Album review

Côte d’ivoire – 50 ans d’indépendance musicale

Retrospective boxed set

Paris 

22/10/2010 - 

Contained in three CDs and 52 songs, the official compilation Côte d’ivoire – 50 ans d’indépendance musicale looks back over the success of the Ivoirian artists who have got their compatriots up and dancing in Abidjan and elsewhere over the last few decades.

Throughout 2010, Côte d’Ivoire has been celebrating half a century of independence. Jamborees like these call for a rendition in music, especially since the country has for a long time been at the continent’s musical forefront. But the retrospective provided by Côte d’ivoire – 50 ans d’indépendance was subject to more than the simple physical restrictions of the limited song space on a CD.

The project’s official aspect, which is prominently mentioned on the cover, is manifestly one of the factors that had to be taken into account by the man who put it together, producer David Monsoh. A quick perusal of the CD booklet makes that clear. The welcome message by the 50^th anniversary’s chief of ceremonies is followed by some words from the republic’s current president, Laurant Gbagbo, paving the way for a history lesson on the glory of Côte d’Ivoire, where the father of independence, Félix Houphouët-Boigny, is always in the background.

Although interesting, the purpose of the boxed set is clearly more political than artistic and commercial, and the overall impression is that the music is something of a pretext. Hardly surprising, then, that the first of the 52 tracks is L’Abidjanaise, the national anthem, immediately followed by Ode à Houphouët-Boigny.

The pioneers are all in there: Amédée Pierre, François Lougah – also known as "Papa national" – and the singer Allah Thérèse with a more traditional offering, Indépendance. The styles are eclectic, ranging from some promising zigliblithy from Ernesto Djedje to the over-synthesized reggae of Hamed Faras, and taking in some trendy tunes by Daouda and Aicha Koné. Not forgetting, in a more recent register, the pioneering zouglou of Parents du Campus and the late Douk Sag’s coupé-décalé.

It’s a good way to discover the songs that marked their era on the local scene, like You by Chantal Taïba. Some have tarnished with the passage of time, but the compilation’s aim was to stop them from being forgotten too quickly and to remind us that all are part of the 50-year-old shared history of the Ivoirian nation.

Compilation Côte d’ivoire – 50 ans d’indépendance musicale (Lusafrica) 2010

Bertrand  Lavaine

Translation : Anne-Marie  Harper