"Sophisticated anthology favors rural grace over urban flash. Some highlights from Algerian Djura's all-but Celtic fife and fiddle; the stunning Guinean voice of Sekouba Bambino; Zimbabwe's Stella Chiweshe, and D'Gary's firm and correct guitar dexterity with girlie chorus and band, compellingly passionate from Madagascar. A great choice of tracks." - - fRoots "... does an admirable job of the daunting task of attempting to demonstrate the scope of musical traditions on the African continent... A well-chosen compilation with informative liner notes gives a nice overview of the rich tapestry that is the Music of Africa." - Sean Westergaard, Allmusic.com

Press info from the record label
Africa is the mother of us all. The huge continent looms like a titan,cresting above the equator while its foundation is practically nestled in Antarctica. The human race probably originated there, as did literally thousands of non-Euro-centric musical traditions. This is not terribly surprising, given the uncountable millions dwelling amid a bewildering assortment of religions, customs, and languages, making their homes on plains, deserts, and mountains, along jewel-like seashores and slow-moving rivers, in jungles and savannahs. What is unusual is that this vast and miraculous musical dissemination was largely accomplished by unwilling ambassadors, men and women brutally torn from the bosoms of their families and sold into hopeless servitude. These kidnapped laborers were taken to North America, South America, and the Caribbean, arriving stripped of everything but their essential dignity and memories of home. Their unconquerable humanity, as realized through their music, utterly transformed their slavemasters’ banal little ditties. The charanga, merengue, samba, compas, ska, rumba, choro, zouk, cumbia, cha cha, son, rara, and calypso, to say nothing of the blues, jazz, salsa, rock n’ roll, rap, and reggae, are an important part of their living legacy.

Back in Africa, local music forms of course continued to evolve. While the drum and related instruments are the primal essence of several traditions, it is incredibly naive to assume that all African music is strictly rhythm-based. Some styles meet the beat halfway, drenching it in delirious song. For example, in Congolese soukous (track 9) the guitars not only mirror whatever the percussionists are doing, but sometimes even overwhelm them, all the while laying down silky-sweet strands of chiming melody. In other cultures, music is expressed almost entirely through melody and rhythm exists only to keep various voices in synch with one another. South African Zulu a cappella choirs (track 14) typically contain sophisticated, adventurous harmonies and dissonances, a fact that has not gone unnoticed in modern classical circles.

During the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, as world travel and commerce became more commonplace, musicians from the continent and Diaspora began to influence one another more directly. Centuries of European colonial rule in Africa had resulted in home-grown styles closely related from afar to those developed in exile. For example, the Cape Verdean morna (track 2 of this compilation) and Angolese semba are both sung in Portuguese and would not sound out-of-place in Brazil. As well, several blues-like grooves blossomed, notably in Mali (track 5) which has led to endless - and fairly pointless - learned arguments about who heard what, from whom and when. However, other blends are the direct result of admiring emulation from either side. Senegal’s African-Latin crossover sound (track 3) was born of hometown tinkering with the Cuban and Puerto Rican tunes that had made landfall in the great port city of Dakar. By the nineties, New York and its pool of legendary salsa musicians were only a flight away and so that circle was finally sealed and an old debt paid in full.

Aside from its beauty and staying power, contemporary African music remains staggeringly diverse. Praise-singing keepers of a millennium’s worth of oral history perform alongside romantic poets, pop idols, protest singers, sex symbols, funksters, and hip-hop mavens. Rural acoustic troubadours ply their trade at roadsides leading to burgeoning cities, where musicians record in up-to-date studio facilities, communicate via email, buy instruments online, and employ every type of electronic gizmo. Collaborations between African and western superstars are commonplace. Busy enclaves of expatriate musicians either reside in the west fulltime or commute back and forth,importing new revelations to eager ears wherever they touch down. Some listeners, especially busybodies who have never set foot on the continent,have expressed concern about a perceived loss of authenticity but they needn’t trouble themselves. Today’s innovations will inevitably become tomorrow's folkways and nobody understands African music better than the people making it.

1 Djura (Djurdjura) feat. Marwane - A Wi Cur (Patience) Djurdjura was formed by Djura, who was born in a remote Kabyle (Berber) village and rejected by her mother for being a girl. She now dedicates her songs to "all women who have been deprived of love, knowledge, and freedom."

2 Bana - Africa Um Dia Bana, a gentle giant and true singing poet, is now quite elderly. Heartbreak recognizes no gender and his fractured, soulful baritone will add another dimension to the understanding of listeners who have only experienced the morna according to Cesaria Evora.

3 Africando - Mathiaky This lament for dead friend is set against an inexorable Cuban charanga string section and sung by gravel-voiced salsero, Pape Serigne Seck. Sadly he succumbed to liver cancer at age 48, not long after these sessions were completed.

4 Sékouba Bambino - Na Soumbou Sékouba ‘Bambino’ Diabate’s parents were both djelis, or hereditary musicians and oral historians. He passed through the legendary Bembeya Jazz band, becoming lead singer before going solo. His intricate vocals harbour an unmistakable Islamic cry.

5 Issa Bagayogo - Kouloun "Techno Issa" is perhaps best-known for club-oriented music, but he is also a master of the kamélé n'goni, or hunters harp and is heard here in more traditional vein. He records at Studio Bogolan, which was partly funded by Malian guitarist Ali Farka Touré.

6 S.E. Rogie - Joejoe Yalal Joe The undisputed king of Palm Wine Music, his mellow guitar and smiling vocals were perfect for celebrating the one alcoholic beverage that generally makes people happy but not stupid. His death in 1993 was a sad loss to convivial souls everywhere.

7 Haruna Ishola and his Apala Group - Kosi Ninu Eiye It was said that his voice was so powerful it could kill but even so, every bigwig in Nigeria stood in line to be praise-sung by him. Set against insistent percussion and staccato back-up choirs, his singing evinces an almost frightening vitality.

8 Pierre Akendengue - Nwo Nwombi Poet, dramatist, composer, singer, activist; there is little that this elegant stylist has not succeeded at and his music is a rare amalgam of passion and intellect. Blind since his twenties, he has never let this slow him down.

9 Pablo Lubadika - Pense A Moi Best-known as a bass player, Pablo is also a master at wedding sweet melodies to compulsively danceable rhythms. This song has all the propulsive thrust, infectious charm, and engaging silliness that the soukous genre is known for.

10 Aster Aweke – Tizita (Memories) Already a star in Ethiopia, Aster arrived in the US to perform for the Ethiopian community Stateside and her style often incorporates generous doses of Ethiopian R&B. Here she sings a folk song, accompanied only by the traditional kraar.

11 Hukwe Zawose, Lubeleje Chiute & Dickson Mkwama (Master Musicians Of Tanzania) - Sisi Vijana Dr. Zawoses’ recordings have sometimes incorporated traditions from throughout Tanzania, but here it’s purely of the Wagogo – and serenely beautiful with plangent vocals and evocative improvisations on the ‘earthshaker’: a 13 stringed harp.

12 Stella Chiweshe - Huvhimi (The Vision For Hunters) Women were not permitted to play the mbira, or thumb piano, but she is the daughter of a famous political martyr and not inclined to tolerate outwardly imposed limits. This trance-like piece is meant to empower hunters before they leave the village.

13 D'Gary and Jihe - Miady Mafy The guitarist and his band are asking how many more people will be lost in sectarian struggle. The tune is deceptively cheerful-sounding, until the highly pitched, near-shrieks perched at the tops of the vocals begin to sink in.

14 Imilonji Kantu Choral Society - Nkosi Sikilele I’Afrika The South African national anthem is as much a prayer for those who are suffering as a confident paean to the future. Since the death of apartheid, this heartrending melody has become famous the world over; its poignancy speaks to people from all backgrounds.