Akoko Ajeji by Chris Korda
Akoko Ajeji means "Strange Time" in Yoruba. All the tracks on this album are in complex polymeter, meaning that they use multiple time signatures simultaneously. Each instrumental part is composed in a different meter, and consequently the instruments shift phase or "slip" relative to each other. For example, the bass could be in 4/4, the organ in 5/4, the hi-hat in 7/4, and so on. Loops of different lengths gradually diverge and converge, producing intricate but non-random patterns of interference that resemble improvisation.
The album's themes are trance, music, and dancing, and many of its titles are in Yoruba, because Yoruba has evocative words for these themes. Polymeter determines not only the rhythm, but the melody and harmony too, using techniques that are as radical as the pitch sets of atonal music were in the 1920s. Korda created a custom MIDI sequencer in order to make this album, and the result is a new approach to composition, and a new type of algorithmic music. Akoko Ajeji extends polymeter into new domains such as permutational harmony generation, and fuses algorithmic music with techno and jazz.
Vizyon means "trance" in Haitian Creole. Its polymeter repeats after 155,195,040 beats (roughly 805 days) and juxtaposes these loop lengths: 2, 3, 5, 7, 11, 13, 17, 19.
Asiri means "secrets" in Yoruba. Its polymeter repeats after 14,894,880 beats (roughly 80 days) and juxtaposes these loop lengths: 2, 3, 5, 7, 11, 13, 31.
Iyika means "circles" or "revolution" in Yoruba. Its polymeter repeats after 58,198,140 beats (roughly 300 days) and juxtaposes these loop lengths: 2, 3, 5, 7, 11, 13, 17, 19.
Ala Aye means "dream world" or "space bound" in Yoruba. Its polymeter repeats after 118,731,810,156,960 beats (roughly 1.7 million years) and juxtaposes these loop lengths: 2, 3, 5, 7, 11, 13, 17, 19, 23, 29, 31, 37.
Awose means "template" or "stencil" in Yorua. Its polymeter repeats after 5,785,219,440 beats (roughly 85 years) and juxtaposes these loop lengths: 2, 3, 5, 7, 11, 13, 23.
Ra Bayi means "buy now" in Yoruba. Its polymeter repeats after 629,909,280 beats (roughly 8.6 years) and juxtaposes these loop lengths: 2, 3, 5, 7, 11, 13, 19, 23.
Ra Mi means "buy me" in Yoruba. Its polymeter repeats after 480 beats (3 minutes and 26 seconds) and juxtaposes these loop lengths: 2, 3, 5.
Egungun is Yoruba for "bones" or "ancestors" in the collective sense. Its polymeter repeats after 27,720 beats (3:33:14 in elapsed time) and juxtaposes these loop lengths: 2, 3, 5, 7, 11.
Dek Sep Bluso means "seventeen blues" in Esperanto. Its polymeter repeats after 16,336,320 beats (roughly 91 days) and juxtaposes these loop lengths: 2, 3, 5, 7, 11, 13, 17.
Fazo Kanto means "phase song" in Esperanto. Its polymeter repeats after 78,540 beats (roughly 10 hours) and juxtaposes these loop lengths: 2, 3, 5, 7, 11, 17.
Tracklist
| 1. | Vizyon | 5:25 |
| 2. | Asiri | 4:50 |
| 3. | Iyika | 5:06 |
| 4. | Ala Aye | 5:32 |
| 5. | Awose | 4:55 |
| 6. | Ra Bayi | 4:30 |
| 7. | Ra Mi | 9:13 |
| 8. | Egungun | 6:22 |
| 9. | Dek Sep Bluso | 8:16 |
| 10. | Fazo Kanto | 5:02 |
Credits
License
CC BY-SA 3.0. See the Creative Commons website for details.
Chris Korda is an internationally renowned multimedia artist, whose work spans nearly thirty years and includes electronic music, digital and video art, performance and conceptual art, and culture jamming. Dubbed “The Bob Dylan of Climate Change” by Groove Magazine, Korda has released music on labels such as Perlon, Mental Groove, and International DJ Gigolo, in a wide range of styles.