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REVIEW OF 2001 RELEASES
In a normal year I'd be telling you about a glut of Congolese CDs you should be grabbing while they last. This year, alas, it's time to own up; the Congolese , so long the vanguard for African music, are losing it - monotony, posing and noise has triumphed over the wicked energy, dignity and sheer heart that used to fire those duelling guitars and hot voices. It's been a weak year for Congolese
music - the many Wenge groups are proving that the whole really was more than the sum of its (preening) parts, Koffi is reproducing himself ad nauseum, Wemba is keeping so many groups on tenterhooks that nothing stabilises long enough to create something solid, and Zaiko are putting business above any hope of pleasure and court-ing disaster. Where's the hope this time around ? It's difficult to see, as past fallow times have been a novelty, a moment of suspense before one of the big Three ((Franco, Tabu Ley, Zaiko) kicked off again and fired up the rest. But now we have Franco gone, Tabu Ley retired, the youth bands at the mercy of the big-name singers. And not a decent tune in sight. It's been coming for a few years; before this year, however, the scene has been at least bouyed by a steady re-release of old gems by companies like Sonodisc and Ngoyarto, but even this has dried up. A few took the Buena Vista route - Fan Fan's Congo Acoustic of 2000 led the way for Kekele - old songs given a contemporary acoustic workout, and it was good but not great; somehow the fire has gone, the meaning lost, the ashes raked over. It's the end of the spirit of Authenticite, another assassin waits in the wings to clip the young Pretender (the same as the old boss). For now, the confusion has rattled the people.
So what did it in 2001 ? I'm suggesting Femi Kuti (a wonderfully successful
fusion of afro-beat and club, with Femi staking out his claim to be his father's heir, missing only the withering sarcasm of his dad and the aching build-ups of the long masterworks - but that's gone and Femi's for now) , Palop Africa ( an inspiring blend of tracks from Portuguese speaking Africa, featuring the all-time classic clanking percussion of Africa Negra), Baaba Maal (going back to the gorgeous roots of his heritage, and rivalling Salif's Folon for beauty and intimacy), Super Mazembe (a compilation of early 80's Congo stars in Kenya, updating the Lipua Lipua/Bella Bella heartland with raunch, and hopefully kicking-off a rush of Congolese-bands-in-East-Africa re-releases), Star Band Number One and Orchestre Baobab (aching instrumentals behind ancient Senegalese voices) . For me, sixty quid well spent.
This year was saved for me by the availability of excellent cassettes of East African groups of the late seventies and early 80's , featuring the mighty Virunga , Mangelepas, Mbaraka Mwinshehe, Maroon Commandos - basically, if it's got East Africa & 1978 -85 on the sleeve, buy it- Natari do the necessary mail order - but avoid most of the newer releases, which really do give low-fi a bad name - which is a shame because Super Mazembe and the two Senegalese CDs mentioned above prove how the basic studio can produce a spirit world of sound that our new technology cleans to a cold sheen. Apocryphal Story section; in the eighties, a well-known English producer, Mr State Of The Art, approached Iggy Pop for some tips on how he got the rough-edge sound on 'Raw Power' because his posh gear couldn't quite get it - Mr Pop told him that they had one microphone on the studio floor, put a tea cup over it, and played. An age of creativity, experiment, exuberance - listen to
Super Mazembe and tell me I'm wrong. Ps: I'm wrong about the Congo--just heard wonderful newies by Madilu System and Koffi Olomide !
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