Neba Solo
Encyclopedia
Neba Solo is the stage name of Souleymane Traoré, a musician based in Mali
, West Africa
. Neba Solo plays a kind of balafon
, a marimba with wooden keys mounted on a wooden frame and attached to resonating chambers made from dried gourds.
Traoré hails from the village of Nebadougou, in the eastern part of the Sikasso
region of Mali. His stage name derives from his home town, plus the shortened form of his first name (Souleymane).
He learned to play the balafon from his father, who was also an accomplished musician. He also learned how to make balafons from his father with local materials. He soon began performing with other musicians and formed a group, with himself playing balafon and singing, his younger brother Siaka also playing balafon, and various others from Nebadougou on accompanying percussion instruments. After listening to reggae
music as a teenager, Traoré decided to experiment with his balafon's design, adding three extra bass keys to the instrument. In his group's current form, Souleymane plays his specially adapted bass balafon while Siaka plays the upper-register "lead" form of the instrument.
Neba Solo's music began to receive airplay on radio stations throughout his home region of Sikasso from the mid-1990s, particularly after the release of his recording "Hommage à Lamissa Bengaly." In 1996 he released another recording on the Malian market, entitled "Kenedougou Foly," which included highly successful songs such as "Vaccination," "Deli Fara," "Noumou Foly," and "Kenedougou Foly." The songs combined the best of the balafon's danceable rhythms with key innovations including vocal accompaniment and a driving bass line. Lyrics were sung in Traoré's native Senoufo language as well as in Bambara
, Mali's most widely spoken language.
By 2002 Neba Solo's success had spread across Mali, and his group appeared regularly on nationally televised music shows. They composed and performed a popular anthem "CAN 2002" for the 2002 African Cup of Nations
soccer tournament which Mali hosted. In the summer of 2003, they were part of Mali's delegation to the Smithsonian Folklife Festival, one of a small number of musical artists to be so honored.
Neba Solo has collaborated with artists from Mali as well as around the world, including French electronic musical artist Frédéric Galliano and the Iranian percussion group Trio Chemirani. Some of his songs have also been remixed by DJs and released on compilations by Six Degrees Records
. Neba Solo has toured in Europe and North America in addition to Africa.
Mali
Mali , officially the Republic of Mali , is a landlocked country in Western Africa. Mali borders Algeria on the north, Niger on the east, Burkina Faso and the Côte d'Ivoire on the south, Guinea on the south-west, and Senegal and Mauritania on the west. Its size is just over 1,240,000 km² with...
, West Africa
West Africa
West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of the African continent. Geopolitically, the UN definition of Western Africa includes the following 16 countries and an area of approximately 5 million square km:-Flags of West Africa:...
. Neba Solo plays a kind of balafon
Balafon
The balafon is a resonated frame, wooden keyed percussion idiophone of West Africa; part of the idiophone family of tuned percussion instruments that includes the xylophone, marimba, glockenspiel, and the vibraphone...
, a marimba with wooden keys mounted on a wooden frame and attached to resonating chambers made from dried gourds.
Traoré hails from the village of Nebadougou, in the eastern part of the Sikasso
Sikasso
Sikasso is a city in the south of Mali and the capital of the Sikasso Region. With 130,700 residents, Sikasso recently passed Ségou to become Mali's second-largest city.-Geography:...
region of Mali. His stage name derives from his home town, plus the shortened form of his first name (Souleymane).
He learned to play the balafon from his father, who was also an accomplished musician. He also learned how to make balafons from his father with local materials. He soon began performing with other musicians and formed a group, with himself playing balafon and singing, his younger brother Siaka also playing balafon, and various others from Nebadougou on accompanying percussion instruments. After listening to reggae
Reggae
Reggae is a music genre first developed in Jamaica in the late 1960s. While sometimes used in a broader sense to refer to most types of Jamaican music, the term reggae more properly denotes a particular music style that originated following on the development of ska and rocksteady.Reggae is based...
music as a teenager, Traoré decided to experiment with his balafon's design, adding three extra bass keys to the instrument. In his group's current form, Souleymane plays his specially adapted bass balafon while Siaka plays the upper-register "lead" form of the instrument.
Neba Solo's music began to receive airplay on radio stations throughout his home region of Sikasso from the mid-1990s, particularly after the release of his recording "Hommage à Lamissa Bengaly." In 1996 he released another recording on the Malian market, entitled "Kenedougou Foly," which included highly successful songs such as "Vaccination," "Deli Fara," "Noumou Foly," and "Kenedougou Foly." The songs combined the best of the balafon's danceable rhythms with key innovations including vocal accompaniment and a driving bass line. Lyrics were sung in Traoré's native Senoufo language as well as in Bambara
Bambara language
Bambara, more correctly known as Bamanankan , its designation in the language itself , is a language spoken in Mali by as many as six million people...
, Mali's most widely spoken language.
By 2002 Neba Solo's success had spread across Mali, and his group appeared regularly on nationally televised music shows. They composed and performed a popular anthem "CAN 2002" for the 2002 African Cup of Nations
African Cup of Nations
The Africa Cup of Nations, also referred to as the African Cup of Nations or African Nations Cup, officially CAN , is the main international association football competition in Africa. It is sanctioned by the Confederation of African Football , and was first held in 1957. Since 1968, it has been...
soccer tournament which Mali hosted. In the summer of 2003, they were part of Mali's delegation to the Smithsonian Folklife Festival, one of a small number of musical artists to be so honored.
Neba Solo has collaborated with artists from Mali as well as around the world, including French electronic musical artist Frédéric Galliano and the Iranian percussion group Trio Chemirani. Some of his songs have also been remixed by DJs and released on compilations by Six Degrees Records
Six Degrees Records
Six Degrees Records is an independent record label noted for its catalog of recordings from international musicians and vocalists. It has been described by the journalist and producer Derek Beres as "one of the most groundbreaking labels of the past decade."...
. Neba Solo has toured in Europe and North America in addition to Africa.
External links
- http://www.nebasolo.net
- http://www.afropop.org/multi/feature/ID/733/Neba+Solo+-+Mali's+%22Genius+of+the+Balafon%22+at+Harlem+Stage
- http://www.fly.co.uk/fly/archives/2005/04/neba_solo_the_malian_breaking_the_rules.html