I'm delighted that attempts are being made to restore peace in Mali. The Dutch musician Laurens Joensen has embarked on a fantastic journey to support Malian musicians through benefit concerts, collecting guitars and other instruments which will be donated to the artists and a documentary featuring Malian musicians. The crowdfunded documentary is called Music for Mali and you can contribute here.
For background info. about the conflict in Mali and how culture and specially music(ians) have been affected, Freemuse has just published an extensive report written by Andy Morgan. The 64-page report can be downloaded here.
Speaking of peace, a couple of friends have recently returned to Somalia where the saints of doom are being dompted. The track below is for them as well as for anyone anywhere who is in a similar precarious situation.
Update: The project is fully crowd-funded. A lot of guitars and amplifiers are collected and will soon be shipped to Mali where the making of the documentary will start. An impression:
Update 2: Check also Sahel Calling, "an interactive, musical project to raise awareness about the refugees, internally-displaced persons and the people living in the conflict-affected areas of Mali and the Sahel".
I can't manage to find the time to compile the mixtape I sort of promised here ages ago and time will be in even much shorter supply in the near future. As an attempt to redeem the 'debt', I share as is a mid-eighties cassette by Libaaxyada Maaweeliska Banaadir (Banaadir Entertainment Lions).
LMB was a popular theater troupe founded in the late 70s/early 80s by a group of veteran artists and fledgeling talents. The project was intended to integrate young and old, tradition and modernity - a sort of Scorsese/Levin's "Godfathers and Sons" avant la lettre... but here with the godmothers, daughters and grandchildren, too. Besides entertainment, LMB's main goal revolved around the preservation and dissemination of the performng arts heritage of Banaadir, the region comprising Mogadishu and its immediate surroundings. In their alas ephemeral existence, they produced about a dozen plays which were highly appreciated nationwide.
Content
This tape carries the soundtrack of the mid-80s play Xiddigtii Is Xujeysay ("The Self-Denouncing Star"). In that period, drama productions were staged in theaters and open stadia, and spread on VHS. The play/film scores were, however, rarely released apart on tape. Given the sonic flaws, this k7 is probably a bootleg recorded live outdoors by an audience member - Somalia's nr.1 hobby at the time... so to speak
Engaged Tragicomedy
The play was written by Faynuus Sheekh Daahir (right), a renowned theater actress and folk dancer. To the best of my knowledge, this is her only play. Nevertheless, if the material on this tape is anything to go by, she is apparently equally proficient in spinning poetic lyrics (and thought-provoking dialogues). Besides the title of the play, some tracks gladly betray the burlesque tragicomedy tackled a number of socio-political issues as well. Songs like Naga Tag! Kac! Hooyaa? ("Get Lost! Rise Up! Got It?") ), Abidkaay Ammaan Ma Sheegin ("I Never Dish Out [Unjustified] Praise Words") etc. must have flagellated the dictatorial heartbeat into higher and haunted spheres ...
Vocalists
All the tracks are sung or poetically recited by Axmed Naaji Sacad, Maxamed Cabdow Saalim and mainly Faadumo Qaasim, a socio-politically and artistically brightly shining star since the 60s who sadly passed away last year. R.I.P !
Music
For each play LMB toured with a different ensemble, almost always consisting of traditional and modern instrumentalists. The musical direction of this piece was in the hands of the aforementioned multitalented Axmed Naaji Sacad whose great 70s band Shareero is playing the lead role.
The modern instruments are up front and I, for one, would be contented with less Hohner organ and more roars by the local instruments. The music and singing are, however, often based on the notes of time-honoured traditional poetry, dance and music genres. In addition to the readily recognizable modern instruments, anyone who is familiar with Somali culture will also frequently detect in this tape and get tingled - from head to heels - by an impressive array of currently neglected traditional instruments.
Although sparsely used and often overwhelmed by the electric instruments, some local lions are still holding their own. Particularly the reeme (roaring drum), shagal (metal hoe-blades), shunuuf (vegetable ankle rattles), shambal (wooden clappers), malkad (flute) and sumaari (double clarinet) casually manage to swing to the forefront. These precious and endangered instruments are setting the pace by generating distinct rhythms and melodies (see genres under the tracks) to send a call to a group of colourfully clad folk dancers who respond with graciously intoxicating and sinuously serpentine movements... gently enticing the spectators (occasionally including yours truly) to the dance floor.
- Vocalists and instrumentalists exchange compliments while subtly emphasizing that gratuitous praise of the undeserving is nothing but self-deprecation
- Genre: Sharax, Saylici
- Leaves no room for the imagination: The gun and mortar salvos, funeral processions, public rage... were in mid-80s Somalia not yet pervasive but they're already an essential and gruesome part of the tyrannical policies and resisting histrionics
- Genre: Geblo shimbir
- Disappointment in and fury towards the clique that usurps the key to your love/life/rights and a complaint about the chief and his entourage who are greedy, pompous, unreasonable, unjust... and don't listen to the wise elders
- Genre: Kabeebey - Video
- United we stand! The lovebirds are tired of waiting for the blessing of the self-appointed chargés d'affaires and take matters into their own hands
- Genre: Niiko
08. Waa Habeenkii Dhalashadaadee ("It's Your Birthnight")
- Those who are made for each other (lovers, people and their sovereignty...) always find each other. The two halves become One, no matter how long it takes
- Genre: Hirwo
P.S. I'm not an expert and it's quite possible that my recognition of the multitude of Somali genres is, in some cases, off beat. Many genres resemble each other and some are as deceptively similar as identical twins. Moreover, besides the traditional instruments I mentioned, I recognize others one can hear after careful listening. But I'm quite sure I miss a few others. For example, I can't remember/find the name of the fantastic balafon/vibraphone on mainly tracks 7 and 9. I'd appreciate any corrections and additional info.
PPS. I've the impression a couple of tracks are missing. Anyone?
Awesome Tapes From Africa (ATFA) is planning to release the Somali band Durdur's Volume 5 on February 5, 2013. ATFA offers the following track from the album:
On this occasion, I'd like to let Durdur speak for themselves by sharing the two tracks below. They come from a 25-year-old tape that fought/survived many battles - hence the scarred sonic quality. But the music is imo good and the main reason why I uploaded them lies in the titles.
I'm deeply saddened by the untimely death of poet Maxamed Xaashi Dhamac "Gaarriye" who passed away yesterday in Norway at the age of 62. My condolences go to his family and friends, as well as to all Somalis for we all have lost an inspiring treasure. Fathomless respect! Alla Ha U Naxariisto! Rest in peace!
A biologist by training, Gaarriye was a highly respected poet. His numerous poems deal with a wide variety of topics - contrasting simple daily life with a complex form of existence beyond/after death, decadent wealth to abject poverty, all-engulfing war to ever-lasting peace, mankind's ugliness to nature's beauty, oppression to resistance, democracy to dictatorship.... and many things in-between.
Several visitors requested by mail/comment more of the music I'd sampled here. As I stated in a comment:
"I've many old Somali cassettes but the quality has unfortunately deteriorated; all the more that I've left them in the cellar for more than a decade. Not much I'd like to put up here but I may upload a mixtape sometime in the future. It'll probably take a long time as I've to go through the tapes for palatable sound quality.
Sorry, I don't want to uplaod Chewata's albums as they're easily available. Follow the link in the post or google, Ecosiaze / Znout ( green search engines) the record titles. I'll upload AU IF it's out of print".
I'm listening to new albums, including Vieux Farka Touré's latest record. Vieux is definitely a great artist in his own right. I can't help, though, that my mind wanders to his father who (almost) single-handedly changed the course of my life.
Ali and Vieux
I wrote the tribute below in 2007 on my page on last.fm. I left that so-called social network when they decided everybody, except residents of the 3 richest countries in the world, would have to pay for the radio! Impeccable logic for a site that owes its very existence to global netizens! This is my last activity there; I'm the deleted commenter.
To my surprise, the tribute was reproduced by several sites ... with credits and all! It now seems it's nowhere to be found. Reason why I'm reposting it here verbatim, with minor adjustments.
