Hi! Thanks Oko for the additional info on Ifangbondi. Pa Musa, Coach and Karamba, thanks for realising the role Ifang played in the subregion. I hope they will be given their rightful place very soon, i.e., while the remaining members are still alive. I will dedicate one of these coming days to Ifangbondi on Raki Web Radio. I will let you know the day. I hope Dave Manneh will be able to tune in as he is an Afromanding fan. Have a good night. Buharry. ----- Original Message ----- From: "pasamba jow" <[log in to unmask]> To: <[log in to unmask]> Sent: Sunday, August 20, 2006 3:45 PM Subject: Re: Ifangbondi - History > Buharry, > Thanks for this wonderful info. It is always refreshing to read something > inspiring about Gambian heroes, and believe or not the Pap Tourays and > the Badou Jobes are as important to the shaping of Gambia's identity as > any politician. Just maybe one day, soon i hope, Gambia will put these > great pioneers in their right historical place, as Gambia's social and > cultural icons. > Pasamba Jow > > Momodou Buharry Gassama <[log in to unmask]> wrote: > Biography: > > For more than twenty years the Gambian roots band Ifang Bondi ('be > yourself') has had a leading role within West African popular music. It > was one of the first groups that decided to return to its African roots by > playing traditional Manding music. > > To talk about an influential band such as Ifang Bondi, one needs to know > how its origins came about. It was the year 1970. The auditorium of Legon > University in Accra (Ghana) was filled to capacity. There was an > environment of restless expectation awaiting the arrival on stage of the > Super Eagles of The Gambia. The devastating performance of highlife, soul, > Cuban music, reggae and western pop songs which followed, faultlessly > delivered by the men in sharp suits, revealed why this band from The > Gambia had become West Africa's number one superstar attraction. West > Africa had just completed its first decade of independence and was in the > throes of anticolonialist sentiment, pan-Africanism and 'Say it loud, I am > Black and Proud'. This was to be the last time most people saw the Super > Eagles, leaving only the legacy of their all-time classic album 'Viva > Super Eagles'. > > Unknown to their thousands of fans, this was not the end of the story, but > just the end of the First chapter in one of the longest-running sagas in > African musical history. The truth is that the founders of the band, > leader Badou Jobe and vocalist Paps Touray had taken a deliberate decision > to end Super Eagles at the height of their popularity. Being true > revolutionary pan Africanists and musical pioneers, they had become > increasingly disturbed by the music they were playing and the image they > presented. Despite the greater fame and fortune that was theirs for the > taking. They radically gave it all up to go back to square one, back to > the roots, to create something African for Africans, to challenge the > cultural imperialism of the west which still gripped the continent. They > went into the bush to sit at the feet of the jelis - the master drummers > and the old maestros of the kora, xalam, and bala - the guardians of a > thousand years of culture and tradition. > > After two years of exhaustive research and hard practice, Badou Jobe and > the few musicians like Paps Touray and Ali Harb, who had felt inspired to > join, came back with unique new music, born from their amazingly rich > heritage. To their modern electric outfit, including the novelty of an > electric organ, they had added traditional drums, which, next to the drum > kit's chromium sheen and the fancy sunburst of the guitars, looked like > alien objects from another planet. The new repertoire, painstakingly > composed according to the rules of the jeli teachers, had meant a struggle > with unfamiliar scales and mind-boggling rhythm structures. They proudly > coined their music the Afro Manding Sound after the legendary Manding > empire, cradle of their West African culture. > > By 1973 the group had shed its eagles' feathers to reappear as Ifang Bondi > ('Be yourself), a fearsome Manding spirit that puts the newly initiated to > the test and seeks out evildoers within society. The band's First public > performances were greeted with dismay and disbelief by their devoted fans, > who were outraged by the 'bush' sound of mbalax and jambadongo rhythms, > although the musicians had been careful to hide the sabar (drums) under > the British flag. At that time this type of music was considered to be > played only at weddings and family-gatherings and not for big audiences. > But bandleader Badou Jobe, veteran of an earlier bade against caste taboos > to become a musician in the first place, stuck by his guns through the > sticks and stones of this initial period. The only support at this time > came from fellow musicians, later to form Toure Kunda and Super Diamono, > who appreciated the Afro Manding Sound for the momentum it was bound to > give African music. Gradually their > revolutionary ideas got accepted, and this was the birth of the popular > West African modern music that has since catapulted Toure Kunda, Youssou > N'dour, Mory Kante, and Baaba Maal onto the world stage. > > The role of Ifang Bondi has been pivotal - by rehabilitating the > traditional musicians they made people aware of their own heritage, and > they offered new dimensions to African artists in search of an authentic > sound. To rigorously deprive a devoted public of their pop idols, the > ultimate symbol of modern western cultureto induce them to set their own > cultural values and to get rid of the inferiority complex, a lingering > legacy of colonialism, had not been a venture for the faint-hearted. But > in the end the effort proved to be worthwhile. Ifang Bondi have achieved > their goal - to create something African for Africans - beyond > expectations. > > Badou Jobe's innovative ideas, based on a vast musical knowledge, have > crystallized into a comprehensive artistic concept that created also the > inimitable sound, Ifang Bondi's trademark. Throughout the years, Ifang > Bondi has continued to develop its unique music which reflects the > enormous variety and richness of authentic styles, be it Wolof, Mandingo, > Fula, Jola or other. The band's line-up shows a similar ethnic diversity > They put fresh blood into musical traditions, not only by a prolific > output of original material but also by organizing festivals in which they > invited pop, jazz and reggae musicians from as far as the US and Jamaica > to play with traditional performers. > > From the beginning Ifang Bondi have acted as a true academy of music from > which many great artists have graduated. Outside West Africa Ifang Bondi > has always had a solid cult following. The infrequency of record releases, > all sought after collector's items, plus the enigmatic personality of its > bandleader, who seems quite happy to stay out of the limelight, "I once > opened the door to the hell of stardom, had a good look around, and > slammed it shut again", has only enhanced the mystique surrounding this > group. Badou Jobe received the prestigious Kora All Africa Music Award, > also known as the African Grammy Award, in 1989. > > The band: > > Badou Jobe - bass > El Hadj Samb - vocals, percussion > Jali Momodou Suso - kora, vocals > Juldeh Camara - riti, vocals > Lin Diaw - guitars > Bassirou Mbaye - sabar, bugarabu, tama, jembe > Tafa Ndiaye - keyboards > Ibou Gueye - drums > > > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- > > Discography: > > Saraba (Disques Griot, 1979) > > Mantra (Interstate Records LPH 2366, 1983) > > Sanjo (D&K 860017, 1989) > > Daraja (MW Records MWCD 3009, 1994) > > Gis Gis (MW Records MWCD 3019, 1998) > > > > > -------------------------------------------------------------------- > > Booking: > > Musik + Aktion. Address: Uta Hofmann, Musik + Aktion, Egilolfstr.77, 91349 > Egloffstein, Germany. Phone: +49 (0) 9197697970, Fax: +49(0)9197697971. > E-mail: [log in to unmask] > > > > > Source: http://worldmusiccentral.org/artists/artist_page.php?id=1021 > > > いいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいい > To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L > Web interface > at: http://listserv.icors.org/archives/gambia-l.html > > To Search in the Gambia-L archives, go to: > http://listserv.icors.org/SCRIPTS/WA-ICORS.EXE?S1=gambia-l > To contact the List Management, please send an e-mail to: > [log in to unmask] > いいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいい > > > > --------------------------------- > Do you Yahoo!? > Get on board. You're invited to try the new Yahoo! 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