Benin Radio Show
Benin sits between Nigeria and Togo and is the birthplace of the Vodun religion which is practiced by the Aja, Ewe and Fon ethnic groups and has over 50 millions followers in West Africa. Vodun (typically referred to as Voodoo in the west) was transported to the Americas with slaves transported by Portuguese and Dutch slave traders. Resulting incarnations include Voudou (Haiti), Santeria (Cuba), Camdomble (Brasil) and Voodoo (New Orleans).
The Voodoo which developed in New Orleans was suppressed by slave owners but remained in the slave songs and eventually in gospel, where Voodoo and hymns met. I was personally very aware of the modern Voodoo blues of New Orleans through my dad who grew up in Lafayette, Louisiana and went to university in New Orleans. Bands like The Meters and artists such as Dr John were heavily influenced by Voodoo blues and regularly referred to it in their lyrics (Dr John’s album Gri Gri refers to a Voodoo talisman or amulet).
The resulting blues music eventually morphed into R&B, Rock & Roll and pretty much every other form of popular music since, and made its way back to Africa where it combined with traditional styles to create most of the music which I play on my Mother of Mankind shows. One of the groups which typifies this are Orchestra Poly-Rythmo de Contonou who I put a spotlight on in this show. They combine traditional Vodun influences with a combination of soul and funk as well as a range of Latin rhythms from Cha Cha to Cuban Son, Boleros and Foxtrot. One of the key elements of the religion are the rhythms which are played repetitively over and over until a spirit enters the body and the subject enters a trance. The penultimate tune on the show is a record called Mi Kple Mi De which is a trance-inducing 15 minutes long.
Orchestra Poly-Rythmo de Contonou’s full name is Tout Puissant Orchestra Poly-Rythmo de Contonou with the Tout Puissant translating from French as ‘Almighty’. They are a prolific group who were founded in the 1960s and were active from then until the 1980s. They reformed in 2009 and are still playing music to this day, having recorded hundreds of songs over the years. Samy Ben Redjeb, founder of the incredible Analog Africa label, personally collected over 500 of their songs during several trips to Benin which they had recorded between 1970 and 1985. Huge credit needs to go to Samy for bringing their music to the world!
Full tracklist:
Dadje Von O Von Non - Gnonnas Pedro et ses Dadjes
Kovito Gbe De Towe - Antoine Dougbe
Best Woman - Vincent Ahehehinnou
Honton Soukpo Gnon - Antoine Dougbe
Congolaise Benin Ye - Le Super Borgou de Parakou
Okpo Videa Bassouo - Gnonnas Pedro et ses Panchos
Irma Koi - Gnonnas Pedro
Azo N'kplon - Gnonnas Pedro
E Nan Mian Nuku - El Rego Et Ses Commandos
Traveller - Chris ID
Cantaloupe Island - Lionel Loueke
Ose - Princess Peters
Sodjo (feat. Togbe Yeton) - Kardinal Ricky
Immature (feat. Blaaz) - Togbe Yeton
Segla - Orchestre Poly-Rythmo de Cotonou
Ecoute Ma Melodie (Bossa Afro) - Orchestre Poly-Rythmo de Cotonou
Noude Ma Gnin Tche De Me - Orchestre Poly-Rythmo de Cotonou
Moulon Devia - Orchestre Poly-Rythmo de Cotonou
Mi Kple Mi De - Orchestre Poly-Rythmo de Cotonou
La Musica En Verite - Gnonnas Pedro et ses Dadjes
