Norio wrote:
So they're not using weird scales or weird tunings? It's just their "vibe" that's coming through so distinctly in the guitar?
There's definitely a style and tuning component to it, not just equipment. Taking Johnny Clegg as an example (he's of course not representative of all "
African sound"), I've found the following:
From an interview with Clegg:
TS : Did you always want to become a musician?
JC : No, I never wanted to become a musician. My mother was a cabaret singer and was very involved with music. I didn't particularly litre the people she hung around with as a youngster. I found I had nothing in common with thé night club scene. I was really turned on to acoustic folk music, Celtic folk music, traditional stuff. Then when I was twelve, thirteen, I met Zulu street musicians in Johannesburg who were playing and tuning the guitar in a really crazy way, playing rhythms and melodies which in a certain sense are quite reminiscent of the Celtic music that I'd been listening to up until then. I started playing with them, bought myself a guitar, and after one and a half years became completely involved with the Zulu migrant labor street music community.
I developed a very strong friendship with a particular migrant, Sipho Mchunu, who I played with for about six years, from 1970 to'76, before we recorded our first singles as Johnny and Sipho. Three years later we formed the band Juluka. In thé early years, obviously, we played strictly traditional Zulu music.
[full interview here:
http://inmyafricandream.free.fr/books/b_sm_tracks.htm]
Manfred referred to them using Parker Flys, which is correct. In a Juluka /Savuka FAQ, I found an interesting breakdown of their equipment,but also reference to so-called "Zulu-tuning" (which appears to be dropped D):
Q5: What types and brands of instruments do the band members play?
A. On the summer 1996 US tour, the band members and their main instruments were: Johnny Clegg (vocals, guitar, concertina); Sipho Mchunu (vocals, guitar), Andrew Innes (guitar, mandolin), Kevin Gibson (percussion), Keith Hutchinson (keyboards, flute, saxophone), Solly Letwaba (bass guitar), and Mandisa Dlanga (vocals).
From Chicago onward, Clegg was playing a red Parker Fly guitar; earlier he had been using two Fender Santarosas. Mchunu uses a Morris flatbody acoustic/electric, usually played in Zulu tuning (top E tuned to D). Innes uses the following instruments: Valley Arts Standard Pro (w/EMG's and Floyd Rose trem.); Patrick Eggle Berlin Pro; Gibson Chet Atkins SST; Ovation Mandolin (new series); and Morris Tornado shallow bowl electric/acoustic. Gibson was playing Pearl drums.
The dropped D tuning was also mentioned on a Clegg forum:
http://jcdotcom.phpbb-host.com/ftopic68.php
Clegg is, of course, an academic (former anthropology lecturer),and I found this reference to a paper he wrote which I'm sure would answer many of our questions (though I couldn't find a link to the actual text)!!
Jonathan Clegg, 1981.
The Music of Zulu Immigrant Workers in Johannesburg: A Focus on Concertina and Guitar. In: Andrew Tracey (ed) Papers presented at the Symposium on Ethnomusicology. Grahamstown: International Library of African Music.
I remember reading a more detailled discussion of the Zulu guitar style and tuning on Andy Innes (Clegg's main guitarist and fellow Parker endorsee)'s site, but the site is currently off-line. Will look into this some more and report back!!
PS: Tom Fox (Bright Blue) also had that trademark "African" or township kinda style and sound on many Bright Blue recordings in the 80s / 90s. Really cool sound and riffs. I've seen this described as a "afro-funk pop style", which is a pretty nice way of capturing it!!
http://www.thesoundroom.co.nz/section.php?r=24&s=27&pt=standard
When I saw Bright Blue live back in the day, he seemed to be using a pretty conventional Western-type setup, so I suppose its also possible without the alternate tuning (and just adding an inflection or vibe into the tecnique).
Cheers
Riaan C
