A few guests mailed a request for more music by the theater troupe Libaaxyada Maaweeliska Banaadir (Banaadir Entertainment Lions). I've some of their tapes but the sound quality of most of the 25- to 35-year-old songs is, unfortunately, no longer apt for human consumption. LMB's traditional repertoire is as big and varied as its modern stock and it's a real pity almost all the traditional acoustic tracks are on a silence strike. Understandable as they, apparently, got fed up with being constantly listened to. Who knows, they may have decided to turn the tables on the inter-galactic spies by eavesdropping on the unconscionable universal tappers.
I uploaded a number of tracks which are still listenable. Keep in mind that all Somali drama soundtracks are performed live during or right before/after a related act of the plays. Moreover, I've never seen an original Somali play score from that period. The overwhelming majority of the k7s, if not all, are thus the umpteenth copy of somewhat edited bootlegs.
A quick search online delivered hardly any worthwhile info. and I don't have enough time to scrutinize the songs or delve deep into my memory. Time and tide allowing, I'll try to write a few illustrative observations on the songs and the plays they belong to in the (near) future. For the time being, let me say this: LMB's plays and songs are often heavily pregnant with social messages. In the relatively peaceful '70s and '80s, Somalia sheltered about a million refugees from Ethiopia and Eritrea. I gather LMB frequently performed in refugee camps free of charge. Today marks the World Refugee Day. We can all get involved to make a difference , however tiny. Little drops of water make a mighty ocean, indeed!
1. Shinbir Nabadeed ("Peace Dove")
2. Maangaab Maalqabe Maskaxley Maryooley ("An Ignorant Wealthy Man [Rejected By] An Intelligent Poor Woman")
3. Sheydaan Bullow/Barbaarta iyo Bilcanta Barakaca ("Dancing Devil/Shake It Guys and Girls")
4. Salaaman ("Peace!")
5. Maxaa Gacalkii Kala Geeyey? ("Why Have Beloved Ones Been Torn Apart?")
6. Haley Soo Gaaro Gargaarka Degdegga ("Dispatch The Emergency Services")
7. Qalbigaa I karkaree ("My Heart Is On Fire")
8. Ii Gargaar Geesiyoow ("Brave Man Come To My Rescue")
9. Samawade Sariig Samaan ("A Good-Natured Peace Lover")
10. Nasiib ("Luck")
You can download the 17 tracks here
P.S. Following a comment, Aweys Khamiis (shareero player/singer on tracks 4, 7 and 8) and Madiino Cabdi Cali (songstress on tracks 7 and 8) - from 2:10
P.P.S. After the outbreak of the all-out civil war, many of LMB's artists had to flee to the four corners of the globe. This is a full googoos (variety show/music hall) from early '90s featuring some of LMB's artists and material. Extract: Qalbigaa I Karkaree (track 7 above):
That was fantastlicious, thanks so much. i hope some label will produce somali music compilations like the ethiopiques. the sooner the better.
ReplyDeleteIt seems Radio Mogadishu is in the process of digitizing the surviving material. Hopefully they'll release compilations as well as whole records.
DeleteHalf of the tracks are mono, i think stereo would be much better. Thanks a lot anyway.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the info. I digitized the k7s in many different sessions and I hardly pay attention to the encoding specifities. As they're originally low-fi, I don't think it'd make much of a difference. On the other hand, hiss reduction, click/pop removal etc. would improve the quality quite a bit but I don't have enough time/patience...
DeleteWhy don't you try it yourself and upload them if you notice a significant improvement?
I saw tthis group in 1982 in Hargeisa where I was working for the UNHCR. I come from Sweden and I didn't understand a word but the drama acting was of high quality and the music is still one of the best "concerts" I ever witnessed. Absolutely fantastic! I had 2 of their tapes and the sharero player & the female singer with the shrill voice made my day for a long time. Sad I lost the tapes during the many dislocations and elated to have found them back here. Thank you ever so much!
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome and thanks for sharing your experience. I'll embed a video featuring the 2 artists you mentioned.
DeleteThanks for linking to the videos. Is the first 2 minutes of the first video track 3 of your post? Can you please summarize the lyrics of that song?
DeleteYes, it's a cover and none of the original musicians is playing on the video. That's why it sounds quite different. It's hard to fully understand the song through the wall of sound and parts of the lyrics belong to the most famous Somali mondegreens. However, its clearly about a devil-may-care guy chatting up a girl with cheerful vainglorious fanfaronade, bombastic bravado, flirtatious innuendo, discotheque banter...
DeleteYour posts make me proud of my culture, thanks a lot. I was born and bred in Canada and I don't get much of the lyrics but the titles speak for themselves and our parents explain it to us. Beautiful music and meaninfgul lyrics.
ReplyDeleteAre you the commenter on http://t.co/8mEvf6CDFg? Do you know where I can find an udio of Leexo?
Barni
I rarely post but def. GTBOS. 1. Yes. 2. There are several covers but I don't have them.This is the original from 1966; it's quite battered but listenable and the lyrics are still very relevant: http://kiwi6.com/file/ld8311wcqi .
DeleteI was also referring to your writings on other sites and I hope you'll post more often.
DeleteThe sound isn't that bad, given but I'm specially interested in the lyrics which are historic and evergreen. Thank you so much.