|
|
 |
CD Review
|
| Click Here to go back. |
muzikifan, CD Review >>
This is traditional music from the Indian Ocean islands of Comoros. I bet you can't point to it on a map. Me neither. It's a group of four "spice" islands and was inhabited by Indonesians who intermingled with Bantu Africans and people from Zanzibar. Nawal calls her sound Sufi music, but it's not necessarily Indian. Nawal sings in Comorian, English and French and plays gambusi and guitar. The gambusi is a small stringed instrument (originally Yemeni) with a banjo quality. Her brother Idriss Mlanao plays contrabass and sings harmony. An American woman, Melissa Rigoli, plays percussion and an mbira. Nawal was surprised, on visiting the USA, to hear Americans playing the Zimbabwean mbira which reminded her of sounds from back home. Overall, the mood is restful and floats along with hints of Malagache music, anchoring it a bit closer to Africa than India. But there are Arabic influences too. The mbira reminds me of Stella Chiweshe's trance grooves, but the contrabass and finger-cymbals add layers that make it even dreamier. One definite plus is the sound quality. It was recorded without overdubs in a live setting which gives warmth and richness to the overall tone. The songs in French tell us that Comoros was a French colony until 1975 but even with (or because of) the presence of "enlightened" Europeans, the women were kept shut away. Nawal is the first Comorian woman to perform on stage playing a musical instrument. The long trance number "Ode a Maarouf," in honour of her great-grandfather, a famous Sufi marabout of Comoros, is outstanding. 06/01/07 >> go there
|
| Click Here to go back. |
|
 |
|
|
|
