Babeti Soukous

Babeti Soukous
Studio album by Tabu Ley Seigneur Rochereau and Afrisa International Orchestra
Released 5 June 1989
Recorded 30 January 1989
Studio Real World Studios, Wiltshire
Genre
Length 57:26
Label Real World Records
Producer Tabu Ley Seigneur Rochereau
Tabu Ley Rochereau chronology
Beyou Ciel Par Le Seigneur Ley Et L'Orchestre Afrisa International
(1988)Beyou Ciel Par Le Seigneur Ley Et L'Orchestre Afrisa International1988		 Babeti Soukous
(1989)		 C'est Comme Ça La Vie
(1989)C'est Comme Ça La Vie1989

Babeti Soukous is a 1989 studio/live album by DR Congolese soukous musician and pioneer Tabu Ley Rochereau (using the longer name of Tabu Ley Seigneur Rochereau) and his band the Afrisa International Orchestra. Recorded as a live studio session in Real World Studios, Wiltshire, England one night in 1989, the album was one of the four albums released to establish Peter Gabriel's world music label Real World Records, and was one of the first recordings Rochereau created after exiling to France in 1988. Rochereau used the album as an opportunity to re-record highlights from the previous 20 years of his career.

While the album is a soukous recording, described in its liner notes as "Zairean pop," it also features elements from other genres, such as Latin music, jazz, rock and R&B, as well as Congoloese dance rhythms such as madiaba and kwassa kwassa. The album also marked Rochereau's new preference for solo horns as opposed to ensemble horns. Upon release, the album received critical acclaim, with music critics acclaiming the album's vibrancy and experimentation. The recording was one of Rochereau's most successful albums and pathed the way for later successful albums such as Muzina (1994) and Africa Worldwide (1996).

Background

In 1988, prolific DR Congolese soukous musician Tabu Ley Rochereau moved to France in exile during Mobutu Sese Seko's regime in his native country.[1] Rochereau was one of the key originators of soukous, which evolved from Congolese rumba in the 1960s; the genre was described in one review of Babeti Soukous as a "highly danceable modern African style" and "Central African sound."[2] Meanwhile, English art rock musician Peter Gabriel was in the process of creating the world music record label Real World Records in collaboration with his arts festival organization WOMAD, founded in 1980 to celebrate different styles of music and dance around the world.[2]

To launch Real World Records, Rochereau, whose catalogue spans over 150 releases, agreed to record an album for the label with his band Afrisa International Orchestra, better known as Orchestre Afrisa L'International.[3] Rochereau and the Afrisa International Orchestra recently recorded the album Beyou Ciel Par Le Seigneur Ley Et L'Orchestre Afrisa International (1988) with singer Beyou Ciel for the Genidia label, the first album Rochereau worked on since moving to France.[4] In turn, Ciel agreed to appear on Babeti Soukous.[5]

Recording

Real World Studios in 1990.

Recorded during one night "to capture the heat of a Zairean cabaret,"[6] Babeti Soukous was recorded live in the main studio of Gabriel's Real World Records on the night of 30 January 1989 in the attendance of friends and invitees, "dancing and clapping in the minstrel gallery."[3] The record label recalled the night the album was recorded as Rochereau's "unforgettable party."[3] Rochereau's band set up during the afternoon, playing approximately 20 pieces throughout into the evening without break, achieving what Real World Records later referred to as their "intended blend of an authentic performed sound with the best of recording technology."[3]

Several weeks later, Rochereau returned from Paris to Real World Studios to aid with the mixing of the album, where he adjusted the keyboard parts and solo lead guitar, leaving the rest of the mixing work engineer Dave Bottrill, "before heading for Chippenham railway station thoroughly satisfied with yet another smoothly professional piece of music-making."[3] Richard Chappell aided Bottrill as assistant engineer.[5] As opposed to a producer's credit, Rochereau is credited with "directing" the album due to it being a live performance.[5] Rochereau performs lead vocals on most tracks, although lead vocals on four tracks are performed by other singers, namely Beyou Ciel, Monoko Dodo and Faya Tess.[5] A total of eighteen performers feature on the album, and two dancers, Apewayi Matshi and Onya Amisi, are also credited in the booklet, as is Lossikiya Maneno for "musical assistance."[5]

Music

According to Phillip Sweeney in the album's liner notes, the tracks that Rochereau chose to record for Babeti Soukous comprise "a broad retrospective of Zairean pop of the previous 20 years,"[3] and as such it has been described as a "live-in-the-studio best-of."[7] Sweeney described the music: "The latest guitar-and-snare rum numbers, with their racing skipping rhythms and 'kwassa-kwassa,' 'Madiaba' or 'tshuka' dance-step calls, rub shoulders with older soukous an rhumbas featuring the delicious Latin-inflected horn choruses and jazzy saxophone solos that had been abandoned by many younger groups. Snatches of rock, R&B, French variété and Zairean traditional rhythms season the mix.“[3] Jazz Forum magazine agreed, calling the music on the album "a sophisticated blend of local dance steps and outside influences," again mentioning the Latin, jazz, R&B and French elements.[8]

Alec Foege of Spin found parallels to American funk music via the album's syncopated horn section, drum breaks and electric guitars.[9] Rocheareau's voice is "high and caressing, curious and questioning at times," according to Folk Roots.[10] The percussion on the album is "rumbling," "dancing" atop the beat "with precise, ever changing cymbal and snare patterns."[10] The recording also displays felicities such as Rochereau's new focus on and preference for solo horns, as opposed to ensemble horns.[11] The various guitar styles, dance beats, female vocal cameos and "the Smokey-styled ballad" on the album were described by Robert Christgau as its "constituent parts."[7] While the album has been described as "a lively and fairly comprehensive overview" of the development of soukous music, the music does also tend towards "the older, slower, original form with which Tabu Ley is most closely associated."[12]

Release

Released on 5 June 1989 in the United Kingdom, Babeti Soukous was one of the first four albums released to launch Real World Records in the United States, the others being Shanen Shah by Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, La Explosion Del Momento! by Orquesta Reve and the various artists compilation Passion – Sources, compiled by Gabriel.[12] According to the Chicago Tribune said La Explosion Del Momento! was the other album most like Babeti Soukous because it similarly harkens back to a more traditional sound while revealing contemporary ideas.[12] Babeti Soukous was mastered at The Town Studios in West London.[5] The artwork was designed by Garry Mouat at Assorted Images, with Rani Charrington designing the composite image on the cover.[5] Rather than credit himself as Tabu Ley Rochereau, Rochereau adopts the extended name of Tabu Ley Seigneur Rochereau, a respectful name given to him by his junior musicians.[3] In the book Historical Dictionary of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, writer Emizet Francois Kisangani described Babeti Soukous as one of the albums where Rochereau found success, alongside Exil Ley (1993), Muzina (1994) and Africa Worldwide (1996).[13]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[11]
Chicago Tribune[12]
Folk Roots(favourable)[10]
The New York Times(favourable)[10]
Q(favourable)[10]
Robert ChristgauB+[7]

Babeti Soukous was released to critical acclaim. Q said that, "warm, tight, occasionally rollicking soukous that is about as good as a live set gets."[10] The New York Times were favourable, noting that "even when it was zooming along, Afrisa International's soukous had a light touch."[10] Folk Roots said: "This is delicious dance music of the most seductive kind - lots of rhumbas featuring Latin-inflected horn choruses and sexy sax solos."[10] In his Consumer's Guide, critic Robert Christgau rated the album "B+", saying that he initially found the "hectically eclectic" album hard to listen to, "but when I gave it a chance its constituent parts snuck up on me–the procession of dance beats and guitar styles, the female vocal cameos, even the Smokey-styled/stolen ballad."[7] He described the album as the "Zairean equivalent of Sunny Adé's Juju Music–an unguided tour through a long, deep pop tradition."[7] Option Magazine wrote that the album "virtually recaps" Rochereau's career.[6]

Chris Heim of the Chicago Tribune rated the album three stars out of four, naming it the best of the four original Real World Records albums, and made note of the album's "excellent sound quality."[12] Retrospective reviews have also been favourable. Rating the album four and a half stars out of five, AllMusic's John Storm Roberts called Babeti Soukous a "fine performance with touches probably never heard from Rochereau before," and although finding the "DJ and 'live recording' conceit" to be "silly," he called the album "excellent".[11] In the 1992 book World Beat: A Listener's Guide to Contemporary World Music on CD, writer Peter Spencer described Babeti Soukous as a "rewarding album."[14] Meanwhile, in the 1998 book The World Music CD Listeren's Guide, writer Howard J. Blumenthal called the album "a real crowd-pleaser."[15]

Besides Christgau, several other music critics have compared Babeti Soukous to other recordings. In an article on Real World Records, Alec Foege of Spin compared the album to Homrong, an album recorded by the Musicians of the National Dance Company of Cambodia; he described Babeti Soukous as being "less exotic and more performance-oriented."[9] In Tom Moon's 2008 book 1,000 Recordings to Hear Before You Die, Moon suggested to readers that they listen to Babeti Soukous after listening to Pepe Kalle's album Gigantafrique! (1990).[16]

Track listing

All songs written by Tabu Ley Seigneur Rochereau except where noted

  1. "Presentation" – 1:11
  2. "Kinshasa" – 4:06
  3. "Sorozo" – 3:54
  4. "Linga Ngai" (Munoko Dodo) – 6:10
  5. "Moto Akokufa" – 5:34
  6. "Nairobi" – 5:15
  7. "Seli Ja" – 3:15
  8. "I Need You" – 3:39
  9. "Amour Nala" – 5:45
  10. "Tu As Dit Que" – 4:29
  11. "Sentimenta" – 5:18
  12. "Pitié" – 4:47
  13. "Mosolo" – 3:59

Personnel

Performers

Production and design

References

  1. ↑ Lentz III, Harris M. (30 May 2013). Obituaries in the Performing Arts, 2013. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Co. p. 365. ISBN 0786476656. Retrieved 15 May 2017.
  2. 1 2 "Home Entertainment". Chicago Tribune. 7 December 1989. Retrieved 15 May 2017.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "A cornerstone of African music - RIP Tabu Ley". Real World Records. 2 December 2013. Retrieved 15 May 2017.
  4. ↑ Beyou Ciel Par Le Seigneur Ley Et L'Orchestre Afrisa International (liner). Beyou Ciel Par Le Seigneur Ley Et L'Orchestre Afrisa International. Genidia. 1988.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Babeti Soukous (liner). Tabu Ley Seigneur Rochereau and Afrisa International Orchestra. Real World Records. 1989.
  6. 1 2 "Babeti Soukous". Option. 27-29: 2. 1989. Retrieved 15 May 2017.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 Christau, Robert. "Tabu Ley Rochereau". Robert Christgau. Retrieved 15 May 2017.
  8. ↑ "Tabu Ley Rochereau". Jazz Forum (122-131): 13. 1990. Retrieved 15 May 2017.
  9. 1 2 Foege, Alec (November 1991). "Real World". Spin. 7 (8): 108. Retrieved 15 May 2017.
  10. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "Babeti Soukous Tabu Ley Seigneur Rochereau, 1989 Reviews". Real World Records. Retrieved 15 May 2017.
  11. 1 2 3 Roberts, John Storm. "AllMusic Review by John Storm Roberts". AllMusic. Retrieved 15 May 2017.
  12. 1 2 3 4 5 Helm, Chris (7 December 1989). "Tabu Ley Seigneur Rochereau and Afrisa International...". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 15 May 2017.
  13. ↑ Kisangani, Emizet Francois (18 November 2016). Historical Dictionary of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (4th edition ed.). Lanham, Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield. p. 576. ISBN 1442273151. Retrieved 15 May 2017.
  14. ↑ Spencer, Peter (January 1992). World beat: a listener's guide to contemporary world music on CD. Atlanta: A Capella Books. ISBN 1556521405.
  15. ↑ "The World Music CD Listener's Guide". Retrieved 15 May 2017.
  16. ↑ Moon, Tom. "Gigantafrique!". 1000 Recordings. Retrieved 15 May 2017.
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