Les Amazones d’Afrique assert women’s freedom of expression with new single ‘Kuma Fo’
The track features on their forthcoming Jacknife Lee-produced album Musow Danse.
Wed, 25 October 23
The Drummers of Burundi first took the UK by storm at the legendary inaugural WOMAD Festival in 1982. They have been a major influence on such musicians as The Clash, Joni Mitchell, Echo and the Bunnymen, Adam and the Ants, Malcolm McLaren and Bow Wow Wow.
The Drummers of Burundi are Master Drummers from the small African country between Democratic Republic of Congo and Tanzania. Their performances are as much a spectacle of dance as music. A crescent of around a dozen great log drums, made from hollowed-out tree trunks covered with dried animal skins, are pounded by the drummers in traditional Burundi costume.
In the centre of the semi-circle, the painted Inkiryana lead drum is played by all of the drummers in turn before each piece ends. The drummers leap, twist and spin around the Inkiryana with tremendous energy, dancing with as much skill, expressiveness, and thunderous excitement as they drum.
The privilege of playing these drums has been handed down from father to son for generations. The drums are made from a tree which grows only in Burundi, and the Drummers plant the seeds of the trees to maintain their drum-making skills for future generations. Originally, the Drummers of Burundi accompanied the King on his travels. Today they play at local festivities, national events and are considered by the Rundi (the inhabitants of Burundi) to be the most important representatives of the country’s musical tradition.
The formidable rhythms of Burundi's most celebrated musical exports might have been heavily co-opted by Adam & The Ants and Bow Wow Wow along the way, but the sound remains all theirs. The Drummers were the heroes of the first-ever WOMAD Festival in 1982 and, ten years later, pitched up at Real World Studios where they immortalised their art with this deeply hypnotic performance. Raw, heady and immediate, this record is a one-way ticket to the pumping heart and soul of the mother continent.
Various Artists
A celebration of the great resilience and creativity of the people of Africa. In the face of the ravages of AIDS, the powerful and beautiful music recorded here is the expression of this indomitable spirit.
Various Artists
The symbiotic relationship between WOMAD and Real World Records was apparent from day one. When, in 1989, the record label was born, it immediately joined its seven-year-old big sister in the vanguard of introducing the world's finest music to our ears.
The track features on their forthcoming Jacknife Lee-produced album Musow Danse.
Wed, 25 October 23
John Metcalfe reveals new track Root to Leaf, taken from his album, Tree. Eight compositions chartin...
Wed, 30 August 23
Sajanava is taken from Jasdeep Singh Degun's debut album Anomaly.
Fri, 08 April 22
Sheila's trilogy of albums for Real World is being re-issued on CD, and on vinyl for the first time.
Fri, 28 April 23