Neo-traditional popular music in East Africa since 1945

Abstract

Since 1945 the musical scene in East Africa has been characterised by a series of important developments which ran parallel to an extensive political–cultural change of consciousness. All the musical forms which arose in this connection were ‘popular’ in the sense that they were appreciated by broad sections of society.

Ugandan Music in the Marketing Era

“…These southern Ugandan techniques are not ones I am theorizing for the first time, but ones that have been substantially studied by ethnomusicologists (Kyagambiddwa 1955;Kubik 1962Kubik , 1964Kubik , 1992Kubik , 2010bAnderson 1968;Cooke 1970;Cooke and Micklem 1999). My aim, in this analysis, is not just to illustrate interlocking on instruments, but also to explore how the interlocked instrumental accompaniment patterns and the melodic-linguistic vocal parts are related.…”

“…Having come to understand how amadinda (in Busoga , embaire ) playing was structured, my perception of African music, and indeed of human musical/social potentiality generally, was irrevocably altered. In what ethnomusicologists call "interlocking," two (or more) sonic/kinetic patterns are meshed together in such a way that a third, seemingly independent, melody emerges out of the composite (Nketia 1962;Kubik 1964;Lomax 1962). There is a magical quality to this emergence of an additional "part" out of the combined actions of two or more players.…”

Continuities and innovation in Luo song style: creating the Benga Beat in Kenya 1960 to 1995

“…20 For a discussion of the usage of these rhythmic motifs in Caribbean dance music, see Manuel (1985) and Floyd (1999). 21 For a general discussion of the history and impact of the GV series see Topp-Fargion (2004); on Latin American dance music in East Africa see Kubik (1981) and Low (1982). A notable aspect of the adaptation of these Afro-Cuban rhythms is that they show a clear structural affi nity with the isorhythmic tendencies noted above in Figure 4, and in the phrasing of various Luo songs.…”

Ethnomusicologie des “jeunes musiques”

“…Existe-t-il une catégorie susceptible de comprendre l'ensemble de ces caractéristiques ? Musiques « néotraditionnelles » ( Kubik 1981, Obonyo Digolo 1997, « workingclass music » (Coplan 1981, Peña 1985, musiques « urbaines », mais étant de la ville plutôt que dans la ville (Reyes-Schramm 1982), « musiques populaires »… Sans que l'on ait besoin d'ajouter à cet énoncé les qualificatifs composés tel que « folk urban music », « néo-traditional popular music » ou autres « urban popular music », on voit là en quoi réside la difficulté de définir un champ commun de recherche. Chacune de ces dénominations privilégie un des aspects du phéno-mène musical ou juxtapose, en une énumération descriptive forcément incomplète, un certain nombre des caractéristiques énoncées ci-dessus.…”