Transcultural collaboration within the context of West African griot music: Exploring the role of the drummer and the case of the band Faso Kan

Ossi Raippalinna

The purpose of this text is to reflect on my experiences as an active member of a culturally diverse ensemble called Faso Kan. The primary source is the artistic work of Faso Kan during the years 2006-2020. The ensemble worked intensively during 2020-21, resulting in an album completed in September 2021. My main contribution to the album was adapting and arranging traditional West African rhythms for the drum kit and performing them in the studio. This study attends to cover different aspects of that process, particularly the drummer’s point of view. I will also cover the collaboration-based music-making approaches that I encountered while working with Faso Kan. Although Faso Kan´s repertoire consists mainly of traditional pieces from Burkina Faso, the working methods resulted in music representing several musical cultures. The study is primarily based on artistic work, but I will also reflect on the related experiences of other researchers and musicians.

My interest in West African music began as a teenager. I started learning with musicians from Senegal and Burkina Faso and established a band with them in 2006. One of my first teachers, Issa Dembele, is the bandleader of the band “Faso Kan” and my dear colleague up to these days. For this study, I interviewed him on several occasions during 2019-2021, and he is one of the primary information sources for this study. During a field trip to Burkina Faso in 2009, he invited me to stay at his house. I also met my forthcoming band members and colleagues, Issiaka Dembele and Adama Kone, during the trip. I was privileged to learn cabaret repertoire through their contacts, which I had studied in Finland for many years. This opportunity allowed me to experience this music in its real cultural context. NEXT PAGE

Background

As a percussionist, I have always been fascinated by the rhythms and drums of West Africa. This interest led me to study many traditional instruments like the sabar, djembe, dundun, Tama, conga, and even traditional instrument making. During field trips to Senegal (2007, 2012, and 2017), Burkina Faso and Mali (2009), and Cuba in 2017, I had the opportunity to see these instruments performed in their cultural contexts. I assisted numerous events, accompanied and learned about interaction with dancers. These experiences allowed me to gain a deeper understanding of the diverse functions of music for those communities and generated an eagerness to study these phenomenons further. As a continuation of these studies, I set out to find a way to accompany balafon music with a drum kit, a method that follows the values and rules of griot music, a way that is certainly different from the occidental drummers approach.

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