Les Têtes Brulées () are a

Cameroon Cameroon, officially the Republic of Cameroon, is a country in Central Africa. It shares boundaries with Nigeria to the west and north, Chad to the northeast, the Central African Republic to the east, and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the R ...

ian band known for a

pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop! (British group), a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Album ...

version of the

bikutsi Bikutsi is a musical genre from Cameroon. It developed from the traditional styles of the Beti, or Ewondo, people, who live around the city of Yaoundé. It was popular in the middle of the 20th century in West Africa. It is primarily dance music. ...

dance music Dance music is music composed specifically to facilitate or accompany dancing. It can be either a whole piece or part of a larger musical arrangement. In terms of performance, the major categories are live dance music and recorded dance musi ...

. Their name literally means ''the burnt heads'' in French, but more likely is meant to imply ''mindblown'' or ''hotheads,'' although founder Jean-Marie Ahanda prefers the translation ''"burnt minds".''

About

''Les Têtes Brulées'' first rose to prominence in the 1980s, and quickly became the world's most famous bikutsi band. However, many critics and fans of the genre did not like their aggressively electrified sound, and the band saw some criticism. They became known for their distinctive costumes, shaved heads and brightly painted bodies, which were meant to evoke traditional Beti scarification. The band was formed by Jean-Marie Ahanda, and included the

guitar The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...

ist

Zanzibar Zanzibar is a Tanzanian archipelago off the coast of East Africa. It is located in the Indian Ocean, and consists of many small Island, islands and two large ones: Unguja (the main island, referred to informally as Zanzibar) and Pemba Island. ...

, who remains well known for innovative attachment of foam rubber to the bridge of his guitar, which made the instrument sound like a traditional

balafon The balafon (pronounced , or, by analogy with ''xylophone'' etc., ) is a gourd-resonated xylophone, a type of struck idiophone. It is closely associated with the neighbouring Mandé peoples, Mandé, Bwaba Bobo people, Bobo, Senufo people, Seno ...

. Zanzibar's death in 1988 threatened to end the band's future, but they continued performing and recording. Their first LP was '' Hot Heads'', which was also the first full-length recording of bikutsi, and contained lyrics which addressed social issues. The band toured across Africa, Europe, the United States and Japan; some footage of this tour was used in

Claire Denis Claire Denis (; ; born 21 April 1946) is a French film director and screenwriter. Her feature film '' Beau Travail'' (1999) has been called one of the greatest films of the 1990s and of all time. Her work has dealt with themes of colonial and p ...

' film ''Man No Run''. Later, they accompanied the Cameroonian soccer team to a match in Italy, which brought the band many new fans.

Discography

*1988: '' Les Têtes Brûlées'' (Bleu Caraïbe) *1990: '' Ma Musique a Moi'' (Bleu Caraibes) *1990: '' Hot Heads'' (Shanachie Records) *1992: ''

Bikutsi Rock Bikutsi is a musical genre from Cameroon. It developed from the traditional styles of the Beti people, Beti, or Ewondo, people, who live around the city of Yaoundé. It was popular in the middle of the 20th century in West Africa. It is primarily ...

'' (Shanachie Records) *1995: '' Be Happy (Dona Wana) *2000: '' Bikutsi Fever'' "Best of" (Africa Fete)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tetes Brulees, Les Tetes Brulees, Les