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We are Buying Houses in Colorado Springs Today. Any Location or Condition.
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While this beautifully frenzied piece might be a challenge for some, I think it could be one of the more historically interesting tracks I’ve posted in a while. This recording is among the very first ever made in Uganda, meant for Ugandans. It’s exceptionally rare, and it has an interesting history.

In 1930, there was a mad rush by the four major European record companies to explore the East African market, likely based somewhat on the sales success of the Gramophone Company’s first recordings of East African musicians (Zanzibari musicians, to be specific) made in Mumbai, beginning in 1927. By the time Spring of 1930 came around, the Gramophone Company had sent engineers back to East Africa to make additional recordings, Columbia was recording in April of 1930 on Zanzibar and in Dar Es Salaam in Tanganyika, and Pathé would soon ship Kenyan musicians from Mombasa to record taarab music in Marseilles. The successful German conglomerate Odeon was also recording in East Africa in the Spring of 1930, having sent engineers to Mombasa to record taarab music, but – unlike the other companies – also to Kampala, Uganda, to make that country’s first commercial recordings.

The country now known as Uganda was, in 1930, a British protectorate, and would remain one until its independence in 1962. It fell under British rule during the infamous period known as the “Scramble For Africa,” and in 1894 it officially became known as the British Protectorate of Uganda. During the run-up to British occupation, Protestant ministers began appearing in the country as missionaries, some of whom were hosted by the CMS, the Church Missionary Society, a Protestant organization founded in 1799 as The Society for Missions to Africa and the East. Naturally, the relationship between the church and the local population must have been (and likely still is) extraordinarily complex, and it would be a mistake for me to expound upon it here, as I can’t claim expertise in the slightest.

But, getting back to Kampala in 1930: on their trip, the German engineers from Odeon likely went to Mombasa in Kenya first, where they recorded 215 individual titles (the equivalent of 107+ 78s), after which they went to Kampala where they recorded a comparatively slight 60 titles. By June of the following year, Odeon had pressed 108 discs of music from Mombasa – virtually every master take from the sessions – and only 23 discs of music from Uganda. These records seem to be all we have from the Uganda of 1930, and the only commercially recorded Ugandan music captured for the next 8 years or so, when the British HMV company began recording in Uganda for the first time.

Who organized these varied recordings? Surprisingly: the church, specifically the Church Missionary Society. Renowned African ethnomusicologist Klaus Wachsmann wrote about these discs in 1958, for the Journal of the International Folk Music Council:

The western pattern of mechanical and commercial distribution of music was late in reaching Uganda – the Uganda Broadcasting Service, for instance, started only in 1954 – and thus the musical prestige held by the Church and her school system was – but for indigenous folk music – hardly challenged from any quarter.

The contents of the first set of gramophone records made in Uganda in 1931 throw light on this issue. The set is remarkable in that it includes tribal African music of an extraordinarily pure and characteristic kind, and that these recordings were distributed through a subsidiary organisation of the Church whose prestige added much to the happy reception which these recordings were given. This was probably the first occasion on which the Church showed sympathy with indigenous folk song.

Paul Vernon, in his article on Odeon Records, found evidence that these recordings sold quite well (except for the church choir recordings, which apparently didn’t sell at all!) and local distribution was through the Uganda Bookshop. About 500 copies each were pressed, and there were plans to release the remaining tracks over the following two years, though this is unclear, as in 1931, Odeon merged with most of the operating record industry in Europe to form EMI.

I have a few of these Odeons from Kampala, and they are all starkly different in style. They feature the Christian choir from the Namirembe Cathedral, unaccompanied canoe songs, and today’s example, traditional songs featuring the thumping, plucked strings of the endongo bowl lyre, and the jittery bowing of Ugandan one-stringed tube-fiddles known as ndingidi. In this case, they are also accompanied by what sounds like a flute in the background. Hugh Tracey, when he recorded the same group over 20 years later, marveled at the group’s regal adornment of their instruments. The ndingidi and the endongo lyres were decorated with colobus monkey hair, and the hollow wood bowls of the endongo were laced with water lizard skin (the lacing is usually made from cow or calf skin). This is, in effect, royal court music, as the endongo has had a long association with Ugandan kings. These Odeon discs were well recorded in sonorous spaces, and if you’ve not heard this style of music before, you are in for a unique experience.

I am indebted to British ethnomusicologist and an expert on Ugandan music, Peter Cooke, who has enlightened me with regard to these particular recordings, and supplied the bulk of relevant information here, along with the works of Werner Graebner. After listening to the disc and examining the label, Peter explained that John Kasirie was the leader of this group, which was known as Abadongo ba kabaka, or “the King’s endongo band,” a changing group of musicians known to have been active since before the mid-19th century.

Peter introduced me to his colleague Dr. Sam Kasule at the University of Leicester, who graciously took some time and summarized the lyrics. The piece itself, the title of which is more properly written as “Ssabasajja omwana wa Nabijano,” translates to “Your Majesty, Child of Nabijano,” with “Nabijano” being another name for the Queen mother. A praise song, the singers extol the virtues of both the king and his mother, using the short form of Nabijano, or “Naba.” They declare that the king is different, special, and great (wanjawulo). The singer invites his musicians to join him in these praises, and they praise the Queen mother’s Mbogo – buffalo – clan (Dr. Kasule explained that in Buganda, princes belong to their mother’s clans).

John Kasirie with Abadongo ba Kabaka – Sabasaja Mwananwa Nabijano

Technical Notes
Label: Odeon
Catalog Number: A242052b
Matrix Number: BrO 352

With many thanks to Peter Cooke and Sam Kasule. Please check out Peter’s illuminating liner notes to the excellent Honest Jons release Something Is Wrong, as well as his CD on Topic, The King’s Musicians: Royalist Music From Buganda-Uganda.

Above: A group of musicians from Kyambogo National Teachers’ College, ca. 1967-1968. The endongo player is Bulasio Busuulwa, and the ndingidi player to his left is Christopher Kizza. (Photo by Peter Cooke.)

Below: Ugandan lyre ensemble, ca. 1949-1953. Photo taken by Klaus Wachsmann.

Excavated Shellac is back.

After a much needed 3-month break to regroup, I’m back with a number of posts either completed or in the works. So, stay tuned and keep checking in – the ES Facebook page is also back in action.

Starting off this flurry of activity is an intense, trance-like guitar and vocal piece from what was once Portuguese East Africa, now the present-day Republic of Mozambique. Under Portuguese rule until independence in 1975, Mozambique is known for several singular types of music, among the most well-known being the timbila music of the Chopi people, played with mbila xylophones, and the urban music known as marrabenta.

Like its neighbor South Africa, Mozambique is a large country with many musical styles, cultures, and influences. Very little has been written about traditional Mozambican records made prior to independence and the 45 rpm era – although, one major and unsurprising exception is the writing and recordings made by Hugh Tracey. Tracey’s recordings of Chopi timbila performances, for example, are renowned, and many of them have since been lovingly reissued on Sharp Wood CDs. He wrote a book about the music of the Chopi which, like his other early books, sadly remain out of print. Lesser known are the tracks Tracey recorded by the Tswa people, and the amazingly beautiful “sambas” and “rhumbas” by groups of musicians from Manjacaze.

Also lesser known are the host of guitarists and singers who played what was then known as “Portuguese Shangaan guitar” – the hard edged style that would eventually become known as marrabenta, usually played in the southern regions of the country. The Shangaan are a sub-group of the Tsonga people, though “Shangaan” is also considered a variant name for the Tsonga language. And the word “marrabenta” actually derives from the Portuguese word “rebentar,” which means “to break”…as in, these players are playing their guitars so hard and for so long, that they’ll break the strings!

For the Gallotone label, Tracey recorded many excellent guitarists and singers who played this proto-marrabenta music, mainly in the 50s, and some have found their way to CD. But other South African commercial labels also recorded “Shangaan guitar,” and those have been lost to time for the most part. I cannot determine exactly when this style first appeared on disc, but I am guessing by the late 1940s there were several Tsonga/Shangaan guitar discs in circulation.

This obscure track dates from the early 1960s, sung by the “Virgin of Mozambique,” a woman named Rosa D. Mataveia. It was issued on the USA label, which was a South African label in the Gallotone family. I could find nothing on her history or background, but if this is all she left us, then we can still be thankful.

Virgem de Moçambique – Nwamakuladzumba

Label: USA (South Africa)
Catalog Number: USA.187
Matrix Number: ABC.19648

For more early Mozambican guitar, definitely check out Forgotten Guitars from Mozambique on Sharp Wood (from original tapes). Opika Pende contains two cuts from 78s (Disc 4, Tracks 4 & 11), and so does The Secret Museum of Mankind (East Africa, Tracks 2 & 18), as well as the Musique Populaire Africaine CD on Buda Musique (Tracks 1-2). And check the Sharp Wood CDs for additional Chopi, Tswa, and other Mozambique field recordings by Tracey.

The next Awesome Tapes From Africa LP release is by Hailu Mergia, the Ethiopian one-man-band accordion/keyboardist extraordinaire. Hailu made his name in Walias Band and later went on to do some visionary solo recordings. Hailu Mergia's beautiful and surprising 1985 foray into traditional Ethiopian songs via analog synth, electric piano and accordion has been remastered and will be available June 25 on LP/CD/MP3/C60.

My New Blog/Mon Nouveau Blog

Our friends over at Comb and Razor have dropped an amazing debut compilation, complete with 80 page mini-magazine. If Dizzy K, Kris Okotie and Bayo Damazio ring bells, this is definitely for you. Watch the video below then head over to combandrazor to find out more.

An hour of global cover songs started off the show, celebrating the musicianship and life of reggae icon Bob Marley, who would have turned 65 tomorrow. Not your regular reggae show...one listener even described it as "trippy." Plus new releases and more in the second hour. Congrats to the listeners who won the CD and ticket giveaways this week.

Global Reggae-Tribute to Bob Marley: Spin The Globe playlist for 5 February 2010
as heard on radio KAOS, 89.3 FM


Listen/download for a limited time at: soundroots.podomatic.com
More show info at spintheglobe.earball.net

Hour 1
Dhol Foundation  -  Colours of Punjab (theme)  -  Big Drum Small World
Ojos de Brujo  -  Get Up Stand Up  -  Backspin
Yeshe  -  No Woman No Cry  -  World CitiZen
Yat-Kha  -  Exodus  -  Re-Covers
African Showboyz  -  Three Little Birds  -  Spiritual Song
Ruia & Ranea  -  Maakona Tamaroto (Satisfy My Soul)  -  Waiata of Bob Marley
Nenes  -  No Woman, No Cry  -  Cover the World
Liam Teague  -  Jammin’  -  Impressions
Joshua Lebofsky  -  Redemption Song  -  Play a Little Prayer
Karamelo Santo  -  So Much Trouble in the World  -  El Baile Oficial
Wyclef Jean  -  No Woman No Cry  -  The Score OST
Ruia  -  Koingo Atu Nei Kia Koe (Waiting in Vain)  -  Nehenehe Nui

Hour 2
Them Mushrooms  -  Tribute to Bob Marley  -  Kazi Ni Kazi
Bob Marley  -  One Love/People Get Ready  -  Legend
Tommy T  -  East-West Express  -  The Prester John Sessions
SambaDa  -  Sangue African  -  Gente
Soweto Gospel Choir  -  O’Nkosi Yam  -  Grace
Jerry Leake  -  Geo  -  Cubist
The Erev Ravs  -  Naphtaly’s Freylach  -  advance single
Farafina  -  Nening  -  Kanou
Rag Dharma  -  Rag Jog (excerpt)  -  Live at the Mark
Mahotella Queens & Ulali  -  Ma’ Africa  -  1 Giant Leap
Bakithi Kumalo  -  African Mountain  -  In Front of My Eyes
Buena Vista Social Club  -  Chan Chan  -  World Circuit Presents…


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• Bob Marley Trivia (psychedelichippiemusic.blogspot.com)

SoundRoots

No, SoundRoots isn't setting you up with a journey to the Great Beyond to converse with the late great father of Afrobeat. But Afropop Worldwide has the next best thing: a contest that will result in two people receiving airfare to New York, a hotel stay, and tickets to the Broadway musical FELA!
Is it a good show? I haven't seen it, but Ben Brantley's review in the NYT begins thusly:

There should be dancing in the streets. When you leave the Eugene O’Neill Theater after a performance of “Fela!,” it comes as a shock that the people on the sidewalks are merely walking. Why aren’t they gyrating, swaying, vibrating, in thrall to the force field that you have been living in so ecstatically for the past couple of hours?

And since the contest is free to enter, you should head over to Afropop.org where you can get more details and enter right up through Valentine's Day.

Seun Kuti talks about FELA!
And a little glimpse of the show itself:






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• Theater Review | 'Fela!': Making Music Mightier Than the Sword (theater.nytimes.com)

SoundRoots