Africa Live: The Roll Back Malaria Concert by Mick CsákyReview by: Michael AshenfelderNotes, Second Series, Vol. 63, No. 3 (Mar., 2007), pp. 685-687Published by: Music Library AssociationStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/4487865 .

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Video Reviews 685

was the punk movement. Although the punk ethos was primarily known for its phi- losophy of "learn three chords and form a band," in retrospect, it was far more impor- tant for its DIY (do it yourself) ethic, seiz- ing the means of production. And because of that ethos, a wide-open musical scene was forming. As John Peel states at one point, "After punk, everything was accept- able." A third, fascinating influence on the music from Sheffield was the city's indus- trial makeup. It is postulated that the rea- son the music that emanated from this city was so sparse, metronomic, and harsh sounding was that it was a reflection of the grinding industrial rhythms that were prevalent in the city.

The most radical of these early bands, musically speaking, was a group called Cabaret Voltaire (CV), their name taken from the club started in Zurich in 1916 by the artists associated with the Dada move- ment. CV's music was harsh and industrial and practically all electronic with robotic vocals, weird lyrics, and random tapes cut- ting through the mix. The only comparable band in Britain at the time was London's Throbbing Gristle who were as obscure as CV. Cabaret Voltaire inspired several other bands to form which included the Human League and Vice Versa. As Martyn Ware of Human League/Heaven 17 states, "[t]hey were like the godfathers of the Sheffield scene." Although Cabaret Voltaire eventu- ally became a band with an international cult reputation, they remained musically uncompromising and hitless. Yet they in- spired bands that later went on to mega- commercial success like Human League and ABC. Bands kept forming and mutat- ing into various groupings (the family tree

included in the accompanying booklet to this DVD is fascinating), several breaking through to international success.

Wood tells her story through many inter- views with the major participants on the scene (Chris Watson of Cabaret Voltaire, Phil Oakey of Human League, Martyn Ware and Ian Craig Marsh of Heaven 17, Stephen Singleton of ABC) and, even more fascinating, the also-rans (members of bands like Artery, the Extras, 2.3). Most of those interviewed come off as intelligent, witty, and realistic about their goals, what they achieved, and what eventually hap- pened. She intercuts the interviews with vintage live footage of these bands perform- ing in Sheffield clubs and concert halls. One of the bonus features on the DVD is the unedited interviews with the partici- pants that provide further illumination to the text proper. Another bonus feature is three performances by three bands that never quite made it: Vice Versa (which morphed into ABC), Artery (perhaps the best band on the scene, apart from Cabaret Voltaire), and I'm So Hollow. The DVD comes with an excellent booklet that con- tains director's notes detailing the adven- ture in filming these interviews, a Sheffield band family tree, and photos.

All in all, a worthwhile DVD detailing a little-known part of rock history. It is a story that is largely unknown in America because this music made few inroads into the main- stream U.S. consciousness at the time. But Wood tells her story with intelligence, skill, and humor. It is a two-hour primer that fills a void in rock history.

ROBERT IANNAPOLLO Eastman School of Music

Africa Live: The Roll Back Malaria Concert. DVD. Directed by Mick Cs iky. Paris: Ideale Audience International, 2005. DVD9M19. $24.99.

In 2005, Senegalese superstar Youssou N'Dour helped organize a concert in Dakar, Senegal, to generate support in the fight against malaria, a disease that contin- ues to plague much of Africa. The Roll Back Malaria concert showcased some of the finest musicians in Northwest Africa, performing in a wonderful-if small-cross section of musical styles from the vast African continent.

Some common elements in all the perfor- mances were multiple percussionists (this being Africa, after all), and an aural fabric of ostinatos, usually played by one or more electric guitars. Otherwise the styles ran the gamut from ancient tribal to urban hip- hop.

Malian musicians seem to craft the most artful blend of traditional and modern styles, particularly Oumou Sangare, Salif

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686 NOTES, March 2007

Keita, and the group, Tinariwen. Oumou Sangare's band combines electric stringed instruments with djembes (hand drums), the harp-like kora, a single-string fiddle, a Western metal flute, and three backup singers who play large, beaded shekere-type wooden bowls as they sing and dance. Ms. Sangare's upbeat, high-energy song, "Tienadjan" lopes casually over a string osti- nato as the backup singers shake and toss their beaded bowls in a synchronized per- formance of both dance and percussion.

Salif Keita is striking for many reasons. He is an albino with a powerful voice, a pas- sionate Islamic spirituality, and an inspired sense of delivery. Over a spacious, pensive, trance-like groove he sings "Mandjou" like a call to prayer. His band includes the kora and balafon (marimba), along with a variety of percussionists, with an occasional synthe- sizer punch thrown in for punctuation and drama.

The group Tinariwen is billed as "Touareg," which is more an ethnic group than a place. Watching Tinariwen perform brings to mind scenes from composer/ author Paul Bowles' novel Under the Sheltering Sky; it is a peek into a faraway, ex- otic culture. The band members are strik- ing in their desert headgear but equally striking because of their instrumentation, which is comprised mostly of electric gui- tars. Their droning tribal sound has a clear pulse and rhythm, but the overall feel of the music is deliciously foreign to Western ears.

Most of the Roll Back Malaria concert bands play in a more modern pop style. Senegalese artists tend to perform in the mbalax genre, which is intensely polyrhyth- mic and dynamic.

Orchestra Baobab, from Senegal, has a typical lineup that includes two saxophones and several guitars. The music is catchy, three-chord pop with vaguely Western funk overtones. Percussionists and guitarists play interlocking riffs and ostinatos, construct- ing irresistible dance grooves out of dense polyrhythms.

The Nigerian singer/saxophonist Seun Anikulapo Kuti, son of Nigerian musical legend, Fela Kuti, fronts a large band con- sisting of five horns and the usual rhythm section of guitars and percussionists. His horn-driven sound provides a rich backup for his guest soloist, saxophonist Manu Dibango from Cameroon, who plays some

burning, authoritative jazz. Nigerian drum- mer Tony Allen, who is solidly from the Max Roach school of understated bebop drumming, augments Mr. Dibango's set.

On a bonus section of the DVD, Mr. Dibango plays his hit song, Soul Makossa. In a fascinating example of how international cultures continue to cross-pollinate, Dibango channels African American soul legend James Brown as he repeatedly yells over a tight, funky groove, "Can I get to the bridge?" to his band, to which they all re- spond "Yeah" in bit of extended call and response before they finally all hit the bridge together.

Afropop star Baaba Maal, from Senegal, performs Mbaye, a moving song of inspira- tion and spirituality. His big band, too, melds traditional and modern instruments, and the song features a talking drum player who solos front and center, embellishing Maal's vocals. Mr. Maal tears up the crowd with a rousing, high-energy finish.

Angelique Kidjo from Benin sings the tender ballad, Malaika (Angel) to the spare accompaniment of a solo, fingerpicked electric guitar. The effect is haunting as her rich voice echos airily into the night over the vast, hushed concert crowd.

Soul singer Corneille, from Rwanda, dri- ves all the girls into a frenzy with his boyish charm and thousand-watt smile. They crush the stage and reach out for him as he croons a smooth love song accompanied by a simple acoustic guitar, some spare percus- sion, and a few backup singers.

Happy-go-lucky Awilo Longomba, sport- ing short dreadlocks and a casual hipness, rouses the crowd with Karonlina, over a joy- ous, galloping dance beat that is reminis- cent of both Caribbean soca and Latin reg- gaeton. The high-note guitar ostinato tattoos the song with a typical Afropop soukous character.

Reggae group Tiken Jah Faholey from the Ivory Coast is among a number of per- formers who take a political activism stance, blaming the malaria epidemic in part on politicians' inactivity and corruption. Equally forceful are Awadi, a hip-hop group from Senegal, whose four lead singers all hold forth in an anti-government screed.

Throughout the concert, various artists praise the host, Youssou N'Dour, so he is omnipresent. A segment at a press confer- ence features him singing an a cappella ver-

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Video Reviews 687

sion of Roll Back Malaria, a song he wrote to demonstrate his concern and the urgency of controlling the disease. Later in the film, N'Dour is shown recording the song in a studio.

But he shines most in his collaborative concert performance with Grand Orchestre DuCaire, a classical ensemble from Cairo, Egypt, that combines traditional Middle Eastern instruments such as the oud (lute), nai (flute), and dumbek (hand drum) with a violin string section and other Western in- struments. Senegalese and Egyptian instru- ments blend together for this performance, which sounds dominantly Egyptian (think belly dance music), but with subtle Sene- galese characteristics, an inspired blend of two unique and separate styles.

French is the common language, so the DVD's English subtitles feature comes in handy. As for an African look from the per- formers, they are as likely to wear tradi-

tional dress as they are to wear "Western" apparel.

Director/producer Mick Csaiky inter- sperses concert footage with Dakar street scenes, and life from the surrounding countryside, including goatherds driving their flocks and fishmongers busy at the market. There is testimony about malaria from healthcare workers, and interviews with N'Dour, who earnestly pitches the need for immediate action.

The crowd appears enthusiastic but well behaved, respectful during the occasional stage speech about malaria and supportive of the cause. As Mr. N'Dour intended, the concert got the message out and hopefully people responded and took some action af- terward. The best the music could do is to bring everyone together.

MICHAEL ASHENFELDER

Library of Congress

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