THE ROUGH GUIDE to World Music Africa & Middle East
Since The Rough Guide to World Music first appeared in 1994, the World Music scene has grown dramatically. Vast numbers of CDs are released each month, artists from across the world perform regularly in major concert halls in the “West”, and the BBC has created the annual Awards for World Music (The Planets). In addition, ease of travel makes it feasible for those in Europe and America to go and experience the music of the world, in person, in situ. Now African music enthusiasts don’t just hang out around Sterns record shop in London and listen to Andy Kershaw on the radio – they go to the Essaouira Festival in Morocco, which has become a sort of Gnawa Woodstock attracting 400,000 people each year, or to the celebrated Festival in the Desert near Timbuktu. Music can be a window on and a passport to the world.
This third edition of The Rough Guide to World Music reflects the music’s burgeoning popularity – most obviously in its size. The book has grown to fill three volumes, with this first instalment, Africa & Middle East, to be followed by Europe, Asia & Pacific and The Americas & Caribbean. All in all the guide will be around three times the size of the original edition: close to a million words and in excess of two thousand pages.
Contents
Part 1: Africa map of countries and styles covered 3
Algeria | Rai 5 rocking the casbah by Andy Morgan and Chris Nickson Oran: Where It All Began 6; Chaabi in Algiers 7; Women, Dock-Workers and Street Urchins 7; Cheikha Remitti 9; Independence and the Jazz Age 10; Hick Music Goes Pop 11; Cassette Chebs 13; Khaled, the King of Rai 14; Rachid Taha 16; Courage Under Fire 16; Rai Today 17 Algeria | Kabylia 22 berber spring by Andy Morgan and Catherine Elias Exile and Protest 23; Women on the Verge 24; Celtic Connections 24; Another Tribe, Another Mountain 24 Angola 27 unstoppable rhythms by Bram Posthumus The Early Years 28; The Shattering of Dreams 29; Bonga: the Voice of Angola 29; Waldemar Bastos: the Heart that Spans the World 30; New Styles 31; Victor Gama 31 Benin & Togo 35 afro-funksters by François Bensignor Benin Rockers 36; Traditions 37; Beninois Music Abroad 37; Angélique Kidjo: Keep On Moving 38; Music Market Woes 39; Togo 39 Botswana 43 khoisan to pop by Rampholo Molefhe Traditional Sounds 44; The Dawn of Popular Music 44; The Modern Era 45 Burkina Faso 47 hidden treasure, hip-hop hopes by François Bensignor A Multitude of Traditions 48; Urban Music 49; Festivals 49 Cameroon 52 the awakening lions by Jean-Viktor Nkolo, Graeme Ewens and Alain Marius Mouafo Wemba Recording Roots 53; Manu Dibango: Cameroon’s Musical Ambassador 54; Makossa 55; Bikutsi’s Essential Thrust 55; Cameroon Today 57; Richard Bona: a Bona Fide Star 58 Cape Verde 62 music of sweet sorrow by Osvaldo dos Reis, Susana Máximo, David Peterson and Jon Lusk The Morna 63; Cesaria Evora: the Barefoot Diva 64; Coladeira 65; Funana 65; Eugénio Tavares 66; Batuco and Finaçon 67; International Stars 67; Simentera: Return to Roots 68; Cape Verdeans in the USA 69; Festivals 69
Congo 74 heart of danceness by Graeme Ewens Soukousemantics 75; Rumba Roots 76; The Belle Époque 77; Francofile 78; Riding the New Wave 79; Papa Wemba: God Sees All 80; Party Time in Paris 81; Kinshasa in the 1990s 82; New Directions 83; Ndombolo and Beyond 83 Côte d’Ivoire 91 zouglou to cut’n’run by François Bensignor, Brooke Wentz and Soro Solo Live and Local 92; Ziglibithy 93; Zouglou 93; One- Way Ticket to the Top 93; Reggae and Rap 94; Cut‘n’run 95 Equatorial Guinea 99 malabo blues by Manuel Dominguez Fang Traditions 100; Pop Styles 100; The Diaspora 101 Eritrea 103 songs of the patriots by Dawit Mesfin MaTA 104; Party Time 104; Guayla Royalty 105; Ambassadors and Icons 105; Love’s Labour’s Lost 106 Ethiopia 108 land of wax and gold by Francis Falceto Trad/Mod and the Golden Age 109; Wax and Gold 110; New Styles 111; Live in Addis: Azmaris 111; Ali Tango 111; The Harp of King David 112; Future Shock 113; Music Shops in Addis 113 Gabon 117 cranning the night away by Philip Sweeney Cults and Traditions 118; Congolese Rumba and Army Bands 118; Renovation Cha Cha and Zouk 119; Pierre Akendengué: Ethnomusicology as Art 119; Patience Dabany and the Bongo Dynasty 120; Cranning the Night Away 120 Ghana 123 from highlife to hiplife by John Collins and Ronnie Graham Highlife Roots 124; Dance-Band Highlife 124; Palm Wine Music: Buy the Man a Drink 125; Concerted Efforts 126; Guitar-Band Highlife 127; E.T. Mensah 127; Osibisa 128; 1970s Afro-Fusions and Back-to- Roots 128; Economic Collapse and the Highlife Diaspora 129; Ghanaians Abroad 129; Gospel and Reggae since the 1980s 130; The Hiplife Boom 131; Sankofa: Back to the Roots 131; Who’s the Daddy? 131; “Classical” Highlife Survives 133 Guinea 136 move over mali by Katharina Lobeck The Kings’ Singers 137; The Futa Jallon 138; Modern Music Begins 139; The Independence Era 140; Bembeya Jazz 141; Syliphone Records 142; New Identities: the 1980s and 90s 144; Guinea in the World 146; Mory Kanté 147; The Music Scene Diversifies 148 Guinea-Bissau 153 backyard beats of gumbe by Guus de Klein and Bram Posthumus Backyard Beats 154; Ethnic Traditions 154; Music and Independence 155; The 1980s on a Shoestring 156; The 1990s: Survival and War 156; Bidinte 157; Manecas Costa and the Gumbe 158 Indian Ocean 163 a lightness of touch by Graeme Ewens, Alain Courbis and Werner Graebner The Comoros 164; Mauritius 165; La Réunion 165; Granmoun Lélé: Pure Dynamite 166; The Seychelles 166 Kenya 171 the life and times of Kenyan pop by Doug Paterson Kenya’s Tribal Music 173; The Early Days 174; Finger- Pickin’ Good 174; Benga Wizards 175; Luhya Legends 176; Kikuyu: Prayers for the Country 176; Kamba Calliope 177; Congolese & Swahili: Big- Name Bands 178; Immigration Department 178;
Wanyika Dynasty 180; Hakuna Matata… 181; Ndiyo Hiyo Video! 182; New Directions 182 Liberia 188 music from the ashes by Bram Posthumus Traditions and Choirs 189; Sweet Liberia: Pre-War Songs 189; War and Exodus 190; Back on its Feet? 190; One Producer’s Story 191 Libya 193 a cultural crossroads by Robert Nurden From Folk to Progressives 194; Politics and Pop Songs 195; Ma’luf 195; Desert Blues 196 Madagascar 197 a parallel universe by Ian Anderson Highland Hitmakers 198; Half-Green and Salegy 199; Traditional Instruments 200; Sounds of the South 200; Famadihana: Reburial Parties 202; Malagasy Guitar: a Word With Bouboul 203; Where to Find Music in Antananarivo 204; Westernization and Back to Roots 204; Music Under Ravalomanana 206 Malawi 211 sounds afroma! by John Lwanda Banjos, Jazz and the Malawi Beat 212; From Kwasa Kwasa to Nyambo 213; Ethnographer’s Corner 213; Live in Malawi! 214 Mali 219 gold dust by the river by Lucy Duran Music for Sundays 220; Sumu and Sandiya 220; Girl Power, Mali Style 221; Kandia Kouyaté 222; Mande History 223; Mande’s Hereditary Musicians 223; Jeli Languages and Instruments 224; From Mali to Mississippi … and Back 225; Regional Styles and Repertoires 226; Dance Bands and Cultural Authenticity 227; The Rail Band vs Les Ambassadeurs 227; Old Music, New Era 228; Salif Keita: Mali’s Superstar 229; Current Trends 230; Wassoulou 231; Ali Farka Touré: the Donkey That Nobody Climbed On 231; Hunters’ Music 232; Birth of the Kamalengoni 232; Wassoulou Women 233; Oumou Sangaré: the Songbird 233 Mauritania & Western Sahara 239 the modes of the moors by Matthew Lavoie Moorish Music 240; The Birth of Modern Music 241; Sahrawi Sounds from the Refugee Camps 241; Jakwar 242; The Current Scene 243; Haratin Music 243; Malouma Mint Meidah and Mauritanian ‘Pop’ 242; Afro-Mauritanians 243; Pulaar Music 244; Sounds of the Soninke 244 Morocco 248 a basic expression of life by David Muddyman, Andy Morgan and Matthew Lavoie Berber Music 249; Festivals in Morocco 250; Rwaïs 251; Andalous Music 251; The Nuba 251; Milhûn 252; Gharnati 253; Moussem Madness 253; Sufi and Gnawa Music 254; Gnawa 254; Chaabi and Fusion 254; Al’aïta 255; Roots-Fusion 255; From Egypt to Morocco … and Back 255; Najat Aatabou 256; Berber Power 257; International Fusion 257; Moroccan Cassettes 258; Rai, Rap and Rock 259; Sephardic Music 259 Mozambique 265 a musica continua by Celso Paco and Tom Bullough Coastal Music: Timbila 267; Marrabenta Pulse 267; Dilon Djindji: King of Marrabenta 268; Jazz-Fusion 269; Sounds Today 269; The Musical Diaspora 271 Namibia 275 little brother struggle by Minette Mans ‘Patches’ of Practice 276; Imported Sounds 277; Looking for a Revolution 278; Festivals 278 Niger & Touareg 280 sounds of the sahel by François Bensignor A Map of Niger 281; Cultural Policy 281; Touareg Rockers and Desert Blues 282; Hopping Youth Clubs 283
Nigeria 287 africa’s stumbling giant by Andrew Frankel Nigerian Uniqueness 288; Nigerian Peoples 288; Instruments 289; Juju 290; Nigeria’s Record Industry 291; Highlife Nigeria Style 292; Traditional Pop and Apala 293; Fuji Fever 294; Waka 295; Fela Kuti and Afro-beat 295; From Kalakuta to Kakadu: Shanties, Shrines and Nite-spots 296; Praise Singing the Big Boss 297; Nigeria Abroad 298; Reggae, Hip-hop, Rap and Beyond 299; In a Suburb Near You… 300; Future Grooves 300 Pygmy Music 304 forest songs from the congo basin by Dave Abram and Jerome Lewis Pygmy Polyphony 306; Music in Forest Life 307; Listening to the Forest 307; Beyond the Forest 308; Pygmy Fusion 308; The Baka Music House 309; Survival 310 Rwanda & Burundi 313 echoes from the hills by Dorian Hayes and Karengera Eric Soul Traditional Music 314; The Drummers of Burundi and Ballet Inganzo 315; Cécile Kayirebwa and the Rwandan Diaspora 316; Contemporary Music in Rwanda 317; New Music in Burundi 318 São Tomé & Príncipe 321 island music of central africa by Caroline Shaw and Emile Chabal Rhythms and Dance 322; Modern Music 323 Senegal & The Gambia 326 a tale of two countries by Mark Hudson, Doudou Sarr, Paul Hayward and Lucy Duran Mande Senegambia 327; Wolof Traditions and Negritude 327; Dance Music: the 1960s and Star Band 328; Gambian Traditions and Developments 328; Orchestra Baobab: Still Growing 330; Dakar Superstar: the Rise of Youssou N’Dour 331; Jazz, Funk and the Faye Brothers 331; The Ups and Downs of Youssou N’Dour 332; Seck and Lô 333; The Man from the North: Baaba Maal 334; Baaba Maal 335; A World Apart: Casamance Hothouse 336; Female Performers 336; Rap and New Directions 336; Sene-Rap 339 Sierra Leone 345 from palm wine to protest by Bram Posthumus, Ed Ashcroft and Richard Trillo Palm wine and Milo 346; A Brief Golden Era 347; Exile and Revival 347 South Africa | Popular Music 351 nation of the voice by Rob Allingham and Gregory Mthembu- Salter Deep Roots 352; The West, Urbanization, Marabi and Jive 353; A Music Industry 353; The Producers 354; Pennywhistle Jive: the Kwela Boom 355; From Sax Jive to Vocal Mbaqanga 356; Zulu Acapella: Mbube and Iscathamiya 358; Ladysmith Black Mambazo 359; Neo-Traditional Styles 360; Sotho and Pedi-Traditional 360; Zulu-Traditional 360; Shangaan/Tsonga-Traditional 361; Local Soul 362; White South African Music 363; Bubblegum 364; Brenda Fassie – Africa’s Pop Goddess 365; Kwaito Kulture 366; The Divas 367; Urban Roots 368; Cape Hop 369; Reggae 370 South Africa | Jazz 377 hip kings, hip queens by Rob Allingham and Gwen Ansell Swing 378; The Jazz Singers 379; Progressive Jazz: the 1960s 379; Mama Africa 380; Still Grazin’: Hugh Masekela 381; Meanwhile, Back Home… 382; … And Today? 383; Zim Ngqawana 384 South Africa | Gospel 389 I've got the power by Gregory Mthembu-Salter Star Voices 390; Live Witness 391 Southern Africa | Archives 393 hugh tracey: pioneer archivist by Mark Hudson Looking Back 394
Sudan 397 still yearning to dance by Peter Verney, Helen Jerome and Moawia Yassin The North 398; Early Days and Jazz 398; Players and Poets 399; Women Singers 401; Southern Sudan 402; Southern Survivals 402; The Nuba 402; Where Next? 403; Dance & Trance: Sufi Dervishes 403 Tanzania & Kenya | Taarab 408 the swahili coastal sound by Werner Graebner Taarab Roots 409; Ikhwani Safaa Musical Club 410; Lamu and Mombasa 411; Zanzibar Culture Club 412; Modern Taarab 413; The “Little Granny” of Zanzibar 413; Tanga: Black Star 414; Dar es Salaam 414 Tanzania | Popular Music 418 the land of use-your-brain by Werner Graebner Muziki Wa Dansi 419; The Morogoro Jazz Band 419; No Sweat from Congo: Maquis and Matimila 422; Hotel Pop 423; Bongo Flava 423; Tradition & Innovation 424; Mchiriku Madness 425; Jagwa Jive 425; Reggae and Ragga 426 Uganda 430 strong roots and new shoots by Andy Cooke and Sten Sandahl The Kampala Scene 431; Kadongo Kamu 431; Traditional Music 431; Royal Court Music 431; Village Music 432 Zambia 436 evolution and expression by Ronnie Graham, Simon Kandela Tunkanya and Kennedy Gondwe From Independence to Zam-rock 437; Kalindula Arrives 438; Emmanuel Jaggari Chanda 438; Zambian Music in the 1990s 440; Tribal Music, Dance and Instruments 440; Mondo and the Re-emerging Music Industry 441; The 21st Century 441 Zimbabwe 444 mbira, sungura and chimurenga: play it loud! by Banning Eyre and Tom Bullough Tough Times 445; Beerhalls and Biras 446; The Mbira 446; Mapfumo: Chimurenga Man for All Seasons 447; Tuku Music 449; Oliver Mtukudzi 450; Jit Hits the Fans 451; Rumba-Sungura 452; Praise the Lord and Pass the Sadza 453; Ndebele Pop: the Bulawayo Sound 453; New Directions 455
Part 2: Middle East map of countries and styles covered 461
Arab World/Egypt | Classical 463 music, partner of poetry by David Lodge, Bill Badley and Neil van der Linden Classical Arab Music 464; Shared Roots 464; Koranic Recitation: the Basis of Islamic Music 465; Theory, Scales & Rhythm in Classical Arab Music 466; Emerging Traditions in the Twentieth Century 466; Superstars of Cairo 468; Sayed Darwîsh 468; Farid el-Atrache and Asmahan 468; Umm Kulthum 469; Umm Kulthum’s Composers 470; Mohammed Abdel Wahab 470; Leyla Murad 470; Abdalhalim Hafez 471; Warda al-Jaza’iriya 471; Festival of Arabic Music 471 Arabesque 475 oriental fusion by Phil Meadley The West Looks East 476; The French Connection 476; Back to Morocco 477; The London Equation 477; Arabesque Moderne 477; The Istanbul Express 478
Armenia 481 the singing apricot tree by Simon Broughton Religious Music 482; The Massacres and the Diaspora 482; Folk Music 483; Ashoughs 484; Classical Music, Cabaret and Pop 484; Djivan Gasparyan and the Duduk 485 Azerbaijan 489 in the mugham by Razia Sultanova and Simon Broughton Meyxana: Wedding Rap 490; The Aşiq Bard Tradition 490; Mugham 491; Alim Qasimov 491; Mugham on the Move 492 Egypt | Popular/Street Music 495 satellites of love by Reda el Mawi, Sam Farah, David Lodge and Bill Badley Sufi Music and Trance 496; Rural Folk Music: the Nile, the Desert and the Copts 497; New Nubian, Old Nubian 498; Bride and Home 498; Music of the Youth 499; Shaabi: Art from the Workers 499; Shababi 500; Shaabi Superstars 501; New Media, New Values 502 Georgia 505 a musical toast by Simon Broughton Table Songs 506; Polyphony 506; Professional Choirs 507; Booking a Band Georgian-Style 507; Urban Songs 508 The Gulf 510 khaleeji comeback by Bill Badley Saudi Arabia 511; Bahrain 512; United Arab Emirates 512; Qatar 513; Kuwait 513; Yemen 513; Oman 515 Iran 519 the art of ornament by Laudan Nooshin and Simon Broughton Classical Iranian Instruments 520; Classical Music 520; From Courts to Cassettes 521; Post-Revolutionary Revival 521; Mohammad Reza Shajarian 522; Modes and Improvisation 522; Listening to Classical Music 523; Folk Music 524; The Bakshi of Khorasan 524; Kurdish Tanbur Players 524; Other Regional Highlights 525; Iranian Pop 525; Kayhan Kalhor 526; Pop Artists 526 Iraq 533 mesopotamia forever by Neil van der Linden Maqam 534; Baghdad’s Roaring Fifties 535; The Assyrians 535; Rural Sounds 535; Jewish Musicians in Iraq 535; The Great Iraqi Oud Tradition 536; Popular Music 536 Israel 539 narrow bridge/global village by Dubi Lenz Songs of the Good Old Land 540; Yemenite Songs 540; Chava Alberstein: Shadow of Israel 541; Roots and Fusions 542; Yair Dalal: Israeli Oud 543 Jewish Music | Sephardic 551 ladino romance by Judith Cohen and Hilary Pomeroy Origins and Evolution 552; Key Figures 552; The Levy Legacy 553; Spaniards and Fusions 554; Song Preservation 555 Jordan & Bedouin Music 559 camel steps and epics of the sheikhs by Bill Badley Music of Movement 560; Bedouin Instruments 561 Kurdish Music 563 songs of the stateless by Eva Skalla and Parwez Zabihi Bards, Minstrels and Songs 564; Instruments and Rhythm 564; Partition States 565; Kurdistan of Turkey 565; Federal Kurdistan of Iraq 566; Kurdistan of Iran 567; Syrian and Armenian Kurdistan 567; The Diaspora 567; The Kamkars 568 Lebanon 572 the rising star in the middle east by Bill Badley Diverse Cultures, Diverse Styles 573; Doing the
Dabke 574; Fairuz and the Rahbanis 574; Female Stars 575; Male Pop Singers 575; Sacred Sounds 576; The Diaspora 576 Palestinian Music 580 sounds for a new state by Andy Morgan, Mu’tasem Adileh and Bill Badley Rural Songs: Dabke and Qawaali 581; Songs of Partition 581; The Intifada 582; Beginnings of a State 583; El Funoun – Palestinian Art-Music 584; New Opportunities 585 Syria 589 sufis and superstars by Roger Short Silk Roots 590; The Sultan of Tarab 590; Superdivas 591; Abdullah Chhadeh, the Qanun and the Hookah 591; Sufi Nights 592; Country Music, Syrian- style 592 Turkey 595 sounds of anatolia by Martin Stokes and Francesco Martinelli Turkish Folk 596; Saz Music and the TRT Sound 596; Regional Folk 597; Așık Music 597; Classical Traditions 598; Classical Fasil and Later Developments 599; Classical Stars 600; The Whirling Dervishes and Sufi Music 601; Dede’s Dervish 602; Gypsies and Fasıl Music 602; Western-style Art Music 603; Minority Musics 603; Kurdish Music 603; Greek–Turkish Music 604; Jewish Traditions 604; Arabesk 604; Oriental Roots 604; Arabesk Goes Big-Time 605; Pop and Anatolian Rock 606;
Since The Rough Guide to World Music first appeared in 1994, the World Music scene has grown dramatically. Vast numbers of CDs are released each month, artists from across the world perform regularly in major concert halls in the “West”, and the BBC has created the annual Awards for World Music (The Planets). In addition, ease of travel makes it feasible for those in Europe and America to go and experience the music of the world, in person, in situ. Now African music enthusiasts don’t just hang out around Sterns record shop in London and listen to Andy Kershaw on the radio – they go to the Essaouira Festival in Morocco, which has become a sort of Gnawa Woodstock attracting 400,000 people each year, or to the celebrated Festival in the Desert near Timbuktu. Music can be a window on and a passport to the world. This third edition of The Rough Guide to
World Music reflects the music’s burgeoning popularity – most obviously in its size. The book has grown to fill three volumes, with this first instalment, Africa & Middle East, to be followed by Europe, Asia & Pacific and The Americas & Caribbean. All in allthe guide will be around three times the size of the original edition: close to a million words and in excess of two thousand pages. But then the Rough Guide has earned the tag of being the ‘World Music Bible’. We have strived in this new edition to chart the changing scene, including coverage, for instance, of African hip-hop, which has swept across the continent in recent years and is the music of choice for young Africans, often in genuinely local forms.
Also represented are the club and DJ scenes, which have been energized by global sounds, with dynamic fusions based on everything from Afro-beat to Sufi music. We have also addressed omissions in the last edition, with brand new chapters on Botswana, Namibia, Liberia, Libya, Lebanon and Iraq – as well as musical styles that have become particularly dynamic in the last few years, such as Touareg music and Arabesque. In this volume, our (impossible) aim is to cover African and Middle Eastern music of every style – popular and classical, religious and secular, new and traditional. It’s music you can buy on CD, see at festivals and concerts, and hear in villages, in clubs, at celebrations and on the radio around the world. The book attempts to represent all of these contexts, with nods to key venues, festivals, producers and record labels as well as singers and instrumentalists. How the Book Works This first volume of The Rough Guide to World Music is divided into two sections : Africa and the Middle East. Within each section the chapters are arranged alphabetically by country or sometimes by ethnic group – for instance with Kurdish, Sephardic or Pygmy music. There are running heads and an index to help you find your way. Each chapter consists of an article, discography and playlist. The articles are designed to provide the background to each country’s musical styles, explaining the history, social background, politics and cultural identity, as well as highlighting the lives and sounds of each country’s musicians. The discographies begin with reviews of compilation CDs and then move on to individual artists, each of whom gets a brief biography and recommended recordings. Please note these are selective and not comprehensive discographies, which we hope will lead you into an artist’s best work....
