When you think of African music, flutes may not be the first instruments that come to mind, but across West Africa there are some flute traditions that often involve a unique combination of vocalizing and blowing into the instrument, resulting in some amazing music that's a hella lotta fun to listen to. There are some nice examples on YouTube
here,
here,
here and
here.
posted by flapjax at midnite
on May 9, 2010 -
16 comments
The other day someone asked me "who's the most deeply grooving and truly exciting electric guitar player you've heard lately?" and I said
"this guy".
posted by flapjax at midnite
on Apr 10, 2010 -
82 comments
Condomise, sings Babsi! Babsi, born 1933, playing the song
Mabelete (Bitches) on the "Fenjoro" which he built from a plastic container, wood and strings from a handbrake cable of a car: it normally has 4 strings like the violin, but one broke.
posted by flapjax at midnite
on Apr 5, 2010 -
10 comments
Just in case you were wondering, yes, indeed, it
is the people who dance to Zinli music in Benin who have the coolest, freshest dance moves on the planet. Once you get past the extended a cappella intro, and that delicious slow groove kicks in at the 3:26 minute mark,
this video will treat you to some of the most undulating funky moves EVAR. Now, whether you wanna try some of these gyrations yourself, or whether you just dig a nice, slow, cooly percolating West African groove for listening, go here for more from singer
Alekpehanhou the "Roi du Zinli Rénové".
[more inside]
posted by flapjax at midnite
on Aug 23, 2009 -
16 comments
Fela: Music is the Weapon is a documentary film from 1982 featuring a wealth of live concert footage (from his club in Lagos, "The Shrine") as well as interviews with the legendary Nigerian singer, bandleader and social critic. Here's
part 1,
2,
3,
4,
5 and
6.
[more inside]
posted by flapjax at midnite
on Nov 5, 2008 -
22 comments
The full-on, amped-up
sanza sounds of
Konono No. 1 have been celebrated here at MeFi not
once but
twice, and they are indeed wonderful.
Björk's been working with them a bit lately, too. But let's go back a few decades, and take a listen to the unplugged version of this type of music: mesdames et messiurs,
Papa Kourand, the grand old man of the sanza!
[more inside]
posted by flapjax at midnite
on Oct 10, 2007 -
11 comments
Mary Uduru of Nigeria. Although we see lots of single-image representations of African poverty (usually in the form of a swollen-bellied child on the brink of starvation) it's rare to find a photo-essay like this one one, which brings us an intimate, informative and non-sensationalist view of the life of the working poor there.
posted by flapjax at midnite
on Apr 11, 2007 -
22 comments
Spend a blissful 59 minutes and 7 seconds traversing the continent of Africa through her traditional music. This excellent
stream (featuring just the right amount of background info) from the folks at
Afropop Worldwide [previously] features plenty of the kind of effortlessly rolling, lilting rhythmic vibes that make African traditional music some of the most sublime in the world. "So don't expect over-the-top ethnography, just relax and enjoy acoustic Africa."
posted by flapjax at midnite
on Mar 19, 2007 -
11 comments
