Filed under: Japan
In June 1966, the Beatles visited Japan to perform a series of concerts at Tokyo‘s legendary Budokan Hall. Their visit created such national excitement among teenagers that almost overnight there was a dramatic shift in the way young musicians formed groups, played their instruments and thought about fashion and style.
This new wave of 1960s Japanese rock groups was called Group Sounds—or GS for short. The term GS was purportedly coined when Jackey Yoshikawa and the Blue Comets were guests on Yuzo Kayama‘s TV show. Kayama started teasing Yoshikawa about his poor English pronunciation of “Lock ‘n’ Lorr.” Yoshikawa admitted that because of the two R’s and two L’s, “Rock ‘n’ Roll” is difficult for Japanese people to pronounce correctly. Yoshikawa then challenged Kayama to come up with an English term that Japanese people could easily pronounce. Kayama thought for a moment and suggested, “Why not call “Rock ‘n’ Roll” the “Group Sounds?” Within days the media and fans all over Japan began using the new expression.
The Spiders first formed in 1961 by Shochi Tanabe, originally playing mostly country music, but basically serving as a backing band to singers and playing whatever the gig called for. The GS version slowly came into being, the final link being the addition of teenager Jun Inoue on vocals in 1964, just as the British Invasion was hitting. Early on they recorded some cover versions of instrumental hits like “Wipe Out”, which were in vogue at the time, although they were not major hits. Soon however their sound was more along the lines of the Rolling Stones, Beatles, Animals and the Kinks, which is to say R&B influenced rock, and in fact the band did a fair number of covers of UK rock songs and R&B.
Amongst the things that set the Spiders apart from other GS bands was that their style was a bit more frenzied, and they often danced and clowned around while playing. The Spiders became the premiere GS band, and were called on often to open for visiting foreign bands, including the Animals, the Astronauts, Beach Boys, and the Ventures. In 1966 the Spiders released their debut Album No.1, which was all original material. Later the same year they released Album No. 2 which was all covers. Both were well received. The Spiders were Masaaki Sakai on vocals and flute, Hiroshi “Monsieur” Kamayastu on guitar and vocals, Takayuki Inoue on guitar, Mitsuru Kato on bass, Shochi Tanabe on drums, and Katsuo Ohno on keyboards and steel guitar.
Like many if the UK groups the Spiders usually wore matching suits. And inspired by the Beatles, the Spiders made four Help! like movies – Wild Scheme A-Go-Go (1967), Go Forward!!, Big Commotion! and The Road To Bali (all in 1968). Some of these movies have been released in other countries, sometimes with different titles. The band also made attempts at international markets, releasing records in many major markets and playing dates in the States and Europe, including an appearance on British TV show Ready Steady Go! and shows in Paris. The band had little impact overseas, but continued on in Japan until 1971.
The group has reunited a few times, and the band remains fondly remembered. All of the Spiders went on went on to have successful careers somewhere in the entertainment business. Kamayatsu, whose father was also a professional musician, has remained active in music and is a well known, popular TV personality. Sakai, whose father had been a comedian, had a successful solo career, and has remained active in music and acting. Tanabe runs Tanabe Agency, one of the best known music production and management companies in Japan. Takayuki Inoue joined a new band called PYG with Ohno, which was sort of a GS super group, and later became very successful writing music for TV and film. Jun Inoue went on to have a career as a solo singer and comedian
Catalog number FS-1030 Philips Japan. No release date listed.
Filed under: Guinea
♬ Samba
Balla et Ses Balladins were from Guinea.
Guinea, officially the Republic of Guinea (French: République de Guinée), is a nation in West Africa, formerly known as French Guinea. It borders Guinea-Bissau and Senegal on the north, Mali on the north and north-east, the Côte d’Ivoire on the south-east, Liberia on the south, and Sierra Leone on the west. Its territory encompasses the water source for the Niger, Senegal, and Gambia rivers, with a coastline facing the Atlantic Ocean. The name Guinea (geographically assigned to most of Africa’s west coast, south of the Sahara desert and north of the Gulf of Guinea) originates from Berber and roughly translates into ‘land of the blacks.’ It is sometimes called Guinea-Conakry per its capital to differentiate it from the neighboring Guinea-Bissau (whose capital is Bissau).
Below is an attempt at translating the French liner notes from the back of the record sleeve (using the Google translator):
First national formation Guinean with launching the songs and folk dances African, “Balla et Ses Balladins” produce a more elaborate music, richer in the rhythmic fitting. Wrongly or rightly, one them called “intellectuals” of the African music of Guinea, because of the severe meticulousness which they bring to the orchestration and the execution of each title of their punished repertory. In their obsessional research of the perfection, the “Balladins” go until proposing two or three different interpretations of the same piece.
“Samba” (Face A), presents an unquestionable consonance with the “Rythm and Blues”, however it is popular very widespread in Wassoulou. The merit of the “Balladins” is to have taken it again, and especially to have left the support on the neck with Sekou Diabate – Doctor, whose guitar pluri-octave makes this sensuality melody and rhythmic of the organ electronic.
I don’t know what kind of fuzz pedals they had access to in Guinea at this time, but it doesn’t sound like anything else I’ve ever heard. Sextet Camayenne, who were also from Guinea, used a similar sounding fuzz pedal (may have even been the same guitarist) on their song “Kanimba”.
Catalog number SYL 545 on the state run Editions Syliphone Conakry, République de Guinée, released 1972.
Filed under: Egypt
Modern Egyptian music blends musical traditions encompassing indigenous Egyptian varieties as well as Turkish, Arabic, and Western elements. Arabic musical tradition is usually said to have begun in the 7th century in Syria during the Umayyad dynasty. Early Arabic music was influenced by Byzantine, Indian and Persian forms, which were themselves heavily influenced by earlier Greek, Semitic, and ancient Egyptian music. The tonal structure of Arabic music is defined by the maqamat, loosely similar to Western modes, while the rhythm of Arabic music is governed by the awzan (wazn, sing.), formed by combinations of accented and unaccented beats and rests.
From the 1970s onwards, Egyptian pop music has become increasingly important in Egyptian culture, particularly among the large youth population of Egypt. Egyptian folk music, a direct descendant of ancient Egyptian music, is also popular. It is played during weddings and other traditional festivities. In the last quarter of the 20th century, Egyptian music was a way to communicate social and class issues.
Magdy El Hosseini, as well as Omar Khorshid and others, were part of an Western music scene in Egypt from the mid 60s influenced by The Beatles and other beat music of the time. Both Magdy and Omar were in bands that performed in hotels and night clubs. But by the late 60s Omar switched from playing Western music, to more traditional music.
When Omar Khorshid joined the backing orchestra for Umm Kulthum, he had Magdy join as well. Then later, when Omar recorded with the Al Massiyah Orchestra that backed Abdel Halim Hafez, he brought Magdy with him again. Like Omar Khorshid, Magdy tried to find a wide audience outside of Egypt, playing in Lebanon, Kuwait and Bahrain. But after the death of Abdel Halim Hafez, Magdy’s only appearances were on Egyptian television.
Thanks to Hany Zaki for the translation and the invaluable information.
Catalog number 87-74083 on Moriphon Records of Egypt, recorded in 1974.
Filed under: Malaysia
Los Caballeros were from Malaysia.
Malaysia is a federation of 13 states in Southeast Asia. The name “Malaysia” was adopted in 1963 when the Federation of Malaya (Malay: Persekutuan Tanah Melayu) Singapore, Sabah and Sarawak formed a 14-state federation. Singapore withdrew from Malaysia in 1965 to become an independent country.
The country consists of two geographical regions divided by the South China Sea:
- Peninsular Malaysia (or West Malaysia) on the Malay Peninsula shares a land border on the north with Thailand and is connected by the Johor-Singapore Causeway and the Malaysia-Singapore Second Link to the south with Singapore. It consists of nine sultanates (Johor, Kedah, Kelantan, Negeri Sembilan, Pahang, Perak, Perlis, Selangor and Terengganu), two states headed by governors (Malacca and Penang), and two federal territories (Putrajaya and Kuala Lumpur).
- Malaysian Borneo (or East Malaysia) occupies the northern part of the island of Borneo, bordering Indonesia and surrounding the Sultanate of Brunei. It consists of the states of Sabah and Sarawak and the federal territory of Labuan.
Although politically dominated by the Malays, modern Malaysian society is heterogeneous, with substantial Chinese and Indian minorities. Malaysian politics have been noted for their allegedly communal nature; the three major component parties of the Barisan Nasional each restrict membership to those of one ethnic group. The only major violence the country has seen since independence was the May 13 racial riots in the wake of an election campaign based on racial issues. Nonetheless, Malaysia is considered to be a model of racial harmony
A small number of Eurasians, of mixed Portuguese and Malay descent, speak a Portuguese-based creole, called Papiá Kristang. There are also Eurasians of mixed Malay and Spanish descent, mostly in Sabah. Descended from immigrants from the Philippines, some speak Chavacano, the only Spanish-based creole language in Asia. This may explain the name of the band, and the fact that they use the word “señor”.
As far as I know, Los Caballeros only released one other single. And with the esception of this song, all of the other songs on this record are covers of Western songs performed in English.
If you have any information, please contact me.
Catalog number FL 121 on Tung Po Records. No other information available.
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Since this posting, I have been contacted by Massimiliano Tittarelli. Here’s what he had to say:
Dracula It’s a cover in broken Italian of Renato Rascel – Dracula cha-cha. Closing theme of the movie Tempi Duri Per I Vampiri (aka Uncle was a Vampire, 1959) starring Christopher Lee in person. I’m just wondering how this song landed in Malaysia… here’s the movie dubbed in English https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RswjXaMMrNM or here the final in the original Italian version https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g8BWIPfNGhQ on youtube you can find also a version by the famous Italian crooner Bruno Martino.
Filed under: Ethiopia
♬ Damtew Ayele • Wofe Yillala
♬ Samuel Belay • Keresh Endewaza
If one were to pick a specific point that marked the birth of the distinctive Ethiopian soul music, one could do worse than choose the late Emperor Haile Sellassie’s visit to Jerusalem in 1923. During his stay he heard European brass instruments, which made such an impression on him that he hired a group of Armenian players to become official musicians of the empire. One of these players, Kevork Nalbandian, even composed the current Ethiopian National Anthem in 1926 (Although, according to Wikipedia, it was Solomon Lulu Mitiku).
Thus a distinctly European flavour of brass band music was brought into a country whose traditional music bore heavy influence from Muslim forms, and its own modal pentatonic scale. Additionally, because it was actually impossible to buy saxophones, drums or other musical instruments under the Selassie regime, only the marching bands had access to them, giving the subsequently played music a foreboding, militaristic ambience.
Meanwhile in Europe, a new generation became that baby boomers started the cultural revolution of rock ’n’ roll, R ’n’ B and pop music in the 1960s. The same generation in Ethiopia, in their 20s during the early 60s, wanted to change the country and get connected with the world. But where Ethiopia was different was that they had about 6,000 Peace Corps from America. President Kennedy invented this civil service for youngsters in order to work in third world countries, so these people brought with them a lot of American flavours: long hair, bell-bottom trousers and plenty of vinyl records.
Thanks to the newly acquired influences from the West, the sound emanating from the clubs Addis Ababa was a heady stew of deep, hypnotic rhythms, distinctly Western guitar licks and soulful eastern melodies and vocals. The sound bore the unmistakable badge of American records (Stax and Motown artists in particular) plus something distinctly African and new.
Soon labels such as Amha Records and Kaifa Records sprung up around the city to capture the sounds produced by the more popular singers and performers. Mahmoud Ahmed, Mulatu Astatke, Alèmayehu Eshété, Tlahoun Gèssèssè, as well as others all brought their soulful sound to the clubs and cut records. But they disappeared from public view after Colonel Mengistu Haile Mariam’s military coup against Selassie in 1974. Under Mariam’s Derg, or ruling council, Addis Ababa’s nightlife died off.
Amha Ashèté, creator of the Amha Records label, was the driving force behind this brief creative burst and one of the main founders of the modernist movement which swept the Ethiopian scene during the end of the rule of the Emperor Haile Sellassie. The company released 103 singles and 12 albums between 1969 and 1975.
The song “Qeresh Endewaza” (which apparently translates to “You Are No More “) by Samuel Belay was featured on Budda Musique’s “Ethiopiques, Vol. 8: Swinging Addis”.. I am not sure if this is the same recording. As for Damtew Ayele, the only information I have been able to find says that he was “a traditional Ethiopian male singer. Ethiopian traditional songs include musical instruments such as the kebro, a percussion instrument, kirar and masinqo, both string instruments.” Which you can tell from this recording is incorrect.
Catalog number AE 710 on Amha Records of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. All other information in Amharic, no release date given. This record (as well as many of Amha Records releases) was pressed on swirly green and purple vinyl, which unfortuanately does not sound all that great.
Filed under: Morocco
In the late 60’s and early 70’s most bands in Morocco were moving away from modern music, and were more interested in reviving the Melhoun traditions of Moroccan music. The most well know of these artists being Jil Jilala, Lemchaheb, and Nass el Ghiwane, all of whom used traditional acoustic instruments. But there were a handful of other artists who decided to stick with rock ‘n’ roll, and The Golden Hands were one of them.
From what I have read, it appears that they only released three singles. Their first single was backing an Algerian singer by the name of Jalil Bennis, and they did a version of a song by Nino Ferrer called “Mizra”. From what I have read, it’s supposed to be “the guitar of surf pitch” (according to the Google translator). And their last single was released on Philips, and was for the song “What To Say”. The song posted here is from their second single.
I have also read that there was some connection to Lester Vigon, who was originally from Morocco but moved to France where he did most of his recordings (in English), but I have not been able to find any information which substantiates that.
If you have any information, please contact me.
Catalog number E.C.M. 1000 on E.C.M. Records of France. No release date given.
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Please see the more recent post on the Golden Hands here for updated information.
Filed under: India
♬ Escape
The Mustangs were from India.
The majority of the music produce in India, is either Filmi or Classical.
Filmi is the music of India’s film industry, the most well known is the Hindi music of Mumbai (formely Bombay, and refered to as Bollywood). But since there are 23 official languages in Indian, there are many other studios, most notable are Tamil in Kodambakkam, Telugu in Hyderabad, Malayalam in Kerala, and Kannada in Karnataka as well as others.
The two main streams of Indian Classical music are: Hindustani music from North India and Carnatic music from South India. The prime themes of Hindustani music are Rasleela (Hindu devotionals) of Krishna and Nature in all its splendour. Carnatic music is similar to Hindustani music in that it is mostly improvised, but it is much more influenced by theory and has stricter rules. Classical music of India is best represented by such musicans as Ravi Shankar, L. Subramaniam, Ali Akbar Khan and Ustad Vilayat Khan.
But popular music that falls outside of the film industry and Classical music, is not very common in India. You could probably count the number of rock ‘n’ roll records released during the 60’s and early 70’s on one hand. And most of that were covers of American and British songs, as can be found on the Simla Beat records of 1970 and 71.
I have not been able to find any information about The Mustangs. It says that it was written by Danny Hamilton (which doesn’t sound like an Indian name to me, but who knows?).
If you have any information, please contact me.
Catalog number 45-POPV. 8086 on HMV of India. No release date listed.
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Since this posting, I have been contacted by Taras Mohamed, who’s father was in the band. The band did release one other single, which had four songs on it. Also, The Mustangs are reuniting a performance in Bangalore in January 2010.
Filed under: Cambodia
Anyone even vaguely familiar with the music of South East Asia, has most likely heard of Sinn Sisamouth, who was from Cambodia.
It is not known how many songs that Sinn Sisamouth recorded during his lifetime, but from 1972 to 1973 alone he published 500 songs. And that number does not include the songs he did for movie soundtracks or the duets he recorded with Ros Sereysothea and Pan Ron. The total number is estimated in the thousands, including many of which that were never released and only have recently been discovered.
Besides being an accomplished songwriter, he was also a composer as well. He was known to use the Mandolin to search for rhythms to songs he was thinking of composing, and only later did he match lyrics to these rhythms. He was also known to have utilized up to three different dictionaries in searching for just the right word in the Khmer, Sanskrit or Pali language to include in his songs.
His fame and success led His Royal Majesty Treyany to ask him to work for the king’s band, which he did until the coup d’état against Cambodia’s royal government in 1970. He then joined the Ministry Band of the Khmer Republic.
When the Khmer Rouge entered Phnom Penh on April 17, 1975, along with the millions of other residents, Sinn Sisamouth was forced to leave the city. But he later decided to return, due to health problems with his second wife and to see if he could work for the Khmer Rouge government, then known as Democratic Kampuchea. That is the last known information of the life of Sinn Sisamouth…
There are many rumors concerning his death. It is not known for certain that he died at the hands of the Khmer Rouge, but some people suspect that the Khmer Rouge may have killed him along the road between Wat Champa and Phnom Penh, since most Cambodians who tried to return to Phnom Penh were killed. Only industry workers who possessed skills useful to the Khmer Rouge were spared; but when they outlived their usefulness, they too were butchered. Before the Khmer Rouge killed him, some people claim Sisamouth requested he be allowed to sing a song. He expressed himself as sincerely as possible through his music, but the Khmer Rouge soldiers were unmoved, and, after he finished singing, they killed him anyhow.
Of Sinn Sisamouth’s three living children, only one has decided to make singing a profession. Sin Chaya, Sisamouth’s son, is currently a singer for the Cambodian Radio. He himself admits, however, that his singing cannot compare to that of his talented father. The only thing Sin Chaya claims to have inherited from Sisamouth was the desire and destiny to be a professional singer.
For more information about Sinn Sisamouth, go to his biography at GoKhmer.com. And for more of his music, go to KhmerRocks.com.
Catalog number 45-5044 on Wat Phnom Disques of Cambodia. No release date listed.
Filed under: Dahomey
Mêlomê Clément et L’Orchestre Poly-Rythmo were from Cotonou, Dahomey, which is now known as Benin.
No one knows for sure how many records that l’Orchestre Poly-Rythmo released, but it is estimated at round 50 albums and 100 singles. To say that they were prolific in nearly forty years of existence is an understatement.
Here is an excerpt of the liner notes to the Soundway Records compilation “The Kings of Benin Urban Groove 1972 – 80”, written by Miles Cleret:
The original band, which was to become the T. P. Orchestre Poly-Rythmo (T. P. stands for ‘tout puissant’, meaning ‘all powerful’ or ‘all mighty’), formed in 1966 in Coutonou. The three original members of this first band were Mêlomê Clément, Eskill Lohento and François Hoessou. They were soon recognized by a local promoter and bandleader Mr. Wallace Creppy, and became based at the ‘Canne Au Sucre’ nightclub in Cotonou…
Times were hard for bands that didn’t have a sponsor in West Africa in the late sixties and early seventies. Musical instruments were expensive, imported items that cost more than the average musician could afford. Eventually, their luck changed and a local businessman, Séidou Adissa, stepped in and equipped them with everything they needed and a new era in their fortunes began. Adissa became their ‘guardian angle’, and it was during this period that they recorded almost exclusively for the Cotonou-bases Albarika Store label. Albarika Store was a record store that also released a lof of folk and traditional music, first on 45s in the early seventies, and then on a series of LPs. One of the bonuses of living only a stone’s throw across the border from the Nigerian capitol of Lagos was the ability to make full use of the best recording studios in the whole of West Africa, as well as the best and most up-to-date record-cutting and pressing facilities. During the early seventies the band cut a whole string of 45s in Lagos at the EMI studio for the Albarika label, and by the sound of it they also soaked up much of the Afro-soul and funk crazes going on there at the time. Along with groups like the Orchestre Les As, The Black Santiagos and Gnonnas Pedro, Poly-Rythmo enjoyed a special musical mix: they were geographically close to two Anglophone countries, but were in many ways culturally close to their slightly more distant Francophone cousins (this despite sharing tribal links with both Togo and Nigeria brought about through the legacy of colonial acquisition). However, bands from Benin always retained a very unique culture of their own.
As of 2006, T. P. Orchestre Poly-Rythmo were still active, with Mêlomê Clément being the only surviving original member. There is an extensive interview with him in the liner notes that accompany the amazing African Scream Contest compilation on Analog Africa. Also, at the Analog Africa site, there are two unreleased songs that you can check out here.
Catalog number LA 741 on Aux Ecoutes of Dahomey. No release date listed
Filed under: Algeria
Les Abranis (a.k.a. El Abranis) was founded in Algeria by Karim Abranis in 1967.
Karim, as well as his bandmates Shamy Elbaz, Chemini Abdelkader, Arezki Barroudi and Hachemi Bellali were of the Amazigh ethnic group of Northwest Africa and they sang in the Tamazight language.
In 1973, Abranis went to Algiers to take part in the first “National Festival of the Song” and won the grand price for that year. Soon after, they had an appearance on Algerian television, and were popular across Algerian. They even porduced two Scopitone music videos for both songs from their first single.
Karim Abranis still performs in and around Northern Africa and Europe. He even has a website, with more information and pictures: Abranis.com.
Thank you to Anis Bousbia for the additional information.
Catalog number BEP 115 on Bordj el Fren of France. There is no release date given, but judging from the information on the Abranis website, this was released between 1973 and 1978.
Radiodiffusion Internasionaal Annexe 
