Paspanga

Despite coming from a musical family (his father was composer Gyorgy Ligeti 1923-2006), Lukas Ligeti did not start formal music studies (aside from some piano lessons at age nine) until he was a teenager. He studied composition and classical percussion at The University for Music and Performing Arts (Vienna) but found the program and methodology too limiting compared to his growing interest in improvisation. Returning to piano to gain admittance to their piano program, he again found this direction to be of no interest.

From his earliest days at The International School (Vienna) Lukas had been fascinated by maps of Africa. In 1994 The Goethe Institute commissioned his trip there to work with musicians on Cote d'Ivoire. The African influence would become one of the most consistent ingredients in his artistic palette.  While leading a workshop in Albijin,  he co-found Beta Fol,  recording  his first album as a leader with them in 1997, Lukas Ligeti & Beta Foly. Just as his inspiration came from diverse non-musical sources such as experimental mathematics, traveling and painting, he proved to be equally eclectic with his music, incorporating aspects of jazz, experimental classical, electronic, and ethno-African techniques and rhythms. 

Burkina Electric

Lukas has always managed to carry the terrain of his art within him which has allowed for the freedom of working in such drastically different places as Stanford University, where he was the visiting composer for computer research in music and acoustics (1994-96), to The University of Witwatersrand (Johannesburg, South Africa), where he was the composer in residence (2006). Concurrent with these and his many other projects, Lukas was a prime mover in helping bring to fruition the collective ensemble Burkina Electric . Fellow members of Beta Foly (Mai Lingani, Wende K. Blass Kurt “Pyrolator” Dahlke ) also comprise this new ensemble. The group is intercontinental with members living in New York, Düsseldorf (Germany) and Ouga (Burkina Faso's capital, West Africa).  

The label “World Music,” while not necessarily meant as a pejorative term, can act to detract from a work's power with the distraction to the listener of the inner expectations/novelty of hearing something from somewhere else. Although a reference point is always needed to tell an audience what an ensemble's artistic (mission) statement is, to get bogged down in genre labeling one runs the risk of a lepidopterolgist who becomes so immersed in how they are going to categorize their finds that they miss the inherent beauty as the Papillion flits by.  

Burkina Electric

Paspanga

Paspanga is their first full-length album and it offers up a unique and enjoyable experience.  The music is not programmatic and its power is reiterated by the fact that one may not understand the language of the lyrics as sung by Mai Lingani (in Moore, Dioula, Bissa and French) but the mood of each piece nevertheless emotionally resonates with the listener.  

“Gom Zanga” is sung in Moore and serves as a jubilant welcome to both the band and Burkina Faso, one of whose popular dance rhythms serves as the underlying body of the song. Kurt “Pyrolator” Dahlke has worn many hats over the course of his career. He founded the record label/publishing house Atatak, has been active in producing more than 200 records and performing in many groups besides publishing his own compositions. With Burkina Electric he provides various electronics. On this song he utilizes found sounds from Burkina Faso, making the land itself another collaborator. Throughout the album he sometimes uses sounds and electronics to create pieces of sonic collage; at other times he utilizes a more traditional execution of synthesizer playing and drum/percussion samples.   

On guitar Wende K. Blass opts for a clean trebled tone which best highlights his rapid shifts between fleet fingered picking and rhythmic strumming. His playing is interesting in that its foundation is neither blues nor classically derived, but shows some aspects of each while remaining very much a thing of his own making. There is no bass proper but rather electric pulse points which serve in its stead. Both lead and background vocals are sonically enmeshed with the rest of the composition and work almost more in the role of another instrument or sonic layer, which contributes to the overall strength of the piece. This song, like much of Burkina Electric's work, entraps the listener in its rhythms. With several listens, each time I heard new little things within the piece that I had not heard previously. 

“Naab Koobo” is another song sung in Moore. It is a story about a king needing help with the harvest and asking various animals to assist. As long as their enemies also do not come, all agree. Yet despite this agreement, it is a lie, with all animals being invited despite natural rivalries. All the animals then commence to eat each other in turn until only the largest, the hippopotamus, remains. This parable told to children to teach morality utilizes a traditional Moore rhythm (Ouaraba). The percussion has a sort of stuttered break beat feel to it that immediately becomes infectious.  

Vocalist Mai Lingani always manages to wear a song's emotions like a perfectly tailored suit of clothes. For performing and composing (both music and lyrics), she won her country's most prestigious musical award, the Grand Prix National de la Chansson moderne Burkinabe (1998). Previous to Burkina Electric she had worked with Lukas and Pyrolator in Beta Foly. On this song her voice alternates between solo singing and merging with back up vocalists “As” Zoko Zoko and “Vicky” Idrissa Kafando. The vocals with their constantly varying emotional cadence serve more as another instrument rather than the more (Western) traditional role of soloist or sound to be in the forefront. The guitar has a ceaseless rhythmic strummed presence in the song. The band as a whole does funk but forgoes borrowing from the tried and true templates most often used for such things (James Brown/George Clinton et al). Their funk-- born a world away-- is different but recognizable in its intent and just as enjoyable. 

“Ca Va Chauffer” is sung in French. The song begins with a sort of undulating electric pulse, percussion and found sounds sort of tripping out of the mouth of the piece with a guitar murmuring low in the mix, its trebled musings building up the song's momentum before the percussion takes over. It is one of my favorite tracks on the album. There is a dense mix of ever-changing rhythmic devices from electric thump-thump of disco which gives way to a rumba march. There are also other polyrhythmic layers which are added and taken away throughout the song. Mai's vocals change cadence too, from a throaty call to a gentler mantra of “dance,” calling for someone to join her in catharsis on the dance floor. The guitar too in this piece comes and goes, alternating between rhythmic strums to staccato single-note runs. It is the perfect way for the album to end, reiterating the celebration which occurs whenever these musicians play together.  

The CD comes with liner notes explaining each song by Lukas and slip case packaging. The sound is pristine and offers up new discoveries upon each listen. As each member has other side projects going on, it will be interesting to see what new colors are added to their palette from things experienced as individual artists and as a band.  

Paspanga personnel:

• Mai Lingani (voice)
• Wende K. Blass (guitar, background vocals)
• Lukas Ligeti (electronics, drums)
• Pyrolator (electronics)
• “As” Zoko Zoko and “Vicky” Idrissa Kafando (dance, background vocals)

For more information, visit www.burkinaelectric.com  

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