African Music – The Blog of Samite

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The definition of Kadongo Kamu is “single guitar” and it is the first type of music played in Uganda.

Though Africa has an ancient history with a music culture handed down through the generations, the music of Uganda is very much a story of the tumultuous 1980s.  There was another CD in the 90s featuring a group of Ugandan musicians referred to as the supergroup.   One of the Ugandan performers, Geoffrey Oryema, was involved in Peter Gabriel’s Real World Studios/Real World record label.

One of the most exciting developments is the blending of styles between the West and East Africa.  America with its hip hop element, is ripe for influence from the rhythms of World Music from Africa.

The home of Kadongo Kamu is the Wandegeya area of Uganda and it is more popular with the older population.  Some of the original artists are deceased but the symbol of this style of music is Bernard Kabanda.

Among the other premiere performers of Kadongo Kamu are Samite, Jose Chameleon, Bebe Cool, Radda Dee, Bobi Wine, Madoxx Ssematimba and Babaluku.  Some of the younger artists are merging traditional Ugandan sounds with rap in the mother tongue.

An article on Kadongo Kamu would not be complete without a mention of the passing of a great African musician, Fred Hannington Masagazi Muwonge.  Muwonge died in 2009 in hospital, he was considered the grandfather of Kadongo Kamu music.

He sang, played guitar and acted his music on stage in the 1960s and 70s.  Perhaps most significant, he achieved success tying Kadongo Kamu to the western version of country music.   Muwonge’s first hit was Atanawa Musolo which was released one year before Independence.

Masagazi Muwonge is survived by his wife, eight children and nine grandchildren, leaving a void in the hearts in all who were inspired by his groundbreaking music of Kadongo Kamu.

This African music blog presents a brief history of the rich culture of Africa and the music that now enjoys a worldwide following.

With one thousand native languages, it’s no surprise the history of African music is a patchwork tapestry of oral history passed down from one generation to another.  It is a western sensibility that attempts to catalogue and organize African music which is known under several categories such as global music, African music and world music.

Many scholars who studied African music are sensitive to the culture and to misunderstanding about its value.  Hugh Tracy from South African, Mngoma of South Africa and Makabuya of Uganda are concerned about the misunderstanding and misrepresentation of African culture by those who stereotype this intriguing country.

It is interesting to note that unlike western cultures, music and dance in Africa are not isolated as separate activities from the normal culture.  There are words that describe the particular acts of playing an instrument, singing and dancing, but they are largely seen as part of the broader text of communication that existed for centuries.

Dance and music go hand in hand in Africa.  Beginning at birth and continuing in ceremonies to name the child, to initiation ceremonies, farming activities, war declarations, religious services and finally, honoring the dead, music and dance are so intertwined that many African cultures do not have words that define music and dance.

For this reason some scholars, like Ndlovu believe that writing African music damages the integrity of the art form.  They assert there is no need to put African dance and music into words because it is purely a western tradition.  In fact, it dilutes the authenticity of traditional African art forms.

The one exception to this is African choral music which translates well into western documentation.  Whatever your taste, the information in an African music blog will likely sharpen your knowledge of this wonderful art form.

News about Samite “My Music World” is beginning to spread.  Our good and talented friend Samite Mulondo hosted a release of his latest CD, My Music World last February at the Corning Museum of Glass in Upstate New York.

Samite is a singer and musician of numerous instruments including the litungu lyre, finger piano and flutes.

Described as having a “slight folky edge in places”, with “gorgeous instrumental work”, this is Samite’s first release since “Embalasasa” in 2006, and his 17th CD overall in which he starred or collaborated with other performers.

My Music World has been much anticipated since earlier reviews of his work.  Billboard magazine described the sound this way: “Samite wraps his warm voice around melodies that seem to rise up off the Ugandan plateau, caressed by his kalimbas and other native instruments”.

The New York Post writes Samite “finely interweaves classical guitar, voice and the haunting plucked metal tones of the kalimba…a magnificent piece of music with an ancient quality to it.

Samite brings a true global sensibility to his music.  A native of Uganda, Samite learned how to play musical instruments from his grandfather.  A music teacher gave him another instrument to try when he was a pre-teen.  It was a western flute and it was magic in Samite’s hands.  Eventually he became a premiere flutist in East Africa.

By 1982 Samite fled Uganda and the dictatorship of Idi Amin and settled  in Kenya.  From there he went to Nairobi where he began to impress audiences with his singing in the Luganda language of his home and his instrument playing.

Samite emigrated to Ithaca, New York in 1987 and quickly established a following for his world music.  His CD entitled Tunula Eno topped the number 2 spot in the World Music Charts.

We have no doubt that Samite’s latest effort, “My Music World”, will be his most popular offering to date.  You may order the CD now by clicking this LINK or the banner on the right.

The Finger Harp is known by many names in Africa: mbira, kalimba and ikembe, though various regions of the continent use one name more than others.

This beautiful sounding instrument traces its roots to the 1920s and businessman Hugh Tracey who emigrated from England to Zimbabwe, formerly Rhodesia.  He came to assist his brother with a tobacco farm however he was quickly enchanted by the local culture.

Music was particularly intriguing to Tracey.  By the 1960s he created a kind of mbira called the kalimba which became popular throughout the world.  The performer is able to use both thumbs to play harmony and for that reason, the kalimba, translated as “little music”, is popular in the West.  The kalimba is also played in Asia, the Middle East and South and North America because of its ease of use.

The mbira is similar. Like the kalimba it uses wood and strings to produce sound.  The mbira has metal tongues called lamellas on top.  The sound box itself if made of wood or gourd, and demonstrating the industrious spirit of the African people, the metal keys are sometimes make from old mattress spring wire, bicycle spokes or the handles of spoons.

Sound is produced by plucking the strings with the thumbs, or thumbs and fingers.  It is common to find holes drilled into the sides of the box so the musician can vary the resonance and sound by blocking the holes.

All of the finger harps produce a sound that is well suited for diverse melodies and rhythms.  There are usually two melodic parts in the music created for this instrument; a kushaura and a kutsinhira, and the sound is typically a pattern of four 12 beat phrases.

The Finger Harp is often played along with other performers who clap and sing, making this instrument a joyful and soulful expression of African sound.

Click on the picture of Samite at the lower right to order his new CD, “My Music World”.

Many Traditional African Instruments evolved out of fabricating the instrument by hand, using materials available in the home.  Today they are made with fine materials and their popularity is growing around the world.

One of these instruments is a xylophone called a Balafon or Marimba.  It’s made from the Shea Butter tree that has been dead for many years and has released the oils from the wood.  That wood gets cut into boards and is further dried over fire pits.

The wood is cut into smaller pieces and combined with gourds to amplify the sound.  Sound is made by striking the planks with pieces of rubber made from old truck tires.  The professional Balafon is large and comprised of a hardwood frame with keys made from hardwood or metal.

African Bells are another traditional musical instrument and these were used as a means of communication between villages.  Many Bells come from Ghana but also from Nigeria and Cameroon.

The Nigerian Double Gong is 12 inches tall and produces two different gong sounds.  The toke bell is also called a Banana Bell for its oblong shape.  It is held in the palm of the hand and hit with a metal beater.  Small Toke Bells are 6 inches long while the large one is 10 inches.

There’s another class of instrument called shakers.  Most are made from wood and gourds and they produce a steady rattling sound.  One of the largest is a bead shaker, approximately 11 inches long and 8 inches wide.  A large shaker like this stands up well to the heavy percussive sound of drums and is preferred by many artists.

Drums are an important part of African music and there are many varieties available. Large and small, drums round out the unique and powerful sound made with Traditional African Instruments.

The purpose of African Wind Instruments is quite different from the musical instruments of the United States and Europe.

In Africa, musicians do not seek to produce a lyrical and melodious sound that is always pleasing to the ear.  There is a message in the music of Africa that is conveyed through the centuries from this second largest continent in the world.

The most commonly used instrument in World Music is percussion.  Whether it is a drum, rattle, bells, clapper or rattle, percussion speaks a language that bridges the many cultures and the 50 countries which comprise the African continent.

Wind instruments are not as prominent as drums in the music of this culture.  Their construction incorporates all natural materials made available by nature and produce a more subtle sound.  For example, some wind instruments are made from conch shells, animal tusks and horns or wood and gourds.

Pre-made musical instruments can be very expensive to buy in Africa so from an early age children are taught how to make their own.  In addition to the elements found in nature, children construct wind instruments from household items like pipes or even corn stalks.

As the sound of air passing over the material changes with the material itself, wind instruments in Africa have a very unique tonal quality.  Whether it is an ocarina, oboe, panpipe or whistle, these instruments add to the complex nature of the music.  Virtually anything can be used to create a wind instrument, even a can of soda pop.

Because traditional African music is not passed down in writing in the way music composition is passed to the next generation in the west, the instruments create patterns to the sound which are altered by the tone of the language.  It is the pattern of the music and African Wind Instruments that gets carried forth through the generations.

The Ensasi instrument is commonly found in traditional Ugandan music, particularly in east and central Uganda.

It is a class of musical instrument called a shaker, typically a gourd and sometimes modified to have a stick handle.  The gourd is hollowed out and filled with dried seeds.  This allows for a shaking motion that is a polyrhythmic companion to more melodic instruments like the mbira or fiddle.

There are various types of ensasi.  For instance, in northern Uganda the device has a different shape and it produces a unique sound.  This instrument moves from side to side to produce a continuous sound of beads moved within the shell.

Some ensasi have holes to produce a more hollow sound and some are made of tin and not natural vegetable material.

All musical instruments in Uganda play an important role in society.  They are a large part of the history and cultural heritage of the people by their existence in the fabric of therapeutic, psychological and social planes.

Ugandan musical instruments serve different functions within various communities which accounts for broad differences across regions with one instrument.  Some populations lived side by side and viewed their instruments in similar ways for like purposes, however other villages far from one another, with different politics and climate, evolved their music sometimes in opposite directions.  The same material could produce a vastly different sound for different occasions.

Traditional music of this country features drums, logs, xylophones and the shakers.  Along with the ensasi, other musical instruments of Uganda include the amadinda,  ennanga,  endingidi,  engalabi, enkwanzi and the sansa.

When visiting Uganda you may be able to purchase these works of art for the eyes and ears.  Along with the craft shops in the street stalls of Uganda, you can find traditional woodcarvings, basketry, and hand make instruments.  You might find an ensasi to bring home to your family.

Any discussion of African Music must include the various influences of other countries on the African Continent.

Northern Africa is dominated by Arabic culture.  South Africa is affected by Western styles.  So the most authentic African music is widely accepted to come from the central, or sub-Saharan part of the continent.

Most ancient societies use music as a means of communication and Africa is no exception.   In fact, the very language itself is musical, as the tone of delivery changes the meaning and context.   For this reason, African languages are considered “tone languages”.

Modern life has crept into sub-Saharan Africa.  Traditional music is getting harder and harder to find.   Today it is common to see blends of cultures in the music.  The Caribbean is present in songs which incorporate African and Western sounds.  Latin America makes its way into music of the Congo.  The United States’ history of swing is apparent in the music of South Africa.

Traditional dance and music of Africa are threatened with extinction so it’s vital that artists spread the importance of this cultural art form throughout the world.

One way this can be accomplished is with the unique sounding musical instruments used in African music.  In sub-Saharan Africa artists use resonant devices such as bells, the thumb piano or mbira, the xylophone and stamping tubes.

Drums are available in many varieties such as kettledrums, membranophones made from parchment, and drums of different shapes such as cylindrical, semicylindrical and barrel-shaped.  There are even drums in the shape of an hour-glass.

The indigenous animals of the continent are represented in other instruments.  Animal horns make up wind instruments like horns made of elephant tusks.  Other natural materials like wood and gourd, and millet stalks and reeds make flute-like wonders similar to the western flute.

It’s no wonder that African Music of yesterday and today is finding an appreciative audience worldwide.  It is with pleasure that we recommend Samite’s latest CD album, “My Music World” to bring you the type of music that Samite Mulondo appreciates and loves to share.

Click this link for a previous article about African Music.

Samite submits more free African music for you on this blog.

We received another message from Samite telling about how he struck up a recent conversation on the internet which resulted in a lovely song played on an old tin based Kalimba.

“I recently started a communication with a guy called Agustin on Facebook about Kalimbas.   He sent me a song he wrote and two days ago I wrote one for him.

My fans seem to like it very much.  I am getting a lot of people commenting on it.  Agustin who is from Argentina asked me if he could share this song with his parents.  I think the best thing would be to bring this song to our blog and share it there.

The Kalimba I played this song on is something I got from the Congo two years ago.  The song was inspired by my communication with Agustin on Facebook.

In the Congo the Kalimba is called Likembe. I have  attached a photo of it in this email.

Samite”

Old Tin Base Kalimba

You may listen to this song here:

Old Tin Kalimba

Some define the world music as any non-western music, but most people associate world music with that of a culture, played by native musicians with close associations to the music of their origin.  It is useless to define this genre as “any music of the world” since it is obvious any music of the world is of this world.

In an attempt to narrow the definition, world music incorporates scales and inflections that are ethnic in origin.  Often the music is played on traditional instruments like the sitar, steel drum, kora, didgeridoo or kalimba.

It is tempting to limit world music to traditional folk sounds, but that would give the art the short shrift.  World music can venture from classical to pop and to something urban.

Among the various kinds of world music are:

African music

Indian raga music

Japanese koto music

Tibetan chants

Music of the Balkan villages

Eastern European folk music

Tribal music of the Middle East

In the last century the homogenization of the world has allowed for frequent travel between countries, and the availability of affordable recording equipment has opened up cultures in a way that never occurred before.

With this new accessibility came the opportunity to mix and cross-over sound styles.  It hasn’t been all good.  In mixing the various cultures some of the authenticity and originality has been lost.  The uniquely localized traditions have merged with other tribes and cultures, watering down the historical significance of the art form.  Some of the hyper-local cultures have been lost altogether.

One of the cradles of world music is Paris, France which has attracted artists from North and West Africa.  Paris also encourages these foreign artists to perform concerts and advance the cause of their sound.

It is no surprise that the communities that embrace the world music and promote it are thanked for their efforts to continue this marvelous musical option.