Akodjenou Michel, the artist known as Amikpon, the man behind the Kpalongo rhythm, was laid to rest on Saturday, 30th of June, 2018. He was 68 years old, he was born ten years before Benin won her independence from France. Amikpon grew up, built his career, and was buried in the Djégou-Kpévi neighborhood of Porto Novo, the capital of Benin. This small city, separated from the Atlantic ocean by the Yewa lagoon, and located 30km east of Cotonou and 12km west of the Nigerian border, has a dense history. The city was founded in the 17th century by princes from the inland kingdom of Allada, was renamed Porto Novo in 1730 by a Portuguese navigator, and in 1894 became the capital of the French West African colony of Dahomey. Today, Porto Novo, home to roughly 300,000 people, remains rooted in the Yoruba and Goun traditions of its earliest settlers.
Akodjenou Michel started performing with his brothers and cousins when he was 12 years old. By the mid 1970s, he had his own group, a local reputation, and a 'nom de guerre'; Amikpon, 'the best of the best, the unbeatable'. In 1974, the singer Gbessi Zolawedji was hired as an A&R rep. by Bernard Dohounzo, the president of SATEL, Benin's preeminent recording studio and music label. Gbessi travelled throughout southern Benin with a cassette recorder, auditioning local artists. On one of his first trips to Porto Novo, Gbessi heard of the young Amikpon. He made a quick cassette recording of a rehearsal and brought the cassette back to Mr. Dohounzo. In 1977, Dohounzo brought Amikpon and his group into the studio. Their debut lp was released later the same year.
Amikpon's Kpalongo rhythm was inspired by different styles of Yoruba, Goun, and Fon music, and is built around the small 'bateke' drum. Amikpon released 3 lps and a dozen cassettes. His last release came out in 2007. In recent years, several high-profile collaborations with younger artists kept his reputation alive (watch the video below of the wonderful Amikpon duo with Pelagie la vibreuse). Amikpon had eleven children (2 girls and 9 boys) and five of his sons followed him into music, he performed with them up until the final months of his life.
Download Akodjenou Michel dit Amikpon
This Amikpon cassette was likely released in the late 1990s (it is undated). It is one of his better recordings, a great example of his Kpalongo style; you can hear the Yoruba influences in the vocal arrangements and the lead drum.
This well produced video was posted a month after Amikpon passed away--it is worth watching to the end. The video was shot in Porto Novo, much of it in front of the city's iconic mosque (inspired by a cathedral in Salvador da Bahia, Brazil). While artists throughout Francophone West Africa are increasingly influenced by the Nigerian afro-pop heavily promoted by Trace TV, Benin's young artists, such as Pelagie la Vibreuse, continue to draw from their country's deep musical well.
Porto Novo's unique grand mosque, inspired by a Brazilian cathedral.
Much of the detail in this post was drawn from the reporting of Donatien Gbaguidi, this piece in particular. The picture of Amikpon was taking from this site, it features some nice rehearsal recordings of Amikpon and his group.
As alway, Enjoy!
Akodjenou Michel started performing with his brothers and cousins when he was 12 years old. By the mid 1970s, he had his own group, a local reputation, and a 'nom de guerre'; Amikpon, 'the best of the best, the unbeatable'. In 1974, the singer Gbessi Zolawedji was hired as an A&R rep. by Bernard Dohounzo, the president of SATEL, Benin's preeminent recording studio and music label. Gbessi travelled throughout southern Benin with a cassette recorder, auditioning local artists. On one of his first trips to Porto Novo, Gbessi heard of the young Amikpon. He made a quick cassette recording of a rehearsal and brought the cassette back to Mr. Dohounzo. In 1977, Dohounzo brought Amikpon and his group into the studio. Their debut lp was released later the same year.
Amikpon's Kpalongo rhythm was inspired by different styles of Yoruba, Goun, and Fon music, and is built around the small 'bateke' drum. Amikpon released 3 lps and a dozen cassettes. His last release came out in 2007. In recent years, several high-profile collaborations with younger artists kept his reputation alive (watch the video below of the wonderful Amikpon duo with Pelagie la vibreuse). Amikpon had eleven children (2 girls and 9 boys) and five of his sons followed him into music, he performed with them up until the final months of his life.
Download Akodjenou Michel dit Amikpon
This Amikpon cassette was likely released in the late 1990s (it is undated). It is one of his better recordings, a great example of his Kpalongo style; you can hear the Yoruba influences in the vocal arrangements and the lead drum.
This well produced video was posted a month after Amikpon passed away--it is worth watching to the end. The video was shot in Porto Novo, much of it in front of the city's iconic mosque (inspired by a cathedral in Salvador da Bahia, Brazil). While artists throughout Francophone West Africa are increasingly influenced by the Nigerian afro-pop heavily promoted by Trace TV, Benin's young artists, such as Pelagie la Vibreuse, continue to draw from their country's deep musical well.
Much of the detail in this post was drawn from the reporting of Donatien Gbaguidi, this piece in particular. The picture of Amikpon was taking from this site, it features some nice rehearsal recordings of Amikpon and his group.
As alway, Enjoy!
Fantastic post. Thank you for the info and sharing. Very unique rhythms. I like it very much.
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