Mukunguni

New Recordings From Coast Province, Kenya

Honest Jon's
17.95 €
icon/play-white
Add To Cart
Tax included, Shipping not included
Field recordings of the Mijikenda tribes, made in different spots in and around Mukunguni village, coastal Kenya, throughout September 2011: mostly healing music (especially for mental problems), but also love-songs, and spiritual contributions to weddings and burials; mostly in the Sengenya style which evolved in the early twentieth century, adding pace, new Tsikitsi rhythms and extra drums to the traditional Dumbwi forms of the Duruma tribe. Besides the Sengenya drums — bumbumbu, dahdahe, chapuro, vumi, ngoma — there are lungo and dena (metal rings), kayamba (raft rattle), njunga (bells), ukaya (metal tray), bamba (metal guiro) and bottle-tops. Our album opener is solo dena, played to sound like a bat and heal the village sick, with the ear for frequency and timbre of a stringent minimalist. There are the piercing, reeded nzumari oboe and bung'o horn, sounding like fierce free-jazz improvisation; and two gently stunning marimba solos, with complex, overlaid melodies and rhythms, played in polyphonic accents, almost like talking drums. Most of the recordings here are songs, with strong tunes, robustly delivered, different solo voices leading the group — to heal; to chase away Pepo Mlume, the devil who poisons the imagination; to get you on your feet, dancing; to celebrate dowry payments and weddings; to bring the Mijikenda cultural inheritance to life. Matatizo — 'Worries' — was recorded spontaneously at a bus-stop, waiting for a ride: it's a Swahili love-song, with a plaintive female vocal performed to the accompaniment of five or so people rubbing their palms together in tight rhythmic patterns. 'The lord conferred this love on us, my sister. Is it human, or from the angels? Flowing out of binoculars... or computers? I can't figure it out, but my heart aches so badly.' The vinyl set is two ten-inch records, plus the CD, in a gatefold sleeve. Besides photos, both formats contain the musicians' own introductory notes, snatches of translation, and brief track-by-track commentary.

Share Article

Details

Genre

Afro Beat

Release Date

04.04.2013

Cat No

HJRLP68

Tracklist

Track 1
icon/play-white
Track 2
icon/play-white
Track 3
icon/play-white
Track 4
icon/play-white
Track 5
icon/play-white
Track 6
icon/play-white
Track 7
icon/play-white
Track 8
icon/play-white
Track 9
icon/play-white
Track 10
icon/play-white
Track 11
icon/play-white
Track 12
icon/play-white
Track 13
icon/play-white
Track 14
icon/play-white
Electronica
icon/play-white
2-12"
Don't DJ
15.95 €
Laniakea Honest Jon's
Backorder
Electronica
2-12"
icon/play-white
Don't DJ
15.95 €
Laniakea Honest Jon's
Afro House
icon/play-white
10”
DJ Sotofett & Maimouna Haugen
12.95 €
C'est l'Aventure Honest Jon's
Backorder
House
10”
icon/play-white
DJ Sotofett & Maimouna Haugen
12.95 €
C'est l'Aventure Honest Jon's
Reggae / Dub
icon/play-white
10”
DJ Sotofett
12.95 €
Dub Off Honest Jon's
Backorder
Reggae / Dub
10”
icon/play-white
DJ Sotofett
12.95 €
Dub Off Honest Jon's
Neue Musik
icon/play-white
2-LP
Derek Bailey & Cyro Baptista
23.95 €
Cyro Honest Jon's
Backorder
Electronica
2-LP
icon/play-white
Derek Bailey & Cyro Baptista
23.95 €
Cyro Honest Jon's
Neue Musik
icon/play-white
2-LP
Derek Bailey & Tony Coe
23.95 €
Time Honest Jon's
Backorder
Electronica
2-LP
icon/play-white
Derek Bailey & Tony Coe
23.95 €
Time Honest Jon's
Experimental Electronica
icon/play-white
LP
Derek Bailey & Jamie Muir
17.95 €
Dart Drug Honest Jon's
Backorder
Electronica
LP
icon/play-white
Derek Bailey & Jamie Muir
17.95 €
Dart Drug Honest Jon's
Disco
icon/play-white
2-LP
Various
27.95 €
Surinam Funk Force Rush Hour
Backorder
Disco
2-LP
icon/play-white
Various
27.95 €
Surinam Funk Force Rush Hour
Wave
icon/play-white
12"
Grauzone
12.95 €
Eisbär (original Art, 350g, official) WRWTFWW
Add To Cart
Rock / Pop / Indie
12"
icon/play-white
Grauzone
12.95 €
Eisbär (original Art, 350g, official) WRWTFWW
Reggae / Dub
2-LP
Various
37.95 €
Studio One Story Soul Jazz
Backorder
Reggae / Dub
2-LP
Various
37.95 €
Studio One Story Soul Jazz
Funk
icon/play-white
12"
The Pinch
15.95 €
Shot Out Peoples Potential Unlimited
Backorder
Funk/Soul
12"
icon/play-white
The Pinch
15.95 €
Shot Out Peoples Potential Unlimited
Reggae / Dub
icon/play-white
LP
Horace Andy
24.95 €
In The Light Dub (Original Artwork Edition) 17 North Parade
Backorder
Reggae / Dub
LP
icon/play-white
Horace Andy
24.95 €
In The Light Dub (Original Artwork Edition) 17 North Parade
Breakbeatz
icon/play-white
12"
No Moon
12.95 €
Where Do We Go From Here? Craigie Knowes
Backorder
Techno
12"
icon/play-white
No Moon
12.95 €
Where Do We Go From Here? Craigie Knowes