Filed under: Upper Volta
So I finally get back around to doing a post on Upper Volta, or as it now known – Burkina Faso, and I’ve been beaten to the punch! Matthew LaVoie’s African Music Treasures blog over at the Voice of America’s website has an amazing post of music from Burkina Faso. There, not only will you find the single above, but another single by L’Harmonie Voltaïque, as well as two songs by Volta Jazz.
Here’s what LaVoie has to say about L’Harmonie Voltaïque:
Let’s start with L’Harmonie Voltaique, the group that was founded by Antoine Ouedraogo in 1948. They were the first group created to play ‘modern music’ in what was then the French West African colony of Upper-Volta. In early 1948 Antoine Ouedraogo was working for the French colonial administration in Mali (which at the time was called the French Sudan). That spring he returned to Upper-Volta and, tired of having to bring groups from the Cote D’Ivoire whenever he wanted to organize a ‘soiree-dansante’, Antoine decided to create the colony’s first modern orchestra. The group was officially born, with the approval of the Colonial Governor of Upper-Volta, on April 8, 1948. Their early repertoire consisted of French Songs (especially the ballads of French crooner Tino Rossi), and Latin rhythms (for e.g. the Cha-Cha, and Bolero). The repertoire started to change in 1964 when the multi-instrumentalist Maurice Sempore (tenor sax, flute) became the bandleader. It was under his leadership that the group started to perform songs in ‘Moore‘ (the language of the Mossi people).
Although recorded in 1970, these next two tracks give some idea of their earlier repertoire. The first track ‘Killa Naa Naa Ye Killa’ is an instrumental, composed by Maurice Sempore. The group categorizes this song as ‘Jazz’. The title refers to an onomatopoeic phrase in Moore that is taught to children to help them with their pronunciation- the equivalent of ‘sally sells seashells by the seashore’. The B-side of the 45 is a Bolero-Cha-Cha that was also composed by Maurice Sempore. It is the story of Therese Baba, a young woman whose parents were very strict. They did all they could to prevent Therese from going out at night to dance, but even though she never left the house, they could not prevent her from getting pregnant.
Here are the liner notes from the backside of the cover:
Songhoï Records, young African firm, is pleased and proud to present L’Harmonie Voltaïque the orchestra No. 1 of the Republic of Upper Volta.
This popular group that won in 1969 and 1970, twice in succession, the first prize of C. A. L. A. H. V. (Cercle d‘Activités Littéraires et Artistiques de Haute-Volta) is headed by Maurice Sempore.
A versatile musician Maurice Sempore sings, plays tenor saxophone, the guitar, the Cuban flute, trumpet, guitar bass etc. … and his favorite instrument is the tenor sax which he handles with great ease. He is the first composer of modern African music in Upper Volta.
Here is the composition this extraordinary orchestra:
Adama KONE: Saxo Alto
François TAPSOBA: Guitare Solo, Balafon
Luc PACODI: Guitare d‘Accompagnement, Balafon
Henri YONI: Contrebasse
Soungalo KEITA: Tumba, Béndré
Hamidou SIDIBE: Timbas
Henri TAPSOBA: Chanteur
Kader KANAZOE: Chanteur, Kyêma
Dieudonné OUEDRAOGHO: Chanteur
Zass OUOBA: Lounga
Maurice SEMPORE: Chanteur Soliste, Saxo Tenor, Flute.
L’Harmonie Voltaïque was a huge success in countries Council se l’Entente and we hope it will also be adopted by the whole of Africa.
Catalog number SON 809 on Songhoï Records of Ouagadougou, Upper Volta. Manufactured and distributed by SonoDisc of Paris, France. No release date listed.
Filed under: Thailand
♬ วอนผีพ่อ
When trying to pick a song for the week of Halloween, I noticed that a whole lot of songs from Thailand had to word “Pee” in the title… Come to find out, “Pee” means “Ghost” in Thai. So, I decided to ask Peter Doolan from the awesome Monrakplengthai to do a guest post for this week. Besides being an endless fount of information of Thai music, Peter is pretty knowledgeable of neighboring Burma / Myanmar and Laos, too.
It’s merging of local folk influences and Western pop structures, Pleng Luk Thung, Thai “Country Music“, epitomized the musical lives of many rural Thais throughout the latter half of the Twentieth Century, and continues to be a major force in the popular music of Thailand today.
One singer, Suraphon Sombatcharoen of Suphanburi province, carried this genre into the mainstream and took the position of the (more or less) undisputed “King of Luk Thung”. In his time, he built up an entire collective of musicians, dancers, singers and songwriters; many of the biggest stars of subsequent generations got their start in his group. Suraphon was more than a bandleader, he was something of a father figure to those in his group, many of whom he “adopted” at a very young age, and who basically grew up on the road in his ensemble.
At the height of his fame, Suraphon was gunned down on stage during a show in Nakhon Pathom. The reason for his murder is unknown; some suspect a rival singer (of which there were many) or a jealous lover (of which, apparently, there were also many). After his death, his protégés jockeyed to fill the void, and initially Kangwanphrai Lukphet was the best bet (most likely because of the similarity between he and Suraphon’s voices).
The song presented here proved something of a rallying cry for Suraphon’s disciples; titled “Pleading with Father’s Ghost”, it bemoans the star singer’s violent and untimely death, and calls upon his spirit, asking the ghost to bless his new band and bestow upon it the same fame and talent which Suraphon’s possessed. It features a wonderfully ethereal electric organ-laced introduction, a fiddle-driven folk groove, and of course, Kangwanphrai’s plaintive, tremulous pleas.
Catalog number BKL-703 on Crown Records (แผ่นเสียง “ตรามงกุฎ”) of Thailand. No release date listed.
Filed under: Morocco
♬ Mirza
The French Colonial Empire was, at one time, a rather large chunk of territory. Over the last two centuries, The French had their hands on Algeria, Cambodia, Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Chad, Dahomey (now Benin), French Guiana, French Guinea (now Guinea), French Somaliland (now Djibouti), French Sudan (now Mali), Gabon, Laos, Lebanon, Madagascar, Mauritania, Mauritius, Morocco, Niger, Quebec, Republic of the Congo, Senegal, Syria, Ubangi-Shari (now the Central African Republic), Upper Volta (now Burkina Faso) and Vietnam, as well as parts of China, India and a smattering of islands around the world, many of which still fly “les couleurs“. And even after their rule ended, the cultural influences in these countries lingered for many years after. But who would have thought there would be a Nino Ferrer (who was actually Italian, but that’s a whole other story) cover from Morocco?
Since posting their second single, I have been contacted be a number of people (including guitarist Aziz Daou el Makane) who informed me that none of the information about The Golden Hands is correct… But when I e-mail them back, I get no response.
There is a lot of conflicting information about the band. For instance, according to one article the band formed in 1969 in Casablanca. This single is from 1967. Also, I have read in more than a few places online that Jalil Bennis was Algerian (and even another that says they all were from Tunisia). I have been told that he was actually Moroccan. And, the guitarist (or at least the person who contacted me) is named Aziz Daou el Makane. But on their second single, the names on the songwriting credits are Driss, Emjid and Thami…
I do know that they did work with Lester Vigon, who produced some of their recordings. And, as far as I know they recorded four singles: “Mirza” / “Aziza” on Barclay, “Promises” / “The First Time” on E.C.M. Records, “What to Say (part 1)” / “What to Say (part 2)” on Philips and “Take Me Back” / “Love Letters” on Disques GAM.
If you have any further information on the band, please contact me or leave a comment.
Catalog number 60734 on Barclay Records of France, released 1967.
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UPDATE: Apparently the band reformed in Casablanca in February, and is working on a come back.
Filed under: Sri Lanka
This record is a bit of a mystery to me. Is it a movie soundtrack? A compilation? On each side, it has songs from a different movie, except for one song which has the heading “Ceylon Pop Song”. It seems as if it was just randomly slapped together. Even the picture of the movie poster on the cover appears to be a last minute addition, with the crease being quite visible and the text running off the edge of the frame.
Believe it or not, this is not the only pressing of this record that I have seen. It was originally released on the Sooriya label of Columbo, Sri Lanka and the cover was electric pink instead of light blue on the right hand side. But this version is from Malaysia on the mysterious unnamed “Gazelle” label that also released the S. Hazarasigh album. And the back cover is the same as the front, with no real information other than the song listings. But I have been able to find plenty of information about A. E. Manoharan and L. R. Eswar.
A. E. Manoharan, or as he is more well known as – Ceylon Manohar, is one of the legends of Tamil Baila. Originally called Pop Isai Padalgal, Baila had been a popular folk tradition that was introduced to Sri Lanka’s mainstream during the early 1960s when singer Wally Bastian began adapting the 6/8 ‘kaffirhina’ rhythms to accommodate the Sinhala language. Vernon Corea is credited with having helped to spread baila music to the world via English language programmes that aired on Radio Ceylon and BBC Radio London during the late 1960s and 1970s. Manoharan is also a Tamil film actor, having acted in over 150 films – including “Pasa Nilain” 1963, which was the first movie to be made in Sri Lanka. He recently launched a comeback, after having spent the last two decades in London as an announcer for the Tamil Osai Radio Channel.
L. R. Eswar is a famous playback singer of Tamil movie industry. Besides Tamil, she has recorded devotional, Filmi and pop songs in the Kannada, Malayalam, Telugu and Tulu languages. She recently started her comeback with the Telugu film production “Thejam“.
Catalog number RSLP 2175. No other information available.
Filed under: Zaïre
The Belgian Congo achieved independence on June 30, 1960 under the name “Republic of the Congo” (“République du Congo”). Shortly thereafter, the provinces of Katanga and South Kasai engaged in secessionist struggles against the new government. And factions within the recently elected resident Joseph Kasavubu and Prime Minister Patrice Lumumba only made matters worse.
Meanwhile, Joseph Mobutu, who was the chief of staff of the Armee Nationale Congolaise, decided to take advantage of the situation. Since Mobutu was receiving financial support from the United States and Belgium, he could pay his soldiers privately. And with this power, he garnered enough support within the army to lead a coup. With the assistance of UN forces, the Katanga secession ended two years later in 1963.
The following year, the country changed its name to Democratic Republic of the Congo to distinguish it from the neighboring Republic of the Congo. A quick succession of several short-lived governments eventually led to a stalemate and threatened the country’s stability. In 1965, Mobutu seized power of the presidency (again with United States backing) – who later renamed the country Zaïre in 1971.
During those years of unrest, neighboring Tanzania, Uganda and near by Kenya were inundated with Zaïrian refugees. Many of these were musicians who settled in East Africa and tended to dominate urban music scenes.
Initially known as Bana Kibushi Batano, the band was formed in Lubumbashi by Vicky Numbi. In 1965, the band moved to Kigoma, Tanzania. It was there that the band received their new name – Hi-Fives – from an American Catholic priest. Two years later, they came Kenya to join fellow Congolese musician Pascal Onema, and Zambians Nashil Pitchen and Peter Tsotsi, who were with the Equator Sounds Band in Nairobi.
Orchestre Hi-Fives are credited for creating the Mpete wa Kibushi style which became very popular in Kenya. The band recorded over a dozen singles and at least three albums. After the break up of the band, Vicky Numbi joined Orchestra Super Mazembe, who were active up until the 1990s. In 2004, it was announced that the band was going to be “revived”. Renamed Kibushi Sounds Band, Vicky Numbi was in the process of recruiting new musicians as well as plans to record and tour.
Catalog number 2 C 006 15046 on EMI / Pathé, pressed in France. No release date listed.
Filed under: South Korea
♬ 미
♬ 마음은 날개
I’ve recently come into a lot of free time… So, I’ve been catching up on some reading, finally delving into some books on the subject of world popular music. I decided to start with Peter Manuel’s Popular Musics of the Non-Western World: An Introductory Survey. And while it does remind me of why I never read the assigned text books when I was in college, it has made me question how I quantify what it is about the music that I like – and post here.
First, defining Pop Music is a pretty sticky subject. Manuel spends the first chapter establishing numerous definitions depending on all sorts of Social-Economical criteria. Here’s the first paragraph from Manuel’s book:
Much has been written about the distinctions between folk, classical, and more recently, popular musics. It is often easy to regard such discussions, whether justifiably or not, as gratuitous exercises in abstract taxonomy, and it is clear that they are generally of more import to musicologists than to performers or audiences. Nevertheless, world musics often do lend themselves to broad, if occasionally ambiguous taxonomies, the clarification of which helps us to understand the nature of these genres in terms of the attributes they share or do not share with others. Moreover, many cultures themselves do distinguish between folk, art, and popular music styles. Hence such categories often can and should be employed as “-emic” constructs in understanding ethnic music from the perspective of its own culture. What should be avoided is not the use of clearly defined classifications, but rather the tendency to attach ethnocentric, class-centric, or idiosyncratic values to such concepts. At the same time, in order to understand the relationship between these different kinds of music, one must define the underlying, generally unarticulated criteria which distinguish them.
Clear as mud, right? It seems like when dissect something to death, you take all of the fun out of it. What I came away with after reading the first chapter is that there is no real clear definition. And really, to me it seems almost pointless. I just know what I like.
For example, I love the raw Afro funk from Dahomey like Orchestre Super Jheevs des Paillotes and Orchestre Poly-Rythmo. The labels that released those records were similar to the small Punk and Indie of the 80s and 90s. They were putting out bands that recorded live to two track – sometimes recorded at someone’s house – and released as singles in limited quantities. I’m sure that the person who released the record expected to made some money – but nothing on the scale of the Bollywood music industry. And I really enjoy that stuff as well. But Bollywood music is probably the most commercial most ever created. And the Steel Guitar versions are practically the muzak of India.
So what is it? Well, I’ve narrowed it down to three major “rules”, for a lack of a better term. First is geography. This was just an arbitrary decision. At the time, I decided to leave out South America, mainly because I thought I had heard all that there was to hear from that region… And I was wrong. I keep debating whether or not to start adding music from South America, but then I’d have to redesign that map at the top of the page… And I really don’t need a reason to not buy more records.
Second is the use of electric instruments. This is not to say that I do not like songs with all acoustic instrumentation. It’s just that I tend to prefer songs with electric guitar or organ. Better yet, is when an instrument that usually is not electrified is hooked up to an amplifier – like an oud, saz or, of course sitar. This is usually the result of the Folk Tradition being mixed with urban development. And it seems like you rarely hear this in more modern music, due to new technologies.
Which brings us to rule number three, which is a bit harder to define. But due to synthesizers and groove boxes, I tend to stick to the “Pre-digital age” production. There is a narrow window of time between the introduction of the electric guitar and the onslaught of the synthesizer. It seems like in some regions – like say some parts of Northern Africa – where that was only a matter of four or five years.
But rules are made to be broken. The song that I posted by Mayada doesn’t have any electric instrument. And the song Rahbaniyat by Omar Khorshid has some kinda of crazy sequencer going on in the background. It all really boils down to just taste.
Catalog number K-APPLE 819 on Universal Records of Seoul, South Korea. Released 1976.
Filed under: Nigeria
BLO were the first actual rock band from Africa that I ever read about. I remember seeing their Phases 1972-1982 retrospective on Afro Strut in the Forced Exposure catalog and thinking that I needed to pick that up. But they were sold out, so I bought a disc by Orlando Julius instead. It would be many years later before I would ever get to hear the band. Not until the Q.D.K. Media released their Love, Peace & Poetry: African Psychedelic Music compilation.
The band’s name was an acronym for Berkley “Ike” Jones (guitar) and Laolu “Akins” Akintobi (drums) and Mike “Gbenga” Odumosu (bass). Where as most African bands were massive orchestras, BLO were the first rock trio – and really the only one I can think of – in Africa.
Jones, Akintobi and Odumosu originally started out in a band called The Clusters while they were still in high school in Lagos, Nigeria. At that time, they were influenced by the British Invasion – The Beatles and Rolling Stones – and then later James Brown. That is until they saw Gerald Pino and The Heartbeats Band from Seirra Leone who were mixing Rock and Roll with Rumba and Soul. After that, The Clusters started to play a mix of Afrorock and Highlife.
Eventually, Jones, Akintobi and Odumosu left The Clusters to form Afrocollection with twin sisters Kehinde and Taiwo Lijadu – bettern known as The Lijadu Sisters. Afrocollection decided to move in a more Afrorock direction, and move away from the more traditional Highlife sounds. Around this time, Ginger Baker – drummer of Cream and Blind Faith – was wandering around Africa and happened to catch Afrocollection performing at the Batakuto Club in Lagos. Baker recruited members of the band to form Salt, who toured throughout Western Europe and North America, but never recorded.
After the break up of Salt in 1972, Jones, Akintobi and Odumosu returned to Nigeria decided to form BLO. Their first show was on 23rd December 1972 at Onikan Stadium in front of 10,000 fans – the biggest ever audience in the history of Nigerian Music. The following year, they released their debut album, Chapter One on EMI. But the record sales did not meet the expectations of EMI, and the band moved to Afrodesia – which was a subsidiary of Decca – for the second album Phase II released in 1975.
That same year, the band released Step Three. Mike Odumosu had left the band to join Osibisa and was replaced by Adeniyi “Biddy” Wright on bass, as well as alto and soprano sax. The band was now influenced more by American music groups like Grand Funk Railroad and The Isley Brothers than their fellow countrymen like Fela Kuti and Orlando Julius. But poor records sales pressured the band and Jones and Akintobi decided to call it quits. The duo moved to London to study screenwriting and sound production. That is, until they met session musician Otu Udofa – also known as Lemmy Jackson – who encouraged them to put the band back together.
In 1976, BLO released Phase IV. Although Mike Odumosu is pictured on the cover, he was not a member of the band even though supposedly sang backing vocals on the record. The band went on to release two more records – Bulky Backside in 1980 and Back in Time in 1982 – before breaking up for good.
According to the liner notes of Soundway Records’ Nigeria Rock Special: “Berkley Jones has not picked up a guitar in years and is now a property developer in Lagos. Laolu Akintobi still produces music and Mike Odumosu settled in London after his days with Osibisa.“ Also, Lemmy Jackson went on to become one of the biggest producers in the Nigerian music industry.
Catalog number DWAPS 2009 on Afrodesia / Decca West Africa of Lagos, Nigeria. Released 1976, manufactured in England.
Filed under: Syria
Have you ever woken up in the middle of the night, thinking “I gotta get that record!”? No? Then you are what they call sane. What’s that like? Really. I would like to know.
I’ve often joked that record collecting is a type of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. It completely takes over every other train of thought. According to Dr. Louann Brizendine, the average male thinks about sex every 52 seconds. Well, I’d be willing to bet that record junkies beat that.
This album – as you may have figured out by now – is a record that I do not have (Yet!). But man, do I want it. Baaaaad. And for other collectors, um, I mean researchers, we all have “the one that got away”. Well, actually there’s always more than just one. But for some reason, this record is one that haunts me not only in my waking hours, but in my dreams as well. I must possess it!
I can’t tell you how many people I’ve pestered for a copy of this. I’ve accosted anyone who has told me that they were going to – or anywhere even remotely near – Syria. I have even tried to contact Mozart Chahine, who used to run the label and now lives in Beirut… But nothing.
The source for this sound clip, as is the picture, is from the listing on eBay. When the person who transferred the vinyl lifts up the needle, it rips out my heart every time.
Catalog number BL912 on Byblos of Syria, pressed in Greece. Released 1978.
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Update: April 17, 2010
I got it! Oh man, the tingly sensation of pulling the cover of what had been the top of my Want List out of the cardboard packaging…
The name of the song is Al Ghaba. You can here it in its entirety HERE.
The liner notes on the back of the album cover read (typos and all):
The organ adapted for Oriental music
Assad Khoury plays an electronic organ adapted for oriental music, according to the system invented by the late Abdallah Chahin, who was the pioneer in this field, when he adapted the piano for oriental music, in addition to western music.
This converted electronic organ has been accepted by authorities on music such as Father Xavier Collengate: Father Louis Al-Haj: Prof. Louis Haba: and Marius Schneider, in addition to famous Arab composrs, such as Mohammad Abdul Wahab: Farid Al Atrach: Father Joseph Khoury: Tawfik Sukkar: and Rahbani Broters. They all have praised the sound quality of this organ.
It is noteworthy that, for the last 5 years, Farfisa Company has been using Chahin’s System in building musical instruments for Oriental music, among which, the electronic organ takes the lead.
Filed under: Brunei
The word Kugiran is abbreviation of “Lively Guitar Group” from the Malay words “Kumpulan Gitar Rancak berirama”.
As early as 1960 the Kugiran bands began to emerge in Malaysia and Singapore. The standard instrumentation for these bands at that time, was three electric guitars – lead, bass and rhythm – and a drum set. Normal six stringed guitars were used to play the bass line roughly until 1963, when proper four-stringed bass guitars became available in Malaysia.
These “electrified” guitar bands were much louder than the earlier folk oriented Skiffle groups and the more Lounge type bands as typified by P. Ramlee with accordions and bongos, which quickly fell out of fashion. The Kugirans eventually replaced the jazz trios and quartets in hotels and club circuits across Malaysia. It was P. Ramlee himself who christened these early rock groups with the name kugiran.
The era of the Kugirans was short lived. Around 1969, there was influx of bands and singers – like Ernie Djohan and Lilis Suryani – from neighboring Indonesia who started to get more airplay on radio stations in Malaysia and Singapore. The following year, Radio Television Malaysia unofficially banned Indonesian music and initiated a policy that gave preference to Malaysian artists. But by that time, most of the Kugiran bands had gone out of style and the musicians had either moved on or given up.
But not all of the Kugiran bands were from Malaysia or Singapore. One of these bands was from Brunei – Kugiran Irama Perindu. The band released three singles on the Olympic label of Singapore. After lead singer Dayangku Aminah left the band, she was featured along with three other singers – or “penyanyi” – on a single with the band The Sand Blues. Later she recorded least on single with The Sandpipers as her baking band, both of these records were also released by Olympic. As for The Heavy Machine or the label United Enterprise, there is no information available.
Catalog number UE 111 on Sharikat United Enterprise of Malaysia. No release date given.
Filed under: Eritrea
For those of you who have been following the site with any sort of regularly, you know that one of the things that has really blown my mind, is the music of Eritrea. Of the four singles I have been able to find from there, three of them have left me utterly gobsmacked.
I am sure I have uttered at some point in these hundred eighty some odd posts, that the process of discovery is what I live for. And when you discover something entirely new – at least to your own ears – it makes it yours. Of course, this music was never supposed to be “yours” in the first place. This music was never intended for you or I to ever hear… That is, unless you are Eritrean. And even then, these records were hard to find.
Eritrea wasn’t even recognized as a country until 1993, two years after they gained their independence. Conquered by Italy in 1890, then invaded by the English in WWII, Eritrea was federated with Ethiopia in December 1950. In 1959, Ethiopian Emperor Haile Selassie I handed down an edict making the teaching of Amharic, the primary language of Ethiopia, in all Eritrean schools mandatory instead of the native Tigrinya. The Eritrean Struggle for Independence began two years later, following Haile Selassie I’s dissolution of the federation and shutting down of Eritrea’s parliament. And conditions only worsened under the Marxist military junta known as the Derg after they deposed the Emperor in 1974.
Music from Eritrea, as well as the northern territory of Ethiopia of the Tigray people, was heavily suppressed by the Derg. According to the liner notes of Buda Musique’s Ethiopiques, Vol. 5: Tigrigna, records “were sometimes buried in peoples’ yards to avoid detection” and that many of the musicians went on to fight in the war for Eritrean independence.
I have not been able find any information about Wendyifraw Weretta or the label Kothari. Tekle Adhanom, who was the arranger on this single, was a well known guitarist who also recorded with Alèmayèhu Eshèté and Beyene Fire.
If you have any further information, please contact me or leave a comment.
Thanks to Adamantios Kafetzis.
Catalog number K1 on Kothari Records of Eritrea, released 1976. Manufactured in Greece by EMI.
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