Archive for the ‘Tribal music’ Category
Chants et danses de Guinée-Keita Fodeba introduces Casamance
April 1, 2011
Les Ballets Africains was formed in 1954 by Keita Fodeba in Guinea, the former French Guinée, sometimes called Guinée-Conakry. See also my previous post on Bakary Sissoko and Daouda Diabaté .
Dance was the primary attraction of the troupe because it allowed Keita Fodeba to express many aspects of African life style by using original rhythms created by numerous unique instruments. Many folk singers and players of the traditional music were brought into the group and presented to the world during their numerous European tours.
The success these t0urs generated brought also numerous recording sessions, often registering for the first time African folk music from different parts of the continent.
On this French EP ”Chants et danses de Guinée” Keita Fodeba introduces the Créole Portuguese dialect Casamance, in which most of the songs are sung. This rare EP features a selection of popular folk material, songs centuries old, often with a humorous undertone, sometimes mocking modern technology, like the song ‘Téléphonista’, a declaration of love by the telephone.
Side 1 -Couri-Couri/Aloa/Carolina
Side 2 -Téléphonista/Laïla/Saidouba
Ensemble Keita Fodeba ‘Chants et danses de Guinée’
Le chant du monde LDY 4048 -French pressing 1958
Le chant du monde LDY 4048 -French pressing 1958
Afro/Dutch fusion Pili Pili -Jasper Van ‘T Hof 1984
February 10, 2011 I noticed that at record fairs most collectors shy away from crates filled with records from the 80′s. For most punters that era is bliss but for some these years were the most despicable era in music.
I agree it’s not the most inspiring period that came directly after the revolution that Punk had created. Adam Ant, Frankie Goes To Hollywood, Rick Astley, Culture Club, Asia…not in my collection, please. But wait a minute…
I remember that preceding the Eighties, Punk not only brought a fresh wind into the concept of making music, but also changed the way we listened to music. Pop became adventurous again, exploring new musical territory beyond the horizon of the charts.
Styles like Ska and Reggae, Dub, World music were on the menu in hip circles and on the radio. Burundi drums were discovered by New Wave bands like PIL or The Monochrome Set. The 1971 original recording of Burundi ‘Stephenson’ Black’s tribal drum suite became a well-known 80′s dancefloor tune, loved by Punks and New Romantics alike.
Producer Malcolm McLaren started a band called Bow Wow Wow and became very successful with those tribal rhytms. Later he would exploit things further with beats and sounds from South Africa on his album ‘Duck Rock’.
In Holland a few small independent labels started releasing more experimental stuff inspired by Afro-rhythms and grooves. Like Dutch jazz pianist and keyboard-player Jasper Van ‘T Hof who worked in 1987 with singer Angelique Kidjo on the album ‘Jakko’.
‘Ambandru’ is a jazzy workout over Burundi type of drums, taken from the album ‘Jakko’ (1987). ’Pili Pili’ was released earlier in 1984 as a single and quite a big hit here in Europe.
I agree it’s not the most inspiring period that came directly after the revolution that Punk had created. Adam Ant, Frankie Goes To Hollywood, Rick Astley, Culture Club, Asia…not in my collection, please. But wait a minute…
I remember that preceding the Eighties, Punk not only brought a fresh wind into the concept of making music, but also changed the way we listened to music. Pop became adventurous again, exploring new musical territory beyond the horizon of the charts.
Styles like Ska and Reggae, Dub, World music were on the menu in hip circles and on the radio. Burundi drums were discovered by New Wave bands like PIL or The Monochrome Set. The 1971 original recording of Burundi ‘Stephenson’ Black’s tribal drum suite became a well-known 80′s dancefloor tune, loved by Punks and New Romantics alike.
Producer Malcolm McLaren started a band called Bow Wow Wow and became very successful with those tribal rhytms. Later he would exploit things further with beats and sounds from South Africa on his album ‘Duck Rock’.
In Holland a few small independent labels started releasing more experimental stuff inspired by Afro-rhythms and grooves. Like Dutch jazz pianist and keyboard-player Jasper Van ‘T Hof who worked in 1987 with singer Angelique Kidjo on the album ‘Jakko’.
‘Ambandru’ is a jazzy workout over Burundi type of drums, taken from the album ‘Jakko’ (1987). ’Pili Pili’ was released earlier in 1984 as a single and quite a big hit here in Europe.
Kouyate Kandia -Des Ballets Africains De Keita Fodéba. Vogue EPL 7257
January 20, 2011 my previous post on Sissoko Bakary & Daouda Diabaté -Des Ballets Africains De Keita Fodéba featured an EP that was part of a series of French recordings.
Today’s post is about another record in the same series with catalog nr. EPL 7257, released in the late 50′s.
Kouyate Kandia is a singer and guitarist, from the mountainous region of Fouta-Djallon in Guinea, the former French Guinee, sometimes called Guinee-Conakry. He was discovered by Keita Fodéba who added him to the cast of Les Ballets Africains, an all African-star performance that premiered at Theatre Etoile de Paris on November of 1952 in Paris. It was an instant success. Keita Fodéba moved the production to Africa in 1955 and toured the continent for six years to become the national dance company of Guinea. His life is as spectacular as it is tragic. After he became Minister of Defense in Guinea in 1961 his life ended in jail, where he was murdered.
Musician sensitive and delicate, guitarist Kandia Kouyate is equally blessed with an exceptional voice, a mezzo-soprano. He sings about love and the virtues of tradional African society in traditional songs from Soudan and Guinee.
Today’s post is about another record in the same series with catalog nr. EPL 7257, released in the late 50′s.
Kouyate Kandia is a singer and guitarist, from the mountainous region of Fouta-Djallon in Guinea, the former French Guinee, sometimes called Guinee-Conakry. He was discovered by Keita Fodéba who added him to the cast of Les Ballets Africains, an all African-star performance that premiered at Theatre Etoile de Paris on November of 1952 in Paris. It was an instant success. Keita Fodéba moved the production to Africa in 1955 and toured the continent for six years to become the national dance company of Guinea. His life is as spectacular as it is tragic. After he became Minister of Defense in Guinea in 1961 his life ended in jail, where he was murdered.
Musician sensitive and delicate, guitarist Kandia Kouyate is equally blessed with an exceptional voice, a mezzo-soprano. He sings about love and the virtues of tradional African society in traditional songs from Soudan and Guinee.
Kouyate Kandia -Des Ballets Africains De Keita Fodéba
Vogue EPL 7257 France
side 1
1. Nina (Haute Guinee)
2. Toubaka (Guinee)
side 2
3. Malissadio (Soudan)
4. Chant De Rejouissance w/ choir of men and women
*
guitar; Koyah Marof, Kante Facelli
tam tam; Raphael Wigbert
maracas; Maninka
choir of men and women
3 good intentions for 2011
January 5, 20111. Visit Bokoor House, Accra in Ghana
Partly museum dedicated to Ghanian Highlife on shellac 78′s, partly education cultural centre and music recording studio. Run by John Collins who collects photographs, newspaper clippings, old record covers, a unique collection of shellac records and an extensive selection of traditional and modern musical instruments. Bokoor House is also the home of a library and music practice rooms and a private label, ‘Bokoor Beats’ on which many original Highlife music treasures are been re-released.
2. See Ballaké Sissoko & Vincent Segal in concert
Together with the French cellist Vincent Segal, Ballaké Sissoko
pushes the limits of new musical territory at the intersection of Malian court music and jazz. The CD “ChamberMusic” is their joint effort and clearly a good indication of what a live concert by the duo
and their musicians promises to be.
See a live registration at the Rhino Festival 2009, Lyon France
3. Visit ILAM, Grahamstown, South Africa
ILAM (International Library Of African Music) is the home of the Hugh Tracey archives and a vast collection of traditional African music instruments on show. The small CD store on the grounds of the institute has a great selection of releases like, ‘The Music Of Africa’ by Hugh Tracey , produced by him in the early 1960′s as on off-shoot of his 218 volumes ‘Sound Of Africa’ series, in order to present African music to a wider audience. ILAM has re-issued, without modifications, the original LP series in CD format. SWP Records, the label of Michael Baird, is also part of their catalogue.For description of each CD, go to ILAM
Yuletide Griots Riot
December 13, 2010
last Christmas my review and mix of the past year represented the fertile music of South Africa, this year Soul Safari criss-crosses the whole continent in search of music treasures.
From Sub-Saharan Africa up to Algeria, with the accent on the stringed instrument; guitar, cora, the oud, sekhankula and the Nguni string bow. And poetic stories, in words and mood.Traditional griot music meets the seductive charm from Algeria, cora from Senegal by Bakary Sissoko and Daouda Diabaté blends seamlessly with pure guitar poetry from Francis Bebey…a Nguni Christmas song by Princess Constance Magogo, jazz & happy Jive from South Africa, Congolese soukous and rhumba by Orchestre Loga, Nigerian juju dub from Dele Abiodun.
A surprising discovery this year was this album from 1984, ’Très Fâché, Très Fâché‘ by guitar player and singer Rémi Sah’lomon et Le Matanga from Brazzaville, Congo. Rémi was bassist, singer of varieties, arranger of the National Youth Orchestra of Congo, and at the same time the second bassist in L’ Orchestra Bantou. He made his debut in L’Orchestra Siza Kotoko Ya Gaby. Great soukous tracks on this album!
A selection of recent finds from the past year mixed with a few timeless classics from the Soul Safari archives. Now, what more can one wish for the Yuletide season?
01. Francis Bebey -Jesu, que ma joie demeure
02. P. Ben Mouhamed & M. Idir -A Vava Inou Va
03. Bakary Sissoko & Daouda Diabaté -Diaka
04. Princess Constance Magogo KaDinuzulu -Bambulal’ uJesu yamaJuda (The Crucified Jesus of the Jews)
05. Raisse Omar Ouhrouche -M’sak Salkhir Awali Ghetella Nite
06. Remi Sah’lomon et le Matanga -Africa Matanga
07. Akendenuge -Aiyan
08. Vicky & L’Orchestre OK Jazz -Mwana Ponaka
09. Opic 17 -Orchestre Lago -Okoyoka Eloko Pona Zuwa
10. Mthunzini Girls -Uyangibiza
11. Elias Mathebula & The Chivani Sisters -Ntela A Tingangeni
12. Izintombi Zesi Manje Manje -Omzala Bakho
13. Dele Abiodun -Confrontation Adawa Super Dub
Happy Holidays!
best wishes for the Yuletide season from Soul Safari
even more African tribal dances; Shangaan & Makishi dancers & singers
July 1, 2010
The so called Shonas (named by the Ndebeles) are a mixture of the Ndaus, Karangas, Korekore(kwerekwere). These people migrated to Zimbabwe from Tanzania (Tanganyika) as the Bantu. They split into many groups , some live in SA, Mozambique and Zimbabwe eg the Shangaan people. The Shangaan are a mixture of Nguni language group which includes Swazi, Zulu and Xhosa, and Tsonga speakers (Ronga, Ndzawu, Shona, Chopi tribes).
Mambuaulela Makhubela & his Shangaan Drum Dancers -Park Station
In the Shangaan tradition, the storyteller is the grandmother or elder woman of the family who is the respected transmitter of the old stories. The old woman, called Garingani, or narrator, begins her storytelling by saying “Garingani, n’wana wa Garingani!” – “I am Narrator, daughter of Narrator!” after which the crowd cheers “Garingani”. The crowd chants her name after each line of the story.
With a love for music, the Shangaan people have developed a number of musical instruments. The ‘fayi’ – a small, stubby wooden flute that produces a breathless, raspy, but haunting sound, and is often played by young herd boys. The ‘xitende’, is a long thin bow tied on each end by a taut leather thong or wire – which runs across a gourd. This was often used to alleviate boredom on long journeys.
The Shangaan is well known for their mine dances, carried out to the beat of drums and horns and wide variety of musical instruments such as the mbira. Shangaan male dancers performed the muchongolo dance, which celebrated the role of women in society, war victories and ritual ceremonies.
see also previous post Shangaan mine dances at the Witwatersrandmines
about Makishi Dance
As with most African customs, song and dance is crucial to their ceremonies. The makishi are shrouded in secrecy and it is taboo to ask who hides behind the mask. The makishi are spirits that represent the ancestors and they command the utmost respect. The makishi normally appear during the mukanda (circumcision ceremony), then return to their graves immediately afterwards. Their appearance creates an eerie but fascinating atmosphere.
Makishi dancers have intrigued and intimidated audiences for centuries. The Makishi attach themselves to the world of spirits and demons and, while dancing, lose their personal identity, becoming the character they portray. The Shangaan, by contrast, are fighters and hunters, boasting of their bravery and strength in vigorous authentic group dancing, stamping their feet on bare earth, raising the dust and rushing at the audience in mock-attacks.
See video Makishi & other dances
A selection of different dances from the Shangaan, Makishi and Nyau tribes.
Musical selections taken from the EP ‘Shangaan Musa’ Gallo FP1 Johannesburg, South Africa.
Pics by Falls Promotion, Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe.
Content taken from various sources including the linernotes.
The Future is African -interview with Michael Baird -SWP Records
June 16, 2010 Last March in South Africa I had the pleasure of meeting Michael Baird, an Englishman born in Zambia, living in Holland. He was playing percussion with some fellow musicians around a campfire during a braai, celebrating the birthday of a friend. Our meeting was a pleasant surprise as I had reviewed one of the CD’s which Michael releases through his label SWP Records, ‘Lesotho Calling -lesiba & sekhankula music’ (SWP 033). See my post Sounds & Basotho songs from Lesotho
I became even more fascinated by the fact that Michael also re-releases the famous Hugh Tracey field recordings that are part of the ILAM archives in Grahamstown, South Africa.
So here is an exclusive interview with Michael Baird about his label, his music and his many travels throughout Africa.
Tell us more about the project The Ritmoloog? How does that fit into your catalogue?
That’s not totally accurate, as I have released two compilations with Zambian pop music from the 60s, 70s and 80s. But SWP releases music that no one else does – I never planned to do my Hugh Tracey series, but because no one else apparantly had the vision to do it, it fell to me to do it. Life is like that sometimes! If the music is already out there on the market, that’s fine, then I don’t have to do it. But if I know about some great music that no one else seems to know or either care about – which often I had had the priviledge to have heard as a child – then I reckon I should release it. On top of that, the traditional music is dying out.
I became even more fascinated by the fact that Michael also re-releases the famous Hugh Tracey field recordings that are part of the ILAM archives in Grahamstown, South Africa.
So here is an exclusive interview with Michael Baird about his label, his music and his many travels throughout Africa.
Michael Baird & Aaron & 22-06-08
Tell me when you started your label and why?
That was in 1986. I had produced an album’s worth of recordings of my percussion trio Sharp Wood, having spent a lot of time and trouble getting a good sound and performances, and I looked around for a serious label to release it. It was so frustrating – one said “phone back in ten months”, another said “it’s really interesting music, but if only you were the latest thing from New York…..”, yet another said “if you change some things we’ll sell more…..” So I released it myself and we sold the lp ‘Percussion’ at our concerts. In my opinion the existing record business lacked vision.What is your release policy? You state that SWP releases music that the big companies won’t touch. What makes SWP different from the rest?
SWP stands for Sharp Wood Productions. I release my own music – I am first and foremost a drummer and composer. I want to retain at all times the final artistic responsibility for my music, I don’t want some halfwit money-motivated producer looking over my shoulder telling me what to do! My music is ‘independent’, I think it sounds like nobody else’s. And then there is all the African music I have released: I don’t do it just to make a profit, I do it because I care about the music – and nobody else is releasing it. If SWP doesn’t release this beautiful music, you aren’t going to get to hear it!Nyeleti Mukkuli – Nchembele Musimbi Wangu (from SWP 036 ‘The Kankobela of the Batonga Vol.1′, recorded by Michael Baird)
You were born in Zambia. Describe your first encounters with the music of that country?
The first encounter was still in my mother’s womb. After that I had a black nanny and she took me down to the compound or village, where singing and dancing is a normal state of affairs, and I’m strapped on her back getting swayed back and forth, you know – music is everywhere in Zambia, because it’s an expression of ‘being together’. I grew up with African music.
What is your most memorable African music experience?
So many. Falling asleep in the evenings as a young kid with drums pounding in the distance. Hearing the magical tinkling of an approaching thumb-piano as the guy accompanies himself while walking through the bush. Sitting-in as a 7-year-old playing the basic patterns with drummers and xylophone players from Zambia’s Western Province. Hearing the thunder of a Rwandan drum ensemble as a 5-year-old. Being totally mesmerized as a 9-year-old by a Chopi xylophone ensemble from Mozambique. All in all, it’s the time patterns, the unity of beat. African music is a communal thing – you can join in if you know the tune or rhythm, but if you mess up you’ll get a clip round the earhole and told to listen!
You describe your style of drumming as ‘voodoo jazz’. Explain
It’s just a name, you know. But it refers to my music as a whole, and not just specifically my drumming. Some German journalist in 1988 wrote a review of a Sharp Wood concert and posed the question: “Is it jazz, or is it voodoo?” Wow, I finally knew what I was doing – I was playing voodoo-jazz! No, I kinda liked it because there is a ritualistic, exorcistic element in my music. Good rhythm is hypnotic, as you know. I try to blend musical concepts from both Africa and Europe into some kind of new music; the tag ‘voodoo-jazz’ will do fine for the time being.Tell us more about the project The Ritmoloog? How does that fit into your catalogue?
The Ritmoloog Continues – it’s one of my albums, the continuing story of…..Michael Baird. Recorded in 2005, together with guest musicians. I had mixed midi and live playing together already on my cd ‘On Remote Patrol’ in 1996, and I wanted to pursue that. In between I had done other albums – ‘Sirenians’ was distilled from a composition commission for octet and ‘Gongs and Bells’ was all about overtones and sort of buddhists along the Zambesi. But in September I’ll be releasing ‘Ends and Odds’ which is like a continuation of The Ritmoloog concept. The final mixes are just finished, the mastering next week. Now that, folks, is a cd worth checking out! Afro-ambient grooves with weirdness thrown in. I play a lot of instruments on it – kalimbas, keyboards, drums – and again some guest musicians. The new is as old as the world, but I see myself as a ‘modernist’, and all that means is that I am in a position to steal from all over the place. But it definitely is still my soup!
Are you working as a musician or cultural anthropologist?
I am a musician. I am a colonial kid. Zambians say to me, well if your umbilical cord is buried in Zambia then you are a Zambian! All my live music experiences were African until the family moved to England when, as a 10-year-old, my parents took me to see a european classical concert. I couldn’t figure out where the fun was – no sweating, no dust, no masks, no drumming. It was Hugh Tracey’s recordings which inspired me to also make field recordings. I am self-taught as a musician and if I am also seen as an ethnomusicologist, then I’m self-taught there as well. I have thoroughly researched a lot of African musics – by now I know quite a lot about African music, even if I say so myself, but I approach it all as a musician and not as an academic. Let me add that by making field recordings, I practice ethnomusicology – the people working in university departments just teach the theory!
Why release the historical recordings of Hugh Tracey?
When I walked into the International Library of African Music (ILAM) in 1996 at Rhodes University, South Africa, where Tracey’s archive is kept, there was nothing available on cd. His original field tapes were literally just sitting on an academic shelf gathering dust, doing no one any good. Such beautiful music should be made available to the world! You see, if a piece of music moves me, I want to let you hear it. It then turned out that the condition of the old reel-to-reel tapes was pretty bad – after playing a tape through, there was a little pile of red dust next to the magnetic head: the goddamn coating was just coming off! No time to lose – after all, Hugh Tracey’s unique collection of recordings constitutes the musical memory of half a continent. Two years later I released my first four albums in what ended up as a 21-cd series ‘Historical Recordings by Hugh Tracey’. That took the best part of eight years of my life.Rwakanembe – Nyoro Royal Horns (from SWP 008 and also SWP 034, recorded in 1952 by Hugh Tracey)
Why choose traditional tribal music instead of a selection of contemporary popular music from those countries?That’s not totally accurate, as I have released two compilations with Zambian pop music from the 60s, 70s and 80s. But SWP releases music that no one else does – I never planned to do my Hugh Tracey series, but because no one else apparantly had the vision to do it, it fell to me to do it. Life is like that sometimes! If the music is already out there on the market, that’s fine, then I don’t have to do it. But if I know about some great music that no one else seems to know or either care about – which often I had had the priviledge to have heard as a child – then I reckon I should release it. On top of that, the traditional music is dying out.
In what way do you feel that it is important to preserve the music that you record?
The music I have recorded in Africa – 4 cds released so far and a 5th coming before the end of the year – is dying out. You see, first the missionaries arrived and forbade the devil’s music, then in the colonial era, into which I was born, there was this incredible arrogance that all African music was primitive, then in the post-colonial era the new governments had the idea that everything Western was superior anyway, and nowadays most countries don’t have the means to care for their cultural roots. ‘Music Conservatory’ is an interesting name because it contains the word ‘conserve’ – there are only very few African countries that conserve their musical traditions.In what way do you see the loss of traditional society vs the modern industrialised society?
Well, it’s all about cultural diversity. We need cultural diversity on this earth, because the alternative is a mono culture – and that’s a sad place to be. Vive les differences! Once you’ve got people eating the same, they’ll soon all be thinking the same. Yeah, macmadness…..plus there is so much musical genius to be found in traditional music – it took centuries to create it for godsakes. We can learn so much musically from this music, so don’t let it just disappear. I am a contemporary person, I’m not a purist, I like to mix things up, but there is a cultural tragedy going on and we should care about it! If some young musicians from Zambia are making ‘new music’, then I want to be able to hear that they are from Zambia, i.e. that they are creating from their own rich musical roots, and not copying hiphop or whatever. MTV is destructive for local creativity. But I just love the Kasai Allstars from Kinshasa and Jagwa Music from Dar-es-Salaam – examples of new music from the cities but coming from their own roots.
What was the biggest challenge for you to record this music? And the biggest reward?
The biggest challenge is financial. Malaria, crocodiles, paranoid policemen, I can deal with – but I can’t continue making field trips to Africa because it costs too much money. Meaning SWP is not selling enough of those cds! And I don’t get any funding, I have to pay out of my own SWP pocket. Funnily enough, finding funds to continue his fieldwork was also Hugh Tracey’s constant worry throughout his life. It’s a pity – there are trips to parts of Mozambique, Zambia, Congo, Central African Republic, that I would like to do. The biggest reward is the music itself – finding it, and then making a technically good recording of a great performance. They are my music colleagues you know!What is more important to you; the rhythms or the words/poetry? Words that you may not understand, why do they speak to you?
Words are also sounds. Languages are also music. Mwa-bu-ka-bu-ti! Kaf-e-keni-po-mu-kwai! You don’t have to understand the meaning of a lyric to enjoy the organic whole. However, if a song has a real social or spiritual message, you’ll miss out on it if you don’t get the translation. But for example, one time I heard this great drumming and there were a couple of sentences repetitively sung in the groove – turned out all they were singing was “yes we’re all here, if you are not here, then where are you?” I was already enjoying the music okay, but when I heard that, it brought tears to my eyes. Words can detract from music, but they can also add to it.Why is it important to save traditional African music for the world?
Because it is so beautiful. Also, in African traditional music you find a collectiveness that you will probably find nowhere else in the world: on your own you are nobody, together we are someone. Now that’s a strong philosophical message which us Westerners with all our individualism can learn from! Historically speaking, we are in a crucial fase as far as African music is concerned, many traditions are disappearing as you read this article. But I’m optimistic – I actually think that the future is African.http://www.swp-records.com
Sounds of Tongaland
April 14, 2010
The area known as Tongaland is geographically the north-eastern corner of Zululand, stretching northwards from the Mkuzi Game Reserve to the borders of Mozambique and Swaziland. It includes a tremendous variety of habitats, many of these little known or documented, supporting what is probably the most unique flora and fauna in southern Africa.
One can almost say that whatever form of life exists between tidal pools and mountains, it can be found in Tongaland.During recent years, progress has been rapid in this area. Each year more and more men have left the hills and plains to seek fortune in the cities, goldmines and sugar-mills. Many traditions and customs have become old-fashioned, much folklore and music handed down from father to son have been abandoned or forgotten as civilization has advanced. The instruments in the selections are naqueyane -a bow
nGulula -a friction drum, usually played by young girls who sit crosslegged on the ground with a clay bowl of water at their sides. The instrument is played by pulling and sliding the wetted hands along the lenght of the reed.
isiZembe-a small curved bow
These selections are a brief impression in sound of the moods of Tongaland, a glimpse of the music of the people. Imagine a hilltop looking down onto a vast open plain; the calls of a pair of Pel’s Fishing Owls can be heard with the distant croaking of frogs and toads in the swamps. In the evening families and friends gather around their fires talking and this is when folksongs are born. Past experiences are recalled and even events of the day are phrased and sung. These songs are often only a simple phrase repeated again and again, depending upon the mood of the moment and personalities present. We hear a group of young girls practicing stamping and handclapping-surely one of the most primitive forms of music-and then they sing and dance.
Sounds one would have heard some years ago, before the guitar, mouth organ, penny whistle, concertina and the transistor radio became available
Excerpts from the liner notes of ‘Sounds of Tongaland’ by Tony Pooley 1970
pics Lake Kariba
The Bleached Zulu pt 2 -OST “Tokoloshe” Sam Sklair
April 4, 2010
thanks to our friends at LP Cover Lover for spreading the gospel about Sam Sklair. I’ve had feedback from a lot of places that I never could have expected. Find the original posts with MP3′s here Sam Sklair -Gumboot Dance vol 1 & 2 and here Sam Sklair -POP goes the gumboot
Sam Sklair certainly deserves his title as ’Bleached Zulu’ for he not only re-worked traditional Zulu and other South African songs into pop charting material in the 60′s and 70′s but he was also composing for TV and movies with an African theme.For ”Tokoloshe” (The Evil Spirit), an independent movie produced in 1965, by director Peter Browse, Sam Sklair composed the soundtrack and played traditional instruments like the kalimba (m’bira), chopi piano and slit drums together with classical and jazz musicians for the recording sessions. While these instruments play a major role in Sam Sklair’s arrangements he has avoided using them in any traditional sense. There are no ‘jungle music’ clichés but he uses these instruments rather in a way that juxtaposes or blends their primitive sounds with the complex tones of a modern orchestra. Cast includes Chief Mangosuthu Buthelezi … Zulu Chief, Sid James … Blind Man, Saul Pelle … Boy, Jimmy Sabe … Witchdoctor
excerpts from the original liner notes of ‘Tokoloshe’ (1965) Teal TL 1136
about tokoloshe
Anyone from Africa, particularly southern Africa will be familiar with the tokoloshe and even those who scoff at its existence will have their beds elevated on bricks just to be sure that the dwarf like tokoloshe can’t reach them while they sleep.
Once the ‘tokoloshe’ is explained to non-Africans they soon recognize this creature. He is the European version of a goblin, gremlin, leprechaun, water sprite, faerie or demon. Whenever something goes awry it is the tokoloshe who is to blame. The tokoloshe is a short, hairy, dwarf-like creature controlled by witches, from Bantu folklore. It is a mischievous and evil spirit that can become invisible by swallowing a pebble.
Once the ‘tokoloshe’ is explained to non-Africans they soon recognize this creature. He is the European version of a goblin, gremlin, leprechaun, water sprite, faerie or demon. Whenever something goes awry it is the tokoloshe who is to blame. The tokoloshe is a short, hairy, dwarf-like creature controlled by witches, from Bantu folklore. It is a mischievous and evil spirit that can become invisible by swallowing a pebble.
The penis of the tokoloshe is so long that it has to be slung over his shoulder. Thus sexually well endowed, the duties of the tokoloshe include making love to its witch mistress. In return, it is rewarded with milk and food.
The witch keeps the tokoloshe docile by cutting the fringe of hair that hangs over its eyes. The way to get rid of a tokoloshe is to call in the n’anga or witch doctor who has the power to banish him from the area. Witch doctors make a magical substance from the body of a dead tokolosh, which makes the tokoloshe visible and paralyzes him, allowing the witch doctor to kill him. This ‘muti’ is sold throughout Africa as protection against tokoloshes and the genuine article leaves a cold mark on the skin where it is rubbed in.
excerpts from an original text by Safari Newsreel. Photo’s by Aiden Chole
Puseletso Seema & Tau Ea Linare -Lesotho
December 17, 2009
Sotho traditional music is an integral part of Sotho social education and traditionally links hearing with the understanding of the natural and social worlds. The Sotho describe instruments as either liletsa tsa matsoho (those sounded by the hand) or liletsa tsa molomo (those sounded by the mouth). The former category includes the moropa and skupu drums, these days often made from oil cans because of scarcity of wood. The latter category includes the lesiba, a mouth-resonated stick-zither sounded by blowing. The primary use of the lesiba is in cattle-herding; bird sounds and actions are seen to affect cattle; these sounds can be imitated on the lesiba and the instrument is thus used to control the animals’ behaviour. The whistles and yipping are herdboy’s calls as recorded for the particular song.
‘thabo’ is a name given to a Sotho boy and by adding ‘ma’ it means ‘mother of Thabo’ and also has the meaning ‘to ever be glad’
translated means ‘lies’ -the song is about the fact that lies get one in trouble especially lovers
translated means ‘land can’t be fat’ -the song is about land that cannot receive rain or nourishment or proper care, cannot yield food to feed it’s people
Traditionally there was no professionalism in Sotho music, although this has developed in response to changes in Sotho culture. Broadcasting and exposure to other styles of African and international music and the demands of the pop music market, even the introduction of the accordion, all have their influences on musicians and singers.
excerpts from the original linernotes of ’He O Oe Oe!’ by Puseletso Seema & Tau Ea Linare. Globestyle ORB 003 UK 1985
No hay comentarios:
Publicar un comentario