Year 2023 : the release of Xhèviosso Band’s first album
The release of Jalavodo, the debut album by Xhèviosso Band in 2023, marked an important milestone in the artist’s journey. The album, recorded entirely in Cotonou, reflects Xhèviosso’s desire to reconnect with his roots and explore the deep, resonant rhythms that have influenced him. Choosing to record the album in Benin was a deliberate decision to root the music in the region’s rich traditional sounds.
It has seen the participation of prominent musicians such as Aaron and Magloire Ahouandjinou, Olouwa Mike Tognin, Appolinaire Oké, Gerahmeel Agbossou for the melodic part. A large place was left to the The album features contributions from a number of talented musicians, including Aaron and Magloire Ahouandjinou, Olouwa Mike Tognin, Appolinaire Oké, and Gerahmeel Agbossou, who each added their unique touch to the melodies.
Percussion plays a central role throughout the album, with artists like Tokpè Odjo, who plays the talking drum and bata, and Basten Bona, who brings the power of gbon, congas, gons, tehún, and other drums to life. These instruments, which are key to the Gulf of Benin’s cultural soundscape, highlight the artist’s aim to emphasize the unifying power of traditional rhythms.on the various pieces: Tokpè Odjo brought his very precise talking drum, his bata, while Basten Bona made speak the gbon, congas, gons, tehún and drums.
The contents expressed in the songs are most often in the languages of Bopa and Dekanmey as well as in fon. Again, this is a choice that the artist assumes.
The themes evoked in the album, which includes 9 tracks, are current and diverse; however their common thread is that they propose a vision of the world from an Afro-cosmopolitan and decolonial prism. The imagination, narration and universe of this album are built on realities and paradigms mostly drawn from African and Afro-diasporic societies. Sometimes it is serious issues such as immigration and its paradoxes, youth and education in Africa, a questioning on the valorization of culture or a discussion on the stakes and place of Africa in the concert of nations in our time. At other times the artist just echoes this formidable odyssey that is human adventure, addressing themes such as the need to chew with full teeth in the pleasures of life.
Prospects and future developments
We plan to develop this album into a show that combines different arts such as theater and dance on stage. We are currently working in collaboration with the EITB (International School of Theatre of Benin) to create a musical piece around the album JALAVODO.
This work consists of staging some of the songs from the album and building a performance where the band’s musicians as well as other guest artists bring the songs to life, which helps overcome any language difficulties. Thus, this show is intended to address audiences of all ages, languages and nationalities. Some of the songs, for example, were written on the model of a dialogue between several characters and lend themselves easily to a theatrical staging. We consider, in case of presentation of the show in different countries, the possibility of working with local dancers/actors.
Always in this perspective of mixing the arts we have already, for the release of one of the promotional clips of the album, worked in July 2021 with the choreographers Marcel Gbeffa and Orphée Ahehinnou on a clip. Rehearsals took place at the LE CENTRE space in Cotonou for two weeks and filming lasted several days. Woxuxu’s clip is already available for free on Youtube.com.