The River

Geoffrey Oryema

Released 05 October 1993

  1. The River (The Eno Mix)
  2. The River (Edit)
  3. Suzanne
  4. Land of Anaka

Liner notes

‘The River’ is the lead single from Geoffrey Oryema‘s 1993 sophomore album Beat The Border. Featuring a remix by Brian Eno, Geoffrey performed the song live on The Today Show in the USA with Peter Gabriel whilst on the 1994 WOMAD tour of North America.

The album was included in Q Magazine’s Top 50 albums of 1993, and Billboard described it as ‘a harmonious marriage between traditional and Western influences.’

The official video for 'The River', directed by Michael Coulson

Further Listening

  • Beat The Border

    Geoffrey Oryema

    Released 26 September 1993

    On this album, the powerful roots of Oryema's African heritage have a more subtle influence on the music. The songs are now more universal, expressed in English, his second language, and influenced by guitarist Jean-Pierre Alarcen's pop-rock roots.

Further reading

Classic Sheila Chandra trilogy set for re-issue

British Asian World Music pioneer Sheila Chandra’s landmark trilogy of albums set for re-issue.

Simon Emmerson (1956–2023)

Peter Gabriel remembers the life and musical career of Simon Emmerson.

Sheila Chandra: The pursuit of radical vocal expression

Sheila's trilogy of albums for Real World is being re-issued on CD, and on vinyl for the first time.

Track of the day: ‘Sajanava’ by Jasdeep Singh Degun

Sajanava is taken from Jasdeep Singh Degun's debut album Anomaly.