C'est la vie dans ce monde

A view up my back passage

Another busy weekend in the extensive gardens here at Dolores Delargo Towers comes to a close - yesterday I demolished two rusty sets of garden shelves and erected a new pair [that Madam Arcati had ordered] in their place, and pottered about pruning and prepping the myriad little pots that will sit on them. Today, while the Madam continued the arduous task of clearing winter clag from under and around plant stands and tidying the rest of the shelving, I almost completed the process of digging out and splitting up the biggest of our herbaceous pots - and the last of the phlox is done [just some pots of Salvias to go, but they're not so urgent]! Almost ready for summer...

Meanwhile, speaking of "sunshiny things", sad news reaches our ears that Amadou - one half of house favourites here, the blind Malian husband-and-wife due Amadou and Mariam [who ascended from their roots in Africa to become huge in France, they went on to support the likes of Scissor Sisters, Coldplay and U2 on tour, and appeared at Glastonbury Festival] - has departed for the "L'Afrique C'est Chic" stage in Fabulon.

Here's my ultimate fave from their back catalogue, by way of a tribute:

Amadou & Mariam - La réalité

Joyous!

Yékéké nimo yé ké yé ké

Just got in after a faboo day with Mother, sister, brother-in-law, and Madam Acarti too.

To round off a jolly day, how about some jolly music?

Mr Mory Kante would have been 75 years old today, and his biggest hit (and another longtime fave of mine) fits the bill just nicely, methinks:

Mory Kanté - Yé ké yé ké

I love it!!

And you may ask yourself, "Well... how did I get here?"

Despite the fear that this blog may be becoming a bit of a "birthday almanac", I note nonetheless that another oddly-matched set of famous people have birthdays today, including Ingmar Bergman, Gerald Finzi, Polly Bergen, Sue Lawley, David Mitchell, Arthur Laurents, Gerald Ford, Karel Gott, Woody Guthrie, Harry Dean Stanton, Bruce Oldfield and the magnificent Comtesse Jacqueline de Ribes [still with us, aged 91, I am pleased to say], it happens to be the 60th birthday today of another in a long line of new diva discoveries here at Dolores Delargo Towers...

... Miss Angélique Kidjo!

I knew her name, of course, but had to my eternal shame never paid much heed to the lady or her music before. She's a bit of a superstar, I find - not only a hugely successful artist in her native West Africa [she was born in Benin, but left the region due to continued war and strife and relocated to Paris], but has [thanks to her "discovery" by the genius that is Chris Blackwell of Island Records, and subsequent critical success] risen to become one of the most respected singers to arise from that catch-all genre "World Music".

In her impressive career, she's collaborated with singers and musicians as wide-ranging as Alicia Keys, Peter Gabriel, Youssou N'Dour, Carlos Santana, Joss Stone, Ziggy Marley, Branford Marsalis, Cyndi Lauper, Philip Glass and Josh Groban, performed tributes to Miriam Makeba, Nina Simone, Cesaria Evora, Jimi Hendrix(!) and Celia Cruz [for the album of which she won a Grammy], and just last year had her very own late night Prom at the Royal Albert Hall! Whew.

Never content with taking the "easy route", it seems, the lady even released an album in tribute to Talking Heads. And from it, this joy:

Angélique Kidjo - Once In A Lifetime

Many happy returns, Angélique Kpasseloko Hinto Hounsinou Kandjo Manta Zogbin Kidjo (born 14th July 1960)

Papa Africa

Oh dear. Sad news reaches us of the death of Mory Kanté, the legendary Mandinka/Guinean singer who surprised the world - and led the way for numerous African musicians such as Youssou N'Dour, Amadou & Mariam, Angélique Kidjo and Salif Keita (to varying degrees of success) into the Western pop market - with a song that became an international success in 1988, making it the first ever African single to sell over one million copies!

It was, and remains utterly irresistible, and is one of my favourites - and so, to add to the party mood that marks the start of the Bank Holiday weekend, here it is!

Mory Kanté - Yé ké yé ké

Love the suit. Love the dancers. Love everything about it!

RIP, Mory Kanté (29th March 1950 – 22nd May 2020)

The Songbird of Wassoulou

After a busy pottering Saturday - in between dodging showers and even hail, I managed to drag our biggest Salvias (Amistad and Blue Enigma) kicking and screaming out of their massively congested pots and began the process of repotting them, and other random leftover plants, into new soil; then of course I had to troll off (to Tottenham Hale, a fair distance away, as our local Wilko had sold out) to get more compost, which drew proceedings to a halt - what better than some jolly music from faraway lands?

In this case, it's yet another brand new diva discovery - from Mali, yet; the country that is home to the mythical ancient city of Timbuktu - Miss Oumou Sangaré.

A megastar in her home country, Miss Sangaré is an outspoken spokesperson for the rights of African women, and has been recognised by the UN for her work and for her music.

Here she is, with a double-bill of her irresistibly joyful choons:

Oumou Sangaré - Yala

Oumou Sangaré - Fadjamou

That girl certainly knows how to play "The Queen" - love her "safety gays"!

Oumou Sangaré biography.

Yékéké nimo yé ké yé ké

I've been rather disappointed by the lack of any kind of acknowledgement of many of my blog efforts of late; my "hit" rate is at an all-time low. Of the last ten blogs over at the Museum of Camp, I have had only three people comment; two of those on one post. Over here, it's more a ratio of one comment every three or four blogs.

I wonder sometimes:

• Is it Blogger that is dying? [It doesn't have a "Like" button, so you have to - um - actually write stuff...]
• Am I considered "irrelevant" because I do not "do" F***book or Tw*tter? [I actually write stuff...]
• Is everyone just too busy doing other things? [After all, Strictly Come Dancing is sooo demanding. And if not watching Strictly, everyone's face is in their phone; so they're doing something-or-other.]
• Should I just Learn to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb?
• Is she or isn't she using Harmony hairspray?

Oh what the the hell, who gives a fish's tit when I can rely upon Mr Mory Kanté to cheer me up with a good old shout-along song?

Lord alone know what it means, but Yé ké yé ké, anyway!

Mory Kanté - Yé ké yé ké

Bi sounkouroun lou la donkégna ah ah
Bi kamberen lou la donkegna ah ah
I madji I ma yélé
I kanan n'bila nara ro
N'bo n'bolo bila
Kanfalani yana sara le ila
Gnin kisse gbela serra le ils
Yékéké nimo yé ké yé ké
Ké woyé boli lalé
N'na doni kassi kan
Woyé boli lalé
Eh eh
Nyé n'ta soron akono mi ma ta I yonfé
Wo dén té soron lonkéléna
Sini Mory la diyandé
Timba bara wouloukounta
Souba ma kata I yala
Ah sara lila
Yékéké nimo yé ké yé ké
Djely mousso ni kédjou to wara bo
M'ba mofila téma yan féou

Indeed.

Mory Kanté

So you better sober up for just a second

Almost forgot - let us wish a belated happy 50th birthday (yesterday) to the ever-lovely Miss Neneh Cherry!

Excuse enough (if any were needed) to post this - one of the most beautiful, most haunting, most utterly brilliant songs ever in the the history of popular music (you'd never guess I adore it!).

It's Seven Seconds:

Youssou N'Dour ft. Neneh Cherry - Seven Seconds

Love, love, love that song.

Blank Project, Neneh Cherry's first studio album for sixteen years, was released on 24th February 2014 - read the review by Alexis Petridis.

Mamma Africa

On what would have been the 80th birthday today of the lovely Miriam Makeba, singer and civil rights activist - widely known as "Mamma Africa" - I thought this fab remix would be an appropriately cheerful way to remember her...

Milk & Sugar ft. Miriam Makeba - Hi-A Ma (Pata Pata)

Miriam Makeba on Wikipedia