Let’s face it, music says a lot about how cultural you are. I have always wanted to be a man who could appreciate classical music, but I fear I’m not wholesome enough an individual, since despite my efforts it still leaves me cold. However, the introduction to a completely different genre of music, African music, has changed my life forever. Now I exude culture: I wear cravats, I drink port, I have a monocle which frequently falls off when faced with the youth of today. Essentially what I’m trying to say is: I am culture.

Alright, maybe I’m not quite the personification, but I certainly feel more cultural after having listened to such definitive music as that hailing from Africa. African artists embrace their culture in a way different to bands of the West. Western music lacks the distinctive instruments and political upheaval that has consumed African society for many years, both of which are elements fundamental to their music. This is not to say that I do not like our own music, simply that different elements fuel the different genres, and it is interesting to view a wide scope of what the world has to offer.

Babatunde Olatunji was an African percussion master who incorporated jazz, African culture and social activism into his music. Raised in Africa, he moved to America in 1950. Here, he made waves in Harlem, garnering recognition for his unique sound, created through a blend of his own and the American culture. His music is hard to get hold of now, though he is still much loved and thought of as a pioneer for many other African artists after him. His music is heavily driven by percussion, “Takuta” beinga prime example of his use of native percussion instruments, whilst combining this autochthonic sound with the specifically western saxophone, drums and trumpet. This blend allowed for a deeper sound which spoke to its listeners of the time. Olatunji was also renowned for his political speeches: his song, Aiye Mire, is an impassioned beat poem driven by his objection to the nuclear weapons of the modern era, based on the moral that: “It is most important that we all come together and make sure that all the destructive weapons in the arsenals of the great powers are completely destroyed”. Preachy, idealistic – yes. But a beautiful ideal nonetheless.

Olatunji died in 2003, but his music inspired many other African artists. An African band that are still running today is Orchestre Poly-Rythmo de Cotonou, a funk band originally started in 1960 which had a great influence upon the afropop and afrocuban scene in the West. They fuse funk with their native language, though usually incorporating only western instruments. They are still touring, the band never dying despite the loss of many of their members – including Lohante Eskill, an early lead singer of the band who makes their earlier songs better than their more recent works for his unerring enthusiasm on stage and his James Brown-like voice. The more modern African artists are how I was introduced to this genre –  initially Esau Mwamwaya, a man who worked with Belgian producer duo “Radioclit” to create the band “The Very Best”. It is modern afro-western pop, spoken in both English and Chichewa (the language of Malawi), and featuring collaborations with various artists. Their first album, “Esau Mwamwaya and Radioclit are The Very Best”, is available for free online, so it is certainly worth a gander. It pays homage to M.I.A and Vampire Weekend, integrating their songs with Mwamwaya’s native culture. It is an incredible album, followed up by another cracking record – songs like “Warm Heart of Africa”, “Kamphopo” and “Salota” are particular favourites. A similar collaboration is that of Extra Golden – two Americans and two Kenyans. In my eyes, it is hard for any African band of the same genre to beat The Very Best, but it is still worth a listen to forge your own opinion. Further still, the duo Amadou and Mariam, a blind couple who supported Blur on tour last year, show no signs of slowing down, creating their own sub-genre that has become known as “Afro-blues”.

When I find a new song that I can’t stop playing, I am excited. When I find a new band that I can’t get enough of, I can barely contain myself. But when a whole genre of which I was previously ignorant presents itself to me, I feel like I am being hugged by a puppy made of sunshine. And as we all know, that’s just about the greatest feeling in the world.

It just frustrates me that I barely know a word any of them are saying.