Guest post today by Benn loxo listener, Matt:

Vikings feat. Al Bentley - Kansas City
Recently I discovered that my second cousin was South Africa’s “king” of rock and roll. After some digging amongst family members and some web research and requests I managed to get a CD-R of his hits. The music is mostly derivative of the imported rock and roll songs and no original material appears to have been written until much later in the decade. This particular tune is taken from the first South African rock and roll LP Rock Party at the Club Pepsi with the Vikings, RCA Victor

Dark City Sisters - Shala Shala Twist
On the other side of the tracks, in musical hotspots such as Sophiatown and elsewhere, black musicians were also taking on the American sounds they were hearing. Only this time they seemed to take ownership of them. A good example is Shala Shala Twist by the Dark City Sisters. This is sung inthe urban lingua-franca of the day - tsotsitaal, an urban mix of Afrikaans, English and Zulu - where they ask “Sonny, come look, we play Shala Shala Twist. Mother, oh, please come judge us doing the Shala Shala Twist”.

The music on this home compiled CD-r was made possible by two other compilations long since deleted. These are “Flying Rock - South African Rock ‘n Roll 1950-1962 (Global Village)” and “Money No Be Sand -1960s Afro-Lypso, Pidgin Highlife, Afro-Soul and Afro-Rock from Nigeria and Ghana (Original Music)” (which was featured here a while back on Benn loxo)

Links:
South African rock and roll archives
South Africa - The Hidden Years
South Africa - Music Styles

The Vikings feat. Al Bentley - Kansas City
Dark City Sisters - Shala Shala Twist

A night fighting for space at La Perle and Le Connetable got quite late, as in the birds were out as I wandered home. So I’m nursing my Sunday coffee a bit and I need some soothing music, a gentle wake-up. Francis Bebey?

I find Francis’ Bebey’s voice really calming, paternal almost. I could see myself fishing with the guy, or sitting on his lap as a little kid as he told me grandfather-esque stories of times past.

We’ve heard him before on Benn loxo, and the now-defunct audioblog, Akwaaba Sound System, named their blog after one of his earlier, trippy albums.

You can find today’s track and more on 2005’s well-produced Francis Bebey: Original Masters Vol. 1.

Francis Bebey - O Bia (a song)

I finally checked-out The Constant Gardener and really enjoyed it. In my opinion both this and Lord of War do a good job of portraying some of the darker sides of sub-Saharan African life.

A few people I spoke with thought that the movies were too negative and further reinforced negative stereotypes of life in Africa. I can see how you can argue that, but I think it’s fair of me to say that I’ve seen corruption and extreme poverty first-hand in Nigeria, Ivory Coast, Mali, Senegal, Burkina Faso and a host of other African countries, and that it’s not pretty. So maybe it’s a good idea to educate your average Western movie-going joe public about the true realities of every day life for millions of Africans. In my opinion these movies paint a much more accurate picture of sub-Saharan African life than a weepy Worldvision commercial or whatever other exposure most people get.

This reminds me: if you want to read a first-hand account from the perspective of a child growing up in Biafra during the Nigerian Civil War, you should check-out my friend Dulue Mbachu’s recently released book, War Games. You can buy it on Amazon. More information about Dulue and the book are available at the publisher’s web site.

So I guess it’s now time to turn our attention to some positive sides of life from the continent. Happy-sounding Nigerian highlife springs to mind. Re-released by (the now defunct?) AfroStrut records in the UK in 2000, Orlando Julius and His Modern Aces’ 1966 album, Super Afro Soul, is a classic.

Julius’ style mixes his mid-60s Nigerian highlife with American rnb. This is best represented in their funny, if not so musically amazing, rendition of The Temptations’ My Girl.

If you’re into this album also check-out the 2004 Ekosound release, Orlando Julius & his Afro Sounders - Orlando’s Afro Ideas.

Orlando Julius & His Modern Aces - Olulofe
Orlando Julius & His Modern Aces - My Girl

The Manhattan Brothers dominated the black South African musical scene during much of the 1940s and 50s. They recorded, toured and performed under difficult circumstances given the political climate of early-apartheid South Africa. Despite occasional jailings, troubles getting visas and general discrimination they managed to attain great success.

They played with many greats over the years and inspired a whole generation of black South African musicians such as Hugh Masekela and Abdullah Ibrahim. Among others, Miriam Makeba got her start singing with them.

Their style is simple, catchy and straight-up representative of the time. They borrow from American jazz and soul influences but still come off with a distinct sound.

Throw these tracks on this Valentine’s night after a few glasses of wine, and then twist real close to that lady…

You can get both of these songs on their greatest hits album that came out in 2000.

The Manhattan Brothers - Yaku Yaku
The Manhattan Brothers feat. Miriam Makeba - Ntyilo Ntyilo

I picked this album at random yesterday. I figure you can never go wrong with contemporary malian acoustic guitar. As it turns out, the album is gold. Good score.

N’Gou Bagayoko recorded this album, Kulu, in Bougouni, Mali, in 2002 with the help of Frikyiwa’s “nomad” studio. This French travelling sound system has helped loads of musicians in Senegal, Guinea and Mali record quality albums in their home towns. The result is a series of albums called La musique des maquis.

Bagayoko plays his acoustic guitar as if it were a n’goni, creating a cool sound for his Didadi musical style. I also like the way they’ve incorporated ambient sounds like faint footsteps, birds, wind rustling leaves, etc, into the production. This can often sound cheesy in other contexts, but on this album it really adds to the overall feel of the music.

The track I picked features vocals by Nahawa Doumbia (his wife) who records music of her own over at French/Malian label, Mali K7. Anyone have any of her albums by any chance?

N’Gou Bagayoko - Bakari Bamba

A few Benn loxo listeners, including my father in Canada, have urged me to give Daby Balde’s first wide-release a listen. After much delay I finally bought his album today. Good thing, too, because it’s great. Thanks as usual for all the tips…

Daby Baldy is from Senegal, though I have to confess I never heard about him while I lived there. The album’s liner notes claim that he has been “long celebrated at home,” but I’m not so sure he’s super popular locally. This is true for a lot of Senegalese artists, Youssou N’Dour excepted, who produce music that appeals to audiences outside of the country. People like Daby Balde, Cheikh Lô, Pape and Cheikh and others play acoustic mbalax and fula sounds that appeal more to world music enthusiasts in North America and Europe than to hip-hop and pop mbalax-hungry local youth.

Regardless, Daby Balde is a super-talented musician and his debut international release, Introducing Daby Balde, is a great album. He combines acoustic guitar in that West African style I so love with Senegalese Fulani rhythms and vocals, kora and violin. Distinctly West African, almost contemporary Malian sounding, but still really appealing to Western ears.

Daby Balde - Mamadiyel

Benn loxo listener, Scott, has a guest post for us today. Listen past the initial 80s synth to hear interesting, politicised lyrics and melody that he describes below:

“The song “Weeping” has an interesting history, both in itself and in how I found it. The song first came to my attention as sung by Vusi Mahlasela, about whom Matt has posted before. He sang a chilling, inspired version of the song with the backing of the Soweto String Quartet on his 1994 album Silang Mabele (it’s also included on his 2003 US-released compilation The Voice / Ilivi Lebantfu). Vusi calls it a song of reconciliation, a song critical of the architecture of apartheid with lyrics written by a white South African who served as a conscripted soldier. You can read the song’s lyrics here.

I thought the music was by Vusi until this year, when the Soweto Gospel Choir included the song on their new album Blessed, and I discovered that the song was originally done by the South African rock group Bright Blue in 1987. You’ll notice that the song includes the melody of “Nkosi Sikelel’ iAfrika,” the Black South African anthem, which has since been incorporated into the new official national anthem, but back in 1987 anyone performing it was courting arrest.

Such a history, and a song that brings a shiver to the spine. By the way, Bright Blue drummer Peter Cohen is now with the delightful South African pop band Freshlyground.”

Thanks, Scott, for the music and background. Let this be a reminder to others that guest posts are always welcome!

Bright Blue - Weeping

I was in the West Bank last week and the strangest thing happened. After a somewhat tense day in Nablus I found myself with a few friends in a “trendy” bar in Ramallah, drinking some Chianti amidst French expats from Lyon and Palestinian night-life folks. My friend, Jake, bet me 5 shekels that the DJ was playing Tiken Jah Fakoly. I called him on it and was totally shutdown - it was. Who knew that Ivoirian reggae was big in West Bank night spots.

So hey, for whatever reason I’ve yet to post a Tiken Jah song on Benn loxo.

I saw Tiken Jah last year in Bruxelles at the Couleur Café festival. He put on a great show. Wonderful memories of dancing beside my friend from Dakar, Xavier, in the hot, Belgian beer-infused summer heat that I so miss while sitting in my cold Paris apartment. I saw Tiken Jah once in Dakar a few years ago, too, but I forget where and when. He always puts on a good performance.

By the way, did anyone catch that supposedly great Kora Jazz Trio concert at the New Morning this past Saturday in Paris? I’m bummed I missed it, but I guess I’ve no right to complain.

In any case, here’s some Tiken Jah Fakoly for your ears tonight. It’s from his 1999 release, Cours d’histoire.

Tiken Jah Fakoly - Ohba Ohba