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Vampire Weekend who?
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Metromix Chicago, Vampire Weekend who? >>
Vampire Weekend who?
Occidental Brothers Dance Band International plays African music the old-fashioned way
By Matt PaisMetromix
April 14, 2009
Nathaniel Braddock grew up in Michigan. He is white. Fair to say he isn’t the first person you’d expect to be a whiz at classic African guitar.
Yet Braddock says Africans often tell him that he plays like a native--quite a compliment for the 36-year-old Albany Park resident, who’s loved African music since he was 16 and founded local world music outfit Occidental Brothers Dance Band International (OBDBI) in 2006.
OBDBI’s traditional yet open-minded direction is also informed by its diverse lineup, featuring Ghanaian singer Kofi Cromwell and drummer Asamoah Rambo, African-American saxophonist Greg Ward and Puerto Rican bassist Joshua Ramos. On April 21 the band releases its joyful sophomore album, “Odo Sanbra” (“Come Back, Love”).
Braddock--who teaches African guitar at the Old Town School of Folk Music--checked in to chat about the limitations of world music-“influenced” Vampire Weekend, making people dance with live instruments, and how Ghana’s transportation system can help Chicago.
Your bio describes your fanbase as ranging from Pitchfork hipsters to African expatriates. Not many bands can say that.
That’s not a crowd that you usually see coming together in a rock club.
You haven’t seen many African expatriates at, say, a Ting Tings show?
Not so much, but you never know ... It’s cool, when we started out it was just something that I threw together at the suggestion of a couple of my students that wanted to hear this music played live, the old styles. Because a lot of Africans don’t actually play in the older styles. They play more contemporary stuff.
Are people surprised at how danceable your music is?
I think these days a lot of people when they think about dance music is they think it’s going to involve synthesizers and drum machines and the kind of electro style that’s been the popular dance music in America and Europe for decades. But you know, really, it all goes back to dance music that was made by bands, in American music. And the African music has always preserved that. That dance is driven by a real drummer and guitar players and a singer who’s directly engaging with people. And Kofi does a fair amount of improvising and engaging directly with the group, either one person or the whole crowd itself.
What were you going for on “Odo Sanbra”?
We were definitely going for a live band sound like we had on [2007’s self-titled album]. And trying to get the energy and excitement of our live show, but we’re trying to make something also that is going to stand up to repeated listening.
You say you don’t like the lyrics of Vampire Weekend, who mention a lot of African elements but don’t exactly play traditional African music. Why?
It’s a kind of socially a scene that doesn’t really hold a lot of value to me, the kind of upper middle class prep school kind of thing. And that’s fine. It’s just not my cup of tea. For some people it’s great. And the real thing is, [that’s great] if people are listening to indie pop records and really get into Vampire Weekend and then start getting curious about some of this stuff that they’re referring, Kanda Bongo Man, or some of the south African styles. I don’t mean the Paul Simon record [“Graceland”] that they take as their point of departure.
If OBDBI were on the same bill as Vampire Weekend, what differences would the crowd detect?
Well, the first thing is we’re not a white band … So the first thing is we look really different. And the other thing in African music is the goals of the music are different than the goals of Western music. It’s not about a three-minute pop song or something like that. Its aesthetic is a very different one, and I think we’re a little bit closer to that traditional aesthetic where it’s a little bit more about a journey and a little bit less about a short hit.
In “Circle Circle Circle” you sing about busses in Ghana that don’t have signs and drivers who shout about where they stop. How would that work in Chicago?
Well, one nice thing is that it would mean that people would talk to each other more. It seems to work pretty well over there. They call those busses Tro Tros.
Let’s do it. The CTA isn’t perfect, and we’re trying to get the Olympics. What better way to demonstrate global appreciation?
That’s what I’m saying. They should fly over about 1,000 Tro Tro drivers and be done with it. It’s cheaper too, I can tell you, to ride a bus over there.
How much?
Oh, it can cost between 25 and 50 cents.
Matt Pais is the metromix music and movies producer.
mpais@tribune.com
04/14/09 >> go there
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