Zanzibar Vol.1 : Ikhwani Safaa Musical Club

Zanzibar Vol.2 : L'age d'Or du Taarab de Mombasa

Buda Musique 2005

__ Been born in the end of the 19è century in the circle of acquaintances of the Sultan and the good society of Zanzibar, the taraab is a traditional musical style of the island, the quality of which is based on the sensibility of the interpretation. Mixing the influences, the taraab establishes originally, from instruments returned by Egypt at the request of the Sultan. Today, beside the singer, we find the qanum (inheritance of the Arabic music) surrounded with violins (stemming from accompanyings of Egyptian films, but also from Indian and western classical musics) to whom are associated the ùd and the nay. Supported by the percussions, the choir of the women in the voices of nightingales establishes the major contribution of the Swahili, by the language as by the style. “taraab”, word of Arabic origin which means “émoi” and which expresses a particular state of emotion, as taken body and soul. In 19th century a sultan of Oman who had fallen in love with the Egyptian music, had sent some of his musicians to Egypt so that they learn this music. When the capital was moved from Oman to Zanzibar, these musicians off-loaded in Zanzibar and propagated this music. The island was already populated by the other communities and bit by bit this music met the other musics; musics of India, Africa... Of it has “taraab” appear which is sung over there in Swahili. BUDA edite a collection dedicated to the popular musics Swahili of the oriental rib of Africa (Tanzania, Kenya, Mozambique, Somalia, the Comoro Islands), dominated by the "taarab", the music of reassurance, festive music also where get involved voices, violate, ud, qanun, accordion, guitar, bass, keyboards, ancient and modern sounds to incite to meditate or to dance. The words, which were previously often improvised, are henceforth more worked and register in the tradition of the poetry Swahili. Recordings of archival going 1920s in 1980s are completed by particularly interesting contemporary recordings. This collection is steered by the big specialist Werner Graebner, among whom learning and the musical sense are unmistakable quality wages. We had had the series " of Ethiopian " consisting of 19 volumes of a trés big qualities, it will now be necessary us to count on "Zanzibara" who, I am sure of it, will bring us so many magnificent moments.

Konogo: Congotronics
Kramed disc

__ This lawful group he there 25 years uses the sanza as instrument of preference. By adding it rhythmic one traditional but also made by patch of sheet steel, jars, fragments of car, this group which also uses a sound-system connected on megaphone, made a success an album more than surprising in which one get involved for our biggest pleasure, tradition and modernity. A success.

Zion Roots: Abyssinia infinite
Network production

__ Other interesting and successful exit, that of the collaboration of the Ethiopian singer Shibahaw and the producing bass player Bill Laswell in a disc where we find Indian, American, Senegalese and Ethiopian musicians for a sensitive music which plunges us into the roots of the traditional music of the ex realm Abyssinien. To discover.

__ The fifth edition of the Pan-African Music festival will be held from 9 till 16 July of this year in Congo under the subject: « inheritance of the African music in Americas and the Caribs». To follow...

Roots of Australia,

__ The people Aborigine of Australia is a part of one of the oldest civilizations to the world with a culture which we can redraw for approximately 50000 years. In the middle of the 18th century, during the discovery of the continent by Cook, the aborigines counted approximately 900000 souls distributed on 500 tribes having each the own language.

__ Today, 1/3 of the population remains and approximately 200 dialects are still used. Their way of life is based on the cult of the ancestors. Their myth founder tells that the ancestors created the world by songs during the period of the " time of the dream » dreamtime ). For them, the song and the music are also old as the world itself. The musical instrument of preference of these people, Didgeridoo, if it is known today all over the world, endemic rest in Australia. Often painted or more recently engraved by scenes of the genesis, the histories of a clan or a person, made in a bamboo hollow and played only originally by men introduced from the youngest age, Didgeridoo would have appeared at the time of the " time of the dream » and essential ancestors.

__ This gathered compilation musicians' selection which meet themselves in the deep previous history by having knowing how to benefit from the fact that the modernism them in brought.
That to say furthermore except that this disc is absolutely magnificent, except that it will take us even for a long time far in our dreams, in a time when the earth was not soiled yet.

China: songs of the Mountain of the soul