And so, he broke off and formed his own group with five other Volta Jazz members called L’Authentique Dafra Star de Bobo-Dioulasso, who comprise the second album on this set. Meanwhile, the gentle ballad “Djougou Toro” shimmers like a desert mirage, with Dieudonné Koudougou’s steel guitar rippling in ever widening circles.Īs the ’70s wore on, Volta Jazz member-turned-bandleader Tidiani Coulibaly groused that the ensemble had not evolved beyond their supper club tuxedos and repertoire to keep up with the changing times. “Mousso Koroba Tike” displays the stinging guitar tone of late ’50s American R&B transposed to a rollicking African polyrhythmic backdrop. The upbeat rumba “Air Volta” displays an exuberance that threatens to outstrip the fast pace, the horns and electric guitar racing around the hand percussion breakdown at the center of the song. Their output is collected on the first disc of this set and is boisterous and simmering in equal measure, drawing on their native Bobo heritage and mixing in the many rhythms from outside their borders-most crucially, the Cuban music that found its way into the country on 78s. Jazz-from the Republic of the Congo and the biggest African star on the continent-had a considerable influence on one of the earliest and most prolific bands to arise in the new country, Volta Jazz.įounded by bandleader Idrissa Koné, Volta Jazz is one of the savannah’s greatest musical exports, releasing a full-length album and some 20 singles during their lifespan. No doubt, the titan of African pop, Franco Luambo’s O.K.
American R&B, rhumba from the Congo, and (as the title suggests) the yé-yé of French ’60s pop-the bands of Upper Volta drew on all of it. Upper Volta’s earliest orchestras took cues from a band comprised of French colonial businessmen and Western instruments like the guitar, trumpet, and saxophone. The influence of French colonialism is evident from the start. It also makes for a worthwhile exploration of the landlocked African country, oft-times overshadowed by neighbors like Mali, Ghana, and Niger. cities and weird private press albums from dollar bins, the deluxe audio and visual packaging of Bobo Yéyé: Belle Époque in Upper Volta marks their first foray into the motherland. While Numero Group has a knack for unearthing micro soul scenes in U.S.
#BELLE EPOQUE IN UPPER VOLTA FULL#
When Upper Volta achieved full independence by 1960, it marked the beginning of a rather peaceful time in the country, which allowed the cosmopolitan music scene a chance to take root and flourish. After centuries of colonial, tribal, and political clashes, these decades saw a country only recently freed of French colonial oppression, struggling to find footing with their own slippery national identity (the region is home to over 60 ethnic groups).
Were it not for the vinyl records pressed (and photographs snapped) during the short-lived existence of post-colonial Upper Volta, there would be almost no trace of the rough-hewed yet honeyed music made by the Voltaic musicians of the 1960s and ’70s.
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