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Bongo Fury
Bongo Fury
Independent
Reviewed by Jenny Long Bongo Fury, the first album from Ray Pereira's Melbourne-based band, draws together the rhythms and sounds from countries and cultures that connect drumming with community life. The band's music, composed and arranged by Pereira, is inspired by these connections and the rhythms emanating from Sri Lanka, Cuba and Africa. The music is furiously energetic, as was evident in the band's performance at the Basement on its last visit to Sydney. The entire audience was transformed into a living entity of wiggling, shaking and bouncing bodies. Pereira spent 1994 in West Africa, to study the djembe. He says he learned more than 100 new rhythms and felt he had hardly scratched the surface, emphasising that in Africa drummers and musicians are also healers, "sensitive to the needs and well-being of the community". One of the songs on the album, "Korhogo", is a tribute to the people and musicians Pereira lived and studied with in Korhogo in the north of the Ivory Coast. Another track, "Lucky" is dedicated to the hospitality of people from Abidjan in the south of the country. "Tell Me" is a special "tribute" to the International Monetary Fund, which Ray says put the $10 treatment for malaria out of the reach of a friend in West Africa, who had lost two children as a result. Powerful vocals by Lynn Wakefield and Jorge Fredes are contrasted with a Latin American angry rap to make the song a highlight of the album. Cuban and other Latin American influences feature on other tracks, reflecting the background and music of other band members. Javier Fredes, one of the hottest conga players in Melbourne in a couple of Latin American bands, also plays djembe. His brother Jorge plays shekere and provides vocals, including distinctive Afro-Cuban chants. Chilean-born Isaac Moran sings harmony and plays cowbells and dun dun. Pereira earlier made a study tour to Cuba to learn the drumming rhythms of the Santeria cult. "Ma Chirima" is evidence of the varied influences on the band, trying to evoke a street jam based on the Cuban Bata and a mixture of Sri Lankan and African six-eight. "The police turned up during the recording and asked us to stop", says Pereira. "We must have been doing something right." Another track featuring Javier Fredes' congas is "New Havana", dedicated to Cuba, "still surviving, still going strong". Other band members — Elvis Aljus playing congas, djembe, drums and his speciality timbali drum; Christian Silva whose dun dun drums provide the bass; and vocalist Lynn Wakefield — all bring their specialities to the band's sound. Wakefield, who was born into the "coloured" community of Cape Town in apartheid times, sings a fortifying "Zithulele Mama" to the community of "district six" which was forcibly removed to make the area "white". Her vocals on "Ananane" (we will return) also make it a highlight of the album. The contribution of other friends of the band — Joe Creighton on bass, Melbourne jazz "matriarch" Ruby Carter on vocals, Paul Kelly's harmonica and Russell Smith — bring a distinction to each of the other tracks. Kate Ceberano's lead vocals on the rich harmonic "Be Strong" keep the words with you long after hearing. The special appearance of the Helleyla choir add to the Sri Lankan fishing chants upon which "Helleyla" is based. Bongo Fury will be playing in Sydney again, on March 16 and 17, at the Harbourside Brasserie. The band will also be holding drumming workshops. Those interested in attending workshops should telephone Toni (02) 311 2389. Bongo Fury is available from Birdland and Folkways records.