NIGERIA – NIGÉRIA Kollington Ayinla & His Fuji '78 Organisation – Emi Ni O Jo (I'm the one who dances) – KRLPS 9

NIGERIA – NIGÉRIA

Kollington Ayinla & His Fuji '78 Organisation – Emi Ni O Jo (I'm the one who dances) – KRLPS 9, 1984 (LP)

Singer and composer Kollington Ayinla, who was born in Ibadan, in 1953, made a splash on the Nigerian music scene with his Fuji 1978 ensemble which innovated by adding a double-headed bata drum. According to Ronnie Graham, in The Da Capo Guide to Contemporary African Music (Da Capo Press, 1988), this gave his ensemble a distinctive new sound, that helped him emerged “from the shadow of [Sikiru Ayinde] Barrister and so began several years of intense rivalry between the two Fuji giants. With a slightly faster rhythm than Barrister, and a sharper lyrical attack on social injustice, Kollington soon established a devoted following.” The singer also launched his own Kollington Records label in 1982 and released over 50 albums during his career.

 

This 1984 LP includes excellent medleys with hypnotic polyrhythms and catchy angular agogo-bell motifs in constant flux behind backing vocals in response to Kollington’s powerful voice.

 

Le chanteur et compositeur de musique fuji Kollington Ayinla, né en 1953 à Ibadan, fait sensation sur la scène musicale nigériane avec son nouvel ensemble Fuji 1978 qui innova avec l’utilisation d’un tambour bata à tête double. Selon Ronnie Graham dans The Da Capo Guide to Contemporary African Music ((Da Capo Press, 1988) cela rendit sa musique immédiatement reconnaissable, ce qui permit à Kollington « de sortir de l'ombre de [Sikiru Ayinde] Barrister. Commence alors une longue rivalité intense entre les deux géants du Fuji. Avec sa verve lyrique s’élevant contre l'injustice sociale et un rythme un peu plus rapide que celui de Barrister, Kollington se trouve rapidement un large public enthousiaste. » Il lance également son propre label Kollington Records en 1982 et publia plus de 50 albums au cours de sa riche carrière.

 

Cet album de 1984 comprend des medleys inspirés avec des polyrythmes hypnotiques et des fascinants motifs de cloche agogo en flux constant derrière des choeurs répondant à la voix puissante du maître du fuji.

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Many thanks to our friend João for sharing this LP!

Our other Yoruba Fuji music Posts:

Kollington Ayinla – Ijoba Titun – KRLPS 6, 1984 here

Sikiru Ayinde Barrister –– Fuji Explosion – SKOLP 048, 1992 here

Sikiru Ayinde Barrister – Superiority – SKOLP 030, 1985 here

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

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

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

Photograph below is from Art Beyond the West by Michael Kampen O'Riley, Laurence King Publishing, 2001:

The Yoruba of Nigeria perform the elaborate and intense Gelede ritual 

to honour certain women elders or "mothers," ancestors or deities:

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INDIA – INDE Inde du Sud – Les Grands Classiques – Ducretet Thomson 2C 066-14324 / UNESCO

INDIA – INDE

Inde du Sud – Les Grands Classiques – Ducretet Thomson 2C 066-14324 / UNESCO, reissue of a 1955 release recorded by Alain Daniélou (LP)

Recorded in stereo by Alain Daniélou* between 1950 and 1955 using the most advanced technology available at the time, these classic tracks of Carnatic music present such luminaries as vocalists D.K. Pattamal (1919-2009) (A1-A3) and Mudikondan Venkatarama Iyer (1897-1975) (B5); a veena duet with Devakotai Narayana Iyengar (1905-?) & Kalyana Krishna Bhagavatar (A4); a large, intense double-reed nagasvaram played by K.S. Pichiappa (1913-1979) and usually played during marriages and temple rituals; T. Viswanathan (1927-2002) on the flute (B1-B2); Budalur Krishnamurti Shastri (1894-1978) on the fretless 21-string gottuvadyam (B4) and more.

 

Enregistrées en stéréo par Alain Daniélou* entre 1950 et 1955 à l'aide de la technologie la plus avancée de l'époque, ces plages de musique Carnatic présentent notamment la grande chanteuse D.K. Pattamal (1919-2009) (A1-A3) et le chanteur Mudikondan Venkatarama Iyer (1897-1975) (B5) ; un duo de veena avec Devakotai Narayana Iyengar (1905- ?) et Kalyana Krishna Bhagavatar (A4) ; un grand nagasvaram à anche double joué par K.S. Pichiappa (1913-1979) et habituellement joué lors de mariages et de rituels dans les temples ; T. Viswanathan (1927-2002) à la flûte (B1-B2) ; Budalur Krishnamurti Shastri (1894-1978) au gottuvadyam fretless à 21 cordes (B4).

A1 – The Varali mode

Vocals – D.K. Pattamal [pictured below]

Violin – Tiruvallur Subrahmanyam

Mridangam – Palghat Kunjumani & Shiva Pattamal

Tanpura – unknown.

 

A2 – Ninyako

Vocals – D.K. Pattamal 

Violin – Tiruvallur Subrahmanyam

Mridangam – Palghat Kunjumani & Shiva Pattamal

Tanpura – unknown.

 

A3 – Javali, in the Paraj mode

Vocals – D.K. Pattamal 

Veena – Kalyan Krishna Bhagavatar 

Mridangam – Karaikudi Muttu Aiyar

Tanpura – unknown.

 

A4 – Sadhincene for two veenas (Tyagaraja)

Veenas – Devakotai Narayana Iyengar [pictured below] & Kalyana Krishna Bhagavatar. 

A5 – Alapana in Kambodhi mode for nagasvaram 

Nagasvarams by K.S. Pichiappa [pictured below] & K.M. Dakshinamurti

Violin by T. Subrahmanya Pillai

Thaval drum by Muthu Kuramam Jhalam.

B1 – Javali in the Khamas mode for flute

Flute by T. Viswanathan  

Mridangam by T. Ranganathan.

 

B2 – Sandehamunu in the Ramapriya mode for flute         

Flute by T. Viswanathan 

Mridangam by T. Ranganathan.

 

B3– Jatisvaram

Bala Sarasvati Orchestra.

 

B4 – Ganesha Kimaram for gottuvadyam

Gottuvadyam by Budalur Krishnamurti Shastri [pictured below]

Violin by Varahur Muthusvami Aiyar

Mridangam by Tinniyam Venkatarama Aiyar.

B5 – Pallavi in the Bhairavi mode 

Vocals by Mudikondan Venkatarama Iyer [pictured below]

Vocal accompaniment by Velore Gopalachari

Violin by M. Chandrashekharan

Mridangam by Karakudi Mutha Lyer.

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*Alain Daniélou (1907-1994) was an eminent French Indologist and musicologist who lived in India from 1937 to 1958. During his time there, he acquired an unparalleled knowledge of Hindu philosophy, especially Shaivism, as well as Indian religions, languages, music, architecture and the arts.

 

Daniélou undertook a comprehensive study of Indian classical music, mastered the veena, and made extensive field recordings of Indian classical music, capturing performances by renowned musicians. 

 

Upon his return to Europe in 1960, he was appointed an advisor to the UNESCO's International Music Council, which led to a series of recordings of traditional music that are documented in UNESCO's collections: A Musical Anthology of the Orient, Musical Atlas, Musical Sources, and Anthology of Indian Classical Music. In 1963, he became the founder and director of the International Institute for Comparative Music Studies and Documentation (IICMSD) in West Berlin. 

 

Daniélou served as a bridge between India and the West, and his legacy continues to inspire musicians, scholars, and music lovers around the world.

* * *

Another excellent compilation of Carnatic music:

The Great Tradition – Masters of Music – HMV – EALP 1453/1452, Part 2 Carnatic Music here

Photographs below are from the Walters Art Museum here and The Mystic Spiral: Journey of the Soul by Jill Purse, Thames & Hudson, 1980:

Sarasvati, the goddess of music and learning, is depicted as plucking the veena while holding a palm leaf manuscript in one of her four hands. The manuscript alludes to sacred knowledge that is safeguarded by the goddess. The sculpture (c. 10th or 11th century) is carved from sandstone native to the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, reflecting a long history of stone carving in India. This craft has been used to adorn the country's temples, forts, and palaces for centuries.

 

Hindus, Jains, and Buddhists revere Sarasvati, having adopted her from earlier traditions that espouse the concept of a spiritual essence inherent in all natural objects. Named after a (now dry) river in India, Sarasvati is an ancient goddess who embodies the river's abundant gifts, including water for irrigation. According to legend, she also bestowed knowledge, words, and sound upon humanity, particularly in the Hindu tradition. Her powers are celebrated in stories throughout India.

“The great Serpent King of the underworld is one of the Nagas who embodies in Indian mythology the life energy, the powers of earth and waters. Guardians of the threshold, the snakes, like the labyrinth, coil round creating and protecting the 'treasure' at the centre, which is the sacred pearl of wisdom and divine knowledge. By harmonizing his natural energies, man can transmute these creative coils and 

endless rounds of existence to reach the axis and still centre of his being.

”

 

Carved cave ceiling at Badami, Karnataka, India, 6th century A.D.

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MOROCCO – MAROC Ferka Jilaliya & Zine Mohamed / الفرقة الجيلالية : الزين محمد – Tangephone TAN 484

MOROCCO – MAROC

Ferka Jilaliya & Zine Mohamed / الفرقة الجيلالية : الزين محمد – Tangephone TAN 484 (Vinyl 7 inch, 45 RPM)

Our friend Hakim from Marrakech recently sent me dozens more rare Moroccan 7-inch albums to record for his very popular Youtube channel here.

 

For starters, here’s a second fascinating 45 rpm of Zine Mohamed’s Ferka Jilaliya on the little-known Tangephone label, which highlights the traditional folk music of northeastern Morocco, between Tangier and Hoceima.

 

Like other brotherhood musical traditions related to Sufism (the esoteric and mystical branch of Islam) in Morocco – such as Gnawa and Aïssawa, which we’ve already showcased – the Ferka Jilaliya refers to the brotherhood founded in Iraq by Cheikh Abdelkader Al Jilani (1075-1166), whose Qadiriyya Brotherhood spread throughout the Muslim world, particularly in North Africa, Sahelian Africa and India. The Moroccan Boutchichiyya branch of the Qadiriyya Brotherhood was founded in the 18th century in the northeastern part of the country.

 

The Ferka – literally meaning troupe or group – directed here by Zine Mohamed, traditionally consists of four musicians playing two long ashari gasba flutes and two bendir frame drums. Mohamed sings poems praising the Prophet Muhammad or paying tribute to saintly figures, like Cheikh Abdelkader Al Jilani, carried by two spellbinding flutes weaving eerie sonorities and precise, dynamic trance-like rhythms.

 

Notre ami Hakim de Marrakech m'a récemment envoyé des dizaines de 45 tours marocains supplémentaires à enregistrer pour sa très populaire chaîne Youtube ici.

 

Pour commencer, j’ai le grand plaisir de partager un deuxième album fascinant de la Ferka Jilaliya de Zine Mohamed sur le label Tangephone, qui présente la musique folklorique traditionnelle du nord-est du Maroc, entre Tanger et Hoceima.

 

A l’instar d’autres traditions musicales confrériques Marocaines liées au soufisme (la branche ésotérique et mystique de l’Islam) – tels le Gnawa et l’Aïssawa que j’ai déjà présenté – la Ferka Jilaliya se réfère à la confrérie fondée en Irak par le Cheikh Abdelkader Al Jilani (1075-1166) dont la confrérie Qadiriyya s’est disseminé dans le pays musulmans, notamment en Afrique du Nord, en Afrique Sahélienne et en Inde. La Boutchichiyya, branche Marocaine de la confrérie Qadiriyya, est née au XVIIIe siècle dans le nord-est du pays. 

 

La Ferka – littéralement troupe ou groupe – dirigée ici par Zine Mohamed comprend traditionnellement deux joueurs de flûtes gasba ashari et deux joueurs de tambours sur cadre bendir. Zine Mohamed  chante des poèmes louant le Prophète Muhammed ou célébrant des figures saintes, comme Abdelkader Al Jilani, porté par des envolées de flûtes aux sonorités déroutantes et une rythmique précise et dynamique menant à la transe.   

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I would like to extend my sincerest gratitude to Hakim for his invaluable contributions to the preservation of Morocco's rich musical heritage:

www.youtube.com/@amalrecords3042

Our other Morrocan sufi brotherhood music posts / 

Nos autres posts de musiques confrériques marocaines:

 

Ferka Jilaliya & Zine Mohamed – Tangephone TAN 480 here

Musique Confrérique du Maroc – Les Possédés d'Allah – BAM LD 5897 here

Aissaoua – Club du Disque Arabe CDA 301 – MC 647 here 

Music of the Arabian Orient and North Africa – Supraphon 0 17 1934  here

Please help me purchase important traditional records to pursue my global 

curation project and share the best finds with you on this blog:

AFGHANISTAN Afghanistan – Unesco Collection – A Musical Anthology of the Orient – Bärenreiter-Musicaphon – BM 30 L 2003

AFGHANISTAN
Afghanistan – Unesco Collection – A Musical Anthology of the Orient – Bärenreiter-Musicaphon – BM 30 L 2003, recorded by Alain Daniélou, published in 1968 (LP)

The birthplace of the Zoroastrian religion and the site of countless invasions, Afghanistan was a Buddhist stronghold before becoming a Muslim nation. Unsurprisingly, its rich musical heritage shows traces of many cultures, including Turkish, Iranian, Indian, Old Russian and even ancient Greek influences.

Paradoxically, the Afghan people have remained isolated from the outside world, and even among themselves, shielded by impenetrable mountains and deserts, which until recently allowed ancient local traditions and cultures to thrive unimpeded. 

 

Today, the rich, time-honored traditional and folk musics at the heart of the identity of the various ethnic/cultural groups living in Afghanistan – already severely affected by decades of political turmoil, foreign invasions, violence and rapid social change – are now sadly subject to a strict music ban imposed under Taliban rule.

 

This excellent LP of traditional Afghan music, recorded in more peaceful times in the late 1960s on the essential Bärenreiter-Musicaphon label, features long-necked plucked dombras (A1, A5, B4), rabab lutes (A1, A2, B1, B3), tumbur lutes (A7, B3, B5, B6), a dutar (B9), bowed sarindas (B6, B8), double-reed zurnas (A4) an Afghan tula flute (A3), a cheng Jew’s harp (B9), large dohol drums with two skin heads (A1, A2, A4, B1, B3, B6, B8), zerbaghali goblet drums (A3, A5, A7, B5, B9) and a doira frame drum (B7).

  

Berceau de la religion zoroastrienne, en proie à de nombreuses invasions au cours de son histoire, l'Afghanistan était un bastion bouddhiste avant de devenir une nation musulmane. Ce qui explique que son riche patrimoine musical porte les traces de nombreuses cultures, notamment des influences turques, iraniennes, indiennes, russes et même de la Grèce antique.

Paradoxalement, l'Afghanistan est également resté isolé du monde extérieur – vrai aussi pour les ethnies entre elles à l’intérieur du pays  – protégée par des montagnes impénétrables et des déserts infranchissable, laissant ainsi aux anciennes traditions et cultures locales la possibilité de s’exprimer sans entrave jusqu'à une période récente.

Déjà gravement affectées par des décennies de troubles politiques, d'invasions étrangères, de violence et de changements sociaux rapides, les riches musiques traditionnelles et folkloriques, au cœur de l'identité des différents groupes ethniques et culturels vivant en Afghanistan, sont à présent tristement soumises à une stricte interdiction de la musique imposée par le régime taliban.

 

Cet excellent disque de musique afghane, enregistré à une époque plus pacifique à la fin des années 1960 sur le formidable label Bärenreiter-Musicaphon, présente des dombras (A1, A5, B4), des luths rabab (A1, A2, B1, B3), des luths tumbur (A7, B3, B5, B6), un dutar (B9), des sarindas à archet (B6, B8), des zurnas à double anche (A4), une flûte afghane tula (A3), une guimbarde cheng (B9), des grands tambours dohol à deux peaux (A1, A2, A4, B1, B3, B6, B8), des tambours zerbaghali (A3, A5, A7, B5, B9) et un tambour sur cadre doira (B7).

A1 – Song of Kataran (Turkestan)

Dohol drum – Abdul Masjid 

Dombra – Abdul Udud

Vocals and rabab lute – Mohammad Naïm Mazari.

 

A2 – Song of Badarshan

Dohol drum – Abdul Masjid 

Rabab lute – Mohammad Naïm Mazari.

 

A3 – Melody for flute (Turkestan)

Afghan tula flute – Ghulam Haïdar

Zerbaghali goblet drum – Abdul Udud.

 

A4 – Festive Music from Chardi (Kabul region)

Dohol drums – Majeti & Gholam Dastagir

Zurnas – Mohammad Hassan & Rahmat Khan.

 

A5 – Chant from Azarejot (Central Afghanistan)

Zerbaghali goblet drum – Abdul Udud

Vocals & dombra – Anuar Shah Azaregi.

 

A6 – National Afghan dance (Shah Mast)

National Orchestra of Radio Kabul.

 

A7 – Chant from Farkhar

Zerbaghali goblet drum – Abdul Udud

Vocals & tumbur lute – Niyaz Mohammad.

 

B1 – Village dance melody (Kabul region)

Dohol drum – Abdul Masjid

Rabab lute – Tawakhal Shah.

 

B2 – Pashto quatrain (Charbait)

Vocals – Faqir Mohammad & Thella Mohammad.

 

B3 – Ancient chant of Kabul

Dohol drum – Faiyaz Mohammad

Rabab lute – Tawakhal Shah

Vocals & tumbur lute – Beltun.

 

B4 – Ancient chant of Khodaman

Vocals & dombra – Fedoh Mohammad Khodamani.

 

B5 – Tumbur lute solo

Tumbur lute – Hakim Mazori 

Zerbaghali goblet drum – Abdul Udud.

 

B6 – Ghazni chant

Dohol drum – Rausuddin

Rabab lute – Ustad Mohammad Omar

Bowed sarinda – Mohshin

Vocals & tumbur lute – Sher Mohammad Ghaznavi

 

B7 – Chorus from Panshir

Vocals & doira frame drum – Pordel.

 

B8 – Sarinda solo

Dohol drum – Faiyaz Mohammad

Bowed sarinda – Gholam Hassan.

 

B9 – The short dutar lute of Herat

Dutar – Abdul Karim Herati

Zerbaghali goblet drum – Abdul Udud

Cheng Jew's harp – Mohammad Naïm Mazari.

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My other Afghan music posts:

Afghanistan – CBS 65 954 here

Musiques d'Orient – Les Mariés du Bout du Monde – LDX 74478-79 here

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