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Madagascar's Musical Time Machine
Tarika's Soul Makassar Connects with 1500 Year Old Roots in Indonesia
Tarika - Soul Makassar
Label: Triloka
This is not the first time that Madagascar's most-loved musical ambassadors have broken new ground by traveling back in time. Tarika is known for producing history lessons in party mode. Always taking a unique bent on the world, Tarika's new CD, Soul Makassar, released by Triloka Records on April 10, explores Madagascar's Indonesian roots after group leader Hanitra Rasoanaivo made a life-changing pilgrimage to Sulawesi. But it must be made clear that though Tarika is rooted in tradition, their music is made for today.
"It's always been strange to me to say that we play traditional music. Whenever you say that, people have this idea I've dug out some old stuff," says Tarika head Hanitra. "Because in Madagascar it's not like that. It's a living tradition, what we've got there. In other words, the things that we're playing now are the things they've been playing there hundreds of years ago and today too."
Around 1500 years ago, the first settlers of Madagascar—an island offthe eastern coast of southern Africa— were not from nearby Africa but from Indonesia. They were related to the same people who, 2000 years earlier, had begun to spread out and populate the Pacific, reaching Hawaii, Easter Island and New Zealand centuries before Europeans.
It was after Hanitra saw a documentary about Sulawesi—a central Indonesian island—that she first ventured there in 1999 to meet the descendants of their shared ancestors.
Hanitra spent an inspiring month among the Bugis, Makassar, and Torajan people. She found countless connections, similarities, and ghosts—food, beliefs, language, and customs—and was astounded that they were so strong after 1500 years of separation. She discovered startlingly familiar ancient burial customs, a close relation of Madagascar's valiha bamboo zither called the sasandu, and music that contains strong echoes of music from home. The core of this album came directly out of her Sulawesi voyage.
Tarika's last album, D, explored the energetic dance musics of many regions of Madagascar. Their Son Egal CD delved into Madagascar's relationship with Senegal—whose troops were used by France to suppress a 1947 anti-colonial uprising in Madagascar. Tarika's music is always steeped in uncompromising pride for their cultural roots while being joyfully mesmerizing to outsiders.
On Soul Makassar, Tarika is joined by some of Indonesia's top session players, many of whom can be heard with the Jugala All Stars—the recent band spearheaded by Sabah Habas Mustapha, who produced Tarika's latest CD. Tarika adds its signature modern Malagasy zest to this sound.
"Tradition for me should be live and kept alive all the time," said Hanitra. "And it shouldn't be boxed in any one little place; saying this is the pure stuff."
And that's just what Tarika has succeeded in doing: creating a living music tradition that combines authentic roots with a fresh sound that makes you want to dance.
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Black Pride in the Music of Peru
Various Artists - Planet Chant
Label: Times Square Records
A wooden crate, a tithing box, and the jawbone of a donkey. Not your typical musical instruments. But if it weren't for a ban on drums and marimbas placed on slaves by Spanish colonizers, Afro-Peruvian music wouldn't have developed its distinctive sound. Afro-Peruvians had to make do with what was at hand. The cajon—which evolved from crates used to collect fruit on farms—is a wooden box straddled by its player who bends down to beat the box by hand. The cajita is a small, lidded box in the shape of a trapezoid used for collections in Catholic churches. One hand claps the lid open and closed while the other beats the side of tlle box with a stick. And there is no mistaking the sound of the quijada de burro or donkey jaw. The side of this dried-out jawbone from a donkey is beaten with the player's palm, which resonates the tuning-fork shape causing all the loosened teeth to vibrate
This percussive backbone is joined by melodic guitar and passionate singing to form the heart of AfroPeruvian music—a genre that was coalesced by Peru Negro. It is widely accepted that during the time of the intemational black pride movements, this ensemble—founded by Ronaldo Campos de la Colina to preserve Peru's African heritage 30 years ago became the national standard other bands emulated. And they haven't let up yet. With such significant historical standing, it is with great joy that Peru Negro's first internationally-available recording, Sangre de un Don, will be released by Times Square Records in the United States on April 24, in conjunction with Dutch label World Connection.
For most music fans in the US, Peruvian music means Andean panpipes. While the African presence in such music kingpins as Brazil and Cuba are well known, Peru's African legacy has only recently gained major attention here. Furthermore, the legacy of slavery in Peru differed from elsewhere in the Americas in that slaves were brought from a wide variety of regions in Africa making cultural continuity virtually impossible.
It wasn't until 1995 when Luaka Bop released The Soul of Black Peru followed by Susana Baca's self-titled 1997 album that the general public became aware of the rhythms and sounds propagated on Peru's coast by African slaves brought to work in the mines. But anyone who heard these recordings was left yearning for more. Sangre de un Don is a welcome antidote.
Initially Peru Negro comprised 12 family members, dancers and choreographers as well as musicians. Now more than 30 people are involved and Peru Negro has become a proud institute of Peruvian culture. In Lima, the company runs their own school and junior troupe, Peru Negrito, from which they recruit new members. Peru Negro has performed all over the world and has been appointed officially as "Ambassadors of Peruvian Culture" by the government. Their album, whose title translates directly as "Blood of a Gentleman" (but may be more aptly understood as "Heritage of a Gentleman") is dedicated to founding member Ronaldo Campos de la Colina. Ronaldo's son Ronny Campos wrote most of the songs on the new CD. The album also includes the beautiful classic Peruvian songs Ruperta, Samba Malato, and Machete En Su Cuna.
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Celtic Music: A Complete Guide
From Ancient Roots to Modern Performers: The Music of Ireland, Scotland, Wales and Beyond.
By June Skinner Sawyers
Da Capo Press
Softcover
This book is the first guide that charts Celtic music from its ancient roots through its modern performers.
Celtic music means many things to many people. To some it recalls the Irish rebel songs of the Cloancy Brothers, to others then ensemble playing of the Chieftains or Enya's ethereal vocals. Yet Celtic music is much more than reels, jogs, and sentimental ballads; it is also unaccompanied singing, feverish fiddle tunes, the sweet strains of the Irish uileann pipes. It comes not just from Ireland and Scotland but from Wales, Brittany, the Isle of Man, and Cornwall. it informs the musical roots of Van Morrison and U2, the performances of Riverdance, and the scores for such films as Braveheart and Titanic.
Celtic Music: A Complete Guide explores all aspects of this music - from its roots to the exciting developments on the contemporary scene. Sawyers profiles hundreds of artists, and compiles suggestions for recommended listening as well as the 100 Essential Celtic Recordings. Lists of Celtic festivals and publications are also included, together with record outlets, record lavels, and music schools, making this book essential for all lovers of the music.
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