Go Go: The Sound of DC

by David Font-Navarrete

When I first came to Washington, DC from Miami, the sounds blasting out of cars made me do a double-take every time. The Doppler effect made the music sound like like Konono No. 1, but harder. And slower ... and ... American ... but, from down the street, I swear it sounded like a futuristic African dance party. I heard it here first: Go Go.

From wikipedia.com:

"Go-Go is a subgenre of funk music developed in and around Washington, D.C. in the mid and late 1970s. While its musical classification, influences, and origins are debated, Chuck Brown (b. 1934) is regarded as the fundamental force behind the creation of go-go music. Go-go is defined by continuous, complex, heavy rhythm arrangements focused through two motifs performed on multiple congas, tumbadoras, and rototoms, interspersed with timbale and cowbell parts, driven by heavy-footed drumming and punctuated by crowd call-and-response."

Maybe you're reading this blog from Japan or the Ukraine and you dig Fela. Does the rest of the world really KNOW that DC has its own, home-grown, funky music? Personally, I like anything with three percussionists, but if Go Go music doesn't share a ridiculous amount in common with Afro Beat, you can call me Paco ... It's urban, it's local, it's party music. AfroFunk Forum readers: Go Go IS AfroFunk ...

Here are some Go Go-related links:
An online radio station dedicated to playing Go Go 24-7: http://www.gogoradio.com
The Wikipedia entry on Go Go (quoted above): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Go_go
And a couple of sites with more links to all things Go Go:
http://johnhenry22.tripod.com/gogo.html
http://www.urbanconnect.com/gogo.htm

DJ Thick: Aluja/Shushtari

by David Font-Navarrete

Here's another exclusive mashup for the AfroFunk people by DJ Thick: "Aluja/Shushtari". Click on the link for "new MP3 mixes".

This track is a mix of two amazing recordings from Smithsonian Folkways with my own minimal electronic beats and effects.

"Aluja" is a bata rhythm for Shango, the Yoruba orisha (divinity) of thunder, dance, and drumming, recorded on "The World's Musical Traditions, Vol. 8: Yoruba Drums from Benin, West Africa". "Shushtari" is a ney (flute) improvisation by the legendary Iranian musician Hassan Kasa'i, recorded on "The Silk Road: A Musical Caravan". The track was arranged in Ableton Live.

Close your eyes, nod your head, shake your ass ... and stay tuned.

DJ Rupture: Gold Teeth Thief

by David Font-Navarrete

From the website of Tigerbeat6, one of my favorite record labels:

"Born near Boston, based in Madrid, DJ /rupture captured the world’s imagination on the strength of Gold Teeth Thief, the 'stunning, globe-trotting, three-turntable mix' that 'captures the spirit of the best bootleg mixes--bumping, brash, and without borders,' according to the album's four-star review in the April 2002 issue of VIBE ... Gold Teeth Thief is a work THE WIRE called 'so fabulous that you need to beg, borrow, remortgage, and steal ... so you can go to the Website and download it post haste.' For once, the hype is not hyperbole but the just reward for a powerfully syncretic musical imagination, nurtured on the one hand by New York's legendary illbient scene and by notions of the African diaspora on the other."

This amazing, dense mix can be downloaded in two parts here:

http://www.negrophonic.com/goldteeththief.htm

Concert Report: Femi Kuti & Positive Force

In our first three months of existence, The Afrofunk Music Forum has received visitors from 56 different countries---there are a lot of Afrobeat fans around the world!

Reader Julio Punch from The Netherlands has written up a nice report of concert by Femi Kuti and Positive Force, which recently took place in Breda, Holland on May 29th, 2006. Not surprisingly, Femi is going strong, and it sounds like he has some new material in the works. Here is an excerpt from Julio Punch’s review (including photo above):

Towards nine there’s a reasonably large crowd and only a few minutes after nine… five of Femi’s musicians take the stage. Guitar, drums, bass, percussion and keyboards set out a basic rhythm. The horns section appears a couple of minutes later. Femi’s “Dancing Queens” are the next to appear and the crowd cheers them on. Femi is last to appear and judging by the reaction of the crowd it seems as if the popularity of African music has hardly diminished. As Femi takes us through his repertoire he seems to be completely one with his music. Sometimes playing keyboards with his eyes closed, sometimes making almost spastic movement with his arms to the beat, sometimes dancing uncontrollably. The horns section of five men provided an explosive topping for the basic rhythm set out by their five colleagues.

Femi guides us through all his greatest hits like “1,2,3,4”, “Beng, Beng, Beng”, “Stop Aids” and a cover version of his father’s famous song “Water No Get Enemy”. There was a moment of repose with a lullaby like song calling for peace on earth. It was only when Femi’s crowd pleaser “Shotan” was played that the crowd really went wild. After two more songs the musicians left the stage. But the crowd was in for more and the rhythmic applause that continued for minutes could not be ignored by the band. Four more new songs that I hope will make it on to the next album concluded a wonderful evening. A big salute to Femi and The Positive Force for bringing us 2 and a half hours of kick-ass Afrobeat music. Femi, you are truly your father’s son.

You can read Julio’s full report here, or check out the new Fela bulletin board that he is starting. I hope other readers of The Afrofunk Music Forum will send in concert reports or other entries---we will be glad to include them here.

Ghana's Kusun Ensemble Live

By David McDavitt

Bethesda, Maryland’s prestigious Strathmore Music Center hosted a performance by one of Ghana’s fiercest dance-drum ensembles, Kusun on June 14th, 2006. A thrilled, standing-room-only audience remained transfixed on Kusun’s spectacle: dancing, clapping, singing along, and mobbing Kusun’s merchandise table until the end of the two hour onslaught. Kusun’s resolve to revive traditional Ghanaian drum music in an era when bubblegum pop & hiphop dominate the market (in the US and Ghana) is noble, and has resulted in a musical experience of the highest order & importance.

Kusun (aptly translates, “living culture”) is a talented ensemble of musicians and dancers from the Ga people of southern Ghana (the indigenous people of Accra & Tema). Founded by Nii Tettey Tetteh in 1997, Kusun includes past members of Ghana’s prestigious “National Ballet” and “The Pan African Orchestra” (seek their monster CD, “Opus 1”). Tetteh also hosts a drum school in Ghana which is visited annually by international students. Originally based in Ghana, with administrative offices in Australia, Kusun currently resides in Floyd, Virginia- the result of a 2001 invitation to perform at the Floydfest international music festival by Kusun Drum School student, Kris Hodges.

Kusun (like the Ga in general) are great scholars of music, learning & performing the drumming of the nearby Ewe, Akan, and Dagomba along side their own Ga traditional forms. In this sense Kusun’s music may be favorably compared with the pan-Ghanaian drumming of Mustapha Tettey Addy’s “Obonu” group. But Kusun’s music takes a step in a new direction, the addition of Highlife guitar, and bass covered by the expressive Gome drum. Nii Tettey Tetteh calls this amalgam, "Nokoko" (something something). It is a pleasing mix indeed, adding a melodic element with touches of the Western jazz, Cuban son, and Ghanaian palm wine music inherent to Highlife.

On stage, Kusun incorporates Ga Twinchin (like congas) & Gome drums (huge square bass drum sat upon like a cajon: the pitch is varied with your heel); with Ewe Sogo (closed-bottom stick conga), Gankogui (double bell), Totodzi (small dead-sounding support drum), Atsimevu (4 ft tall small headed lead drum); Dagomba Donno (variable tension talking drum) & Brekete (slung bass tom with snare); Ashanti Atumpan (large paired goblet-shaped stick drums), Fontonfrom (4 ft tall tree trunk drums) & atenteben (bamboo flute), and Mande djembe (of Mali).

Although many of Kusun’s compositions are based in traditional forms, they often juxtapose diverse elements, for example having an Akan intro/outro for an Ewe Gahu song. Kusun’s sound incorporates the Ga people's popular "Kpanlogo" (modern highlife-drum social dance) & "Fume-Fume" (social drum-dance), but also includes the Akan people's "Adowa" (antelope/funeral dance)/"Sikyi" (Social Dance), the Dagaaba's "Bawa" (harvest/naming dance), and Ewe tribe's "Agbekor" (war dance)/"Gahu" (anti colonial satire)/"Agbadza" (secular drum dance). Kusun is simultaneously VERY dance-drum, and VERY highlife. There’s much to connect with and enjoy. The music is powerful, complex, approachable, and joyous. Rarely have I seen an audience so completely mesmerized.

Kusun are polished consummate performers. The arrangements are air-tight, the band relaxed and all smiles. Tetteh banters & jokes with the audience with friendly confidence, informing and entertaining. The dancers are great show-stealers, with inhuman strength, the grace of large predatory African cats, new elaborate costumes for each dance/culture, and huge amounts of audience engagement. They tell stories without words. Their acrobatics thrill & amaze- and they make it look effortless, but don’t try this at home!

Kusun has two CD’s and four instructional videos available.

Check out the calendar on Kusun’s website and experience this powerful group for yourself!

DRUMS/VOCALS:
Nii Tettey Tetteh
Samuel "Otu" Kodjo
Emmanuel A. Anang
Nelson Glover Yao
Addotei Bruice
Enest Borketey
Odai Moses

GUITAR/PERCUSSION:
Robert "Obuobi" Ashong

DANCERS:
Francis "Adjetey" Ostiwuo Adjei
Osendah
Naa Koshe Mills
Rita Taiwiah
Martha Ayikwei

Hip Life Expands Its Reach in Ghana and Beyond

By Robert Fox

Shaheera Asante has an excellent overview of the Hip Life movement in Ghana, which combines highlife and hip hop into a tasty blend---you can read the full article and listen to music samples on the BBC Radio website. Afrobeat fans will recognize the rich horns and groove under strong vocals and a heavy beat. Shaheera Asante reviews:

During the 1980s and 90s Highlife was eclipsed by the dynamic, up-tempo rhythms of Afrobeat and Juju coming from Nigeria . However, in the last few years Highlife has re-invented itself and has been taken in by a new generation of young Ghanaian rappers and musicians.

Now baby..... it's all about the Hip Life.

The power and musical influence of Hip Hop as a global musical movement remains stronger than ever, now the voice of a generation since its rise in the early 90s. Ghana is no exception to this and in Accra, its capital, Hip Hop's influence is heard through Hip Life a modern version of Highlife, with rap in local Ghanaian dialect.

Hip Life leaders include Tic Tac and VIP, who are pushing music in new and interesting directions. VIP’s music is finding new audiences outside of Ghana in the European club scene, including expatriots and new fans alike. Shaheera Asante:

VIP were surprised to hear their music being played in London at African clubs such as Akwabba in South London. 'We were so shocked when we did our last performance there - the audience were all singing along to our songs in Twe! And most of them have never been to Ghana '.
Indeed, second and third generation Ghanaians are re-discovering their roots. Hip Life has succeeded in penetrating the younger generation of British-Africans, where traditional African music has failed.

BBC Radio 1 DJ Ras Kwame has been working to expand the audience for Hip Life both in Ghana and the UK. The website GhanaMusic.com has a nice interview with Kwame and includes more on this growing movement:

Since the mid-1990s, however, highlife has been revamped and reinterpreted by a new generation of Ghanaian rappers. And, although hiplife is indebted to mainstream hip-hop, there are subtle differences. As hiplife MC Tic Tac points out, instead of pared-down, electronic beats, hiplife borrows from "the rich rhythms of African music, fusing them with our own lyrics to let people around the world know what we're about.

"The performers are different, too. In America you've got a lot of laid-back rappers. The artists over here are more energetic. People want to see you sweat."

MusicInGhana.com has a nice profile of VIP as well. Finally, someone has posted a short video documentary about Hip Life in Ghana that some nice footage and sound clips, and which emphasizes the themes of political and social concern that help make Hip Life unique. Check it out.

Afrolution

By Robert Fox

The innovative label Black Mango Records has just released an interesting new compilation of African Hip Hop titled Afrolution Volume 1. The recording tries to capture the fertile exchange of hip hop beats and related rhymes floating around and within Africa, and it’s a timely representation. Black Mango describes itself as:

a record label run by Africans living in and between London, Johannesburg, Harare and Cape Town. We focus a lot of our energy on releasing the new wave of African music coming out of the continent. However, being the music fanatics that we are we don't restrict ourselves to the genre of artists we release.

Afrolution is a sub-label of Black Mango, which also promotes Afrobeat, Jazz and other styles, but they claim to be “the home of one of the fastest growing African Hip Hop labels on the planet.” Their website explains what the recording is aiming for:

We've tried to keep this album as real and original as possible. It was always going to be an eclectic mix of styles because Africa is a continent with many cultural dynamics and influences - we've done our best to represent that although we acknowledge the fact that we want to cover more countries and more female artists - it will happen as we grow. On the album, we've managed to bring together the best of African Hip Hop from Zimbabwe, South Africa, Malawi, Tanzania, Kenya, Senegal, Gambia and Nigeria. Afrolution is actually the first compilation to merge both the Francophone and Anglophone countries on one CD.

You can check out samples of the recording on the Calabash Music website, or purchase tracks and CDs. The reaction to this new recording has been very positive virtually everywhere, although it’s only been out a few weeks. For example, this from the Sengalese rap website senerap.org:

Afrolution Vol. 1’ epitomises the birth of a new movement fuelled by a fervent desire to create space for new expression in global hip-hop. The CD/DVD compilation serves as the grand inauguration to African hip-hop and no doubt will occupy a historical reference point for the future of this new genre.

With hip-hop boasting a copious amount of sub genres – commercial, gangsta, conscious, Latino and UK hip-hop to name just a few - why would anyone take another new genre like African hip-hop seriously? Judging by the CD it will be by the sheer quality and innovation of the music and thus will appeal to both hip-hop lovers and curious urbanites.

The Fly Global Culture website has an interesting article reviewing the album as well as other recent African hip hop efforts. It praises the recording as “another measure of the confident (and competent) state of rap music in Africa,” but also notes that “an album that attempts to cover a whole continent that has gone hip hop crazy over the last few years is bound to come up short in places.”

Also check out the nuanced review on Africahiphop.com, which notes:

the cd compilation doesn't go out its way to unearth rare gems from African backstreets or Unsigned Hypes…its real strength is in presenting the right pick of tracks which all seem to share a raw feeling and a lyrical urgency. Most artists are of the 'no compromise' type which may hurt their options back home to exploit their music commercially, but which gives them a street popularity.

Listen to this talked-about new recording and let us know what you think, and enjoy the friendly Afrolution site on My Space.

Rokia Traore's Contemporary Malian Music

By Robert Fox

The AfroFunk Music Forum has recently taken a bit of an intermission while we worked out some technical and organizational challenges. However, we’re back on track and will be posting here daily. I hope you’ll stay tuned!

Today I noticed that Afropop Worldwide has a nice website devoted to the innovative Malian singer and composer Rokia Traore. You can check out the site for song samples from her last two albums, or purchase tracks. Marushka of Mondomix gives her 2003 album Bowmoi the highest level of praise:

A truly accomplished work on a personal level and an important one for Malian music in general…Incorporating polyphonic singing (‘Manian’), electronic atmospheres and the contemporary strings of the Kronos Quartet, a particularly successful encounter in the title track, with the genuinely acoustic Malian sound of the n’goni, balafon and percussion, Rokia Traoré’s talents as composer and arranger are here fully revealed. As are those of a poetic, sensitive and enlightened lyricist…Far from the clichés of ‘African music’ too often found today, this is an album of rare beauty and originality.

The daughter of diplomats, Traore grew up all around the world and while her music is rooted in traditional Malian forms, she incorporates many different styles into a unique fusion. From All Music Guide:

Traore's musical style, however, has little in common with the griottes. Unlike their signature wailing sound, her voice is smooth and gentle, and her arrangements, while somewhat minimalist, make use of both traditional instruments like the balafon, n'goni, and kora, as well as acoustic guitar and electric bass. That sound is evident on her debut release, Mouneissa, from 1998, but most evident on her 2000 release, Wanita. For Wanita, Traore wrote and arranged the entire album, seizing the controls from a male engineer who believed that a young girl was incapable of handling the production of an album. The result shows a deeply personal and individual style which reflects both innovation and tradition.

Traore herself describes her music as “Malian Contemporary Music” on her very elegant website. The site includes some excellent and moving live concert video footage that I’m sure you’ll want to take a look at.

Stay tuned for more reviews, commentary and news about Afrobeat and related music from the AfroFunk Music Forum!

How Do You Listen To Music?

By David Fox

I want to continue with the effort to stimulate discussion here on the AfroFunk Music Forum and pose two closely related questions for discussion: how do you access your music and how do you find new music?

Until late December, 2005, I listened to music almost exclusively on compact disc and my main source for new albums, new artists, and new genres was generally my brother and a few other friends. In my lab I would listen to either one of the hard bop/post bop or roots or dub reggae streams on iTunes, but I did little streaming of music via computer otherwise.

Since then until recently, I have almost exclusively listened to music and found new music via my online subscription to rhapsody.com, which I stream either through my computer at work or through my stereo at home. This site uses a different business model than iTunes and makes it easy and cheap to explore lots of new territory. One nice feature is a list of albums that the site generates based on your previous selections. Another nice feature is a set of related artists and related albums that the service supplies for most of the artists and individual albums. I don’t always agree with the choices generated or suggested by the site, but it does make it easy to explore new material. Compilation albums on which an artist appears are also handy.

For example, the wonderful and innovative Antibalas Afrobeat Orchestra appears on a couple compilations included in the list of their albums available through the service. One of these is a compilation New York artists in a variety of styles: electronica, rap, funk, and, of course, Afrofunk in the form of Antibalas. I did not know any of the other artists but now have several new, deeply funky artists in genres I do not usually listen to. One weak spot of rhapsody.com is the poor coverage of Fela’s albums; they were all there earlier this year, but now only a small selection that does not include many of my favorites is available.

I must say that the AfroFunk Music Forum has recently become a great source for new artists in Afrofunk and associated and similar genres thanks to the good folks who have been posting so far.

I never did any of the peer to peer music sharing like Napster before The Man was able to squelch that and I basically never listen to US radio for music because almost all of it is preprogrammed by The Man.

Given that readers come from across the globe, I suspect you have diverse ways of listening to and finding new music. So, how do you listen to your music and how do you find new music? Again, include where you are from and think of this as a way to educate other Afrofunk fans about ways to search out new sounds!