2009/02/19

NGOMA 3




the original plan was for 3 to be dub grime apocalypse, and 4 an uplifting and soulful holiday in the tropics. but due to both the popularity of 2, and the challenge from dj Doom, I've decided to continue with the afro-centric 4/4 boom for this volume.

while staying in the same territory as 2, the journey is not the same, and many things make this one unique: the psychedelic motorik genius of Dj Clock's "Durban Guitar"; the monolithic, earth shaking visions of Black Coffee; DJ Sdoko's ominous Kraftwerkian phuture; Manya's soul stirring take on traditonal Angolan melodies; a surprisingly wicked banger from the Dutch DJ Bigga (UK is not the only place currently Afro minded), and ending with Sami vocal style from Mari Boine, reinterpreting the sound of indigenous Norway*. most of the selection are not well known or commonly used tracks in the "scene", with only one exception: just could not stay away from the Yellowtail (but check how it is used before you complain).

concerning the anti-apartheid and war samples used through out the mix: the struggle for freedom from colonialism is the context which gave rise to contemporary South African music: Kwaito was born amidst antagonism and bloodshed, and has led to the current house music scene. thus songs such as "100 Zulu Warriors" and the radio broadcast at the end should not be taken as an incitement of racial conflict (especially in light of last year's wave of horrible xenophobia) but as a reminder of the political realities of the Apartheid era from which this music comes.

*you might think it strange to include a traditional song from northern Europe on an Afrocentric project, but 1. thematically it fits the recording as the vocalist has for decades fought for equal rights of her people, who have long been the subject of discrimination, like South Africans, in their homeland; and 2. Henrich Schwartz who made the remix is a producer certainly with a lot of Africa on his mind.

as you enjoy this i will be back onto the original course: stay tuned for dub terrorism and caribbean love.

DIRECT LISTEN AND SINGLE TRACK DOWNLOAD:

fairtilizer

SEPARATE TRACKS DOWNLOAD:

mediafire
or rapidshare or megaupload

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Downloading as I type. Really looking forward to this one. Thanks for putting the effort in!

Anonymous said...

Bravo! Way better than ngoma2!
Also I cant but help marvelling on how global music is. Sitting in India listening to African sounds curated by a DJ of Asian Descent living in Berlin!

zhao said...

nice! and thanks.

but curious: why do you like this one a lot better than 2?

Anonymous said...

Here I am listening to Ngoma2 and Ngoma3 at 6 am in the morning trying to figure out why I made that statement...:)
To sum it up in my non technical terms...

1> 3 feels 'warmer' than 2. I guess i found 2 to be too techno

2> 3 seems to have more 'vocals' than 2 (i am more of a 'world' music listener and not a club guy at all). For the same reason Adelaide Deep did not appeal to me at all

3> The third and most bizzare (but not contrived) reason for a lack of connection with 2 is the absence of track names on the individual songs ngoma205 is a lot less appealing than Black Coffee - 100 Zulu Warriors when I look at itunes :)

All said and done...thanks for providing a great source of energy and moods! - cheers

James said...

The driving rhythm and rising melody has worked wonders in clubs from Brooklyn to Berlin. DJ Angola's first release of 2009 presents a couple of diverse tracks. The first, 'Can't stop', features the vocals of soul house wizard Yarnell.

zhao said...

whoa thanks james for the big tip. man has a proper sound.

Merlin said...

Oh mann Zhao,
was für ein Mix !!! Ich bin heut morgen um 8:30 über einen anderen Blog (brukmagazine) auf deinen gestossen und bin seit dem (jetzt isses 13:25!!!)förmlich eingesogen worden von all der wunderschönen Musik. Ich kling soo schwulstig, aber genau so isses. Ich hab letztes Jahr auf der Fusion zu deinem Solo-Set getanzt, hatte aber keine Ahnung wer Du bist und so (hab ich jetzt ja auch nicht wirklich). Auf jeden Fall war das ein toller Trip, vielen Dank!Wenn Du das nächste Mal in Hamburg spielst, dann sag doch vorher Bescheid, und Ich mach nen kleinen Post auf meinem Blog und komm vorbei und lausch dem Sound.

One Love und wie Jason Weaver sagt : "Thanks for putting the effort in!"