Post-Colonial African Groove of the Week #11 – Allalah Kounoudion
Posted on | July 23, 2010 | No Comments
Today we move back to Mandinka territory, specifically to Casamance, an area in southern Senegal south of the Gambia which was subject to both French and Portugese colonial rule at various points, for a track from one of the greatest of the “old guard” of Senegambian kora players, Lalo Keba Drame. (Senegambia refers to the combined area of Senegal and the Gambia, which share many similarities in kora styles, as contrasted with the slower, more stately styles prevalent farther east in Mali).
There is somewhat of a misconception going around these days that all kora music is necessarily slow, quiet, and very low-key. This is perpetuated by the kora albums which are most prevalent and available in the US and Europe. Although I am a huge fan of the “household name” kora players, if there are any such things, such as Toumani Diabate and Ballake Cissokho, I do have a certain love for the older, more “raw” kora sound embodied by such players as Lalo Keba and Alhaji Bai Conte, and there is a certain urgent energy in the faster, more athletic style of the Senegambian players which certainly puts to rest any question of the kora as an inherently quiet, sleepy, background-y instrument. I feel that one of the things we are trying to do in the Kora Band is to integrate this more old-school Gambian approach into a modern setting. Fortunately for me, Kane spent many years training with Gambian masters and is extremely proficient at the style, so his own experiences have played strongly into the band sound as well, of course.
So, here is a barely post-colonial track from Lalo Keba Drame, recorded not too long after Senegal’s independence, I believe. I don’t know much about the history of this particular song, but you will certainly get a taste of an earlier style kora player who draws clear lines between the various elements at work: the vocal lines that are sung, the similar vocal lines that he plays on the kora (a couple of times he really bangs them out in octaves, which is awesome), the kumbengo (repeated rhythmic/harmonic pattern that accompanies the vocals), and the rapid solo lines which fill in the rest of the space. It’s a great example of a traditional kora-centric setting with a female vocalist and Lalo Keba singing the traditional vocal line, and lots of great kora soloing in a trademark Gambian genre of tune which has a repeating right thumb pattern alternating between the 1 and the 5 of the key. Also note that his kora is really cranked up, most people today tune them around F, and his is up around A somewhere. That also partially accounts for the short sustain and highly percussive effect of his instrument, along with the fact that he is really hitting it hard. Also note the female singer is tapping a clave-type rhythm on his kora while he plays, a common practice as well. Click to listen:
Lalo Keba Drame – Allalah Kounoudion
Hope everyone enjoys what I hope will be a bit of a different perspective on the instrument! For plenty more kora this week, my Kora Band will be at the Portland Classical Chinese Garden’s Tuesdays by Twilight series this week, which we’re really looking forward to, and we’ll be opening for Loveness Wesa and the Bantus on Saturday night at the Goodfoot! What a week!
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