Jan 9/07
Cheikh then, Cheikh now
It’s interesting to hear how West African musicians have changed their style over the years. The melodies remain the same, but gone are the synths of yesteryear. World music audiences these days are all about acoustic guitar, djembe and double-bass. They don’t dig the drum machine like they used to.
Listen to early 90s and 80s recordings by musicians like Omar Pene, Salif Keita, Cheikh Lô and even Youssou N’Dour (who admittedly still loves his Casio) and you’ll hear what I mean.
Today we’ll hear Cheikh Lô’s first release, Doxandeme, in two forms: from his 1990 debut cassette, and in its new form on his 1996 release, Né la thiass.
The word doxandeme is Wolof for immigrants and the lyrics in this song are about Cheikh’s difficulties in being a Senegalese abroad.
Cheikh Lô – Doxandeme (original)
Cheikh Lô – Doxandeme (new)
Isn’t it really more of an economic issue? Presumably in 1990 Cheikh Lô couldn’t afford the sort of backup musicians that he could with the backing of a big record label in 1996. I like both versions, but what strikes me about the 1996 iteration is that it seems designed to appeal to a certain sort of mellow, granola-head type of listener..
This brings to mind something I’ve always wondered about the sort of “world music” you find in the rack down at your local Borders. How many people who live in Africa actually listen to, say, Angelique Kidjo, or the kind of crap Youssou N’Dour puts on his Western CD releases? I have no way of knowing myself. Since you’ve done a lot of travelling in this part of the world, Matt, could you tell us?
John,
In Cheikh Lo’s case I doubt it was an economic issue.. a synth costs a bunch more than a group of Baye Fall drummers. In other cases you’re right, for example hiphop productions that move from cheap samplers to real instruments and turntables as they get more money.
It’s hard to know how much of West African music popular outside of Africa is listened to by people living in West Africa. Disc sales aren’t a measure since piracy is rampant and retail-priced music is too expensive for most people (too expensive period, if you ask me).
Go to a Youssou concert in Dakar and it’s way, way different than his French shows. However, every year THE cassette in every Dakar taxi is “Live at Bercy”… his show in Paris. So evidently the Senegalese don’t mind the “European” sound that Youssou spins at his Western city shows. In this sense I think the press seriously over-hypes the whole notion of Youssou playing differently at home and abroad. Sure, it’s different, but that doesn’t mean that both styles don’t appeal to the local population.
In Cheikh Lo’s case, Doxandeme was popular when he first came out in 1990 but it was even more popular when it was released to a wider audience in 1996. Domestically, Lo’s 1996 album Ne la thiass was a huge success and had both popular and political influence.
So in short, I disagree with the majority of supposedly Africa-savvy journalists on this one: a lot of Africans DO listen to Angelique Kidjo and Youssou’s Western releases, both out of pride and musical taste. West African audiences have the added bonus that their ears are usually accustomed to more localized/traditional/choose-you-word versions in addition to Western music.
Matt
Thanks for clarifying that for me.
I’ve been enjoying your blog for quite a while and i want to add something to this discussion:
For me, it is the roughness and imperfection of the production of lots of african music which appeals to me and which I think is a distinctive feature. For example the synthesizer solo in Wartef Jiggen by Guelewar (which you posted a few months ago and which is one of my faves) has sound dynamics which are unique. The same goes for the unusual use of drum computers, keyboards etc. (Yemmpa Aba by Ata Kak) which can create a mind blowing sound. It is sad to see these features go due to a customized, polished and target group oriented acoustic world music sound.
I don’t care about the authencity of the sound/instruments used or which versions the native audiences prefer. The only thing that matters for me, is that the music rocks. And concerning just that, the original Doxandeme is way better. I look forward to more great posts from your great blog. Thank you for your work!