WEST AFRICAN MUSIC

"Say, that kora player is good - but who's that woman singing? How come her name's not on the cover also?"  Well, actually her name is on the cover: Madina N'Diaye, master kora player, singer, and songwriter, is a woman!

 It's tough enough for a woman to make it in the fields of Western pop music, but in Africa? Wow! If that wasn't enough, Madina is now blind and a feminist songwriter in Mali, a country known for great singers, guitarists and kora players. The competition to be seen and heard is intense.

 Although the majority of the instrumentation is acoustic on BIMOGOW (her first album) with voice, kora and balafon predominant, there's a definite beat and band feel to it, also.

 I believe most of the bass playing is done on an electric bass guitar set at a low enough volume to let the acoustic instruments shine.  Even the guitar solos are done on acoustic instruments. A small chorus of female voices often backs up Madina's high-pitched, somewhat girlish voice.

 For fans of acoustic West African music, lovers of the female voice, for fans of Ali Farka Toure (who does not play on BIMOGOW, but does represent the music of Mali to many people), Madina N'Diaye represents the new direction of Africa while sounding totally traditional at the same time.

 African music is going into the 21st century healthier than ever, pioneered by such as Madina N'Diaye.

 For lovers of Cape Verdean music there's a new voice and a style most of us weren't aware of in Lura. As most of our regular readers know, Cape Verte or Cabo Verde is a small country of tiny islands off the coast of West Africa.

 Until receiving DI KORPU KU ALMA by Lura, all the Cape Verte music we had heard was a cross between European (Portuguese and French) and Brazilian. But now we have an artist who mixes African music into the mix.

 Apparently the Southern islands have a higher percentage of Africans in the population, hence more of an African influence in the music. The style is called Batuku.

 Lura is a master of Batuku and several others: at times she sounds very much like a young Cesaria Evora, at others a hip-shaking Senegalese singer.

 Whether contemplative music, gentle dance, or exuberant dance, Lura does it all with great skill and charm.

 If by some chance you don't fall in love with Lura listening to her music on DI KORPU KU ALMA and looking at her album photos, there's also a live concert DVD enclosed to completely melt your heart.

 Fans of Cesaria Evora or Cabo Verdian music or just music fans in general will probably love Lura: DI KORPU KU ALMA is a powerful package.

   Dobet Gnahore of Ivory Coast, West Africa has to be one of the most delightful new artists to my ears in a long time. Considering I discover dozens of new artists yearly, this is really saying something.

  A percussionist and dancer as well as a singer, Dobet has a group with her husband, guitarist Colin Laroche de Feline, originally from France. Colin came to the artist colony in Abidjan where Dobet studied under her father and other teachers. The music has influences from other African cultures as well: some of the singing sounds like the pygmy style singing of early Zap Mama; at other times like South African harmonizing.  

 How about a fulani flute?! Played by Dobet herself, a second female vocalist is actually the most important or at least notice 'instrument' in the group. Though bubbling percussion is nearly always present, neither percussion or guitar ever dominate.

 Dobet has a smooth thick-as-honey voice with a great range, yet she doesn't show it off with any great dramatic effects - it's very subtle and ever-changing, sliding up and down the scales and in and out of different styles in a matter of seconds.

 After four listens I'm convinced Dobet Gnahore could sing anything she truly wanted to sing. As it is, she sings in several African languages.

 Violent upheaval has forced Dobet and Colin to spend much time abroad, particularly in France. Many of the tunes were recorded in Belgium; others in Abidjan. 

 Due to her personality plus training in theatre and dance, Dobet is reported to be a dynamic live performer. If this group is even better live than on cd, it's a 'must' experience!

  West Africa's Manding empire may be over, but its musical influence continues to spread around the world in ways its originators could never have imagined.

 Manding music today comes primarily from the countries of Mali, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, the Gambia and Senegal, the home of kora player Ali Boul Santo. Singer Hadja Kouyate is from Guinea. The music on MANDING-KO is primarily acoustic and somewhat traditional-sounding. Despite the occasional presence of electric guitar and bass, most of the percussion is done with simple hand claps, not a drum to be found.

 Lovers of kora music will probably recognize cut 2, 'Alla Lake', a traditional classic Manding kora instrumental. Ali Boulo Santo plays a 25-string kora, by the way, and has at least two previously released solo albums to his credit.

 I noticed that even some of the original tunes sounded like old favorites changed around with new effects such as a wawa on a kora, and new lyrics. So something new but old at the same time makes for a lovely result.

 Two deeply rotted artists not afraid to push the edges out a bit make MANDING-KO very pleasant to listen to: it won't make you dance, though there are parts a person with imagination could dance to. Most of us would have to be content to just sway with the music.

 Hadja Kouyate has a young-sounding, somewhat high - but not extremely - pitched voice. The vocal chorus is rarely used and when it is, it's rather soft and subtle.

 These two work well together and will probably record together again, hopefully.

   A gathering of many of Mali's biggest stars, with artists playing together on the same stage in various combinations, is profiled in MIDNIGHT IN MALI, recorded live in December 2004: I wish we could have been there.

 Electric guitars jamming with balfons, kora, ngoni, traditional violins and all kinds of percussion instruments - and so many great vocalists: who thought up this idea?   Well, popular guitarist/songwriter/band leader Habib Koite, whose band Bamada plays many different Malian regional styles, acted as musical director - who else could bring people from so many regions and musical traditions together and have them play as though they'd been doing this kind of thing for their entire lives?

 Ok, the music isn't as polished perhaps, but it does hold together remarkably well - everyone seems to get along and tries to blend together rather than to outshine each other.

 There are so many outstanding musicians and singers on MIDNIGHT IN MALI, it seems unfair to single out any - but a blind female kora player (Madina N'Diaye) is just too unusual not to mention.

 New to me was the voice of rising star Dieneba Seck, whose new cd THE TRUTH will undoubtedly show up on many a play list.

 Though the southern regions of Mali play the major role here, listen to the tama (small high-pitched talking drum) solo by Salif Sissoko on 'Signana', where he throws a little Songhai rhythm from the Northern desert regions. 

 Every once in a while chaos threatens, but it never happens.  Musicians play with the edge of it but soon everybody's back in the groove. Super producer Ibrahima Sylla has done another excellent job of bringing great African music to the world's attention.

 Singer Dieneba Seck was a standout on the powerful MIDNIGHT IN MALI and here on her solo album THE TRUTH we have an entire album devoted to her strong (but not over-amped) voice.  Unlike so many women singers from Mali, Dieneba doesn't shout or scream over the primarily acoustic instruments.  How many times have I seen and heard a concert ruined when a female Malian signer belted into a too-loud microphone where her musicians were totally drowned out?  Congrats not only to Dieneba but to producer Yves Ndjock and engineer Manu Pezot.

 Dieneba Seck was not born into the Griot (traditional musician/singer) class, but you'd never guess so by the quality of her voice, which is very traditional in sound.

 Dieneba so impressed guitarist/band leader Sekou Koyate that he invited her to sing backup in his band back in 1986. He plays guitar and does the arrangements throughout on THE TRUTH - and what great arrangements they are: traditional one-string violin, flute, guitar, and subtle percolating percussion.  The sounds seduce you into listening rather than trying to knock you out with a one-two punch.

 I feared music like THE TRUTH was dead, but thankfully I was wrong. Even as rap, disco, hard rock and techno dominate the music world, some folks react against it and dig a little bit deeper into the well of tradition - and that's the heart of THE TRUTH.

  Wow: a double cd set of rare recordings and hits from the 1960s and 70s from one of Africa's most influential bands - probably the most important band in the history of Manding music (encompassing several West African countries)!

 Like so many African musicians outside of South Africa, the musicians of Guinea were fascinated by Cuban music. Many of the tracks on THE SYLIPHONE YEARS are in the Cuban style, with the major difference being the electric guitar style of Sekou 'Diamond Fingers' Diabate, who sounds like a disciple of Les Paul.

 Under pressure from the Guinean government, who owned the band's instruments and basically controlled their lives, the band started to incorporate more and more Guinean folk elements into their sound. This eventually started a music revolution of sorts throughout the Manding countries as former members of the band were in high demand throughout West Africa.  Well-trained, disciplined musicians were hard to find: hence this band's huge influence.

 Slide guitar and steel guitar fans should get a kick out of Cut 14 on the first cd, 'Alake', where Hawaii meets Cuba in West Africa (by now the sound is becoming less Cuban, the horns less important, electric guitar overriding a more Africanized drumbeat, yet still somewhat Cuban - just not as pronounced),

 Most Americans think Carlos Santana wrote the book on electric guitar meets Latin music (aka Afro-Cuban), but most Africans know that's not true. Listen to 'Diamond Fingers' on THE SYLIPHONE YEARS: he practically 'owns' Disc 2. As for the rhythms, you might feel a bit guilty sitting down listening to this music, but it's a gentle cohesive rhythm; it doesn't beat you over the head but gently lifts you up, fascinates, and you then want to dance.

 Is there such a thing as immortal music? Listen to THE SYLIPHONE YEARS and decide for yourself.

  In the Manding countries of West Africa most music is played and sung by Djellis (aka Griots): people whose families have played the roll of entertainers and keepers of the oral history for centuries. Some other people occasionally make music - for insurance, the Donso or hunters.

 Sibiri Samake is a hunter who also preserves the songs of the hunters; hence he refers to himself as a 'Donsojeli'. Sibiri plays a n'goni (a lute-like instrument similar to a kora, but with far fewer strings - as few as four, but usually six). He is accompanied on DJITOUMOU KONO by Aboubacar Samake on n'goni and second voice.  Sibiri's daughter Kadiatou plays tatiara, a pipe-like grater instrument, while Soumalia Fofana plays an instrument called a karignan. The extensive liner notes don't mention this instrument.

 All the music on DJITOUMOU KONO is traditional. Unlike the hunters in many other traditional societies, the Donso also gather and became experts in plants for food and medicine - hence, the Donso are a real hero in Malian society, venerated much like the cowboy is in the USA.

 I'm always amazed as to how rhythmic the music of Mali is: no matter how traditional or simple, even though there are no drums, you can always feel the beat.   The blues of the Mississippi Delta just has to be descended from this music - but how did African Americans keep this music in their heads for centuries, only to have it come out in their guitar playing in the 20th century? Another mystery for another day.

 In the meantime, enjoy the roots here: Sibiri Samake is the real deal.