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Beautiful, atmospheric music meshed with politics:
I first heard some of the songs from this album on the NPR program Afropop Worldwide in the spring of 2005. 'Rise Up' has been available as a download from the Calabash Music website since April 2005 (when I purchased it), but was only released in CD form in July 2006. It's a shame that it has taken so long for the rest of the world to learn about this album, because for me this album is the fulfillment of a sound I had been seeking for much of my life. I had long enjoyed the sinuous guitar lines that graced songs like Paul Simon's 'Crazy Love, Vol. II' (Graceland) and '(Nothing But) Flowers' by the Talking Heads (Naked), and wanted to find African music of the sort that had inspired those melodies. 'Rise Up' , though released two decades after those songs, is everything I had been looking for: rich guitar melodies, organ loops reminiscent of Marleyesque Reggae, sweet vocal accompaniment by the backup singers, and Mapfumo's own gruff, world-weary voice as it expresses dissatisfaction with what has happened to his Zimbabwean homeland under the regime of Robert Mugabe (Mapfumo is living in exile in the United States). The guitar melodies, which first drew my attention, mimic those of the traditional mbira thumb pianos of Mapfumo's Shona people. It's funny that music with such an acerbic political message (just look at the song titles!) can simultaneously convey images of lush tropical rain forests, cool waterfalls, and colorful tropical birds... OK, maybe that's just my interpretation--buy this album and listen for yourself, for it will take you to amazing places too.
the lion is power:
WOW! THOMAS MAPFUMO POWER LIFE LOVE PEACE come share in the soulful african bliss.
| Binding: | Music Download | | Genre: | international-music | | Publication Date: | 2006-07-18 | | Release Date: | 2006-07-18 | | Running Time: | 0 seconds |
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