Wachaga

Kutiman has a perceptive vision that transforms the everyday into something remarkable. His ThruYou video series cleverly interspersed lo-fi bedroom videos of individuals teaching music into fully fledged performing ensembles. This technique was taken to the next level for ‘Mix the City’, an audiovisual representation of varying metropolises, starting with Tel-Aviv in his home country Israel. Wachaga is a similarly bold reworking, this time of field recordings from the Wachaga nation based in the foothills of Tanzania.

Dislocating musical work with distinct community meaning, and re-rendering this as part of a sonic adventure, however, requires a deft touch and serious consideration of the function of creative practice. Drumming from the city of Arusha and vocal recitations are interspersed – but often overshadowed – by dense spiritual jazz meanderings. The musicianship is accomplished and its initial impression is magisterial. ‘Awake in the Rain’ is a real highlight while ‘Ngorongoto’ is triumphant. But there's a nagging feeling that Kutiman is capitalising upon, rather than working with, the artistry from this region. Akin to white European DJs sampling ritualistic practice to add ‘delight and intrigue’ to their otherwise benign tech house odysseys, Wachaga employs the region it is named after as mere source material, rather than a vital fulcrum for experimentation.