Album review

Tiken Jah Fakoly

Coup de gueule

Paris 

08/10/2004 - 

After winning a coveted "Victoire de la Musique" award in 2003 for his album Françafrique, Tiken Jah Fakoly headed back to Kingston, Jamaica, to record the majority of his new album, Coup de Gueule. On this new opus, the Ivorian reggae star, currently living in exile in Mali, continues his protest songs and political consciousness-raising.

A massive turn-out of almost 20,000 fans flocked to Bamako’s Modibo Keïta stadium on Saturday October 2nd to hear Tiken Jah Fakoly present songs from his new album, Coup de gueule. The Ivorian reggae star had secretly hoped the launch of his new album would take place not in the Malian capital, but in his homeland – and had thought about chartering a private plane to fly him from Bamako to Abidjan and back in one day! But, to his great regret, Tiken was forced to give up this project owing to fears for his own safety and that of his fans.

"I was told certain people did not look kindly on the idea of my flying into Abidjan," says Tiken, "I was warned things could turn bad." Explaining the fact that he has spent the past two years living in exile in Mali, Tiken remarks that "to stay in Ivory Coast, I would have had to keep my mouth shut. That's something I'm completely incapable of doing, so I preferred to move away. Those who are in power today are well aware of my convictions and opinions. When they were in opposition, we didn't exactly work alongside one another, but there was certainly mutual respect. But now they’re in government they know they'll never be able to harness me to their political ends - and I suspected sooner or later they'd try and get rid of me."

While the political crisis in Ivory Coast destroyed national unity in 2002, Tiken points out that the day after the "Victoires de la Musique" Awards he received phone calls from politicians on both sides of the divide, congratulating him on his victory. The singer admits he is very proud of having won an award for his last album. "When I look at myself in the mirror in the morning," he laughs, "I say to myself 'That's pretty good, boy, now keep it going!' But winning an award hasn't changed my approach or the way I behave. I see it as a step in my career. I'm well aware of the fact that from the moment I won the award, the most difficult part was to come. I realise I'll have to work even harder now to keep myself at that level. Now the pressure’s on because I feel I absolutely have to get nominated at the next "Victoires de la Musique" Awards.”

Tiken has not rushed into things, however, in an attempt to live up to his self-imposed challenge. Instead, he has taken time over his new album, allowing himself to feel around and find inspiration and ideas for his compositions as well as his lyrics. "Our biggest concern with the new album," he says, "was to serve up something completely different. Françafrique went down really well with people, but I didn't just want to make a photocopy this time round!"

Embarking on what he hoped would be a new musical direction, but keeping that distinctive Afro-Jamaican edge to his sound, Tiken spent eight months carefully honing and crafting his songs before flying out to Kingston to record in the legendary Tuff Gong studio (owned by the Marley family). The Ivorian reggae-man worked with his usual crew out in Jamaica, enlisting ex-Wailers star Tyrone Downie as producer again and recruiting musicians he has worked with in the past such as Sly Dunbar and Robbie Shakespeare. (Connoisseurs will not need to be told that the drummer and bass-player make up one of the most famous double acts in the history of reggae). "The way I worked with Françafrique," says Tiken, "was I turned up with my demos and imposed everything on the musicians. But this time round I wanted to give them a bit of room to express themselves. They played exactly as they wanted to – and if I liked the result, I kept it!"

The overall result marks a real departure from Tiken's last album, Françafrique. Musically speaking, Tiken has worked with a more muted palette this time round, dropping the female backing choir (which has been a main feature in his work since Mangercratie) and stopping instruments playing at full power on certain tracks. On some songs, such as Plus rien ne m'étonne (Nothing Surprises Me Any More) and Tonton d'América (Uncle from America), his voice even verges on the weary and lacklustre. But Tiken defends this artistic approach, insisting, "There are some melodies that absolutely have to be sung this way!"

Tiken, who has spent the last few years of his career actively involved in the “Drop the African Debt” campaign, was invited to take part in the "Summit for Another World" (organised as part of the anti-G8 demonstrations in Geneva in 2003). The singer has become increasingly involved in the anti-globalisation movement since then and his new album, Coup de gueule, takes a broader view of international events. Tiken appears to have decided it is time to look beyond African borders and take on the problems of the world.

The only disappointment is that his lyrics do not always live up to his new global awareness. Some songs on Coup de gueule sound a little too naïve, while others choose all-too obvious targets such as American neo-colonialism and the great powers’ system of geo-political exchange. The truly interesting new dimension in Tiken's work is that he has started opening up to the rest of the world via collaborations with the likes of French stars Bernard Lavilliers and Zebda, Malian duo Amadou & Mariam or legendary UK reggae band Steel Pulse. These collaborations prove the Ivorian reggae-man has the potential to diversify musically and carry his consciousness-raising message even further afield.

Tiken Jah Fakoly Coup de gueule (Barclay) 2004

Bertrand  Lavaine

Translation : Julie  Street