Post-Colonial African Groove of the Week #5 – Sankaran ka – Guest post by Kane Mathis
Posted on | September 25, 2009 | 2 Comments
Much of my interest in and knowledge of West African music is thanks to my good friend Kane Mathis, who plays kora in my kora band and is, I believe, one of our country’s experts on Mandinka music. I asked if he wanted to guest post, and so this week’s Post-Colonial African Groove is courtesy of Kane:
Led by trumpet Player Balla Onivogui, Balla et ses Balladins were one of the many state funded bands to emerge after independence. In this case the group was formed just one year after the election of Guinean president Sekou Toure who was responsible for reinvigorating Guniean culture.
Balla et Ses Balladins held court at their regular gig, a club called, “Jardin du Guinea”.
Balla et ses Balladins had so many hot players that the government actually split the group so that there could be more bands. The result of the split was Keletugui et ses Tambourins, which was then split again to constitute an “A” orchestra and a “B” orchestra. Balla was one of the few Guinean musicians to attend music school and he and other members of the band actually taught other bands how to play.
What is significant about this track is that fact that they are playing Mandinka music. Before, pre-independance music focused more on Latin styles that were fashionable with visiting diplomats. The post colonial bands began the work of interpreting traditional music on electric instruments. On the this track “Sankanran Ka” the guitar accompaniment and solo lines reference Balafon, a Mandinka mallet-struck marimba, by using a “down/up” pattern with the plectrum that becomes an analogy for the “left/right” aspect of many Balafon patterns.
What else? Oh yeah, this track is one of my favorite musical moments ever produced by human beings.
Click to listen:
Balla et ses Balladins – Sankaran ka
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September 25th, 2009 @ 6:54 pm
[...] the original post here: Post-Colonial African Groove of the Week #5 – Sankaran ka – Guest … Tags: attend-music, balafon, began-the-work, keletugui, mandinka, post-colonial, split, tambourins, [...]
August 6th, 2010 @ 11:49 am
[...] orchestras, including the great Bembeya Jazz National and Balla et ses Balladins (see an earlier “Post-Colonial Groove” for a track from them), and 30 “federal” orchestras from various regions of Guinea. This album “Trio [...]