Medley from Leana Song circa 2007.  Recorded live at The Carriagehouse by Tom Spiker.  
We flow from "Wele Wele", from our 2008 release "Orisha Love Songs Vol.1" into a previously unreleased track of Iyesa on Batá.  We then break into "Ewe Iyesa", played entirely on the Ghanaian Agbadza drums including Boba and Atsimevu and sing a kpanlogo song "Dada Afuache", then some Orisha songs for Elegua and Obatala.  Ending with the Iyesa Ending in Matanzas as taught to me by Sandy Perez.  Enjoy

Ochun Medley - (bonus track)

OCHOSSI -  4/4				
A: Baba Yakuma karere, abata (Baba Ochosi, Baba Odede) C: Erosi baba ka rere

Ochosi

ORISAOKO 6/8 
A/C: (Baba) Orisha oko Ogun fele yewe (fenfe iyawo), tani mowi mo wi mariwo 
A: Mo de bi ayo 
C: Bi ala oko mo yamala, bi ori Chango mo de ya ku moda, bi ala oko mo de niyo, a eh iyo 
A: Mo de niyo
C: A eh iyo

INLE-	 6/8	 
A/C: E O Inle, O Inle O Inle, Ayaya, O Inle

04 Orisha Oko And Inle

BABALU AYE- 6/8 	
A: Bariba ogue de ma  
C: Mo le yan sa a mole ya  
A: Ba ke ba ke bake  
C: Mo le yan sa a mole ya  

A/C: Aberiku to agua le eri so (2x), aye Baba, Babalu Aye, agua le ri so, aye Baba

Babalu Aye

Osain is the Orisha of medicinal plants and is a healer.  Osain is the owner of all plants and trees in the forest.  He is hugely important to Babalawo’s (priests of Ifa) because they work with plants to make remedies.  Osain is always consulted when using the magical and medicinal qualities of plants so the Babalawo’s have extensive knowledge of Osain.  I think of Osain songs when walking in the woods, and when I take medicine.  Whether it is herbal or pharma, most medicine in the world comes from plants.  I am grateful for the secret life force of plants! Aché Osain.


OSAIN - 4/4 	
A: (Baba Osain) Kuru kuru be te / C: Mariwo sai, mariwo ye mariwo
A/C: Ada da ra ma dawo, ada da ra ma da, Osain da mi wo a dama wo, ada dara mada
A/C: Ewe masi boroyu, ewe masi boro ro, 2x, Bam bi oke yo, masi boro yu, masi boro ro

Osain

Here is the next track from Orisha Love Songs Vol. 2 – Orun Cantado.  Oggué is the Orisha of horned animals and herds.  He is also known as the divinity that blesses women with children. 
This track starts with blossom bells that I found in Portland some years ago.  Layered guitars, analog synths, and Orlando Fiol on piano sets the mysterious mood of this piece.  Also, we have Bakithi Kumalo on bass and myself on Batá and voice. Please enjoy Oggué

Oggue

Dadá is the god of unborn children. He is one of the orishas that is related with the development and care of the human embryo. Children born with a tuft of hair in a crown-like manner are believed to be children of Dadá. The Lukumí believe that Dadá is Shangó’s older sibling who reared him.  Dadá is an enigmatic orisha. In most Lukumí myths, Dadá is described as Shangó’s older sister and is credited with raising him. In ritual, though, and especially in the order of the chants, Dadá is grouped with the male There's 6/8 trap like groove that comes in halfway through, analog synths, and Orlando Fiol on piano sets the mysterious mood of this piece.  Also, we have Bakithi Kumalo on bass and myself on Batá and vocals. Please enjoy Orisha Dada
Shawn Hennessey 2019

Orlando Fiol (Piano)
Bakithi Kumalo (Bass)

DADA - 6/8 
A: Iya Abure Dada, tani lowo nya da che omolubeyo /
C: Dada, omolo wo (mi)  Dada, omolubeyo  
A: Abure Dada  
C: Ma soku ma 
A: Abure da che  
C: Ma soku ma, eru an, da che, belo na, e fumi loda, some ye, Dada, ma so ku ma

Dada

AGAYU - 6/8 
Agayu #4: A: Agayu chola, ko ma che ni tagua / C: Oya Oya O takua Oya Oya

Agayu

Hi, Friends.  Yesterday I turned 39 and as a birthday gift to you, I am releasing two new tracks today! Changó and Obatalá.  Both have been sculpted to my vision of beauty over many years and I’m so happy to finally share them with you, my friends and fans. 
Because you are on the mailing list you, you get all new releases first. 
For now this music is available exclusively on shawnhennessey.com
Click below to download each Orisha or the whole album.


Chango - The Owner of the Drums, Ṣàngó (Yoruba language: Ṣàngó, also known as Changó or Xangô in Latin America; is an Orisha. He is syncretized with either Saint Barbara or Saint Jerome. Historically, Shango is a royal ancestor of the Yoruba as he was the third Alafin of the Oyo Kingdom prior to his posthumous deification. He is considered to be one of the most powerful rulers that Yorubaland has ever produced.

Though there are many songs for Chango, I chose ‘Guemilere’ as it is most often used in the Oru Cantado in Havana and in the cantado from Abbilona that I used as a framework for this project.  . On this track I played the Iyá part on frame drum with a brush.  With a rising tempo, I sang a breathy, personal, version of the song.  Layered analog synths, guitars, and harmonies, I used the same chord progression as Orisha Love Songs Vol.1.  The song cycle goes from ‘Guemilere’, to ‘Emi So’, and finally to ‘Obato’.  For Emi So’, the subdivisions get filled up as I bring in the other 2 Bata drums over the Frame drum Iyá.  With the pitch modulating capabilities of Ableton Live, I changed the pitch of the Itotele to follow the chord progression.  This track has Bakithi Kumalo on Bass, and everything else is me.  Please enjoy, Chango. Kawo!

Chango

‘Obatala’ is a track I’m really proud of.  Everything from the arrangement, to production, and the groove is so strong.  It is definitely one of my top 3 songs on this project and I hope you love it as much as I do.  The style a kind of Samba De Roda / House.  I tried to create the feeling of Bahia, but with a Cuban and Philly modern vibe.  The groove Inspiration came from Dende Macedo, my friend and master Bahian percussionist.  The drum break at the end is an improvisation I then notated and then layered the batterie, but it draws on phrases I learned in the North of Ghana.  Obatala features Naivis Angarica on vocals, Orlando Fiol on Piano, Elliot Garland on Bass and Maxfield Gast with a killing EWI solo at the end.  Please enjoy Obatala!  

Obatalá (also known as Ochalá or Oxalá; Orichalá or Orixalá) is the oldest "Orisha funfun" ("white deity"), referring to purity, both physically and symbolically as in the "light" of consciousness. In Santería, Obatalá is syncretized with Our Lady of Mercy and Jesus Of Nazareth. 

Links to the great musicians on this Naivis Angarica (Voice) and Orlando Fiol (Piano)
Elliot Garland on electric bass. Maxfield Gast (EWI)

Because you are on the mailing list you, you get all new releases first. 
For now this music is available exclusively on shawnhennessey.com

Obatala

IBEJI
TWINS.  Ibeji is the Orisha of twins.  There is plenty of info about Ibeji or Los Ibeyis out there including artwork, and recently modern music from the twin duo ‘Ibeyi’ that came out in 2016. I like this summary description of the Yoruba childgodpair.

On Leana Song’s Orisha Love Songs Vol.2 - Orun Cantado, Ibeji is a happy track, that starts with a distorted Shawn Hennessey singing lead to a response of an auto-tuned kids choir made up of some of his world percussion students. The groove is a bouncy, mid-tempo swing built on top of the traditional Bata rhythm for Ibeji.  On Piano the great Orlando Fiol, Bakithi Kumalo on Bass, and Naivis Angarica singing lead for the 2nd half. Crystallized blossom bells, pocket operators, and analogue synths, create a playful vibe. Please Enjoy, Ibeji

Links to the great musicians on this Naivis Angarica (Voice) and Orlando Fiol (Piano)
Bakithi Kumalo on electric bass

For now this music is available exclusively on shawnhennessey.com

Ibeji

Orisha Love Song Vol. 2 - Orun Cantado (Special Edition)

Yemaya

Oya

Number: 9
Sacred Place in Nature: the marketplace, wind and the gates of the cemetery
Colors: brown or burgundy, plus nine different colors (no black)
Tools: machetes, masks, scythe, horsetail fly-whisk (iruke)
Temperament: fierce, temperamental, protective
Syncretized Catholic Saint: Our Lady of Candlemas or Saint Theresa
 
Oyá is a fierce and powerful female warrior Orisha in Santeria. She was the favorite wife of Shango and is referred as the owner of the marketplace and the keeper of the cemetery gates.  She wields lightning and rides the winds into battle. She is a great warrior who goes to war with machetes and tornados.   Orisha Oya is closely related to Iku, the divinity of death. She promotes storms, hurricane winds and sparks.  The winds of Oya carry the pollen of different plants from one place to another. Oya is also the air we breathe; she provides the air with the right amount of oxygen to keep us alive and functioning. Together with Eleguá , Orunla and Obatalá she dominates the four winds.
“Oya” is the track I am most connected to on this collection.  It is also the longest.  The arrangement is a suite that starts with “Iye Iyekua”, a toque especial for Oya and leads to the classic “Ayiloda” and ends with Candomle drumming over a song found in both Cuba and Brazil.  The unpredictable nature of this 8-minute long piece, is meant to illustrate the changing moods and capricious character of Oya.  It moves quickly from a patient and slow groove to a violent and blazing fast finale.  I have to give it up to my man Dende Macedo, who played all the Ilu Oya drums with tremendous speed, touch and conviction.  Listen to this track on headphones or with a sub to discover a secret in the the Batá playing. 
I also dedicate this song to my wife Iris Padmini Shamir, who’s wisdom and powers sustain our family, I love you and am honored to be your man. And to my daughter Aya; may the wind always be at your back.
Please Enjoy and Share, 
Oya
 
Links to the great musicians on this Naivis Angarica (Voice) and Orlando Fiol (Piano)
Ian Rafalak (Bass) Dende Macedo (Percussion)

Yewa
Orisha: Yeguá (Yewá)
Saint: Our Lady of Montserrat
Colors: Pink and burgundy
Number: 7 or 9
Description: Yeguá is Oduduwa’s special daughter who he was keeping as a symbol of purity and chastity.  She is the Orisha associated with death as she rules the decomposition of the body in the grave and the mysteries associated with the dying process. She is depicted as a mysterious woman, withdrawn from society residing in the bottom of a grave.
This simple arrangement is an ascending progression, using my own arpeggiated mbira samples.  I added descending harmonies balance the movement.
Please Enjoy, Yewa
Links to the great musicians on this Naivis Angarica (Voice) and Orlando Fiol (Piano)
 Bakithi Kumalo (Bass)

Yewa

Obba - The Ruler of the Cemetery - Saint: Saint Catherine of Siena
Colors: Brown, opal, coral
Number: 8
Obba is the Orisha of marriage and personal transformation. She was Shangó’s legitimate wife who was shunned after trying to ensnare Shangó with witchcraft. She fled to the cemetery and underwent a powerful transformational journey that made her come into her true power.  Fun fact: when I was growing up in NE Philly, my local catholic church was St. Catherine of Siena.
This track was one of the last I recorded and is one of my favorites.  The tone is dark and deep and the Batá roads 2 and 3 always confused me a little, perhaps because of their suspended cadence and opposition to Nyongo.  I love the marriage of classical guitar synth and vocal drones. 
Please enjoy, Obba 
Links to the great musicians on this Naivis Angarica (Voice) and Orlando Fiol (Piano)
 Bakithi Kumalo (Bass)

Obba

Ochun

Orunmila

An ambient blend of Talking Drums, Bata, Congas, Bass Drums and Tranquil Rainforest Synths

African Heart

The title track from the debut album from HENNESSEY BONFIRE.  Put this song on to feel good.  It defines the 'country and eastern' style.  love is a renewable resource... the more you give, the more you get!

song not for sale until, please enjoy but don't steal!
RELEASE DATE May 2013
copyright 2013 Hennessey Bonfire


Let's Get Carried Away (Album Version)

Shawn Hennessey’s childhood growing up in an Irish Catholic neighborhood in northeast Philly belie his soul-connection to world rhythms, drums and percussion. An artist at heart and composer, Shawn’s music embodies rhythm-as-life, that invisible, universal pulse at the core of all we do, musically or otherwise.

Shawn’s deep, abiding love and passion for percussion and drums has taken him around the world in a career spanning the globe in known-percussion hotbeds of innovation and rich history, countries like Ghana, Cuba, Haiti, Israel, Tahiti, and Istanbul.

A Latin Grammy-nominated percussionist, Shawn is also a prolific songwriter and producer based in Philadelphia and performs regularly with a variety of notable national and local acts, including bassist Bakithi Kumalo of Paul Simon's band, Uprooted featuring Michael Glabicki of Rusted Root, Bollywood star Jeffrey Iqbal, Trinidelphia, Ryan Tennis, The Disco Biscuits and Don McCloskey. 

HIs two passion projects over the past decade have been Hennessey Bonfire—lush, organic, original songs soulfully rooted against the backdrop of world rhythms and sounds—and Leana Song, a genre-defying fusion of traditional and contemporary Afro Cuban music, the likes of which have landed Shawn on major Spotify playlists alongside world music icons.

Leana Song’s first album, “Orisha Love Songs Vol.1” was released in 2008, and blends ancient songs with modern harmony and instrumentation.

Hennessey Bonfire, released “Let’s Get Carried Away”  in 2013.  This self-produced, sophomore release is a world-folk in nature, highlighting Shawn’s gift for songwriting and pop production.  Soon after the sold-out release at World Cafe Live, Shawn was diagnosed with a brain tumor.  He had surgery and has been in good health ever since.  

In 2018, His 3rd studio album “Orisha Love Songs Vol. 2” was recorded in Cuba and the US, and is set to be released on 21Sound.  While in Cuba, Shawn had the distinct honor of being consecrated “Omo Aña”, a child of the spirit in the drum in the Afro-Cuban religion of Ifá.  

Shawn will release his 4th studio album in June 2023 as Hennessey Bonfire.  “A Wake on the Boulevard” Is an eclectic blend of world rhythms and folk harmony, with electronic sensibilities and lush production. “This record is about becoming a father and forgiving my own”-  SH  
For more info and to download music go to www.shawnhennessey.com
This is my gift to the forces of nature that surround us all, and I give it with respect.

Hennessey Bonfire

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