Paris-based label Syllart Productions is the trade name for legendary Senegalese-born music executive producer, distributor, artistic director and curator Ibrahim Sylla. Dubbed the "The African Phil Spector" by British musicologist Charlie Gillett, Sylla has been a central figure in exposing the Western world to West Africa's greatest gems for over the past three decades. Each volume in Syllart Productions' mighty African Pearls series offers an essential overview of a variety of rich and diverse musical traditions, featuring comprehensive liner notes and full-color photos. Starting in 2006, installments in the African Pearls series have spanned generations of music from the Congo, the Ivory Coast, Guinea, Mali, Senegal and more. Syllart Productions also continues to bridge old traditions with the new, signing contemporary griot Bako Dagnon, one of Mali's premier Mande musicians.
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2CD
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SYLLART 3246972
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Syllart presents another chapter in their Via compilation series, celebrating African music from '60s and '70s West Africa. This edition focuses on Conakry, the capital of Guinea. In the first half of the 20th century, the carving up of much of Africa by the European powers imposed modernity across the continent. With the boom in maritime transport, the American 78s brought back by Latin-American and in particular Cuban sailors, as well as by soldiers and the European settlers, had a lasting influence on new musical trends along Africa's coastlines. With the notable exception of Mali and Ethiopia, most coastal countries were experiencing deep changes where music was concerned, while inland countries -- owing perhaps to a lack of flagship artists, the absence of any (even embryonic) structured record industry, a sparse population, a lesser cultural influence or the combination of several or all of these factors -- favored other forms of expression. The impact of Cuban music -- one of the first non-Western genres to have been disseminated throughout the world thanks to records -- has been crucial in the emergence of popular forms of African music. Because of the exodus of African slaves to the Caribbean and America, strong linkages exist between the Afro-Cuban population and culture and African countries on the Atlantic coast, especially in West Africa. From town to town and port to port, Syllart's Via collection aims to explain the different musical fusions that happened between Cuban and African styles of music. From Dakar to Kinshasa, Conakry to Abidjan, Bamako, Cotonou and Brazzaville, Via speaks of permanently-evolving musical scenes, touched by candor, depth and spontaneity. Following Guinea's declaration of independence in 1958, President Sékou Touré banned the previously-popular French chanson and set up a national music school, headed up by Honoré Coppet, a behind-the-scenes musician who had a lasting influence on the spread of West Indian and Afro-Cuban rhythms in Guinea. As is clear from the covers depicting the type of clothing the artists wore, Guinean bands -- like most African ensembles -- were heavily influenced by Afro-Cuban music in all its forms, be it rumbas, cha-cha-chas, boleros, sons, guajiras, but also West Indian biguines, Trinidad calypsos or Haitian/Dominican merengues. Claves, maracas and vocals in pidgin Spanish formed the basis of many bands' repertoire. However, by 1971, as previously for French chanson, Sékou Touré prohibited Syliphone from releasing Cuban-style songs, on the grounds of national pride and an evident distrust of the Castro regime. So Cuban-style instruments were gradually replaced by rhythmic guitars, brass instruments and rhythm'n'blues tones whereas the balafon and the kora were reminders of the Mandingo culture to which most Guinean musicians belonged. Featuring artists such as Keletigui Et Ses Tambourinis, Bembeya Jazz, Jardin De Guinée, Kebendo Jazz and many more. Includes a booklet with liner notes in English and French by Florent Mazzoleni. Produced by Ibrahima Sylla.
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12"
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SYLLART 6156796
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"Le Guide de la Révolution" is a huge, groovy track from Bako Dagnon's album Sidiba (SYLLART 6146642/6146076). Fat bass, pure traditional guitar sounds, soaring vocals -- over 5 minutes of Afro-funk ! On A2 comes a Latin-flavored & more acoustic tuned re-edit by the one-and-only Frankie Francis. On the B-side, the French DJ/producer Simbad delivers one of his best reworks so far. Fat beats, psychedelic voices -- what a massive track! Check the dub version out: Africa on acid.
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2LP
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SYLLART 6156076
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2LP version. Bako Dagnon is one of Mali's premier Mande musicians, as well as a respected female griot. Bako sings with the authority, passion and wisdom born of having learned her craft the old way: not from recordings, as many young singers do nowadays, but at the feet of masters, deep in the countryside. As such, she may be one of the last griots to live according to the old ways of griotism, though she carries her message for the current age with a knowledge base that ranges from her native Biriko style, to the more lyrical Maninka music from Guinea to the Bambara style from Segou. She has the gift of bringing the old stories to life, making them sound utterly contemporary. On Sidiba, the special character of her voice finds a new expressive freedom, with a subtle production that brings out the best in her voice and music.
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2CD
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SYLLART 6145482
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2009 release. Here is the fifth release in Syllart Productions' African Pearls series of compilations, this time coming from Côte d'Ivoire. A natural West African crossroads, the Ivory Coast has always been at the forefront of musical trends, be it black American music, Cuban rhythms, French pop, Mandingo lyricism, Ghanese high-life or Congolese fusions. With its 72 ethnicities, their dances and music, Côte d'Ivoire possesses a strong cultural heritage -- and since 1975, all the West-African music seems to gather in the capital of the Ivory Coast, to give birth to a timeless, exceptional music. Explore this double CD that will make you travel through Africa, and discover universes of gifted artists.
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2CD
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SYLLART 6147482
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Syllart Productions presents a 2CD collection of music from '70s Senegal. More than any other country in West Africa, Senegal has been strongly influenced by Cuban music coming to Dakar through Cuban sailors. Widely broadcast, the Afro-Cuban repertoire stands at the bottom of modern Senegalese music. Mornas and coladeras from Cabo Verde are also to be heard along Dakar streets. Luis Vera Da Fonseca is one of the unsung pioneers of this musical melting pot. Under the name Fonseca & Ses Anges Noirs, he recorded quite a number of records in France and Belgium, starting in the late '50s. Links between Dakar and Habana seem natural as evidenced by recordings of orchestras such as Star Band de Dakar or Orchestra Baobab and many bands within this musical constellation. The impact of Star Band is pivotal in the history of modern Senegalese music. So are the names "stars" and "étoiles" with bands such as Youssou Ndour's Super Etoile, Star Number One, Etoile de Dakar and Etoile 2000 studding the musical landscape of the region. The Star Band orchestra was set up by entrepreneur Ibrahima Kassé, one of the founding fathers of Senegalese music and owner of the Miami Club, located in the effervescent Médina neighborhood. The orchestra consisted of musicians of various origins such as Guinean percussion player and singer Amara Touré, Gambian singer Laba Sosseh and Nigerian saxophone player Dexter Johnson. Under Kassé's aegis, the Star Band turned into a terrific dancing machine, with electric instruments and a powerful horn section. At first, its repertoire was largely based on rumbas, merengué, pachangas and other cha-cha-cha, but wolof, mandingo and peul folk songs slowly made their way into the band's repertoire as a way to embrace the local musical traditions. As famous as the Star Band outside of Dakar, the Diarama de Saint-Louis was one of the regional province's better-known orchestras, possessing a strong jazz and Cuban musical culture. Super Diamono was influenced by Ifang Bondi and Guelewar mandingo beat from Gambia, while Xalam was named after a Wolof instrument, restoring traditional sounds such as tama drums. The Senegalese music of this era was a mélange of various influences, musical fusions and explosive new combinations. Includes a 16-page booklet with full-color photos and notes in French and English by Florent Mazzoleni. Produced by Ibrahima Sylla.
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CD
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SYLLART 6146642
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Bako Dagnon is one of Mali's premier Mande musicians, as well as a respected female griot. This is the follow-up to her highly-acclaimed international debut, 2007's Titati. The West African oral griot tradition of singer/storytellers evolved in the 13th century out of the heartland of the Mali empire, and has since produced many stars, but none quite like Bako Dagnon. She is a singer's singer. Her clear, soaring voice and rolling melodies mirror the savannah landscape where she was born, in the west of Mali. Bako sings with the authority, passion and wisdom born of having learned her craft the old way: not from recordings, as many young singers do nowadays, but at the feet of masters, deep in the countryside. As such, she may be one of the last griots to live according to the old ways of griotism, though she carries her message for the current age with a knowledge base that ranges from her native Biriko style, to the more lyrical Maninka music from Guinea to the Bambara style from Segou. Her songs sound deceptively simple; yet they are informed by a prodigious knowledge of Mande history and culture, with even Ali Farka Touré often consulting her and Banzoumana Sissoko, "the old lion" inviting her regularly to his house in the 1980s to sing famous old songs like "Janjon." She has the gift of bringing the old stories to life, making them sound utterly contemporary. She is the bridge between the old and the new. On Sidiba, the special character of her voice finds a new expressive freedom, with a subtle production that brings out the best in her voice and music. When Bako says something, you are compelled to listen.
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