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The great ethnomusicologist Steven Feld is responsible for this new release, chronicling a phenomenon that’s been active in Accra, Ghana’s capital, for about seven decades, but only recently came into public view. Por por music—the name is an onomatopoetic description of the sound—is basically built around the rubber bulb horns that were once ubiquitous on children’s bicycles. In Accra these horns were used on transport trucks and over the years their use expanded. If a truck got a flat tire in a remote area the various workers would create a raucous chorus of honking and ad-hoc percussion to warn approaching vehicles that there was a disabled truck ahead. Eventually the workers began to incorporate local rhythms and with time bands started mixing in original lyrics, familiar hits, and traditional pieces. It’s a clattery, nasal barrage of dance music; believe it or not, pumping up a spare tire tube is one of the preferred dance moves.
I’ll be honest—sitting through all 72 minutes of the CD can be a trying experience. There’s not much melody within the chanted vocals, and while the rhythms are infectious, the constant hocketing barrage of single-toned squeeze horns teeters between tedium and torture. But there is method to the madness and if you can adjust your ears to the restricted tonal range you can notice how resourceful the group is, finding an unexpected contrapuntal spectrum in all of the bleating. Feld’s liner notes are typically informative, obsessively researched, and accessible, and the photos by Nunu are excellent. This CD clearly isn’t for everyone, but I can almost guarantee it’s like nothing you’ve ever heard before.
