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CD Review
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EDGE New York, CD Review >>
By Zakariya Willis
There is some music that can never falter from the ranks of good. There are certain regions in the world where music is so ingrained into an inveterate culture that it feels properly nostalgic, as if it were on point for centuries. It’s not as flimsy and sometimes weathered like contemporary rock n’ roll, and is not always deferentially regarded to reserved rhythms. Most music in Africa, whether it be contemporary or ancestral is more times than not aesthetically pleasing - whatever label decides to back anything that is remotely sprinkled with traditional African sound is always good; it’s not all that crazy to believe; maybe it’s the charm of the dissonant West African language (Charming French?), a voicing that most of us American-types aren’t used to. Do we find it soothing to the senses? They aren’t harsh and quirky like a Bruce Springsteen/Ani DiFranco idiot-child who will one day find a guitar missing a d-string, five feet away from the rustic radiator, naming it Pearl, and then later on in life becoming the ultimate liberal American Icon, still singing with a very unpleasant voice.
This is not to say that musicians abroad cannot be not good, kinda like you shouldn’t expect a foreign film to be good just because it’s foreign...trust me, there’s plenty non-awe-inspiring shit out in video stores from our overseas brethren.
Thankfully Dobet Gnahoré is above and beyond the standards of her ancestors, and definitely shakes a world of listeners claiming to know African music because they own the Lion King Soundtrack, and like listened to it a 1,000 times. Dobet Gnahoré, born an Ivory Coast-er, raised in the smaller commercial capitol Abidjan, where her father spent much of his time drumming like a manipulative genius, in time starting a community of the arts - painting to music to anything collaborating African Expression were to be exhibited in Village Ki-Yi M’Bock. Dobet rows in the same direction as her father, gaining commercial success with her Putumayo-like prowess, and riding the same rails as her predecessor and confidante Angelique Kidjo. Dobet mixes in dance-y grooves, jazz, and bit of Brazilian flare dipped in Ivory melodies with her sophomore effort Na Afriki.
Dobet impressively sings in seven African languages, sporadically spilling from all over the continent: South Africa, Congo, Benin, Senegal, and the indigenous Ivorian languages of Dida and Malinké - she sings of social disorder that is literally plaguing Africa: the unsympathetic treatment of women: the cruel tutelage and bastardry of children, and of course, the greed and violence, as time goes on, looks to never cease. The songs are so incredibly bold and filled with sovereign emotion, that no English translation is necessary for the folk that only speak one language...you just feel it, and feel it...and feel it like a mildly polite wave constantly hitting you in two second intervals - and you don’t want to move away from it.
Label: Cumbancha
List Price: $16.98
06/16/07 >> go there
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