Special report

Damon Albarn's African showcase

"Africa Express" in Paris

Paris 

07/08/2009 - 

After stopping off in Kinshasa, Lagos, London and Liverpool, Africa Express arrived in Paris in full force on 5 August 2009 with 128 singers and musicians performing a free concert outside City Hall as part of the "Fnac Indétendances" festival. The project, masterminded by pioneering British musician Damon Albarn, involves an all-star cast from Africa and the West who came together to put across a message of peace, hope and tolerance.

They were all there outside the Hôtel de Ville on Wednesday night : Vieux Farka Touré and Bassékou Kouyaté, Tony Allen and the Congolese stars Konono n°1, Amadou & Mariam and Ebony Bones, Rachid Taha and Roots Manuva together with Algerian folk-pop singer Souad Massi, electro maverick U-Cef, the Malian diva Oumou Sangaré and her "brother" Cheick Tidiane Seck !

Meanwhile, backstage in the hallowed corridors of Paris City Hall, leading world music figures such as British producer Nick Gold (the director of the World Circuit label who staged Buena Vista Social Club's comeback) rubbing shoulders with DJ and producer Don Letts, a close friend and collaborator of legendary British punk band The Clash.

As the "crème de la crème" of the international music world mingled downstairs, the 128 singers and musicians involved in Africa Express improvised impromptu jam sessions on the upper floors. While for many of them the event was an opportunity to hook up with long-lost friends, others seized upon the occasion to meet long-held music idols or exchange riffs and ideas with artists from the other side of the world.

In the midst of this organized chaos Damon Albarn strode through the crowd, the striking blue eyes that have made the baby-faced singer so popular with female fans scrupulously checking every last detail. Africa Express's "master of ceremonies" - also renowned as lead singer of Blur and Gorillaz - was the undoubted (albeit discreet) hero of the night. And it was all down to him that Africa Express was happening at all ! Hot back from an inspirational trip to Mali in 2005, Albarn came up with the groundbreaking idea of organising a series of collective concerts bringing together musicians from Africa and the West.

A message to the world

Four years later on a balmy August evening in Paris, music fans and tourists who had enjoyed the day at the city's temporary "beach" on the Seine, began making their ways towards the forecourt of Hôtel de Ville. And by the time Amadou & Mariam, Mali's most famous double act, took to the stage to kick off proceedings the cobbled square was packed to bursting point. The Africa Express vibe continued with a set from Amadou & Mariam's compatriot, Vieux Farka Touré (the son and heir of the late great Ali Farka Touré). Over the next five hours and more the crowd were treated to other musical gems and unlikely pairings such as the traditional ngoni virtuoso Bassekou Kouyaté fusing his lilting strings with U-Cef's compelling hip-hop flow. Later, the squealing trumpets of Chicago's Hypnotic Brass Band gave way to the wild and abrasive sounds of British stage siren Ebony Bones.

Meanwhile, Damon Albarn put in a number of brief appearances on keyboards, beefing up Konono n°1's electro-trance fusion at one point and picking up his microphone to sing vocals with quirky French indie diva Catherine Ringer at another. Albarn took to the stage again around midnight for the grand finale of Africa Express, pumping his fist in the air alongside Rachid Taha as the duo served up an unforgettable version of The Clash's famous anthem Rock The Casbah.

"This evening is about sending out a message to the world", the Malian diva Oumou Sangaré announced earlier during her set. "A message of peace and unity. We singers and musicians get along together just fine. It would be wonderful if world leaders could now follow our example and finally sit down and shake hands! " 

3 questions to Cheick Tidiane Seck: In this mini-interview with keyboard wizard and fusion virtuoso Cheick Tidiane Seck, the Malian star declares that while he is "100% behind" Damon Albarn's project he feels the international media still have a long way to go in giving fair coverage to African music. RFI Musique : How did you come to be involved in Africa Express? Cheick Tidiane Seck : Amadou & Mariam's manager, Marc-Antoine, who works with Africa Express was the one who originally got me on board. When he talked to me about the project I immediately loved the idea ! It's such an amazing opening for Africa. This is something I've been trying to do myself over the past six years with Jam’Sahel*, getting 200 musicians together for a collective concert. My own experience was that some people jumped on board immediately while others dragged their feet a bit, but little by little the project grew. When I see other artists trying to do a similar sort of thing to me I stand up and shout "Go for it! " Projects like this need to be supported and encouraged to cross borders. Does African music need this kind of event to gain international recognition? Well, events like this certainly create a dynamic ! Back in the early eighties African music became very fashionable. The problem with this is that fashion, by its very definition, is not intended to last. But we are ! It's time people realized that African music is not just a passing fad ! I think that now with projects like Africa Express there's true recognition of our worth at last. I don't think the mainstream media can ignore us any more. It's outrageous that certain heads of TV channels still refuse to broadcast African music in certain slots ! That proves that integration is still a long way off… Do you think the fact that Africa Express is spearheaded by a major western music star like Damon Albarn has helped generate media coverage?  You know, I really like Damon Albarn. He's taken a lot of risks with this and I wholeheartedly commend his initiative. But you have to ask yourself whether the same event organized by a leading African artist - and I'm talking about major stars here like Youssou N’Dour, Manu Dibango or Salif Keita - would have gone down in quite the same way… Whatever the case, I'm 100% behind the concert at Hôtel de Ville. What more powerful symbol could there be than playing outside Paris City Hall ? I firmly believe Africa Express will keep on getting bigger and better and take our music to a much wider audience over time. What has to happen now is we have to take our musical caravan to other countries - and then we can truly stand there and say "mission accomplished! " * World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought : www.jamsahel.org

Compilation: Africa Express Presents… (Africa Express / PumaCreative) 2009