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Special report
Camille Louvel: championing the Burkina Faso sound
Chapa Blues Records
Ouagadougou
10/07/2009 -
One of Burkina Faso’s most successful hip hop initiatives of the past few years was Ouaga Jungle, which was both a bar/restaurant and an association. Founded in 2004 by the young Frenchman Camille Louvel and his friend Julien Kieffer, an anthropology student, Ouaga Jungle was the focal point of the Burkina Faso underground scene, until its demise a couple of years later.
Ouaga Jungle nights took place three times a week, offering a whole variety of artists an opportunity to perform and make a name for themselves. Thursdays were devoted to sound systems, drum’n’bass and “battles”, while Fridays put the spotlight on acoustic performers. Established groups performed on Saturdays. From the several hundred performances at Ouaga Jungle, some real talents were discovered and introduced to a larger public, among them the rapper Obscur Jaffa.
Although this veritable hub of the Ouagadougou scene closed in 2006 after the departure of Kieffer, Camille Louvel continues to support Burkina Faso artists. And despite the low profile this country has on the global music scene, it certainly doesn’t lack for talent! A former philosophy student at Rennes university, Camille Louvel first fell for Africa’s charms on a trip to Niger, and in 2007 created his own record label, Chapa Blues Records ("chapalo drinker’s blues", chapalo being a local beer).
His ‘maquis’ has now been transformed into a residence where musicians can come and stay to develop their projects. Located near the Hamdallaye mosque, a rootsy working-class area of Ouagadougou, it is a modest building surrounded by bougainvilleas, comprising rehearsal and recording studios, as well as four bedrooms.
Louvel is passionate about music and has a real aptitude for sniffing out new trends and talents. Victor Demé, originally from Bobo-Dioulasso, would never have had an international career without the help of Louvel and journalist David Commelias. Produced by Chapa Blues, the singer/guitarist’s debut album has sold more than 40,000 copies since its release last year – a rare success story for Burkina Faso.
New encounters and projects
Démé’s second album is scheduled for late 2009, and in the meantime Louvel is producing other groups. In what he calls his “meeting place and living space”, his projects centre on Yapa, a French jazz group invited over to engage in musical exchanges with local artists. The Frères Diarra also use the residence to work in, as do the Malian Amadou Diabate, the instrumental group Balikoro, and Baliku Roots. The Nigerian Koudede and Winston McAnuff from Jamaica are also being supported by the founder of Chapa. Next December recording sessions with a blues group from Chambéry in France, the Mountain Men, will also kick off. And a project with the songstress Olivia Ruiz is also under consideration, following her trip to Burkina Faso earlier this year.
The void left by the closure of Ouaga Jungle has not been filled. But musicians can now nevertheless turn towards Reemdoogo, better known as the “Music Garden”. This high-quality performance space in the suburb of Gounghin comprises three rehearsal areas, a recording studio and a large performing area with all the latest equipment. Financed by Ouagadougou council with the support of the municipality of Grenoble in France, it is frequented by the likes of the singer Bil Aka Kora and is an initial response to the obvious lack of music infrastructure in Burkina Faso.
 Interview with Camille Louvel RFI Musique: Is the music infrastructure in Burkina Faso adequate? Camille Louvel: There are not enough performance spaces and the music scene in Burkina Faso really lacks resources. And that includes Ray Lema’s African University of Music, situated here. There should be more projects like Ouaga Jungle. While it was still going, it allowed dozens of groups to be heard and produced. Artists now tend to get together in collectives like Konkret 53, the best known of them. But there are not enough places for them to play live. What are the consequences for the musicians? Despite all the problems, is the Burkina Faso scene a dynamic one? |
Alexandre Varlet
