"Yesu Wange"

As a man who suffered the loss of his family during the Rwandan genocide, Jean Paul Samputu has learned a great deal about the human condition, about man’s capacity for evil as well as forgiveness and rebirth.  Samputu poured much of that knowledge into the Afro-folk songs—many of them in English—on his debut international CD, Testimony from Rwanda.  The reception for that album taught him much about a more arcane subject, the fickle tastes of the world music marketplace.  While many, including this reviewer, praised Testimony, there was a call for a more distinctive Rwandan flavor in the music, for the earthy roots quality that came across in Samputu’s exhillerating live performances with his four-piece group.  Here, the artist answers that call with a set of 12 songs that amount to a tour of Rwandan traditions and include just a single song with any English lyrics at all.

From the cooing vocal harmonies and pounding drums of “Ingoma” to the folksy, acoustic guitar riff blended with haunting mouthbow, and soulful, high vocals of “Umukiza Araje” this album is rich with sonic allure.  “Amakondeara” is named from the droning, interlocked horns that overlay pulsing drums and set the stage for Samputu’s fierce, lead vocal.  The song plays as a polished rendering of a deep bush ritual expressing both mystic healing and revival.  The complexity of Samputu’s and Rwanda’s experience comes through in many ways, notably on “Psalm 150,” a poignant expression of African Christianity, rendered with Pygmy vocal polyphony.  “Shimwa” is one of a few pieces here that use 5/8 rhythm, highly unusual in African traditional music (the universal popularity of Dave Brubeck’s “Take Five” notwithstanding).  This is a beautiful set of songs rendered with depth and elegance.  Should Samputu return to the crossover direction of his earlier release—and I hope and expect he will—let no one say this is a man who has abandoned his roots. 

Contributed by: Banning Eyre for www.afropop.org