Frank Bessem's Musiques d'Afrique: Donny Elwood

Frank Bessem's
Musiques d'Afrique:

Donny Elwood
(Cameroon)

retour aux Musiques d'Afrique
Back to Musiques d'Afrique
Back to Musiques du Cameroun

Donny Elwood (his English sounding name is a contraction of his real name Albert Dieudonné Ella Owoudou), is a remarkable artist in Cameroon. His songs are reflective, in poignant French, and sometimes solely accompanied by his guitar. Elwood, more a chansonnier than a dance floor star, sings of daily life and misery of the people, with humourful lyrics. In a way, Elwood follows the tradition of Francis Bebey.

Whereas on his first album, he is more of a songwriter, mainly accompanying himself on guitar, the second album shows a new facet of Donny Elwood, as a composer, and his lyrics are being supported by rhythms such as makossa, bikutsi and blues. On his albums, Donny Elwood has been working with the young Cameroonian guitarist Jay Lou.

Donny Elwood, whose grandparents were pygmees, had the talent to entertain the public. He was playing comedies before starting making music, but soon after doing so, he was voted Artist of the Year 1996 in Cameroon. He was also nominated for the Kora Awards.

Born: As Albert Dieudonné Ella Owoudou, 9 October 1968, in Ebolowa, South province, Cameroon
Style: Jazz, blues, bikutsi, makossa

Discography:

Title	Year	Label	Remarks
Eklektikos	2001	Pygmoïd
Negro & beau	1997	M.G.I. (Night & Day Distribution)