# Coumba Gawlo: More West African Pop



## Strange Magic (Sep 14, 2015)

Another Senegalese popster, Coumba Gawlo singing _Miniyamba_. More fine kora playing backing her up. I get flamenco-like chills as she closes out the song, but that's just me....


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## Casebearer (Jan 19, 2016)

Strange Magic said:


> Another Senegalese popster, Coumba Gawlo singing _Miniyamba_. More fine kora playing backing her up. I get flamenco-like chills as she closes out the song, but that's just me....


Don't like the arrangement that much but I can translate it to the African original in my head (somewhat) and that's really beautiful.


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## Casebearer (Jan 19, 2016)

Nice westernized African hit song by Mory Kante. Don't know about the original version, might even be better.


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## Casebearer (Jan 19, 2016)

And Baaba Maal's African jazz fusion. He's from Senegal as well. Great 'flamenco' rhythmic clapping as well.


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## Strange Magic (Sep 14, 2015)

I recall reading somewhere that much West African pop owes its origins and style to Latin American music that itself was born of West African roots. The path thus has West African music crossing the Atlantic with the slave trade, taking new root and evolving in Latin America, especially the Caribbean, then recrossing the Atlantic to father a resurgent West African musical efflorescence. To certain extent, flamenco experienced a similar there-and-back with the New World, with the _Ida y Vuelta_ cantes such as Colombianas, Guajiras, and Milongas originating in Latin America and then returning to Spain. Unlike the vibrant West African pop scene, the Ida y Vuelta cantes are on the outermost periphery of flamenco. I care little for them myself.


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## Casebearer (Jan 19, 2016)

You may be right I don't know but it seems to be so with the African Queen of soukous ('perfumed rumba'), although she's from Central Africa (Congo). Her enormous succes in the eighties was very much intertwined with that of Tabu Ley Rochereau, her later husband, when they worked together in Orchestre Afrisa International.

I'm talking M'bilia Bel. She stole my heart in the eighties (as there was not much worthwhile music around in our countries anymore :devil.

Angelic voice, nice rhythms, her music never fails to make me happy.






This is a popular song with a nice structure and development and a fun video:






Yamba Ngai, one of my favorites:


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