Jason Mariyappan (jason.mariyappan@ic.ac.uk)
Thu, 11 Nov 1999 14:55:29 +0000
People,
I've seen a lot of gigs this year and probably the two most enjoyable were
Baba Maal at Glastonbury (in the sunshine), and Femi Kuti in London. Both
were great musically, but more than that all the performers were so
energised that I just couldn't stop dancing nor could most in the crowd.
In comparison Frederic Galliano (without the African Divas) played earlier
in the day at Glastonbury, and was so dull. This guy and a lot of others
the Soul Providers, Faze Action and more have taken a lot of influences
from Africa wrapped them up in some electronic programming to make some
serene and pretty beautiful music - yet none of them lack that kind of
energy in the live set nor on the recordings.
But for me I still get a great reaction whenever I play the Masters at Work
mix of Manu Dibango's 'New Bell' doesn't matter what crowd it is. African
music has definitely had some influence on the dance club scene, which has
for some time been a melting pot place for percussion drum beats from
congas, jembes, talking drums, etc, to african chants, and I still remember
when I was a little more open to the house/techno scene, Mory Kante's 'Yeke
Yeke' another great tune to drop.
The influence African music has had on the western world is the movement
of its people to the West Indies, the Americas and elsewhere, who have
taken there music with them and developed it in very different ways
depending on the place they ended up as well as the area of Africa they
came from - Check the different styles of Carribean music. As for America
the African influence is plain to
see but gos way back....way back.
In some recent visits to south africa its been interesting to see the
influence of black music from the west and the caribbean on black South
African music - Kwaito bands like Bongo Muffin, TKZ, Authur, kick ! - its a
kind of mixture of ragga/hip hop/garage sung often in Zulu.
OK I've babbled for long enough...
Jay
At 20:48 10/11/99 -0500, Bob Davis wrote:
>Steve,
>
>I agree 100% with your analysis, the fact is that African music has had it's
>greatest influence on the western world, via African Americans, who for all
>practical purposes are in fact responsible for the creation of most of
>Westen (American anyhow) culture!
>
>-----------------------------------------------------
>Bob Davis
>-----------------------------------------------------
>http://communities.prodigy.net/music/ - Click Here for PRODIGY MUSIC
>-----------------------------------------------------
>http://www.soul-patrol.com/ - Click Here For SOUL PATROL
>-----------------------------------------------------
>
>
>----- Original Message -----
>From: Steve Catanzaro <stevencatanzaro@sprintmail.com>
>To: Adam Cohen <adam_cohen@hotmail.com>; Acid Jazz <acid-jazz@ucsd.edu>
>Sent: Wednesday, November 10, 1999 11:15 AM
>Subject: Re: African info?
>
>
>> Hmm, "impact of african music on the western world." A little piece?
>>
>> Well, I think it's safe to say that the African influence is the single
>most
>> important thing that happened to music in the 20th century, and it goes
>way
>> deeper than Fela. Any gospel, any ragtime, any blues, any jazz, any R&B,
>any
>> rock&roll, any hip hop piece you can name (not to mention quite a few 20th
>> century classical pieces) is what it is only because of the African
>> influence.
>>
>> Anyway, as far as African funk tracks, well, Fela was heavily influenced
>by
>> African-American music, which is not the same thing as African music. Funk
>> is Afro-American all the way; so, the more interesting thing about Fela is
>> how Afro-American music influenced African music, which isn't the title of
>> your paper (yet!)
>>
>> Maybe you should just pick one artist and describe how they were
>influenced
>> by African styles... Duke Ellington, John Coltrane, Miles Davis, James
>> Brown, and Paul Simon come immediately to mind... but there are thousands
>> more.
>>
>>
>> ----- Original Message -----
>> From: Adam Cohen <adam_cohen@hotmail.com>
>> To: Acid Jazz <acid-jazz@ucsd.edu>
>> Sent: Wednesday, November 10, 1999 12:27 AM
>> Subject: African info?
>>
>>
>> > I've gotta do an essay for my music class and was thinking about writing
>a
>> > little piece about the impact of african music on the western world..
>> Maybe
>> > talk about the resurgence of african funk tracks by house remixers and
>> > such.. Anyways, just wondering if anyone knows of any good links for
>> > information on Fela, manu dibango or anything else related to african
>> music.
>> > Or even better, if someone already has an essay on this subject (or an
>> essay
>> > on any other music related subject at the University level !!! :)
>Thanks
>> > for any info/essays..
>> >
>> > Adam
>> >
>> >
>> ----- Original Message -----
>> From: Adam Cohen <adam_cohen@hotmail.com>
>> To: Acid Jazz <acid-jazz@ucsd.edu>
>> Sent: Wednesday, November 10, 1999 12:27 AM
>> Subject: African info?
>>
>>
>> > I've gotta do an essay for my music class and was thinking about writing
>a
>> > little piece about the impact of african music on the western world..
>> Maybe
>> > talk about the resurgence of african funk tracks by house remixers and
>> > such.. Anyways, just wondering if anyone knows of any good links for
>> > information on Fela, manu dibango or anything else related to african
>> music.
>> > Or even better, if someone already has an essay on this subject (or an
>> essay
>> > on any other music related subject at the University level !!! :)
>Thanks
>> > for any info/essays..
>> >
>> > Adam
>> >
>> >
>>
>
-------------------------------------------------------
Jason Mariyappan
PHD Researcher,
Energy-Environment Policy Research Group,
Centre for Environmental Technology,
48 Prince's Gardens,
Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine,
South Kensington,
LONDON, SW7 2PE
United Kingdom
Tel: 0171 5949269 or 07970 881391
Fax: 0171 5810245
-------------------------------------------------------
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