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KG Omulo: Ayah Ye!: Moving Train
A synergy of funk, rock, reggae and traditional African sounds from this inventive, young singer/songwriter. -
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Mamadou Diabaté: Courage
Mamadou Diabate, the kora master, takes a fresh look at Mali instrumental music with his new CD Courage. -
Various Artists: The Kankobela of the Batonga, Vol. 2
Mysterious melodies from a disappearing thumb piano tradition of Southern Africa. -
Kiran Ahluwalia: Aam Zameen: Common Ground
Indo-Canadian Songwriter Combines Folk Poetry with African Rock, Jazz and more -
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Sona Jobarteh: FASIYA
West African female kora virtuoso releases an album full of grace, warmth, and passion. -
Sia Tolno: My Life
Kissi singer releases a strong second album full of pop-infused star power over songs of strife and triumph. -
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Guelewar: Halleli N Dakarou
Re-released and remastered live CD from this 80's experimental Senegambian outfit. -
Tinariwen: Tassili
Touareg desert legends return with an offering that is meandering, sorrowful and proud. -
Los Rakas: Chancletas y Camisetas Bordada
Oakland/Panamanian rappers -call it "Panabay"-- return with good results. -
Cheikh Lo: Jamm
The unique Senegalese singer and multi-instrumentalist crafts an eclectically excellent record. -
David Rudder: Random Notes
Calypsonian David Rudder returns with an album that covers various styles with excellent results.
Engineer and recordist Tchad Blake has produced albums for artists as diverse as Bonnie Raitt, palm wine guitarist S.E. Rogie, and the Latin Playboys. But to create this one-of-a-kind disc, he put a pair of small microphones in his two ears and wandered around Zimbabwe for twelve days in 1994, collecting ambiance in a musical land. The technique is called "binaural recording," and the result here 19 tracks ranging from a boy playing a homemade "banjo" while a thunderstorm approaches, to a Harare horn band street parade, to an mbira pop group rehearsing, and four swinging acapella choirs that explode into song in echoey Bulawayo meeting halls.
The stereo imaging is killer with headphones. If you've been to Zimbabwe, Blake's taxi barkers advertising a ride to the Mbare ghetto, and his slice of Harare downtown with the guitar band Shona pop of Max Mapfumo intermingled from a lingering car radio are guaranteed to induce flashbacks. There's enough true grit in the more musical tracks--especially mbira veteran Sekuru Gora's band rehearsal, and Faces of Talent's reprieve of 1960s township jazz with just a snare drum and a tenor sax backing the singers--to transport any adventurous listener. There's just one live, electric--guitar, bar band-Mr Bulk and Bulk Spirits getting rowdy at the Earlside--although booming, overloaded bass and distorted vocals, and then sudden volume shifts and panning effects as Blake seems to lurch towards the bandstand, may frustrate listeners who just want to hear the music.
Contributed by Banning Eyre
Originally published in: Songlines
