Mory Kante
Along with Salif Keita, Mory Kante was an early member of the seminal Rail Band of Bamako, joining as a singer when he was in his teens. After a stint as lead vocalist, he left the band to form his own theatrical troupe, which included dozens of performers and his brother Jali Musa Jawara. In the '80s he became an international pop star, exploring neo-traditional Manding music on the kora, as well as club-ready dance mixes. His "Yeke Yeke" became the biggest-selling African release to hit the European pop charts.
CDS: Yeke Yeke
[TABCD226]
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Released 1995 on Barclays Records. Written and produced by Mory Kante. Additional remix and production on track 1 by Martin Young & Robin Guthrie, on tracks 2 & 3 by Hardfloor, and on track 4 by Mark Plati. Check out this excellent single, which features the stomping Hardfloor remix that hit clubland in the summer of '95 and also features the Mogo Djolo - ambush vocal mix, which gets a trancy reworking by Oliver Lieb.
CDS: Yeke Yeke '96
[573097-2 / FCD288]
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Released 1996 on Barclays Records. Written and produced by Mory Kante.
Additional remix and production on tracks 1 & 3 by Hardfloor and on tracks 2 & 4 by IttyBitty, BoozyWoozy & Greatski. Whilst the Hardfloor remix will always remain the best version, the Klubbheads attempt to breath some fresh life into this classic track. The Mega Blast mix is predictably housey, with all the original samples thrown in, played around with and stuck in a different order. The Tribal Dub creates an interesting blend of House beats with tribal percussion, losing the tell tale sounds or the original track altogether, whilst remaining a little on the bland side. Any improvement over the Hardfloor remix??? I think not!
12": Punjeke Yeke / Dubjeke Yeke
[PY-1]
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Released 2004 (white label). This rare white label vinyl is a mash up between the Hardfloor remix of 'Yeke Yeke' and Punjabi MC's 'Mundian To Bach Ke', with the structure of Yeke Yeke being retained whilst Punjabi MC lends additional vocals and bass line. The two tracks fuse together effortlessly and the result is an impressive Bhangra re-working of an all time classic.
Both the Hardfloor remix of Yeke Yeke and Mogo Djolo can also be found on the excellent compilation album Going Global Series - Voila! on Barclay Records, which contains various remixes of African and Arabic music that has found its way into the French culture (The Going Global Series was launched in Paris in September '93). Artists allowing their work to be retouched include Khaled, Mory Kante and Rachid Taha, whilst the remixes come from the likes of Justin Robertson (of Lionrock fame), Dreadzone, Hardfloor, Fluke and Atlas. If global beats are your thing, then you'll love this. Voila!
For further information on Mory Kante see the Mory Kante web site.
