This Tanzanian ensemble play rootsy reinventions of classic dance pop in the urban musiki wa dansi. This was the big band sound of Dar es Salaam in the 1960s and 70s, but here, it gets reinterpreted in an informal, acoustic setting.
Folksy acoustic guitars, backed by hand drums, shakers, and sometimes wooden marimba, back warm vocal harmonies led sometimes by a strong, searing woman's voice, and elsewhere by a male voice, not unlike that of the golden throated Congolese/Kenyan singer, Samba Mapangala. The rhythms tell a tale of Cuban son come home to the Congo and then transported across the heart of Africa to find a new home on the continent's East Coast. "Wanawake" hews very close to the old Cuban sound, while "Msafiri" cuts loose with a groove that seems informed by hearty
village partying. It's a most unusual sound, and the group really cranks, a testimony not only to their original idea, but also to the manner in which they were recorded where good sound does not mean sacrificing spirit and sponteneity. This was the first recording made at Studio Makuti, the creation of Michel and Rosa Tyabji, who launched an ambitious recording and production project in Tanzania in 1999. You can hear more of their productions on titles for their own label, Limitless Sky.
This Tanzanian ensemble play rootsy reinventions of classic dance pop in the urban musiki wa dansi. This was the big band sound of Dar es Salaam in the 1960s and 70s, but here, it gets reinterpreted in an informal, acoustic setting.
