieul as a zipped file here. If you like Cheikh Lô's mellow style, you'd probably enjoy this album by Seydina Insa Wade that I posted nine years ago.
Posted by John B. at 11:59 PM 3 comments
Monday, March 19, 2018
Welcome to Maroon!
Three nights a week 20 Kenyan soldiers take a break from the rigorous routine that defines their military life from sunrise to sunset. On these nights they let another side of their personalities take over as they mingle with civilians through music. Hands trained to hold weapons hold guitars, trumpets, drumsticks and microphones. Feet accustomed to marching in formation and jumping in and out of trenches tap lightly, keeping beat to the music.
Voices conditioned to bark out orders in military drills croon words that have entertained generations. And the faces that seldom crack the faintest of smiles soften and become warm. During the two hours on stage there are no ranks, no obligatory salutes. During this rehearsal, united by their common love of music, they are all equal.
Enjoy Mwakaribishwa na Maroon!
Posted by John B. at 11:59 PM 5 comments
Labels: Kenya, Maroon Commandos, Rumba, Swahili
Wednesday, March 14, 2018
Groovin' with Touré Kunda
Some of my more purist-minded fellow African music fans looked down their noses at Touré Kunda. Their sound, not as hard-edged as the product coming out of Dakar, seemed suspiciously affable. Were Touré Kunda just a marketing gimmick? Were they an African version of The Monkees?
Not so! Touré Kunda's easy-going, less angular sound is deeply rooted in the Casamance, a region that was under Portuguese rule until 1888. And what's wrong with being likable and popular, anyway? Despite some ill-advised tech flourishes on their mid-'80s albums I've always appreciated Touré Kunda.
The 1992 cassette Sili Béto (Irema CB 521) dispensed with the "World Beat" excresences and was a welcome return to form for the group. I've always loved their take on reggae, and the Portuguese-influenced vocals are great as usual. I hope you'll enjoy it also!
Touré Kunda - Hadidia
Touré Kunda - Fatou Yo
Touré Kunda - Casalé
Touré Kunda - Akila
Touré Kunda - Soppé
Touré Kunda - Ké Diaré
Touré Kunda - Fiança
Touré Kunda - Téria
Touré Kunda - Cira
Touré Kunda - On Verra Quoi? Ça!
Touré Kunda - Oromiko
Download Sili Béto as a zipped file here.
Posted by John B. at 11:59 PM 1 comments
Labels: Casamance, Senegal, Touré Kunda
Friday, March 9, 2018
Funky Jùjú Highlife From Ondo State
The label also lists the language as "Yoruba/Ikale." Ikale is generally considered a dialect of Yoruba rather than a separate language, and since Ikale speakers are concentrated in Ondo State, western Nigeria, it's reasonable to surmise that Tayo Jimba is from there also. Reader/listeners are invited to tell us more.
Enjoy Ise Aje!
Tayo Jimba & his Black Shadows - Ori Mi / Oro Owo / Oro Nigeria
Download Ise Aje as a zipped file here.
Posted by John B. at 11:59 PM 10 comments
Sunday, March 4, 2018
First-Generation Zouglou
The musical roots of zouglou lie in the local Ivorian musical styles tohourou and aloucou from western Côte d’Ivoire, which became popular in the urban centres in the 1960s and 70s. The direct musical base of zouglou music grew out of what is known as ambiance facile or woyo: chants to percussive music on improvised instruments such as metal scrapers, glass bottles and of course drums. This music grew out of the songs that accompanied sports competitions in Côte d‘Ivoire‘s schools during the 1980s. Groups of students that called themselves “supporters committees” would accompany sports teams to the games and make up songs to encourage their teams. As school teams and their supporters committees travelled to matches against other schools across the country, they picked up new melodies and rhythms along the way.The musical group Zougloumania, founded by the duo Poignon and Bouabré in 1990, was the biggest of the "First Generation" of zouglou groups. Its first and apparently only release, Zomammanzo (EMI E028991-4, 1991), hit the scene like a bombshell, becoming the greatest hit of the zouglou era, exceeded only by Magic System's "Premier Gaou," released in 1999. Listening to it, it's not hard to understand why - every track on Zomamanzo is a scorcher!
Ambiance facile and woyo music sessions also became a popular past-time in Abidjan’s working class (popular) neighborhoods. In these multi-ethnic neighborhoods, children and teenagers would teach each other songs from their home regions. This mostly unrecorded leisure music is still popular across Côte d’Ivoire. Through the sports matches and neighborhood sessions, ambiance facile drew on rhythms and melodies from many different regions of Côte d’Ivoire. Zouglou music also drew on these rhythms and melodies and thus became the first musical style that was considered to be multi-ethnic and nationally representative of Côte d’Ivoire.
In 1990, zouglou was invented first as a dance among university students residing in the Yopougon student accommodation at the University of Cocody in Abidjan, now known as Felix Houphouet-Boigny University. This dance consisted of throwing one’s arms in the air with angular movements, mimicking an imploration to God to help the university students that were suffering under the budgetary cuts in the education sector (fewer scholarships, inadequate student housing, catering and transport, etc.)...
After this auspicious debut, Poignon and Bouabré went ther seaparate ways, bringing an end to Zougloumania. Bouabré moved to France and Poignon remained in Abidjan, becoming a solo artist as well as performing with Les Doyas, a trio composed of Poignon, Alan Bill and Yodé Côcô. He has lately been afflicted with facial paralysis and is in need of proper medical care. Let's hope he recovers soon!
Enjoy Zomamanzo!
Zougloumania - Zomamanzo
Zougloumania - Elle a Bu Degue
Zougloumania - Djaba
Zougloumania - Zito
Zougloumania - Ah Ma Soeur
Zougloumania - Tchicala
Zougloumania - Kapa
Zougloumania - Zomamanzo (Instrumental)
Posted by John B. at 11:59 PM 1 comments
Labels: Côte d'Ivoire, Zouglou, Zougloumania
Tuesday, February 27, 2018
Coastal Sounds From Kenya
We kadogo nakupenda
Nikuone uwe wangu
Na mimi sina mwingine
Nimpendaye kama wewe
Usingizi siupati, Nikifiki ulivyo
Fanya hima tuonane, tuelewane pamoja
We kadogo..
Waniacha mi naponda, kwa kufikiri wewe
Moyo wangu wateseka, vile nakupenda you
We kadogo..
Kadogo I love you
I want to marry you so you'll be mine
I don't want anyone else
That I love as I love you
I can''t sleep thinking about you
Try we meet so we come to agreement
We Kadogo...
I yearn for you in my thoughts
My soul suffers for loving you
We Kadogo...
Posted by John B. at 11:59 PM 2 comments
Labels: Chakacha, Swahili, The Pressmen Band