African Music – The Blog of Samite

Posts Tagged ‘world music’

More common than non western African music, westernized African music has similarities but not the true soul born of an ancient history.

Non western African music is also known as World Music and it owes its origins to the sub Sahara Desert.

Music and dance in Africa are closely intertwined.   All important life events are celebrated with music: birth, marriage and death.  And the Ruler’s Courts include music as well.

Poet Leopold Senghor, the first President of Senegal, once commented that African rhythm is “comparable to all the technical achievements” of Western civilization.

The many drums used in African music showcase the importance of percussion in African society.  There are jembe drums enjoyed by the Manding people and their dancing parties.  A large tabale drum indicates the signal for war.  In fact, drums in the sub Saharan desert are more effective and common than a telegraph.  The resonant beat is carried for miles to great distances.

The violin-drum chong is used in West Cameroon.  It’s a stick bow placed into a hole in the drum membrane.  Secret cults and societies beat the chong drum to scare off non members of the societies.

Music as an art form is understandably pure in Africa.  The human species originated on that continent and then spread around the world.  While civilizations advanced in the Middle East, the Far East and Europe, sub Saharan Africa stayed distinct and apart.

Africans evolved from hunters and gatherers to agriculture, but a lack of written history makes details of the evolution of society in Africa a challenge to study.  For that reason, the music remained unblemished by outside influences.  Indeed, the sounds of Africa today are close to their evolutionary roots.

There is homogenization of cultures throughout the world, but non western African music is enchantingly reminiscent of the ancient beginnings of its people.

This African music blog presents a brief history of the rich culture of Africa and the music that now enjoys a worldwide following.

With one thousand native languages, it’s no surprise the history of African music is a patchwork tapestry of oral history passed down from one generation to another.  It is a western sensibility that attempts to catalogue and organize African music which is known under several categories such as global music, African music and world music.

Many scholars who studied African music are sensitive to the culture and to misunderstanding about its value.  Hugh Tracy from South African, Mngoma of South Africa and Makabuya of Uganda are concerned about the misunderstanding and misrepresentation of African culture by those who stereotype this intriguing country.

It is interesting to note that unlike western cultures, music and dance in Africa are not isolated as separate activities from the normal culture.  There are words that describe the particular acts of playing an instrument, singing and dancing, but they are largely seen as part of the broader text of communication that existed for centuries.

Dance and music go hand in hand in Africa.  Beginning at birth and continuing in ceremonies to name the child, to initiation ceremonies, farming activities, war declarations, religious services and finally, honoring the dead, music and dance are so intertwined that many African cultures do not have words that define music and dance.

For this reason some scholars, like Ndlovu believe that writing African music damages the integrity of the art form.  They assert there is no need to put African dance and music into words because it is purely a western tradition.  In fact, it dilutes the authenticity of traditional African art forms.

The one exception to this is African choral music which translates well into western documentation.  Whatever your taste, the information in an African music blog will likely sharpen your knowledge of this wonderful art form.

Traditionally, world music artist meant any musician who created a sound out of Africa, Asia, South and Central America, Eastern Europe and the Caribbean.

In the 1980s the rapid rise in popularity of non-English popular music in the U.S. and Great Britain prompted a search for a name for this new genre.  “World music” was considered a lasting and mainstream style by the early 1990s.

This genre received early endorsement by Francis Bebey, a Cameroon national living in France who boosted the profile of this rich and soulful sound.  France became an appreciative market.

The biggest stars in those early days were Fela Anikulapo Kuti and King Sunny Ade from Nigeria and Youssou N’Dour from Senegal.

In the 21st century world music grew to include the Pakistani sounds of Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan who artfully blended technologically sophisticated rhythmic sounds with ancient messages.  The French group Gipsy Kings were performers who wove this unique texture into a popular sound of the early new century.

World music has its share of detractors.  The New York Times published an Op-Ed piece by David Byrne of the Luaka Bop music label.  Titled, I Hate World Music, Byrne wrote that describing music of other cultures as “exotic” places an unfair advantage on world music artists over others performing in more typical genres.

The BBC Radio 3 obviously thinks otherwise, hosting World Music Awards from 2005 until 2008.  Beginning in 2009 the Awards were hosted by the Music Magazine Songlines.

Today people around the world, in cities large and small, have the opportunity to hear world music through dozens of festivals occurring around the world.  The largest is the Ariano Folk Festival in southern Italy.  One of the smallest locales is in Trumansburg in the Finger Lakes region of New York, home of our believed world music artist, Samite Mulondo.

It usually takes place annually on the second-to-last weekend of July in Trumansburg, New York (10 Mi. North of Ithaca). GrassRoots presents over 60 bands on four stages for four days, in just about every genre you could think of, with the emphasis being on world, folk and ethnic music.  Watch this site for future announcements.

The bond between Africa music and its people is so tight that it is enjoyed by all senses including touch and sight and it spans lifestyles and cultures too.

Cattle are the central theme of music originating in East Africa.  In the South the predominant subject is food because societies are nomadic and in constant search of sustenance.  North-western Africa has very little cattle so the music there is reflective of the politics involving European domination.

The West coast of Africa, between the Khoi-San region and the northwest, combines  East African and Northwest characteristics.   There remain various Pygmy tribes in that area which gives rise to ancient rhythmic drumming music and dance.  Lastly, the far north is influenced by Islamic culture and there is little diversity within the north versus the style of music to neighboring areas.

For its European characteristics, the west coast of Africa has “hot rhythm” and metronome timing.  There are many meters and a form of singing that overlaps with a leader and chorus.

Vast numbers of instruments and styles are what typify the music of central Africa.  And in the east, Islamic textures bleed in, but they are not as dominant as in the north.   The music in the east includes vertical fifths with an uncomplicated rhythmic build.  Drums and other percussion instruments are less apparent.

The music of the center of Africa, or the Khoi-San, is much like that of the east, however it more simple in form and in instrument.  It includes the hocket structure, like the Pygmy region which incorporates a vocal quality that sounds a bit like yodeling.

For all its diversity African music has spread around the world and is currently enjoying a renaissance right at home again.  Assaulted by colonialism and slavery Africa music has remained true, an authentic art form finding popularity across the globe.

You are all invited to visit the main website of Samite and hear his delightful African music renditions.  Help the cause of world music by pre-ordering Samite’s latest CD album.

Click this link to read a more recent article on African Music and “My Music World”