A couple tracks from another recent Rough Guide release: North African Café. As usual it’s a solid compilation, this time of music inspired by or coming directly from the café scene in North Africa and its outposts abroad.

Jean-Pierre Smadj is a French-Tunisian oud player who likes to mix up North African music. Today’s track is by his S.O.S. project, a collaboration between Smadj, Orhan Osman and Savas Zurnasi. It reminds me a lot of early Gotan Project.

Akli D is an Algeria-born, Berber musician who also likes to mix it up a bit, combining shaabi music and other Kabyle sounds with a variety of styles. Parisian readers might remember his group Les Rebeuhs Des Bois.

Manu Chao produced his latest album, Ma Yela, where today’s track comes from. I’ve been meaning to see him live for a while now but I’m never free when he’s playing. Soon, soon..

Smadj presents S.O.S. Project - Hat
Akli D - Barman

From the good people over at Creative Commons, Modiba Productions, Global Beat Fusion and Rock Paper Scissors:

“Vieux Farka Touré–son of the late great African blues guitarist Ali Farka Touré–is doing a remix contest with Creative Commons.

Would you consider announcing this remix contest using Vieux’s song “Ana” (online, in an enewsletter, in print, or on the air)?

Audio elements for remixing are available for download starting today at http://ccmixter.org/vieux. Uploads of finished masterpieces can start on February 7th; contest ends March 7th.”

Ana Remix Contest Sources

On my bike ride back from work every day I pass the Hotel Costes, Café Marly and other Costes brothers creations, filled with Americans and Gulf Arabs anxiously scanning the tables for Kate Moss over their oversized glasses of kir royales. Those who live in Paris regard the Costes thing with a (typically French) mix of disdain and mild amusement but let’s face it, I’ve met for more than a few apéro inside. Say what you want about the brothers, but they have singlehandedly revived Parisian boutique chic, for better or for worse.

So while you’re far more likely to catch me at the bar at the Sattelit Café or the New Morning, everyone has their velvet moments… even Africa. Over the last few years I’ve noticed a lot of “Africa chic” musical compilations and art exhibits in both Africa and the West. The Pompidou’s Africa Remix exhibit was a prime example of showing contemporary Africa as something trendy, really doing its own thing in a modern way. DJ’s are increasingly mixing African music, and African DJs themselves are getting wider recognition in mainstream chic culture. Look at the sucess of Konomo No. 1, or Tsotsi’s Zola or any number of the remix compilations like the multiple-volume Africa, C’est Chic and Frikyiwa.

I could easily imagine today’s track playing in a Costes establishment lounge. You know, the kind with lithe bright red-lipped 18-year-olds draped over the overstuffed sofas and angry looking bouncers with bad haircuts. In fact, the DJ who remixes today’s track is French. Llorca is a producer who was part of that whole late-90s French deep house scene à la Laurent Garnier.. that, I’ll admit, was great. His mixing skills combined with Malian Abdulaye Diabate’s rhythmic singing produces a great, soothing track.

Sit back, relax, and grab a martini. If you want more, grab this track and others on the Frikyiwa 2 compilation over at Six Degrees Records.

Abdulaye Diabate - Foronto (Llorca mix)

Happy new year.

I’m back from Canada, in a new apartment just down the street from the Paris SDFs, ready for another good 12 months as I hope you all are. Big love for sticking with Benn loxo for yet another year.

A few weeks ago a Benn loxo reader tipped me off about a good remix of The Uhuru Dance Band’s song, Olufeme, by Natural Self. I particularly like this mix because he keeps it simple. The original was already ready for the dancefloor, but boost the bass and add some loops and suddenly the hiphop kids forget they’re dancing to 70s Ghana groove.

In his own words, “Natural Self is an on going project by producer Keno-1 that involves various collaborators along the way.” More info on the MySpace page or here.

You might have already heard the original on that great compilation, Ghana Soundz 2.

Natural Self - Olufeme
Oscar Sulley & The Uhuru Dance Band - Olufeme

Don’t get me wrong - I love Christmas, especially the bit where I get to blast Domenic The Italian Christmas Donkey in my car with the windows down.

But I need a break after the overdrive of carols… so I was digging through my collection this afternoon and decided to put together a little gift: my favourite African hiphop tunes, at least for this warm Christmas Eve afternoon.

It’s a good opportunity for new Benn loxo listeners to do some catch-up and hear tracks that were posted before they found this site. For the rest of us it’s a little collection of beats I hope you all enjoy.. plus a Madvillain bonus track that’s too good to leave off. Merry Christmas.

If you want to suggest any of your African hiphop favourites that didn’t make this quick mix leave a comment or send me an e-mail.

Bole 2 Harlem - Hoya Hoye
Emmanuel Jal & Abdel Gadir Salim - Elengwen
Gokh-Bi System - Xaesal
X-Plastaz - Msimu kwa msimu
Mode9 - Track 1
Daara J - Boomerang
Positive Black Soul - Boul Ma Mine
Outshine - Caution
Batman Samini - Lambori
Positive Black Soul - Redemption
Awadi - Le cri ou peuple
Xuman et Bugz Bunny - Sassouné
Abass - Abass
Viviane & Fou Malade - Taximan
Omzo - Missalu Aduna
Slam Revolution Feat BMG 44
Posse & Doudou - Africa Lakalé
Boul N’Baï - SIDA
Slam Revolution - Wax Degg
Mode9 - Track 4
Madvillain - Figaro (101 Remix)

Hey Jozef, thanks for your comment on the last post. You woke me up. It’s been a while since I last wrote - sorry, people. I’ve been busy sorting out a move, working, traveling and fighting back the cold, Parisian rain. If any of you live up around Canal Saint Martin I’m your new neighbour. And hey, if you live in Amsterdam keep an eye out for me this weekend.

I was at a Sarah Harmer and Kelly Joe Phelps show last night. After the show we bumped into Ms. Harmer at the back of the club so I introduced myself and told her the story about how I spent many hours in a car with my Kenyan friend, Aki, listening to her album, I’m A Mountain, on repeat. It was the only disc we had with us at the start of the trip aside from a Kenyan hiphop mix featuring the Xplastaz. I’ll forever associate the tunes on that album with Aki rapping in Swahili, the German autobahn and large crowds of red-faced English and Dutch football fans.

Anyway, all the acoustic guitar put me in the mood for some solid strumming so I dug up a great disc of Malian kora and flamenco, Songhai Vol. 2. The album features the new flamenco stars, Ketama, and Toumani Diabaté. The fusion of guitar, Gypsy-Spanish singing, kora and other Malian elements works wonderfully. I prefer this second volume to the first since I find the recordings much richer.

The disc’s title, Songhai, refers to the Songhai empire. It was one of Africa’s largest and most powerful empires that, at its height in the 16th century, spanned from modern-day Senegal all the way to central Nigeria.

For today’s post I picked my favourite two tracks plus a third, De Jerez à Mali, since it brings back great memories of sipping sherry on a hot day in Jerez this summer with blue and Annie.

…plus a couple bonuses to add some context.

Ketama, Toumani Diabaté & José Soto - De la Noche a la Manana
Ketama, Toumani Diabaté & José Soto - Sute Monebo
Ketama, Toumani Diabaté & José Soto - De Jerez à Mali
X-Plastaz - Msimu kwa msimu
Sarah Harmer - I Am Aglow

Guest post today by Benn loxo listener, Michael, in memory of the late Lebo Mathosa:

The second time I became aware of Lebo Mathosa was when I saw her picture in a New York Times article about the launch of MTV Africa. The picture showed the blond-maned Mathosa being carried on stage by a bunch of burly men in black suits. The image fascinated me and I Googled her name only to discover I had bought one of her records during a visit to South Africa in 1999.

Back then, she was part of the Kwaito group Boom Shaka where she shared the lead vocals with Thembi Seete. I’ll admit it was the cover with two cute blond-wigged singers that basically sold me on the CD, but when I got it home I was even more impressed with their sound - which to my ears sound like a more organic version of house music.

Mathosa went solo in 2000 and released a handful solo albums among the aptly-titled “Drama Queen.” In South Africa, Mathosa was widely regarded as the natural-heir to the late-Brenda Fassie, who died of an apparent overdose in 2004. So when I learned that Mathosa had died on Oct. 23 at age 29, I wondered what could have killed her. AIDS? Drugs? No, the car she was riding in overturned and hit a tree, the kind of stupid thing that could happen to anybody.

I’m including Gcwala from the Boom Shaka CD to honor her memory.

Boom Shaka - Gcwala (Halo remix)

I often ramble on this site about how much I love the fusion that goes on in a lot of African music. From the Beatles-influenced sounds of Nigeria in the 60s, to the soul and funk styles of the 70s, to 80s synth pop explosion, to contemporary, bluesy acoustic music in West Africa… most of my favourite African music is a hybrid of traditional rhythms, melodies and instruments with the Western sounds that I grew up with.

This is the part of the record where someone states the obvious - that I’m an ex-pat, so of course I like the “Westernized” African sound. But I’d argue that for both locals and people like me it’s the fusion styles, not the traditional in the true sense of the word, that appeals to the vast majority of listeners. Localized forms of jazz, soul, hip-hop, pop and even rock’n'roll have developed in their own African ways to become some of the most popular musical styles across the continent.

A few of you have written to say that you’ve either used music you found on this site in remixes, or that you’ve been influenced by the sounds to make music of your own. So today we’ll hear some contemporary musical fusions that have gone in the reverse direction, from Africa back to the West. This time, however, it’s not African immigrants and salves bringing their native sounds that will come to form soul and jazz. Instead, it’s DJs and musicians from America who, thanks to the Internet and overall diversity, just dig the sound of a Ghanaian guitar or a Cameroonian pop tune.

Vampire Weekend, a group from NYC, use very West African-sounded guitar licks and percussion to produce a seriously catchy pop song. Mike Ogletree loved that Keng Godefroy track I posted a while back so he decided to give it a remix. I wonder what Keng would think if he heard this version.

I invite anyone whose music has been influenced by tunes you’ve heard on Benn loxo, either directly through sampling or indirectly, to send it along. If it’s good I’d be more than happy to post it on the site.

Vampire Weekend - Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa
Mike Ogletree - Bon Voyage

Were/are any of you into Arthur Russell? The driving bass drum and repetitive melodies in Juma Muhina’s recordings with Nairobi Matata remind me a lot of his music.

If you know Arthur Russell, your first reaction might be that Kenyan Swahili rumba doesn’t have much to do with early disco pioneers. But give today’s track a listen and tell me they don’t go great together on a mix. The release dates are roughly similar and who’s to say the dudes in Nairobi Matata didn’t have a secret love for underground NY disco? Not so secretly, I wish there had been more fusion along these lines.

Dada Mwajuma was a popular tune when it was originally released in 1977. It was produced by the accomplished musician Isaya Mwinamo Asiebera, who also produced albums for many of the other big local groups at the time such as Orchestra Mazembe (some of their tunes coming tomorrow if I have time), Daudi Kabaka and Orchestra Viva Makale.

Big thanks goes out to Benn loxo listener, Zim, who pointed out the Juma Muhina album amongst numerous great Music Copyright Society of Kenya re-releases on Orchard now available on Emusic. I’ll be featuring a few over the next while.

This reminds me how a friend of mine would quietly mix Xplastaz into French hip-hop parties, or how I try to hide amazing West African funk tracks on soul mixes for people who wouldn’t normally be into it. Which reminds me… check back tomorrow.

Juma Muhina - Dada Mwajuma (Part 2)
Arthur Russell - Dinosaur L / Go Bang (Francois Kevorkian mix)

Benn loxo listener, Tristra, sent me some really great new music the other day. Bole 2 Harlem are an Ethiopian-American group out of NYC who combine traditional Ethiopian sounds with hiphop and other contemporary American styles.

The album grew out of Saturday night jam sessions at NYC Moroccan-French restaurant L’Orange Bleue. The mix of Ethiopian, American and Malian musicians who played together there everntually decided to put out an album.

I’m all about fusion and getting people otherwise not bothered about African music to give it a listen. It’s great, then, to see groups like this who make something that sounds cool to the young, urban American ear even while incorporating foreign styles.

You’ll hear this album played at parties and in taxis in both Ethiopia and North America.. that kind of successful musical bridging is rare. It’s also cool to hear some contemporary Ethopian-inspired sounds that aren’t from the “golden age” of Addis Ababa in the 1960s and 1970s.

You can grab Bole2Harlem on Amazon or at a good record shop after it’s release in the US on November 21st. Check-out their web site for more info. I’m loving the second track, Home, this morning…

Bole 2 Harlem - Bole 2 Harlem
Bole2Harlem - Home

A family friend, Chana, recently got back from Kenya where she was working for a few months in a rural hospital. I bumped into her in Toronto about a week ago, Benn loxo came up, and next thing you know I find a compilation of Kenyan hip-hop sitting in my inbox. And a good one, too. Thanks, Chana.

Ogopa Deejays is a music production company run out of Nairobi, Kenya. It’s played a big part in promoting Kenyan urban music.

West Africa has long been known for its talented and well-promoted hip-hop, reggae and RnB acts like PBS, VIP, Daara J, MC Solaar, Pee Froiss, Tiken Jah and many others. On the other side of the continent things have moved a bit slower in terms of musicians breaking into the international market. Labels and production companies like Ogopa Deejays are helping to finally raise awareness about East Africa’s urban music scenes.

Their first compilation was released in 2001 and was a huge success both at home at abroad. It kick-started the careers of many young Kenyan musicians, including Amani, Big Pin and the late hip-hop MC, E-Sir. You’ll hear some tracks off this compilation titled “Ogopa 1 - Kenyan Club Classics” on today’s post.

You can buy albums, see videos, hear clips and learn more about Ogopa Deejays on their official web site.

E-Sir - Leo Ni Leo
Vinnie Banton & Mr. Googs - Wasee (Githurai remix)
Amani - Move On

Once and a while on Benn loxo I like to remind listeners that African music isn’t all about koras and djembes. There are lots of sounds coming out of the continent these days and not all of them are strictly related to “traditional” music, nor do they all sound like they should filed under “World” at your local Virgin megastore.

I’ve featured quite a bit of hip-hop from Senegal, South African and Nigeria over the past couple years. It’s been a while, so why not listen to some more. Today we’ll hear some contemporary hip-hop and drum’n'bass sounds from Tanzania.

I know that many of you already know the Xplastaz track, but I’ve never featured it on my site and it’s one of my favourite hip-hop tracks to come out of the continent. This song has particular resonance for me. When I first arrived in Paris a little over a year ago I went to this house party near Opera Garnier. A Benn loxo listener, Olivier, had invited me. I walked into what I thought would be a small gathering to find a multi-room dance party in a partially constructed building filled with a few hundred people all busting up the dancefloor to… Tanzanian hiphop? What a great way to start off a city.

The other two tracks are off Mapito, the Tanzanian Mix Tape Remix Project. This compilation really reflects for me how far East African hip-hop has come over the past few years. Both production and musical quality has really, really improved since the scene started opening up during the late 90s and early 2ks.

Both Xplastaz and Mapito are on the excellent African hip-hop label, Nomadic Wax. You’ve heard stuff here already off their release, African Underground Vol. 1: Hip-Hop Senegal. Much more info on African urban sounds at Africanhiphop.com.

X Plastaz - Msimu kwa msimu
Owen Saunders & Mike Freear feat LC, Bennamo, Yega & Mr. Soo - Self Destruct
Mr. Soap - Niwachache Tu (Timebomb Remix)

After the last post’s sounds it’s high time for a kora remix.

Today’s first track comes off Hadja Kouyate and Ali Boulo Santo’s 2003 album, Manding-Ko, recorded at Dakar’s Studio 2000. Hadja Kouyate is the daughter of Guinean griots who, as far as I can tell, most people believe is Malian. Ali Boulo Santo isn’t Malian either - he’s Senegalese, a Dakarois even. Regardless, the album is a collection of nice Mandingo kora music accompanying Kouyate’s beautiful singing. Pan-West African, Malian sounding at times and generally good all ’round.

The remix bit comes off an album on the same label, Frédéric Galliano’s Frikyiwa, called FKW 016: Electronic Experience in African Music. The title sort of describes what the album is all about - definitely worth a listen.

My copies of both albums are courtesy my good friend, Alex. Happy birthday, Alex, and cheers for some great new additions to the collection.

Hadja Kouyate & Ali Boulo Santo - Agne Tolona
Hadja Kouyate & Ali Boulo Santo - Agne Tolona recontructed

I mentioned The Allenko Brotherhood Ensemble in my post yesterday. Since I’m in the mood for some afrobeat I thought I’d post a track off that album to kick-off the weekend.

The Allenko Brotherhood Ensemble isn’t a group but rather an effort by Comet records in 2001 to unite some contemporary musicians and DJs with Tony Allen’s drum beats. Instead of same-old same-old remixes the album incorporates Allen’s classic beats with new styles… with great results.

My favourite track off the album is by Tweak from Straight Ahead Recordings. It’s also one of the closest in style to Tony Allen, particularly his recent solo works. I’ll illustrate this by posting a track off Allen’s 1999 album, Black Voices.

Tony Allen - The Same Blood
Tweak - Leroy