IFANG BONDI FANTASTIC AFRO FUNK JAZZ PSYCH ORGAN BREAKS

$

136

IFANG BONDI AND THE AFRO MANDINGUE SOUNDS Saraba (Gambia)

Disques Griot 7603 (USA?) 197?

A : Atis-a-tis (4'35) / Xaleli africa (3'52) / Saraba (9'31) / Yolele (4'59)

B : Xalel dey magg (4'52) / Sutukun (8'24) / Xam xam (5'20)

Probably one of the best african record that I ever heard ! One of my favorite... Absolutely fantastic ! A perfect fusion between mandingo groove, funk, jazz, with psychedelic guitar and cosmic sounds, a great organ, lots of drums. The first track is indescriptible ! Bass intro, heavy psyche guitar, wild organ background, great rythm with heavy drums, hypnotic vocals, a fantastic break with flute and percussions...First track (side 2) is a groovy tune too (funky, hypnotic break with guitar, percussion, organ).The others tracks are more quiet, but with the same spirit, hypnotic arrangements and psyché sound (except may be B2, a afro-jazz tune little bit more traditionnal), sometimes near 70's Ethiopian jazz. So great ! A must !

I'm really sorry, I'm not équiped with mp3...

Incroyable disque afro-psyché, vraiment psyché et "hypnotique". Avec orgue, guitares et différent types de percussions. Le 1er morceau est extraordinaire, afro- funk et psyché. Excellent break avec flute et percussion. Le 1er morceau face B est aussi très groovy, funky avec un break hypnotique guitare-organ-percussion. Les autres morceaux sont plus dans un style jazz afro-mandingue, toujours avec des sons psychés...parfois proche du style éthiopien des années 70. EXTRA !!!

Sans doute l'un de mes disques afro-fusion préféré...

Désolé, je ne suis pas équipé pour vous procurer le son ...

Musicians : Badou Jobe (guitar, percussion), Bye Janha (guitar, vocal), Pa Musa Njie (bass, vocal), Karamo sabaly (sabar, conga, percussion, drums), Ali Harb (sax, flute, vocal, sekereba), Pa Alien Njie (drums, sabar), Kunon jarjutay (keyboard, cowhorn, percussion, vocal), Pap Touray (lead vocal, percussion), Samson Gassama (conga, sabar).

Produced by Abubacar Toure, recorded at Jandeer Night Club (Orchestre Baobab !)

Record = Side A = VG++ to EX (few very light surface scuffs and traces, plays with few very light crackles, water traces on label) Side B : VG++ (few very light surface scuffs, plays with a very light surface noise)

Cover = VG (no serious damage, ring wear, used corners and slices, left one damaged, one split at the top - a little part of the picture is missing, dirty traces at the back, completely open to the left and buttom)

Weight = 250 grs

Ifang Bondi, meaning "be yourself" in Mandinka language, grew out of the former Gambian band called the Super Eagles. Founded in the 60's the Super Eagles was the undisputed top group in the Gambia and Senegal. In 1968 they toured Ghana, making an enormous impact with their very African sound in a country which was shortly to produce Osibisa. In 1970 Super Eagles was disbanded only to rise up again in 1973, as Ifang Bondi. The name was new as the sound, featuring for the first time indigenous Senegambian rhythms, melodies and instruments. They integrated traditional instruments as kora, balafon, sabar, talking drum, bugarabu and djembe with mordern instruments as the electric guitar, base and keyboards.
As such they have been credited to be the true originators of the current "Afro-Manding" sound as extemporised by stars such as Yousou N'dure, Salif Keïta and Mory Kante.

For more than twenty years the Gambian roots band Ifang Bondi (‘be yourself') has had a leading role within  West African popular music. It was one of the first groups that decided to return to its African roots by playing traditional Manding music.

To talk about an influential band such as Ifang Bondi, one needs to know how its origins came about. It was the year 1970. The auditorium of Legon University in Accra (Ghana) was filled to capacity. There was an environment of restless expectation awaiting the arrival on stage of the Super Eagles of The Gambia. The devastating performance of highlife, soul, Cuban music, reggae and western pop songs which followed, faultlessly delivered by the men in sharp suits, revealed why this band from The Gambia had become West Africa's number one superstar attraction. West Africa had just completed its first decade of independence and was in the throes of anticolonialist sentiment, pan-Africanism and 'Say it loud, I am Black and Proud'. This was to be the last time most people saw the Super Eagles, leaving only the legacy of their all-time classic album 'Viva Super Eagles'.

Unknown to their thousands of fans, this was not the end of the story, but just the end of the First chapter in one of the longest-running sagas in African musical history. The truth is that the founders of the band, leader Badou Jobe and vocalist Paps Touray had taken a deliberate decision to end Super Eagles at the height of their popularity. Being true revolutionary pan Africanists and musical pioneers, they had become increasingly disturbed by the music they were playing and the image they presented. Despite the greater fame and fortune that was theirs for the taking. They radically gave it all up to go back to square one, back to the roots, to create something African for Africans, to challenge the cultural imperialism of the west which still gripped the continent. They went into the bush to sit at the feet of the jelis - the master drummers and the old maestros of the kora, xalam, and bala - the guardians of a thousand years of culture and tradition.

After two years of exhaustive research and hard practice, Badou Jobe and the few musicians like Paps Touray and Ali Harb, who had felt inspired to join, came back with unique new music, born from their amazingly rich heritage. To their modern electric outfit, including the novelty of an electric organ, they had added traditional drums, which, next to the drum kit's chromium sheen and the fancy sunburst of the guitars, looked like alien objects from another planet. The new repertoire, painstakingly composed according to the rules of the jeli teachers, had meant a struggle with unfamiliar scales and mind-boggling rhythm structures. They proudly coined their music the Afro Manding Sound after the legendary Manding empire, cradle of their West African culture.

By 1973 the group had shed its eagles' feathers to reappear as Ifang Bondi ('Be yourself), a fearsome Manding spirit that puts the newly initiated to the test and seeks out evildoers within society. The band's First public performances were greeted with dismay and disbelief by their devoted fans, who were outraged by the 'bush' sound of mbalax and jambadongo rhythms, although the musicians had been careful to hide the sabar (drums) under the British flag. At that time this type of music was considered to be played only at weddings and family-gatherings and not for big audiences. But bandleader Badou Jobe, veteran of an earlier bade against caste taboos to become a musician in the first place, stuck by his guns through the sticks and stones of this initial period. The only support at this time came from fellow musicians, later to form Toure Kunda and Super Diamono, who appreciated the Afro Manding Sound for the momentum it was bound to give African music. Gradually their revolutionary ideas got accepted, and this was the birth of the popular West African modern music that has since catapulted Toure Kunda, Youssou N'dour, Mory Kante, and Baaba Maal onto the world stage.

The role of Ifang Bondi has been pivotal - by rehabilitating the traditional musicians they made people aware of their own heritage, and they offered new dimensions to African artists in search of an authentic sound. To rigorously deprive a devoted public of their pop idols, the ultimate symbol of modern western cultureto induce them to set their own cultural values and to get rid of the inferiority complex, a lingering legacy of colonialism, had not been a venture for the faint-hearted. But in the end the effort proved to be worthwhile. Ifang Bondi have achieved their goal - to create something African for Africans - beyond expectations.

Badou Jobe's innovative ideas, based on a vast musical knowledge, have crystallized into a comprehensive artistic concept that created also the inimitable sound, Ifang Bondi's trademark. Throughout the years, Ifang Bondi has continued to develop its unique music which reflects the enormous variety and richness of authentic styles, be it Wolof, Mandingo, Fula, Jola or other. The band's line-up shows a similar ethnic diversity They put fresh blood into musical traditions, not only by a prolific output of original material but also by organizing festivals in which they invited pop, jazz and reggae musicians from as far as the US and Jamaica to play with traditional performers.

From the beginning Ifang Bondi have acted as a true academy of music from which many great artists have graduated. Outside West Africa Ifang Bondi has always had a solid cult following. The infrequency of record releases, all sought after collector's items, plus the enigmatic personality of its bandleader, who seems quite happy to stay out of the limelight, "I once opened the door to the hell of stardom, had a good look around, and slammed it shut again", has only enhanced the mystique surrounding this group. Badou Jobe received the prestigious Kora All Africa Music Award, also known as the African Grammy Award, in 1989. 

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Communication: ok in English (but I am not fluent !), de préférence en Français, mogelijk in Neederlands (maar ik heb hulp nodig !).

Payement/Paiement/Betaling : Paypal (prefer), Bank transfer/Virement bancaire. No check.

Postage/Frais d'envoi/Verzendkosten : Priority/Prioritaire (The Belgian Post does not offer economy service !!! /    La Poste Belge n'offre pas de service économique !!!)

You may think these prices are too high, but they are exactly what the Belgian post offers (the most expensive in Europe !!!) / Vous allez penser que les frais d'envoi sont excessifs, mais nous avons le service postal le plus cher d'Europe !!!.

Check each items' weigh, indicated in ads, to estimate the shipping cost. Don't forget the package's weight (Cd's envelope = 25grs / Record's box = 200/300grs) / Vérifiez dans chaque annonce le poids des objets pour évaluer les frais de port, sans oublier le poid de l'emballage (enveloppe pour CD = 25grs / boite pour disques = 200/300grs)

Belgium/Belgique/Belgïe :

1/6 LP (2kg)  = 4,50 euros          7/15 LP (5kg) = 9,00 euros

1/3 singles (350 grs) = 2 euros      4/30 singles (2kg) = 4,50 euros

1/2/3 CD (350 grs) = 1,50 euros    3/8 CD (1kg) = 3,00 euros

Nederlands + Luxembourg : 15/30 lp (5/10kg) = 13 euros

 Europe :

1/2 (3?) LP (1kg) = 9,00 euros (13 US$)   3/5 LP (2kg) = 18,00 euros (26 US$)  

15 LP (5kg) = 26 euros (36 US$)

1/3 singles (350 grs) = 5 euros (7 US$)   4/15 singles (1kg) = 9 euros (13 US $)

1 CD (100grs !) = 2,50 euros      2/3 CD (350grs) = 5,00 euros

World + USA + Canada :

1/2 (3?) LP (1kg) = 15,00 euros (21 US$)     3/5 LP (2kg) = 30,00 euros (42 US$) 

15 LP (5kg) = 52 euros (73 US$)

1/3 singles (350 grs) = 6 euros (8.5 US $)    4/15 singles (1kg) = 15 euros (21 US $)

1 CD (100grs !) = 3,00 euros         2/3 CD (350grs) = 6,00 euros

REGISTERED SHIPPING / ENVOI RECOMMANDE = + 4,50 euros

Items will be sent as soon as payment is confirmed (24 h after max.) / Les colis seront postés dès la confirmation du paiement (endéans les 24h).

I provide a free solid hand made package. It's not an économic choice, but an écological engagement ! / Emballage gratuit et solide (fabrication maison, non pas par choix économique mais par conviction écologique...)

GRADING For LP / NOTATION pour les disques :

NM (NEAR MINT) : Near perfect copy, played only a few times.At worst it may have one or two insignificant flaws.The highest grade I give for a non-seled record .../ Disque et pochette impéccables, joué seulement quelques fois.Au pire, une ou deux traces insignifiantes.C'est le grade le plus haut que je donne pour un disque non scellé...

EX (EXCELLENT) : Clean copy, slight surface marks/hairlines, cover has minor defaults. / Disque en excellent état, lègères marques en surface, pochette avec défauts mineurs....

VG++ (VERY GOOD++) : More surface marks, minor flaws,  or cover wear, minor edge. Nothing serious but is not graded EX because of few minor defaults / Très bon état dans l'ensemble, avec des traces sur le disque ou/et sur la pochette. Rien de sérieux mais assez de petits défauts pour ne pas être classé EX.

VG+ (VERY GOOD +) : Played a lot, will show signs of handling, has marks, possibly few light scratches but no jumps or sticks. Cover wear (light ring wear, heavier corner or edge wear) / Disque qui a tourné, visiblement utilisé, avec quelques marques (effets mineurs) mais pas de griffes (ne saute pas). Pochette avec quelques traces ( coin un peu corné, tranche légèrement abimée, saleté).

VG (VERY GOOD) : Used record, played a lot, has marks, few scratches, some crackle while playing  and but no jumps or sticks. Still quite listenable. Cover may have heavy corner, edge wear or split seam / Disque qui a été souvent joué (!) avec traces diverses, quelques grattes et des craquements audibles mais pas de rayures. Encore écoutable.Pochette défraichie, un peu déchirée, coins cornés ou côtés abimés.

G (GOOD) : Played a lot and more (but still playable), lot of scratches, crackle a lot while playing, may have jump or sticks and cover is damaged...so not so good ! This record must be very rare to be proposed in this state !!! / Disque qui a bien vécu (mais pas encore mort), pas mal de griffes, craque beaucoup, il peut sauter parfois et la pochette est sérieusement endommagée...donc pas si bon ! Ce disque doit être vraiment rare pour être proposé dans cet état !!!

Each record and cover will be described in more detail if necessary .

Chaque disque et pochette seront plus détaillés si nécessaire.

If you want more pictures or more informations, don't hesitate to ask.Thanks

Si vous voulez d'autres photos ou de plus amples informations, n'hésitez pas. Merci

GRADING For CD / NOTATION pour les CD :

VG: Very good condition (no marks), play perfect. Box, sleeve or booklet will be graded aside if it necessary.

TB: Très bon état (pas de traces), lecture parfaite. L'état des boitiers, pochettes ou livrets sera notifié si necessaire.