Syliphone

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Grammy Award-winning Miriam Makeba released Appel A L'Afrique on Syliphone in 1971.

Syliphone was a Guinean record label which ran from 1967 until 1984. The label was based in Conakry, Guinea. Created and funded by the Guinean government, Syliphone was the first African record label to attain funding from the state within the post-colonial era.[1] The music on the label has been described as representing "some of the most sublime and influential that any West African nation has ever produced."[2] The dissolution of Syliphone came with the death of the first president of Guinea, Ahmed Sékou Touré in 1984.

Context and Origins[]

On 28 September 1958, Guineans voted in a constitutional referendum on whether to adopt Charles de Gaulle's French Constitution of 1958, which proposed the formation of a new French Community. Over 95% of the votes were against the constitution.[3] On 2 October 1958 Guinea became an independent nation, making it the first of the french colonies to attain independence.[4]

With the new found independence, the elected Guinean government headed by president Ahmed Sékou Touré sort to instil a sense of national identity by reigniting the arts and cultural practices of Guinea. Central to fulfilling these aims was the government's cultural policy of authenticité, which saw the creation of a network of arts troupes across the nation. This nationwide network provided a comprehensive picture of Guinean art styles and approaches. The policy influenced musical intuition and originality, which began to shape the sound of African popular music into the 1960s. Guinean musicians were pushed to create modern versions of traditional songs of their respective regions.[5] Formed in 1967, the Syliphone label became the central distributer of Guinean music, making it accessible to the general public across West Africa.

Musical Style[]

In the early period of the label, regional orchestras were at the forefront of Syliphone and subsequently the authenticité cultural policy. Traditional songs were given a modern twist with the use of electric guitars and saxophones in replacement of the Kora (instrument) and balafon. In the 1970s, the experimentation and creative approaches within the Syliphone sound developed and came of age. Musician's on the label began to tour Africa, Europe and USA, which gave Syliphone and the authenticité cultural policy International recognition and an International audience. In to the 1980s, choirs, ensembles and smaller groups appeared on the label.

Graeme Counsel describes what made Syliphone stand out from other post-colonial African record labels: "A lot of care had gone into their production: the cover art was high quality glossy colour; the lyrics of the songs were often provided; the musicians were named; and lengthy annotations providing a musicological analysis were featured on many of the back covers. Another remarkable feature was the excellent quality of the audio. The sound engineer’s positioning of the microphones, the subtle use of echo effects, and the fidelity of the production were of the most exceptional standard when compared with recordings of a similar type. Such high quality audio had captured Guinea’s musicians at their best, and they clearly rivalled, if not surpassed, the great singers and groups from neighbouring Mali and Senegal."[6]

The Syliphone Archive[]

In 2016, The Syliphone Archive was made available through The British Library. The British Library's Endangered Archives Programme facilitated the project. It was the first online sound initiative from the programme.[7] The archive contains every release on the Syliphone label but also over 7,000 songs recorded in Guinea in the same studios and with the same engineers as Syliphone. Commencing in 2008, the project holder Graeme Counsel oversaw the digitisation of Syliphone vinyl recordings and reel-to-reel tapes for the archive. The degradation threats and previous neglect of these two formats meant that the digitisation process was essential for preserving the prosperity of the recordings. State censorship also threatened the Syliphone archive: Graeme Counsel notes that “The government’s own archive of this collection had been destroyed in the counter-coup of 1985, when artillery bombed the national broadcaster and home of the offices of the RTG."[8]

Recordings in the collection are available to be listed to by all.[9]

Notable Artists[]

References[]

  1. ^ Dr Graeme Counsel (2021-03-30). "Syliphone - an early African recording label (EAP187)". eap.bl.uk. doi:10.15130/EAP187.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  2. ^ Lusk, Jon. "BBC - Music - Review of Bembeya Jazz - The Syliphone Years". www.bbc.co.uk.
  3. ^ Sternberger, D, Vogel, B, Nohlen, D & Landfried, K (1978) Die Wahl der Parlamente: Band II: Afrika, Erster Halbband, p839
  4. ^ Ruth Schachter Morgenthau, Political Parties in French-Speaking West Africa (Oxford: Clarendon, 1964)
  5. ^ "Guide" (PDF). eap.bl.uk. Retrieved 2021-05-11.
  6. ^ "From Dust to Digital" (PDF). www.openbookpublishers.com. 2015. Retrieved 2021-05-11.
  7. ^ Meier, Allison (March 2, 2016). "8,000 Afropop Tracks from Guinea's First Decades of Independence Digitized". Hyperallergic.
  8. ^ "Endangered archives blog: Syliphone record label archive from Guinea". britishlibrary.typepad.co.uk.
  9. ^ "Syliphone record label recordings from Guinea - World and traditional music | British Library". Sounds. Retrieved 2021-05-11.

External links[]

Syliphone record label recordings: Syliphone record label recordings from Guinea - World and traditional music | British Library - Sounds

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