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Mariam Bagayogo – Vol. 2
Um, yeah. This is scary. The other-worldly pentatonic balafon and its apocalyptic overtones repeat toward infinity, and I can’t help but think of Reich’s marimba ostinatos and Partch’s microtones here. This is so good. And don’t get me started on those vibrato-free vocals, hand claps and clickety-clacks, which make this echo-y doom-scape seem all too real.
Side A
Miniyan Ye Koloni Mme
Anytie Tjilalou
Kodialani
Side B
Bara Et Golo
Yayoye
Massafing
23 Comments
Join the discussion and tell us your opinion.
Thanks for the absolutely great music on here! One question though: do you make mono mp3’s on purpose? best regards, René from Holland
yes. i don’t have a fancy set-up. there might be a better way…
what program do you use? maybe i can help…
thanks for this and all the other great stuff you’ve provided. i don’t comment nearly as much as i should to thank you, but its definitely appreciated. THANKS!
joel in chicago
I haven’t realised that they are in mono – too busy smiling and grooving. I keep commenting, but really can’t say thank you enough. I especially like the way you don’t post too frequently, it is always a special treat when my feedburner says there is a new post
Thanks
Interesting stuff. I guess this is Malian? Love the sound of that balafon.
Joe
I’ve been downloading files from you for some time and this is the first time I realized that they were in mono.
What sort of setup do you use to make your rips? There should be a way to make stereo recordings that shouldn’t set you back more than US $100 (& probably quite a bit less).
I’m no expert on the matter, but get in touch if you’d like to discuss this further: beadlejp at yahoo dot com.
hey there, a friend of mine sent me the link to your blog. Loving its freshness, thanks for all this and keep on sharing the knowledge! x
Yeah, lovely, lovely stuff….
Hey all…I’m new to this particular little site. Great, great blog. I’m wondering however if it’s possible to download the mp3’s rather than Quicktime movies. Plus, isn’t is easier to rip straight to mp3?
Also, I’m not sure if you know, but when you play cassettes, there a little tiny screw on the left side of the tape head that is accessible when you remove the faceplate. This adjusts the azimuth. If you turn the screw right and left while playing the tape you’ll notice a sizable difference in sound quality. Most tapes are recorded at different azimuth positions, so I keep my screwdriver handy when wanting to master a cassette to the digital domain. You’d be amazed at the difference it makes. You can recover a lot of the high end that’s missing on many tape sources.
Best,
AvantGrape
interesting about the screw, i’ll check that out. these tracks are ripped straight to mp3. please remember, these are tapes of dubious sound quality to begin with.
Hello again,
I hope you didn’t take my little azimuth screw description as a critique of the sound quality. I love these rough recordings and the music you provide is unbelievably outstanding. It’s a damn blessing really. I just wanted to give you a piece of info that a lot of folks aren’t aware of. In some cases, the proper alignment of the tape head with the cassette in question can recover a lot of missing high end. In other cases it can not. But it’s something to be aware of. Plus, it’s pretty easy to tweak. Much easier than it might sound anyway.
Thanks for the download info BTW.
Twenty years ago or so a friend of mine had an Onkyo cassette deck that had a dial you could actually adjust the azimuth. I’ve never seen another deck that had this feature, and since cassettes are a “dead format,” I doubt that I ever will again.
these tracks are fanastic. love the blog.
Let me tell you that this Mariam Bagayogo is absolutely great! All the songs, with the same rithm looped over and over again, are sooo sooo wonderful!
Just onde question, don’t you know the release date of this?
Thank you so much!
Killa!
best post.
amazing tracks!
Great tape. Good blog, though I’d like a little more info on the artists and more on-point descriptions of their music (e.g., this one doesn’t recall Reich or Partch for me, though those white guys have lifted a bit for non-Western musique). Keep it up!
Great site. This is the Mariam part of Amadou and Mariam who,of course, are now internationally renowned – check out their various albums. Does anyone know how to download these tracks as mp3s ?
I have a few tapes I bought back from West Africa a while ago. I’ll see if I can organise myself to send you copies some time.
Best wishes.
Actually, the Miriam from Amadou+Mariam is Mariam Doumbia (Amadou Bagayoko). This Mariam Bagayoko is quite a good deal older, and isn’t blind. I’d say this tape is from the late 60’s or early 70’s, which were her golden years. She did an early version of “Tiewara” which was pretty popular (the song has become sort of an unofficial Malian national anthem). One of the rare female balafon players. I saw an interview of her on Malian national television a few years ago, and she mentioned that her parents had supported her musical aspirations from an early age (in Beledougou), as had her husband. Last I heard, she was still alive, though in her 80’s.
Might be time to up the spam protection on this blog…
Bagayogo is absolutely great! All the songs, with the same rithm looped over and over again, are sooo sooo wonderful!single mom grants
Fantastic Aquarian music! Your blog is a digital monument to music! Keep up the good work. With Love, from Igboland, Southeastern Nigeria.