NIGERIA – NIGÉRIA Sikiru Ayinde Barrister – Fuji Explosion – SKOLP 048

NIGERIA – NIGÉRIA

Sikiru Ayinde Barrister – Fuji Explosion – SKOLP 048, 1992 (LP)

When I visited Lagos, on several occasions in the early 1990s, Alhaji Sikiru Ayinde Barrister's (1948-2010) Yoruba "Fuji" music — a genre both modern and steeped in tradition — was all the rage (the name was inspired by Japan’s Mount Fuji, the mountain of love and peace).

Barrister was a highly sought-after MC, conveying great prestige to lavish marriage celebrations with distinguished guests, along with crowds of the uninvited hoping to hear the music or just catch a glimpse of the "Balaa of Lagos." Barrister's singing, accompanied by frenetic drumming, created a feeling of excitement and was the absolute ultimate dance music (I had the great privilege of seeing him perform twice in the 1990s). Most regrettably, he is largely unknown outside the Yoruba community.

After posting a selection of two traditional-sounding early Barrister albums from the mid-70s and a 1985 LP with an urban edge, we now come full circle by presenting this 1992 album. These great records, spanning three decades, show how Barrister's Yoruba Islamic "Were" style of music evolved over time and became increasingly secular, reflecting the evolution of Yoruba urban society, specifically Lagos's increasingly feverish pace and intensity. But the core of his music always remained his 15- to 25-member band of outstanding percussionists playing traditional Yoruba instruments accompanied by the singer's magnificent voice and backing vocals in call-response. 

This terrific LP — featuring awesome fast-tempoed, multilayered percussion, including vibrant agogo bells, deep talking drum bass sounds, sakara drums, shekere gourd shakers, saworo tambourines, omele drums and timbales — also brilliantly incorporates fretless Juju-style “Hawaii” guitars and electronic instruments for a resolutely modern touch.

Lors de mes voyages à Lagos au début des années 1990, la musique « Fuji » inventée par Alhaji Sikiru Ayinde Barrister (1948-2010) – à la fois moderne et ancrée dans la tradition, dont le nom vient du Mont Fuji au Japon, la montagne de l'amour et de la paix ! –  faisait fureur.

 

Barrister était un MC très recherché, qui conférait un grand prestige aux célébrations de mariage somptueuses. Sa présence attirait de nombreux invités de marque, sans compter les foules de badauds à l’extérieur venus pour écouter la musique et peut être même apercevoir le « Balaa of Lagos ». La voix majestueuse de Barrister accompagnée de percussions frénétiques créaient une grande excitation et étaient le summum pour danser. J'ai eu le grand privilège de le voir deux fois sur scène dans les années 1990. Barrister est malheureusement un artiste peu connu en dehors de la communauté Yorouba.

 

Après avoir posté une sélection de deux albums traditionnels de Barrister datant du milieu des années 1970, suivi d’un album de 1985 avec une touche plus urbaine, nous bouclons un cycle avec cet album de 1992. Ces disques marquants, qui couvrent trois décennies, montrent comment la musique Islamique Yorouba « Were » de Barrister s'est progressivement modernisée au fil du temps, reflétant ainsi l’évolution des valeurs de la société Yorouba en milieu urbain, tout particulièrement dans la folle effervescence de Lagos. Mais le cœur de sa musique est toujours resté son groupe de 15 à 20 percussionnistes jouant des instruments traditionnels Yorouba ainsi que sa voix impériale et des cœurs masculins en appel-réponse.

 

Cet album – qui présente des percussions polyrythmiques fulgurantes, avec notamment des lancinantes cloches agogo, des tambours parlants avec de la profondeur dans les basses, des tambours sakara, des shekere, des tambourins saworo, des tambours omele et des timbales – incorpore également avec brio des guitares fretless "hawaïennes" empruntées à la musique Juju, ainsi que des instruments électroniques pour une touche résolument moderne.

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Our other Yoruba Fuji music shares:

Sikiru Ayinde Barrister – Vol. 6 – Africa Song AS 33-L, 1975 here

Sikiru Ayinde Barrister – Fuji Exponent Vol. 8 – AS 46-L, 1976 here

Sikiru Ayinde Barrister – Superiority – SKOLP 030, 1985 here

Kollington Ayinla – Ijoba Titun – KRLPS 6, 1984 here 

Wasiu Ayinde Barrister – Jo Fun Mi (Dance for Me) – OLPS 1361, 1990 here

Photograph below is from Art of Black Africa by Elsy Leuzinger, Littlehampton Book Services Ltd, 1972:

Head, Ife, South Western Nigeria, c. 10th-13th century:

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INDIA – INDE Maharajapuram Santhanam – Carnatic Vocals – Bhavan Master Series BMS2

INDIA – INDE

Maharajapuram Santhanam – Carnatic Vocals – Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan – Bhavan Master Series BMS2, released 1990 (Cassette)

Maharajapuram Santhanam (1928-1992) was one of the finest Carnatic vocalists of the second half of the 20th century. Born into a family of distinguished musicians in the village of Sirunangur, Tamil Nadu, Santhanam was mentored by his father, the renowned Carnatic vocalist Maharajapuram Viswanatha Iyer (1896-1970), and perfected his art under the guidance of Melattur Sama Dikshitar. In addition to vocals, Santhanam also mastered the veena and traditional dance. With his growing popularity on the Indian music scene, thanks to his many live concerts, All India Radio broadcasts and compositions, Santhanam received many accolades and had achieved great fame by the early 1970s. He died tragically in a car accident in 1992 at the age of 64. His disciples, including Dr R Ganesh (b. 1968) and his sons Ramachandran and Srinivasan now keep his tradition alive.

 

This excellent cassette of live recordings showcases Santhanam’s deep, mellifluous baritone voice and impeccable vocal phrasing effortlessly expressing emotion, sensuality, creativity, devotion and lofty ideals.

 

He is accompanied here by his son Maharajapuram Ramachandran on backing vocals, V. Thyagarajan (b. 1927) on violin and Velore G. Ramabhadran (1929-2012) on mridangam.

Maharajapuram Santhanam (1928-1992) fut l'un des plus grands chanteurs Carnatic de la seconde moitié du XXe siècle. Né dans une famille de musiciens de renom dans le village de Sirunangur, au Tamil Nadu, Maharajapuram Santhanam fut le disciple de son père, le célèbre chanteur Carnatic Maharajapuram Viswanatha Iyer (1896-1970), et perfectionna son art sous la tutelle de Melattur Sama Dikshitar. Outre le chant, Santhanam maîtrisa également la veena et la danse traditionnelle. Au fil de ses nombreux concerts et compositions, et des diffusions de sa musique sur All India Radio, sa renommée ne fit que grandir sur la scène musicale Indienne et prit une toute autre dimension à partir du début des années 1970. En 1992, il meurt tragiquement dans un accident de voiture à l'âge de 64 ans. Ses disciples, notamment Dr. R. Ganesh (né en 1968) et ses fils Ramachandran et Srinivasan, perpétuent aujourd'hui la tradition.

 

Cette excellente cassette de musique live présente sa voix de baryton profonde et mélodieuse, ainsi que son phrasé vocal impeccable, qui expriment avec maestria l'émotion, la sensualité, la créativité, la dévotion et des sentiments de noble plenitude.

 

Il est accompagné ici par son fils Maharajapuram Ramachandran en soutien vocal, V. Thyagarajan (né en 1927) au violon et Velore G. Ramabhadran (1929-2012) au mridangam.

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Many thanks to our friend D. who spontaneously offered to share some of his favorite Indian Carnatic and Hindustani cassette tapes that he had digitized, including this rare album.

Our other Carnatic vocal music posts:

M. D. Ramanathan – HMV 7 EPE 1646 here

Balamuralikrishna – HMV 7 EPE 1617 here

M. S. Subbulakshmi – Meera Bhajans – EALP 1297 here

The Great Tradition – HMV EALP 1452 that includes a track by his father Maharajapuram Viswanatha Iyer here which you can listen to below:

Photographs below are from collections of the Cleveland Museum of Art here and the National Museum, New Delhi here 

 

Nataraja, Shiva as the Lord of Dance, Tamil Nadu, 113 x 102 x 30 cm, Chola period c.1000:

 

“One of the most celebrated sculptural forms in the history of Indian art, this elegant and dynamic figure embodies some of Hinduism’s most fundamental tenets. According to Hindu thought, time is cyclical; the world is created, maintained, preserved for a time, then destroyed, only to be created again an infinite number of times. For those Hindus who view Shiva to be the all-powerful creator divinity, he is responsible for both creation and destruction. The ring of fire and the tongue of flame he holds in his left hand refer to destruction, and the drum in his raised right hand refers to the relentless beat of time as it moves inevitably forward. His lower right hand, held up with the palm facing out, signals to his devotees not to be afraid of the impending destruction; they can be liberated from the cycles of birth and death through devotion to him, which he indicates by pointing to his upraised foot. With every step in his dance, he lands on a dwarfish figure personifying ignorance.”

Manikkavachakar, Tamil Nadu, Late Chola period, 12th century;

The 9th century Tamil poet-saint, devoted his life to Lord Shiva and composed a collection of popular Tamil devotional hymns about his visions of the deity.

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ROMANIA – ROUMANIE Mihály Halmágyi – Gyimesi Népzene (Hungarian Folk Music from Gyimes) – Hungaroton – SLPX 18145

ROMANIA – ROUMANIE

Mihály Halmágyi with Gizella Ádám – Gyimesi Népzene (Hungarian Folk Music from Gyimes) – Hungaroton – SLPX 18145, 1988 (LP)

 

I am delighted to present a remarkable LP of Hungarian folk music performed by Mihály Halmágyi on violin and his wife Gizella Ádám on the ancient percussive four-string gardon cello where strings are plucked and beaten using a stick. She also sings on A5.

 

The couple hails from Gyimes (or Ghimeș), a village located in Bacău County in the Western Moldavia region in Eastern Romania, home to the Csángós, a Hungarian minority group in Romania, who have preserved their language and rich, time-honored traditional culture, which includes music, dance and handicrafts for which they are renowned.

 

Halmágyi's and Ádám's brilliant, precise, and dynamic playing weaves spirited and raw dance tunes with complex, sophisticated lyrical musings that at times delve into introspection and abstraction. Their artistry is a true testament to the vitality of Csángó folklore of old.

 

J'ai le plaisir de vous présenter ce remarquable disque de musique folklorique hongroise interprété par Mihály Halmágyi au violon et sa femme Gizella Ádám au violoncelle percussif gardon, dont les quatre cordes sont pincées et frappées à l'aide d'un bâton. Elle chante également sur A5.

 

Le couple est originaire de Gyimes (ou Ghimeș), un village situé dans le département de Bacău, dans la région de Moldavie occidentale, dans l'est de la Roumanie, où vivent les Csángós, une minorité hongroise de Roumanie, qui a su préserver sa langue et sa riche culture ancestrale, qui comprend la musique, la danse et l'artisanat qui font leur renommée.

 

Le jeu brillant, précis et dynamique de Mihály Halmágyi et de Gizella Ádám tisse des airs de danse bruts et pleins d’entrain, avec des envolées lyriques complexes et sophistiquées qui touchent par moments à l'introspection et à l’abstraction. Leur art est un véritable témoignage de la vitalité du folklore Csángó d’antant.

 

A1 – Lassú És Sebes Magyaros (Kezdő) / Slow and Swift Hungarian Dances (Opening) 

A2 – Sebes Csárdás / Swift Csárdás 

A3 – Lassú És Sebes Magyaros (Hajnali) / Slow and Swift Hungarian Dances (Morning)

A4 – Kettős Jártatója És Sirülője (Sürüleje) / Walking and Fast Couple Dances 

A5 – Egyszer Egy Kicsi Madár (Keserves) / Once a Little Bird (Lament) 

A6 – Kerekes / Round Dance 

 

B1 Lakodalmas Dallamok / Wedding Songs:

B1a – Rákóczi Mars (Csángó Rákóczi) / Rákóczi March 

B1b – Csárdás 

B1c – Lassú Magyaros És Sebes Csárdás / Slow Hungarian Dance & Swift Csárdás 

B1d – Lakodalmi Mars / Wedding March 

B1e – Amikor Mennek a Tyúk Után (Elment A Tyúk) / When the Hen is Followed (The Hen Went Wandering) 

B1f – Héjsza / The Chase 

 

B2 – Elvesztette a Pásztor a Juhait  / The Shepherd Lost His Sheep 

 

B3 Gyászszertartás Dallamai / Funeral Rite Songs: 

B3a – Halott Mellett Való Keserves / Lament at the Bedside of the Deceased 

B3b – Táncnóta (Lassú Magyaros) / Dance Tune (Slow Hungarian Dance) 

B3c – Halottkisérő / Funeral Ceremony Tune 

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Many thanks to Joāo for sharing his collection of Hungarian music, including this gem!

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