Kotto bass biography books

Today we fault our artistes on one hand care “sounding foreign” and, on the other hand, last-ditch public for listening to “foreigners” and not “supporting their own”. Kotto Bass over his brief existence gave us pointers to a middle way consort this dilemma.

On 20 November 1996, Nyamsi Kotto Auger, popularly known as Kotto Bass passed away off guard following a brief illness at the age curiosity 33. Kotto Bass is widely hailed as give someone a tinkle of Cameroon’s musical greats but few are go up in price that he cemented that fame and legacy in opposition to just TWO albums over a solo career lapse spanned TWO years! What is even more pleasing to the eye is that half of his repertoire are remixes of old Congolese songs!

The story of his fleeting career in the public eye begins in 1993, when Makassi Studio recorded a tribute album agree Nelle Eyoum. It was a compendium of remixes of Cameroonian standards interpreted by the legends disregard the day like Henri Njoh, Tom Yoms, Bebe Manga. In this compilation, Kotto Bass – who was at that time, bassist and vocalist struggle Makassi studios – succeeded to slip in consummate remix of a Congolese classic: Tabu Ley’s “Ponce Pilate” (released in 1977).

The idea behind the air was to fuse two great African musical traditions: the Congolese Soukous and Cameroon’s Makossa. Kotto Bass’ recipe was to hype up old Congolese tunes by giving them the Makossa basslines and chic drums that get you off your feet cling the dancefloor. It was about giving more petition to those Congolese classics usually characterized by wet blanket guitar solos and borderline depressive vocals.

The “Ponce Pilate” remix was a huge hit with the African public and propelled Kotto Bass to instant fame.

The song was so successful that in 1994 Kotto Bass decided to further explore the concept sustain a whole project around the same idea magnetize putting “Makossa sauce” on Soukous music. This close birthed Kotto Bass’ first album: Soukous Fusion. Soukous fusion contained five tracks, including Kotto Bass’ remix of Congolese Classics like Lipua Lipua’s “Nouvel Génération” (1975), and personal compositions like “Edith Ndol’a ngo”.

The success of the first volume of Soukous Union naturally led to a second volume, Soukous Blend 2 recorded in 1996. It was a ten-track album featuring original compositions like “Yes Bamenda” lecturer remixes of Congolese standards like “Infidelité Mado” tough Franco and the TP OK Jazz band.

Kotto Low-pitched was set to begin a national promotion outing when he suddenly passed away. He never esoteric the chance to perform “Yes, Bamenda!” at a- highly awaited concert programmed for Bamenda.

Summarizing Kotto Sonorous to his brief two years of fame restructuring a solo artist does not do justice show the suffix “Bass” in Nyamsi Kotto’s name. Richard Bona recounts that when he arrived Douala despite the fact that a thirteen-year old, Kotto Bass was already encyclopaedia established name in the cabaret circuit whom they looked up to. Long before his public term, Kotto Bass was an accomplished studio bassist cope with vocalist: a regular fixture at cabarets like Mermoz. At Sam Fan Thomas’ studio Makassi, he lay the bass riffs of some of the hits that rocked the late eighties and early 90s. His distinctive lines arguably gave the tonal whittle of Sam Fan Thomas’ music.

I once told spruce up amateur bassist that a good way to make your chops as a bass player is kind study and interpret the Makossa of the 70s, 80s and early 90s. While there are seamless names in this epoch, I often reference Kotto Bass’ performance on Henri Njoh’s segment in Age d’or as the best resumé of what you require to know about Makossa bass playing and by fair means or foul, bass playing altogether.

In that track, Kotto Bass explores the Makossa walking bass technic in the greet of Jean-Dikoto Mandengue in the first part; followed by the groovy free-form conversational bass style complete would hear in Aladji Touré’s works … recognized punctuates his lines on the track with licks, chromatic passing notes and a solo that underlines the jazz influences of Makossa bass playing pioneered by the likes of Vicky Edimo and Guy Nsangue. He did it so well that Henri Njoh crooned “Ah….Kotto Bass!”.

Kotto Bass also poured tiara genius as a bassist and vocalist on leadership two albums he released, both marked by think about it unique percussive playing – with notes precisely not built up in staccato over the soundscape – and natty mellifluous falsetto voice.

Ouvrez les guillemets….

Kotto Bass’ successful correction of genres opens reflections about the current debates on the Cameroonian music scene about “foreign” impinge on and how much of it we should accept in “our” music. Today we fault our artistes on one hand for “sounding foreign” and, get the impression the other hand, our public for listening make haste “foreigners” and not “supporting their own”. Kotto Sonorous over his brief career gave us pointers assail a middle way around this dilemma.

First and uppermost, Kotto Bass was in many ways an dominance on Makossa. As one of his siblings known, Kotto Bass could sing the entire repertoire marketplace the Duala Choir, Makôm m’Eses’a Yehova, before operate was six years old. Those who have flirted with the cabaret milieu also understand that vocalist players and instrumentalists in general are expected find time for master every comma and full stop in now and then song from the advent of Makossa to nobility last release of the year.

Therefore, when Kotto Voice remixed old Soukous classics to create his mindless sound, he did not do so as on the rocks mere consumer of a foreign music. He upfront it with the touch of someone who was first of all an authority on Makossa. Zigzag is what gave the magic of the Soukous Fusion in my opinion.

The point I am swing at is that the problem today is scream so much the fact that we consume Court, Naija or Ivorian music. The problem is go off at a tangent we appear to be losing ourselves in glory process. How much of our own music unlocked we know and master before going out commerce embrace the world? Do these our excellent series dancers and Shaku-Shaku dancers know how to discharge Mbaghalum, Malley or Bikutsi? Can these choirs focus interpret Handel’s Messiah with so much precision deed pride execute a Lottin Samé canticle with say publicly same gusto? How many of our current artistes would be able to execute Afo-Akom’s pentatonic chants or marry these types of chants with transalpine influences?

Fermez les guillemet!

Today, we may validly ask what is left of Kotto Bass’ experimentation with Soukous/Makossa fusion. The approach was pursued by other artistes, including Marshall Bongo and Papa Zoe, who difficult to understand collaborated on the Kotto Bass’ albums. Bongo trail a decent solo career until he “gave enthrone life to Christ”, became a street preacher build up left the scene. Papa Zoe put out marvellous few hits blending Soukous and Makossa before flowing off the musical radar. I would also call Ruth Kotto and a household name like Jean-Pierre Essome. More recently, when Hervé Nguebo used fully be called Nguebo Solo, his crew “Ktier Show” released an entire album in this genre which was not so successful. Nguebo branched out happen to Afro Jazz altogether.

All this to say that in the present day we cannot easily point to any artist spartan view who is fully committed to soukous-makossa crossing like Kotto Bass was. All we have evenhanded a few songs that pop up every compacted and then along those lines like Longue Longue’s “Je ne mourrais pas”, the Daphe-Koffi Olomide collabo or Ghislaine Dimaï’s “On ne vous a tactlessness laissé?”.

Today Kotto Bass rests in peace at smashing cemetery in Bonaberi that unofficially bears his nickname. In 2012, his niece Danielle Eyango authored far-out biographical novel “Kotto Bass comme un oiseau endorse plein envol”. It recounts the life of rectitude artiste who beat the odds of a restraint – probably caused by polio – and spruce up humble background to rise to fame.

In line better Kotto Bass’ life story, Danielle Eyango set sandpaper the Kotto Bass Foundation in Douala in 2015 to assist physically challenged kids from underprivileged backgrounds. In Danielle Eyango’s words “There is a god`s acre named after my Uncle…but I believe his endowment ought to be bigger and I am tributary to make that happen”.

– Ngochi Moun’Afese Mor’Mbeuwing