THE 1000 BEST SONGS IN THE WORLD EVER.

557-Safri Duo-Played-A-Live (The Bongo Song)

2001-Number 6 single.

Best Bit-At 3.09. The tribal drum is said to have been invented in the 12th Century in West Africa. In African culture the beating of the drum is performed on important occasions such as weddings or funerals. It is said that once fully engaged, a performer or listener can reach a ‘trance’ like state through hypnotic beats, which leads me nicely into this song.

The Safri Duo were formed in Copenhagen, Denmark, in 1990, by the ‘Electronic Percussion’ duo composed of Uffe Savery, who was born on 5th April, 1966, and Morten Friis, who was born on 21st August, 1968, they took their stage name from the first letters of their respective surnames. The pair had first met at the ‘Tivoli Garden,’ which is an amusement park in Copenhagen, and then again later, during their time at the ‘Royal Danish Conservatory of Music,’ also in Copenhagen, where they formed an experimental musical duo. In 2019 Uffe Savery would become the 16th different ‘Rector’ of that academy since it was first established in 1867. The duo’s early releases were in the genre of ‘Classical Music’ between 1990-1998, with much of their work being critically acclaimed.

The discography of the Safri Duo includes 10 studio Albums released between 1990-2008, with the first six all being in the genre of ‘Classical Music.’ They have also released 14 singles between 2000-2023, and there is one official greatest hits Album, called ‘Greatest Hits,’ that was released in 2010, which has selected tracks lifted from three of their studio Albums, ‘Episode II,’ (2001), ‘3.0,’ (2003) and ‘Origins,’ (2008) the Album also included the new track ‘Helene’ (2010.) In their home country of Denmark, six of their singles have reached the ‘Hitlisten,’ which is also known as ‘Tracklisten,’ the Danish top 40 singles chart, with three of those tracks ‘Played-A-Live (The Bongo Song’) (2000) ‘Fallin’ High,’ (2003) and ‘Dimitto (Let Go’) (with Kato, featuring Bjørnskov) (2013) all reaching the Number 1 spot, while in the UK, ‘Played-A-Live (The Bongo Song’) remains their only charting single to date.

‘Played-A-Live (The Bongo Song’) was the first of four singles released from ‘Episode II,’ the seventh studio Album from the Safri Duo, from 2001, the song was co-written by Morten Friis, Uffe Savery, and Michael Parsberg, with all three also producing the track. The Album represented a seismic change for the duo, as they moved away from ‘Classical Music,’ into ‘Tribal,’ and ‘Trance’ music. ‘Played-A-Live (The Bongo Song’) has gone on to sell 1.5 million copies worldwide, and at the time became the fourth-fastest-selling single ever in Europe. The track was produced by Michael Parsberg, who was born Michael Parsberg-Hansen, on September 16th, 1974, in Copenhagen, Denmark. Parsberg is a ‘Trance’ and ‘House Music’ producer, who has co-produced other Danish acts including ‘DJ Encore,’ ‘Barcode Brothers,’ and ‘Pegboard Nerds,’ he has also done remixes for the Danish acts ‘Aqua,’ and ‘Infernal.’

‘Played-A-Live (The Bongo Song’) can be filed under the musical genres of ‘Tribal,’ and ‘Trance,’ for an explanation of ‘Trance’ music see also best songs 79. ‘Tribal House’ is a sub-genre of ‘House Music,’ combined with ‘World Music’ rhythms. It is broadly characterised by elements of indigenous musical percussion’s, typically conga drums, or its synthesised derivative. In many ‘Tribal House’ tracks, it is rare to find a core melody or prolonged synth sound, such as those found in ‘House Music’ and similar electronic music styles. Instead, ‘Tribal House’ tracks rely on sophisticated drum patterns for their rhythm. A track can consist of several different drum sounds. In the early 2000’s, ‘Tribal House’ evolved into a very percussive, repetitive hard-edged sound that was frequently described as ‘pots and pans,’ for its supposed similarity to the sound made by banging such cookware together. In the mid-2000’s, the sound shifted to incorporate more vocals, perhaps as a reaction to the extremity of the ‘pots and pans’ sound.