What is "Tolony"?

[Mikeleza]

I have a few recordings of this style of Guinean drumming where it sounds like they are playing plastic sticks on metal or some sort of hand cymbal or something. I think they use Dun dun and the arrangements are lead by a cowbell. There is no djembe. I have always wondered what this style is, where it comes from and what instrument it is that they are playing...?

I've seen the title "Tolony" used on this track.

Any help or links to pics/videos would be much appreciated

Thankyou

Mikeleza

[Afoba]

can you put a little recording on this site?
I would say, tolony is a substitution title, there was no better title found. It means "little play" or "little party" in maninka, so it could be the title of some children's recordings or a little "jam" without a real fête. Knowing the music, I could be more clear.
greetings
d

[Mikeleza]

I don't know how to upload a song but I can give more details about the tracks if you might have them.

One track I have is from a Cd called "WOFA - Guinee : Percussion & chants de la basse-cote. The track title is "Tolony"
I don't have the inlay cd information apart from this "The young artists of Wofa, originating from Wassa-ensemble directed by Morciré Camara, sing with energy and vitality the music of the Low Coast (where the Soussou, Baga and Nalu people live), supported with various african percussions like djembe, dundun, sikko), rattles (wassakhoumba) and bells."

You might be able to find an online sample somewhere but I didn't have any luck.

I have another version of the same style on a Djembe compilation Cd. The track is by "WASA" and the track is titled "Borhomasi Fare"

I hope this helps... I am still itching to see the instruments and read some information about the music.

Thanks

[michi]

I can hear a karignan as part of the ensemble:

Karignan

Karignan.jpg (135.88 KiB) Viewed 473 times

The wassakhoumba (or wassamba) looks like this:

Wassamba

wasamba.jpg (31.44 KiB) Viewed 473 times

The sikko is square frame drum from northern Sierra Leone and southern Guinea:

Sikko

sikko.jpg (9.71 KiB) Viewed 473 times

I've come across an identical looking drum in Ghana, where it is known as gombe, tamale, asiko, or kolomashie. I believe the Ghanaian version originated with the Ga people. The name kolomashie comes from this drum being used during a kolomashie: a bunch of young men get together and walk through the village in a procession, playing all sorts of percussion instruments and singing; the square drum is often used during this event, hence that name.

Cheers,

Michi.

[michi]

Here is an excerpt of that track, from the album "Guinée: Percussion & Chants De La Basse-Côte" by Wofa (1995):

04 Tolony.mp3

Wofa, "Guinée: Percussion & Chants De La Basse-Côte" - Tolony (track 4)

(2.52 MiB) Downloaded 62 times

Wofa, "Guinée: Percussion & Chants De La Basse-Côte" - Cover art

Guinée_ Percussion & Chants De La Basse-Côte.jpg (241.69 KiB) Viewed 473 times

Cheers,

Michi.

[e2c]

Sounds like different sizes of bells, mainly... tuned to different notes; much dryer sound than a lot of the bells used with dununs.

Could also be a double bell in the mix (like a lot of other W. African bells and the Brazilian agogo).

If there's a metal scraper in there (and I think michi is probably right about that), I'm sure it has a different name, given where WOFA comes from in Guinea and the makeup of the group and its music.

Edited to add this from the notes (above):

"...supported with various african percussions like djembe, dundun, sikko), rattles (wassakhoumba) and bells."

[Mikeleza]

Thanks for the help guys.

Yep I think we are on the right track now with the instruments. However I still can't put the image of the instruments with the sound.

When I said plastic on metal at the beginning of the thread I was just describing the sound, I knew it probably wasn't the case.

Now I wonder if anyone has an footage of this type of music..?

I actually prefer the second track that I gave called "Borhomasi Fare". Its a nicer recording and has a really nice groove. You can also hear the bell clearly leading the troupe in that one and the bell player plays really nice phrasing.

I wouldn't be surprised if those "sikko" are involved. beacause does sound like the bass drum (especially in Borhomasi Fare) are held with one hand and beaten with the other. "Tolony" sounds like it has duns instead.

[e2c]

i think the bells are being played by more than one person...

[Afoba]

I would say it's boté - the Susu dunduns. The sound is warmer or softer than the sound of dunduns. They probably made something new out of lower guinean instruments (maybe from different peoples). Keeps hard to say for me, for I saw boté players only twice and sikko players only once. And I don't know people who play traditional Susu music. Probably this is not completely traditional, could be changed like the Mamady style. But who knows, if we don't know the original?!
I know that Djolé is a Sikko rhythm, but that's all. I'm not convinced that there are any Sikkos in it.
Wasakunba and Tolony are Maninka words, but this group makes music from lower Guinea.
So, more questions than answers by far.
Greetings, Daniel

[Mikeleza]

Yes on the Tolony track there seems to be plenty of bells but there is one definite lead Bell with a lower tune.... same deal on the Borhomasi Fare track. I still cant picture what is making that plastic sound.
There is a definite difference in the tonal quality of the bass drums between the two tracks. The Tolony track definitely sounds more like duns.

[bubudi]

wofa's music sounds very much like new creations to me, not strictly traditional arrangements. nice stuff, lots of arrangements featuring small percussion like bells, kesekeseni and wassakunba, which you don't tend to hear in most recordings of west african percussion.

i know the bell that is played together with the bote drums is called nbaba. the word tolony might have a somewhat different meaning in susu. if i get a chance to ask someone i will.

borhomasi fare means 'snake dance' in susu.

[HawaOuti]

Tolonyi (better spelling) or baba is the bell that is played with the bote drum in susu music.
And wassakhoumba is a susu word. Wofa was formerly Wassa (or the other way around). The rhythms are traditional but the arrangements new, I think.

[Mikeleza]

Getting interesting now

[e2c]

I still cant picture what is making that plastic sound.

?

I got this album from emusic.com some time ago, and listened to the entire track last night, but didn't hear anything "plastic"-sounding.

Maybe I should get the headphones out...

Also, re. the bass drum sound: I may be wrong about this, but ... that doesn't sound like a frame drum to me. Too much sustain, for one thing. I bet Afoba is right in thinking it's boté being played.

(The deeper the frame on a frame drum, the longer potential sustain for a note ... and those frame drums above have very shallow frames.)

all speculation on my part, though!

[Onetreedrums]

I am pretty tolony refers to a bell ensemble in Guinea. My teacher, Fara Tolno, has mentioned this type of ensemble and wanted to arrange a peice like this for one of our performances back in the day. In the sound clip above there is certainly some duns and shakers, but the bells are the essence. Here is a video of what I have been told tolony is: