Following to this former post, I decided to make you (re)discover one of my favourite Malian artists, Ali Farka Touré, with "Radio Mali", a short but very nice deep desert blues song - Enjoy !
Another hit Afrobeat / Soukouss track by Le Tout Puissant Orchestre Poly Rythmo de Cotonou !!
Horns are played by the Malian musician Tidiani Kone, the bandleader, founder and member of l'Orchestre Super Rail Band du Buffet Hotel Del La Gare De Bamako (Mali), it explains the similarities in the trumpet playing between this track and "Mouo Dilo", by the Super Rail Band.
The title of this awesome track, "Djanfa Magni", can be translated in those words : "Betrayal isn't good" - undoubtedly true, right ?
Tidiani Kone Et le T.P. Orchestre Poly Rythmo de Cotonou - Djanfa Magni
Orchestre Super Rail Band du Buffet Hotel Del La Gare De Bamako - Mouo Dilo
Les Ambassadeurs du Motel de Bamako, Salif Keita in the center
"Bang", "bang", "bang" ! It takes two or three shots to clear the Bamako Motel dancefloor. Tiekoro Bagayoko, the venue boss, arrives to pick out a beauty of the night and ask her to dance. Under the leaves of a mango tree perched on the side of a stage, the orchestra adapts to the demands of a cosmopolitan crowd and an unpredictable boss with a penchant for American funk, a sign of modernity at the heart of Bamako nightlife. Formed in 1969 with musicians from Mali, Guinea, Ivory Coast and Senegal, Les Ambassadeurs du Motel are Mali's most cosmopolitan orchestra of the 70s. Led by Guinean guitarist Manfila Kanté who knows exactly how to direct the musical energy to bring about a modernist sound, adapting to a distinctly western musical repertoire. When Salif Keita leaves the Rail Band Orchestra to join Les Ambassadeurs in 1973, he establishes himself as a singer full of star quality and new emotions inspired by his own life and Mali's evolution 15 years after its independence. A musical bond is immediately formed between Salif and his new colleagues. Beidy Sacko sings the afro-cuban tracks, Ousmane Dia and Moussa Doumbia interpret the funk, R'n'B numbers. Drummer Nouhoun Keita and bassist Sékou Diabaté form one of the tightest rhythm sections on the continent. The musicians tirelessly rehearse 10 to 14 hours a day. Hits like James Brown's There was a time or Fela Kuti's Lady become their own pieces de resistance. Night after night, gig after gig, the musicians carefully observe the spontaneous dance moves of the Motel crowd and modify their music accordingly. Les Ambassadeurs excel at playing funk. Direct, deep and raw, their renditions evoque a pure, rootsy sound: that takes in nightlife fun, improvised dancing, saucy fun but also a tough economic reality. These numbers express a true touch of genius, as well as an ease at taking over the musical idiom invented by James Brown, Dyke and the Balzers, The Meters, Marvin Holmes, Rex Garvin and a handful of other afro-americans musicians. In the American vernacular, the term 'funk' denotes a particular type of smell often considered unpleasant, that of sweat or intimate relations. The idea of sweat remains at the roots of funk, the most raw form of black musical expression, it is to R'n'B and soul what free jazz is to jazz. A strong, pure, reclaiming sound which links back to the beginnings of African music and thereby to black identity. Mighty as an earthquake and cutting as a razor, this track by Les Ambassadeurs is the living proof of funk power.
« Boum », « boum », « boum » ! En deux ou trois coups de feu, la piste de danse du Motel de Bamako se vide prestement. Tiekoro Bagayoko, le patron des lieux vient de jeter son dévolu sur une belle de nuit et souhaite l’inviter à danser. Sous les frondaisons de manguier, juché sur une petite estrade en béton, l'orchestre s'adapte aux demandes d'une clientèle cosmopolite et d'un patron fantasque, qui apprécie particulièrement le funk américain, gage de modernité au cœur des nuits de Bamako. Formés en 1969 autour de musiciens maliens, ivoiriens, guinéens et sénégalais, Les Ambassadeurs du Motel est l’orchestre le plus cosmopolite du Mali des années 1970, dirigé par le guitariste guinéen Manfila Kanté. Ce dernier sait parfaitement fédérer les énergies, tout en donnant une orientation résolument moderniste aux Ambassadeurs, qui passe notamment par l’appropriation et l’adaptation d’un répertoire musical occidental. Lorsque Salif Keita quitte l’orchestre du Rail Band pour rejoindre Les Ambassadeurs en 1973, il s’y affirme comme un chanteur porteur d’émotions nouvelles par rapport à sa propre vie et à l’évolution que connaît le Mali, une quinzaine d’années après l’indépendance. L’entente musicale de Salif et de ses nouveaux collègues est immédiate. Salif s’impose naturellement comme chanteur vedette. Beidy Sacko chante les morceaux afro-cubain alors qu’Ousmane Dia et Moussa Doumbia interprètent les titres funk et rhythm’n’blues. Le batteur Nouhoun Keita et le bassiste Sékou Diabaté posent la base rythmique des Ambassadeurs, l’une des plus solides du continent. Les musiciens répètent et travaillent inlassablement leur répertoire chaque jour de dix heures à quatorze heures. Des tubes comme There was a time de James Brown ou Lady de Fela font les beaux jours de l’orchestre. Soir après soir, concert après concert, les musiciens observent attentivement le public du Motel pour retranscrire en musique ses moindres pas de danse, exécutés dans une ambiance de liberté totale. Les Ambassadeurs excellent en effet dans les morceaux funk. Directes, profondes et rauques, leurs interprétations évoquent un quotidien sans fard: distractions nocturnes, danses improvisées, plaisirs grivois, mais aussi une dure réalité économique. Ces chansons expriment de véritables éclairs de génie, ainsi qu’une facilité déconcertante à s’approprier un idiome musical inventé par James Brown, Dyke & The Blazers, les Meters, Marvin Holmes, Rex Garvin et une poignée d’autres musiciens noirs américains. Dans le langage vernaculaire noir américain, le terme funk désigne une odeur souvent jugée déplaisante, celle de la sueur et des rapports intimes. La sueur reste la base du funk, la forme d’expression la plus brute des musiques noires, qui est au rhythm’n’blues et à la soul ce que le free jazz est au jazz. À savoir un langage exacerbé de l’identité noire, vindicatif et pur, qui renvoie indirectement aux prémices des musiques africaines. Puissant comme une secousse tellurique et tranchant comme un rasoir, ce morceau des Ambassadeurs en est la preuve vibrante.
Special article this week (special because I didn't took the time to prepare a brand new selection..) with an awesome track from Les Ambassadeurs du Motel de Bamako (remember the young Salif Keita ?), unreleased until a small Label recording (from Swiss) managed to get the rights (from the band, I hope..) to press it on a 7 inch ! Really good initiative, because it's one of my favourite Malian band, and unkown tracks are always welcome !
Today, I decided to make you (re)discover one of the great African Orchestra, from the Mystical country of Mali : L'Orchestre Rail Band du Buffet Hotel de la Gare de Bamako, also nicknamed Le Rail Band.
State-sponsored by the national railroad Malian Company (it explains the name of the band), Le Rail Band was the most powerful Malian orchestra, that released more than ten LP's and many 7' from the 70's to the late 80's.
The Rail Band's leader was the great Tidiani Koné, an outstanding musician who was also a griot (a kind of religious leader/ influent personality), who decided to give his chance at this time to a young albino singer, Salif Keita, that would become world famous in the future.
The track presented here, Mouo Dilo, was released on a 7' on the Nigerian division of EMI, and produced by the Nigerian government for the republic of Mali (release date unknown, 1971 I estimate)
Orchestre Rail Band - Mouo Dilo
This track, one of the first tracks of Le Rail Band (this is maybe the first 7' of the Band !) was re-recorded a few years later in a slightly different version under the name of Moko Jolo, for the second LP of the Band out in 1973 (my favourite one), a great mixture of Funk, Griot Music, Mandingo and Bambara Folklore, narrated by Salif Keita's diamond voice.
Orchestre Rail Band du Buffet de la Gare de Bamako - Moko Jolo
To Finish, as a bonus, another track taken from this great record, Bajala Malé (also called Badialan Mallet), an hypnotic quiet ballad - enjoy !
Orchestre Rail Band du Buffet de la Gare de Bamako - Bajala Malé
This article is dedicated to people of Mali, in reaction against what is happening right now in Tombouctou (Timbuktu), the destruction of holy malian sanctuaries and ancien tombs by the "holy army of Al Qaeda"
