Unplugged

Salif Keita, Hertme July 6, 2014 (photo: Ineke Hardeman)

I was listening to some recordings of the performance of Les Ambassadeurs at the Afrika Festival in Hertme. I can't say I was very disappointed about missing that particular concert. I have never been a great fan of Salif Keita's European oeuvre, but it struck me that the gap between the recordings which made him famous in Africa and the almost parody in Hertme was getting too great.

So this short post is really about reinforcing my belief in Salif.

Stern's have recently released a compilation of tracks by Les Ambassadeurs du Motel de Bamako. Despite the fact that it adds little to what has been released before (notably on the two lp's on Sonafric), it is a pleasant release. It shows respect for the artists, which has been missing in many of the earlier re-releases. And it is just good to have these tracks together on two CD's.

The album I would like to share is from the beginning of the Abidjan 'episode' of Les Ambassadeurs. In 1979, a year after the release of "Mandjou", Salif and Manfila recorded two lp's, which nowadays would be labelled as "unplugged". I.e. the music is mainly acoustic. I have always thought that these were albums were inspired by the Épopée du Mandingue series released six years earlier on the Guinean Syliphone label. Salif himself has declared many times that he was a great admirer of Sory Kandia Kouyaté. This he already demonstrated on the albums with Les Ambassadeurs du Motel, by the choice of songs like "N'na", directly borrowed from Sory Kandia.
Salif lacks the 'belcanto' (and - luckily for him - the pompousness) of Sory Kandia, but adds a touch of street-wise popularity which his example lacked.

I love this album, and I love Salif Keita for making this album into a classic. In it Salif shows many shades (even more than 50...) of his vocal range. But I must add that it takes many hearings for the beauty of these songs to really open up. The expressiveness of "Djandjon" is balanced by the almost painful shyness of "Finzamba". What is lacking from the present-day Salif is best demonstrated in the last song "Wara-Mana": the intense, deep felt passion of his singing.

Please forgive the quality of the record.

BLP 5013 -- plus flac (until Oct 1!).

Dog

While it appears my worst fears with regards to the outcome of the elections here in the Netherlands are slowly becoming reality, with both a continuation of the growing intolerance (of the kind which in the 1970s we used to call "repressive tolerance"), of the so-called 'joys & benefits' of privatisation and/or the deification of The Economy, it appears that elsewhere in the world people are facing even greater and more anti-human challenges.

I read a few days ago (here) that those so-called rebels in northern Mali are considering banning music. That certainly will help their cause and create acceptance with the local population.
Not.

How dumb can one get? In a country that has music, storytelling and rhythm in both its soil and in the blood of every single individual of its population!

So I think it is time for some serious countermeasures.

I will start off with a cunningly devious weapon, seemingly innocent but potentially lethal. A sweet looking woman, a girl even. Lovely smile, modest expression. But a voice like a dagger! Kankou Demba not only has a powerful voice, but matching lyrics. She has a strong social message and doesn't believe in sweet-talk.

"Don't stick your nose in my business, young bambara who doesn't work the land
don't interfere with my affairs for he who has no respect for his people is like a roaming dog
Don't stick your nose in my business, young blacksmith who doesn't fire up the forge
don't interfere with my affairs for he who does not respect his country is like a roaming dog
Don't stick your nose in my business, young Sarakolé who doesn't work as a trader
don't interfere with my affairs for he who has no respect for his people is like a roaming dog
Don't stick your nose in my business, young Peul who doesn't herd cattle on the land
don't interfere with my affairs for he who does not respect his country is like a roaming dog
Don't stick your nose in my business, young griot who doesn't play the guitar
don't interfere with my affairs for he who has no respect for his people is like a roaming dog"*, 

sings Kankou in "I Dabo N'ga Kouma Na" ("You don't have the right to speak"). And with this she refers to a crucial concept in Malian culture and society: fasiya. I suppose this can best described as a mix of legacy, role in society and lineage. Perhaps not a concept which is very 'now' in western society, but one that has a tendency to be a essential element in the understanding of Malian culture. And of Malian griotisme, for that matter.

Kankou Demba's own lineage is apparent from her singing style. She follows in the footsteps of Fanta Damba and Koni Coumaré, with a definite Ségou bambara base.

I have had this great cassette for well over twenty years and it has not tired me. The conviction, the straight-from-the-heart honesty of Kankou's singing should, no must do something to start the process of corroding the iron resolve of those misguided 'fundamentalist rebels'.

SS-34 or SS-34

*translated from the translation (into french) by Cheikh M. Chérif Keïta in "Massa Makan Diabaté, Un Griot mandingue à la rencontre de l écriture".

Grateful

In rummaging through my computer the other day I stumbled upon another video by that great Malian diva Kandia Kouyaté from her very first appearance on Malian television. I have posted two songs from this same concert before (here and here). But watching this I was again bowled over by the sheer power of her presence - at the age of only 18 (!) - and the total command she displays.

Look for yourself:

Note the cheeky look, after 0'48, followed by that heartmelting smile: isn't she just incredible?!

I gather the song is about good deeds (wale gnouma), about gratitude (wale gnoumandon) and about ingratitude (wale gnoumandonbaliya).
It's just that a mere "thank you" seems so insignificant after watching such a brilliant performance....

Sadio

Sadio Kouyaté was born in Segou (Mali) into a family of griots, and started singing at the age of 7 under the guidance of her grandmother, Penda Danté, who herself was a legendary singer and known as "la djeli de Ségou".
With her grandmother she started singing locally, at baptismal ceremonies. In 1984 she went abroad for the first time, to Abidjan and later to Lomé. She went to France in 1989 and decided to stay, making frequent trips to the US and other countries.

A few years ago, in 2005, she has returned to Mali, and has married to Sekouba Kouyaté, musical entrepreneur and brother of singer Mah Kouyaté No.2. Rumour has it that this marriage is on the rocks, - and Sadio (who is nearing or just over 50 now) on the prowl....

This cassette is from her days in Mali, when she was a force to be reckoned with. It contains six superb songs, sung with great passion and conviction. Personal favourites are "Santolema" and the world-class "Nata".

Syl 8346

To give you an idea of her stage performance, here is video - also from the 1980s - of Sadio performing in Segou. Vocally perhaps not as strong as the songs on the cassette, but interesting also for the older men who enter the stage to perform their traditional dances. I am sure this can be an eye-opener to those who think African dancing is all about flapping your arms and jumping about....


PS: Sadio has younger sister, Yah Kouyaté, who was also introduced into djeliya by her grandmother...

Moussolou (2)

I can get really annoyed by those who consider Oumou Sangaré to be the first Malian artist to sing about women's issues. Those who have visited the country will agree that there is not (and has never been) a lack of 'strong' women in Mali. I would even go so far as to state that the country has managed to survive mainly by the efforts of the female population.

The plight of women has been the subject of great singers long before Oumou. The topics may have changed with the times, but the message has remained essentially the same.
All things considered Kandia Kouyaté has always been a symbol of the determination and strength of Malian women and doesn't even have to sing about women to achieve this. One only has to look at her, performing on Malian television at the age of 18, to see the incredible personality and power of this Grand Dame of Malian music. Here she is in another video from the early 1980s, a song entitled "Moussolou" (women)...


You may have noted that I have added the chat with presenter Zoumana Yoro Traoré. Even if you don't understand a word of Bambara you will have to acknowledge the confidence shown by this young star...

Her first lp, recorded with the help of fan and sponsor Amary Daou, offers more proof of this confidence and of Kandia's strong personality. Just listen how she announces the titles of the tracks.
My favourite track on this is the last, but there are really no weaker tracks on this great album by one of Mali's alltime superstars.

In the near future I will post more music and more videos of Kandia, including some material which has not been previously released.

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Batourou Sekou Kouyaté

Although this post is supposed to be about one of the greatest kora players of all times (and all places too), one can easily be distracted by an artist who has -long after this recording- become a world-wide star of popular music. Because one of the singers on this lp by the ensemble of Batourou Sekou Kouyaté is none other than Mory Kanté (see this post).

This record was released in 1975, and probably recorded a year earlier. So this is from the time when Mory had already joined the Rail band and had replaced Salif Keita as the lead singer (Salif had left in 1973).

Born near Kissidougou in Guinea into a family of griots, Mory had been sent to Bamako in the 1960s to stay with his aunt, singer Manamba Kamissoko, and to learn the griot métier. He played in a band called the Apollos, until he was 'discovered' by Tidiane Koné, the chef d'orchestre of the Rail Band.
In the early 1970s he became more and more interested in the kora, and even more when he heard Batourou Sekou Kouyaté, who was the father of a friend. Legend has it that he learned to play the instrument on Batourou's kora. According to Mory himself, the kora which he uses on stage was given to him by the kora legend in 1974.

I am not sure about the names of the musicians on this lp, but I suspect the female singer on these superb and rare recordings (featuring classic interpretations of "Keme Bourema", "Belebele", "Djandjon", "Wara" and "Koulandjan") is Nantenegwe Kamissoko, who presumably is a cousin of Mory.

No doubt coached by the brilliant Malian kora master, Mory manages to pluck emotional strings which in my opinion very few of his later recordings have been able to touch....

Makossa KR 28 or (MF) here

Diva

In Likembe's recent post of African Divas (very enjoyable, by the way) one diva is missing in my opinion. When you watch this video you'll have to agree that Kandia Kouyaté even at the age of 18 met all the requirements. This clip is from her first performance on Malian television. But her self-assured smile straigth into the camera, that megapower voice, all the little gestures: this is a true diva!

Kandia is still active, and I have heard that she has recently recovered from a long illness. I'll post some more of her music in later posts.

The video is from the early 1980s and unfortunately has suffered a bit through time.