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Orchestre Poly-Rythmo de Cotonou |
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| Biography | |
| In the small country of Bénin, many bands were formed, and a raw and psychedelic style of afrobeat
developed. The most prolific band was the Orchestre Poly-Rythmo de Cotonou, producing
tens of albums and even more 7-inch singles. Their music took traditional rhythms from Benin with its Voodoo (vodun) culture
as a starting point and was very much influenced by soul music. James Brown was hot at the time. But Poly-Rythmo also
played salsa, soukous and other West African tunes. The band started in 1968, and was at some point called
Orchestre Poly-Disco,
as they were the house band of a label of the same name. A new manager who had a nightclub changed their name in
El Ritmo.
From the moment Adissa Seidou of Albarika Store, who would release a large amount of their work, started working with them,
they decided to keep the name of Orchestre Poly-Rythmo. This was in the second half of 1969. Poly-Rythmo started with five members, being Melome Clement, Bentho Gustave, Amenoudji Vicky Joseph and Bernard "Papillon" Zoundegnon, but at their peak, the band counted 16 members. Still in 1969, the need for a soul singer was felt, and Vincent Ahehehinnou was recruted from Daho Jazz. He would contribute significantly to the success and the distinctive sound of Poly-Rythmo. He left the band in 1978 for undisclosed reasons. After first successes, the international contacts of their producer of Albarika Store enabled them to record in the EMI studios in Lagos, Nigeria. What followed was a range of singles, albums and various artists recorded with Poly-Rythmo, such as Danialou Sagbohan, Betti Betti and many others. Also, recordings were made by band members or even the whole band with other small Beninese labels with a distribution hardly wider than the city boundaries. But overall, they never had the exposure towards international audiences. "Benin's best kept secret" became only known outside Africa two or three decades later, after the release of a few influential compilations on labels Popular African Music, Soundway and Analog Africa. Although the band had lost a few of its members and seemed forgotten, Poly-Rythmo never ceased to exist. With the success of the compilations and general rising interest in afro-beat and afro-funk, Poly-Rythmo started touring again in 2009, in Europe. The new 10-piece band contains five members from the old days, Gustave Bentho, Melome, Vincent (back after all those years!) and Pierre Loko. In 2011, a new studio album « Cotonou Club » came out, recorded in the old Lagos studio with analogue recording equipment, in order to keep the old seventies sound. Musicians on "Trop Parler, C'est Maladie " (ALS 058): Bentho Gustave bass; Melome Clement vocals, chef d'orchstre; Yehouessi Leopold drums; Adjadohoun Maximus guitar; Zoundegnon Bernard Papillon († 27 October 1982) guitar solo, organ; Loko Pierre saxophone (tenor); Cakpo Cosme, Koutouan Ossey Theodore trumpet; Tidjani Koné trumpet, saxophone (alto); Agbemadon Paul Gabo, Amenoudji Joseph Vicky, Lohento Eskill († 2006) vocals; Founded: 1968, in Cotonou Style: Afro-funk, Afro-beat, Afro-latin, Soukous, Sato, Sakpata |
 Album cover 'Volume 8 - N'goua' |
| Discography |
| Title | Year | Label | Remarks |
| The First Album (1973) | 2011 | Analog Africa (Limited Dance Edition) AACDDE1 | Re-issue of the very first album |
| Cotonou Club | 2011 | Strut Records STRUT077CD / Sons d'ailleurs | New recordings |
| Vol. 2 "Echos Hypnotiques" | 2009 | Analog Africa AACD 066 | Compilation |
| Vol. 1 "The Vodoun Effect" 1972-1975 | 2008 | Analog Africa AACD 064 | Compilation / Funk & Sato from Beninīs Obscure Labels |
| The Kings of Benin, Urban Groove 1972-80 | 2004 | Soundway Records SNDWCD/LP004 | Compilation |
| Reminiscin' in Tempo | 2003 | Popular African Music PAM ADC 306 | |
| Nouvelle Formule... | 200? | IACP Production IACP/CG 055734.2 | |
| LP discography (incomplete/under construction) | |||
| The Albarika releases: | |||
| Hommage au Président Bongo | 198? | Albarika Store ALS 0146 | |
| Volume 10 | 198? | Albarika Store ALS 0132 | |
| Volume 9 : reconciliation | 1983 | Albarika Store ALS 0129 | |
| Volume 8 | 19?? | Albarika Store ALS 070 | Amenoudji Joseph Vicky - vocaliste |
| Volume 7 | 19?? | Albarika Store ALS 068 | Zoundegnon Bernard "Papillon" |
| Trop parler c'est maladie | 19?? | Albarika Store ALS 058 | Zoundegnon Bernard "Papillon" |
| Volume 5 | 1978 | Albarika Store ALS 049 | Chanteur principal Lohento Eskill [also: Disco des lyriques-DDL 01] |
| Volume 4 | 1978 | Albarika Store ALS 048 | Yehouessi Léopold |
| T.P. Orchestre Poly Rythmo et Loko Pierre | 197? | Albarika Store ALS 047 | Loko Pierre |
| Spécial 30 novembre | 197? | Albarika Store ALS 044 | Melome Clement (green album) |
| Melome Clement | 197? | Albarika Store ALS 037 | Melome Clement (yellow album) |
| Ahehehinnou Vincent & Poly-Rythmo | 1973 | Albarika Store ALS 005 | LP, Ahehehinnou Vincent |
| Other labels / compilations / ventures: | |||
| Volume 10 | 1983 | Albarika Store ALS 0111 | Compilation |
| Orchestre Poly-Rythmo de Cotonou Dahomey | 1971 | EMI Nigeria HNLX 5060 | Compilation of singles |
| Sources: |
| http://www.polyrythmo.com/ http://jammagica.blogspot.com http://analogafrica.blogspot.com |
Copyright © 1997-2011 Frank Bessem | The Netherlands
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