Kadodi

The transliteration of ritual practice to the club dance floor is always an interesting – and often politically charged – move. The Domadana Kadodi group perform highly percussive rites that induce listeners into a trance state and this release from Nyege Nyege Tapes presents their spiritual endeavours alongside more modern interpretations.

Accordingly, Kadodi is split into two halves: two recordings of the group captured in Mfumba village in Eastern Uganda, followed by ‘club’ remixes. The live recordings capture the transition from basinde (boyhood) to basani (manhood) and they are relentless, unforgiving and utterly enthralling, emblematic of the coming-of-age process itself. Sun C's ‘Kaad 4’ offers a fully quantised remapping, locking the groove to a grid. Synthetic whistles abound and the percussion lines are resolute for its ten-minute duration. Often too much to bear, this overt technological overhauling is nonetheless commonplace among the vanguard of East African producers.

Similarly Bamba Pana is at the forefront of the singeli scene in Tanzania, throwing hyper-rhythmic acoustic tracks into his laptop. ‘Wateranga’ operates at lightning speed but also allows the nuance of its source material to shine through.

Kadodi is a ferocious listen, but it's also a remarkable insight into traditional practice and its remapped social function on the dance floors of East Africa.