Mukunguni: New Recordings from Coast Province, Kenya

Mukunguni, a village in the Coast Province of Kenya, next to the Indian Ocean, is home to the Mijikenda tribe. These field recordings were made in 2011, but the nature of the sounds suggest that the musical culture has remained largely untainted by modern influences. The album opens with an interesting percussive passage beaten out on metal rings; a repeated rhythmic loop, supposedly performed to heal the sick. It could well prove quite annoying to first-time listeners, but fortunately only lasts for a minute and a half. Equally challenging are extracts played on the bung’o horn and the nzumari (an oboe-like instrument). Both are quite unpleasant atonal instruments, described pretty accurately by Honest Jon’s as ‘sounding like fierce free-jazz improvisation’. Much of this album’s music is intended to be healing music; some of the vocal performances might prove to be more therapeutic than the instrumentals. ‘Matatizo’, for example, is a Swahili love song recorded spontaneously at a bus stop with a beautiful female lead vocal and sweet melody. Equally pleasant is the female-vocal wedding song ‘Chela’. There’s some very lovely music on this album alongside some highly unusual interludes – which will either heal or potentially exacerbate any illness you might have.