Thanks to Pape down in Dakar for helping me brush-up on my Wolof this morning. Man, it’s amazing how quickly I’ve forgotten my grammar. Anyway, the title above translates into “use two hands to drum”.

Miki N’Doye was a well-known musicians originally from a Wolof-speaking village in The Gambia who was chosen to represent his country’s music abroad after independence in 1965. He toured around Europe during the 70s before eventually settling in Norway in the late 70s. His West African drumming skill led him to several successful collaborations with Norwegian jazz artists.

I would say more but I can’t read Norwegian. Feel free to fill my knowledge gaps, Nordic listeners..

And hey, does anyone have any Super Ballet Afric recordings?

Miki N’Doye Orchestra - Ousu Lion N’Jie

I got an e-mail from Benn loxo listener, Connie, webmaster for Gambian Griot School of Music and Dance in Bakau, The Gambia, wondering if I could post some music by the school’s manager, Dembo Jobarteh. The tunes are simple and charming. Sort of just-right for my mood right now.

Here’s what she says about the three tracks:

“1. Gambia Banko (Music & Lyrics: Dembo Jobarteh)
The Gambia is a beautiful country where many tribes live together peacefully. With this song Dembo honors his country and advises people about the importance of love and peace.

3. Bamba Bojang. (Traditional)”

I have many funny memories from The Gambia. Some fun and dirty (very, very long multi-Diague Ndiaye trips during a heat wave with not enough water and busloads of friendly market women), some musical (hanging out with dancehall and hiphop artists at Serekunda market), and some luxury (monkeys, cocktails and beauty at the wonderful Coconut Residence).

The Gambia and Gambians are generally extremely chilled-out, and have no problems joking about the fact that they live under a military dictatorship. It’s amazing that such a small piece of land, so enveloped by Senegal, can be so distinct.

Anyway, these songs remind me of Gazelle-infused nights where you find yourself in a room surrounded by random dudes who suddenly bust-out a djembe and break into song. The recordings could easily be from several living rooms during the rainy season at relaxed parties in the Serekunda outskirts or Dakar HLMs.

Thanks for the music, Dembo. You can check-out his company here and here.

Dembo Jobarteh - Gambia Banko
Dembo Jobarteh - Mama Tamba
Dembo Jobarteh - Bamba Bojang

On Saturday I took a daytrip to the epicenter of Mouride Islam: Touba, Senegal. The trip proved to be a bit of a lengthy adventure (like nearly all roadtrips in West Africa) but I’m glad I went.

Mouridism is a spiritually and culturally-infused West-African brand of Islam, reviled by Middle Eastern Islamic purists and loved by the Senegalese and Gambian masses. Some of the marabouts (religious “guides”) have huge sway over national politics here. The founder of Mouridism, Cheikh Amadou Bamba, is burried in the massive mosque found in the city of Touba, as are all of the deceased Mouride leaders to date. Touba is also home to Senegal’s largest and strangest market - rumour has it you can buy AK-47s here cheap, and I can confirm that the street traders give a good deal on Japanese Yen.

The incredibly large mosque in Touba is clad in gaudy, imported pink marble and brightly coloured ceramics. Each Friday ten to twenty thousand people come here to pray. Once a year, during the annual pilgrimage called the Magal, around two million people from all over the world descend on Touba to pay hommage to Cheikh Amadou Bamba and his disciples.

Touba the city, both mosque and market, is the best example of Senegalese culture I’ve seen to date. Money and mosques, beggars and BMWs; Senegalese Islam and the marabouts that control it are all about getting to heaven quickly, but with as much bling-bling as possible.

No matter what you think about Bamba and Mouridism you can’t ignore its importance to Senegalese culture and how impressive its mosques, traditional costumes and monuments are.

In honour of the trip I’m going to post some Gambian dancehall/rnb devoted to Serigne Touba (Serigne loosely means “father” or “Big Man”) and the movement he started. Yes, the songs are a bit cheesy in that Gambian pop music way, but they make a perfect companion to a Touba trip for reasons you’ll have to experience to believe.

The pictures in this post are (top to bottom): the main mosque at Touba, detail of the moulded ceiling in the Touba mosque, and the beautiful main mosque in Diourbel, a small city 200km East of Dakar..

The Dancehall Masters - Serigne Touba
The Dancehall Masters - Self-titled

In honour of the Hallowe’en Hangover I’ll post a track by a group in “disguise”.

The Mandingo Griot Society isn’t actually an African band. It’s a bunch of Americans, Carribeans and West Africans living in the US. Foday Suso, the now well-known bandleader and kora player for the group, is from The Gambia but all of his known recordings have happened elsewhere and with musicians from a variety of backgrounds. Still, there’s something about the kora that will make any music sound eternally Mandingo African.

Today’s track starts as you might expect and eventually builds to a near free-jazz/funk fest by the fifth minute. For some reason I crack-up whenever I listen to this tune.. and then listen more.

Mandingo Griot Society - Jimbasen

I started this site out with some old-school West African pop rock. We’re way overdue for some more.

The Super Eagles from The Gambia (yes, the “The” is officially part of the country’s name) aren’t really a rock band. They’re more accurately a pop, soul, afrocuban, rumba, highlife and rock group from the jubilant West African 60s. The song I’ll feature today, however, could be summed up like this:

“There’s an oddity called Love’s a real thing that attempts to blend Beatles and Cream guitar riffs and reminds me of garage bands I was in as a teenager.” (ref)

Perfect.

The second song is an obscure 11-minute bit off a 1976 Malian 45. (Anyone have the B-Side, “Wanri”?) It’s by Moussa Dombia and his sister? wife? Mimi, and I promise that this isn’t the same Moussa Dombia aka Tiken Jah Fakoly. I love the soul grunts in this tune; they remind me of an Ethiopian funk tune that I might have to post tomorrow. And what’s with the freak-out at the 8th minute? Anyone understand Bambara? Classic.

You can thank one of our readers, sufi, for kindly passing these tracks my way. Both can be found on a compilation called “World Psychedelic Classics Volume 3: Psychedelic Sounds from West Africa”. Who knows where you can buy that one, but The Super Eagles track can also be found on a compilation of their music on Retroafric called Senegambian Sensation.

Super Eagles - Love’s a Real Thing
Moussa Dombia - Keleya (Keleya is a small region in Mali)

There’s something about the language Wolof that makes it perfect for rapping. Direct, hard angles, often vulgar, Senegalese rappers can spit lyrics at wild speeds in a way that sounds completely natural for hiphop, even to the anglo-hiphop trained ear.

For a lot of young guys in this part of the world rapping isn’t just a way to express themselves, it’s a possible way out of poverty. You’ll find that the lyrics from groups in Senegal and The Gambia tend to be less negative than, for example, American or French hiphop. They sing about their marabouts and a better life for their families. They figure there’s enough around to be depressed about so rap should be fun; a way to promote West African culture, impress their local relgious leader and get some cash for their family.

The most successful Senegalese rap group is Positive Black Soul. Now fairly well known in France and with some success in North America, particularly Québec, PBS are the idols of many a Senegambian kid. The song posted today is a big hit from a few years back off their Run Cool album. Listen to them effortlessly string together lyrics in English, French and Wolof. Sure, the song’s a bit dated now, but it’s good anyway.

As a bonus today I’m also posting a Gambian reggae/hiphop tune that I found on a CD called “2003 Best Gambia Rap”. I had the disc made for me in Serekunda, Gambia, by a local DJ. I have no idea who the group is (it might be The Dancehall Masters) or what the song name is, but I think it’s cheesily wonderful. It’s sound, too, is a really good indication of what’s going on in the Serekunda rap singles scene.. just hours from Dakar.

Positive Black Soul - Redemption
Some Gambian Rap