Ceasefire rocks
Jonathan Richards | Queensland | 12/09/2005
(5 out of 5 stars)
"This album is simply brilliant. Why do the poorest people make the best music? More importantly, this album shows how music can help overcome internal strife and pave the way for future peace. It is so good to find an album like this that is musically and politically so uplifting. I wish them both all the luck in the world!"
The Peace Call & Deft Grooves of Ceasefire
Juan Mobili | Valley Cottage, NY USA | 02/19/2006
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Southern Sudanese Emmanuel Jal and Northern Sudanese Abdel Gadir Salim are the epitome of contrast. First, they represent the opposite ends of their country's political/religious, the former a young Christian, and Salim a Muslim and an elder of his country's music tradition.
Jal, now 25, was one of the thousand of young children forcefully removed from their homes by the insurgent guerrilla movement pitted against government forces. In Salim's case, having been brutally stabbed and barely surviving the attack of an orthodox Muslim man enraged with Salim's impious music, violence is no stranger.
Musically speaking, whereas Salim, Emmanuel Jal is an example of African music diving into Western music, most specifically his strong commitment to Hip-Hop. Salim is a consummate singer and oud player of Sudan's Folk music. So, "Ceasefire" besides not being a casual title, it is also a great album.
Proof of it, for instance are Jal's hip-hop influenced "Aiwa" -with its insistent percussion and dead-on rapping- or "Elengwen"-where the elder Salim trades verses with Emmanuel Jal-or "Gua," where chant-like choruses and an Eastern-leaning saxophone speak gloriously to one another. There are, also, more traditional Arabic songs, "Ya Salam" and "Lemon Bara" stand out, or you can sway along with the gorgeous "Asabi."
This is a stunning statement of two great musicians who could easily have chosen to remain enemies, but fortunately for lovers of great music anywhere in the world, they did not.
Recently, Sudanese rebel leaders and government ministers met to agree on a peace deal designed to end Sudan's 21-year civil war. If ever they hit a snag, they should play Ceasefire. Peace will have a better chance."