A really quick post before I have to run into work.

Today’s track is once again from an Original Music release, Siya Hamba! 1950s South African Country And Small Town Sounds, a compilation of popular music in South Africa at the time.

I agree with the liner notes when they refer to the 1950s as the glory days of South African music. Upbeat rhythms with wonderful female lead vocals were just a couple of the highlights of the era.

I should say at least that the title of today’s track appropriately translates into the title of today’s post. I’d go on but I can’t be late today! I’m sure that, as always, Benn loxo listeners will fill in the gaps where needed in the comments.

So enjoy this smalltown jump as I fly out the door…

The Jury Mpelho Band feat. Irene Buyiswa Ndumo – Puma Endlini Yam

Today we have the fifth edition of the Highlife Turntable by Benn loxo listener, ubulujaja:

For this volume of the highlife turntable I have selected three Ghanaian tracks to feature.

The first song is Meyee Owuo Den by the group Nana Takyi and his sunkwa international band. The song is off the mid 70’s release Maria. The tight interplay between the vocalists and the extended guitar playing are the things to check out. The word Sunkwa means “Cry for Life” in Twi. Sterns Music used to carry an Atakora Manu CD called Sunkwa that had the same kind of up tempo pop Ghanaian musical style.

I am still grooving on Bob Cole’s music and this track, which I found on his late 70’s release Highlife Akwantua LP, is called Amanfo. The song has the same great boisterousness that I have found in other songs by Bob Cole and the piano playing really stands out. Check-out the solo piano at the opening sequence and then the jump style call-and-response the piano gets into with the horns later in the song. As always, the backup vocals are impeccable. I think the term Amanfo refers to a Ghanaian tribe or cultural group.

The last song is Ahafo KuKuom by the great T.O. Jazz off his LP, Agyapa Ye. I liked the rootsy quality of the vocals and the punchy backbeat.

I hope you like the music.

Thanks, ubulujaja. Great music, as always.

Nana Takyi and his Sunkwa International Band – Meyee owuo den
Bob Cole – Amanfo
T.O. Jazz of Ghana – Ahafo Kukuom

One of my favourite Benn loxo readers, one who is responsible for introducing me to a lot of the music on this site, recently turned me on to Ignace De Souza.

Ignace De Souza is one of the those forgotten greats of West African music who was very influencial in his day. To give you an idea, in the liner notes of an Original Music compilation of his music, John Storm Robers credits De Souza’s track, Ole, as being the first afrobeat recording.

Originally from Benin, De Souza got his first big start when he got a gig playing sax with Alfa Jazz, who John Collins credits as being the first professional dance band in Benin. In later years De Souza moved to Ghana and played with several groups before forming his own. By the mid-60s, De Souza and Black Santiagos had become quite popular and began introducing Congo music to Ghana.

While a lot of the music on this Original Music comp sound pretty much like what you’d expect from the time and place they were recorded, there are several stand-out tracks. Two come to mind: Asaw Fofor for a 1960s chase scene and Anyenko for laid-back, “protofunk” summer music.

Unfortunately, great things never last. Does anyone know why the Black Santiagos split? Either way, in 1970 De Souza left Ghana before eventually settling in Lagos where he played with the house band at the Ritz Hotel. (I can’t help but associated this last bit with an image of Murph and the Murphtones at a Holiday Inn in the film The Blues Brothers.)

ps- you can still buy this album at Stern’s.

Ignace De Souza – Asaw Fofor
Ignace De Souza – Anyenko
Ignace De Souza – Ole

A while ago the people at ThrillJockey got in touch about the band Extra Golden, collaboration between the Nairobi-based benga band, Orchestra Extra Solar Africa, and the a Washington D.C. rock group named Golden.

I was happy to find that I quite like their music, especially since there really aren’t that many American bands that work African music into their sound with any great success. It usually sounds forced and incongruent, with few exceptions. In contrast, Extra Golden’s sound works well to my ears.

Extra Golden got its start when Ian Eagleson was doing doctoral research in Kenya on the history of benga music between 2002-2004. Orchestra Extra Solar’s guitarist, Otieno Jagwasi, was helping Ian with his research.

Ian returned to Nairobi in 2004 and the two finally starting putting some music together. They recruited local drummer, Onyango Wuod Omari, and Ian brought along a Golden band member, Alex Minoff.

Most of the album was apparently recorded during a single whirlwind session in a Nairobi nightclub. The result is a spontaneous-sounding record with a fresh Western rock-Kenyan benga fusion that actually works.

Extra Golden’s second album, Hera Ma Nono, is coming out on October 9th. It’s as good as their first – check-out the track Obama posted below. My favourite off their first release is the title track, Ok-Oyot System. The song title comes from the Luo expression, ok-oyot, which means “it’s not easy”.

It certainly wasn’t easy for the members of Extra Golden. During the recording process Otieno Jagwasi fell sick and eventually died of complications related to HIV. At around the same time Ian Eagleson had a run-in with the cops in Nairobi and apparently had to pay large sums of cash to stay out of jail.

Despite all this the band persevered and continues to play and record. I’m hoping to catch them live at some stage following their upcoming release.. sounds like they’d be fun live.

Extra Golden – Ok-Oyot System
Extra Golden – Obama

A random morning shuffle of not-yet-listened-to albums brings us Lungiswa’s cover of Marvin Gaye’s classic, Inner City Blues, sung in the Xhosa language.

Lungiswa is a young South African female vocalist from Cape Town. You may know her already from her work with Amampondo.

I thought I’d have a dig around for other versions of the song in my collection.

Have a listen to the original, plus a live version from Gaye’s Last Concert tour (that wasn’t really the last). Marc Moulin’s rendition is easily my favourite, and the New Orleans’ Dirty Dozen Brass Band whips up a version that for whatever reason reminds me of a Jean-Pierre Jeunet film.

If any of you have any good covers of Inner City Blues to share, send them to me and I’ll include them in this post.

ps- sorry, I just realized that podcasts have been broken for a while. They’re fixed now. Podcast link is http://bennloxo.com/?feed=rss2, or iptc://bennloxo.com/?feed=rss2 to open in iTunes directly.

Lungiswa – Inner City Blues (Xhosa version)
Marvin Gaye – Inner City Blues
Marvin Gaye – Inner City Blues (Live)
Marc Moulin – Inner City Blues
Dirty Dozen Brass Band – Inner City Blues
Brian Auger – Inner City Blues Thanks, Francois