T. P. Orchestre Poly-Rythmo

The creator of a unique and fascinating sound, the Poly-Rythmo is one of Africa’s biggest orchestras, for whom the term polyrhythm is not used in vain. The author of hundreds of recordings, this orchestra is one of the continent’s most prolific, as is the Congolese OK Jazz, the only possible rival in terms of published records. After five decades, the Poly-Rythmo is the oldest active African orchestra. Throughout the 1960’s and 70’s, the formation structured itself around influences originating from traditional Beninese music, American soul and funk, Nigerian afrobeat, Congolese rumba, Ghanaian high-life, French pop and Afro-Cuban rhythms. The conductor, Mélomé Clément, chose the term Poly-Rythmo because of the great variety of rhythms they mastered and played. The themes of the lyrics broach subjects such as the evolution of Beninese society and its ills, as well as the complexities of love. Despite strong competition from the other formations of the fertile Beninese music scene, the Poly-Rythmo rapidly rose to the top of the modern African orchestras. From 1969 to the mid-1980’s, the orchestra published hundreds of EPs and dozens of albums. Between 2009 and 2019, the orchestra toured the world, visiting Europe, Japan, Brazil, North America and most of Africa.