Monday, January 8, 2018
Le Phenomenal Souzy Kasseya
Posted by John B. at 8:18 AM 7 comments
Labels: Congo, Lingala, Soukous, Souzy Kasseya
Monday, January 1, 2018
Happy New Year!
Here's a quick post to celebrate the New Year and fulfill a promise. A while back I posted La Tradition en Mouvement by the Ivorian funk/zouk group Woya and pledged I would also make available their first and biggest hit, Kacou Ananzé (African 425.004, 1986). Well, here it is!
I remember not caring for this LP a whole lot when it first came out. Something about synths and especially drum machines just put me off. After listening to it for the first time in at least twenty years I must amend that judgement. Kacou Ananzé is catchy, danceable and captures perfectly the Zouk sound, then sweeping out of the French Antilles and across Africa and the world. It was a deserved best-seller for Woya.
I wasn't able to find out much about the album online, but I did discover tha "Kacou Ananzé" is an illustrious figure in West African folklore, an egotistical spider who is contually led to misfortune by his own hubris and vanity. As "Anansi the Spider" these stories have made their way to the Caribbean and to the United States as "Bre'r Rabbit."
Enjoy Kacou Ananzé, and Bonne Année!
Woya - Kacou Ananzé
Woya - Chèque Sans Provision
Woya - Belinda
Woya - Marguerita
Woya - Oh! Loubard
Woya - Ambiance Facile
Download Kacou Ananzé as a zipped file here.
Posted by John B. at 12:14 PM 4 comments
Labels: Côte d'Ivoire, Woya
Tuesday, December 26, 2017
E Ku Ọdun, Eku Iyedun!
The Good Women Choir was founded in Ibadan, southwestern Nigeria in 1975 as the musical expression of the Christ Apostolic Church, an offshoot of the Aladura Christian religious movement that arose among the Yoruba people in the early 20th Century. The Choir numbered 200 at its founding and presently has twelve members.
Mrs. Deborah Fasoyin, who has led the group since 1976, attributes its endurance to its strong spiritual base and a refusal to follow musical fads. The group performs only in churches and claim they decline to accept payment, subsisting only on their own contributions.
Today's offering, Ọdun Nlọ Sopin (Ibukun Orisun Iye MOLPS 66, 1979), was the group's biggest hit, and is ubiquitous in southwestern Nigeria this time of year, heralding as it does best wishes and good tidings for the New Year:
Ọdun nlọ sopinThis music makes me happy! I hope you feel the same.
Baba rere
Baba Ma ṣọmi o
Tọmọtọmọ
Ohun ti o pa mi
Lẹkun olọdun titun
Majẹ ko ṣẹlẹ simi
Baba rere
This year is coming to an end
Good God
Oh Lord guide us
And our children
Sorrow and sadness
In the new year
Will not be our portion
Good God
Good Women Choir - Odun Nlo Sopin / Alleluya Lomo Mi Goke / Ara Mi Yo Ya Gaga / Tire Lagbara
Good Women Choir - Jesu Gbo Temi / Ma Je Koro Mi Su O / Jesu Lona Otito
Download Ọdun Nlọ Sopin as a zipped file here.
Posted by John B. at 4:09 AM 4 comments
Labels: Good Women Choir, Gospel, Nigeria, Nigerian Female Vocalists, Yoruba
Tuesday, December 19, 2017
From Benin City to the World
Sir Victor Uwaifo & his Titibitis - Egwu Ọzo
Edo:
Sir Victor Uwaifo & His Titibitis - Eyasodaro
Yoruba:
Sir Victor Uwaifo & his Titibitis - Ifa Jigijigi
Hausa:
Sir Victor Uwaifo & his Titibitis - Yarinya
Ishie Brothers - Mafara, Kusa da Sokoto
If you're interested in exploring further the music of Victor Uwaifo, something I heartily recommend, a great place to start would be the compilation Guitar-Boy Superstar: 1970-76 (Soundway SNDWCD 012, 2008), the liner notes of which were quite helpful in writing this post.
Download Egwu-Ọzo as a zipped file here.
Posted by John B. at 1:05 PM 3 comments
Labels: Edo, Hausa, Highlife, Igbo, Nigeria, Victor Uwaifo, Yoruba
Thursday, December 14, 2017
The Manding Archangel
Kadé Diawara & l'Ensemble Instrumental National - Armeé Guinéene
She made one LP for Editions Syliphone in 1976, L'Archange du Manding (SLP 62), a restrained effort with Moussa Konate and Abraham Kebe. I don't have it, but did find one track from it:
Kadé Diawara - Bélé Bélé
Kadé Diawara - N'Madjènè
Download L'Eternelle Kadé Diawara as a zipped file here.
Posted by John B. at 6:00 AM 3 comments
Labels: Guinea, Kadé Diawara, Mandingo
Tuesday, December 12, 2017
The "New" Guinea Sound
From Independence in 1958 until the death of dictator Sekou Touré in 1984, there was only one record company in Guinea, the legendary Syliphone label. Not only that, all professional musicians in the country performed under the aegis of the Parti Démocratique de Guinée, the only legal political party. They were employed by the state, which provided musical instruments and venues. This could make for some uncomfortable situations, such as when when trumpet player Balla Onivogui fell afoul of some government bureaucrats in 1970 and was deposed as leader of his own group, Balla et ses Balladins, in favor of his sideman Pivi Moriba. "Pivi et ses Balladins" recorded one album before the status quo ante was restored when Sekou Touré himself intervened.
This all sounds like a very stifling state of affairs, but in fact during this period Guinea produced some of the most vital and original music to come out of the African continent. The official cultural policy was Authenticité, which rejected European influences and sought a return to African roots for inspiration (similar policies were in place in Mali, Tanzania and Congo [Zaïre] for a time). It's all documented in an excellent 2-CD compilation on the Sterns label, Authenticité: The Syliphone Years (STCD 3025-26, 2007), ably curated by Dr. Graeme Counsel, which samples the 83 LPs and 77 45s released by Syliphone.
Several years ago Dr. Counsel finished digitizing Syliphone's archives in their entirety, including many, many recordings that were never pressed on vinyl. You can listen to all of them on the British Library's website. At the completion of this massive project Guinea's Ministry of Culture held a celebration, featuring among others the legendary Amazones de Guineé:
This Golden Age of Guinean music came to an end in 1984 when Sekou Touré died and Syliphone was scrapped. The many national and regional musical groups sponsored by the Ministry of Culture were cast to the vagaries of the free market. Some survived and still perform to this day. Many foundered. Taking the place of Syliphone were a number of independent labels, dealing now in cassettes rather than vinyl (I would assume cassettes also have gone by the wayside since, but who knows?).
Guinean music, freed from political constraints, has tended more toward the slick sound that typifies modern African popular music, often utilizing synthesizers but still making use of traditional instruments like the kora and balafon. It is often recorded outside Guinea, for instance in Abidjan's JBZ Studios, as was today's selection, Yaya Bangoura's La Patience (D.D. United 96002, 1996).
Bangoura typifies the "new" breed of Guinean musicians (that is, "new" as of 1996 - I confess to not having heard much recent music from that country, although I'm sure there's plenty). He was born in 1957 and became a teacher in 1982. However, he'd always had an interest in music and was a featured singer on Syli Authentique's 1976 album Dans l'Arène (Syliphone SLP 57). La Patience was his first solo recording effort, followed in short order by Kalanyi, Koule Yèlè and several tours which would take him to Europe, the United States and Canada.
Crippling back problems have forced "El Bangou" to perform in a chair for some time. I read, however, that he recently arrived in the US for specialized medical care. Here's hoping that he will continue to entertain us for many more years!
Yaya Bangoura - Koundara
Yaya Bangoura - Sabou Fanniyi
Yaya Bangoura - Super V
Yaya Bangoura - N'na Barana
Yaya Bangoura - Khakhili
Yaya Bangoura - Bariké
Yaya Bangoura - Denké Touré
Yaya Bangoura - Koundara
Download La Patience as a zipped file here.
Posted by John B. at 9:33 AM 2 comments
Labels: Guinea, Mandingo, Yaya Bangoura
Wednesday, December 6, 2017
Urban Azmariwotch
Betsat Seyoum & Abbebe Fekade - Ende Näh
Posted by John B. at 6:57 PM 6 comments
Labels: Abbebe Fekade, Amharic, Azmari, Betsat Seyoum, Ethiopia