Videos

This post is mostly intended to draw your attention to this remarkable video posted on YouTube by Ngoniba:


And if, like me, you can't get enough of these videos, please look around for more on Ngoniba's Youtube channel. Here is one to help you on your way.

The principle star of these videos is, of course, Mariam Bagayogo. You may remember the video I posted a few years ago. As I mentioned then, besides the singing and the balafons accompanying her I was particularly fascinated by the dancing. And, having watched Ngoniba's videos a few times, I am again fascinated by the intricate dancing in these videos.

It is no secret that dance is at the core of a lot of (if not most) music in Africa. When I first started interviewing Malian artists in the 1980s I was struck by the frequent use of the word "rythme" when they were talking about songs. It soon became clear to me that this was not accidental, but that rhythm and music are the same thing, or part of the same thing. And that rhythm also meant dance. Talking to Daouda 'Flani' Sangaré and Alou Fané, who had both been dancers with the Ballet National du Mali, I learnt that all the dances have a meaning, as does the rhythm. A dance can carry a message, like "I fancy you" or "I respect you", or can - for example - be used to underline the dancers' identity as part of a group, family, caste etcetera.

When it comes to dances there still are many misconceptions with the 'general public' in the western world. "African dances" often are seen as very exhuberant, with arms and legs flapping all over the place, and - preferably - with loud djembe drumming. Fortunately, most dances are not like this, and are actually very controlled and wonderfully subtle. I remind you of that fantastic dancer in the Oumou Sangaré video I posted earlier, or Alou Fané's delightfully understated dancing in this video.
The movements of the dances by Mariam Bagayogo also do not conform with the general idea of "african dances". Look at this video by Mariam from 1986 for example (another one from Ngoniba):

The flexing of the knees, the step: dance and music are one.

EDIT May 12, 2013: Ngoniba has sent me a link to a recent and very interesting article on Maliweb about Mariam Bagayoko. In this article she talks about her career and about her situation at the age of 70. Apparently she has taken over the care of the 17 children and 4 wives of two of her brothers who have passed away. Her message to Malian readers is that they should follow in the footsteps of their elders, i.e. respect the traditions.

EDIT September 22, 2013: I have had to remove the link to the article on Maliweb, as the site appears to be hacked.

Culture

For the past week and a half I have been living in a state of severe and toe-curling irritation. Of course the London Olympics came with the usual nationalistic sentiments, and with the customary hypocrisy with regards to the winners (of course no one begrudges those Chinese or US sportsmen and women winning all those medals). And I didn't even mind the hosts gloating excessively about their achievements.

What really got me was "Team GB" (pronounced "Geebee").

It's like nails on a blackboard. "Team GB". They should shoot the idiot who started this.
I realise the British have been 'matey' with the US for some decades now. The embarrassing encounters between Thatcher and Reagan immediately spring to mind. And I am aware of the uncomfortable and slightly bizarre relationship of Tony and George W (just thinking about this dynamic duo I get shivers running down my spine....).
But "Team GB": it seems like a turning point in history. Finally the British have given up their own culture in favour of that rich culture that gave us...

Well you tell me.

When it comes to cultural integrity, I am not as worried about Mali as I am about the UK. The country has survived colonialism with its culture intact. The islam in Mali is not the islam of Arabian Peninsula or the islam of the expatriates in Europe. What I have experienced of Malian islam suggests that the balance between islam and traditional culture is still in favour of the latter. So I am not convinced Mali will be an African Afghanistan.

And evidence for this can be found in the music. There is so much authenticity in this music and such strength of culture.
Listen , for example, to this cassette by Molobali Keita.
This is volume 5, - and there are more (besides the ones I have already posted - Vol.4, Vol.3, Vol.2).

Samassa S 4457

No hint of "Team GB" there, don't you agree?
And as an extra, this fantastic video by the same artist, from Ngoni's superior YouTube offerings:

No. 2

In a culture where tradition, or the passing on of skills, an art or customs from one generation to the next, is almost part of the genetic material of the people, it is not rare to see a son following in the footsteps of his father. In Mali there are loads of examples of musical sons or daughters of famous musical fathers and/or mothers. This post is about one of these: Lamissa Bengaly No.2.

His father, Lamissa Bengaly (who would have guessed it..) is revered in Mali as one of the pilars (and in Mali it is more likely that they would call him a "great tree" - or "yiriba") of Malian culture. But I doubt that many Malians even understand a word of his lyrics, because Lamissa sang in minianka. Nevertheless his influence was strong, although perhaps more as a promotor of the balafon music of the Sikasso region in general and the animistic minianka culture of eastern Mali in particular. Born in a village in the Nkourala cercle not far from the town of Sikasso, Lamissa has had a great influence too on the singing style of bala music. You can find one of his (unfortunately rare) cassettes on the Wassoulou blog. And here three tracks on an even rarer lp* with a selection of Malian music. These tracks are not credited to Lamissa on the lp, but Daouda Sangaré, who grew up listening to Lamissa's music assured me it was him.

Lamissa Bengaly on the lp "Musique du Mali"

But, as I mentioned before, this post is about his son, and about his music. It is surprising, however, how little information there is about Lamissa No.2. I have been told that he mainly sings in bambara, and not in minianka; and although I suspect this is right, I can't actually confirm this. Maybe this is the reason that he is never mentioned as his father's heir....

This cassette, released in 1998, can compete with the best. The emphasis in this cassette is more on the singing than on the bala, although the bala is very nice. The rhythms are slower than for example Molobaly Keita and Neba Solo, and this sets off the vocals even more. This is a cassette that has grown on me, - but I have had to listen to it for quite a few times before it did.

Lamissa Bengaly No.2 (cassette Sory Labita, 1998)

I would like to round off this 'week' of bala music with a video, posted by Ngoniba, of the legendary Lamissa Bengaly (the father, that is).


PS: and this doesn't mean there won't be more bala music coming in this blog...

* I am still trying to dig up the rest of this lp. I'm sure I have it - somewhere....

CAN 2002

If you thought Molobaly was too modern I advise you to skip this one. Souleymane Traoré, better known under his stage name Neba Solo*, is musically far closer to the "Balani Show" style than Molobaly.

I met him once at Mali K7 in Bamako, and he appeared to be a rather shy young guy, - quite a contrast to his somewhat boisterous manager. So I suspect the addition of several 'modern effects' may have been inspired by the french engineer at Studio Bogolan. The dosage is rather modest though...

This cassette was recorded with a definite commercial purpose. It was to be a 'hit' at the African Nation Cup, which was held in Mali in January 2002. Should you be interested in who won, by the way, on this wikipedia page are all the results.
At the time of these recordings Neba Solo had already had 'hit CD' on the market, titled "Kenedougou Foly". This CD was released on the European market in 1998.

All this talk about markets in my opinion is reflected in the music. Personally Neba Solo is trying too hard on this cassette. And I am sure the studio engineers have shown him the way to 'conquer the markets'.
Especially vocally Neba falls short of the mark. Not only compared to others, like Molobaly Keita or popular young stars like Dabara, but also compared to his first cassette ("Hommage A Lamissa Bangaly", which I will post later) or even to his "Kenedougou Foly" CD.
The instrumentation does, however, make up for a lot.......

CAN 2002 (Mali K7, and - remarkably - no number)
Extra link (MF): CAN 2002

A video clip of the second track of this cassette can be found here (or here). And a live version recorded 5 years ago in Ntogonasso (which, judging by the name, I guess to be somewhere near Sikasso) of the first track on side B here.
And finally here is a video from Malian television, shared by Ngoni on his very promising YouTube channel.


* a stage name which I gather carries a reference to the village of Nebadougou where he was born, plus to his own first name.

Drum and.... bala

Continuing the bala theme , I am returning to an artist of whom I have already posted two cassette (here and here). Molobaly Keita appears to have been at the basis of a new phenomenon in Malian youth culture, and more particularly - and more remarkably - urban youth culture.

In the villages of Mali (especially in the southern part of the country) balafon groups have been entertaining children and women for ages. These groups, usually of musicians who also play in larger ensemble at ceremonies and festivities, perform in the street or on any 'square' or opening in the village. Parties like these are part of passing on the culture, and for the children an occasion to practice - or even compete on - their dancing skills.

Over the last ten years, these bala parties have moved to the city. They have taken the place of the Sabar dancing parties or "Sabarni", which for their increasingly indecent and immoral character were banned from the streets of Bamako in the early years of this century. Apparently female dancers were showing off more thigh and behind than the public morals deemed respectable.
The "Balani* show" street parties took their place in the teenage culture of Bamako. As the word suggests, the key instrument in these parties was the balafon.

Personally I think the music of (artists like) Molobaly Keita must have played an essential role in this urbanisation of the village bala parties. And more precisely: this very cassette. For it is the first cassette in which Molobaly used a drumkit.
As I have written before, it took me some time to get used to the drumkit. But I can see now that this opened the way to a completely new 'use' of this - essentially traditional - music.
To give you a better idea of the "Balani show" phenomenon I advise you to watch this very interesting video (in french, - but if you're interested I'll translate it).


Unfortunately it appears that the "Balani show" has taken, like the "Sabarni" before, a turn for the worse. First there were rumours of nightly disturbances and a first call to ban the parties. Then came reports of weapons and people being killed. More recently the calls to ban the parties seem to have grown louder, so it may be just a matter of time before we see the end of the "Balani show".
At least, in Bamako. In the villages there always be bala parties. And in the city....maybe they will continue, but just for children.

Here is Molobaly Keita's third cassette. It features amongst others the track "Signana Tolo" of which I have posted a video earlier.

IK 010 cassette

More bala to follow soon....

* The extension "-ni" signifies "small". So "Balani" is "little bala". It is used like "-ito" in many latin countries...

Balafon dancing

A quick post, this time, featuring a video from Malian television. The artist is the wonderful Mariam Bagayogo (who as far as I know is no close relation to Assa Bagayogo or Hawa Dramé). The quality is - regretfully - slightly below zero, but the music and the spectacular performance should compensate for this.

The song was recorded in the Palais de la Culture in Bamako, in November 1988. And the occasion was a 'soirée' in protest against the Apartheid regime of South Africa.

The music is firmly rooted in the Bambara tradition of what used to be called (and is often still referred to as) the Bélédougou region. It is therefore pentatonic.
I think you'll agree with me that the dancing is out-of-this-world....

Molobali

I don't have the sleeve of this cassette, and there is reason for this.
I first heard this cassette by the great singer Molobali Keita (of whom I posted his fourth volume earlier) in Mali in 2000. I already had a few of his later cassettes and, although I had to get used to the drum kit which he had introduced to complement the traditional instruments, these had slowly but surely grown on me.
But that sweaty night in Bamako, listening to his second volume I heard for the first time the Molobali I subconsciously always had known existed. It was one of those rare moments that people, place, ambiance and music synchronised.

It took some effort to get a copy of this cassette, but I think you'll agree it was worth it. Technically it certainly isn't Molobali's best recording, but the vibes on this cassette are incredible. I advise you to play it late at night, outside - if you can - or when the house is empty.

All the tracks are traditionals from the Sikasso (or Kénédougou) region, and more particular from the region around the town of Sikasso, which is the source of an incredibly rich balafon tradition.

Super Sound SS 42

To give you an idea of what this music looks like, here is a video from Malian television. I assume it is from approximately the same time as the cassette. The line-up is at least very similar. The round gourd drum is a type of 'bara' (which comes in different sizes). The title on this video is "Shinyana foli", but on Volume 3 the same track is called "Signana Tolo" (and I suspect the latter is the correct title).


PS: There is another (and much better quality - especially in HQ) video featuring Molobali & Mama Keita here (thanks Scott for reminding me).

Bala

To really enjoy the full effect of the bala you have to go to West Africa. Preferably on a warm, humid night, with the sound of cicadas filling the background. When the bala player (or balafo) really gets going the gourds will start to hum - and the spirits will awake.

As I said, you'll have to go there yourself to experience this. Don't take my word.

I hate to disappoint you, but this cassette doesn't produce the same effect. But if anyone can get close it's Molobali Keita*. He's from the Sikasso region of Mali, and one of those artists that are at risk of remaining anonymous in the West (like Karamoko Keita). He has produced a string of cassettes (neatly numbered), and I can recommend any of those, or all if you can find them (and if you do, let me know!).

There are a few wonderful clips (here and here) on YouTube, if you want to see the master at work.

And here is the fourth volume of the series.

*or Molobaly