Francis Bebey: African Electronic Music auf 2 LPs

Erstaunlich aktuell klingende Zusammenstellung von zwischen 1975 und 1982 entstandenen Songs des 2001 verstorbenen Multiinstrumentalisten aus Kamerun. Francis Bebey nannte man "Renaissance Man", er war nicht nur Sänger, Songwriter und Musiker, sondern auch Dichter, Autor und Journalist und spielte mit Manu Dibango in einer Band. Ein faszinierend-hypnotischer Sound, der auf Wiederholungen und die Nutzung elektronischer Instrumente (Synthies, Drummachine), aber auch der Sanza (afrikanisches Daumenklavier) oder der Pygmy-Flöte aufbaut. Bebey singt oder spricht französisch zu diesen eigenartigen klingenden Soundpanorama, das afrikanische Polyrythmik mit typischen Früh-80er-Sounds verbindet und als eine Inspiration für Shangaan Electro und andere neue elektronische afrikanische Spielarten verstanden werden kann.

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Cameroonian musician Francis Bebey is truly one of a kind. He entered the music scene with his African compositions for classical guitar. He gave recitals while pursuing a career in journalism and then as an international civil servant. The same creative impulse also led him to write pop songs, and some of which (based on novels he had written) became big hits in Africa and in the French-speaking world. But few people know that in the '70s, Francis Bebey delved into electronic music. The first electronic keyboards, organs and drum machines offered him new possibilities of totally controlling his compositions. He embraced the technique of "sound on sound" recording (recording several tracks, sequentially juxtaposed on the same tape). This new stage in his musical career included the production of several records ("Savannah Georgia," "New Track", "Haiti"), rarities both for their creative explorations as well as their manifestations on vinyl. This was a particularly rich period for him, as he tested the limitless possibilities of the medium, and made use of surprising and novel instruments. Incredible sounds - in the literal sense of the word - would soon appear on the planet Bebey...

Rezensionen

,,... ein Mix aus typisch afrikanischen Instrumenten, Percussion und ,,synthetischen Klängen", der durch seinen Minimalismus heute als fast clubtauglich durchgeht." (stereoplay, Juni 2012)