Various Artists
Two Niles to Sing a Melody: The Violins & Synths of Sudan
OSTINATO RECORDS
Folk Reggae Afrobeat Synth-pop
Catalog no: OSTLP005
3LP | NEW | 2018
"A restoration of Sudan's music heritage" -- AFP (Agence France-Presse)
"An illuminating portal into the soul of Sudan" -- Red Bull Radio
"A stunning journey through the golden age of Sudanese music and song" -- Le Monde
"Undeniably, addictively uplifting and jive-inducing” -- Scene Noise
"Drenched with deep rhythmic drum kicks and gorgeous Nubian rhythms" -- Stamp the Wax
"Showcases the importance of music to Sudanese life but also its lasting and widespread impact across the continent" -- Quartz
In Sudan, the political and cultural are inseparable.
In 1989, a coup brought a hardline religious government to power. Music was violently condemned. Many musicians and artists were persecuted, tortured, forced to flee into exile — and even murdered, ending one of the most beloved music eras in all of Africa and largely denying some of Sudan's gifted instrumentalists, singers, and poets, from strutting their creative heritage on the global stage.
What came before in a special era that protected and promoted the arts was one of the richest music scenes anywhere in the world. Although Sudanese styles are endlessly diverse, this compilation celebrates the golden sound of the capital, Khartoum. Each chapter of the cosmopolitan city's tumultuous musical story is covered through 16 tracks: from the hypnotic violin and accordion-driven orchestral music of the 1970s that captured the ears and hearts of Africa and the Arabic-speaking world, to the synthesizer and drum machine music of the 1980s, and the music produced in exile in the 1990s. The deep kicks of tum tum and Nubian rhythms keep the sound infectious.
Sudan of old had music everywhere: roving sound systems and ubiquitous bands and orchestras kept Khartoum's sharply dressed youth on their feet. Live music was integral to cultural life, producing a catalog of concert recordings. In small arenas and large outdoor venues, musical royalty of the day built Khartoum's reputation as ground zero for innovation and technique that inspired a continent.
Musicians in Ethiopia and Somalia frequently point to Sudan's biggest golden era stars as idols. Mention Mohammed Wardi — a legendary Sudanese singer and activist akin to Fela Kuti in stature and impact in his music and politics — and they often look to the heavens. A popular story is of one man from Mali who walked for three months across the Sahel to Sudan because the father of the woman he wanted to marry would only allow it if he got him a signed cassette from Wardi, aka "The Last King of Nubia," himself. Saied Khalifa is said to be the one of the few singers to make Ethiopian emperor Haile Selassie smile.
Such is the stature of Sudanese singers and the reputation of Sudanese music, particularly in the "Sudanic Belt," a cultural zone that stretches from Djibouti all the way west to Mauritania, covering much of the Sahara and the Sahel, lands where Sudanese artists are household names and Sudanese poems are regularly used as lyrics until today to produce the latest hits. Sudanese cassettes often sold more in Cameroon and Nigeria than at home.
But years of anti-music sentiment have made recordings in Sudan difficult to source. Ostinato's team traveled to Ethiopia, Somalia, Djibouti, and Egypt in search of the timeless cultural artifacts that hold the story of one of Africa's most mesmerizing cultures. That these cassette tape and vinyl recordings were mainly found in Sudan's neighbors is a testament to Sudanese music's widespread appeal.
With our Sudanese partner and co-compiler Tamador Sheikh Eldin Gibreel, a once famous poet and actress in '80s Khartoum, Ostinato's fifth album, following our Grammy-nominated "Sweet As Broken Dates," revives the enchanting harmonies, haunting melodies, and relentless rhythms of Sudan's brightest years, fully restored, remastered and packaged luxuriously in a triple LP gatefold and double CD bookcase to match the regal repute of Sudanese music. A 20,000-word liner note booklet gives voice to the singers silenced by an oppressive regime.
Take a sail down the Blue and White Nile as they pass through Khartoum, carrying with them an ancient history and a never-ending stream of poems and songs. It takes two Niles to sing a melody.
Read/Listen more:
Bandcamp
BBC: bbc.in/2N3TQ3g
Al Jazeera: goo.gl/y1uqzy
RFI: goo.gl/fDvGDB
AFP: goo.gl/7qwc6v
Quartz: goo.gl/Kop1zX
Music in Africa: goo.gl/nn9Tg5
Okay Africa: goo.gl/3sqeWA
we also recommend
Show all items ›-
The Sorcerers
In Search of the Lost City of the Monkey God
LP | NEW | 149 LEI
-
Delvon Lamarr Organ Trio
Live At KXEP!
LP | NEW | 175 LEI
-
Lucian Ban Alex Harding
Dark Blue
CD | NEW | 75 LEI
-
Lucian Ban Mat Maneri Quartet John Herbert Randy Peterson
Dust
CD | NEW | 75 LEI
-
Lucian Ban John Surman Mat Maneri
Transylvanian Folk Songs (The Bela Bartók Field Recordings)
CD | NEW | 75 LEI
-
Lucian Ban Abraham Burton
Black Salt: Live At The Baroque Hall
CD | NEW | 75 LEI
-
Gotan Project
La Revancha Del Tango
2LP | NEW | 185 LEI
-
Metallica
Metallica (The Black Album) Remastered
2LP | NEW | 185 LEI
-
Abba
Voyage
LP | NEW | 135 LEI
-
Black Pumas
Black Pumas – Capitol Cuts Live From Studio A (red vinyl)
LP | NEW | 175 LEI