11 låtar från 2011

Wanlov och Ayisoba i Stockholm - del 3

The fokn dunaquest in Budapest, ja alltså Wanov och Mensas första album som Fokn Bois, recenseras på onsdag. Mer om det, och duons alldeles förtjusande hiplifemusikal, då. Men först ett klipp från i somras som jag just råkade snubbla över.

En vit fläck mindre

Ibland känns det som om all vinylarkeologi, vågen av samlingsskivor och själva det bottenlösa med youtube gjort att det inte längre finns några vita fläckar på musikkartan. Det stämmer inte, ta till exempel Liberia. Fast så flyttade Akwaaba-Benjamin till Ghana och strax dök den här samlingen upp:

Bara coupé-décalé tack!

En vecka för sent eller så, men tack för en fantastisk kväll på Afrodicted på Moriskan i Malmö, Rusty Beat, Mango Bi Family och alla som dansade. Ja, särskilt tack för den fantastiska coupé-décalédansen alldeles till vänster om dj-båset. Just ni stod också verkligen demonstrativt stilla varje gång låten inte var från Elfenbenskusten, trots att resten av dansgolvet inte alls verkade förstå skillnaden.
Hade kvällen bara varit en kvart längre och musiken hunnit bli ännu lite hårdare skulle ni föresten även fått höra den här Joelito-remixen.

Boogaloo - Xibaba - Joelito Remix by Joelito

Stockholm Jazz Festival 4: Late night at Fasching with Wanlov and Ayisoba

Stockholm Jazz Festival 2: Wanlov and Ayisoba playing in the lobby (almost)

I have some poor quality footage of Wanlov and Ayisoba playing at Clarion Sign in Stockholm, but until I'm able to upload it, and perhaps also find some material from their late night jam at Fasching, here's a short clip uploaded by Pidgen Music yesterday.

Also coming up later: a brief summary of the seminar between me and Panji at the hotel.

Stockholm Jazz Festival 1: A lost Ayisoba

The jazz festival has barely started but I already met the cousins (I thought they were brothers) Almou from the Festival au Desert, for a half hour talk about how to arrange a festival in the poorest part of one of the poorest countries in the world. Also said hi to Panji Anoff, Wanlov the Kubolor and King Ayisoba. Wanlov arrived barefeet, honouring his nickname The African Gypsy and defying the realities of Swedish summer (14 degrees and rain). King Ayisoba wore traditional garments and got lost at the airport, his pick up got the name wrong, maybe he was confused by the "king" part of it. Ayisoba still managed to get a ride into town somehow, waiting out the confusion at the hotell before the organizers were able to locate him.
But more of them tomorrow. Now the real festival starts. Tonight I will see, and write about, Zap Mama, who travelled far from her congolese roots. Too far? That's exactly what I intend to find out.

No visa for Yaa Pono... means Wanlov is coming

As always with african artists visiting, the visa procedure is a major factor. And that has nothing to do with third world bureaucrazy, only with Europe's fear of people staying here. A few hours ago I got to know that Yaa Pono had not been granted his visa in time. Which deprives Stockholm of one of the more interesting, up and coming hip life artists. But the replacement is quite good. Wanlov the Kubolor already have the required visa, since he's been touring in Europe until recently. So it will be King Ayisoba and Wanlov performing on saturday, first in the afternoon at the hotel Clarion Sign, after mine and Panji's hiplife-talk. Then, late at night, at the jam session at jazz club Fasching.

Eagerly awaiting Panji, Pono and Ayisoba

I know this is starting to seem like a blog about Ghana. It is not. But going there last autumn left so many leads to follow up. In this specific case though, they seem to have followed me up. A few weeks ago Clara from Stockholm Jazz Festival called after reading my hiplife text and asked for people in Ghana to invite for a panel talk and perhaps a concert. Leading to record company owner and producer Panji Anoff coming to Stockholm in a week and a half for a discussion about the music industries of Africa, traditional elements in modern music or, well, whatever we decide to talk about. See us at Clarion Sign Hotel Saturday 18/6 14.00.
I also mentioned Yaa Pono, King Ayisoba and Wanlov the Kubulor and the two first ended up accompanying Panji and will play after the discussion and are also supposed to appear in some way later the same night at the jam session at jazz club Fasching.
Also playing at the festival: Bobby Womac, Chic and Seun Kuti & The Egypt 80.
Also talking: Manny & Almou Mansar, the two touareg brothers who arranges the Festival au Desert at Essakane outside Timbuktu.


And here's Yaa Pono in a video apparently shot at the Anoff villa.

Ebo Taylor in Stockholm or The missing link

The minor news is that I decided to switch to English in this blog. Due to the visitor statistics and the quite international subject (and of course at the risk of being ridiculed). A bit more interesting perhaps is the fact that Ebo Taylor is playing in Stockholm tonight at Göta Källare. Just having an old highlife star playing here is something. But Ebo Taylor is more than that, he is also a living example of the connections between highlife and afro beat. I didn't get the chance to meet him in person in Accra but I got to hear a lot about him from mr Essiebons, a gentleman in his eighties and also head of the family run Essiebons Music, with Ebo Taylor and CK Mann as its biggest stars.

Anyway, here's Taylor talking about the development of highlife and the influence of Nigerian music in Ghana.

And a Spotify link to Life and Death, the album Ebo Taylor released last year, mixing re-recorded classics and newly written songs. All in a slightly more psychedelic setting than you would have expected.

27/5: Linking to my review. A reader has commented on me not mentioning how good the concert in fact was. I thought I did, but maybe I got too stuck in the history of afro beat and other fascinating topics. Reading this review of the same concert, it does strike me that I sound a bit theoretical. So, just to be clear about it, Ebo Taylor indeed was awesome.

"Bumerangen, mina vänner!"

Flera gånger de senaste veckorna har jag faktiskt lyckats ratta in P3 utan att hamna i ett humorprogram, eller för den delen ett program utan humor men där programledaren pratar med skojröst. Igår var det Jasons spellista, där Jason Diakité (Timbuktu) spelade afrikansk musik i en timme. Tyngdpunkten någonstans i Ghana och till det lite grundläggande prat om kulturella influenser kors och tvärs över Atlanten, ja, ni vet, export av slavar, import av afrokubansk musik och funk etc. Eller för att sno en oneliner från Jason själv: "Det är det som är bumerangen, mina vänner!" Alldeles utmärkt.

Obour med Obour

På tal om aktuella hiplifealbum vore det direkt synd att inte nämna Obour med Obour, från den kommande skivan Back to Obour. Lite mer hiplife, lite mer folksaga. Här skrev jag förresten att skivan redan hade släppts. Så är det inte.

Mp3 Obour by Obour

African Gypsy

Wanlov the Kubolor, alternativ hiplifeartist från Ghana som jag pratade med i förra numret av Lira (reportaget finns inte på nätet). För ett par veckor sedan släpptes hans album Brown Card i Ghana. Bor man någon annanstans får man tills vidare nöja sig med det här. Fast det är verkligen inte så illa.

Wanlov The Kubolor - African Gypsy ft Keziah Jones by Wanlov

Hiplife, hiplife, hiplife

Har ni fortfarande inte fått nog av hiplife har jag faktiskt skrivit ett ännu längre reportage från Accra, i senaste numret av Lira. Lite mer historia den här gången, kopplingar till high life etc. I samma tidning finns också en intervju med mitt favoritfolkband, Siri Karlsson.

Hiplife - musiken

Jag har ju skrivit en del om hiplife på sistone, för svenskan (publicerades för en vecka sen) och i Lira, (det kommer i slutet av månaden). Kanske vill någon höra hur det låter också?

Hiplife

Sex sidor i svenskan om hiplife, en dryg producent och ghananska superstjärnor:





Reggie Rockstone. Foto Ulrika Walmark



HIPLIFE - HIPHOPHYBRIDEN SOM FÅTT GHANA ATT DANSA TILL INHEMSKA RYTMER

Soundtracket till det moderna Afrika är elektroniskt, urbant och ­globalt – men också rotat i lokala traditioner. Lars Lovén åkte till Ghana på jakt efter hiplifemusikens kärna och hittade en musikscen som återupptäckt sina egna rötter.