Bariba, Dendi & Fulani Peul music from the Radio Parakou archives, copied June 1996, probably recorded in the late 1980s (Cassette)
Following our share of the excellent Gbaari here, we now present the music of other Bariba, Dendi and Fulani-Peul modern and traditional groups from Northern Benin which Radio Parakou recorded for me in June 1996.
Here we showcase three modern music groups, Orou Karim (A1-A3), Gounkpare (A4-A5), and Bade Kparu (A6-A7), all influenced by traditional, Cuban, and Congolese musics, funk, and popular Beninese groups like Orchestre Poly-Rythmo. These groups craft fresh, energetic and intense urban dance music with a core format of vocals, electric bass, electric guitar and drum kit. We round off the selection with beautifully serene Bariba traditional music by Solo Bawa accompanied by male backing vocals and an acoustic guitar (A8-A9), and traditional Fulani-Peul music with flute and drums (A10).
Suite à notre présentation de l'excellent Gbaari ici, nous partageons maintenant les musiques d'autres groupes modernes et traditionnels Bariba, Dendi et Peul du nord Bénin que Radio Parakou enregistra pour moi sur cassette en juin 1996.
Nous présentons ici trois groupes de musique moderne, Orou Karim (A1-A3), Gounkparé (A4-A5) et Badé Kparu (A6-A7), tous influencés par les musiques traditionnelles, cubaines et congolaises, le funk et les groupes béninois à succès comme Orchestre Poly-Rythmo. Ces groupes tissent des musiques de danses urbaines fraîches, énergiques et intenses avec des formations comprenant notamment des voix, de la basse et de la guitare électrique, et une batterie. Nous terminons notre sélection avec la musique traditionnelle Bariba empreinte de sérénité de Solo Bawa accompagnée par des voix d'hommes et une guitare acoustique (A8-A9), et de la musique traditionnelle Peule avec flûte et tambours (A10).
Traditional Bariba music by Solo Bawa
Mix of modern Bariba and Dendi music
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Gnonnas Pedro (1943-2004), from Benin, was a true great of the Golden Age of African music. Here is a wonderful proto-Highlife track by a major proponent of the African-Cuban musical connection.
Our other music shares from Benin:
Gbaari, Bariba music from the Radio Parakou Archives here
Gbaari, Bariba music from the Radio Parakou Archives here
Yédénou Adjaoui, Gun music from Porto Novo here
Yoruba Apala music from Porto Novo and church music here
Photographs from Northern Benin below are from Parures Africaines by Denise Paulme and Jacques Brosse, Hachette, 1956.
Traditional dance ritual by young Dompago hunters
with antelope horns, bells and long cowrie-shell necklaces:
with antelope horns, bells and long cowrie-shell necklaces:
Venerable Somba lady:
Please help me purchase important traditional records to pursue my global
curation project and share the best finds with you on this blog:
Thank you so much. I have been waiting for you to feature more of the recordings from this series. I have just listened to this post. I particularly love the two Solo Bawa tracks. Fantastic stuff!!
ReplyDeleteMy pleasure. Many thanks for all the excellent musical discoveries on your blog (http://thewealthofthewise.blogspot.com/). I digitized a selection of the Radio Parakou cassettes back in 1996 and haven't played them since. I'll try to record the entire Solo Bawa cassette shortly and send you the music.
DeleteThanks so much. I just listened to this set of recordings again today.
ReplyDeletethanks for sharing. these are incredible recordings. i came across some of these years ago on archive.org, but have been searching for the rest for years. i hope you can share the rest in the series. they're wonderful. thanks again.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for sharing these treasures. This cassette is top notch. Love the raw recordings. I hope you have more to share.
ReplyDeleteThe music here, plus the previous Gbaari share, are actually a selection from the ten cassettes the people at Radio Parakou recorded for me. I'll give them another listen.
DeleteThese selection of songs are absolutely incredible. Music with this type of raw sound is what really excites me these days. The energy is just oozing through these recordings. I hope you are able to share more of the complete series. Bade Kparu and Orou Karim tracks are on repeat! Thanks so much.
ReplyDeletethese are amazing! There's a section that sounds just like an Ornette Coleman/Prime time passage, wonder if he heard these recordings?
ReplyDeletei have listened to this cassette quite a bit. i was wondering if you plan on sharing anymore from the series? i would absolutely love to hear the entire series eventually. thanks again.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your appreciation. They're truly some of the best & most exciting tracks from the golden age of Bariba & Dendi urban musics in the 1980's. Radio Parakou nurtured this environment by recording and broadcasting these musics on public regional radio which everybody listened to back then. I will digitize all these cassettes in their entirety when I find the time. Will keep you posted. Take good care
Deletesorry for the late reply. i just noticed you replied. it sounds like radio parakou understood a lot about what makes music special. i cannot wait to hear the rest in the series. thanks so much for taking the time to digitize and preserve this incredible music.
ReplyDeleteI hope you share more the series. It is impossible to find these recordings elsewhere. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteVery nice to me
ReplyDelete