Where We Live: Awesome African Music Show
Exploring African Music today
By Where We Live - WNPR
Published: Jan 21, 2011
Slideshow
Nigeria's King Sunny Adé, an Afropop pioneer
Photo:Afropop.org
Malian guitar legend Djelimady Tounkara
Photo:Afropop.org
The South African rock band BLK JKS
Photo:http://blkjks.blogspot.com/
Audio Playlist
Where We Live: Awesome African Music
Recently a compilation came out covering 50 years of African music, an 18 CD compilation of 185 songs. Many of these tracks crossed borders and helped build a new global awareness of Africa.
Today it seems like the borders between western and African music are very fluid. Makes us wonder what is the “African” sound of today?
Banning Eyre is the editor of Afropop.org, and reviews African music for NPR’s All Things Considered. He’s also written about his musical travels on the continent.
Brian Shimkovitz is a music publicist at Sacks & Co, but he also writes a music blog that has become a repository for some of the more obscure African music, past and present. It’s called Awesome Tapes from Africa.
The public radio show Afropop Worldwide helped to popularize the music of Africa in the US, but it’s gotten help from western artists along the way, like Paul Simon, Peter Gabriel, Ry Cooder, and more recently the indie band Vampire Weekend. In the last year, a musical about the life and music of Fela Kuti became a big hit on Broadway, with help from producers like Jay-Z and Will Smith.
But as our guests today will tell you, there’s so much more music coming out of Africa than we get to hear through popular culture.
So today – a listening session featuring the sounds of Africa.
SONG LIST
Banning Eyre Picks:
1. "Ja Funmi" - King Sunny Ade
3. "Ikadigne" - Djelimady Tounkara
6. "Karibu ya Bintu" - Baloji
8. "Iyat Idounia Ayasahen" - Bombino
Brian Shimkovitz Picks
1. “Moma Yendodo” - Ata Kak (Ghana)
2. “Warm Heart of Africa” - The Very Best (Malawai/UK)
3. “Molalatladi" - BLK JKS (South Africa)
4. “Only Me” - 2Face Idibia (Nigeria)
5. “Zomeye” - Alem Kebede (Ethiopia)
Ata Kak
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Many people think, “Oh I’m going to hear drumming and dancing and traditional singing, like I see on T.V.” It’s much more cosmopolitan.
-Brian Shimkovitz
Comments
And can we get Afropop
And can we get Afropop worldwide on the air a little earlier on Saturday or Sunday, please? [2]
- J
Indie Music Blog
Vusi Mahlasela - South Africa
I hope you mention the great South African musician, Vusi Mahlasela, known as "The Voice"! People in our area will be able to see him live in Northampton, Cambridge and New York in the next few weeks....and they won't be disappointed. Check out his site:
http://vusimahlasela.com/index.php
And his performance at Nelson Mandela's 90th birthday celebration:
http://www.youtube.com/vusimahlasela#p/a/u/0/tqupFUoMvW4
The restaurant name is Dakar.
The restaurant name is Dakar.
Dimanche a Bamako...
...by Amadou and Mariam is one of my all-time favorite records. Also, check out the record "Reverse Thread" by jazz violinist Regina Carter. http://www.reginacarter.com She covers "Artistiya" and it's fantastic!
Banning and Timbila
We got a chance to mention Timbila, but didn't hear any of their music. Here's a link for those who want to check it out. http://www.myspace.com/timbila. Off the air, I told Banning a story of hearing two members of Timbila sit in with the great Moroccan musician Hassan Hakmoun at Joe's Pub - great show!
I was just listening to your
I was just listening to your program about Afrcan bands and music.
Someone mentioned that their is a restaurant in Brooklyn where you can listen to bands that play African music.
I would like to go there so please let me know the name of the restaurant.
I'm not sure if you would
I'm not sure if you would call this "Afro-Pop" but it does have a lot of the same beat. Johnny Clegg, known as the White Zulu from South Africa is now touring the US. HE will be at the Keswick in the Philadelphia area, the Somerville Theater in Somerville, MA and other venues in New York city He used to tour with his bands Savuka and Juluka.
P.S. REALLY enjoying this show. I listen to a lot of Afro Pop, Afro Cuban, and what I call Caribbean Island Music (Haitian, calypso Ska) and Trop-rock and new artist, Ilo Ferrara (Cape Verde islands)
I am moved to write as I
I am moved to write as I listen to your wonderful program this morning. I would like to express my admiration for Banning Eyre, whose commentaries on All Things Considered I have enjoyed and learned from over the years. We were privileged to see Banning perform with the incredible Djelimadi Tounkura at Wesleyan a few years ago. We have also seen Djiabate perform at Wesleyan.
Many years ago, while living in Barcelona, we also saw Femi Kuti, the son of Fela Anikulapo Kuti, perform at a music festival there. At that same festival, we also saw one of the best performers I have ever seen in any genre – a singer from the former Zaire, whose name was Kanda Bongo Man, with a magnificent highlife-sounding band.
Thank you so much for enlightening so many people in this country by bringing us these treasures from the Motherland through the many media in which you deliver these riches.
Banning is a great guitarist
Banning is a great guitarist himself. He and I play in a band 'Timbila', mixing music from Zimbabwe and Mozambique and poetry from the East Village. Can he talk about his guitar playing?
Did I spell this right? This
Did I spell this right? This is an amazing group. Have you heard of them? What is their back story?
I love Amadou and Mariam. Who
I love Amadou and Mariam. Who else do you recommend in that vein?
And can we get Afropop worldwide on the air a little earlier on Saturday or Sunday, please?
Love this show! I like all
Love this show! I like all music and my fave preset is xm willies place!! So I'm a latecomer just introduced to k'naan. Love to hear your guest talk about him please?
Two fantastic CDs that
Two fantastic CDs that introduced me to Afropop were the "Red Hot + Riot" compilation, which featured the music of Fela Kuti interpreted by contemporary artists, and a compilation called "The Shrine Presents: Afrobeat".
The one song that embodies the sound of Afropop for me is Fela Kuti's "Water No Get Enemy", which is an amazing 10-minute workout that reminds me of the extended live jams by American artists like James Brown and the JB's, or Maceo Parker. Absolutely essential!
Love "Where We Live," love "Afropop Worldwide - what a great show today! Especially welcome as the snow piles up...
Thanks so much.
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