Cape Verdian music scene  is alight  with Osinato Records recently released album, ‘The Strings of São Domingos’. The album brought together “disciples” of composer Ano Nobo,  a major exponent of a genre of Cape Verdean music played in natural setting without filters.

The double album, with the American label Ostinato Records, brings together four Cape Verdean artists who, over 15 tracks, with five interludes, play in an informal atmosphere, in homage to the viola as the centerpiece of their country’s music and also to the composer Ano Nobo, which gives its name to the quartet, formed by three of his sons and a ‘disciple’ (a kind of ‘borrowed son’).

Arab countries celebrate the Arab Music Day on March 28 of each year, the day that was approved after the approval of the Council of the League of Arab States in its regular session on March 6, 2019. The musical movement in various Arab countries and its achievements constitute an occasion.

On the occasion of Arab Music Day, which coincides this year with the 90th anniversary of the holding of the first Arab music conference in Cairo in 1932, the Egyptian Opera House headed by Dr. Magdy Saber, in cooperation with the Supreme Council of Culture in the secretariat of Dr. Hisham Azmy and the Arab Music Academy of the League of Arab States, is organizing an artistic celebration at the sixth Monday evening, March 28 at the Institute of Arab Music.

In this context, archaeologist Dr. Abdel Rahim Rihan, director general of research, archaeological studies and scientific publication in South Sinai at the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities, points out that music is a cultural heritage since the era of ancient Egypt. Archaeologists have discovered evidence indicating the presence of skilled musicians in ancient Egypt since 3100 BC.

There are discoveries from the Old Kingdom era that indicate the existence of a special primitive scale of music consisting of 5 degrees devoid of half-tones (the tunic text). The cultures of the Phoenicians, Hittites and Sea Peoples in Cyprus and Crete, the musical scale developed and increased by two degrees until it reached the currently known seven degrees, as well as additional movements such as half-tones.

Dr. Rihan points to the most famous musical instrument in ancient Egypt, namely the fugitive or the Egyptian caesara, a single-stringed harp that was painted on one of the walls of ancient Egyptian tombs, perhaps because the ancient Egyptian fugitive was associated with war as a war instrument from which the ancient musical instrument “war bow” or “single-stringed fugitive” was inspired by the evolution of The fugitive through the dynasties of ancient Egypt was known in various sizes, including the fugitive with the holder and being large in size, and the other hanging around the neck of the musician while carrying a different type on the shoulder. The string counter continued to inflate, starting from three to twenty strings in the late modern state. Today, the modern fugitive instrument has between 45 and 48 strings. The sesame instrument of the canal cities is a reflection of the ancient Egyptian fugitive.

Dr. Rihan drew attention to wind instruments, as the ancient Egyptian knew the horn for military purposes, which is similar to the trumpet used to summon soldiers or members of the people in the circumstances of official occasions, and the wind instruments varied in ancient Egypt. Between a simple flute consisting of a single reed made of lotus wood and perhaps attached It has a part of a cow horn known as “monol” and another double known as “lotus photenix.” It resembles the ergul, the Egyptian folk instrument, as this is currently reflected in the types of melodious flutes associated with the eastern Takht.

The ancient Egyptian knew percussion instruments, including lined sticks and tambourines, and he also managed to create a musical tone by colliding copper elements with each other, such as the present day parchment instrument or cymbals.

Dr. Rayhan continues, that the drawings of a cemetery in Bani Hassan in Minya from the era of the Old Kingdom embodied the hand signals for singing at the beginning of the Fifth Dynasty and were limited to the phenomenon of placing the palm of the left hand of the singer behind the ear flap and on the cheek to enlarge the sound issued and increase it, as the singer of the money does currently.

The formation of bands was dominated by pairs, and the inscriptions indicated that all possibilities were contained in these duets, for example, a harp player with a singer and a flute player with a harp player. The song of the harp instrument player was also associated with an important role in funeral prayers and rituals, and the presentation of flowers at burials and in happy social occasions.

Dr. Rihan notes the appearance of blind harp players in the Middle Kingdom in the tomb of Meri Ra I in Tell el-Amarna in Minya. Animals were also depicted as musicians, and this phenomenon was a cause for humor and fun. In the Middle Kingdom, the musical troupe joined the kiñara and drums after their appearance in the musical life in the era of that state. Each musical troupe had a leader in the middle of the group, usually without an instrument, and sometimes two leaders. Hands, snapping fingers, hitting the knees, or both.

A mural from Saqqara and Tell el-Amarna depicted the slow rhythmic dance similar to the movements of ballet dancers
. One of the most important aspects of musical and cultural life in the era of the modern state is the celebrations inside the palaces and the national and popular celebrations inside and outside temples throughout the year, as there were many festivities inside the palaces of kings.

Music, singing and dancing participated in these religious and secular ceremonies. Musical lifestyles varied and varied within the palaces of kings and in the royal court. There were many musical ensembles as a result of the conquests and commercial and diplomatic contacts with Asian, Assyrian and Babylonian kings and heads of foreign countries. The presence of the Asian component of both sexes in the field of music and singing contributed to the multiplicity of bands until the king’s court had two musical bands. One is Egyptian, the other is Assyrian.

And developed in the era of the modern state, the manufacture of musical instruments in general and strings in particular, as it included raw materials, quality of industry, external shape, number of strings, and the subsequent increase in the sound space and the breadth of melodic movement between sharpness and thickening. The pear-shaped lute with a long neck appeared in the era of the twenty-fifth dynasty and beyond, and it is similar to the tambour, and the Coptic (Egyptian) lute appeared in the early first century AD and beyond. A chord in the era of Ramessides, the twentieth dynasty, and the height of some of these instruments reached more than two meters, which made Egyptian music rich music superior to all the music of civilizations that contemporary with which Plato called to recommend in his book “The Republic.”His people listen and enjoy Egyptian music with scientific rules and laws, as he considered it the finest music in the world.

By Mohammed Taher

A team of five artists among them four from Turkana have teamed up to showcase their rich cultural heritage through music.

In a project dubbed ‘Turkana Sessions’ that brings together five artists: Jackson Nakuwa, Mourine Apuu, Jackson Ekori and Elizabeth Korikel from Turkana alongside Eddie Grey from Nairobi, have embarked on a musical journey through the astounding culture and landscape of Turkana.

It is an exploration of the region’s musical heritage fused with soulful guitar rhythms for a sound that is rich, authentic and captivating.

“It is time to change the narrative on Northern Kenya, show the world its artforms and inspire Kenyans to look to their roots for inspiration,” the team says.

It seeks to display what is possible in the traditional artforms and showcase them with high production values.

Turkana Sessions is the third project from The Artists Xchange, following The Flyest Wedding in Africa and Floating. The Artists Xchange is an undertaking that brings together artists from Turkana and Nairobi to produce work that responds to the issues facing the region.

The artists’ work involves various disciplines including music, video art, film, fashion, visual art and photography. The Artists Xchange is a companion project of the feature documentary; Turkana: Races for Resources which will be released in 2023.

While Northern Kenya has historically been in the news for conflict and poverty, the region is also endowed with great beauty and cultural heritage.

Its stark, arid landscape is home to Lake Turkana, the largest desert lake in the world. The lake’s distinctive green waters led it to be named the Jade Sea and its craters and crocodile-filled islands make it one of the most unique places to visit in the world.

“This is a time of transformation in Turkana and there is an opportunity for artists from the region and beyond to be part of the discussion and bring art to the forefront of the most urgent issues of the region. With all the valuable minerals being found in the region, communities need to be treated as equal partners. They are the custodians of a rich heritage that can inform a uniquely African thinking for what these natural resource finds mean to us,” they opine.

Nairobi based songwriter, composer, producer and arranger Eddie Grey is a self-taught musician whose work mirrors issues in society through the fusion of both local and western music.

Mozambican writer Paulina Chiziane was recently in Angola to establish partnerships and exchanges with Angolan artists. The Camões 2021 Award winner is scheduled to  promote her first musical album, Cantos de Esperança , in Luanda and Huambo.

Singer and composer, Chiziane’s  album features 12 tracks that depicts her favorite themes. The song “Muhethi wa mbilu yanga” (from changana/rhonga, “Owner of my heart”), the tenth track on the disc, was performed by Grande Homem and Helena Promisse . The album also includes songs such as “Oração da Família”, “When the Tomorrow Arrives”, “Olhar para Ti, África”, “Dom de Deus”, “Guruè” and “Mhamba ya Mondlane”. The album also features a collaboration with the rapper Azagaia , in the song “Tenta”.

“Acredita”  the newest musical project by Anabela Etianeth Ferreira Bento presented her newest music project “Acredita” was held on “Moite e Dia”,  this week, in Luanda.  The Angolan musician Anabela Etianeth Ferreira Bento emerged as a highly sought female kuduro-style voices. The singer made a splash with her hit songs, “Lhe Avança” and “Kapota”.

Yinka Davies, consummate Nigerian (nay, West African) musician. Music, for Yinka Davies, comes from very deep within (all artistic performance, she says, as she’s also into theatre). Her deep Yoruba roots stand out – the kind you hear at Orisha traditional festivals. But you can loosely classify her music as a cross between traditional music and the West African highlife. She’s all West African, with roots in Nigeria, Benin and Sierra Leone.

The band, Smokie, sang a piece, ‘No puppet on a string’. The lines went: ‘Here’s a man with a fistful of dollars in his hands, telling me just what I’ve got to sing…I don’t wanna be a puppet on a string. No puppet on a string.’

The song might well be about Yinka Davies. This is a woman that sings what comes from her spirit, not what anyone thinks she should sing. Not for her the philosophy that places commercial success ahead of her art – give the people what they want. And she’s comfortable in her own skin.

Her independence is fierce and even without listening to her songs, you could sense it from the titles of her songs. From her Black Chiffon album, you have a number, John 3:16 which makes you think it’s a gospel number. Far from it. Then you have another, For Example. Not for Yinka, the syrup of the day – thrash talk with a veneer of love (or naked sex).

Her very deep roots must have come from the world of theatre, from where her love for music took off in 1986 upon going on an excursion to the National Theatre in Lagos. She must have listened to the performance of Hubert Ogunde (or his acolytes) as her generation barely met Orisha festivals in their natural settings. One half of her family has roots in Benin, which remains heavy into Orisha and could be a remote influence.

ou pick the heavy horns of Fela Anikulapo Kuti – the cult figure of musicians that she met, and the signature of Lagos, her city – in her music. Her parents listened to afrobeat, Fela’s creation. She also listened to the likes of Roy Chicago, Ebenezer Obey and Sikiru Ayinde Barista while growing up.

Besides music, Yinka has performed significant roles in theatre. These include Wind vs Poligamy in which she played a lawyer; Salt, a UNESCO-funded project in which she played, Water; Irara Akagbe, directed by Felix Okolo in which she has had to juggle four roles in 1991, 1992, 1994 and 2002. Her latest is playing Sango’s wife in the musical, Legends.

Written by Okwudili Ojukwu-Enendu