Musical Voyage Into Africa
staxwax
1,474 Posts
If you had the chance to go to Africa on a musical research trip to explore African music and the roots of modern western music, where would you go first?
Is there a specific region with an especially vibrant musical scene, both traditional and modern which is a good place to start, and if so, why?
Im beginning to research a possible documentary series, not very knowledgable on the subject, and thought Id begin here as there seem to be a lot of fans of African music on the strut. Thanks in advance!
Is there a specific region with an especially vibrant musical scene, both traditional and modern which is a good place to start, and if so, why?
Im beginning to research a possible documentary series, not very knowledgable on the subject, and thought Id begin here as there seem to be a lot of fans of African music on the strut. Thanks in advance!
Comments
If the premise is slaves brought their music to the new world then you would start at the epicenter of the slave trade.
But Africa's impact on Western music goes back centuries earlier, so you might want to start in North Africa.
Personally I would start in Mali and Senegal, because of the concentration of musicians who so easily move between traditional and contemporary styles.
But the same could be said of many other places.
So maybe start in Paris where there is a large pan-African community of working musicians. (At least there was in the 90s.)
Thanks again for taking time to answer - i need to get stuck in and was hoping for someone on here to school me on the basics.
This i also found intriguing, Africa divided up into 8 ethno-musical regions - seems mad really, imagine making a similar map of Europe:
Geo-political map of Africa divided for ethnomusicological purposes, after Alan P. Merriam, 1959.
African music influenced Western music and Western music influenced African music. Over and over and over again going back to the dawn of civilization.
Your show needs a narrative.
You should find a cool mix of traditional and contemporary musicians working today in West Africa to film. Let them tell their stories, then build a narrative around what you find.
The problem with looking at something like highlife is that it's relatively recent and was certainly influenced by western music, if nothing else than the instruments used and many of the musicians coming out of military bands. There's a lot of back and forth, like how Fela was initially influenced by James Brown and people claim Brown was later inspired by Fela.
I will definitely check out the pbs blues episode too. Mali seems like a good starting point so far. Thanks again - not trying to be lazy just hoping to get some info from people who are actually personally into the subject so i knew i had to take this to the strut.
Liner notes from comps blogs and websites specialized in african music are next on my list. If anyone else is willing to school me and or further point me in any direction ill be much obliged. Thanks again!