...ok... NOMINATE!

I was given a homemade compilation cd by a friend - no new stuff but new to me lol. A few names include... Simba Melembe Brenda Fassic Hugh Masekela Kekela Franco & Tabu Ley Rocherease.... it's NICE!

I may have some of the names wrong... hard to read their hand writing on the cd...

Okay, I'm the last person to be recommending African music, because I just don't know enough.

Anyway, some of what I've discovered (and like--a lot!) I've found at calabashmusic.com. (They even offer free downloads!). The Benn loxo African music blog is good too.

Okay, I like (It's a bit dancey):

Koro Lere--Dene Issebere

Ensalaren Gojo--Bole 2 Harlem

Various songs off Antibalas Afrobeat Orchestra's Talkatif album (I think Fela is their inspiration)

Tumba by Angelique Kidjo

I absolute LOVE the Natural Self remix of Oscar Sulley's Olufeme.

Soda Soap--Refugee All Stars

Bon Voyage (Mike Ogletree remix)--Keng Godefroy

Honorable mention: Pata Pata--Miriam Makeba

I purchased some Fela Kuti at calabashmusic.com. I'm feelin' it! His music is socially conscious and funky (and jazzy, too). I'm sure he was influenced by James Brown.

I've been listening to a bit of kwaito. It's South African house music.

I'm probably the only person in town who hasn't heard any Fela Kuti - yet. I need to get down to my local 2nd hand cd store.

The only exposure I've had to kwaito music is via the Tsotsi movie - I like it - IMO it's bold, brash and in-your-face, lol, and has a fierce beat. The film is good too, if you haven't seen it.

I wound suggest...

Awilo Longomba, Oliver Mtukudzi and the Black Spirits, Youssou N'Dour, Baaba Maal, Koffi Olomide, Papa Wemba, Femi Kuti(Fela's son), Miriam Makeba, Ladysmith Black Mambazo, Yvonne Chaka Chaka, Alpha Blonie, Lucky Dube, Brenda Fassie, and... I must promote my boyfriend, Daddy V and his cousin Jojo's record label artists... Innocent, and Jabali Africa on Kilamajaro records.

http://www.kilimanjaroentertainment.com/

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Oshun Auset,

Egungun, Egungun ni t'aiye ati jo!
Ancestos, Ancestors come to earth and dance!

"I'm sick of the war and the civilization that created it. Let's look to our dreams, and the magical; to the creations of the so-called primitive peoples for new inspirations."
- Jaques Vache and Andre Breton

"Capitalism is the astounding belief that the most wickedest of men will do the most wickedest of things for the greatest good of everyone."
-John Maynard

"You know that in our country there were even matriarchal societies where women were the most important element. On the Bijagos islands they had queens. They were not queens because they were the daughters of kings. They had queens succeeding queens. The religious leaders were women too..."
-- Amilcar Cabral, Return to the Source, 1973

I forgot one... Samba Mapangala of Orchestra Virunga.

Thanks!

Well OA, I saw the worst (so-called) 'african' music ever on Sat night!!

Aside from the 'big names' like Salif Keita, Yossour N'Dour (sp) not many african bands tour Australia, but I have seen some great live music at different festival and NGO events from Soweto and Senegal, etc. so I thought it would be great night out... and organized a group of friends along to see what I thought was a Kenyan band - egg on my face!



The flyer and street posters might have promised KENYAN MUSIC but the band included ONE Kenyan with talking drums & percussion, the rest were European and South african. Well... I've seen some great African music played by white people in my time, but this was a bad mix of piano, drum kit, electric guitar (WTF?), double bass, electric piano, bad djembe playing and... the Kenyan with talking drums. Get the picture? As you might imagine, the LOUD electric guitar and piano totally overwhelmed the talking drums (although you may not have thought that possible), and all the percussion. AAaaagh... the memory is too painful!
The lyrics? Better not to GO THERE. What were they thinking....? What was I thinking...?

Motto: always do your research.

At least the dinner was nice.

Does anyone remember Letta Mbulu? She had this nice song way back in the day (the 70s, I thing). Something about "the music man?"

I've also been listening to Tony Allen, Fela's drummer. Lastly, I just ordered Babatunde Olatunji's Drums of Passion.

quote:

Originally posted by FireFly:
Thanks!

Well OA, I saw the worst (so-called) 'african' music ever on Sat night!!

Aside from the 'big names' like Salif Keita, Yossour N'Dour (sp) not many african bands tour Australia, but I have seen some great live music at different festival and NGO events from Soweto and Senegal, etc. so I thought it would be great night out... and organized a group of friends along to see what I thought was a Kenyan band - egg on my face!



The flyer and street posters might have promised KENYAN MUSIC but the band included ONE Kenyan with talking drums & percussion, the rest were European and South african. Well... I've seen some great African music played by white people in my time, but this was a bad mix of piano, drum kit, electric guitar (WTF?), double bass, electric piano, bad djembe playing and... the Kenyan with talking drums. Get the picture? As you might imagine, the LOUD electric guitar and piano totally overwhelmed the talking drums (although you may not have thought that possible), and all the percussion. AAaaagh... the memory is too painful!
The lyrics? Better not to GO THERE. What were they thinking....? What was I thinking...?

Motto: always do your research.

At least the dinner was nice.

Ewww... That sounds like a train wreck!

I like her music, you might too - check it out...


Nahawa Doumbia


The year 2000 saw Nahawa Doumbia establish herself as one of the leading singers of Wassoulou music, as the pentatonic sound of southern Mali is known. A haven of strong women vocalists, Doumbia's Yaala album and her collaboration with French DJ Frederic Galliano pushed her firmly into the public eye. Born in Mafélé, near the border with the Ivory Coast, Doumbia was raised by her grandmother, her mother having died shortly having given birth to her. But before she died, she predicted her daughter would be a singer — something surprising, since she didn't come from the jeli caste, the hereditary singers. It was something her grandparents tried to fight, but it seemed as if the prediction was correct.

Doumbia would sing with her friends, and was eventually discovered in 1980 by civil servants from the country's Ministry of Culture, and persuaded to sing in the National Youth Week, organized by the Ministry to discover new talent. Doumbia won the contest, singing "Tinye De La Laban," which brought government support for her singing, allowing her to develop her style, based on the traditional didadi rhythm of her native region. Even so, it wasn't until 1988 that she issued her first album, Didadi (1989 U.S. release). It's very Western gloss was at odds with the rootsiness of her voice. Two years later, she brought things more back to the ground, collaborating with a host of African talent, such as guitarist Rigo Starr and members of Salif Keita's band. Mangoni, in 1993, followed a similar plot line. Her voice had developed, but she hadn't really found her individuality yet. That started to flower with Yaknaw in 1997, which unleashed a true Wassoulou sound, similar to that of Oumou Sangare, who'd already gone on to international success.

Like Sangare, Doumbia is a feminist, her lyrics powerfully against polygamy, for the rights of women and children, and they received an airing on 1999's Bougouni. The finest flower, however, came with Yaala. Working with her band, who played largely traditional instruments, plus French producer/guitarist Claude Barthélémy, she forged a truly incisive sound, that captured her voice at the height of its power. It came at the same time as she was featured on Frederic Galliano's Frikyawa Collection 1, taking tracks from the French label Cobalt, and remixing them to dancefloor effect. Doumbia also played U.S. dates with Galliano augmenting her band on turntables and effects, for a real marriage of the ancient and modern that brought as much press and praise as Yaala.

a link to her cds on amazon: http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_m/103-2147380-6459037...o.x=13&Go.y=11&Go=Go

Another good site to check out music:
http://www.gatewayofafrica.com/

There are some samples at amazon

http://www.amazon.com/Miss-Perfumado-Cesaria-Evora/dp/B000006R55

http://bennloxo.com/

Vh1: African Experience.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Santana St. Cloud,

***********************************

“It is certain, in any case, that ignorance, allied with power, is the most ferocious enemy justice can have.” -- James Baldwin

PAPE MBAYE AND CHOSANI AFRIQUE with Yacou Mbaye



Overview:

The beaming smile of Pape Mbaye is as well loved as his wide musical talents. It's an infectious smile that seems to go hand-in-hand with the West African rhythms that lie at the root of his music. Pape Mbaye, and his eight-piece band Chosani Afrique, bring some of the magic of West Africa to their audience - a night of Latin, reggae and jazz, inspired and led by this uncontainable master percussionist and his equally talented son Yacou Mbaye. It is captivating and hypnotic.

quote:

Originally posted by Santana St. Cloud:
http://bennloxo.com/

Vh1: African Experience.

i just keep playing and playing Habib Koite's MA YA cd coz it is so fantastically, wonderful.

It is my favourite cd of all time I just love it

you can imagine how happy I was to see them perform it live in Sydney this year - bliss!

Go listen... treat yourself

http://www.simphiwe.co.za/


Simphiwe Dana

Revolutionary Melodies

It was Women’s Day, and the young and old gathered to celebrate at the Constitutional Hill in Johannesburg. Simphiwe Dana was one of the artists on the line up and I waited in anticipation, excited to see her perform live, because from what I’ve heard this girl can really do her thing. After what seemed like a very long time the MC announced that she was coming up next. The crowd waited anxiously as the three background vocalists were settling in their positions. The background music began playing and as Dana entered the stage the crowd erupted with excitement.

Dressed in a long oriental design skirt and a tight fitting vest with the words ‘I’m an African showing off her pregnant belly’ printed on it, Simphiwe looked stunning, and, unlike many good looking female singers, she fortunately has the voice to go with it.

Born and Raised in the Eastern Cape, her name means ‘gift’ and many of her fans would agree that she is just that, a gift to the SA music scene. In a short period of time this Soul Sistah has become one of South Africa’s favourite daughters. Her music has a fresh sound and her unique voice complements it perfectly. Her debut album Zandisile took a lot of music lovers by surprise. It is modern South African music with a timeless revolutionary message.

Simphiwe Dana says that her music is mostly influenced by what is going on in people’s daily lives. She talks about the struggle that black people are going through, despite South Africa’s supposed freedom, and status as a democracy. Tracks like Thwelubunzima and Vukani call for people of colour to wake up and see the light, but then she also has tracks like Zandisile which is a song of hope, and Ndiredi, the hit single for which she won a couple of South African Music Awards.

'I am a very cultured person’, she says, ‘as an African person we were made to feel inferior and a lot of African people stopped practicing their culture because it was seen as witchcraft or uncivilized. My music is inspired by African people and the love they have for song. I grew up in a rural area and every time there was some kind of gathering, such as a wedding or circumcision, we sang to celebrate the event. Music has always been my first love, but because of financial problems I was forced to study IT after matric in order to survive and I have worked in the IT industry until reality caught up with me and I couldn’t ignore my calling to become a musician anymore. I started off performing at poetry sessions in Yeoville and Newtown and one day after a performance a talent scout from Gallo records approached me and asked me to give her a demo tape, which I did, and weeks later they asked me to sign up with them. The rest, as they say, is history’.

Simphiwe has two lovely children.

'I want my children to grow up the way I did, knowing where they come from and so I speak to Zazi in our language, Xhosa. This is for the same reason I sing in Xhosa. It is very important to preserve our languages and pass them on to our children’.

Some of Simphiwe’s favorite artists are Dorothy Masuka, Miriam Makeba and Bob Marley just to name a few. ‘I like the fact that I have a unique sound and I don’t purposefully follow trends. I would advise other people who want to become a musician to be creative about what they do rather than trying to imitate others. If you have the love for something and you are passionate about it, then you will stop at nothing to do it. And no matter what you do in life always remember where your roots lie’.

Hi,
I just cam across this site and to all of you who are in Australia and LOVE African music, you should come and check out Pape Mbaye and Chosani Afrique at The Gaelic Club 10 September 2008.

pape_postcard_email.jpg (81 Kb, 0 downloads)

Thanks for dropping by Kal Fech.
Dammit, I'm Sydney-based, but I'm going to be at a Brazilian gig that night
But please keep me up to date with all other live African music.
Don't forget The Basement as a venue too, it gets hot on the (teeny tiny) dance floor!