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Africando, panafrican combo
Afro-Cuban Fusion.
Paris
25/06/2003 -
Set by Senegalese talent-spotter/producer Ibrahima Syllart in 1993, Africando have become a veritable institution these days, federating black cultures via their vibrant Afro-Cuban sound. The group, initially made up of Cuban musicians from New York and Senegalese singers mad about salsa, has undergone a series of line-up changes over the years. But the essential Africando spirit remains the same. RFI Musique hooks up with Gnonnas Pedro, one of the group's lead singers from Benin, who has been with Africando since 1996.
RFI Musique: The brand new Africando album, your sixth to date, is called Martina. Where did the title come from?
Gnonnas Pedro: Well, as I'm one of Africando's lead singers, I guess I can speak on behalf of all the soloists who've been involved in the latest project. As far as the title goes, when we were working on the album we came to realise that all the songs on it are basically about the beauty of life in Africa. And how could we possibly have sung the praises of our great continent without mentioning how magnificent African women are? And that, in a nutshell, is how we came to choose a woman's name as the title!
Your new album was recorded in studios between Dakar, Abidjan, New York and Paris. Was this a way of reminding everyone of Africando's bridge-building across the Atlantic?
You know what the name Africando means, don't you? It means united Africa, Africa on the move, Africa and the whole of its diaspora marching forward hand in hand… I think we all experienced the recording of this album as a special moment in time, something magic in our lives. It's funny, despite everyone's hectic personal schedules outside the group we all somehow managed to get together for the project no matter what. As far as the various recording sessions went, we simply availed ourselves of the best modern technology has to offer, doing one take in Abidjan, another in Dakar and so on. Then we put the whole thing together in Paris before putting the finishing touches to the album in New York.
There are a number of special guest stars on your new album such as Ismaël Lô, for instance. What do you think these new collaborations added to the Africando style?
I'd say they reflect the essential spirit of Africando which has always revolved around bringing together African artists playing Afro-Cuban sounds. As far as this particular album was concerned what we really wanted to do was bring together the veteran generation of Afro-Cuban musicians from the 60s and those who are currently taking over from them. As you mentioned Ismaël Lô features on the album, doing a cover of the 1983 hit Lote Lo. But there are a whole lot of other guest stars including Seka, an up-and-coming young singer from Senegal. Seka's already made quite a name for himself with the Royal Band from Thiès and he's definitely someone you'll be hearing a lot from in the near future too!
And what about the permanent members of Africando? How do you go about working together. Is it essentially teamwork or more a question of individual members contributing their own musical expertise?
I'd say all the members of Africando act as ambassadors for their respective countries. We've got Medoune Diallo representing Senegal, Amadou Balaké representing Burkina Faso and Sekouba Bambino representing Guinea-Conakry. Then you've got Ronnie Baro doing his bit for the U.S. and me flying the flag for Benin. But no-one should forget there are two other absolutely key figures, without whom Africando would never have existed - and they are master Malian arranger Boncana Maïga and the hugely talented Senegalese producer Ibrahima Syllart.
The group's innovative sound, best described as "African salsa", obviously brings together African and Cuban culture. What does this rapprochement between the two countries mean to you? I've been working on Afro-Cuban music for a long, long time now and I've looked into the history of it too, researching the traditional African dances of our ancestors and the animist rituals still carried out in Benin, Togo, Nigeria and Ghana. You find the same rhythms in all the countries in the Guinean Gulf, these very particular rhythms hammered out on drums and claves which are the base of what we now know as salsa. What happened a little further down the track was that Cubans and Puerto Ricans living in New York took these rudimentary rhythms and added a vibrant brass section, thereby totally modernising the sound.
When you start looking into the history of this music you find that everything dates back to the slave era. What happened was the Africans who were deported from their homeland took their musical heritage across the Atlantic with them, particularly to Cuba. What we're trying to do with Africando is put across our own personal take on the common history between West Africa and the Caribbean and give an international dimension to this exciting cultural melting-pot. And I have to add that Africando's not just a Pan-African collective either – we're "Pana-mondo", capable of reaching out and touching the entire world!
One last question: could you tell us something about Azo Nkplon, the song you perform lead vocals on?
Well, in the language we speak back home in Benin Azo Nkplon means "I make a living from my chosen profession." At the end of the day that means I don't envy my fellow man. I'm totally satisfied with my life, earning a living from the profession I've learnt!
Daniel Lieuze
