In early March, Béla Fleck, one of the most accomplished banjo players in the world, will perform at Bowdoin accompanied by a group of African musicians. According to Bowdoin's Web site, the concert is meant to be a showcase of Fleck's latest project, "Throw Down Your Heart," the result of numerous collaborations with African artists that occurred during Fleck's quest to find the "African origins of the banjo."
Aside from showcasing Fleck's and, judging by how quickly tickets sold out, Bowdoin's interest in African music, the concert also reflects a growing American interest in African and African-inspired music.
Americans have been listening to African music long before this most recent surge of interest. Fela Kuti had several very successful American tours during the sixties, and Paul Simon capitalized on South African influences on his 1986 album, "Graceland." But what makes this most recent movement of African-related music so unique is the relative speed at which the trend seems to be spreading.
It all started in 2008 when a band named Vampire Weekend described their sound as "Upper West-Side Soweto." The four Columbia grads went on to release their groundbreaking, self-titled debut the same year. The album, one of the best of the decade, found lead singer Ezra Koenig laying down his preppy, Americana-filled banter over boisterous African-inspired rhythms. Essentially, Vampire Weekend was able to meld together two very different styles (preppy, white American with African) and made it look easy. After Vampire Weekend, the floodgates opened.
Later that year, Amadou & Mariam, a duo from Mali, released their eighth album, "Welcome to Mali," and gained widespread attention from American music critics. Also in 2008, Esau Mwamwaya, a singer from Malawi, teamed up with Belgium producing team Radioclit to form the Very Best. "Warm Heart of Africa," the debut album from the Very Best, was released to widespread critical acclaim in 2009. Even European bands have taken part in the trend; jj, from Sweden, released their African-influenced album "jj no. 2" in 2009.
The latest (and most bizarre) import from Africa comes in the form of Die Antwoord. The trio from Cape Town, South Africa describe their style as "zef," which is the Afrikaans equivalent of "redneck." The hip-hop group has achieved Internet stardom in the past few weeks, appearing on numerous blogs and receiving thousands of hits on YouTube. Many people are currently debating whether Die Antwoord (Afrikaans for "The Answer") is a joke. "Strange" is really the only word to describe the band's video for "Enter the Ninja."
The reason for the increased interest in African music in the last few years is unclear. The advent of music blogs and YouTube may have something to do with it. Nowadays, music from all corners of the earth is easily accessible with the click of a mouse. Most music blogs and news Web sites also follow trends that create a domino effect for unsuspecting independent bands. Once a new buzz band is discovered and posted on a Web site (usually Pitchfork), all of the other smaller blogs follow suit and, pretty soon, bands like No Age are on MTV. Vampire Weekend seems to have started a trend for African and African-inspired music, a trend that they certainly continued with their second fantastic album, "Contra," released earlier this year.