Wednesday, May 27, 2009

I Just Can't Live Without My Radio!

Man, is that cool or what. I just have a radio or some headphones on when I work in the garden. These guys actually get drummers and dancers that accompany them to the fields to work! Here is an audio sample courtesy of DrumSkull Drums in Santa Cruz, CA.
This is the front of the album cover. The back of the album is farther down.

The Malinke people who inhabit the savannah woodlands of upper Guinea are intimately connected to the land on which they live. They live as subsistence farmers in a harsh environment, where mere survival requires great strength and hard work. At the heart of their culture is an ancient music that accompanies almost every significant event of village life. This music is a vehicle for joy and sorrow, which is expressed through song and dance. When they head out to the fields, farmers are often accompanied by the village musicians, whose music helps set a tempo for the work. Imagine groups of farmers singing and moving to the rhythm of the music while they work - it is a beautiful sight. In this recording Mansa Camio and his group Sofoli play traditional Malinke music that would normally accompany farmers as they work in the fields.*



*From the cd description at DrumSkull Drums.

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