The Ethiopian Trend

While browsing through a clothing store the other day, I noticed two racks of shiny new vinyl for sale.  I began flipping through their selection and amongst all the trendy pop albums (Grizzly Bear, the Talking Heads, etc.) I found Oh No's (the younger brother of Madlib currently signed with Stones Throw Records) most recent album, Dr. No's Ethiopium.  Finding this record reminded me that I've been meaning to do a post comparing it to Dub Colossus' A Town Called Addis ever since Oh No's album was first released.

The pop industry in the West has been appropriating African music into their creations (e.g. Paul Simon's Graceland, Radioclit's project with Malawian-born Esau Mwamwaya, The Very Best, among many others) to give their music that "exotic" air that is so often considered to be "cool" for as long as anyone can remember.  As with everything else, this strategy can result in something creative and enjoyable or it can end up sounding uninteresting and unoriginal.  In my opinion, Dr. No's Ethiopium and A Town Called Addis act as good representations of the two ends of the spectrum.

Both Dub Colossus and Oh No turned to Ethiopia as their source of exoticism.  Oh No, a hip-hop producer, opted to sample the old Ethio-funk/jazz sounds of the 60s and 70s in his beats.  It seems to me like he got most of his samples from the classic Ethiopiques (Buda Musique) CD series, using clips of songs by such legends as Mulatu Astatke, Mahmoud Ahmed, and Getatchew Mekurya.  The London-based dub producer, Dub Colossus, chose a different approach.  Instead of sampling, he actually collaborated with many of the most popular contemporary Ethiopian musicians for his album, combining his dub sound in the studio with the vocals and instrumentals of the artists with whom he worked.

The two albums are very different, using Ethiopian sounds from two separate eras, but the basic idea is the same.  I have my own opinion as to which one works better, but I'll keep that to myself.  Instead, listen to a few songs off each album, form your own opinions, and then let me know what you think (Click on the song title to listen/download):

Oh No - The Pain


Oh No - Great Oracle


Oh No - The Funk

Dub Colossus - Azmari Dub

Dub Colossus - Sima Edy

Dub Colossus - Neh Yelginete

Indépendence Cha-Cha

I've posted about Baloji before, but he has really out done himself this time.  Below is the music video for his latest song, "Le Jour d'Apres/Siku Ya Baadaye (Indépendence Cha-Cha)."  It is a remake of the famous song celebrating the DRC's independence, "Indépendence Cha-Cha," by the father of Congolese rumba, Le Grand Kallé et l'African Jazz.


LE JOUR D'APRES / SIKU YA BAADAYE (INDEPENDANCE CHA-CHA) from BALOJI on Vimeo.

Here's the original version of the song (click to download/listen):
Le Grand Kallé et l'African Jazz - Indépendence Cha-Cha

RIP Sotigui Kouyaté

Malian/Burkinabé actor/griot/soccer player, Sotigui Kouyaté, died on Saturday in Paris.  He was 74.


More here.

"Makmende uses viagra in his eyedrops just to look hard"

So, I'll admit I'm a bit late on this one.  Below is "Makmende Amerudi," the music video for Just A Band's new single, "Ha-He."


The video has gained considerable popularity recently and is being hailed as "Kenya's first viral internet meme." It's not hard to see why it's so popular.

Anyway, I've had Just A Band's new album, "82," for a while now and it's quite entertaining. You can listen to the full album and learn more about the group here.

Also, good article on the video's viral status here.

Show Dem (Make the Circle Bigger)

Sorry I haven't posted anything new recently, it's kind of a crazy time for me. This is just a quick update to share a great song/video from South African artist JR featuring HHP. The song is called "Show Dem (Make the Circle Bigger)." Thanks to the guys over at Ghetto Bassquake for putting me on to this.




South Africa has been receiving a lot of attention in the blog world lately, presumably due to the upcoming World Cup. As a result, I've been turned on to its amazing and diverse music scene. There's a ton of great stuff coming out of the country right now, including Kwaito and all sorts of great Electro/Dance music (Pitori House, Shangaan Electro, just to name a few sub-genres). I'll try to put some of that up in the coming weeks, but this will have to do for now.

Lastly, Mulatu Astatke, the father of Ethio-jazz, just came out with a new album titled Mulatu Steps Ahead. You can listen to the first single off the album, "Green Africa," here.

Fascinating

Congolese Sapeurs and South African Smarteez

Over the past month or so I've been really taken up by two unique fashion sub-cultures in two very different African localities: the Sapeurs of both Congo-Brazzaville and the Democratic Republic of Congo (and the Congolese diaspora in France and Belgium) and the Smarteez of urban South Africa.

Sapeurs:
The word "Sapeur" comes from the acronym for the movement, SAPE, which stands for Societé des Ambianceurs et Personnes Élégantes (aka Kitendi-the religion/cult of the cloth). The term and acronym are also a play on the french verb "Se Saper," meaning "to dress." It is a culture of high fashion, with Sapeurs sporting suits and formal clothing in a style reminiscent of the 1930s with designer labels such as Armani, Gucci, and Versace.

La SAPE has been around for at least 25 years now and was popularized by the famous Congolese (DRC) musician Papa Wemba.  The fasion cult was created in response to Mobutu's "authenticity movement," which was an attempt to break from European colonial identities and create a more "African" Congo. As part of this "authenticity movement," Mobutu advocated the banal abacost uniform, a Zairian spin on the three-piece suit, as the official attire of the new Zaire (now DRC). Papa Wemba and other Sapeurs developed their style in opposition to this aspect of the "authenticity movement."

Here are a few pictures of Sapeurs:

For more information and pictures:

The Congolese Sape by Héctor Mediavilla
Colors: Paradise is a Fabulous Suit
SAPE by Francesco Giusti

the Smarteez:
I know considerably less about the Smarteez of South Africa. I can tell you that the style originated in Soweto, that it is much more of a youth sub-culture and has little to nothing to do with politics. There tends to be an emphasis on color and a lot of the ensembles are seemingly "random"-an eclectic mix of colors, accessories and styles.




For more information and pictures:

South Africa's "Harajuku" Kids
Mail & Guardian: The designer, the buyer and the irreverent edge
What a lot 'o style they've got: A close analysis of the Smarteez