Baka Beyond

You may know the story of the controversy behind Enigma's multi-million selling hit "Return to Innocence". It was a big hit in Europe and took off in American when it was used as the theme for the Atlanta Olympic Games. The song included the sample of an Ami folk song sung by an elderly couple - Taiwanese aboriginal rice farmers who had made the recording for a French ethnographic record years before. It took a massive legal battle for these poor elderly farmers to get any recognition or any compensation for their role in the hit.

The British group Baka Beyond did things a little differently when they employed the rhythms and chants of the Baka pygmies of Cameroun.

In their case, they set up a trust into which royalties from airplay and record sales flowed - not exactly at Enigma levels but not insignificant. They then went back to the Baka people and asked what they wanted to do with the money. The community decided they wanted to build a music centre dedicated to preserving their culture. And so it was done.

You'll hear the musical results of this unique arrangement this afternoon on Roots and Wings with Philly Markowitz.

Also on the show, some music from a few folk orchestras and a brand new single from rebel-rocker / citizen of the world, Manu Chao (who is touring Canada this summer, BTW).