Sound Travels to East Africa all week and sorta concluded today with a tasty batch of Somalian funk, hip hop and traditional vibes. Maybe it's amazing that I even found this music as Somalia has been gripped by what seems like an endless civil war that has not only destroyed much of the country's infrastructure, but also a lot of recorded music. Be that as it may, you knew I'd dig deep and find some gems.
That said, I must give some credit to an amazing, Milwaukee-based blog called Likembe for some of this material. Likembe, one of the best African music blogs, got me hooked on the definitively funky 70's sounds of both Dur Dur and Iftin. While I know precious little about these obscure funketeers, Likembe seems quite certain that both bands were pretty apolitical in terms of content and that the songs are all about love, education and daily life. Whatever they are, they are also quite funky...
Dur Dur "Ilwaad Quruxeey" Rafaad Iyo Raaxo
Iftin "Haka Yeelin Nacakbeena" Iftin
The Second part of today's set meanwhile, was more modern in feel with music from Somali rapper du jour K'Naan rapping in English and Somali on a cut from his frst release The Dusty Foot Philosopher called "Hoobaale." While Maryam Mursal's "Kufilaw (or Take Care)" is a sort of East African example of afrobeat, with Mursal's soaring vocals setting the tone. Checkitout!
K'Naan "Hoobaale" The Dusty Foot Philosopher
Maryam Mursal "Kufilaw" The Journey
...and if you missed yesterday's Tanzanian set, here's what I played...
The Master Musicians of Tanzania "Lukunzi"
Mlimani Park Orchestra "Mtoto Akililia Wembe" Sikinde
Dataz "Mume Wa Mtu"
