Wednesday, July 26, 2023
Saramaccan Sound (Suriname) release single ahead of WOMAD
Brotherhood is the key for the first single from the Surinamese siblings’ new album
© Marilena Umuhoza Delli
A new name to us, Saramaccan Sound (Suriname) today release a single, ‘One Mother, Two Hearts’, on Glitterbeat Records. Consisting of Surinamese brothers Dwight Sampi and Robert Jabini, the group will top off the week with a performance at WOMAD.
The group were discovered by producer Ian Brennan as he headed deep into the Amazon region of Suriname in search of music. Their upcoming album, set for release in 2024, was recorded on the front porch as the brothers sang non-stop through the night, emptying bottles of rum in the process. The last song they recorded was this first single, 'One Mother, Two Hearts', written on the spot about their brotherhood; its lyrics translate as ‘We come from the same mother, But different fathers. We have two hearts, But one mother. We are not half-brothers, We are whole. We are brothers. Two, But one.’
The duo sing in Saramaccan, which is influenced by English, Portuguese and various West and Central African languages without sounding quite like any of them. It is said that it's the language from the Americas with the highest percentage of African-originated vocabulary.
Their upcoming album was produced by Ian Brennan, who has worked with Tinariwen, Ustad Saami and the late Yanna Momina, and will be released in January 2024 as part of Glitterbeat’s Hidden Musics series.
The duo will be appearing at this year’s WOMAD festival, on Sunday 30 July, 3pm to 4pm, on the Ecotricity stage.
