Meeting with Lansiné Kouyate and David Neerman

Kouyate-Neerman, Palmwine Mandingo Party, Nuits Sonores 2012.

This unique musical experience is based on a duo: Kouyate, balafon player from Kangaba in Mali, and Neerman a french vibraphone player. More than a cultural meeting, the dialogue between this two cousin instruments is here pretext to creative explorations in rhythm and melody. Taking roots in both jazz and mandingo tradition, the created atmosphere is definitely modern: although recorded in an analog studio, the second album integrates the balafon with breaks and vibraphone effects research. The title "Skycrapers and Deities" reflects perfectly the approach, linking up modernism and tradition, concrete and mysticism, human and god. 

I saw them live in 2011 as a great opening for Randy Weston, and this month during Palmwine Mandingo Party, which allowed them to fully and freely express their original transe music in front of a highly charged dancefloor... 

Meeting with Lansiné Kouyaté and David Neerman before the concert:

Randy Weston live @ Saint Louis Jazz, Senegal (2007)

A meaningful experience to listen to Randy Weston in Africa...

Unidentified "jungle sax jam" recordings from Casamance

Spending entire afternoons listening to music in small music shops, you can sometime fall into crazy sounds that even the guy from the shop is not able to name. This track comes from one of these CDs... 

I've been told this comes from Tionk Essil, a village in Casamance (southern part of Senegal) where many traditions and various ethnical influences are still alive.
It seems to be a live kind of ceremony including drums, choirs, in a diola style, but also including a solo sax playing with the traditional rhythms. A good example of fusion between a very traditional non-urban african music (which could exist centuries ago) and an occidental instrument played in a jazzy but african way. Modernity and how traditions evolve in time is a key subject in black thought; this music is a great example of modernity integration without any dilutive effect.
This is 20 minutes of deep and hypnotic jam, but i guess this last up to dawn...

Femi Kuti concert in Paris / Remix by Babaliah

Last sunday at La Bellevilloise, Femi Kuti hold a private concert to launch his next album. Although I prefer the father than the son, his orginal approach and positive vibration made the atmosphere pretty hot...

This is good opportunity to introduce here a remix realised in 2009 by Babaliah (Palmwine Records) from a Femi Kuti song. One step forward in afrobeat inspired sounds...

You better ask yourself - Babaliah remix:

A Night in Ifrikya - Tunisian malouf

 

When I found this traditionnal tunisian malouf (andalusian arabic music) record in a senegalese dig spot, i took it directly. The cover is directly drawn from Sidi Bou Said small plaza, one of Tunisia most beautifull place. Additionnally it reminded me a nice concert I attended in early 2000s on the same place... a great spot for this deep music (despite a long introduction to thank Ben Ali President, without whom nothing is possible...)

 

Le malouf tunisien - Collection Saliha
A:
Gharrad El Komri, Ikoulek Zaman El Azhar

B:

Hosn El Idhar

DJ WOW and friends (hiphop from Bakel, Senegal)

Bakel is hardly reachable, located in extreme east of Senegal, in front of Mauritania, close to Mali, not far from Guinea... feels like in middle of nowhere but actually within Soninké (Sarakholé) area with influences from all around.

As everywhere in Senegal (in Africa?), hip hop is the easiest and more popular way to express feelings, you "just" have to download instrumentals (sometimes not so easy, but there is internet access) and then this is like perpetuating the ancestral griot tradition in a modern way... rapping all day long...

As a farr-off and minority region, rapping high and loud the Soninké cultural identity is reflected in lyrics themes, in some important attention to sing in Soninké language, but transversal problematics are not forgotten.

Amazing place, where a humble 18 years old baye fall , shows you dozens of used notebooks filled with poetries and hiphop lyrics he wrote in 4 languages (french, soninké, bambara, wolof). It was a very surpising and pleasant freestyle/spokenword afternoon...

I'll have another post on theses subject with Fulani Hip Hop (Haal Pulaar / Peul).

Anyway, good flow and  "laid back" vibe there... always restrictions on means, but hip hop soul is there.

Great summer parties, including shows and contests (dance, theatre, hiphop, traditionnal), and for sure hot "Soirees Senegalaises" with sabar percusion and really-on-fire dancers...

I arrived there with a bunch of burned CDs with hiphop instrumentals, and i got some fresh hits from the region from DJ Wow (Way Of the World).

So Big Up to SONINKE people and Bakel Hip Hop Connexion, DJ Wow, Boom Fire, DBD, Cheikh Tidiane, Oumar Coulibaly ...





Here's an unreleased tough track from Bay Idi / Tougna, expressing his views (in french wolof and soninke) on french foreign policy, especially on Nicolas Sarkozy...

And a second one dedicated to Soninke People (intro in english, rap in soninke):



A lot more to come about african hip hop and modern griots...

somewhere in dakar...

Let's start somewhere in Dakar...

... kind of place you enter disturbing a whole ecosystem including bugs and rats, and go out smelly but imagining the moment back home in front of the turntable...

jërëjëf.