#chemirocha

Fauns, Kenyan villagers, savage British missionaries and Jimmie Rodgers: my story for NPR’s Weekend Edition about a 1950 recording called “Chemirocha.”

All music is inspired by all music.

I have something for you. This is cool. More amazing than you might think at first glance. I think, in order to appreciate it fully, you should experience it in this order. Just follow my steps below. Trust me. :-)

1. Click play above, now, and just watch the video. Listen. DON'T read on until you've heard the song one time through, clear of any back story. Make up your own mind re what you think of it. (If you're into it - cool. Me, too. If not, well that's fine -- but I encourage a little more psychedelic Frida Kahlo in your life. No downside :-) Your call.)

2. If you'd like to sing along, here's a taste of some of the lyrics:

iyaya Jambo Mirocha, ololo chepchoni marindet Imarar kot kobut sulualit Simarar kot kobut Katija Haloo Chemirocha, ololo chepchoni marindet iya Jambo Mirocha, Ololo chepchoni marinda Ololo we Chemiroch, Ololo we chemirocha. Ololo we chemirocha. Hallo Chemirocha, Imarar kot kobut sulualit Simarar kot kobut Katija

3. Ok, here's the deal. (I hope you're listening through again as you read.) In the 1950s, in a village in rural Kenya, the locals heard a recording of Jimmie Rodgers yodeling and it blew their minds. Backstory: "In the village of Kapkatet, Kenya in the early 1950’s, members of the Kipsigi tribe somehow came across a few 78 records of Jimmie Rodgers’ Blue Yodels. Convinced that such strange sounds could not come from a human, the voice was attributed to a centaur-like spirit they called Chemirocha. This half-man half-antelope is honored in fertility rites where young Kipsigi maidens dance seductively to the Jimmie Rodgers records, begging him to join them in a leaping dance in hopes that Chemirocha will jump completely out of his clothes." 

4. Here's the thing. The title of the song is a homonym. Western culture through an African filter. Chemirocha = Jimmie Rodgers.

5. Further: "The Kipsigi villagers also sing various songs to celebrate Chemirocha. One of the only recorded instances of these hymns is this gorgeous, haunting version played on a pentatonic wishbone lyre and accompanied by a pair of Kipsigis girls." The original post from which I quote includes that rare 1950s version, recorded in Kenya. It is, as they say, hauntingly beautiful. 

6. This video above is a modern day version, also African, by a contemporary South Africa band, Bye Beneco, based in Johannesburg and up and coming. Super creative bunch (additional music available on iTunes).

7. The video represents a cultural triangle, 60+ years in the making. From the U.S. to rural Africa of the 50s, to first-world South Africa of today, back to the U.S. via YouTube and iTunes. And as such, I think it's amazing.

8. As this post, musing on the Jimmie Rodgers - Chemirocha connection puts it: "All music is inspired by all music." Sure enough is.

9. Fucking Jimmie Rodgers. Fertility God.

--

ps. one of the Bye Beneco members is a cousin of mine; his late father, my beloved uncle, was a terrific musician in his own right. A top-class session drummer in his time.