Rise of the machine

The other day I was reading about the potential threat of robots. Apparently even respected scientists like Stephen Hawking are warning against the rise of the machine. Here in the Netherlands there seem
to be opposing points of view, albeit by the same persons. Our present Dutch government, for example, sees technology as the main driving force behind the economy, while at the same warning against loss of jobs as a result of increased automation and computerisation. In the meantime millions (and more) are lost on computerisation projects failing.
I can imaging how this would lead to economic gain, in the same way that bombs and ammunition are a economically very profitable venture, - from the purely capitalistic point of view of the manufacturer at least (boom!! - and it's gone).

In my experience automation projects have a strong tendency to fail for one reason: the human factor. On the one hand suppliers of the automated solution are inclined to impose their wonderful 'technical advancements' on the future users, while on the other hand users are simply unable to visualise the end-result. Unfortunately this often leaves the suppliers to do whatever they want or see as "the best solution for the customer". The idea that the final product requires an intricate knowledge of technology does not occur to the supplier, while the user doesn't want to be caught out as a digital dunce. The balance between supplier and user is disturbed even further by present-day managers, for whom staff is mostly seen as a negative influence on profits and automation as the best way to correct this.

In music we have seen a similar move towards automation. The extreme exponents of this musical rise of the machine are the Tiësto's, Armin van Buurens and Afrojacks* of today. Skilled artists have been replaced by a single person mixing their music using machines.
The rise of the machine in music started way before the rise of computers. The relative innocent Solovox organ, introduced into African music in the mid-1950s, at least added a new sound. The same can be said for the organs used in the 1970s and 1980s. Generally they were used as an adornment and not as a replacement for other instruments and their players. That is: not until this was demanded by western producers.
Several musicians I talked to in the 1980s told me that there was always a limit to the number of persons they could take on a tour. So at a time when many musicians travelled outside Africa for the first time and became known to a western public, they often performed with reduced formations. This became more of an issue in the second half of the 1980s. Groups were more than often 'completed' by local artists or musicians; at first by countrymen of the imported performers, but later on by (at best) native professionals or (even) native amateurs.
This trend coincided with cuts on another level: the often impressive horn sections were replaced completely - you guessed - by machines.
One may argue that we were lucky to see artists in the first place. But let me refute this with this question: how would you feel if the horn section in a concerto by Mozart was replaced by a synthesizer?

Personally I have objected to the replacement of those lucious horn sections by the constipated sound of synthesizers since the late-1970s. And we were lucky to see the O.K. Jazz when they were still "Tout Puissant", to see Fela's Egypt '80 blowing us straight to heaven and back, to hear the suave harmonies of the horns of Super Biton, Les Ambassadeurs, Bembeya Jazz and all those orchestras that would be and are left amputated without the horns.
And the worst is: there is plenty of evidence that it must have been even better before! Listen to those marvels by the likes of E.T. Mensah, the Black Beats, Victor Olaiya, Balladins, Tambourinis... Listen to the uncontroled lunacy (but one that never stops bringing a huge grin to my face) of that trumpet player with Mbaraka Mwinshehe, to those blaring horns of Etoile de Dakar, to immortals like Dexter Johnson...
And I could go on.
I don't even want to start about the horn sections in other parts of the world. The two minutes of the horn section in this video just bring tears to my eyes.....

I am sure you are wondering where this is leading to. Perhaps you expect me to post the best horn sections in African music ever, much in the vein of the top 100 (or top 10, 2000 or any other number) lists that are prevalent at this time of the year**. If so, you are going to be disappointed.
For it is actually the machine I would like to focus on. The single man and his machine.

The decline of the one can precipitate the rise of the other. For as the large orchestras became too complicated to bring over, too expensive to maintain on tour, and subsequently - when horns were replaced by synths - too unlike their former selves, the appeal of the lone artist grew. Initially more for the tour organisers, who saw the single musician as less of a financial risk. And gradually also for the public, often with the aid of clever marketing. When the artist was actually supported by or part of a band or group, like for example Oumou Sangaré, Salif Keita, (perhaps to a lesser extent) Zani Diabaté or you name it, the name presented to the public would still be that of the artist, making the musicians supporting the artist interchangeable (and therefore less of an economic liability). This setup, although certainly beneficial for the 'stars' involved, at times led to frustration with the more conscientious artists. I remember Ali Farka Touré (an artist with a strong feeling of cultural inheritance) expressing his annoyance about not being able to bring a larger ensemble on tour. Having seen larger (and even large) ensembles in Mali I understand his frustration.

One group of musicians also benefited from this individualisation: the ones that already - and traditionally - were able to perform alone. For there was already a group of 'men with their machine'. Kora players like the great Batourou Sekou Kouyaté already were self-employed entrepreneurs, while at the same time being involved in large, medium-sized or petits ensembles. This flexibility came from their machine: the kora.

To accentuate the machine-like quality of the instrument I am not sharing a recording of the aforementioned Batourou Sekou, but one by the man who more than any other kora player managed to bring out the metal sound in the kora (and in his singing too, as you can hear in the album I posted before): Lalo Keba Dramé.

This album, released on the N'Dardisc label, has Dramé's versions of some of the Mandinka classics covered by many of his colleagues. Typically his versions are less laid-back, more energetic, if not at times even frantic. I haven't heard any recordings of Lalo Keba Dramé accompanying a female griot, and given the imposing style of his kora playing I can understand why.
This is a very individual album, in a very individual style.

N'Dardisc 33-13

As a special festive bonus I am adding this great video by Malian kora legend Sidiki Diabaté and his son Toumani. The son has become more famous than his father, particularly outside of Mali, but if you ask me not for the right reasons. Personally I am not a great fan of the cross-over, and least of all of kora players 'battling it out' with fading western instrumentalists in an attempt to enter into 'arty', commercially lucrative new-age circles. I do like his more modest, less pretentious work, both as a solo performer and with ensembles. But his father is of a different league and of a very different era in Malian music. An era in which the competition was fierce, and in which the influence of tradition was predominant.
As far as I can gather Sidiki is explaining - to host and presenter Zoumana Yoro Traoré and to the Malian public - the origin of his machine. A truely historic document.
Unfortunately I don't have the whole video, and it breaks off after 17'30.




* and the fact that I only know these Dutch dj's is only because they are presented in shows on Dutch TV as Dutch celebrities.
** I have no intention at all of ever contributing to this sort of madness. And not just because it is almost impossible to compare artists, performances and recordings, but also because my preferences vary immensely with my mood, with my environment, the time of day, the weather, the season, - and I could go on...

Vocabulary

In the past few days I have been in the precise mood for this classic album from 1984. I hasten to add that I am not a fan of this orchestra, Super Diamono (or Jamano) de Dakar, but I do love this lp.

The lp itself was given to me on April 11, 1986 by Donald 'Jumbo' Vanrenen, who at the time was still living in London and very much in charge of the Earthworks label. I interviewed him about his relation to music in general and to artists like Thomas Mapfumo. In re-listening the 3-hour interview I have not been able to discover what triggered this gift, but until this very day I am truely grateful.

Purely coincidentally I interviewed both Moussa Ngom and Omar Pene that same year. The interview with Moussa Ngom, after a concert in the legendary African Feeling series organised by Oko Drammeh at the Paradiso in Amsterdam (see the flyer below), was very strenuous, with Moussa answering in platitudes which seemed to be inspired by reggae lyrics. Omar Pene, who I interviewed at the WOMAD festival, was - by contrast - extremely businesslike in his answers. One answer in particular stuck with me. Asked if it didn't bother him that European audiences had no idea what he was singing about, he said that to him the voice was primarily an instrument; changing the language would mean changing the instrument.

Listening to this album I have to agree that the songs would sound ridiculous if they were sung, for example, in french. Omar Pene's voice is in perfect harmony with the instrumentation, almost to a point where voice and instruments amalgamate.
In general I thoroughly dislike anything even vaguely resembling a synthesizer, and I think the introduction of this demon child of organ parentage has played a major role in the degradation and impoverishment of musical cultures. Nevertheless, given that the damage has been done, the milk has been spilt and the child has disappeared with the bath water, I can think of far worse examples of the use of synthetic instruments than that by Papa Basse in these tracks.
It is like Super Diamono was attempting to invent a new vocabulary with this album. A vocabulary where the synthesizer would not sound out of place, totally superfluous and an economic alternative to something much better (i.e. usually a horn section).

In the opening track "Yamatée Née Law" the guitar, the voice of Omar Pene, even the well-tempered sax (after 2'07), they are all held together by the organ and synthesizer. The song is languid, moody almost, and the synthesizer and organ are major contributors to this feeling.
The effect is slightly different in the second song, "Indu Waad", also a ballad. The synth sauce is counterbalanced by the subtle guitar, which only just manages to save Omar Pene's voice from tipping over into the dramatic. Drama does prevail in the title song of the album, "Geedy Dayaan". In this song Omar Pene is the star of the show. His voice brilliantly goes from desperate to consoling, from tragic to loving. Please note too Bob Sène's careful guitar playing.

Of the three other (more mbalax style) songs on this album I particularly like "Muugn". Not so much for the synthesizer, which I find more irritating than on the other songs, but for the fact that Super Diamono demonstrates that the band can also make good songs without or with just a little bit of synth.

GR 7604

Líos

Even for someone with a fundamentally positive outlook on life it is getting increasingly hard to see the bright side of things. For one there is the depressing news from a country which was for centuries seen as a source, if not fountain, of culture and higher matters, that there has been not just one, but a veritable horde of mentally defective and/or brainwashed voters who have given in the outrageous bribes by a certain politician with a preference for under-age females. And in writing this down I realise how totally absurd and almost fictional the situation in Italy must be for those who have not lost their minds.

But I am sorry to have to report that things in the Netherlands are hardly any better. Three of the four major Dutch banks have had to be 'rescued' by the state, after those in control have made a total mess of it. The old set of 'old boys' responsible for the gross mismanagement are being replaced by a fresh set of 'old boys'. Instead of seizing this opportunity to put an end to the ridiculous remunerations which have become common in banking management circles, and apparently and demonstrably bear no relation whatsoever to the accountability which was the excuse to introduce these in the first place, the prime minister has defended the top salary of the replacements by pointing out that the salary is 'in line with the market'. In the meantime the tax payer is presented with the bill for this financial fiasco. The same sorry sod tax payer who has been conned by previous governments, in times when the economy - in retrospect of course - was booming, into moderate to zero pay rises, under the pretext that - and I quote - "after the sour will come the sweet". Instead of the sweet we are now being forced into accepting the bitter...

All this immoral behaviour has not led to any self-examining or even modesty. On the contrary: the vice prime minister instead has seized the moment to start pointing at the immorality of those bl**dy foreigners immigrants! He has demanded that immigrants should sign a participation contract, - the objective being that immigrants agree on the basic principles of 'our society'. I, as an embarrassed native, would never sign such a contract, unless those who are consistently and persistently demonstrating their total lack of respect for any principles do so first. The net effect of measures like this are exactly the opposite of what they should be, - at least in the words of the politician who proposed this. Instead of ending tendencies towards homophobia and repression of women within immigrant communities it will, once more, acknowledge and legitimise the already not so latent tendencies towards racism and xenophobia within (apparently) large groups of the native community.

And the weather has been crap too.

So to end this easily forgettable month I would like to share with you this third volume of the "El Sonero de Africa" series by Laba Sosseh (and the great Dexter Johnson).
While I recognise this is not the best record vinylwise, and the recordings certainly don't measure up to the modern-day 'basic principles', I just love the unpretentiousness, the imperfection, the down-to-earthness, the no hassles* fun, - which to me make and have made these records (volume 1, volume 2) into evergreens over the last twenty-five or so years.

I'm going to lie down and sing along with these tunes now....

MAG 104

* líos = hassles

Haunted

A very short post.
I was really going to post something else.
But in bed with a nasty cold, sweating and feverish, I was haunted by this tune: "Mory", by Number One de Dakar.

The best cure for any disease: good music.

Eddy'Son 1156

Composer

We have been enjoying some exceptionally good weather here in the Netherlands, so this has not contributed to my good intentions with regards to the frequency of these posts.

Anyway, in this post I would like to share with you a single from the N'Dardisc label, a label which already has had some coverage in this blog.
The artist featured on this single is cora legend Soundioulou Sissoko. He is best known performing with his wife Mahawa Kouyaté, as you may recall from my post a few months ago. I wrote there that a presenter at the Guinean radio had claimed that this duo was the source of many classics from the golden era of Guinean and Malian music.

As you can see on the label of this single Soundioulou even goes as far as to claim that he is the composer of the Malinké classic "Maki". It is not very unusual for artists from African countries to claim the authorship of a traditional song, or even of a song composed by another author. Vicky Longomba of the O.K. Jazz even went as far as to claim "El Carretero". Most artists defend their claims by pointing out that they are the author of the particular version.

Well, I suppose we'll keep it at that then....

N'Dardisc 45.12 or here

Panoramic interlude

I suppose this is not the most spectacular compilation of Senegalese music imaginable, but in the 1980s it did fill a gap in my appetite for more, after getting into contact with the likes of Number One and the early Etoile records.

Omar Pene's vocals in "Bass" still manage to pierce through concrete walls, as they did when I first heard this decades ago. And Baobab's "Utru Horas", titled "Loi Di Nos" in this collection, is still cool enough to elicit a kiss from my wife. I prefer the version of "Sutukum" by Canari de Kaolack on Touba Auto K7 because of the exaggerate stereo. On this album it seems to have been 'corrected', - which is a pity...
But, as I said, it is an interlude.

Bellot MCA 306 (new link July 25, 2014)

N'Dardisc

Graeme Counsel informs me that he has finished the first draft of yet another discography. In this case of the N'Dardisc label.
When it comes to Senegalese music this is certainly one of my favourite labels, as you may have noticed from past posts (33-11, 33-12, 33-14, 45-18).

This seems a good occasion to add one more. "Folklore du Sénégal - Musique et chants traditionnels" (N'Dardisc 33-10, as you can check in the discography) is normally a title to put any prospective buyer off, - but this will prove to be a serious mistake with the N'Dardisc label.
Side A contains three classic tracks by Soundioulou Sissoko and his wife Mahawa Kouyaté. According to some (notably a presenter from the RTG from Guinea) they are the source of many songs which became hits with the Great Orchestras from the golden age of Guinean and Malian (Malinké) music. Although I have my doubts about this claim, I am sure they have had a substantial influence. On this lp Mahawa, accompanied by Soundioulou on cora, sings "Bandia" (interpreted by both Orchestre de la Pailotte and Orchestre du Jardin de Guinée) and "Sakhodougou" (Jardin/Balladins). Soundioulou adds his interpretation of "Alalake" (e.g. Bembeya), but personally I think he doesn't get close to the overpowering version of Lalo Keba Dramé on N'Dardisc 33-11.

This master of cora and copper vocals (see my earlier post) can be heard on side B, together with Samba Diabaré Samb. And what a deadly duo they are! "Bamba Bodian" is another version than the one on "Hommage A Lalo Keba Dramé", but again by the great master himself. And "Maky Tara" and "Saraba"..... well, I'll leave you to discover these marvels for yourselves. All I will say is that if you liked Samba Diabaré Samb's track on N'Dardisc 33-12, you will be blown away by these.....

N'Dardisc 33-10

Perfect imperfection

I won't kid you: the late Laba Sosseh (he died nearly three years ago) was not the best singer of the latin-tinged repertoire. There were and are others, with better voices, a better pronounciation of spanish, a more latin feel. I remember an album he did in the late 1970s together with Monguito; Laba got vocally plastered by Monguito...

But personally I don't care. I love Laba Sosseh for his imperfection, the way in which he did not betray his roots in an attempt to be a real latin sonero, - in short: for remaining Laba Sosseh.

The album in this post is not his best. Others (like the one I posted earlier) are more likely to be awarded this label. It's also not his steamiest (this award might go to this cassette). And I am not even going to discuss the sorry state of the vinyl.

Nevertheless, it's authentic Sosseh. Recorded in 1977 for Abou Lassisi's Sacodis label, the lp features Laba accompanied by the 'Special' Liwanza Band. I am not too sure why they are special, - perhaps for the lack of horns (or even a tiny sax). But in their own uncomplicated way they are certainly not bad.

With yet two more versions of the Cuban evergreens "Guantanamera" and "El Manicero" (hooray!), a mumbled "Ay Que No", "Prepare Candela" (but I have no idea what he wants us to do after lighting the stove...), "El Guaguanco" (which I am sure he has at one point also combined with "El Manicero"): it's all great.
My favourites are the two last tracks of both sides. But can anyone explain what the title "No Quiero El Son" has to do with the song? I can understand that he would want to shut up to avoid a quarrel with a girlfriend, but Laba Sosseh not liking son...?
To me the top track of this album is "Conjura". It's got it all: great rhythm, nice instrumental bit, uncomprehensible lyrics, an intriguing title, plus Laba Sosseh: perfect!

Sacodis LS 5-77

Virtual Laba

After a winter and spring with a disproportionate amount of cold and (especially) snow, one has a tendency to pine for a touch of warm sunshine. At the moment there is, I am sorry to say, not a lot more one can do. Although already in May, the sun here in the Netherlands appears to have adapted itself to the economic climate....

So, in tune with the times, there is only one thing for it: let's go virtual!
Luckily I only need one thing to conjure up this virtual world: the music of Laba Sosseh.

This is the second of three volumes on the M.A.G. label (and I have posted the first here). Soundwise the first is marginally better, and in general the records on this label are perhaps not up to scratch. But if you are looking for music that will make you sweat instantly, this is it. The record starts with a second version of that Cuban evergreen "El Manisero". This version is very different from the "version Sangomar" on Volume 1, while retaining some key elements, notably the idiot trumpet after 2'22 (who this time appears to be playing from behind the bar...). The trumpet player resurfaces in several of the songs on side A; in the classic "Senegal An X" (after 1'29) he is still behind the bar, but has finished off some - if not most - of the alcoholic stock.

The songs on the B-side feature Dexter Johnson. His sax certainly adds to the level of sultriness. Just a few notes and I am off to search for some ice cubes.

Another track repeated from Volume 1 is "Seyni Kay Fonema", which on Volume 1 was called "Seyni". This is arguably Laba Sosseh's most famous song, and was even covered by Rochereau and his African Fiesta.
"Aminata" is also redone, but personally I prefer the subtle version of Volume 1.

Another favourite is Sosseh's cover of Charlie Palmieri's "Salsa Na'Ma'", - although it is as close to Palmieri original as a packet of chicken soup to chicken.

But all of the songs on this lp are really warm favourites, - and could probably even provoke a virtual heatwave on the north pole....

Disques M.A.G. 103

P.S.: Going by a few singles (which I may post later) I think the orchestra on the A-side is called "Super Conjunto", and the one on the B-side the "Super Star de Dakar".

Homme orchestre

To some the label "homme orchestre" ("one man orchestra") may conjure up images of great musicians, but I am more inclined to think of rather sad performances in hollow-sounding, wind-ridden underground stations. And I am not suggesting these don't have a certain nostalgic charm. But good music, naaah.

Ismael Lo recorded this cassette in 1981, while he was still playing with Super Diamono. He had been invited to join this band two years earlier, but Ismael's heart was more into Art (he had studied painting). He continued however with Super Diamono until 1984, when he left for Spain to start a career as a painter. One can only assume that this didn't go as well as he expected, because he was soon back recording another album, and has been involved in many more solo projects since.

To tell you the truth, I have no patience for his work after this cassette. His later work is too pretentious for my liking.
But this cassette still has a certain innocence, which makes it (just) enjoyable. I have had this cassette for years, and there have been periods when I started screaming when I heard it, but - perhaps as a result of the mellowing which comes with age (it does?) - it has fallen into favour again.

This said I still get images of hollow-sounding, wind-ridden tunnels of underground stations when listening to Lo playing his guitar and harmonica.....

Bellot Records GBC 135

A slow start

The new year has started in a slow pace. In many parts of Europe snow has clogged up traffic. Even in the Netherlands, with its short distances, this had led to almost unprecedented delays and a general slowing down of public life.

This seems the right time to share this marvel of Senegalese music by N'Gewel International de Dakar with you.

I copied a cassette version of this album sometime in the 1980s, and was lucky enough to find the lp a few years later. I am telling you this, because I only realised I had not messed up when copying the cassette when I listened the record. I had been under the impression that I had erroneously turned up the volume after 2'36 in the first track. But this proved to be a 'feature' of this record (the same feature can be found in the track "Munu Mala Baayi" on the B-side, by the way).

Unfortunately I can't tell you very much about the group. I met percussionist Farba Sene when he performed with Alou Fané's group Fotemocoba. He appeared to have happy memories of this lp, because he glowed when he saw it in my collection. In the photo on the backside of the sleeve he is sitting at the back on the right.
I remember vaguely he told me about the group, and if I remember correctly mentioned that singer Papa Djibi Bâ had a history with either the Star Band or Star Number One (or maybe it was with both). I wish now I had at least written down what he had told me....

But as is often the case, the music speaks for itself. The lp contains three brilliant ballads, including a classic version "Yobalema", and three more uptempo tracks, including a crisp version the Ahijados song "Echale Salsita".

Play it on your mp3 player while you're stuck in the snow, and you'll never be cold....

Dakar Audio DA 002

Authentic 1977

I would like to start this week with a dose of high energy from Senegal. Although I have had this album by Orchestre Gorom for years, it is only over the last ten to five years that I have come to fully appreciate the content of it. I stress the word 'content' because the splendid cover had caught my eye straight away, and perhaps was what motivated me to buy the record in the first place.

It started when I heard the cd "Gainde" in the World Network series by Youssou N'dour and (mainly) Yandé Codou Sène. I immediately recognised that incredibly fierce voice from a documentary I had once seen on French TV5. I am sure I must have this documentary somewhere; as soon as I have recovered it I will post it.

Listening to her contribution on "Gainde" was the key to the lp by Orchestre Gorom. Although her direct influence is limited to only two songs it 'opened up' the others as well. Of these two songs, by the way, one can be found on both albums, although the name is slightly different ("Siyare Na La" with Gorom and "Siare Naala Ndigal Faal" on Gainde).
It is a pity the writer of the sleeve notes got carried away a bit and attributed all the songs to Mrs. Sène. I have a nasty suspicion this exaggeration may be politically motivated. Yandé Codou is a representative of the Serer culture, a Senegalese ethnicity to which belonged President Léopold Sédar Senghor. A (more recent) documentary (of which this is an excerpt) even refers to her as "The Griot of Senghor".

Looking back on it now, I think Khar Mbaye Madiaga should get at least similar credit for her influence on this record. She also contributed two songs, and has also left a severe impression on Senegalese music and culture. Judging by this article I guess she must be considered to be a guardian of Senegalese tradition (another interview with this remarkable grande dame can be found here).

But don't get me wrong: the lp and Orchestre Gorom have stood the test of time, and for that reason alone deserve credit.

Sonafric SAF 50056

Power kora and copper vocals

A quick midweek post now, and one in a very different mood and from a different culture.
In an earlier post I have already mentioned the inimitable Lalo Keba Dramé. Well here is full cassette of that master of kora and copper vocals from the Casamance.
In this cassette the metal ring to his voice is accentuated even more by a female backing vocalist. Together they venture to the edge of the tolerable, - and sometimes even beyond this (if you can't stand nails on a blackboard, be warned!).

Lalo Keba Dramé's kora playing is dynamic and full of jumpy energy. Unlike more recent kora artists, Dramé's art has a popular feel: I never get the impression he is trying to convey a 'higher', more sophisticated Art form.

Personal favourites are the first track, "Coura M'Bissane", the excellent razor-sharp version of "Bamba Bodian" and the undulating "N'Diato". Also I would like to draw your attention to the last track, "Kantintin", a tribute to former president Senghor, - or "Leopold" for his more intimate friends......

Bellot Records C 3801

Dogons and Rio

Two more scratchy singles today, I'm afraid. This time by Senegalese bands.
Although I admit it took me a while to figure out that "Les Dogons con Cissé Macki" was in fact a Senegalese band, or at least a band based in Senegal. I still have my doubts about Mr. Macki's origins, and suspect he or his family may have roots in Mali.

Apart from this is I have little to report on Les Dogons. Their record is another matter though. It contains two remarkable covers, one of Abelardo Barroso's classic "En Guantanamo", which has also been covered by other African artists (notably by Rochereau), although undoubtedly not as often as "El Carretero", - let alone "El Manisero" (and that's an example of what I call world music!).
On the B-side is a cover of another Cuban composition, in this case by Duo Los Compadres. It's a mystery to me why Mr. Macki has picked this rather typical Duo Los Compadres song. In the Les Dogons version it just doesn't seem right.
For good measure I have added the Cuban version, so you'll have an idea what I mean.

Befor 17-04

The second single is by the Rio Band de Dakar. This band is often mentioned in relation to bands like Baobab and the Star Band, but recordings appear to be more rare. Judging by this single, it is a pity. The A-side features another Cuban classic (and it is so common that I can't even tell you who is the original artist): "Caramelo (A Kilo)". The version is recognisably Senegalese, with some nice guitar and ditto sax.
The B-side seems an original composition by the Rio Band, "Vamos A Bailar (Con El Rio)". A nice enough song, but I have my doubts about the chorus. For some reason the repeated "Con El Rio" gets misformed in my perception to a word which can't have sounded pleasant in francophon Senegal (I leave you to guess the word...).

N'Dardisc 45-18

EDIT December 23, 2010: The Rio Band single is actually N'Dardisc 45-18. I suppose I have misread this...

Sudando

With the promise of improved weather conditions here in the Netherlands, I am mentally preparing myself for a healthy dose of sweltering. And what better way to prepare than with the steamy music of Laba Sosseh, recorded live or under similar circumstances in Dakar, Senegal. With the loose sax of Dexter Johnson.

As I have expressed before (here and here) I just love the ambiance of his recordings. Qualitywise the series on the M.A.G. label, of which this is the first, is certainly not as good as the wonderful CD's on the Dakar Sound label (at least one of those is still available here). But this volume has some classic Laba Sosseh, with personal favourites "Me Voy Pa'l Monte" (a tune which a nasty tendency to stick in my head for days...), "Aminata", "El Manisero (version Sangomar)" (that trumpet..!), "Seyni" (see one of the next posts!), "La Sitiera", and the killer: "Recordando A Noro Morales", - one of those songs that can only be heard with a ventilator at full blast.

Garçon! Get me a cold beer to go with this sweaty music!

MAG 102

Perspective

To me this was a key album in discovering the music of Senegal. It opened a completely new perspective. I was happy to see this perspective later confirmed by the wonderful CD's on the Dakar Sound label, - and especially the volume with the Sorano Singers (DKS 002).

This record, credited on the back of the sleeve to the Ensemble Instrumental de L'A.C.A.S. (Association Culturelle et Artistique du Senegal??), features some of the Greats of Senegalese traditional music. It starts with the vocal power of Amadou N'Diaye Samb, a man who seems to come from a time before microphones and amplification was invented.

He is followed by Lalo Keba Dramé, kora legend from the Casamance. With his forceful, coppery voice he sings the classic Manding song "Alalake" ("If God wills (it)"). If you think kora music is sheepish music for dreamy types, listen to Lalo Keba Dramé, - he will change your view for ever.

The song that finished me off, when it came to the change of perspective, was the opening track of side B by the legendary Samba Diabaré Samb. Both instrumentally and vocally this song touches emotional strings left untouched by the vast majority of western music.

I'm not going to discuss all the songs of this great lp individually. I leave you to discover the wonders offered here. But with a promise of more, in a future post.....

N'Dardisc 33-11

Lat Dior

Ousmane Diallo, better known as Ouza, seems to have been a controversial figure in the Senegalese music scene. I first heard about him in the context in a discussion between some Senegalese about the use of the tama talking drum. According to Ouza, they said, the excessive use of the tama was clouding, or even ruining, the lyrical content of the Senegalese songs.
Having seen a few Senegalese groups overdoing it in this area, I could see where this criticism was coming from, so my interest was aroused.

Born in 1947, Ouza spent several years in Côte D'Ivoire studying and performing with traditional music groups and ballets, before returning to Senegal and playing a major role in Senegalese culture; and not just in modern music (he also was a leader of the Orchestre National du Senegal), but also traditional music and ballet. He is seen as an influential innovator and as a coach of talented singers. On his official site you can find a rather uninformative biography.

Although he is said to have founded his first group in 1965, it took him ten years to release his first album (in 1975* - see this discography, which is slightly more complete than this one). This album is credited to Ouza et ses Ouzettes, and I gather that this was one of the female vocal groups which Ouza coached. Unlike the "4 Femmes dans le vent" album they are not very present in these tracks. I can only hear some female voices in the very distant background in a few of the tracks. Maybe this is due to a technical error, but I have my doubts....

I really like the ballads on this lp, and especially "Dollar", "Dunia" and the title track "Lat Dior". These are the tracks that make this album special.

Jambaar JM 5003

*this re-release is from 1980.

UCAS

Family matters have kept me from posting for a while. I am sure you haven't had time to get bored, with all the posting of the various blogs, but I am hoping to do some 'catching-up' in the next few weeks.

The UCAS Jazz Band from Sedhiou (Casamance, Senegal) is said to be the oldest Senegalese band in existence. Allegedly* founded in 1959, it seems unlikely that the orchestra which released a CD (and DVD) in 2003 has links other than the name to the original band, - or even to the band who released this lp in the 1970s.

According to the sleeve of this lp on the N'Dardisc label** the orchestra won the gold medal at the Semaine Nationale de la Jeunesse in 1967, 1970 and 1972, participated in the panafrican youth festival in Tunis in 1973, and performed at some festivals in Spain and France. The mention of the festivals in Europe can only be explained by the year this album was released, - which was before the many European festivals with African artists.

The orchestra is obviously inspired by the broad scope of traditional music from the Casamance, which is considered to be the region from where the kora originated (although Sidiki Diabaté talked about Guinea Bissau in a video - which I will post later). Apart from the remarkable use of a kora in this modern orchestra, their link with tradition is apparent, if not obvious, from the songs selected. Songs which are from the repertoire of regional legends like Lalo Keba Dramé and Soundioulou Sissoko. As in all modern Senegalese music from this period there is a Latin element, in this case in the song "Yatouloveras" ("Ya tu lo veras", but not the Dimension Latina song).

It may surprise you, but my favourite tracks are tracks without kora: the two ballads "Regret" and "M'Badighol", and "Waite-Nao". And I love the vocals on "Tourban".

N'Dardisc 33-12

*the sleeve notes claim that the Union Culturelle et Artistique de Sédhiou was founded in 1959. I can find no proof that the orchestra was initiated in the same year.
**a following album on this label (33-14) is the one by Laba Sosseh I posted earlier.

Baobab

I'm afraid I am one of those cynics that gets Bueno Vista shivers with every release of yet another 'new' Baobab CD. I mean, like those soneros from Cuba, I really like the music they made when the world wasn't watching, but I can't get the same emotion from their reheated offerings.
I don't mean they shouldn't be 'reaping' what they have been 'sowing', - even if this was decades ago.

I have been trying to analyse the reasons for my allergy, and - although I am still working at it - I have an idea that it must have something to do with pretension. Or the absence of presumptuousness, the 'unpretentiousness', that appeals to me in those original recordings.
Take the tracks on this cassette, for example. Recorded almost casually, and no doubt 'live'. I am sure the musicians in these recordings had no idea they would be 'cult heroes' thirty years later.
How else can one croon a song like "Baobab" in hispano-, eh... something?

This cassette has it all: from the guitar of Attisso and the sax of Cissokho to the vocal range of Medoune Diallo (mature), Balla Sidibé & Rudy Gomis (harmonic) and teenager Thione Seck. My guess is that these recordings are from the late 1970s. Unlike the later "A Paris" recordings, the focus in this cassette is on versions of Senegalese traditionals.
And great versions they are too!

Bellot Records C 3805 (new link Febr. 22, 2012)

PS: If you want more information about the group, there are several biographies available (here's one).

Passionaly

If you are wondering about the title: so am I. It is part of one of the titles of this cassette released by Bellot in 1982. There are more mysteries in the titles; in fact the whole of the B-side only has titles in English: "Character...", "A Sweet Pleasant Woman" and "Competitor...". What's the deal with these titles? Why in English?

Not a word of English is sung on this cassette by Dieuf Dieul, and listening to the music there is no doubt that this is a band from Senegal. I have read somewhere (but I can't recall where) that there are several bands called Dieuf Dieul. And listening to this cassette I am not entirely convinced the whole cassette was recorded by one band. The last two tracks remind me of the early work of Super Diamano, with a strong presence of an electric piano. The other songs are more like Etoile or Number One, with tama's and lots of guitars.

The vocals on both 'types' are great though. Personally I particularly like the singer in the faster tracks on the A-side. My favourite is the second track, awkwardly titled "Treme Dous. Passionaly Ragûati" , - although I suspect it's just a version of "Yobalema"....

Bellot C003 (new link November 10, 2012)