The Moon has Risen: Zanzibara Vol 6

If you get a chance to see the Mtendeni Maulid Ensemble, don't miss it. They are a group of young Sufis from Zanzibar who perform a style of religious incantation called Maulidi ya Homu, with dramatic arm and body movements, that is simply breathtaking. I've seen them in performance at Sauti za Busara in Zanzibar, at the Fes Festival of Sacred Music, and in one of their daily rehearsal sessions in Stone Town (see Postcard in Songlines #80). The audience reactions are always ecstatic.

The music is quite simple – call-and-response vocals over a rhythmic bed of drums – and much of the impact of their performance is visual. They start with delicate hand and arm movements and build up to a moment when the front row of performers are throwing themselves forwards and backwards like waves. Certainly nothing can match the visual experience, but the music on this CD is mesmerising – the balance of voice and drums is excellent and the different pitches, textures and rhythms of the drums is more interesting than I remember. And then there are the sudden yelps, shrieks and what sound like squeals of joy that punctuate the music. Over 20 minutes or so the two main tracks build up to dramatic climaxes. It's powerful listening – and also an important document of a unique style of Zanzibari music. Ideally, of course, it would have been great to have a video track, but these discs are well-packaged with good notes, translations and pictures.