Les Têtes Brulées () are a

Cameroon Cameroon (; french: Cameroun, ff, Kamerun), officially the Republic of Cameroon (french: République du Cameroun, links=no), is a country in west-central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west and north; Chad to the northeast; the C ...

ian band known for a pop 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 musical piece or part of a larger musical arrangement. In terms of performance, the major categories are live dance music and recorded danc ...

. 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 Beti may refer to: People * Mongo Beti (1932–2001), Cameroonian writer * Beti George (born 1939), Welsh television and radio broadcaster * Beti Jones (1919–2006), Scottish social worker * Beti Kamya-Turwomwe (born 1955), Ugandan businesswoma ...

scarification. The band was formed by Jean-Marie Ahanda, and included the

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

ist

Zanzibar Zanzibar (; ; ) is an insular semi-autonomous province which united with Tanganyika in 1964 to form the United Republic of Tanzania. It is an archipelago in the Indian Ocean, off the coast of the mainland, and consists of many small islands ...

, 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 is a gourd-resonated xylophone, a type of struck idiophone. It is closely associated with the neighbouring Mandé, Senoufo and Gur peoples of West Africa, particularly the Guinean branch of the Mandinka ethnic group, but is now ...

. 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, as well as of all time. Other acclaimed works include '' Trouble Ev ...

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

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Les Tetes Brulees Tetes Brulees, Les