In control

A few posts to round off this disappointing year...
In the first of these I would like to share with you a cassette by Hawa Dramé. Hopefully you have seen (and perhaps even watched) the videos I posted some time ago (here and here). More persistent fans of the classics of Malian music may have even listened to the two (1 & 2) cassettes I have shared*.
This cassette is different from those two cassettes in so far that I strongly suspect the recordings on this cassette were all made in a studio. Consequently the sound is more refined, even to the point where it can be called 'delicate'.

This cassette is linked to strong personal memories of my travels in Mali in the late 1980s. Particularly in the town and region of Ségou this cassette could be heard on almost every street corner, and even in the taxis-brousse. Listening to songs like "Tunkan Te Dambe Do" I can almost taste the red dust again...

The songs in this cassette are all deeply rooted in the bambara musical tradition. One may be tempted to call this music 'simple', - but this doesn't do justice to Hawa Dramé's brilliant performance.
Take the first song on the B-side for example, "Klawa". The song starts off with a ngoni, which is joined by a second ngoni. Hawa opens after 40 seconds, careful at first; but soon she is in total control. This is her song.
The same can be said for all the songs on this cassette.

This is one of these cassettes which can last you a lifetime. I still discover 'new' things in the songs, and find that my reaction to the music varies with age, mood, circumstances. I particularly like the dynamics in these recordings: Hawa Dramé does not go full-blast all the time, but demonstrates that she stay in control in the wonderfully delicate and subtle parts of her songs too.

SYL 8331

* and if you haven't I strongly advise you to do so...

911*

Continuing my personal countermeasures against the against the lunatic proposal by those so-called islamic groups in northern Mali to ban music, I am bringing in the big guns. And when it comes to rock-hard Malian culture the guns don't get much bigger than Hawa Dramé.

You may remember my earlier post, plus the fantastic video featuring this great - but unfortunately also late - singer. If you have missed those, please do yourself a favour and at least watch those two videos.

The cassette I am sharing with you is one to digest slowly. Take your time. This is music which will last you a lifetime, and will be in your blood forever. As in the cassette I posted earlier, Hawa Dramé pulls out all the stops. The control she has over the 'accompagnement' is, again, brilliant. As is the control over her own vocal contribution. She can go full-out, but she can also subtly understate, - and in doing so move the coldest of those deepfrozen misguided souls in the north of her country .

There is not a weaker song in this collection.
You may recognise "So danso"; this was covered by Super Biton (see this post). "Demeba", with its majestically striding rhythm and Hawa's superb long phrasing. The meticulous "Diamandjo" where she is competing with the ngoni, twisting and turning. And "Mayebe Diyabo", just as intentional, with Hawa demonstrating the full dynamics of her unique voice.
Side B again has two longer songs. "Namabile" is one of those epic songs, which Hawa Dramé takes to another level. The same goes for "Niongomari" (covered by others, like Bazoumana Sissoko's daughter Tenignini Damba, as "Mariso"), although this unfortunately has a few wobbles.

SYL 8391

More countermeasures to follow...

*And in case you are wondering: this is a reference to the present date, plus a reference to what would be September 11 in countries like the USA. And in a way it is a reference to the excessive (verging in the ridiculous) coverage of first the impact of tropical storm Sandy on the eastern US (while the enormous damage of the hurricane Sandy on Cuba was covered in a single sentence!!) and then the painstakingly detailed and minute-to-minute coverage of the US presidential elections in this country (the Netherlands). Already Dutch media don't bother to convert 9-11 to the customary 11-9, so my guess is that in a few decades we will officially hand over sovereignty to 'our good friends on the other side of the Atlantic'.

Bamana musow

I am still upset about the brusque (over)reaction by other filehost services to the injust and in my opinion illegal action taken against Megaupload. I sincerely hope the pause at the Global Groove blog will be a temporary one, and that all blogs dedicated to the unearthing of non-western music in general, and African and Latin music in particular, will carry on uncovering and promoting the artists which have not received the global recognition and acclaim they thoroughly deserve.

By way of an in-between post I would like to share with you these two great videos from Mali, both in a way related to Super Biton and Ségou.

The first is by a group fronted by three women, or girls if you like. I know absolutely nothing of this group, apart from the fact that they are (or were) called Balandzan, which at least suggests a connection with Biton (see my earlier post). I discovered this song on a tape with a mix of Malian artists, and immediately fell for the sheer joy and even cheekyness of the three girls. My guess is that they're singing about boys acting tough but not getting things done, which certainly seems an appropriate theme, - and not only in Mali.


The second video is another video by Assa Bagayogo, the daughter of Hawa Dramé, that grand dame of Bambara music. I have no idea why, but I am absolutely crazy about this music, plus that rather awkward, but strangely fitting way of dancing of Assa. It is, in my opinion, just as fitting and natural as the dancing of that girl in the Oumou Sangaré video.
Unfortunately I have just the two tracks, recorded by the RTM in 1990*, by Assa Bagayogo. If anyone has more, please step forward.....


*in my earlier post I suggested this was recorded in 1986. I should have studied the rest of the video better......

Noblesse

In terms of nobility, of character, of even resolve in defending the traditions she believed in, Hawa Dramé is without a doubt an 'old school' griot.
Born in Niono, Hawa started singing for an audience - not unlike many of the Great Griots from Mali - as a young girl, at the age of six. In an impressive career, which not only brought her national fame through her membership of Mali's Ensemble Instrumental National but also international recognition, she was both a fantastic singer and also a researcher into the vestiges of bambara musical culture. As such she was in turn a source of inspiration for others, - like the Super Biton orchestra, which converted many of the traditional themes (or 'rhythms', as they are often called in Mali) made famous by Hawa Dramé into modern orchestral pieces ("Lefenin", "Sodanso" and others).

In my opinion there is no better proof of Hawa Dramé's talent than this cassette, which consists of songs recorded by the ORTM. At least three of the five songs were originally recorded for television. The first of these, "Djandjon", I have posted earlier. The cassette was released* in the late 1980s, but I am assuming the television recordings were made a few years earlier.

My favourite song of this cassette, and perhaps even my favourite song by Hawa Dramé, is the monumental version of "Mbaoudi". The song starts with a two minute instrumental introduction by a choice selection of Malian instrumentalists, with Bouba Sacko (ngoni) and Tata Bambo's husband Modibo Kouyaté(guitar). Then, Hawa Dramé takes command of the song. She does so in a way which leaves no doubt about who is in charge. She is the singer and the group is there to follow her lead. Although the accompagnement is quite loud, she has no problem staying on top.

In tracks like "Hinebe Delila" and "Djoba" Hawa Dramé shows the value of an aspect which many of the present-day artists from Mali seem to have forgotten. Instead of going 'full-blast' throughout the song, she alternates a more intimate singing style with more forceful passages.
But all her songs have one thing in common: they are all 'posé', with an almost striding rhythm - and a matching regal voice.

Syllart SYL 8384

I have delayed posting this cassette to find a way to add this wonderful twelve minute (i.e. too long for YouTube) video of "Noumou Foli". This ode to the blacksmith patrons (by the name of Ballo) of Hawa Dramé's family is also on the cassette, but breaks off after six minutes. In the video, which is the same recording as the cassette, the full version (well almost....) of this great song can be heard.


* and I have been assured this was done without the consent - or even knowledge - of the artist!

Friends & family

To tell you the truth, I am stuck. Having converted another great video of Hawa Dramé from tape to digital format, I found the result is just over twelve minutes. YouTube has a limit, however, of nearly eleven minutes. And I simply refuse to cut the video in two.

Perhaps there is someone who can point me in the direction of an alternative that will accept a twelve minute clip.

Meanwhile, I have two Hawa Dramé related items. First, here is a video of Hawa Dramé's daughter Assa Bagayogo.
I just love this pentatonic Bambara music. The video was recorded (probably in 1986) by Malian television in Ségou, the heart of Bambara country, and everything about it is authentic, including the dancing and the clothes worn.


The second item in this post is a cassette by Hawa Dramé's friend (and I have heard rumours that at one point he was more than that..) and accompagnateur Ganda Fadiga.
I have some recordings of him accompanying Hawa Dramé, but I prefer this cassette titled "Economie", which was originally released in Mali, but rereleased in Paris. I can't tell you what his message is with regards to the economy, but I am sure it is sound advice...

Camara C.K.7 006

Souraka djeli

Her paternal ancestor, named Nogo Tomo Dramé, was "Souraka Djeli" originating from Nioro. He came to settle in Fala, in Nogales near Kolongo where the chiefs where the Samaké. Nogo Tomo and his descendants put themselves at the service of these noble Samaké by becoming their griots. However, their "Diatigui" (hosts) are the blacksmiths Ballo to whom Hawa Dramé paid tribute in the famous song "Numu foli". Her father, Tiéna Dramé, was a mechanical workman at the Office of Niger and her mother, Doussou Koné, female griot singer of the line of the Diarra of Segou (descendant of Da Monzon). (mali-music.com)

Hawa Dramé, who died in 1996, was known in Mali as a djeli without frills. A humble and sincere person who was above all a defender of the authentic Bambara rhythms and culture. The absence of jewelry and expensive clothes distinguished here from other griots and strengthened her ties with the rural communities where she was adored.
She spent only a few years in the Ensemble Instrumental National du Mali, but definitely made her mark in that time.

Here is a video featuring Hawa Dramé, accompanied by an small ensemble of some of Mali's top instrumentalists. It is one of the few live performance recorded outside, in the field. I copied the video in the late 1980s, but I assume the recording (by Malian television) was made a few years earlier.

PS: "Souraka" = "Moor" or "Maure"