Search - Golden Sounds Band :: Swahili Rumba

A beautiful cd

Rob W | Hoboken, NJ United States | 05/24/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"It seems to me that African guitar music has a bit of a 'learning curve' - it takes a bit of listening before it sinks in, and even over time people either love it or they just don't get it. Then again, that can be true of any music or cultural style. Actually this is a beautiful example of a band playing classic East African guitar band music, an earthy, organic variation on the classic Congolese style honed by legendary bandleaders like Franco, Rochereau, Grand Kalle and others in the post-colonial era. Not many recordings of this music have come our way lately, and Kenya like most of Africa is being swept by hip-hop so it's getting harder to hear real-live bands (as opposed to DJs and samples). So this is a throwback of sorts, not unlike Buena Vista Social Club in that regard. But like the music played by the Buena Vista folks, this music is far from dead - it's just bubbling a little under the radar screen. Indeed fans of Buena Vista may be interested in this cd. And if you caught the Senegalese band Orchestra Baobab on VH1 (or elsewhere) and found that to your liking, you'll definitely want to check out Golden Sounds and the East African guitar band tradition in general (another good introduction to this music is the sampler Rough Guide to the Music of Kenya). Compared to Baobab, the music is a bit airier, more upbeat, hookier even (Magnetic Fields fans take note). But it comes from the same wonderful historic moment where Cuban music, African music and the electric guitar came together in colonial and post-colonial Africa."