Poetry and Languid Charm. Swahili Music from Tanzania and Kenya from the 1920s to the 1950sTopic Records TSCD936, 2007
01. Jauharah Orchestra - The Yearning Keeps Increasing in My Heart
02. Jauharah Orchestra/Nasor Khalfan - There Isn't One Who Wouldn't Desire You, If You Clean Yourself Up
03. Siti Binti Saad & Group - You Are a Cat
04. Siti Binti Saad & Group/Sheikh Mbaruk - Don't Be Greedy
05. Egyptian Musical Club - Sheikh Salim's Song
06. Ramazan Na Subeit Bin Ambar - Taksim (Improvisation) on the Nahawand Maqam-Song For Two Instruments
07. Children of the El-Hasanain Koranic School - Oh, Lord of Heaven
08. Egyptian Musical Club - I Am Ill, My Fellow
09. Siti Binti Saad & Ground - Cassava of Jang'ombe
10. Siti Binti Saad & Group/Sheikh Mbaruk - Like a Wodden Boat With Outrigger
11. Alwatan Musical Club - Ee, Baba Pakistani
12. Nahawand No.2 - Bom Amberon
13. Alwatan Musical Club/Layla Maulidi - There Is No End
14. Siti Ganduri/Party of Ras Maalim Rivue - I Am Done With Being Questioned
15. Maalim Abdi - I Desire a Flower (Love)
16. Alwatan Musical Club/M. Maftaha - Where Is the Message?
For those unfamiliar with the taraab musical tradition of East Africa--the haunting, Arabic-influenced ensemble music of the Swahili people - this excellent new collection from Topic Records is a great place to start. Ably compiled by African music scholar Janet Topp Fargion, the collection assembles some truly extraordinary recordings from a variety of mostly-defunct labels--large and small--from the last century. Such long lost labels as the Gramophone Company and Jambo Records recorded Swahili music both in-situ and in their recording studios in Bombay--where Gramophone once brought the legendary taraab singer Siti binti Saad to record in the 1920s. But where the collection truly comes to life is with the extraordinary 1950s field recordings by maverick English musicologist Hugh Tracey. Recording for South Africa's Gallo label, Tracey captured a multitude of taraab orchestras of the day; groups like Egyptian Musical Club, Alwatan Musical Club and soloists like violinist Bom Amberon. Thoughtful and extensive liner notes from Topp complete add valuable context to this excellent little record.
As recorded music developed in the early part of the 20th century, there was more and more pressure on commercial record labels to capitalise on indigenous music in Africa, Asia, South America and the Caribbean. This was not some sort of altruistic exercise, rather a market that was open to exploitation. On the East African coast, site of the present day Tanzania and Kenya, there was a “gold rush” fever in the 1930s to record the local music stars.
The music recorded was mostly “taarab”, sung poetry accompanied by an ensemble that played with both traditional African rhythms with Arabic influences and used Arabic and Indian instruments. This exciting music is being here released on CD for the first time, and has been remastered to produce outstanding sound quality from the original 78 rpm recordings.
320 kbps mp3, including full booklet scans
http://rapidshare.com/files/119046188/PaLC.SMfTaK.part1.rar
http://rapidshare.com/files/119047013/PaLC.SMfTaK.part2.rar
