The Prophet

Awesome links man, this thread is getting lots of attention from moi.

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javalover

Nigeria
I've been looking into the country.
A number of new genres have come up in the Nigerian music scene.Styles of music common amongst the young people but there's still what's left of the vintage which still has it's evergreen market.
Highlife- highlife music began in eastern and southern nigeria in the 1930s.Was brought to limelight by the late Dr osita Osadebe and his band.There are others but I'm still checking.
Folk-soul or some extension of worldfusion - seems to be a novelty that just entered Nigeria amongst other new genres which are evolving amonst the young people.Nnena is one amongst the many artistes in the country carrying along this music trend reminiscent of what I hear from the malians .
There is even afro-hiphop and some kind of popular 'street' vibe they are yet to define but I think it's better termed as 'afro-pop'.We have the likes of 2faceidibia and 9ice.The latter even got a world music award this year or so I hear.
Indeed,Nigerian music is so diverse and I'm still investigating.

johne

@ javalover: I'll put some links up to artists you mention since you can't put up links til you have 15 posts. Hope these are representative of the artists you mention:

Nnena:
http://www.myspace.com/nnenaomali

2faceidibia:
YouTube - 2Face - See Me So (New Track)

YouTube - If Love Is A Crime by 2face

9ice:
Welcome to 9ice Online

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javalover

Thanks for the update.Looked them up just now.The links are all valid except for the first one which did not quite tally with the artiste I'd mentioned.When i watched the video,wasn't the same person.A case of similar names but different artistes.However,they are both Nigerians,but the one in your link (I discovered) isn't based in Nigeria.

johne

^^^ fixed. The other gal was Nneka--I replaced the vids with Nnena's mypace link with free listens....

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johne

Senegal (Mbalax): Senegal—wow! There is so much good music that has come from here that this may take 2 posts.

The most recognized names from Senegal are Youssou N’Dour and Baaba Maal. Both come out of a Senegalese tradition of popular dance music called “mbalax,” but N’Dour and others like him where influenced by mainly Cuban and other music from the Americas, and Maal and others like him were influenced by Paris and Western Europe. A third important musician is Thione Seck, who merges traditional Senegalese music with Arabic and Indian influences. I will give examples of these three strains of influence below.

In the 1950s and 60s, because of heavy colonialism from the West, the most-played music in Senegal was jazz, soul, Latin and rock. But, in the 70s when colonialism began to wane, there was a new emphasis on merging more traditional Senegalese music, which depended on drumming and singers-storytellers called the “griots,” with the imported Western music. This blend of music was called “mbalax” after the name of the actual rhythm used in traditional drumming. So, in mbalax there is a definite strong drum beat as the base, a strong message in the words, and dance rhythms.

Youssou N’Dour and the band, Etoile de Dakar, were the most influential in introducing traditional music from Senegal with Latin beat. Etoile de Dakar has a large number of full tracks on last.fm, both with and without N’Dour:
Etoile De Dakar – Listen free and discover music at Last.fm

N’Dour has a large number of tracks himself:
Youssou N'Dour – Listen free and discover music at Last.fm

One of his videos:
Youssou N'Dour’s Music Videos – Listen free and discover music at Last.fm

His 2005 album, Egypt, caused a stir in Senegal because it so heavily incorporated messages about Islam. The following trailer for a documentary about N’Dour shows a little about this controversy and his insistence that religion had to be part of at least some of his music:
YouTube - YOUSSOU NDOUR: I BRING WHAT I LOVE trailer

N’Dour has collaborated with many Western artists, such as Peter Gabriel, Sting, Paul Simon, Bruce Springstein, Tracy
Chapman, and Branford Marsalis, to name a few.

Other mbalax artists with Cuban influence are:

Alioune Mbaye Nder: SenVideo - Alioune Mbaye Nder - Confiance or: http://www.videosurf.com/video/confi...-nder-54453193

Omar Pène and the Super Diamono band: Omar Pene Et Super Diamono’s Music Videos – Discover music at Last.fm

Ismael Lo was also with Super Diamono until he went solo. His solo work is not as much influenced by Cuban rhythm, but is more
singer/songwriter in style. He is known as “the Bob Dylan of Senegal" because of his use of guitar, harmonica, and thoughtful, sometimes
political, lyrics. Beautiful music:
YouTube - Ismael Lo - Tajabone

YouTube - Ismael Lo - Jammu Africa

Here is a nice duet between Ismael and English singer, Marianne Faithful--very soulful:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hfehKorG_Qs

+++

There is a large number of contemporary female mbalax artists from Senegal:

The most fun (and beautiful!), Coumba Gawlo:
YouTube - Coumba Gawlo Seck, Fa fa fa fa fa fa

….and her Senegalese rendition of Mariam Makeba’s, Pata Pata--the ultimate feel-good dance song:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LE-BxIQ3z8A

My favorite, Fatou Guewël, who has a number of full tracks on last.fm:
Fatou Guewel – Listen free and discover music at Last.fm

Rap fusion and sexy, Viviane N'Dour:
YouTube - African Divas - Senegal - Mbalax - Viviane Ndour

Other women worth checking out are: Fatou Laobé, Kiné Lam, Amy Mbengue, and Ndeye Marie Ndiaye.

This is enough for now. I will provide some Baaba Maal and others in next post.

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iksosept

I didn't know that. I came across them last week, and I really like their record "Amassakoul", it's definitely worth a listen folks!

But yeah, I have no idea what their songs are about.

jackhammer

I have plenty of Fela Kuti (about 20 albums) if anyone needs any just holler.

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johne

Full tracks of Amassakoul on last.fm:
http://www.last.fm/music/Tinariwen/Amassakoul
I agree, it's a good album. I've been listening more to them since I've been involved in this thread. Some videos of them playing with Carlos Santana, Robert Plant, others are online, too.

@jackhammer: do you have Fela's '69 Los Angeles Sessions? That's an obscure one--I've wondered what songs it contains...

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johne

Senegal (Mbalax), Part 2:

I think Baaba Maal is an one of the most exciting (and physically beautiful) artists alive. In Africa, he is known as “The Nightingale” for his clear tenor voice. He left Senegal to formally study music in Paris, but on returning to Africa, integrated what he learned with traditional Senagalese music. It's hard to pin him down to one genre--he definitely has mbalax (drum beat/dance rhythm) roots, but you can hear reggae, Euro-American, and traditional WA folk (apala) influences as well. Maal has lots of free, full tracks at last.fm: Baaba Maal – Listen free and discover music at Last.fm

Some good videos are:
"Yela," with Jamaican reggae artist (Baaba Maal is the one without the beard )--a better quality version is at: Baaba Maal Yela Music Video on Yahoo! Music
...but if that doesn't work for you, on youtube at: YouTube - Baaba Maal - Yela

"Gorel"--better quality video at: Baaba Maal Gorel Music Video on Yahoo! Music
...or at: Senegal - Baaba Maal - Gorel - NMETV Latest Music Videos and Clips

"Souka-Nayo" with Celtic female vocalists at: Baaba Maal Souka Nayo Music Video on Yahoo! Music

(Also, see Bulldog's thread on Baaba Maal!)

Toure Kunda is a fusion band started by a group of brothers in the late 1970s. After developing a traditional Senegalese music style, they moved to Paris where they eventually adopted a mbalax-inspired Afro-rock style they called “djambaadong.” Here’s a short sample of Toure Kunda: Dailymotion - Concert Toure Kunda, une vidéo de TKofficiel. Toure, Kunda, concert

Xalam is a high energy band started in 1969 by 2 brothers. The band is named after a Senegalese stringed instrument that they use a lot in their numbers. They really should have been included in my first post about Senegalese music because, like others in that post, they are heavily influenced by Cuban music and started by playing lots of salsa and Afro-Cuban rhythms. They are still going strong and now incorporate a number of rhythms besides Cuban, including a heavy jazz influence. Definitely worth a listen, a number of tracks are available at: Xalam on IMEEM ...or their Website at: Xalam - mp3 afro-jazz samples of music to download

Last, Thione Seck is a mbalax artist, but unlike those others above, is heavily influenced by Indian and Arabic rhythms. When talking about Senegal musicians, he is often overshadowed by Youssou N’Dour and Baaba Maal. But I feel he is equal to them in talent, and if you listen to nothing else in this post, I would at least give Thione Seck a try--his music is beautiful! He has 22 full, free tracks at last.fm: Thione Seck – Listen free and discover music at Last.fm
...and one of my favorite songs by Seck is on the video: YouTube - Thione Seck - Mathiou

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