World In Stereo: Orchestre Poly-Rythmo de Cotonou: Echos Hypnotiques, Vol. 2

Orchestre Poly-Rythmo de Cotonou: Echos Hypnotiques, Vol. 2 (Analog Africa, 11/10/09)

I’ve never been to Benin. I’ve never walked the streets of Cotonou or ridden on one of their motorcycle taxis.

I’ve never walked along the beaches of the Bight of Benin and seen the fishermen hauling in their catches. I’ve never had a klui klui (a deep-fried peanut-butter stick sold on the city streets).

But I have listened to Orchestre Poly-Rythmo. I have danced my ass off to “Noude Ma Gnin Tche De Me.” I have screamed along to lyrics that I don’t understand.

This band is at once the purest form of afrobeat and its strangest outlier. It is a microcosm of the Northwest African musical history.

It has the primal thump of ancient Vodoun (Voodoo to the Western world) chant rhythms, always charging forward, undeterred by the madness going on around it. The beat is the spiritual underpinning carefully guiding the mad genius of the band. The Sato rhythms that are present on this disc were picked up from Vodoun ceremonies used to celebrate the dead, creating a musical bond to the history of the Fon people.

And on top of all the history, the band was always moving forward. In “Mede Ma Gnin Messe,” the Orchestre employs a disco hi-hat beat to augment the subtle Sato backing, but it also throws in a heavily distorted guitar and organ solo in which the two instruments have a call-and-response jam with a saxophone section. This is the Las Vegas all-you-can-eat-buffet of African psychedelia.

Rappers today talk about “swag”: that overtly cocky sense of pride that can either make you embarrassed for yourself or embarrassed for them. The Orchestre has the type of swag that leaves you feeling like a younger brother watching your older brother and his taller friends play basketball.

The band’s style is impressive, and yes, at some times showy and cocksure. But that only adds a layer of mystique to the aesthetic. On some tracks, you can hear the Orchestre making music to show that it can do it better than anyone else. But it’s the best.

I’ll try explaining this mathematically.

Consider the following equation:

Music = sound/time represented as m

Orchestre Poly-Rythmo represented as O

Funk = m/groove

O(m/groove) = (O x m)/(O x groove) = Euphoria.

Quod erat demonstratum.

To all those familiar with African music, you know how serious even mentioning Fela Kuti is. But here it goes: Orchestre Poly-Rythmo is at Fela’s level, if not exceeding it at times. I don’t know if you could ask for a better endorsement.

No matter your preference in format, there is no wrong way to listen to this band. If you turn up the volume loud enough on anything, you will still dance with the same near-spiritual conviction that takes hold of you during the course of an especially groovy track. You could be underwater wearing earmuffs, and if someone played a HitClip of Orchestre Poly-Rythmo, it would still send you into dopamine overdrive.

If I ever make it to Benin, I’m going to spend all my time walking around Cotonou asking people about this band. I don’t think the language barrier will be a problem. Someone will nod, smile, and pull out one of its records and let it play.

– Arthur Pascale

World in Stereo is a biweekly column that examines classic and modern world music while striving for a greater appreciation of other cultures.