Quick post today from the golden age of West African salsa. Guinean salsero, Amara Touré, was part of a group of pre-independence salsa pioneers in Guinea and Senegal. Touré along with others like Laba Sosseh and the Star Band de Dakar kickstarted a West African salsa musical movement that enjoyed widespread success until the 1980s.

There are still a few good salsa bars in Dakar and elsewhere around West Africa. I squeezed in a dirty whisky salsa night in Dakar a few weeks back, though there wasn’t as much dancing as times past. Regardless, that particular house band has improved a lot since I last saw them. In other words, they weren’t just performing Guantanamera on repeat all night.

I wonder what would happen in Paris if, after a particularly good saxophone solo, I went up to the musician and shoved a 5000 CFA note in his suit?

Amara Touré - Cuando Llegare
Star Band de Dakar - Caramelo

Today we’ll hear some more good Kenyan music from the Orchard re-release collection on eMusic. This time it’s a little later, a mid-70s recording by Kenyan rumba star, Habel Kifoto.

Initially a member of the famous “military band”, Maroon Commandos, Habel Kifoto released a bunch of solo tracks as well. Benn loxo friend, Steve Mugiri, can tell you more about the Maroon Commandos - and much more - if you’re curious.

Elsewhere, this guy was in Habel’s daughter’s class in Nairobi and enjoys good night out in Nairobi, while this guy feels guilty about listening to pirated copies of their music.

While you’re at it, hear Kifoto and others on the excellent selection of African podcasts over at Podmatic. (For those who don’t know, you can listen to Benn loxo as a podcast, too.)

Habel Kifoto - Sine Ndoe
Habel Kifoto - Charonyi Ni Wasi

eMusic has a surprisingly great collection of early Kenyan recordings, thanks in large part to the Orchard re-releases of music belonging to the Music Copyright Society of Kenya. You heard some already in that ever-popular post about Juma Muhina about a month back.

eMusic has always positioned itself as a spot for young, DRM-unfriendly listeners who are mainly into “indie” music. Their homepage features music by people like Sufjan Stevens, Damien Jurado and Tom Waits, as opposed to iTunes’ Westlife and Beyoncé. It’s nice that a company like eMusic is exposing the Pitchfork generation to some jewels of early African recordings.

Fadhili William is one such Kenyan treasure in the eMusic collection. The collection of his songs recorded between 1963-67 is just the kind of simple, guitar-jangle music that I’m into after a nice weekend in Amsterdam. The dialogue in the middle of Big City Blues is particularly amazing.. cracks me up every time.

Fadhili Williams Mdawida - Big City Blues
Fadhili Williams Mdawida - Wee Jane

Hey Jozef, thanks for your comment on the last post. You woke me up. It’s been a while since I last wrote - sorry, people. I’ve been busy sorting out a move, working, traveling and fighting back the cold, Parisian rain. If any of you live up around Canal Saint Martin I’m your new neighbour. And hey, if you live in Amsterdam keep an eye out for me this weekend.

I was at a Sarah Harmer and Kelly Joe Phelps show last night. After the show we bumped into Ms. Harmer at the back of the club so I introduced myself and told her the story about how I spent many hours in a car with my Kenyan friend, Aki, listening to her album, I’m A Mountain, on repeat. It was the only disc we had with us at the start of the trip aside from a Kenyan hiphop mix featuring the Xplastaz. I’ll forever associate the tunes on that album with Aki rapping in Swahili, the German autobahn and large crowds of red-faced English and Dutch football fans.

Anyway, all the acoustic guitar put me in the mood for some solid strumming so I dug up a great disc of Malian kora and flamenco, Songhai Vol. 2. The album features the new flamenco stars, Ketama, and Toumani Diabaté. The fusion of guitar, Gypsy-Spanish singing, kora and other Malian elements works wonderfully. I prefer this second volume to the first since I find the recordings much richer.

The disc’s title, Songhai, refers to the Songhai empire. It was one of Africa’s largest and most powerful empires that, at its height in the 16th century, spanned from modern-day Senegal all the way to central Nigeria.

For today’s post I picked my favourite two tracks plus a third, De Jerez à Mali, since it brings back great memories of sipping sherry on a hot day in Jerez this summer with blue and Annie.

…plus a couple bonuses to add some context.

Ketama, Toumani Diabaté & José Soto - De la Noche a la Manana
Ketama, Toumani Diabaté & José Soto - Sute Monebo
Ketama, Toumani Diabaté & José Soto - De Jerez à Mali
X-Plastaz - Msimu kwa msimu
Sarah Harmer - I Am Aglow

Today a short, up-beat Congolese tune courtesy Benn loxo listener, Babacar.

He brings us sounds by the late Abeti Masikini, a member of the early generation of then-Zaire divas.

The full-length featuring this song was released in 1975 on the Pathé Marconi EMI album, La voix de Zaire L’Idole de l’Afrique. The track you’ll hear today is off the 7-inch released at the same time.

I was surfing around for some more Abeti links and came across this great YouTube video about a local dish that she once sung about. Now that’s my kind of cooking show.

Speaking of food, it’s worth noting that in Senegal, “yamba” is slang for weed.

Abeti Masikini - Yamba Yamba

When your car is stopped by a corrupt cop on a Thursday or a Friday in Lagos, Nigeria, they’ll ask you for a bribe by saying, “something for the weekend?” If you make a quick joke and have a good handshake you can usually make a new friend and get away with a full wallet.

In Abidjan, a similar exchange usually involves some talk about the cop wanting a “cup of coffee” before he gives your passport back. Again, if you pull a joke about how you only drink tea, your passport’s back in your hands.

In Senegal and Mali, where bribes aren’t as much the norm, the occasional corrupt cop is much more direct: “donnes-moi 10000 francs, boy.” On these occasions I usually just blurt out a Wolof proverb like, “su ma amoon xaalis, tabax keur” (if I had any money I would have built a house) and hope he’d laugh enough to let me pass.

I thought of these expressions today as I was sipping my coffee, waking up from a good weekend during which I found a great, new appartment. Music-wise, I needed something calming to ease me into the Monday while celebrating my good mood. Thankfully, Benn loxo listener, Henri, sent me just the tune last week.

Nahawa Doumbia is a singer from the Wassoulou region of Mali. Her style is similar to the other famous Wassoulou musician, Oumou Sangaré, except that her music tends to be a little more uptempo.

I love the guitar work on today’s track and that singing style is amazing. I find this kind of music both soothing and refreshing. Great Monday Morning Music.

Nahawa Doumbia - Sifolo

I thought after all the buzz around the Awadi post I’d post some more current Senegalese hip-hop today.

The other half of Positive Black Soul, Duggy Tee (formerly Doug-E Tee - gotta love that name change), also has his own solo thing going on. Personally I think that Awadi has more talent, but Duggy Tee is really popular with the rap kids in Dakar. He must be rapping something cool in Wolof slang that I can’t understand.

Wagëblë is making a go for it. They won the 2005 Senegal Hip-Hop awards and have some good publicity buzz. Check-out their well-designed web site, MySpace page. There’s also a YouTube video of today’s track. The shots of Dakar, Gorée and Thiaroye are great.

The last group I don’t know anything about except that they remind me a bit of The Gambia’s Dancehall Masters. It’s always nice hearing the kora incorporated in to the local rnb and hiphop sound. I can imagine a heavily made-up Viviane doing vocals for these guys.

ps- any of you have a 2-3 pièces apartment for me to rent in Paris? It’s worth asking.. especially in a city where you have to visit 30 places before finding something decent. Send me an e-mail if you have a lead and I’ll bless you with African music for life.

Duggy Tee - Beugueuloul
Wagëblë - Senegal
Mama Balla - Beautiful