2018 Masa Festival

           Report from Abidjan, Cote d'Ivoire

 Report from Abidjan, Cote d'Ivoire

MASA is a sprawling, at times messy, but essential snapshot of the African arts landscape. An emormous burst of energy with everything happening at once. The biennial festival in Abidjan showcased and marketed the work of hundreds of artists over the course of 9 days this past March. Emerging artists in the music sector most represented Francophone nations and established artists with new projects were selected by jury to perform for industry professionals and the public.

Words from P-Pentatonique bio: "trance & groove" where the village invites itself to the city, a meeting of Wassolou's pentatonic music, desert blues, and rock, well beyond Malian borders. 

 The Palais de la Culture sits on the edge of the Ebrie lagoon, across from the densely packed highrise buildings of  Plateau, the central business district. It was the hub of MASA activities with stages also located in neighborhood venues across the city. First impression coming into the Palais de la Culture was a bustling crafts market and a collegial atmosphere where people greeted each other and talked about current projects.

Artists from Cameroon, Mali, Congo Brazzaville, Cote d’Ivoire, Senegal, Cape Verde, Gabon, Nigeria, Democratic Republic of Congo, Benin, Madagascar, Haiti, Jamaica, USA, nearly all were new to me so the notes are based on short sets on and a few words from the artists afterwards.

The schedule allowed listeners to hear a half dozen shows a night, many exploring the  give and take between tradition and contemporary approaches. 

 Lornoar’s voice literally stopped me in my tracks, it  floated sensuously across the palais grounds over the barebones rhythms of her band's afternoon soundcheck. Her set that evening was outstanding with her voice complemented by some energetic dancing.  Afterwards, I found out  she won a Cameroonian nationwide singing contest in 2010 which was followed by her first album in 2012. She later toured in the US, playing New York venues including the Zinc Bar and recording her second album here with Francis Mbappe.

Tony Mefe, Scene d'Ebone director told us that its mission is threefold: (1) A  program through which we help young artists to give a market value to their productions and to better organize themselves, (2)  International Exhibition Voices of Woman, an annual  showcase, the second edition to be held in Douala, May23rd-26th 2018, includes 22 artists. (3) Escale Bantoo, the  traveling international promoting the music of Central Africa outside our subregion, including MASA, and the upcoming Visa For Music in Rabat and a planned US tour.

Each band performed on at least two stages over the course of the week. while the nearby Scene Bantoo was a comfortable afterhours hangout spot with three sets each night including rising young artists from central Africa including Queen Koumb (Gabon) Ndabott Familly (Cameroon) Gwen and Tiana (Belgium/Gabon) and Licelv Mauwa (RDC). Scene Bantoo was sponsored by Scene d'Ebone, a Yaounde Cameroon based organization dedicated to supporting Central African artists. 

The warmth relaxed welcoming "Morabeza" Maria de Barros expresses on stage is genuine. We met in the airport arriving in Abidjan on the same flight and picked up a conversation that was begun years before without skipping a beat.   Maria de Barros life's experiences, she was born in Senegal, grew in Mauritania, and Providence Rhode Island before settling in California are not atypical for a Cape Verdean, a culture born of restless seeking. Separation, and longing for home, the small group of islands in the Atlantic Ocean 300 miles off the coast of West Africa are themes that reoccur in the music. While that is present in her music, it is the warmth of Cape Verde one hears, steady as the breezes, expressed plainly in the elegance of her voice, graceful stage presence and the excellence of her musicians. 

The daughter of a guitarist, Gaelle Wondje cant remember not singing.  Makossa afrosoul compositions and lyrics conveying the emotions felt in daily life, sung in Duala and French left a lasting impression.  Many of the songs were from her latest release "Ening" produced by Armand Biyag and featuring Monique Meta (on Une Fois de Plus).  This is her second album, but  she is stepping out as a band leader after years of collaborating with other artists.

Ibaaku, Left,  unleashed a barrage of Afro-futuristic beats,  traditional rhythms his native Casamance in Sengal, Complex, intense, layered and restlessly seeking. His music evolved from the hip hop scene can be discovered

Lamine TPJ, left, a couper decale artist says piracy remains a problem in Cote d’Ivoire, with performance as the only solid source of income.  Downloading music is not as prevalant, people prefer to buy CDs' n part because of spotty internet access. This affects independent artists more severly than those on label. Lamine TPJ and his dancers perform most nights and tours internationally. Mai Lingani, inspite of these difficulties, traveled to MASA to announce her new album ‘Tangare’ produced by Bashiri Johnson. She may follow it up with perfomances in North America.

Tony Mefe agreed saying "Piracy of works is a major plague for artistic creation in French-speaking Africa in general and for music in particular. While legally prohibited, no provision is made by states to eradicate it. Pirated musical works are sold by street vendors on the sidewalks and even in the offices of the public administration. 9 out of 10 CDs or DVDs sold in Francophone African countries are pirated works."

Mefe also mentioned howthe cost of travel keeps bands from touring.  "It is extremely complicated to travel to Africa. It is certainly the continent where the air ticket costs the most expensive. There are many festivals but it must be expensive to travel unless there are more dates."

What an entrance, a line of musicians walking on to the Esplanade Lagunaire stage using common kitchen utensils as percussion instruments. Ta-tata-tata, which introduced Oren'thcy's voice. It didn’t feel like an attempt to be avant grade, rather using humor beneath which was a serious massage, not unlike the way calypsonians use humor to make a point. Perhaps he is tweaking traditions because the music seems to embrace storytelling in its performance. The pace picked up as metal cups and soup bowls yielded to Balafon, guitar and various percussion instruments from the five musicians.

The narrative was taken up by dancers, their costumes changing with each piece and pointing to themes of village life of southeast Cote d’Ivoire .The music is rooted in the Abodan rhythms and traditions of Southeast Cote d'Ivoire. Scenes of everyday life were portrayed in dance with a dash of humor by Orent’chy and three dancers.Orent’tchy’s engaging choreography blends in modern elements,  electric bass and guitar alongside of balafon, drums and hand held percussion instruments would make an exciting dance/theater presentation. 

Vocalist Dambara from Segou Mali, a group of young musicians playing traditional instruments, calabash, bara, balafon, djembe. Traditional music of his region played with the emotion and energy of rock music   Dambara’s vocals were urged on by piercing screams from Sadjo Sidibe, left, a Sonrai tradition. Originally meant to give strength to the kings going into battle. The call and response  electrified the audience. 

Yah Kouyaté lead vocals, band leader Cheikne Sissoko on Tamen drums, Assaba Dramé on djeli n'goni, Amadou Keita on balafon, Youssef Koné on calabash and tamen, and Ousmane Boya on Yabara performing the music of sotheastern Mali, the Koulikoro region. Cheikne Sissoko, master drummer, and his band, Cheicknè Taman Dourou, delighted the audience with a set of the sounds of the griot traditons that his family has been known for for seven generations. Lead vocalist Yah Kouyate also grew up in a family of griot musicians, and leads a modern, popular ensemble.

EZZA's music speaks of Niger and Tuareg culture. The band did not deviate from its straightforward rocking approach throughout his 2018 MASA set. The self taught guitarist and leader Omar Adam Goumour formed the band in France where he  met Algerian bassist Menad Moussaoui and drummer Stéphane Gratteau. Ezza takes its name from the last letter of the Tifinagh alphabet, EZZA is also said to be a symbol of the free man (Amazigh) and resistance.

 Brown Rice Family, New York based Trinidadian carnival band JouvayFest, Jamaican vocalist Faraji and Artiz an all female Konpa band from Haiti represented the diaspora. Local audiences who connected immediately. It was a pleasure to experience the response to the quirky twists in Brown Rice’s repertoire. When they shifted rhythms the audience was right there with them the audience dancing in front of the stage grew as the set progressed. JouvayFest opened the festival with a parade through the lively streets of Treichville to the Palais de la Culture.  The paraders made up of rhythm section, steel pan, members of Pagwah Jouvert band and Something Positive dance company also performed for a midweek audience of several thousand wide eyed school children and at closing ceremonies. Faraji

Mark Kaufmann

Donald Bennett