Voor velen buiten Kenia was het eerste deel van 'Kenya Special', dat in 2013 op het Soundway-label werd uitgebracht, een eerste kennismaking met de muziek die in de jaren '70 en '80 in het land gemaakt werd. De nadruk werd gelegd op songs en bands die niet makkelijk te categoriseren zijn en geen moeite hebben de regels en de grenzen van bestaande genres te doorbreken. Hier vind je dus geen cliché World Music. Ook voor dit tweede deel zijn de verzamelaars tot het uiterste gegaan om wederom een deel van een essentieel stuk Oost-Afrikaanse muziek en erfgoed te ontsluieren. (bron: Bertus)
De Banda Linda is een kleine stam die in de Centraal-Afrikaanse Republiek leeft. Ze staan bekend om hun typische muziekstijl, met lange houten pijpen die een enkele toon produceren. De Italiaanse componist Luciano Berio omschreef de gemeenschap als 'zeer muzikaal'.
"The Hadza Bushmen is a hunter and gatherer group from the east African rift valley of Tanzania. Although Western culture has filtered in (they drive trucks to the doctor for medical assistance), they still have their own distinct click lout language, and their traditional songs and chants are still well integrated into daily life, where music is tagged to specific tasks and events. The first disc here collects field recordings of solo, duo, and trio chants and malimba (thumb piano) pieces, some with zeze (a bowed stick zither) accompaniment. The second disc consists of larger group choral chants, and features sparse but steady percussion and whistling. Although intended for scholarly and archival use, Hadza Bushmen of Tanzania has moments of simple but intricate beauty, particularly on the tracks where vocal, malimba, and the zeze fiddle are combined." (Allmusic)
"Soedan is het land waar de Witte en Blauwe Nijl samenvloeien en waar de hoogstaande Nubische cultuur ontstond. Toch is muziek uit Soedan voor velen een witte vlek op de kaart. In de jaren negentig had je namen als Ali Hassan Kuban en Abdel Aziz El Mubarak, die internationaal furore maakte, maar daarna bleef het behoorlijk stil. Maar nu is er dan deze dubbel-CD waarin de Nubische muziek centraal staat. Ruim 2 uur traditionele muziek, op ûd, accordeon, bas, viool, percussie en zang. Nu eens wiegend, dan weer opzwepend zijn het liederen in de zogenaamde Al Sabata-stijl. Deze 'tapijtmuziek' komt voort uit het opzwepende gezang van vrouwen, gezeten in een cirkel op een tapijt, waarbij de hoofdvocalen begeleid worden door tegenzang, geklap en de dallouka, een soort vaastrommel. Alhoewel de grondvorm dezelfde is gebleven, heeft de stijl zich doorontwikkeld door toevoeging van instrumenten en andere onderwerpkeuzen. Zangeres Salma Al Assal heeft een volle, krachtige stem." (Francis de Souza, MixedWorldMusic)
"No one's going to deny that the music of Kenya can be complex, drawing from many sources, but this compilation successfully and credibly reduces it to four main elements; the home-grown, guitar and bass-driven benga sound, East African rhumba, which takes its inspiration from Congolese rhumba, the coastal Islamic taarab music, and some newer material which offers ideas ranging from updates of traditions to hip-hop. For Western listeners, the benga pieces are possibly the easiest on the ear, pulsing and rhythmic, with elastic basslines that curiously recall South Africa. It's infectious and very danceable. There's only one example of the rhumba style. Taarab is far more hypnotic, inflected with Arab and even Indian modes. Uniquely Swahili, it's most evident on the coast and in Zanzibar. Thankfully, a good portion of this CD is reserved for younger artists who are leading the way into the future. The excellent liner notes are succinct and straightforward, offering full explanations and background." (Allmusic)
Een traditionele 'world'-CD pur sang. Uit de diepe oerwouden van Kameroen klinkt de betoverende muziek van de Baka-stam. De Baka maken muziek bij allerlei dagelijkse bezigheden. Grappig zijn de waterdrums, gewoon met de handen op 't water!
"Tezeta, an Ethiopian style with a relatively strict format built on repeated circular riffs, relies on the singer to put his stamp on the form with improvised verses and the up-and-down vocal spirals characteristic of Arabic music. The word itself means something like memory or nostalgia, similar to saudade, duende in flamenco, or blues and soul. The slow, mournful versions really bring out that smoky trance sensation here. With nearly 75 minutes of music and extensive liner notes, Tezeta is another impeccable release in the outstanding Ethiopiques series. But even more than earlier soul-influenced compilations geared toward dancing, these brooding love blues laments cut to the emotional core essence of the country's music. This music sounds distinctly Ethiopian, like it could be from no other place on the planet." (Allmusic).
"Chants d'amour et de résistance de Afar, Tigré et Saho de la plaine de Zula" is de subtitel van dit album. Oftewel liederen over de liefde en over het verzet in de vlakte van (de rivier) Zula in Eritrea. Het is de muziek van de muziek van drie volkeren; de Afar, Tigre en Saho. (GR, Muziekbank).
"Jump To Addis is the result of an encounter between Ethiopian and Europian musicians. It is remarkable to point out that the repertoire is not limited to the Amhara legacy but also ventures in several South Ethiopian genres - Wèlayta, Sidama, Gouragué - as rich and numerouw as they are little-known." (cd-boekje).
"The hybrid of traditional African rhythms mixed with South African mbaqanga and a pervasive Portuguese folk influence creates a uniquely energetic sound. Decidedly more Western oriented than most traditional African music, the songs are primarily vocal driven, with strong, reverb-heavy guitar melodies and highlighted by bright horn sections, almost as if the heavy funk of Fela Kuti's Africa 70 was stripped away and replaced with pleadingly melodic electric guitar lines. The airy fretwork and reggae-styled basslines of "Kalumba" by Sofia Rosa are in direct contrast with the studio heavy worldbeat of "Nkuwu" by the superb brass-powered funk group Matadidi, and yet both are tied to each other by the same longing themes of freedom and hope." (Allmusic)
"Angolan pop music in the '60s became an affirmation of national and African identity in the face of severe repression from Portuguese colonial authorities -- we're talking concentration camp stays for major musicians here -- and the root forms had coalesced into a new, distinctly Angolan mix by the 1970s. Both '70s discs share the same major singers and backing bands (Jovens do Prenda, Os Kiezos, Ngoma Jazz) and are the highlights of the series, but Angola 70's: 1972-1973 is probably the better starting point. The first recording studios in Angola had just opened in 1969 so the sound quality isn't always the greatest, but the music is upbeat, full of exuberance and the promise of life with independence on the horizon." (Allmusic)
"Angola 60's: 1956-1970 compiles recordings of various, mostly folk-based musical forms extant in the former Portuguese colony during the time period specified in the title. The sound quality isn't exactly polished, but it's certainly not bad either; everything can be heard clearly and in reasonably good fidelity. A good start to any appreciation of the country's music." (Allmusic)
