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Journeys to the Roots of World Music
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Global Rhythm , Journeys to the Roots of World Music >>
Records to be listened to over and over, without the dry museum dust that often accompanies ethnomusicology
From the late '60s to the mid-'80s, the Nonesuch Explorer series helped shape the perception of world music, even if the genre didn't have a name back then. It brought to our ears music from around the globe, music radically different from anything we'd experienced. Now the 92 albums that made up the Explorer series are being reissued, the first batch being 13 discs from Africa, including one certified world music classic.
To be fair, these records aren't world music as it's generally marketed, around individual talents; for the most part, these are more specifically of ethnomusicological interest (or zoological, if you include the Animals Of Africa CD). Think of them as journeys to the roots of today's world music. In the hypnotic mbira, or thumb piano, of Zimbabwe you can hear the origins of Thomas Mapfumo's revolutionary chimurenga sound, as well as ideas that influenced musicians like Stella Chiweshe and Oliver Mtukudzi. The Ghanaian highlife record captures the country's popular music on the cusp of change, with the Cuban influence that was still pervasive in West Africa evident in the horns bouncing over richly percussive arrangements. And the Drum, Chant & Instrumental Music of West Africa contains plenty of surprises, like the bounkam solo, which sounds eerily like someone playing blues harp.
That isn't to say that volumes like Witchcraft And Ritual Music aren't interesting. There's a power to them, a raw depth that we in the West lost long ago but can still recognize on some atavistic level. The same is true of Ancient Ceremonies. We might not have a clue what they're about, but we somehow understand they have a meaning beyond celebration.
No one's going to claim this collection represents all of Africa. It's a series of snapshots into selected areas (how else do you explain that the tiny country of Burkina Faso warrants two discs, however magical they might be?), taken at certain times. All of Africa has moved on since then, as the world has become smaller and its people more aware of each other.
The odd one out in this initial group of 13 releases is also the one from North Africa, Hamza El Din's Escalay (The Water Wheel), which has to stand as one of the first world music classics, being released in 1971 and making El Din's reputation as both composer and oud player. A remarkable and daring work, the title track traces the actions and dreams of a boy working a typical desert water wheel, with El Din's playing masterful in its evocation of the scenes. "Remind Me" returns a modern work, by Egyptian composer Mohamed Abdul Wahab (written for the great singer Um Kalthoum) to a classic, acoustic style, while "Song With Tar" harks back to the traditional music of El Din's Nubia in its golden musical age at the beginning of the 20th century. It's a stunning record, no less so now than it was three decades ago, one of those completely timeless gems.
But timeless could describe so much of the Explorer series, like the forthcoming reissues of Music From The Morning Of The World or The Real Bahamas. These are records to be listened to over and over, without the dry museum dust that all too often accompanies ethnomusicology. We-not only those who love world music, but everyone with a mind curious about the world outside of our own-owe a huge debt to this series. To listen is to understand how groundbreaking this music was, and to realize how much of what we listen to now has come from here. To call these vital barely does them justice. 01/01/03
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