17 Apr 2009 |
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Reincarnation? It is now almost the middle of 2009 and 12 years after his death Fela is at it again -or better said- we are at Fela again. After my last piece on Fela (Baba is Dead – Long Live Baba) dealing with the evolution of Afro beat in general, but more so focusing on the actual imprint the man left on the genre; I pretty much thought I had addressed everything that needed to be addressed and that this would now be a spent subject. Little did I know how far from the truth I was. It first of all It stared in form of a slow trickle of Emails, Letters and phone calls from friends and fellow Afro beat fans introducing me to a myriad of new songs now constantly being churned out globally, as well as some other older gems that we had initially overlooked. Soon we were in the midst of another full blown project being tossed around like a helpless paper boat in a churning river, and again totally at the mercy of arguably Africa’s most potent and sampled form of music. To talk about the potency of Afro beat and not give ode to its drums is the equivalent of drowning a good steak in ketchup. From the bark of her talking drums oft played in the varied oft panting Wolof, Ashanti and Yoruba Styles, to say the arranged precision of bass drums displayed for instance during “The Ginger Bakers sessions”, drums have always played a very important role in the success of this delicious art . And this brings us immediately to Tony Allen, Fela’s musical director from 1968 to 1979 and drummer extraordinaire.
Once described by Brian Eno as perhaps the greatest drummer who has ever lived., it is an understatement to say that without " Tony Allen, there would be no Afrobeat”. As s self taught maestro of percussion Allen worked hard to develop a unique voice on the drums- feverishly studying the work of Max Roach & Art Blakey, but more importantly also embracing the revolutionary style of the fabled Ghanaian drummer Kofi Ghanaba who mixed tribal drumming with bop. His ability to pound out 4 different beats at the same time sets him apart from every other African drummer making him oft look like a crazed sweaty participant on stage, instead of a genius trying to coax every type of sound from his drums. Having said that no tune could be more appropriate to kick off our Playlist than his Crazy Afro Beat Right behind him we feature Fela him self one of the more delicious compilations to never attain the air play of say a “Shakara”, “Lady” or “Yellow Fever”. It sears you like a scotch bonnet pepper would your tongue slow and subtle initially, but then recklessly increasing in crescendo and bite. Everything is in there ….haunting horns, free flowing keyboard riffs and the native precussions-obviously arranged by Allen- are just A1. The tinker pan clanging they introduce 5 minutes into the song is as raw as it gets. Never has “primitive” sounded so sexy. Je Nwi Temi meaning let me have my say in Yoruba is just simply wicked.
A virtual reincarnation of Antibalasts vibrant and oft hyperactive horns CAbP as they are affectionately known do just that while remaining unflustered and as cool as the other side of the pillow on stage. One can clearly see why they have remained the epitome of African Bands in the Chicago area as we listen to Colonial Waiting and their Punk Rock cut 116 both spiced heavily with elements of Jazz funk as well as a hint of Latin Influence. Yummy ! For our next entry we still remain in the United States but now hop to the East Coast - Brooklyn New York to be specific and home of The Daktari’s. Citing the Desco label “They were a group on the New York-based funk revival label Desco, recording Fela Kut-style grooves that sounded as though they'd come straight out of 1970s Nigeria. At first, Desco did nothing to discourage that perception, packaging their 1998 album Soul Explosion to look like an authentically African collector's dream, and even giving some of the band members Nigerian aliases. But in reality, the Daktari’s were a New York based studio musicians, many of them white, many of whom had already been assembled by Desco heads Gabriel Roth and Phillipe Lehman as the label's house band, the Soul Providers”. In any case the end product is what counts and we have selected two gems Super Afro Beat and the rare Mad Professor Mix of Eitsuhg Ibal Lasiti So Dub fans should be extra excited. Since we have already mentioned them and their above average horn section and since they are also from New York next we feature Antibalas. Founded in1998 by Martín Perna initially as "Conjunto Antibalas," meaning “Bullet proof”, they are the only band to make both of our playlists - past and present – and deservedly so. This time we present their Follow up to the amazing “War is a Crime” namely the cover of Colonial Mentality with their own fascinating twist. Caught live at the Club Soda in Montréal this an amazing performance which takes everyone along for a bumpy yet joyous ride. There is no bigger Enigma on this play list than The Lafayette Afro Rock Band. one of the most famous funk ensembles ever! To quote the Dusty Groove “The Lafayette Afro Rock Band were a bunch of Americans, relocated in Paris, who mixed that city's strong African music traditions with their own American funk and soul leanings. The result was an incredible sound that included lots of heavy percussion and fuzzy guitar”. The opening haunting wail of their sax on The Darkest Light is arguably one of the most sampled notes in Music and I won’t insult you all by asking you where you have heard it. However it is the deliberate bass and the almost lackadaisical African drumming that reminds you of a siesta on a hot sweltering Equatorial summer day. Our next inclusion is actually a 2 for 1 just like the Mad Professor Dub above and is a combination of old and new school Fela. Featuring Nigeria’s eclectic Weird MC AKA “Da Rappatainer” and Baba himself, it is a skit that just begs to be mixed of his mischievous PalaverI envision another Mega hit like Mike Love’s Nigerian Gangster if her sultry Lauren Hill type lines on her version of Palaverare laid over Fela’s baritone. Well listen for your self. Talking about Mike Love, we have asked him to return again just like Antibalas. And no one can rightfully blame us as the ripples from his master piece “Nigerian Gangster” is still been felt all over the world. Currently it’s being sped up in Europe and is filling the Rave floors from Berlin to Spain. We have made no modifications at all and have let his masterpiece stand as is complete with adult language and Jay Z spitting his verse. Here are Success and Blue Magic Back to Africa we go and this time to Ghana arguably the country that influenced Fela the most when he lived there with Hugh Masakela both studying under Hedzoleh Sound. But instead of sampling their great Album we are featuring K Frimpong and his Cubano Fiestas. Rolling and thunderous, with hints of Cuban jazz and village rhythms he sings about not finding love while even the ugly tortoise has a partner. His sultry voice compliments rolling drums and precise guitar licks a lemon wedge does a “gin and tonic” and one has to really weep for the disappearance of such acts that Ghana once churned out by the hundreds just decades ago. Mu Na Yi Wo all that and more and the chorus especially around 4//30 of the sing would put any crying baby to sleep.
France’s DJ Francois With the recent emergence of Fela’s other son Sean,(BELOW) and especially after his recent amazing West Coast Tour, the initial torch bearer Femi seems recently to have been relegated to the back seat of the Kuti Afro bus. Nevertheless we will not over look him but rather sample the French born but New York based DJ Francois K’s remake of his brilliant Sorry for Nigeria. The layered drumming, hand claps and infusion of Femi’s horns are as precise as a Swiss Timing and it’s great to hear a new spin on a not so old Classic.
Finally we end the project with one of the many bands that the Kalakuta germinated.(And while we say end already the mail box is being filled from the initial readers of this piece with more suggestions so I have a funny feeling there may be a Part 3 coming.) In any case the “Follow Folllow Band” has always been one of my favorites because of the pace with which they play their version of Afro. While significantly slower they do not loose any of the Music ‘s zest and again the horns are the epitome of perfection. The Shakara-esque roar of the trombones and the interplay of tenor and trumpet are worth rewinding on both Mr. Follow Follow and Forks Enjoy and till will meet again !
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The Chicago Afrobeat Project (CAbP) (left)
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