Ahmed Janka Nabay
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Ahmed Janka Nabay (5 January 1964 – 2 April 2018)[1] was a Sierra Leonean musician and a major figure in Bubu Music, a traditionally Temne music which is played by up to 20 musicians blowing into bamboo pipes of different sizes.[2] He first earned attention after performing for an audition of SuperSound.[3]
He recorded his album in Forensic Studios in Freetown during the Sierra Leonean Civil War. Since moving to Washington, D.C. in 2003, he continued to play bubu music, including a performance at the CMJ College Music Marathon in New York in 2009 and 2010.
In June 2010, he formed a full band, Janka Nabay and the Bubu Gang, with members of four Brooklyn indie rock groups Skeletons, Gang Gang Dance, and Starring.[4]
In 2012, his band announced that they had signed a three-album record deal with David Byrne's record label, Luaka Bop.[citation needed]
Personal life and death[edit]
Janka Nabay was of Mandingo and Temne descent, two of the ethnic groups within Sierra Leone.[citation needed]
It was reported on April 2, 2018 that Janka Nabay had died of a stomach ailment. He was 54 years old.[5] [6]
Nabay's bandmate Michael Gallope wrote about the band's creative process and Nabay's "often dehumanizing" experiences as an exile attempting to make a living out of music.[7]
Discography[edit]
Disarm, Recorded at Island Studio Freetown, Side A: 1) Dis-Arm, 2) Dance to the Bu-Bu 3) Lek You Culture 4) Some Body. Side B: 1) Yay Su Tan Tan, 2) On the Bu-Bu 3) Dance to the Bu-Bu, 4) Dis-Arm
Bubu King, True Panther Sounds, 2010.[8]
An Letah, True Panther Sounds/Luaka Bop, 2012.
En Yay Sah, Luaka Bop, 2012 [9]
Build Music, Luaka Bop, 2017 [10]
References[edit]
- ^ Pareles, Jon (April 3, 2018). "Janka Nabay, 54, Dies; Carried an African Dance Music Worldwide". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 2018-04-04. Retrieved April 4, 2018.
- ^ BBC, Africa On Your Street.
- ^ ""Bubu Music" Pioneer Janka Nabay Has Died". Spin. 2018-04-02. Retrieved 2018-04-03.
- ^ New York Times, Music Section: To Be Seen And Heard All Around Town.
- ^ "OkayPlayer, Janka Nabay Pioneer Sierra Leonean Musician Has Passed Away", okayafrica.com. Accessed 16 February 2022.
- ^ "Janka Nabay Dead at 54". pitchfork.com. Retrieved 2018-04-02.
- ^ Gallope, Michael. 2020. "World Music without Profit", Twentieth-Century Music 17/2 (June): 161-195.[1].
- ^ Dusted Reviews: Janka Nabay.
- ^ Pitchfork Reviews: En Yay Sah
- ^ The Guardian Reviews: Build Music
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