“Koo Nimo & Vishal Nagar” is a CD I produced in 1999. It’s a release I am proud of.  It captures a raw and fortuitous collision of West African and Indian music as palmwine style guitar and vocals meet tabla.

Koo Nimo is a living legend of Ghanaian music.  Koo revived palmwine style guitar music, and in his group Adadam Agofomma he played palmwine music along with deep Asante drumming styles such as Kete, Fontomfrom, & Adowa.

Vishal Nagar, was at the time a youthful tabla prodigy, and has grown up to become one of the top tabla players of his generation.  Trained in the classical tabla traditions of Delhi gharana tabla by Ustad Latif Ahmed Khan, he also has a vast knowledge of Indian folk beats, and is a heck of a good tabla teacher!

[Koo, James & Vishal in the studio]

I had been studying palmwine guitar music with Koo Nimo and tabla with Vishal, and when I presented the crazy idea of them playing together, they both were willing to consider it.

[Yaw Amponsah (Koo Nimo’s son), Koo Nimo & James Whetzel playing palmwine in 2001]

So we got together and hashed out an idea of songs that might work.  It was, from a music geek’s standpoint, an utterly fascinating process.  In South Asian classical drumming, where the initial beat of a rhythm falls is of architectural importance.  In Asante music, what holds songs or beats together is the relationship between parts.  Which is to say it is the space between parts and how they converse with each other that is important not necessarily where they lie in a cycle of time.  In fact their places in the cycle can change or be intentionally shifted, but that’s a whole other blog for another day . . .

[Tabla students of Vishal Nagar circa 1999–who’s the metallically expressive one I wonder?]

And then, of course, Ghanaian and Indian musicians swing time differently! With all this in our minds and ears we searched and found that certain palmwine styles such as Odonson worked best with the caffeinated push of tabla.

[Vishal Nagar & James Whetzel Playing at The “Capitol Hill: Secret Tracks” CD Release Party in 2003]

And so after a series of rehearsals we went to Conrad Uno’s Egg Studios to record.  Egg is famous for being where The Presidents of The United States recorded their breakout debut album and I think some of that manic happy Seattle energy rubbed off.  Conrad Uno was great.

We recorded several tracks, sometimes having the tabla stay more Indian in style and vocabulary and sometimes having the tabla try to approximate what an African rhythm section would do. We found that five tracks we recorded were the best ones.

[Koo Nimo in the studio, 1999]

The album was released in time to be sold at Koo & Vishal’s performances at the 1999 WOMAD USA festival at Marymore Park, Redmond, WA .  Most of the albums were sold.  About 15 copies remain and these collectors items are being sold at CD Baby, for a collectors price.  You can hear one full track “It Takes So Much Energy to Hate” at iLike, and the full album is available for download at Amazon.com & iTunes.

“It Takes So Much Energy to Hate” on iLike: http://www.ilike.com/artist/Koo+Nimo+%2526+Vishal+Nagar

Koo Nimo & Vishal Nagar album on Amazon.com:
http://www.amazon.com/Koo-Nimo-Vishal-Nagar/dp/B003MDBADI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=dmusic&qid=1276641819&sr=8-1-catcorr

Koo Nimo & Vishal Nagar album on iTunes:
http://itunes.apple.com/us/artist/koo-nimo-vishal-nagar/id372208044#

Koo Nimo & Vishal Nagar on CD Baby: http://www.cdbaby.com/Artist/KooNimoVishalNagar
Here’s some information about the individual tracks on the album:

1. “Aguado”: An adaptation of a Spanish classical guitar etude to fit an Ewe children’s song set to the Agbacha rhythm.

2. “It Takes So Much Energy to Hate”: An odonson style song by Koo Nimo in which he praises all people, Africans, and Europeans who have helped to preserve the cultural treasure of proverbs in the Twi language.

3. “Mohammadu/ Odo Yewu”: A medley combining a sufi muslim devotional song in Hausa/Arabic, and a love song in Twi “Odo Yewu (To Love Is to Die).”

4. “I’ve Worked in Vain”: An odonson style song about the establishment of intestate law in Ghana. The establishment of intestate law made certain that wives would inherit upon their husband’s death even if there was no will. “I’ve Worked in Vain,” refers to the state of affairs before intestate law was established, where it was possible for wives to inherit nothing at all upon the death of their husband. The song title refers to wives singing laments about this state of affairs.

5. “Christ Ne Ndaase Ne Owu”: A Christian devotional song in Highlife style.

[Vishal Nagar in the studio 1999]

If think this music is both beautiful and uplifting and raw and authentic.  I hope you enjoy it.  And don’t forget it takes so much energy to hate!

Peace, cheers and best musical wishes,

James Whetzel, Seattle, WA, USA.

July 1, 2010.

PS World Cup!! Go Ghana!!!!