Pitchfork Mangles Afrobeat

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I tend to try to avoid even reading the Pitchfork threads since I usually read the Fork anyway and usually enjoy it enough. But c'mon, there are statements in this piece that are just plain wrong. Talk about oversimplifying the music of an entire continent!

It is clearly written by someone with no expertise or credibility regarding African music. If you're going to write about/print something, don't you at least have to gather some facts? There are records on his 12 best of afrobeat list that are clearly NOT afrobeat records! At least they're all from Africa, I guess.

― mcd (mcd), Wednesday, 6 April 2005 17:11 (twenty years ago)

I was wondering about this myself. At least they are all good records, I guess.

― Alex in SF (Alex in SF), Wednesday, 6 April 2005 17:15 (twenty years ago)

yeah, the whole "Afrobeat = all music from Africa" thing is REAL spurious since Afrobeat is specifically what Fela was doing. It seems like there's this weird willful ignorance about this stuff--especially when you rope Kenya and South Africa and Ethiopia, who have fuckall to do w/Fela unless you think Lil Jon and Ian & Sylvia and norteno have loads in common because, hey, they're from the same continent. or is it just that the term "Afropop" is too, like, dad for college kids to deal with or some other bullshit like that?

― Matos-Webster Dictionary (M Matos), Wednesday, 6 April 2005 17:20 (twenty years ago)

(haha can you tell I've been waiting for this thread? and I don't even dislike Pitchfork!)

― Matos-Webster Dictionary (M Matos), Wednesday, 6 April 2005 17:20 (twenty years ago)

Yeah, I just sort of filtered out the other stuff since I'm mostly interested in actual afrobeat.

He doesn't mention the Ghana Soundz comps as being out of print, but I sure as hell haven't been able to find them anywhere, except at outrageous OOP prices online.

― Jordan (Jordan), Wednesday, 6 April 2005 17:50 (twenty years ago)

Ghana Soundz 2 just came out, it's still in print

― Matos-Webster Dictionary (M Matos), Wednesday, 6 April 2005 18:03 (twenty years ago)

Dude, Matos, I've been very hesitant to start this thread (hatorade), but when I read Part 3 of this piece I said enough is enough!

Hey Jordan I think the Ghana Soundz comps can be found still at Aquarius Records. Also, Other Music.

― mcd (mcd), Wednesday, 6 April 2005 18:13 (twenty years ago)

both ghana soundz are readily accessible in toronto too..

― mark p (Mark P), Wednesday, 6 April 2005 18:15 (twenty years ago)

yeah they're totally in print, just got vol 2 a little while ago for under 20 in b-more

― Zack Richardson (teenagequiet), Wednesday, 6 April 2005 18:15 (twenty years ago)

waitaminit, Pitchfork got some facts WRONG!?!?

― Shakey Mo Collier, Wednesday, 6 April 2005 18:16 (twenty years ago)

It's funny, when I first starting reading I thought, hmm, he must mean to say "afropop" but then it keeps going!

― mcd (mcd), Wednesday, 6 April 2005 18:21 (twenty years ago)

V/A Ghana Soundz (Sound Way) cd 16.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.

It looks like vol. 2 is in, but it's $21 + shipping (it's a single disc, right?). I'll probably break down sooner or later.

― Jordan (Jordan), Wednesday, 6 April 2005 18:24 (twenty years ago)

While you're all here, is Kokolo any good? Better than Antibalas (who are good, but don't make great records imo)?

― Jordan (Jordan), Wednesday, 6 April 2005 18:25 (twenty years ago)

I'm just glad they're covering the stuff at all. I'll take a few examples of mislabeling if it means that they're covering something different. None of the writers claim to be experts in everything they review, and I'd rather read an incorrect piece like this than read another, say, Joan of Arc review.

― polyphonic (polyphonic), Wednesday, 6 April 2005 18:38 (twenty years ago)

Well I'd rather read a fact-checked correct piece than either.

― Alex in SF (Alex in SF), Wednesday, 6 April 2005 18:43 (twenty years ago)

Well I'd rather read a fact-checked correct piece than either.

Which online zine actively fact checks all their articles? None that I've read.

― polyphonic (polyphonic), Wednesday, 6 April 2005 18:57 (twenty years ago)

and that makes everything OK!

― Matos-Webster Dictionary (M Matos), Wednesday, 6 April 2005 19:00 (twenty years ago)

i think it's getting a little late in the game for the "it's just an online 'zine" defense

― rentboy (rentboy), Wednesday, 6 April 2005 19:01 (twenty years ago)

i think it's getting a little late in the game for the "it's just an online 'zine" defense

It isn't a defense so much as it is a dismissal.

― polyphonic (polyphonic), Wednesday, 6 April 2005 19:02 (twenty years ago)

ouch

― rentboy (rentboy), Wednesday, 6 April 2005 19:03 (twenty years ago)

[ ARCADE FIRE ==> anagram ==> REED AFRICA ]

― donut debonair (donut), Wednesday, 6 April 2005 19:06 (twenty years ago)

Misusing the word "Afrobeat" aside, I like this article. Good to see someone mention the Super Eagles.

The weird thing is, he slips in and out of using Afrobeat as a synonym for Afropop. In Part 3, it says only some Bembeya Jazz songs were "Afrobeat," which leaves me wondering: Which ones? They all had electric guitar.

Next time, it might be more useful to trace Fela's influence on other African pop and dance musicians, rather than just lump them all together.

― Pete Scholtes, Wednesday, 6 April 2005 19:14 (twenty years ago)

What's really odd--and the real nut of the problem--is that he seems to think Fela influenced a lot of other African musicians, period! Afrobeat the style was pretty short-lived as a phenomenon, and even now is a distinct regional thing, sort of like D.C. go-go. Imagine a piece on American pop music that made go-go (as wonderful as it is) its focal point and you can see how completely skewed an interpretation this is.

The most influential African pop musician of the century was Franco, who hasn't even been mentioned in any of the pieces yet, which is like devoting 5,700 words (so far) to American guitar rock without mentioning Chuck Berry.

― Matos-Webster Dictionary (M Matos), Wednesday, 6 April 2005 19:26 (twenty years ago)

And yes, I am a big Fela fan for sure. I like a lot of what he writes about, and the writing isn't bad. I understand that it's for Pitchfork readers who are starting to get into this stuff, and it's all to the good that these records might get heard by more people. I'm no Afropop expert, either. But there's something frustrating about it nevertheless, which I'm trying to articulate level-headedly--I'm trying not to just launch blindly on Tangari or the article here, though maybe I am. I hope not, though.

― Matos-Webster Dictionary (M Matos), Wednesday, 6 April 2005 19:29 (twenty years ago)

I'm just glad they're covering the stuff at all. I'll take a few examples of mislabeling if it means that they're covering something different.

See, I wanted to feel this way about the piece, to just be happy that maybe a lot of people will pick up some of these great records. But the potential problem is that then you have all these people who think they're listening to afrobeat when they're listening to Bembeya Jazz National or Ethiopiques, and I feel like that is simplifying one of my favorite things about African music: the regional complexity, the cross-pollination of styles, the sheer diversity of music that comes out of all these very different countries & cultures. It's sort of like starting a conversation about African languages and saying everyone over there speaks African.

― mcd (mcd), Wednesday, 6 April 2005 19:30 (twenty years ago)

mcd OTM

― Matos-Webster Dictionary (M Matos), Wednesday, 6 April 2005 19:33 (twenty years ago)

Ha ha, I bet Pete would love a piece like that making go-go its focal point! (Nice KSA interview by the way.)

The Fela-is-the-only-African-musician-ever motif always bums me. Cratedigging for second-string Afrobeat and ignoring all the great soukous or West African stuff strikes me as absolutely bonkers.

― Keith Harris (kharris1128), Wednesday, 6 April 2005 19:35 (twenty years ago)

not just bonkers, willful, which just makes it infuriating

― Matos-Webster Dictionary (M Matos), Wednesday, 6 April 2005 19:35 (twenty years ago)

(and yes, Keith, I did have my audience in mind when I made the go-go comparison)

― Matos-Webster Dictionary (M Matos), Wednesday, 6 April 2005 19:36 (twenty years ago)

Come to think of it, maybe the word the author is going for is Afrofunk.

― Pete Scholtes, Wednesday, 6 April 2005 19:41 (twenty years ago)

see, that would make a hell of a lot more sense given his focus.

― Matos-Webster Dictionary (M Matos), Wednesday, 6 April 2005 19:42 (twenty years ago)

Many talk on this thread as if information about great African music is easily available. It is not.

― Good Dog (Good Dog), Wednesday, 6 April 2005 19:45 (twenty years ago)

I didn't read this whole article, but alarm bells go off for me when I see an article that, if I'm not mistaken, purports to be a guide to Afropop, but is only centered on a couple of handfuls of CDs that have a little bit of hip cachet and were released recently. (Again, I didn't read the whole article so please feel free to call me on this if this is incorrect.)

― Tim Ellison (Tim Ellison), Wednesday, 6 April 2005 19:47 (twenty years ago)

I have several books on my shelf that say otherwise.

― Matos-Webster Dictionary (M Matos), Wednesday, 6 April 2005 19:47 (twenty years ago)

(that was for Good Dog)

― Matos-Webster Dictionary (M Matos), Wednesday, 6 April 2005 19:48 (twenty years ago)

and Tim Ellison OTM

― Matos-Webster Dictionary (M Matos), Wednesday, 6 April 2005 19:49 (twenty years ago)

Sure, I wish there was a lot more info available in the mainstream press, Good Dog. That's why I'd rather read a piece that said "Hey indie rockers, you've heard about Fela already, right? Well here's what else Africa's got going on."

― Keith Harris (kharris1128), Wednesday, 6 April 2005 19:50 (twenty years ago)

Many talk on this thread as if information about great African music is easily available. It is not.

Not that tough if you're at all curious. Go to one library. Or teh internet, etc. xpost

― mcd (mcd), Wednesday, 6 April 2005 19:55 (twenty years ago)

Zack, can I get that Ghana Soundz from you? PLS hooked me up with some Funky Lagos stuff, including a pretty interesting audio documentary with hilarious Ginger Baker commentary, but that comp sounds like I would enjoy it.

You know who this is.

― Big Loud Mountain Ape (Big Loud Mountain Ape), Wednesday, 6 April 2005 20:03 (twenty years ago)

I wonder how many of the features written for Stylus, Pitchfork, etc. involved the writer going to the library / bookstore (or into his/her library) to research the subject. Probably not a whole lot. Most of the reviews I've read seem transparent in the fact that they were largely net-researched. I also imagine that many of the reviews and features are written at work while the boss is looking the other direction! (like my posts!)

― polyphonic (polyphonic), Wednesday, 6 April 2005 20:03 (twenty years ago)

That's not an excuse.

― Alex in SF (Alex in SF), Wednesday, 6 April 2005 20:19 (twenty years ago)

Jordan, sorry, I thought Aq still had that 1st Ghana Soundz (it is awesome), I think they just listed it a few months ago. Anyway, try http://www.sternsmusic.com/ , probably less expensive there, too.

― mcd (mcd), Wednesday, 6 April 2005 20:30 (twenty years ago)

Matos-Webster Dictionary, so what is the name of your best book on African music? This consumer usually relies on ILM lists/friends/Aquarius for recommendations, but it looks like I'll have to wade in a little more in the case of African stuff. And there's tracking down the records!

― Good Dog (Good Dog), Wednesday, 6 April 2005 20:46 (twenty years ago)

http://Afropop.org is a good resource.

― mcd (mcd), Wednesday, 6 April 2005 21:03 (twenty years ago)

speaking if wtf i just got gilles peterson in africa and it has thievery corp and blaze on it! i'll let the MAW slide coz its a Fela tribute. i know he's a non purist geezer but for fucks sakes. the rest is pretty great.

― mullygrubbr (bulbs), Wednesday, 6 April 2005 21:16 (twenty years ago)

It's pretty micro-focused, Good Dog, but you should check out Francis Falceto's Abisine Swing.

― C0L1N B... (C0L1N B...), Wednesday, 6 April 2005 21:28 (twenty years ago)

err, Abyssinie, rather.

― C0L1N B... (C0L1N B...), Wednesday, 6 April 2005 21:29 (twenty years ago)

Speaking of books, I was pawing over Black President: The Art and Legacy of Fela Kuti which really is a beautiful artifact; the photographs are large and stunning and very much transport you into 70's Lagos.

― Good Dog (Good Dog), Wednesday, 6 April 2005 21:57 (twenty years ago)

Ronnie Graham's Da Capo Guide to Contemporary African Music and The World of African Music--good reference vols, not much fun for reading though. I have a not-terribly well-written Franco biography and Gary Stewart's Rumba on the River, which is really slow going. Mark Hudson's The Music in My Head is a novel w/lots of good factual info about real genres performed by fictitious artists. bonus: the two CDs that accompany Music in My Head are two of the greatest albums I've ever heard.

Even easier and mostly more well-written is Robert Christgau on the subject: http://www.robertchristgau.com has loads of reviews and articles.

― Matos-Webster Dictionary (M Matos), Wednesday, 6 April 2005 23:18 (twenty years ago)

actually, just re-looking at vol. 2 of Graham and it's a pretty swift read.

oh, duh: The Rough Guide to World Music Vol. 1 & 2, VERY thorough volumes and easy as pie to find at any bookstore.

― Matos-Webster Dictionary (M Matos), Wednesday, 6 April 2005 23:21 (twenty years ago)

Skipping 18 messages at this point... Click here if you want to load them all.

Just wondering if threads which dealt with say Afrobeat or benga need necessarily be musicologistically based...

― mullygrubbr (bulbs), Wednesday, 6 April 2005 23:54 (twenty years ago)

o well...lets see

― mullygrubbr (bulbs), Thursday, 7 April 2005 00:06 (twenty years ago)

Afrobeat is the specific name Fela Kuti gave to the style he developed. Afropop is a general phrase meant to encompass all pop music from Africa. That's the difference. Calling all African music "Afrobeat" is the same as calling it all "benga" or "mbaqanga" or "chimurenga"--each is a separate style. It's like calling all American pop music "rock and roll."

― Matos-Webster Dictionary (M Matos), Thursday, 7 April 2005 00:07 (twenty years ago)

ok, I gotcha Gaz. no, they don't have to be, I was speaking more to the reasons why there aren't as many threads about specific African styles.

― Matos-Webster Dictionary (M Matos), Thursday, 7 April 2005 00:11 (twenty years ago)

yes. i know. i'm just saying recognising regional/historical differences doesn't necessarily mean you also then have to treat that specific form as something you can't then be "i like what i like" about

xpost

― mullygrubbr (bulbs), Thursday, 7 April 2005 00:13 (twenty years ago)

Many talk on this thread as if information about great African music is easily available. It is not.

Benn loxo du taccu

Now it is.

― neurothèque, Thursday, 7 April 2005 00:22 (twenty years ago)

That looks great. The Orchestre Baobab track (I just clicked on it) is really something.

― mcd (mcd), Thursday, 7 April 2005 00:34 (twenty years ago)

bless you neurothèque!

― Matos-Webster Dictionary (M Matos), Thursday, 7 April 2005 00:53 (twenty years ago)

Olatunji = Afrobeat ...

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

― Hurting (Hurting), Thursday, 7 April 2005 00:55 (twenty years ago)

Anyone in NYC might wanna check out the closing sale of Stern's Music down by the WTC. Picked up some very nice African gems there.

― Brian Turner (btwfmu), Thursday, 7 April 2005 01:00 (twenty years ago)

actually i think a better analogue would be calling all african pop music afrobeat is like calling all american pop music crunk!

― j blount (papa la bas), Thursday, 7 April 2005 01:01 (twenty years ago)

either one works, j.

― Matos-Webster Dictionary (M Matos), Thursday, 7 April 2005 01:02 (twenty years ago)

or like calling all american pop music bluegrass!

― j blount (papa la bas), Thursday, 7 April 2005 01:11 (twenty years ago)

oh wait, I was thinking you were referring back to my go-go comment. you're right, that's much more accurate. (and so is that)

― Matos-Webster Dictionary (M Matos), Thursday, 7 April 2005 01:13 (twenty years ago)

the headline on the front page says "Afropop" now, did they change it?

― Al (sitcom), Thursday, 7 April 2005 11:59 (twenty years ago)

that ofo the black company track on one of his mix CDs is my favorite song on that luaka bop comp. i would just call it acid rock. but you can put an afro in front of the acid rock if you want.

― scott seward (scott seward), Thursday, 7 April 2005 12:10 (twenty years ago)

afroacid? afrocid? acfrid?

― Al (sitcom), Thursday, 7 April 2005 12:12 (twenty years ago)

al: it appears they did. xpost

― blackmail.is.my.life (blackmail.is.my.life), Thursday, 7 April 2005 12:24 (twenty years ago)

I can't get the ilx search engine to work on my computer right now, but if one looks closely there have been some interesting threads. I've posted several threads on various forms of African popular music here, including a recent one about King Sunny Ade on tour. Now I see that if my thread on the Kora awards had included the word "pitchfork" in the title it would have gotten more responses!

At africaonline.com they have a music forum where many Congolese folks who are now living in Europe or the US discuss their favorite Congolese music. They also love to proclaim the superiority of Congolese music to that of other African genres. They make clear there, as British writer Martin Sinnock has in the Los Angeles based magazine The Beat (available at Borders and Tower with little online), that current Congolese music should be known as Congolese rumba not soukous (as it was labeled back in the '80s). Not that knowing the correct label has anything to do with whether or not you like the music... The Beat is also a good source for information about various forms of African popular music, although as Chuck Eddy has pointed out--they seem less interested in African music that incorporates rap and other current pop styles.

― steve-k, Thursday, 7 April 2005 13:17 (twenty years ago)

King Sunny Ade and his Afrobeat orchestra on tour (and on disc)

― steve-k, Thursday, 7 April 2005 15:55 (twenty years ago)

Labels are a starting point. I loved juju before I knew what it was, and I'm still no expert, but at least I can write this sentence and identify what I'm talking about. It's like Nigeria's version of go-go.

― Pete Scholtes, Thursday, 7 April 2005 16:53 (twenty years ago)

Some other online sources:

Africa1 radio
http://www.africa1.com/ecoutez.htm

African Hip Hop
http://www.africanhiphop.com/

African Music Home Page
http://biochem.chem.nagoya-u.ac.jp/~endo/africa.html

Fela Project
http://www.felaproject.net/

Orchestra Baobab
http://www.orchestrabaobab.com/

Retroafric
http://www.retroafric.com/

Rough Guides
http://www.roughguides.com/

Senerap Senegalese Hip Hop
http://www.senerap.org

Shanachie
http://www.shanachie.com/

Youssou N'Dour
http://www.youssou.com/

X Plastaz
http://www.xplastaz.com/

― Pete Scholtes, Thursday, 7 April 2005 18:24 (twenty years ago)

Some Winners of the South African-based Kora Awards for African music including London-based Nigerians JJC & 419 Squad

― steve-k, Thursday, 7 April 2005 18:29 (twenty years ago)

Ha, but Matos, I think Christgau is the source of the one non-fact in here that I'm in a position to get riled up about! Still checking, but he appears to be responsible for this weird idea that Ethiopia has "no tradition of instrumental music," which is just bizarre; Ethiopia has about as much of a tradition of instrumental music as anyplace else, more or less.

― nabisco (nabisco), Thursday, 7 April 2005 19:01 (twenty years ago)

I mean, not that kraar music is about to eclipse gamelan, but it's a weird idea to go bouncing around.

(Other than that I'm in no position to get fact-snippy about the article; I'm mostly just impressed that Joe tackled this in such a surprisingly ambitious way.)

― nabisco (nabisco), Thursday, 7 April 2005 19:04 (twenty years ago)

odd - i'm pretty sure i can remember a really good (albeit maybe contentious/error filled, it got some letters action) rave about ethiopiques in 98 and i just assumed xgau had written it but looking on his site he's relatively lukewarm (and his doubting that anyone bonded with any individual tracks - on volume 3 no less - strikes me as a bit insane), so i'm guessing that someone else wrote it and i'm also guessing that the voice's site search engine is so fucked it would be useless to attempt to find it there.

― j blount (papa la bas), Thursday, 7 April 2005 19:12 (twenty years ago)

Volume Three is one of my favorites!!!

― Alex in SF (Alex in SF), Thursday, 7 April 2005 19:22 (twenty years ago)

x-post/more sources of info:

The book Juju: A Social History and Ethnography of an African Popular Music (by Christopher Alan Waterman--hey, Matos, is he still a prof at the U of Washinton-Seattle?) is fairly academic, but it's really useful and interesting if you like the music. Also, you can order the book and the tape (of hard-to-get juju) that comes with it from the University of Chicago Press for a healthy chunk of cash: 800.621.2736. (order # 0-226-87466-4.) Too bad they haven't thrown that on CD.

The other books I've looked to again and again, besides Vol. 1 of the World Music Rough Guide, is Africa O-Ye! by Graeme Ewens (mostly out of print), and Modern Africa: A Social and Political History by Basil Davidson. The latter is not about music, per se, and it's biased as hell, but it ties together the recent history of the continent in interesting ways and is well written.

Years ago I skimmed African Rhythm and African Sensibility by John Miller Chernoff, but don't remember much except it was one of the first books on the subject I saw. The above-mentioned Fela book is very cool as well.

― Pete Scholtes, Thursday, 7 April 2005 19:43 (twenty years ago)

Yeah, the tape that comes with that juju book is cool.

― Tim Ellison (Tim Ellison), Thursday, 7 April 2005 19:52 (twenty years ago)

I used that Waterman Juju book for a rather ill-conceived undergrad history paper on World War II's influence on Juju music -- ill-conceived because there's almost no easily available source material on Juju itself, let alone on something as arcane as my topic.

― Hurting (Hurting), Thursday, 7 April 2005 19:57 (twenty years ago)

Looking at the fictional box set, I'm guessing there'll be a lot of things I'd put in one of them missing; I'm also guessing there's no way I could call it a "fraud" simply because it looks so fucking good.

― Matos-Webster Dictionary (M Matos), Thursday, 7 April 2005 20:52 (twenty years ago)

So Hurting, what was WWII's influence on juju?

― Pete Scholtes, Thursday, 7 April 2005 21:01 (twenty years ago)

did it have something to do w/postwar infusion of electric instruments or something?

― Matos-Webster Dictionary (M Matos), Thursday, 7 April 2005 21:06 (twenty years ago)

If there's no source material, then no one can prove you wrong!

― Keith Harris (kharris1128), Thursday, 7 April 2005 21:29 (twenty years ago)

I.K. Dairo, of course, was an accordionist. I don't know if there was a lot of electric guitar oriented juju prior to Sunny Ade and Ebenezer Obey and so on (?).

― Tim Ellison (Tim Ellison), Thursday, 7 April 2005 21:37 (twenty years ago)

Didn't he also play guitar?

― Pete Scholtes, Thursday, 7 April 2005 22:22 (twenty years ago)

The idea of multiple electric guitars came with Ebenezer Obey's band, I believe, in 1964. But Waterman traces electrification back further than Dairo.

Here's one version of the story:

1947: Lagos highlife pioneer Bobby Benson brings the first electric guitar to Nigeria.

1948: Akanbi Ege introduces talking drums to the gentle palmwine guitar/banjo music of juju, raising the volume of the music.

1949: Ayinde Bakare becomes the first juju musician to pick up the electric guitar. Amplification makes it possible to accomodate more percussion, expanding the average band to seven members. (Note the coincidence with rock 'n' roll.)

1952: Tunde Nightingale (b. '22, formed his first band '44) expands his lineup to eight members. He wows the bourgeoisie, but doesn't record popular hits until the mid-'60s.

1958: I.K. Dairo (b. '30, joined first band '42, formed first band '57) debuts on the new Western Nigeria Broadcasting Service radio out of Ibadan, becomes juju's first national pop star. He records his first hit single the following year. He is later credited with introducing slide guitar and accordian to juju.

1964: Ebenezer Obey (b. '42, joined first band '57) starts his first band and releases his first single. He is later credited with introducing multiple electric guitars, and a Western-style drumkit, to juju.

1966: King Sunny Ade (b. '46, joined first band circa '61, began touring '63) starts his own band, the Green Spots (later the African Beats), and records his first single the following year (scoring his first hit in '68). He makes the Hawaiian slide guitar a prominent feature of his sound, and is later credited with introducing dub effects, synthesizers, and other innovations to juju. In '77, he is crowned the "King of juju" by critics, and signs to Island in the early '80s.

― Pete Scholtes, Friday, 8 April 2005 00:17 (twenty years ago)

Pete, do you know about the version of "Synchro System" that's on the tape that comes with that book? That's really cool sounding. I think I like it more than the one on the Island album.

― Tim Ellison (Tim Ellison), Friday, 8 April 2005 00:22 (twenty years ago)

No, I haven't forked over the $25 yet (I found the book used, sans tape), but I'm pretty sure it's the same as the "original" one on The Classic Years, right?

― Pete Scholtes, Friday, 8 April 2005 00:32 (twenty years ago)

Ah yes, probably so. From '74. (That tape, by the way, is all excerpts of songs, but there's still lots of cool stuff on it.)

― Tim Ellison (Tim Ellison), Friday, 8 April 2005 00:38 (twenty years ago)

I like the "Synchro Series" medley from 1983 that's available on a 2003 compilation on IndigeDisc out of Philly.

― Steve-k (Steve K), Friday, 8 April 2005 03:40 (twenty years ago)

blount, i do believe the article you were mentioning in the Voice on ethiopiques was written by Douglas Wolk.

I remember that as I stumbled back into my flat late one night, and while checking the internet read the review which i actually really liked but did have one big error that inspired me to fire off a drunken missive which ended up in the letters section. I'm assuming is the letters action to which you referred. I actually even got a call from the Voice all the way to Addis to check in with me before they ran it which i was not expecting.

― H (Heruy), Saturday, 9 April 2005 00:31 (twenty years ago)

haha go figure!

― j blount (papa la bas), Saturday, 9 April 2005 01:28 (twenty years ago)

So, what's the verdict on parts four and five of the Pitchfork piece? A good overview of seventies Fela-influenced, funk-influenced records?

― Tim Ellison (Tim Ellison), Saturday, 9 April 2005 03:45 (twenty years ago)

My boy sure does like hisself some Ghana Soundz and Ethiopiques comps! the whole thing is cute in that pitchdorky way. you kinda want to pat him on the head.

― Stormy Davis (diamond), Saturday, 9 April 2005 03:57 (twenty years ago)

the john miller chernoff book is terrific!! i think it gives you a real strong insight into a specific west-african communal approach to rhythm - the drum orchestras - which has revelatory implications when you draw it out into other, less dramatically communal musics (= what part of the music does a def leppard audience perform, or whatever)

jmc wz in ghana: i think a not dissimilar drum orchestra tradition also flourishes (frlourished?) in nigeria - cf sunny ade's bands collwective webs of sound - though fela's approach seems explicitly (and deliberately?) centred round the political acuity-integrity of a single figure (hence "black president"? etc)

ie it's only communal in the sense of a group centred round a single charismatic central figure

― mark s (mark s), Saturday, 9 April 2005 21:17 (twenty years ago)

sorry that reads like i think sunny ade has a drum orchestra: i meant "cf ALSO sunny ade's bands"

― mark s (mark s), Saturday, 9 April 2005 21:18 (twenty years ago)

(i rather suspect this wz just one of those impossible-to-catch typos where you know exactly what or who you mean and write another word or name in its place and can't see that you've written the wrong thing cz you know what you mean)

― mark s (mark s), Saturday, 9 April 2005 21:23 (twenty years ago)

Here's another good source (my girlfriend just sent it):

http://www.africasgateway.com/

― Pete Scholtes, Thursday, 14 April 2005 16:14 (twenty years ago)

five months pass...

what about mentioning nkengas and ikengas superstars of africa, segun bucknor, tp orchestra poly rhythmo, lekan, lijadu sisters & lots of others afrobeat artists that offcourse cant treathen fela in his afrobeat sphere, but sure as hell be in the afrobeat category..

― drbaktus, Sunday, 9 October 2005 21:44 (twenty years ago)

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