Sep 26/08
Happy birthday, Benn loxo
Yeah, that’s me. And why am I posting a picture of myself dancing, or possibly conceiving some great idea, in early 2004 during a curry-cook/dance-off on a friend’s rooftop in Dakar? Because four years ago yesterday Benn loxo du taccu was born. Happy birthday, Benn loxo.
It all started in Dakar after a good trip to Nigeria as an excuse to collect more music while living in West Africa. It quickly turned into something much greater.
Four years, 460 posts, 2500 comments and lots of life later, we’re here.
More than all the music I’ve collected, the most rewarding bit has been all the people I’ve met through the site. Benn loxo has led me to good friends in Paris, Dakar, London, Beijing, San Francisco, New York, Lagos and elsewhere. These days I keep this site going mainly because it continues to bring me great people wherever I go.
A big thanks to all of you who have contributed music, advice, posts, concerts and much more over the years. I’ll try my best to keep it going for another four.. for better or for worse!
So I figure we’ll celebrate the birthday with one last Beijing music post.
Today’s track was recorded at the last live show I attended in Beijing, Wu Ningyue’s acoustic set at the Jiangjinjiu pub. It was another one of those great MicroMu gigs. The crowd knew all the words and the atmosphere was fun.. (yes, Ed, despite all the La La Las.)
I don’t know much about Wu Ningyue except that he is the lead singer for a popular Chinese rock band. I leave you to brush up on your Chinese and check out the MicroMu site to learn more.
You can download the whole live album here.
I’m back in Paris now but soon off to London, Ankara and Istanbul. I’ll try to throw together a long-overdue Paris post this weekend, then more to come from England, Turkey and who knows where else in the coming weeks.
Tags: birthday, china, folk
Bon anniversaire et merci pour toutes ces découvertes.
Matt! What a life you have led! You are an inspiration. I am heading back to Dakar for my fifth trip to Senegal in the Winter and I think I will journey to Ghana after that. If you have any good connections there, I would love to meet with them. I am a midwife and I went to Senegal to do some learning, but decided that I didn’t want to learn about midwifery there, instead I just wanted to live there and explore and hang with the awesome peple. But, I have been staying with one family there and this has been somewhat limiting as they enjoy directing my activities, so I am hoping to brnch out a bit and go around on my own more now that I getting more skilled with Wolof. Anyway, keep the great music coming! I am always tuned into what you have displayed.
Jamm ak xewol,
Khadi
Matt – your musical and cultural adventures are an inspiration, an education, and a great way for those of us without jet-setting jobs to have a vicarious adventure. All the best for another four years and more of informative blogging!
dj earball of SoundRoots
Happy Birthday!
Many we (you) have many happy returns.
- Steve
happy bday benn loxo, your baby’s grown up now.
4 years! and I know you for less than one year, what makes me think about all the great posts I missed. You could prolly re-up some great posts from the past, most downloaded or most commented stuff, and make it sort of a bday thing, how about that?
btw I’m glad to know the whole thing was born in dakar, where myself was born 30 something years ago!
samory
Happy Birthday from Hamburg (Germany)
good thing that you had the idea of this blog and that you share and shared wonderful music with us.
So long and good luck
yours Frank
HAPPY BIRTHDAY !! and keep doing ! WE NEED YOU !
Congrats Matt!
Matt:
Happy birthday! Your efforts have borne fruit many times over. I know Benn Loxo was a great inspiration to me when I started Likembe and I’m sure it was to others as well. Great work, and keep it up!
Happy Birthday Benn Loxo!
Yeah! And I was there for that curry cook-off too.
Hongera ya siku ya kuzaliwa (In Swahili)
Happy Birthday to You!
Fidelis.
Cool!
I haven’t visited in a while and what do I see? Back to back posts about an engagement and Benn Loxo’s birthday! These are good times, huh, Matt!
Some time ago you were kind enough to post Natural Self’s Olufeme remix. Many, many thanks again for that, and for all the wonderful music posts.
And of course Happy Birthday Benn Loxo!
Happy birthday, Benn loxo du taccu. Bravo, matt pour toutes ces découvertes et ces perles piochées dans le monde. Bonne route et merry christmas
Happy Birthday (bit late
[...] and make it a great tearjerking piece of music. I don’t know what they are singing about but MATT says they sing a lot of songs about love and getting married, so let’s just leave it at [...]