Amadinda Sound System is the name of a multi-headed formation consisting of African and Austrian musicians which combines the traditional sound of Uganda with Western club culture. Now their first single will be released on Seayou Records this September.
AMADINDA SOUND SYSTEM: „THE BLACK PEARL TAPES VOL. 1″
Sound systems have a long tradition in Africa. As an association of like-minded people – musicians, singers and dancers – the collective spirit is in the foreground. Concerts often take place in the open street and have such a stirring effect that even bystanders start dancing. Amadinda Sound System follows this common impetus, but at the same time also a political goal. Two years ago, the project initiated by the NGO “Kulturen in Bewegung” brought together musicians from Uganda and Austria in Kampala, Uganda´s capital city, with the declared aim of bringing music that is happening on the global periphery into the focus of the Western world. Also present were producer Wolfgang Schlögl (I-Wolf), former member of the Sofa Surfers and the singer Barča Baxant. The first concert of the band was so convincing that the label Seayou Records wanted to release the recording.
Listening to The Black Pearl Tapes Vol. 1, it becomes clear why. The sound is electrifying, refreshing and danceable at the same time. It’s amazing how effortlessly Schlögl’s straight beats and unpolished electronics fit into the polyrhythmic patterns of his African colleagues. Their central sound generator is the Amadinda, an ungandan version of the xylophone, whose dampened, cheerful sound can be found on every track. The harp-like Adungu and the Akongo, a lamellophone, can also be found in the repertoire. These classically played East African instruments are complemented by dancehall and hip-hop vocals from different protagonists of the local scene. The songs are rapped and sung in lugandan and English.
Amadinda Sound System bridges the gap between tradition and modernity, folkloristic play and contemporary genres. It’s a tribute to openness and tolerance and magnificently delivers on the promise of networking across countries. The result is a bubbling fusion of African and Western sounds, that develops such a strong pull that it is impossible to keep your legs still. We can only hope for a “Vol. 2″.
by Shilla Strelka (translated by Dave Dempsey)
Links:
Amadinda Sound System (Bandcamp)
Seayou Records
Kulturen in Bewegung