I’ve been meaning for some time to post some kwaito music from South Africa. I couldn’t find the discs I’d bought while down there, but I picked up a couple more recently so we’ll do some sampling.

Kwaito is sort of a mix of dancehall, house and hiphop that emerged out of the South African townships after apartheid. It’s now the unofficial sound of South African urban youth, and one of the truly original new musical sounds coming out of the continent.

The track I’m posting is a touch old - late 2000 - but still sounds good and is representative of a lot of what you’ll hear. If you’re interested in a more modern sound I’d recommend checking out Zola. I’ll see if I can dig some of his music up for a post this week, or just go buy it.

You can find today’s track on the 2001 EMI South Africa compilation Ezimtoti Kwaito Hits.

Tokollo - Indlovu Iyangena

As promised, I’ll post a track today from the Club Africa 2 compilation. Quickly, because it’s Friday and beautiful outside - I want to get the hell out of the office.

Today we’ll hear some music by Afro-funk pioneer, Senegal’s Wasis Diop. In the early 70s Diop moved to France where he formed the group West African Cosmos with Guinea-Bissau musician/producer Umban Ukset. They released their one and only album in 1976 on CBS. The recording brought them instant fame.

West African Cosmos - Wuyé Wuyé

Before listening to this track, please get in your car and start driving. Put on some large sunglasses. Drive slowly.

In 1999 a new label called Strut released a great afro-funk compilation called Club Africa. It was assembled by British DJ and promoter, Russ Drewbury. The album sold pretty well, so Strut they released a second (even better) volume which we’ll sample tomorrow.

The track we’ll hear is by a Ghanaian funk-soul-highlife group from the 70s called The Ashantis. I read a review in the All Music Guide which likened this song to an afro-ized Allman Brothers.. in a negative way. Why would that be a bad thing? I say, bring it on.

Unfortunately Strut went under a little while ago, as you can see by their now non-existent web site, so we won’t getting a Club Africa 3.

The Ashantis - Everybody’s Groove

I wrote a post a while back about Mar Seck, un des rois de la musique salsa au Sénégal. The song I posted was called “Diongoma”, which I explained means something like “large, dominating Senegalese mother type” in Wolof. The classic image of the diongoma is of a rather chubby woman with one baby strapped to her back, draped in brightly coloured wax print cloth, bargaining and/or yelling at someone while chewing feverishly on a tooth cleaning stick. Read more about “la beauté XL” here.

Anyway, today I was listening to a great 2002 compilation by Stern’s Africa called The Music In My Head 2: Guitars Are From Mars Balafons Are From Venus when an old Thione Seck song came on, also called Diongoma. For some reason I hadn’t ever stopped to listen to this song, or notice it on the compilation. I love old Thione Seck, and this is a classic example.

Thioine Seck is still going strong in Dakar, hosting great live mbalax nights at his club, Kilimanjaro, beside Soumbédioune fish market. The bar beside Seck’s club, Le Soumbé, is also a good spot, except when there’s a downwind from the nearby canal. Seck’s old stuff is best, however, as is true for most of the older generation of Senegalese mbalax musicians. How I wish I could’ve been there during Senegal’s musical golden age during the 1970s.

Thione Seck - Diongoma

I’m in London today. No time at all for a long post, but I’ll put up a good track from everyone’s favourite ex-British colony, Nigeria.

Here’s a little afrobeat from the popular 2004 Soundway compilation, Afro Baby: The Evolution Of The Afro-Sound in Nigeria 1970-79. Soundway are the UK label also responsible for the great Ghana Soundz compilations that I wrote about here and here.

Tunji Oyelana & The Benders - Ipasan

I was working at Roland Garros today. While watching Federer rally and setting up some networks I couldn’t get this song out of my head. I couldn’t remember the name of the song for the life of me until I suddenly realized, “SUDAN.” Yes, the beautiful voice of Rasha.

I have no idea what it is about clay courts, tennis rackets and wireless networks that causes to me sing contemporary Sudanese folk music. You can take a man out of Africa but you can’t take Africa out of a man? Ha. Whatever. Great tune.

The one I was thinking of comes off Rasha’s 1997 first release, Sundaniyat. I don’t know much about Rasha to be honest (or Sudanese music in general for that matter) but I really like her sound. The acoustic East African-Nubian sound appeals to my taste in music from that region, and her voice is quite amazing.

Rasha - Azara Alhay

After yesterday’s smooth mbalax from Omar Pene, I thought I’d post one of his more typical mbalax tunes. Sa Jikko Ji was one of Pene’s big hits and it appears on Myamba as well, but as a slower acoustic song. The version I’ll post today is the original, featuring mbalax chanteuse extraordinaire Coumba Gawlo on backup.

I love Gawlo, so maybe I’ll post some of her music tomorrow. For me, her stage presence and singing style captures the in-yo-face-don-fuck-with-me attitude of the impossibly beautiful and impossible to get Dakaroise girls.

On this track you’ll hear Pene’s backup band, Super Diamono. They’re a mainstay on the Dakar scene, both with and without Pene. Their recently-released best-of,
Tey 30 Ans Déjà, is a great buy if you’re into that synth-rhythm-dance mbalax sound from the 80s and 90s.

Omar Pene & Super Diamono - Sa Jikko Ji

I’m back to daily postings now that I’m settled in Paris. Sorry for the blackout.

Omar Pene’s new album, Myamba, has been getting heavy rotation at my new apartment. On this album Pene takes his mbalax style, slows it down and then applies it to an acoustic base. The result is beautiful.

I’d normally associate mbalax with Dakar clubs filled with young, hot and sweaty 6ft-tall women, all shakin’ ass at an incredible speed. Pene, however, offers up a whole different take on the genre: almost latin, very chill and yet definitely West African.

Pene and his band, the Super Diamono, have dominated the Senegalese scene for decades. Only Youssou N’Dour surpasses this guy in energy and local reputation. I had the chance to see Pene a couple times while in Dakar - his shows are consistently great, filled with classic and enthusiastic posturing, dancing and drumming.

ps- in case your Wolof is a little rusty, saï saï translates roughly into “lady’s man” or “playa”.

Omar Pene - Saï Saï

I apologize for not posting these last few weeks. I’ve been busy with my move to Paris.

I’m in Paris now and in the process of furnishing my place and hooking up power, Internet, etc. I should be good to go by the weekend or early next week at the latest.

Any tips on good record shops and live listings for African music in Paris?