Music of Togo
The music of Togo has produced a number of internationally known popular entertainers including Bella Bellow, Akofah Akussah, Afia Mala, Itadi Bonney, Wellborn, King Mensah and Jimi Hope.
National music
The Togolese national anthem is Salut à toi, pays de nos aïeux (Land of our forefathers), written by Alex Casimir-Dosseh. From 1979 to 1992 it was replaced by an anthem composed by the party of the Rally of the Togolese People. French is the official and commercial language of Togo.
Traditional music
Togo's southern plain is its most populous area, where the capital,
The two most populous language groups are the
Folk songs of fishermen in the south may be accompanied by
In the central hills
Togolese dances include kamou, soo, tchimou, the southern royal djokoto, the war dances kpehouhuon and atsina, the hunters' dance adewu, the stilt dance tchebe, the miming masseh, as well as regional dances like the coastal sakpate and the kaka.[4]
Popular music
Internationally known performer King Mensah, a former performer at the Ki-Yi M'Bock Theatre in Abidjan, toured Europe and Japan before opening his own show in French Guiana and then moving to Paris and forming a band called Favaneva.[5] Peter Solo The man of Vodoo Game Music from Togo The idea of integrating these haunting lines, sung in honor of the Divinities, to an energetic 1970s Afro-funk was an obvious extension in Peter's mind of the analogy he found between this voodoo tradition and trance inducers such as Blues, Funk, as well as the Rhythm'n Blues of James Brown, Otis Redding and Wilson Picket.Peter heard this new sound coming through him and named it Vodoo Game.
Bella Bellow is Togo's best-known musician, and is often compared with
Hip hop is on the rise, and 2003 saw the first Togo hip hop awards ceremony.[6]
Folk metal scene of Togo, counts one band under the name "Arka'n Asrafokor[7]"
Notes
- ^ Togo. CIA – The World Factbook. Cia.gov. Retrieved on 2012-01-08.
- ^ a b Virtual journey through Togo, music + dance
- ^ a b Virtual journey through Togo, Togolese drumming
- ^ World Music Central
- ^ a b c d e f Bensignor and Audra, pg. 435
- ^ a b Bensignor, Francois (2006). "Benin and Togo". In Simon Broughton; Mark Ellingham; Jon Lusk; Duncan Clark (eds.). The Rough Guide to World Music. Vol. 1 (3rd ed.). London: Rough Guides Ltd. pp. 39–42.
- ^ "Zã Keli, by ARKA'N ASRAFOKOR". ARKA'N ASRAFOKOR. Retrieved 2023-10-30.
See also
- Sub-Saharan African music traditions
- Rhythm in Sub-Saharan Africa
- West African music
References
- Bensignor, François and Eric Audra. "Afro-Funksters". 2000. In Broughton, Simon and Ellingham, Mark with McConnachie, James and Duane, Orla (Ed.), World Music, Vol. 1: Africa, Europe and the Middle East, pp 432–436. Rough Guides Ltd, ISBN 1-85828-636-0
- "International Dance Glossary". World Music Central. Archived from the original on September 1, 2005. Retrieved September 7, 2005.
- "Virtual journey through Togo, music + dance". OxFam's Cool Planet. Archived from the original on September 9, 2005. Retrieved September 7, 2005.
- "Virtual journey through Togo, Togolese drumming". OxFam's Cool Planet. Archived from the original on November 19, 2005. Retrieved September 7, 2005.
External links
- (in French) Audio clips: Traditional music of Togo. Musée d'ethnographie de Genève. Accessed November 25, 2010.
- Audio clips - traditional music of Togo. French National Library. Accessed November 25, 2010.