Label: Original Music – OMA 107 Series: Contemporary African Music Series Format: Vinyl, LP, Compilation Country: US Released: 1987 Genre: Folk, World, & Country Style: Folk, African
A collection of stunning and properly transportive love songs recorded in late 80’s Somalia by respected American Ethnomusicologist John ‘Storm’ Roberts for his own Original Music private press.Different from the University or Government funded ethnographic record labels such has Musicaphon or Ocora, Original Music operated as a husband and wife mail order operation out of their New York apartment, with Robert’s regularly making trips to Africa to record and learn more about musical traditions.These recordings give a snapshot of contemporary music in Somalia in the late 80s, undertaken in a generic small coastal town named Baraawe and all deal with the topic of love.Given Somalia’s proximity to the Arabian peninsula and it’s Islamic heritage, it’s no surprise that there’s a strong Arabic and Middle Eastern feel to these recordings, augmented with various other imported elements that come naturally to a being a costal nation.Cheap rhythm boxes, toy organs and portable harmoniums presumably brought in from China, India or Japan filter into the recordings, giving a contemporary lift to the centuries old traditional instrumentation, whilst the flute that features is a home-made version cut off from a plastic tubing demonstrating ingenious economy and making the most of what’s available.Feels like Somalia is only ever in the news for all the wrong reasons these days but this record is a reminder that timeless music can flourish absolutely anywhere regardless of the circumstances.. (NM.NM)
