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RICHARD BONA
''THE TEN SHADES OF BLUES''
(CAMERÚN,2009) @
sábado 14 de noviembre de 2009
Richard Bona - The Ten Shades Of Blues
Si hubiera que buscar un paradigma de lo que significa está web que ahora visitas, podría estar muy cerca del álbum que hoy tratamos. Después de una eterna espera de casi cuatro años desde su anterior álbum Tiki, aquí está entre nuestros bits lo nuevo del excelente bajista camerunés Richard Bona: The Ten Shades Of Blues. El concepto es el trato a las diversas culturas del mundo a través, de como bien indica el título, el blues. Pero más como una filosofía que como ritmo primordial. Para ello ha comenzado por reunir a músicos de todo el mundo, representantes de la India, de su Camerún natal y artistas de su Norteamérica de adopción.
Cada tema genera una visión multicolor en su escucha. Centrado todo, por supuesto, en la profunda e intensa voz de Bona. El álbum comienza con un intenso a capella -Take One- para seguir con -Shiva Mantra- que como su nombre indica fusiona las melodías de la India con los ritmos africanos del Camerún. Fundamental la poderosa voz de Shankar Mahadevan y Nandini Srikar, así como el sitar de Niladiri Kumar en el tema. Kurumalete es quizás la canción que más le une a Zawinul, y a la banda a la que tanto debe, Step Ahead. En Africa Cowboy la escala pentatónica toma protagonismo con aíres de canción country, recordándonos que el sonido del banjo (Ryan Cavanaugh) tiene su origen africano en el ngoni, para rematar con el violín de Christian Howes. Lo único reconocible como autentico blues en todo el álbum son el tema Yara junto a Good Times que se desmarca un poco de los compases originarios, donde destaca la voz de Frank McComb y la armónica de Gregoire Maret. M'Bemba Mama es el punto culminante de emoción que Bona incluye en todos sus Cds, una balada sencilla, donde el piano de Jean-Michel Pilc y las guitarra de Sylvain Luc proporciona un contrapunto muy hermoso.
Pero por encima de todo, África sigue siendo la verdadera protagonista de todo el trabajo. The Ten Shades of Blues es un perfecto ensamblaje de culturas e influencias, bien producido con un sonido fantástico. Un excelente trabajo que sin duda merece el reconocimiento.
Fuente
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When Richard Bona's new album Ten Shades Of Blues appears this autumn, ten years will have gone by since his first project, Scenes From My Life (released in 1999), a whole decade. In the case of Cameroonian bassist and singer Richard Bona, it's not so easy to condense a decade into just a few short lines because the man is such a multiple character, with many lives impelled by his permanent curiosity and desire to play. And each of these traits lies at the heart of his latest recording to date, an album devoted to the blues and "its key notes that can be recognized in all cultures." So here we have a new album open to all kinds of encounters, a record on which Richard Bona is our guide taking us on a tour with his Indian, country and jazz musicians to the four corners of the earth…
"I like each of my albums to have a theme, a project behind it. This time I chose the blues. I look at the blues from the universal angle: you can find it in Africa, in America and in India. People put a style to it, a style with guitar and vocals. But I see it first as a scale, one that's present in different traditions and expressions in music. Ten Shades Of Blues means ten nuances, ten different ways of playing the blues." So Richard Bona put this new album together in the way that some people prepare a world-trip. "I went to Madras, and Bombay, and Nashville, and New York. Each time, I was playing with guys I'd played with before at some point." How does he define the blues? "A few notes where each one has the strength to reach out and touch you. They're present in all kinds of popular music everywhere in the world, they resound in people's hearts. There's also a particular way to play them and join them together."
Take One: I wanted to open the album on my own over a vocal theme. Singing is the basis of the blues: people expressing their pains and joys. This is sung a capella, but without lyrics; I just sing the notes I'm playing on the guitar. And Take One is a nod in the direction of the Take 6 vocal group.
Shiva Mantra: This is an invitation to meditation. I recorded the street-sounds in New Delhi. The blues is a religion in India. The title is an incantation meant for the goddess Shiva, who's worshipped by everyone over there. I recorded the tune in Bombay, added percussion in New Delhi, and we recorded the singer in Madras. I'd met all of these musicians on previous tours: Shankar Mahadevan and Nandini Srikar sing vocals; Vivek Rajgopalan plays the mridangam, a little finger-drum, and the ganjira, a kind of tambourine, and also sings konnakol (vocal percussion); Satyajit Talwalkar plays the tabla and also sings konnakol; and Niladiri Kumar plays the sitar.
M’Bemba Mama: I wanted to pay a tribute to all mothers, including mine. The title means "The tears of the mother". It's not necessarily sad. These are the joys and sufferings of a mother: they're there to protect us all their lives. Playing with me here are Sylvain Luc (guitar), Jean-Michel Pilc (piano) and Obed Calvaire (drums).
Kurumalete: This is the name of a sorceress. In Africa, when someone dies, they invoke a sorcerer. In fact, here I'm asking people not to hide systematically behind their beliefs, but accept destiny rather than looking for whoever's responsible or some spell. When I was little I heard this phrase, "If you don't stop crying I'm going to call Kurumalete."
Souleymane: The story of a boy with bad manners.
Esukudu: The word means a school. I'm asking young people not to overlook the need to learn and better themselves. I've been lucky enough to meet musicians in France and America who've taken me forward. Exchanging with people from other cultures is most important.
Yara’s Blues: Yara is the name of my wife. I wrote the lyrics in Duala and a friend of mine translated them from Duala into English.
Sona Moyo: This song is for my brother-in-law. Where I come from, the brother-in-law has to provide a dowry. Today it's a camel or a sheep; before, it was cashew-nuts or tobacco... But this guy's from Brittany!
Camer Secrets: On this composition, the first beat moves systematically. Before, people in Cameroon used to dance to that. Today very few people know how to follow these composed rhythms. So that's where the title comes from, the secrets of Cameroon.
Source********************************
Avec The Ten Shades of Blues, Richard Bona signe un road-disc émouvant, qui envisage le blues comme un dénominateur commun entre les musiques populaires du monde entier.
En ouverture de ce cinquième album solo, Richard Bona explore en cinquante-deux secondes purement vocales, sa propre vision du blues (Take one). Avec finesse, il dessine dans l'album intitulé The Ten Shades of Blues une carte des musiques populaires, élégamment tissée d’un fil bleu… Le blues ? Une gamme ni américaine, ni africaine : un chant universel !
Le voyage démarre donc dans les rues de New Delhi avec une incantation à la déesse Shiva (Shiva Mantra), se poursuit à New York, puis quelque part dans l’étendue sahélienne, fait une halte à Nashville, pour se terminer au Cameroun (Camer secrets).
Mais comme Bona ne fait rien comme tout le monde, le voyage ne s’arrête pas là. Il est aussi intérieur… aux morceaux ! Sur Esukudu par exemple, on entend un peu du Brésil, du Sahel, de musiques de films, de jazz… Pour les initiés, il y a bien sûr cette gamme, jouée sur dix modes différentes qui fait le lien entre les titres.
C’est bien évidemment, "la couleur Bona", la douceur des voix, l’audace des arrangements et bien sûr, la rondeur de la basse qui donne à ce disque son passeport international. Pourtant, Bona ne la joue pas solo ! Chaque escale renoue avec une amitié musicale : Franck Mc Comb qu’il avait accompagné sur son premier album, les musiciens indiens rencontrés sur une précédente tournée, ou le flûtiste Bailo Baa déjà présent sur le troisième disque de Richard Bona, Munia : The Tale.
En invitant en studio des musiciens rencontrés sur scène, aux quatre coins du monde, Richard Bona raconte aussi son propre parcours : celle d’un African cow boy, nourri au sein prolifique de ses multiples expériences musicales. Ce voyage bluesy se termine au Cameroun avec Camer Secrets, un morceau qui nous rappelle qu’il faudra écouter et réécouter sa musique, pour tenter de percer les mystères de Monsieur Bona.
Tracklisting
1. Take One
2. Shiva Mantra
3. Good Times
4. Mbemba Mama
5. Kurumalete
6. Souletmane
7. African Cowboy
8. Esukudu
9. Yara's Blues
10. Sona Moyo
11. Camer Secrets
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