The Whole Music Experience

I'm re-posting this article which also appears in my book, Whole Music . For whatever reason, I woke up thinking about Samite today and the beautiful music he has graced us with. Add caption WM From the Heart of the African Bush: Conversation with Samite Mulondo Other journalists besides me have felt the soothing lullabies of Ugandan multi-instrumentalist Samite Mulondo. The storyteller -musician-humanitarian takes his audiences on journeys to the African bush and also deep into the human heart. Listening to his recordings provide an intimate musical experience and seeing Samite in concert provides a different type of emotional experience that opens eyes, ears and hearts. I first came across Samite when I was seeking African recordings to review for my former website, Cranky Crow World Music. Tunula Eno landed in my mailbox and as I listened to a beautiful set of songs I traveled through a gamut of emotions, from sweet humor to grief (the CD was dedicated t...

World   Mamadou Kelly   Adibar   Clermont Music We are so fortunate these days to experience music of Mali.   Given events in recent years, where Muslim fundamentalists rounded up musicians, burned instruments, and cut off hands of Malian musicians, the musical spirit of Mali continued.   These days, a fragile peace reigns in Mali and we can only wonder about the powerful role music played in keeping hope alive and bringing a sense of solidarity. Malian guitarist and singer Mamadou Kelly brings us Malian grooves on his album Adibar .   Teaming up with Niafunke musicians that produced Ali Farka Toure and Afel Bocoum’s albums, we are reminded here of Ali Farka Toure’s snaky desert blues.   While guitar is the main instrument with Malian blues vocals, we also hear the traditional calabashes (percussion), spike fiddle (ndjarka), a mandolin-like instrument (djourkel) and bass.   The end result is chill-out music, moving at a slo...

Cesaria Evora   Mãe Carinhosa   Lusafrica (Reviews of artists who passed away are the hardest to write, especially posthumous recording reviews.  I want every word to count and every word to honor the performer.  I put so much pressure on myself that I end up procrastinating instead of writing the review.  Not only that, but it’s hard to write anything objective when music journalists and researchers are also fans of the musicians we review and we’re only human). After the Cape Verdean vocalist Cesaria Evora died in 2011, her producer Jose da Silva felt reluctant to release a posthumous album, but according to the press notes that accompanied my media copy of Mãe Carinhosa , he was moved by tribute albums produced by other artists and he wondered what to do with unreleased tracks from Evora’s previous albums.  I think that Evora’s fans and colleagues will embrace this posthumous CD which possesses Evora’s warm and effervescent spir...

Music of the Nile Field Recordings by David Fanshawe Arc Music We need to travel back to 2003 for Music of the Nile when Arc Music released the field recordings of David Fanshawe (ethnomusicologist and composer) and even further for the actual field recordings which were produced from 1969 to 1975.   Then in the 1990s, Fanshawe composed the African Diaspora-European fusion chorale African Sanctus (which you can watch on YouTube).   The composer borrowed heavily from the field recordings produced along the Nile River as it snaked its way through Egypt, Sudan, Uganda, and Kenya.   And yes, Music of the Nile offers both a geography lesson and exploration of music traditions that went the way of the dinosaur. With nearly 80 minutes of diverse tracks ranging from wedding feasts music to lullabies, to fishing songs, as well as, affectionate songs praising camels in Sudan and cows in Kenya, it’s best to listen to this recording in two or more sittings. ...

Suzanna Owiyo My Roots Kirkelig Kulturverksted Skruk and Mahsa Vahdat In the Mirror of Wine Kirkelig Kulturverksted The Norwegian label Kirkelig Kulturverksted champions women and has been doing so for decades. In the few years that I’ve been reviewing recordings produced by KKV, I’ve come across several compilation albums that brought women musicians from around the world together to fight injustice and celebrate their womanhood. The women that appear on the label lean towards community organizing, championing worthy causes, and employing their musical gifts to better the world, especially their corner of it. I’m thinking of Palestinian vocalist/composer Rim Banna who visits the refugee camps and loans her talents to furthering peace for the Palestinians, and I’m thinking of the Iranian sisters Marjan and Mahsa Vahdat who defied the ban on Iranian women singing in public and gave a concert at the Italian Embassy in Tehran ( Songs from a Persian Garden )....

Lokua Kanza Nkolo World Village/Harmonia Mundi With the kalimbas, flutes, percussion and soothing male vocals, Congolese Lokua Kanza’s solo album, Nkolo recalls the music of Ugandan Samite. However, Kanza’s covers more of the African Diaspora by bringing in gospel choirs (though more on the angelic than passionate side of things), and Brazilian fare. Gentle lilting guitar, percussion, bass, flute, and lush vocals appear on Dipano while Loyenge sounds like Congolese blues. The press notes sums up Nkolo , “His voice dominates the ensemble. Sometimes it’s thrown into relief or highlighted by angel choirs, bells, whistles, drums, a child’s voice…” The emotions (without reading an English translation of the lyrics), also offer contrasts from melancholy to pure joy of living on the planet. The Brazilian sound on the album should come as no surprise since Nkolo lives in Paris and Rio, but he hasn’t forgotten his homeland. “What I want to do through this album is convey the be...

Around the World in a Day Let’s sample 11 Putumayo CDs representing South America, the African continent, the Arab world, Europe and North America. We’ll start in 2009 and work our way down to 2003 creating a time capsule effect. And since compilations such as French Café and Italian Café bring out vintage performers, we will travel far and wide. Putumayo Presents Brazilian Café (2009)—This compilation presents a laidback Brazilian vibe. New and established artists perform traditional and not-so-traditional bossa novas and sambas. The right mix of female and male voices, lush horns, soft guitar and Brazilian rhythms make this the ideal music for a rainy day. Café Cubano (2008)—I bet the food is spicy and the rum plenty in a Cuban café. I don’t drink so if I visited a trova house or café, I’d hope to hear sones and boleros sung by musicians preserving their musical heritage. And that’s exactly what you’ll hear on this disc. Veterans and newcomers perform that hip-...

Imagine Africa (Compilation) Kirkelig Kulturverksted Sadly, when African nations appear in our daily news headlines the focus is often negative.  We hear about wars, famines, poverty or AIDS.  Unless we listen to world music on a regular basis, attend music festivals and enroll in classes that explore music, art and culture from Africa, we miss out on the beauty, vibrancy and excitement of the African continent.  We miss out on the warm laughter, the strength and vibrancy of the African people. Thankfully, labels such as Putumayo and the Norwegian label Kirkelig Kulturverkstad address both the negative and positive conditions experienced by Africans.  Instead of forcing our will and our help on other nations, we can engage people of those nations to bring their wisdom, resourcefulness and talent to a collaborative effort that not only solves socio-economic problems, but also celebrates diversity and culture.  Besides, there's always a more complex situ...

Oreka tx Nomadak tx World Village When we forget how wonderful and magical the world is, a collective of musicians come together to remind us of the musical language we share in common. The collective project, Nomadak tx lead by a pair of Basque txalaparta players (percussive instrument similar to a xylophone), that go by the name Oreka tx. This exotic recording brings together nomadic musicians from Saamiland, the Saharan desert, Mongolia and India to perform along side a little-known instrument from Basque Country. The first track, Lauhazka combines txalaparta with Saami yoiks, Mongolian throat singing, Indian gypsy and Saharawis chants. The second track does a bit more of the same, but reminds me of Finnish music with its fiery fiddling. Think of this recording as a new wave of Silk Road music, this time with a greater emphasis on indigenous music. The last time, I experienced this type of collective was when I heard the Saami recording Frozen Moments (DAT) a few years ago...