Farid from Colombia just sent me an amazing album: African System Orchestra’s 1981 RAS release, Canon Kpa Kum.

Correct me if I’m wrong, but as far as I can tell African System Orchestra is an Igbo Nigerian group who were playing at around the same time as groups like the Imo Brothers International and the Peacocks.

Editor’s note: turns out I was wrong: Ndongo Pecos and presumably the rest of African System Orchestra are apparently Cameroonian, living in Nigeria when this album was recorded.

But these tracks certainly don’t sound like your average 70s Nigerian highlife. I guess by 1981 much of Nigeria was in the throws of Afrobeat and disco, which must have rubbed-off on the Igbo highlife bands too.

Does anyone have any more music like this? I’m refering specifically to late 70s, early 80s Igbo music with a bit of an afrofunk-disco drive to it?

Great party music. Thanks, Farid.

African System Orchestra - Canon Kpa Kum
African System Orchestra - African System No. 1

I managed to miss Benn loxo du taccu’s 3rd birthday on September 25th. 383 posts, 2 moves and 1900 comments later and it’s still going strong.. with the occasional pause in our regularly scheduled programming! So happy birthday, Benn loxo, and thank you everyone for continuing to listen, read and contribute.

Sorry I’ve been away for so long. I’ll spare you the details about rugby, fashion and la rentrée and head straight to the music. Today we’ll have a special, extended post to thank you for you patience.

My friends Marta and Yves came to stay at my place last week. Yves is an Mbo Cameroonian from the northern part of the country. His wife, Marta, was a good friend while I was living in Senegal.

We had the chance to swap some music on their last night after eating a mean Ndolé near my place. This morning I put together a mix for Benn loxo of some of my favourites. If you’re into classic Cameroonian makossa, you’re in for a treat.

With any luck I’ll be back tomorrow.. I have a backlog of about 500 new tracks to work through!

ps- that’s an unrelated photo by my favourite photographer of African musical youth, Malick Sidibe.

Toto Guillaume - Dibena
Lapiro - No mek erreur
Sam Fan Thomas - Poma
Ben D - Sengi Bobe
Charlotte Mbango - Konkai makossa
Prince Eyango - You must calculer
Cella Stella - Na mea longue
Sallé John - Paï o Yabassi
Ebanda Manfred - Na baby na ma
Prince Nico Mbarga - Aki Special
Eboa Lotin - Elimb’a Dikalo
Les Quatre Etoiles - Enfant bamileke

Gentle, Cameroonian jazz to ease you into your Monday.

I don’t think I ever mentioned this, but I saw a great little Herminia concert a couple weeks back. She was even smaller and older-looking than I imagined, but her voice filled the room.

The venue was the Mam’Bia, a good Cap Verdian restaurant near Strasbourg St-Denis in Paris. It’s small so only about 50 of us were at the show.. your typically random mix of “world music” people: old, young, strange, seemingly normal.

The woman I’ll post today, Cameroonian Anne-Marie Nzié, is a bit like Herminia in that her voice is still as powerful as ever at the age of 67. I don’t know much about her except that her one and only wide-release, Beza Ba Dzo, is a great listen. It features the likes of Manu Dibango, Brice Wassy and others.

The most interesting part of her biography is when she had to spend a long time in hospital after falling from a mango tree in the mid-1960s. It was there, in her hospital bed, that she was introduced to Hawaiian music by her brother. After finally leaving hospital the two started performing together, him on Hawaiian guitar, Nzié providing the vocals. That’s an original start to a career if I’ve ever heard one.

Anne-Marie Nzié - Sarah

This weekend a good friend from university stopped by Paris for a night. Big flashbacks from life in Halifax, Nova Scotia, as we talked about old college people and places.

Some musical memories: that bluegrass band, The Hurtin’ Unit, practicing in my basement. (They now live on, at least in part, in Zurich, Switzerland.) Watching Buck 65 rap in ice cream parlours (that doubled as an NFB film screening room) before he got big. Sneaking onto a parked train to beatbox with Choclair’s entourage (while dressed as a ninja). Letting Becky gently rock my soul (before splitting a bottle of Jack or, even better, some Carlo Rossi). Seeing Adam discreetly hold it down on his double bass (at the now defunct Hell, right beside my favourite local brewery). Feeling (and witnessing) the hurt of Tyler’s lady love through his music (as we crack jokes about his high profile in the Buddhist Mafia).

Hence today’s musical pairing:

Tyler Messick is an old friend from college who should soon be releasing a new album with the Museum Pieces. Today’s track comes off his first album, Grain Sales of 1840, featuring the aforementioned Becky and Adam.

Muntu Valdo is a French-Cameroonian singer/songwriter who’d fit right in on stage with a bunch of these Halifax throwbacks.

Muntu Valdo - Leta
Tyler Messick - Little Love Too

The 2006 Wagram compilation that reminded me to re-listen to Thione Seck yesterday, Radio Afrique, is a great compilation for anyone wanting a contemporary, mainly West African mix. I was going to post a track by Cherif Mbaw anyway today.. but instead I’ll focus a bit on this compilation. Definitely worth a buy.

Isn’t Majojo a cool song? I heard this at a couple friends’ houses while in Dakar. It’s the kind of tune that perks up some music-aware heads at dinner parties. Makes me want to lay into an organ.. there’s something so sexy about the wurlitzer-esque sound.

Cherif Mbaw’s 2005 release, Demain, is good all-round. That track Kollère is what first made me give it a listen last year. The Sally Nyolo track on Radio Afrique, Tilma, is also a great make-Monday-easier tune.

Nyolo is from Cameroon which is where my friend Marta is getting married at the end of the year. Congrats again, Marta.. I’ll try my best to make it down!

Cherif Mbaw - Majojo
Sally Nyolo - Tilma

I’m sitting here in a hotel room in Stuttgart, taking a break from the football fever that’s been building here, in Berliln and in Munich. As promised, I’ve lined-up a few posts by artists from African countries that are competing in the World Cup. A friend here picked the Ivory Coast as the tournament’s sleeper hit. No way, I say. Today I feature my underdog pick, Togo.

Bella Bellow had a great name. She’s also one of Togo’s most famous musical exports. The young Togolese vocalist got her break when, at 23, she travelled to Dakar in ‘66 for a music festival. She got noticed and went on to record a bunch of successful albums. Her beautiful ballad-style brought her success both in Africa and in Europe, including performances at the Olympia in Paris and recordings with Manu Dibango.

Unfortunately Bella Bellow’s career was cut short when she died in a car crash in 1973 at the age of 27. Her music is still popular today and she remains for many the queen of the “chanson togolaise”.

Today’s track features Bellow in collaboration with Manu Dibango. I love the way the wah-wah and typical Dibango rhythmic style blends with her beautiful voice. I can picture this song accompanying the slow motion, flashback portion of a good soul-era gangster movie…

ps- Heidi in Dakar wants to know: “Someone told me there’s a Vivian N’Dour song about Senegalese men leaving for Europe and the women left behind. I’ve tried some Internet research, but haven’t come up with anything. Does it ring a bell for you?” If you know anything about this song please leave a comment.

Manu Dibango feat. Bella Bellow - Dasiko

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)

This song has nothing to do with Hallowe’en. The French want to have nothing to do with Hallowe’en.

But wait, what’s this? Memories of dressing up as Tyson (yes, the ever-famous Senegalese lutteur) for a late-arrival Hallowe’en last year; of being stuck in an Abuja hotel room with only Trace to keep me company on another Hallowe’en; of khaki suits, dark sunglasses and other Ancien Régime déguisements in Paris this Hallowe’en.

I guess I’m quite involved with this pagan festival, both in France and in Africa. So who has time to write on such nights? It being Cameroon Week(s), however, I’ll squeeze something in: now is the time on Sprockets when we dance to Les Têtes Brulées.

Happy Hallowe’en.

Les Têtes Brulées - Zanzi Collection

The horns at the beginning of today’s tune make me feel like I’ve just won the jackpot on some early 90s game show. Amazing.

Yeah, I may know nothing about Les Black Styl but it’s the sound that counts, no? Feel free to fill in details in the comments if you know anything more about these guys.

So Cameroon week continues with some fun makossa rhythmized rock-out. Don’t worry, by the way: there’s still lots more Cameroon music to feature, so this week might stretch into two..

Black Styl - Lob’a Ma Sawa

Today we continue with Cameroon Week with some get-your-ass-moving makossa from Prince Eyango.

Eyango is one of the top Cameroonian makossa musicians. While he lives in LA most of the time and records almost exclusively in Paris, he’s still a local hero and one of the key players in the makossa scene.

Makossa is arguably Cameroon’s most popular form of music (I say arguably because 50 Cent probably gets more airtime), and is a great example of traditional rhythms and melodies mixing with modern dance music. It originally started as a more folky style in opposition to the then-dominant Nigerian highlife. As it gained popularity during the 60s and 70s it took on a more dancefloor feel. By the 1980s it had evolved into its current energetic form with strong base, quick soukous-like guitars and that uptempo drumbeat.

You can catch Eyango fairly often in concert around the world. I noticed on his web site that this summer he played to crowds in England, China, Canada and the US. Not bad for a once small-time musician from Douala.

Today’s track is one of his bigger hits and was released in 1991, a year before he moved to California. I love the title and the lyrics. Those who know me know that one of my favourite sayings is, “I’m over it.” Just saying that makes me want to send a big shout-out to Bryan in Prague. Sudden flashbacks of Lord of the Flies, ducking curfews and portages..

ps- Marta, thanks again.

pps- saw a great Antibalas show at the New Morning last night. Tony Allen came on for a track or two at the end. While I’m not normally a super-fan of their albums, they put on an amazing show. Great crowd, great music, lots of fun. Cobra!

Prince Eyango - Les problèmes

My friend from Dakar, Marta, who now lives in Cameroon, recently sent me a big pack of CDs straight from the Marché de Congo in Douala. I’ll be featuring music from these discs over the next few days. Big thanks, Marta, and look for your CDs in the mail soon!

Thanks to Marta, it’s official: it’s Cameroon week at Benn loxo du taccu.

Today we’ll start with some Keng Godefroy. He’s not very well known outside of Cameroon, at least I’ve never heard of him and he isn’t that Google-able. I do know that he’s a young, rising star in Cameroon with a slowed-down makassi musical style that I like. You can buy his 1997 album, Letse, not the one featured here today, on Amazon.

I don’t know the name of the today’s songs nor the album they’re from as the copied CD is unlabeled, direct from the market. So once again we have a bit of a mystery post. I’ll leave it up to Benn loxo listeners to fill in the details and I’ll e-mail Marta to see if she can enlighten us. In the meantime, enjoy the makassi.

Modern makassi music was made famous by Cameroonian musician Sam Fan Thomas, who I’ll maybe feature later this week. The rhythms come from traditional Makassi music in Western Cameroon, and you’ll recognize that typical Central African feel. Makes you want to shake like soukous.

ps- a Benn loxo listener is looking for a copy of the Nigerian 419 anthem, I Go Chop Your Dollars by Osofia, that’s mentioned in this article. If any of you know where to get it or have a copy kicking around then post a comment.

pps- quick tip for Benn loxo listeners: you can listen to all the music here as a podcast at http://bennloxo.com/feed/rss2

ppps- request for music by Dolly Rathebe. Anyone?

Keng Godefroy 1
Keng Godefroy 2

The beaches of the French Atlantic coast left me tanned and wanting more. I was definitely not ready for a multiple crisis-filled workday. Only one thing can get me out of this funk and through this mound of paperwork: West African psychedelia.

It occurred to me this morning that I’ve never posted any Manu Dibango. While today’s selection may not be the conventional pick, it comes by way of yet another gift from a Benn loxo listener.

Cameroonian by origin, mainly French at this point, Manu Dibango is one of Africa’s most well-known musicians. He’s still playing big gigs and releasing albums fairly regularly - you can catch him almost monthly in Paris and he plays in a few of the European festival circuits. He’s most famous for his saxophone-based jams that helped popularize the African soul-funk sound on a global level.

Today’s track is from the 3rd and latest release from the World Psychedelic Classics series: Love’s a Real Thing, The Funky Fuzzy Sounds of West Africa. And no, it’s not Soul Makossa.

Manu Dibango - Ceddo End Title

A renowned musician, poet, radio host, performer and novelist in Africa, Europe and North America, Francis Bebey pretty much did it all. He’s also the guy I wanted to listen to while making my Saturday eggs and bacon this morning. Perfectly acoustic to soothe the mild hangover headache.

Bebey was born and raised in Cameroon in a pro-colonial protestant family. It’s a small miracle that he managed to become a musician given his conservative French upbringing, especially one so passionate about promoting traditional African music and instruments. Lucky for all of us Bebey met a traditional doctor named Eya Mouéssé while he was still living in Cameroon. Mouéssé’s teachings introduced Bebey to the traditional instruments and musical heritage of his country and sparked an interest in African music that would change the course of his life.

Bebey lived in Cameroon, France and the US and worked on a wide variety of projects such as traditional music research for UNESCO and musical collaborations with the Kronos Quartet. He was a true international griot, promoting West African music and culture the world-over through a mix of writing, composing and education.

In May, 2001, Bebey died of a sudden heart attack. His death marked a real loss for African music and jazz lovers the world over. His legacy is intact, however, and he won’t be forgotten.

Francis Bebey - Idiba (Morning)