Discover Top Posts Tagged with #upper volta

On Aug 4, 1984, The Republic of Upper Volta is Renamed Burkina Faso.

On Aug 4, 1983, The Military Stages a Coup in Upper Volta.

Upper Volta 1975 15 CFA Albert Schweitzer and Bateleur Eagle (Terathopius ecaudatus)

Upper Volta 1960 0.40 CFA Duiker - Tribal African Art of the Bobo

#upper volta #1960s #duiker #animals #tribal art #african art #bobo #masks #antelopes

Upper Volta 1974 200 CFA Universal Postal Union (U.P.U.) and Airplane

#upper volta #1970s #aircraft #airplane #postal unions #anniversaries #aviation #stamp #stamps #philately #stamp collection #snail mail #postage #postage stamp #usps

213: Pierre Sandwidi // Le Troubadour de la Savane

Le Troubadour de la Savane Pierre Sandwidi 2018, Born Bad (Bandcamp)

In a reissue biz that has been absolutely rocking for the past decade, it takes something to stand out, but Le Troubadour de la Savane, 1976–1980 (The Savannah Troubadour) is easily one of the best compilations of recent years. It surveys the career of Burkina Faso great Pierre Sandwidi, collecting most of his singles and a few album tracks cut during the prime of his brief recording career. (Of note: The misnamed comp includes a number of songs from 1982.) Then as now, Sandwidi’s country was economically destitute thanks to the lingering effects of colonial rule, military coups, and drought, and opportunities to record physical music in the 1970s were rare. West Africa is rich in musical tradition, so it’s not a surprise the country produced an artist as distinctive as “the singer from the bush”—but it feels like a stroke of luck that he was documented at all. Sandwidi’s music reflects the sounds of Afro-Beat, high life, funk, and rumba that were ascendent in the region, but also French pop: his music has a sound of his own, pensive even when it dances, cosmic and twinkling even as it protests the state of affairs on the ground.

Sandwidi’s music is fairly lo-fi compared to some of the music being produced in neighbouring countries, but he makes a virtue of it. Much of is less beat-forward than I’m accustomed to in African music. On “Ouaga affaires” (“Ouaga Business”), the bass and drums fade into a kind of hypnotic tidal pull beneath a shimmering sea of organ chords and ultra clean high life guitar. The icicle gleam of “Je suis un salaud” (“I’m a Bastard”) and “Fils du Sahel” (“Son of the Sahel”) almost puts me in mind of ‘80s private press synth-pop, while “Tond Yabramba” (“‘Round Yabrama”) improbably finds a midway point between late ‘60s English prog and Middle Eastern pop of the same era. There are excellent funky tunes to be had here (e.g. “Mam Ti Fou,” “Yamb ney capitale”), but I feel like the relatively muted reaction to Troubadour may come down to the fact that this sound doesn’t quite fit the predilections of the beat obsessives who tend to be the most obsessive about this era and region. But if you’re looking for African music that sounds as apt on a rainy day as sunny one, give this one a try.

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