Filed under: Sierra Leone
The late 60s were a tumultuous time in Sierra Leone. In the span of two years, there had been three military coups. In 1968, Siaka Stevens assumed power as the Prime Minister, and after the country declared itself a Republic, became the President. During his rule, he was criticized for dictatorial methods of government in which many of his political opponents were executed, as well as for mismanaging the economy. On a positive note, he reduced the ethnic polarization in the government by incorporating members of various ethnic groups into the government.
Sierra Leone’s music is a mixture of native and Colonial influences. A local version of Palm Wine Music – known as Maringa – evolved after Portuguese sailors introduced guitars to the region. Another key ingredient, was the influx of freed slaves that had come from the Caribbean and bringing new music styles from that region – especially Calypso music from Trinidad. During the 1970s, Sierra Leone was not left out of the electric Afropop explosion that was sweeping Africa. The result was a mix of Maringa blended with Funk, Soul, and Congolese Rumba.
I have not been able to find hardly anything on the Afronational Band – also seen as “Afro-National” and “Afro National”. They are mentioned in just about every article on music from Sierra Leone, but beyond that there is not much to go on. If you have any information, please get in touch or leave comment.
Catalog number AFRO 14A / 14B on Afronational of Freetown, Sierra Leone. No release date listed.
Filed under: Singapore
A good friend of mine gives me a lot of grief for posting Christmas music on the site. Besides the fact that he does not care for Christmas music, he says that he think people from “countries outside the US have no idea how Americans celebrate Christmas. They tend to not realize Christmas music is for shoppers at malls.” And for the most part, I have to agree with him there.
At the same time, I find it very odd that musicians from countries where Christianity is not the majority would choose to record these songs. Then again, if you look in the news as of late, you’ll see that the ‘most expensive Christmas tree ever‘ is in Adu Dhabi and that people are starting to celebrate Christmas in China… The religion of Consumerism – and it’s soundtrack – is the gift that keeps on giving.
I have not been able to find anything about The Impossible – who are not to be confused with The Impossibles of Thailand. If you have any information about the band, please get in touch or leave a comment.
Catalog number SMR 111 on Sima Records of Singapore. No further information available.
Filed under: India
When most people think of the Pop music of India, they think of filmi – the music of India’s film industry. But there were a few other options – albeit a very small. There was a Jazz scene in Goa in the 50s and 60s. There were also a number of garage bands around the country like the The Mustangs, The Tremolos and many more who were featured on the Simla Beat compilations that were released in 1970 and 71. And then there were others – like Runa Laila (who was actually from Bangladesh), Nazia Hassan (who was from Pakistan) and Usha Uthup.
Usha Iyer was born November 8, 1947 in Madras (now Chennai), which is the capitol of the Indian State of Tamil Nadu. Her father Sami Iyer, later became the police commissioner of Bombay (now Mumbai). She has three sisters Uma Pocha, Indira Srinivasan and Maya Sami, all of whom are singers and two brothers, one of whom is named Shyam.
Usha’s first public singing occurred when she was nine. Her sisters introduced her to Ameen Sayani, who gave her an opportunity to sing on the Ovaltine Music Hour on Radio Ceylon. She sang a number called “Mockingbird Hill”. Uthup started singing in a small nightclub in Chennai called Nine Gems, when she was 20. Her performance was so well received that the owner of the nightclub asked her to stay on for a week. From there, she went to Calcutta (now Kolkata). It was there that she met her husband Uthup. Usha then went to Delhi, where she sang at the Oberoi Hotel. By coincidence, a film crew belonging to Navketan unit including Shashi Kapoor visited the nightclub and they offered her a chance to sing movie playback. As a result, she started her Bollywood career with Hare Rama Hare Krishna. Originally, she was supposed to sing “Dum Maro Dum” along with Asha Bhosle. However, as a result of internal politicking on the part of other singers, she lost that chance but ended up singing an English verse.
In 1968, she recorded covers of two pop songs in English, “Jambalaya” and The Kingston Trio‘s “Greenback Dollar”, on an EP, which she followed with the album Scotch and Soda. Her backing band on half of that album was called The Flintstones, who she also recorded a double single. Around this time, she often traveled to London. She was a frequent visitor to Vernon Corea‘s BBC office in London and was interviewed on “London Sounds Eastern” on BBC Radio London. Usha visited Nairobi as part of an Indian Festival. Singing in Swahili made her extremely popular, and President Jomo Kenyatta made her an Honorary Citizen of Kenya. She produced a record Live in Nairobi with a local band Fellini Five.
You can find two more tracks off this record over at Waxidermy.
Catalog number S/EMGE 21010 on EMI of India, manufactured & distributed by The Gramophone Company of India Limited in 1975.
Filed under: Israel
This week’s guest post is by Omer Nuriel. Omer is a longtime record collector specializing in Israeli 60’s beat garage psych music: www.israeli-records.com. In his website he tells the story of rare Israeli record pressings. If you have any interesting records or cassettes that you wish to share from some of the countries that we have yet to hear from – or countries that we need to hear more from – please get in touch.
The I. T. C. Sextet EP is one of the most obscure records released in Israel. Because the Sextet guys are not from Israel, it is very hard to dig here for their roots. There is very little information on this private press release, believed to be a mid-late 60’s release.
The six young men whose songs are recorded on this 4 track EP were part of an international studies program that took place at Ort Natanya in Israel. The program trained the students to be instructors for agro-mechanics, mechanics, carpentry and electro-mechanis. They came from Congo, Ghana, Ivory Coast and many other countries.
At their free time after the studies, these students used to sing and play together and out of these unformal jam sessions The I. T. C. Sextet was formed.
The music of The I. T. C. Sextet was a combination of Rumba, Twist, Cha Cha and Bolero in African style.
This not common in Israel where the dominating music style was more folk oriented at that times (groups like Uzi, The Lions of Juda were considered as underground music).
The rumor of this colourful and unique group playing at the ORT School spread wings quickly and they had some local success in the Natanyah area.
The EP was recorded when the group members finished their studies just before they left for their native countries.
It was privately released in a small edition (no official number but anything between 200-500 copies is reasonable).
All four tracks on this EP are original compositions: Bailar Cha-Cha-Cha (Alphonse) / Lelo Oyo (Paul) / Rumba Mimi (Alphonse) / If Mama Knows (Mintah & Alphonse).
Group members were:
Alphonse Halet – guitar solo
Atto Luc Valere – rhythm guitar
Barthelemy Bacliabio – singer
Paul Makge – singer
Mintah Osei K. – singer
Georges Paraiso – drums
Filed under: Dahomey
♬ Jacques Ou Es-Tu-Alougba Hué
This one is a weird one… From what I can tell, H. C. Clementophe is chanting and singing over a previously released recording by Orchestre Super Borgou. The flip, is the same sort of thing, but over two Orchestre Poly-Rythmo tracks…
What you have is very similar to toasting, which started in Jamaica as early as the 1950s. But, to the best of my knowledge, toasting was done live in the dance halls – and not in the recording studios. I also seriously doubt that H. C. Clementophe was listening to Gil Scott-Heron – who was using a live band… So how did some one in Africa – presumably in the 1970s – pick up on this?
I have to admit, I am a bit suspicious as to the origins of this particular record… I have never seen another record on this label, and there is no indication as to when it was released. If you have any information, please drop me a line or leave a comment.
Catalog number IMEC 0001 on E. M. E. C., manufactured in France.
Filed under: Indonesia
♬ Biduan
Dangdut. Besides be a really fun word to say, it is a music that is byproduct of the cultural collisions of Malay, Arabic, Hindustani, and Western sounds that could only happen in Indonesia. Having emerged in the early Seventies, dangdut has continued to grow in popularity to this day, even spreading to parts of Malaysia and the southern Philippines.
Oma Irama was born December 11, 1946, in Tasikmalaya, West Java. During the height of his stardom in the 1970s, he became the self-proclaimed Raja Dangdut (King of Dangdut) with his group Soneta. He was known by Oma Irama before he made a pilgrimage to Mecca and became a haji. He later took the name Rhoma Irama, which is a shorten version of “Raden Haji Oma Irama” (Raden is an aristocracy title for Javanese and Sundanese cultures).
Irama’s career began in the late 1960s when he recorded solo records and with the group Orkes Melayu Purnama. He sang duets on several record albums with Indonesian female vocal stars such as Inneke Kusumawati, Ellya Khadam, Vivi Sumanti, and the later to be crowned ‘Queen of Dangdut’ – Elvy Sukaesih. Once Oma broke from recording with the Purnama Group, he eventually formed Orkes Melayu Soneta – the first so-called Dangdut group. In fact, Oma established the term “Dangdut” with a song by the same name. Rhoma was also known for adding rock to the music and political content – much of it Islamic – to the lyrics, earning him the ire of President Suharto. Once Soneta was established in the early 70’s, Oma changed his name to Rhoma and went on a decade long run of successful hit records and films – all of which starred Rhoma playing himself while performing all of his hits.
As for Rita… There is no information available.
Catalog number IMR-90056 on P. T. Yukawi Corp. of Bogor, Indonesia. No release date listed.
Filed under: Morocco
On the Wikipedia page for the Music of Morocco, under the tab for Chaabi, it says:
“A sophisticated form of chaabi evolved in the 1970s competing with popular Egyptian and Lebanese music. These chaabi groups consisted of a lute and a hadjuj, with some form of drum. Eventually, new instruments like buzuks and electric guitars were added. The three most important early groups were Lemchaheb, Nass El Ghiwane and Jil Jilala. All three bands featured politicized lyrics that got the songwriters in trouble with the government.”
Although they are listed first, there is no entry for Lemchaheb on Wikipedia…
Lemchaheb was formed in Casablanca by Moulay Chérif Lamrani. Chérif had previously been a band called Sound of Today that performed Moroccan songs with Western instruments. The group was assembled by Mohamed Bakhti – who was a member of Nass El Ghiwane – and was a music teacher. He introduced Chérif to members of a band called Tyour Ghourba (Birds of Exile) from Marrakech. After trying out the names Khatou Khatou (Step) and Les Étoiles Filantes (Shooting Stars), the band finally settled on Lemchaheb – which supposedly translates as either “glowing bars on which bread is baked in the oven” or “torches that mountains inhabitants made to scare animals and keep them far from the village” – in 1973. Chérif, who had been a cartoonist, designed the groups stage outfits and concert posters. Their early tours of Europe were financed by Radiodiffusion Télévision Marocaine. The band went through many line ups, and continued performing up until 2002. Moulay Chérif Lamrani passed away in October of 2004.
These two tracks are known as “takassim” or “solo”. They are the last tracks on Side A and Side B, and are unlisted.
The majority of this information came from the Lemchaheb Blogspot and a fan MySpace page.
Catalog number 2396 202 on Polydor Records of Morocco, released 1978
Filed under: Somalia
This week, we have a guest post from Andreas Vingaard. Andreas took me up on my plea for a guest post on the music of Somalia. Here is his bio:
“Andreas Vingaard moved to New York City from Denmark in 2007. He has worked with the Maysles Institute on several projects since its opening including a night of documentaries on New York street gangs featuring several original members present; the successful graffiti film festival “Kings of the City”; and a collaboration with “ego trip” highlighting some of the more obscure early hip hop films. Andreas Vingaard works as a video journalist and still photographer. He has worked on assignments all across Europe and the US as well as Lebanon, Haiti, Iraq, Chile. He loves music from around the world as well as forgotten documentaries which he makes an extraordinary effort to track down.”
Take it away, Andreas…
It’s a sad fact that Somali music culture is very poorly documented. Even when it comes to field recordings, Somalia is highly overlooked. This album is one of the very few 45s and albums produced in Somalia.
Modern Somalia was essentially created out of the protectorate, British Somaliland and a colony, Italian Somaliland when the two territories united in 1960.
General Siad Barre, a man who wasn’t shy of having portraits painted of himself next to Lenin and Karl Marx, came to power in 1969 after the assassination of the sitting President Abdirashid Ali Shermarke. General Barre went on to establish the Somali Revolutionary Socialist Party where the hope was to bring a blend of Islam and Marxism to Somalia. In reality, Barre transformed Somalia into a military dictatorship. In 1991, a coalition of different groups lost patience with Barres totalitarian rule and forced him into exile. He died in Nigeria in 1995. His remains are buried in the Gedo part of Somalia.
Since 1991 Somalia has been without a effective government, leaving the country in a chaotic power struggle between clan based warlords and religious militias. Recently, the Al-Shabab militia (“The Young Ones”) has made a name for itself with attacks that killed 42 aid workers in 2008 and 2009 alone. According to the non-profit organisation freemuse.org, the Islamist hard-liners in Al-Shabab are responsible for a total ban on music forcing 14 radio stations to close down in April 2010. To make things even more complicated “the government threatened to suspend stations in their strongholds that complied with the music ban.”
CPJ, Committee to Protect Journalists named Somalia as “Africa’s deadliest country for journalists.” However, brave souls keep Radio Mogadishu and other independent alternatives alive. At least Radio Mogadishu’s website is up and running – whether they are actually on-air is unknown at this point.
This album is sung in the local Somali language. I know that there’s at least two LPs in this series. This is the second volume with the following info on the label:
Somali Broadcasting Service, Somalia Sings, Radio Mogadishu, SBSLP-101
You can read about the first one album in the series HERE.
If you have more information on these or other Somali recordings then please leave a comment.
Here’s to a peaceful Somalia. Enjoy!
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Since this posting, I have been contacted by Andreas, who was contacted by a person by the name of Sanaag. He provided the name of the band, as well as the song titles. The first track, Guulwade Siyaad (Victorious Siyaad), was exemplary of Siyaad Barre’s self-glorification and personality cult. Schoolchildren had to sing it every morning and it was often parodied to ridicule Barre and his minions. The second song, Dadkaaga Dhinac Ka Raac (Follow Your Peers / Keep Up With the Pace), carries a positive message. It calls upon all Somalis to pursue relentlessly the goal of developing the country and to work hand-in-hand for the benefit of the whole society.
Filed under: Singapore
♬ 爱情感气球
Back in October of 2007, I posted a single by The Vampires of Singapore. I did not have any information back then, but I have since been contacted by one of the members of the band. Her name is Connie Fong. We did a little e-mail interview back in July of last year.
Radiodiffusion Internasionaal Which instrument did you play?
Connie Fong I played the guitar.
RI Do you remember when the band first got together?
CF 1964/5 when we met as music students under Harry Martinez (Harry also formed several boys band those days).
RI Do you recall how the band decided to call themselves The Vampires?
CF There was another all-girl band named ‘Angels’ at that time, and we cheekily decided to be different
RI I know that the band recorded two singles, the one that I have posted on my site and the one on Philips that is by Dorothy & The Vampires. Did the band record any other singles?
CF No, those were the only two recordings we did.
RI Is there any reason that the second single was credited as Dorothy & The Vampires versus just The Vampires?
CF No reason I believe, as everything were arranged by our mentor and manager, Harry Martinez. The other single recorded by Philips was all instrumental with all the titles composed by Harry, therefore Dorothy was not featured in that single.
RI When did the band decided to break up?
CF There was no breaking up, we are still friends except that we grew tired going for our regular band practices and after playing together for five years.
RI Did you play in any other bands? Did they release any recordings?
CF No.
RI I am guessing from your e-mail address that you are back in Singapore now, right?
CF Yes.
RI Have you stayed in touch with any of the other members? If so, do you know if they stayed in Singapore, or moved away?
CF Yes, they are all in Singapore except Dorothy Sin, I don¹t know her where about, have lost touch with her.
Catalog number 43802 QE on Philips. No release date listed.
Filed under: Turkey
♬ Mahizer
Just the other night, I was talking with a fellow record collector – err, I mean archivist – and he was lamenting about how record hunting – I mean researching, researching – has become more competitive and that the prices for these records – Sorry, research materials – has gotten out of control. There are more and more people searching for these unheard sounds. Due to onslaught of re-issues and compilations, as well as websites like this one, folks have been turned on to something they never knew even existed before.
Hell, I’m guilty. Only about five years ago, I had barely an inkling of what was out there. I had picked up a few compilations here and there, and then the next thing I know I’m blowing my whole paycheck on eBay. One of the first compilations that clued me in – if not the first – was Grey Past’s Turkish Delights.
Turkey seems to be the gateway drug – I mean country – for record collectors. For many, it seems to be where the record collecting bug emanates from – and for good reason, too. Turkey is quite unique due to the fact that, besides being crossroads between Europe and Asia, the population is 99.83% Muslim and yet they have a secular democracy. Add in a thriving music scene in the 60s and 70s that was fueled by annual Battle of the Bands – which were promoted and funded by the local newspaper. Thanks to all of these factors, there is a seemingly endless supply of amazing records from Turkey.
As for İskender Doğan, I see that he has a Facebook page…
Catalog number A. K. 44 on 1 Numara Records of Turkey. No release date listed.
Radiodiffusion Internasionaal Annexe 