Orchestre Poly-Rythmo de Cotonou Dahomey

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Afro Funk: "Gbeti Madjro" from the compilation "African Scream Contest" released on Analog Africa Records .




Orchestre Poly Rythmo de Cotonou is a funk band from Benin. Active since the 1970s, and having recorded over 50 full-length LPs and hundreds of 45s, they are still touring around the world today.



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What distinguishes Benin from its neighbours is the fact that it happens to be home to Vodoun - or as we know it over here Voodoo. So it should be no surprise that the popular music of Benin draws heavily upon the rhythms of Vodoun rituals, but what is surprising is the other influences that have come into play. The Vodoun Effect: Funk & Sato From Benin's Obscure Labels 1973-1975 a recent release on the Analog Africa from Germany, that has collected together fourteen tracks by one of Benin's most popular bands, Orchestre Poly-Rythmo de Cotonou. Recorded in the 1970s on a variety of small independent labels, they show not only the Vodoun influence but how music from both South and North America found its way back across the Atlantic Ocean.

According to the publicity material that came with the disc, in the late 19th century a group of freed slaves from Brazil - Bahia region - returned to Benin and over the years their dances and songs were incorporated into Beninese ritual, and from there worked their way into the popular culture. In the 1960s and 1970s American soul and funk music started making its presence felt in Africa, and along with the sounds of pop music from neighbouring Nigeria were assimilated into the popular music scene in Benin. ( mojorisings )

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