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THE BONGO HOP – that name ?
The Bongo Hop draws its name from an old leftfield comic book I used to read when I was a kid. Les aventures de Keubla & Kebra by Jano. A gift from my parents who certainly wanted to plant a seed, the book took me in the steps of an African seaman and his journey through a troubled continent in its post colonial years. Bongo meaning cool stuff, weed, money, in swahili and most bantu languages, it’s like hopping, jumping from one pleasure to another, from place to place. A kind of African version of Corto Maltese. The comic book gives a significant importance to music, architecture, attitudes, landscape and vocabulary, an instant hook for me. And most of all, the idea that the goal or destination has no or little importance, what counts is what you do, and who and what you meet during the journey. Getting lost as a way to find yourself.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
TBH alias Etienne Sevet was born by the Atlantic in Bordeaux (southwest France), raised under the musical influence of the guinean, caribbean and senegalese communities of that port city. Trained in political science he worked primarily as a music journalist and filmmaker, directing the first ever feature documentary on salsa legend Hector Lavoe , La Voz (2006), along with Benoit de Vimorin. The filming process led him to Cali Colombia as early as 2003, where he accidentally discovered Nidia Gongora and the afro colombian music scene. He decided to set foot there permanently and worked, first as a teacher and later as a correspondent for Paris based music magazine, World Sound. Promoter and DJ of his own Republica Calicuta concert series, he started to learn the trumpet and the basics of composition in 2009. The very first foundations of what was to become The Bongo Hop were laid in 2011, as a hobby, shortly before he decided to come back to Europe to resume his studies in urban projects design. A choice that led to numerous discoveries and life changing experiences, but also slowed down the process of The Bongo Hop. When 2016 showed up though, it was time for music to take over.
SATINGARONA pt. 1 (LP, 2017)
The Bongo Hop, an exiled french music journalist and dj turned into a musician living in Cali Colombia, storms in from nowhere with this warm-sounding, sensual and vintage collection of groovy Afro-Caribbean bangers. Afro beat, currulao, Beninese funk, reggae, cumbia are intertwined in this first record. The strange title is the fusion of the Rio Satinga in the SouthWest coast of Colombia where he lived until then, and the Garonne river in the SouthWest coast of France where he grew up. The newborn trumpetist and composer essentially surrounded himself with two key collaborators for this one : producer Patchworks (Voilaaa) and his friend from the Cali years, Nidia Gongora (Quantic, Ondatropica). Songs like ‘Tite Jeanne reached heavy rotation in landmark radio stations like Nova and Fip in France, WDR Cosmo in Germany, the album received rave reviews in Newspapers, and quickly sold out.
SATINGARONA pt. 2 (LP, 2019)
For this second album, the idea was to open the perspectives towards the caribbean and west Africa. A trip to Cabo Verde in early 2018, to the land of such legends Os Apolos and Os tubaroes, and the lusafrican music in general, had a strong influence. As a result, a sort of semba ends up in the hands of Haitian singer Kephny Eliacin for the opening track. An acoustic guitar, destined to be used for a Bonga-type of voice, ends up in a funky afro hip hop track featuring french martinican MC Greg Frite, of Triptik fame. Nidia Gongora delivers stunning vocals for La Carga, inspired by desert rock, and Sonora. Those tracks are instantly endorsed by the radios, with US college radios and landmark stations like KCRW and KEXP, hailing the project.. Satingarona pt.2 is more transatlantic than its predecessor, but still, it pays tribute to the traditions of Colombia’s Pacific coast, with San Gabriel, a good example of The Bongo Hop’s approach to this material when it comes to rearranging.
LA ÑAPA (EP, 2022)
Interrupting the process of his next LP, a proposal for a remix coming from his friends of Zoufris Maracas opened new perspectives. What about remixing some of the highly danceable tracks from the first two albums, and presenting it together with some new, post covid, let’s go-out-and celebrate type of material ? A trip to Colombia (back to the roots!) in the aftermath of covid, and just a few months before the dramatic political uprise that led to the election of ex guerrillero Petro as president, was the backbone of this project. Hence the title track with Nidia Gongora, La ñapa, depicting with humor the hardships of surviving in post pandemic revolutionary times. The versatility of the project, where Angolan semba icon Paulo Flores and Algerian singer Souad Asla are also invited, is multiplied by the variety of the remixes in this sort of appetizer for the next album
LA PATA COJA (LP, 2024)
This third album took longer, among other things because of the way TBH intended to record it. After 3 home studio producer types of records, the idea was to offer a new context to his compositions. To achieve a more live sounding, vivid approach, in which the sound offers more depth and volume to the compositions. Part of the reason why the process was interrupted was that TBH’s live band had to change, and be redefined for this recording. From a 6 piece to an 8 piece unit. With an even clearer African-jazz approach. The “classic” recording philosophy influenced the choices in composition and arrangement. Obliged him to make it even more simple, straightforward, connected with emotions. The same music strangely sounds different, all of a sudden. The collaborations broaden, from Brazilian pop folk songwriter Lucas Santtana to the Haitian vaudou sorcerer Moonlight Benjamin, along with enduring musical friendship with Nidia Gongora, among others. Sometimes slightly darker and weird, sometimes shiny and positive, it’s a record of contrasts.
