Ritmundo

fri 22 nov 2024 20:00 hrs

Episode 18: African Renaissance II

African culture is having a revival this year in museums, the club circuit, on the dancefloor and on recently released albums. We will look at some intriguing crossovers and surprising fusions that took place since our ‘African Spring‘ episode on 22 March.

The group DJAM! is touring The Netherlands: they form a vibrant collaboration of guitarists Joep Pelt (The Netherlands) and Bounali (Mali), who discovered each other through Instagram.

The Ghanaian / Dutch trumpet player Peter Somuah reworks Ghanian highlife music through the influences of Miles Davis and Hugh Masekela.

The Flemish/ Senegalese trio Tamala becomes a quartet, adding a guitar and harmonica, and take on American blues, as we can also hear in the music from the Soba group (Burkina Faso).

The guitar is dominant in Etran de L’Air’s Sahel sound, and the Afro Celt Sound System and Jake Blount combine blues with other musical genres. Mulatu Astatke, the ‘Quincy Jones of Ethiopia’, reinvented himself in his collaboration with the Hoodna Orchestra.

All show the renewed passion that started spontaneously this year, next to popular styles as afrobeats and amapiano.

Playlist:

1) Peter Somuah & Gyedu-Blay Ambolley- Chop Chop- NL/GHANA
2) Peter Somuah & Lamisi Akuka- African Continent- NL/GHANA