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Bembeya jazz
Back In Style
Paris
12/11/2002 -
RFI: Where does Sékouba Diabaté's nickname, "Diamond Fingers", come from?Achken Kaba: He got it back in 1977 when we played at "Festac" in Lagos. This school of journalists basically dubbed him "Diamond Fingers" after the group's set, because they thought he was the best guitarist they'd seen at the festival. We felt really proud he'd received such an honour – so we've kept it ever since!
Sékouba Diabaté: That was a choice dictated by Christian Mousset, the organiser of the Angoulême festival where we performed for the first time in 1985. Christian Mousset's the man behind the new album and behind the comeback of Bembeya in general. Christian's not just our producer on this project, he's also our technical adviser, so we've taken his ideas on board. The main aim after all these years' silence is for us to recapture the essential Bembeya sound. On the next album it'll be 50-50 – 50% old favourites and 50% new songs. And then the album after that it'll be 100% new compositions!
RFI: Can we expect to see more guest stars on your future albums? This time round you've got a female guest vocalist on Soli au Wassoulou, a song about Wassoulou. Are Bembeya planning to open the door to any other singers from the region?
Sékouba Diabaté: Yes, absolutely. Oumou Sangaré would be perfect for something like that! We're keeping our minds and ears open to all propositions!
RFI: Sékouba Diabaté's style of guitar playing, throwing in the occasional Hawaiian vibe – on a track like Gbapie, for instance – is very reminiscent of King Sunny Adé. Was this style influenced by the group's trip to Nigeria in 1977? Sékouba Diabaté: Personally, I've always loved that style of guitar playing. The first track I recorded in that vein was back in '63 though, so it was a long time before we went to Lagos!
RFI: On the song Yelema Yelemaso you pay tribute to a whole bunch of people including Docteur Nico. Was he someone very important to you?
Sékouba Diabaté: He was a truly, truly great guitarist like Franco and Papa Noël, who both had strong individual styles. But that doesn't necessarily mean I've continued down the same road as them. I've followed down the same road as my mentor, Papa Diabaté. You know, if he'd had a bit more luck – because, the way I see it, everything in life's a matter of luck – he would have been the greatest guitarist Africa had ever known! After his generation, no more great guitarists ever came out of that region of Congo.
Achken Kaba: Papa Diabaté was one of the great pioneers of Guinean music. He was the first musician to popularise the guitar solo in Guinea. All the guitar-players in Guinea today have adopted Papa Diabaté's style – they all play like Papa Diabaté or Sékou Diabaté!
RFI: Back at the beginning of your career Bembeya's mission was to help restore a sense of national identity. What's the group's message today?
Diabaté Siré: Of all the national orchestras in Guinea I think Bembeya was the one which really had the best potential when it came to relaunching their career. The "lucky thing" that happened to them was that after the shock of losing their lead singer, Demba Camara, in 1973 - and going through a subsequent period of loss and mourning - Bembeya got themselves back on their feet again by getting new members on board. From that point on, 40% of the group were young musicians. Demba's death meant that Bembeya got a vital breath of new life, whereas the other big bands of the day were starting to show their age. Today, you know, there are just four members of the original Bembeya out of a group of eleven.
Our first real attempt to relaunch Bembeya was when we organised a comeback gig in Dakar in September 2001. Then, after that, there was the "Musiques Métisses" festival in Angoulême. The thing is, a lot of African music has become totally denatured these days. But Bembeya don't need keyboards or anything, we play traditional African music like Guinean rumba and Guinean salsa. We do this sort of melting-pot synthesis of all kinds of Guinean rhythms and play modern instruments but according to African and Guinean tradition. And I think that's one of Bembeya's greatest strengths!
RFI: Diabaté Siré, what motivated you to relaunch Bembeya? And why this group rather than another one from the thriving musical era that followed Independence?Diabaté Siré: Of all the national orchestras in Guinea I think Bembeya was the one which really had the best potential when it came to relaunching their career. The "lucky thing" that happened to them was that after the shock of losing their lead singer, Demba Camara, in 1973 - and going through a subsequent period of loss and mourning - Bembeya got themselves back on their feet again by getting new members on board. From that point on, 40% of the group were young musicians. Demba's death meant that Bembeya got a vital breath of new life, whereas the other big bands of the day were starting to show their age. Today, you know, there are just four members of the original Bembeya out of a group of eleven.
Our first real attempt to relaunch Bembeya was when we organised a comeback gig in Dakar in September 2001. Then, after that, there was the "Musiques Métisses" festival in Angoulême. The thing is, a lot of African music has become totally denatured these days. But Bembeya don't need keyboards or anything, we play traditional African music like Guinean rumba and Guinean salsa. We do this sort of melting-pot synthesis of all kinds of Guinean rhythms and play modern instruments but according to African and Guinean tradition. And I think that's one of Bembeya's greatest strengths!
RFI: Achken Kaba, how do you see the African music scene evolving in the future?
Achken Kaba: When I listen to the music coming out of Africa these days, I laugh with one eye while a tear rolls out of the other! The reason I laugh is because I say to myself that it's better to have a little than nothing at all. A new generation of musicians did step into the shoes of the generation that emerged in the post-independence years, but unfortunately these new groups didn't live up to expectations or continue the educative mission they should have. In my eyes, music should talk about work, love and human sincerity, it should evoke the best of our customs and morals and work towards increasing harmony in our society. What makes me really weep when I listen to modern music is the technical side of things. So much music has become completely mechanised these days. The problem is that despite its success, electronic music just keeps on churning out the same stuff. There are some great voices coming out of Africa right now, but it's difficult to find a real 'orchestra'. There are only a few left these days (like Baobab, the Rail Band, Bembeya…)
These days you mostly get
Patrick Labesse
Translation : Julie Street
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