Orchestre Poly-Rythmo de Cotonou: A Beginner's Guide

After forming in the late 1960s, Orchestre Poly-Rythmo de Cotonou became one of Benin’s most celebrated musical exports, a legendary dance band across the whole of West Africa, whose sometime-prefix of ‘Tout Puissant’ (All Powerful) could not be more apt. In the 2000s, they belatedly found global fame, and remarkably, the group is still active, albeit their personnel has changed over the years.

Beninese multi-instrumentalist and vocalist Mélomé Clément began leading bands such as Groupe Meloclem and Sunny Blacks Band in the mid-60s, finally forming Orchestre Poly-Rythmo de Cotonou in 1968. Key to this new group was the addition of singer Vincent Ahehehinnou, who brought powerful soul vocals to the ensemble (reports say he was the best James Brown interpreter in Benin). Yet he was just one of the band’s many singers, as they also worked with vocalists who sung in French, Fon, Mina, Yoruba and even English.

This gave the group – composed of electric and bass guitars, organ, percussion and a brass section – the versatility to perform across styles, ranging from Afrobeat-adjacent soul and funk (known as jerk in West Africa), through Congolese soukous and Latin American-flavoured pachanga, to vodoun rhythmic forms from the region such as sakpata and sato. Crucial to these local vodoun rhythms was their use of a multitude of hand drums, congas, ceremonial Sato drums and bells, all central to vodoun ritual practice and giving the group the ability to perform the complex polyrhythms their name suggested.

In the liner notes to Analog Africa’s compilation, Echos Hypnotiques (2009), Clément described their formula: “Drums, bells and horns are the fundamental instruments used during our traditional vodoun rituals. We added guitars and organs – we modernised those ancient rhythms and combined them with Western genres that were in vogue at that time.”

In 1969, they got a big break when they signed to Albarika Store, the influential label founded by Adissa Seidou, a local businessman, record producer and aficionado of Benin’s music scene. After a string of 45rpm singles on the label, Seidou funded a trip for the group to travel to Lagos, the capital of neighbouring Nigeria, to record a full-length album at the same EMI studios where Fela Kuti laid down many of his classic releases.

That debut album, simply titled Ahehehinnou Vincent & Orchestre-Poly-Rythmo De Cotonou Dahomey (1973) – and since reissued as The First Album – saw Vincent Ahehehinnou and his own Afrobeat-infused compositions take the spotlight. Nigeria and Niger both became regular stops for the group. In 2020, Superfly Records reissued a compilation of the group’s singles that had been released in Nigeria in the 1970s. On the liner notes to that reissue, Ahehehinnou comments, “We basically became Nigerians. From that time until now, we were called OCBN, Orchestre Commun Benin-Niger, the Benin-Niger joint orchestra. It was a passion; we wanted to be like Johnny Hallyday, like James Brown. We wanted to be the best. The people started catching on all over West Africa”.

The backdrop to their rise and influence during this period was the end of colonialism in their country. The Republic of Dahomey, a former French colony, was overthrown in a coup d’état, and the country became the People’s Republic of Benin, a Marxist-Leninist state, from 1975 until 1990 (current Benin, or the Republic of Benin, is a multi-party state). Though the Orchestre would not follow Fela Kuti in putting politics front and centre of their music, they were affected by events such as the suspension of the constitution in 1972 – which put an end to their weekly gig at Dahomey’s The Zenith nightclub – while tracks like 1977’s ‘Unité Africaine’ promoted Pan-Africanism, cultural identity and solidarity.

The band’s original run of success lasted until the early 1980s, during which time they released a vast quantity of albums and singles, many via Albarika Store. A significant highlight is Poly-Rythmo ’76 Vol. 1 (1976), a storming four-track set that captures the band at their fiery best. They were also frequent collaborators, backing a plethora of African artists when they toured Benin, including Manu Dibango, Ernesto Djedje and Bella Bellow.

In the early 1980s, the group left Benin, where government restrictions were making it increasingly hard to perform, for Libya. However, a disagreement with Libyan customs resulted in all of the group’s equipment being thrown out of a second-floor window. From then on, and with little help from the government in Benin, it became increasingly rare for the group to play live. However, a chance meeting with a journalist, Elodie Maillot, in the 2000s, led to the group playing their first shows outside of Africa in 2009, marking the beginning of a much-lauded second act.

The renewed interest in the band saw them head back into the studio, recording 2011’s Cotonou Club for Strut Records. Consisting of reworked versions of classic material and brand-new compositions, it featured appearances from contemporary stars such as Mali’s Fatoumata Diawara, fellow Beninese artist Angélique Kidjo and, perhaps more surprisingly, members of Scottish indie-rockers Franz Ferdinand.

The band continued their return with 2016’s Madjafalao. In a 2017 interview with Japanese blog Ban Ban Ton Ton, Ahehehinnou said: “In our country, every Orchestre plays Poly-Rythmo’s musical repertory. And we know the best [musicians, which] makes it easy for us to recruit new band members to replace those who pass away.”

The group’s legacy lives on through numerous reissues and compilations. Previously hard-to-find albums have received welcome reissues thanks to Acid Jazz Records, now responsible for overseeing Albarika Store’s back catalogue. Acid Jazz have also released multiple compilations, as have Analog Africa, Soundway and Superfly Records.

And, they continue to perform, having played London’s Jazz Cafe earlier this year.Until the passing of bass player Gustavo Bentho in early 2024, there were three original members involved. Now it’s down to just Ahehehinnou and saxophonist Pierre Loko, who continue to lead the band to great acclaim.