Sunday, July 29, 2018

ARCHIMEDES BADKAR & AFRO 70 – Bado Kidogo (MNW, 1978)

Instrumental, other languages
International relevance: **

Considering Archimedes Badkar's serious interest in African music, it was a logical step to work with Tanzanian band Afro 70 for their final outing in 1978. Afro 70 was centered around singer and guitarist Patrick Balisidya, and the band's popularity in and around Tanzania grew from regular touring and a number of 45's released in the early 70's.

Archimedes Badkar trumpeter Tommy Adolfsson sheds some light on how the two bands got in touch with each other:

– It was me who met Patrick Balisidaya in Dar es Salaam in 1978. I was a student at Tomelilla Folkhögskola [Tomelilla is a small town in Skåne in the south of Sweden] then. Krister Malm at Rikskonserter [Concerts Sweden] gave me the names of [Tanzanian] musicians, including Afro 70. I met Patrick and played him Archimedes Badkar's ”Tre” that was brand new at the time and he got all excited by what he heard. It was in February 1978, and Patrick told me he was invited to Sweden by Krister Malm, and that he would come over. I told him he had to get in touch with Archimedes. Upon my return to Stockholm, they had already recorded most of the Archimedes Badkar/Afro 70 album. I overdubbed some trumpet parts, got in touch with Sweden/Tanzania Friendship Association who granted us money, and then we went on a fun tour around Sweden!

The two bands blend well, although it's somewhat more of an Afro 70 album thanks to Patrick Balisidiya's vocals (plus backing vocals from Dick Unga and Sophie Nzuki-Balisidiya) – hardly a problem.

”Kila Mtu” makes for a strong opening but the very best moment is the album's final 12+ minutes of Ghanaian funeral music, ”Darafo/Darkpen” with saxophonists Jörgen Adolfsson and Christer Bothén blowing hard and free before the rest of the band works up an irrestistable groove around Bengt Berger's xylophone and Per Tjernberg's percussion.

”Bado Kidogo” isn't as stylistically sprawling as Archimedes Badkar's previous efforts, but it's a very fine effort rounding off their all too short discography in a most honorable way.

Although being outside the time span of this blog, I'd really like to mention two Archimedes Badkar related albums. The first of them i ”Trancedance” (Organic Music/Urspår) by Christer Bothén featuring Bolon Bata, released in 1984, with a massive line-up of former Archimedes Badkar members such as Bengt Berger, Jörgen Adolfsson and Tommy Adolfsson and numerous other progg illuminaries. A fantastic, hard swinging, afro inspired feast of an album. The second album was released in 1987 by Bengt Berger lead Bitter Funeral Beer Band's ”Praise Drumming” (Dragon) and features several of the people who made ”Trancedance”, and follows along the same lines albeit broadening the stylistic range even more. Another must for Archimedes Badkar fans.

Special thanks to Tommy Adolfsson for kindly taking the time to straighten some things out!
 

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