Limitless Sky Records: Press & Reviews

"Everyone wants to change humanity, but no one wants to change themselves." These are the first words of Dalai Lama Renaissance , the soundtrack of the film narrated by Harrison Ford. The CD is a holy trek through many shorter pieces of music, all of it captivating. Ancient and contemporary music of Tibet, India, Iran, and the Americas comprise the soundtrack, an enlightening journey ranging from Indian classical and Sufi poetry to jazz and Afro-Cuban rhythms. The words of the Dalai Lama interspersed throughout are true pearls of wisdom. This is a high-quality, interesting project, connecting the listener to the Dalai Lama's deep humility and passion for understanding.

This is not just an audio CD, it is not only for listening, it is going on a journey that adds to your experience of life. It can inspire and calm you. It can take you to a meditative state. Be with it...do not miss this rare journey..

Febuary 15, 2010

This important album was assembled and produced by Michel Tyabji and Rosa Costanza Tyabji as part of a documentary titled Dalai Lama Renaissance. The soundtrack album consists of twenty-six tracks of Tibetan-influenced chants and pieces of music that work as a perfect audio accompaniment to the visual images of the Dalai Lama. Each offering on this album is part of a collective providing a narrative that is overwhelmingly beautiful, compassionate and enlightened. There are numerous amazing artists on this collection and if you are a devotee, or just a supporter of the Dalai Lama’s journey, this album is a must-have.

Producer, music director and performer on many pieces, Tyabji has appeared playing drums and percussion throughout the world and is known for his work with legendary African artists including Ndala Kasheba and Garikayi Trikoti. Tyabiji is only one of many exceptional artists here, in the company of Larry Mitchell, Ralph “Kito” Rodriguez and composer, keyboardist and arranger Henry Medicine Bear Reid, all of whom produce music worth a listen. Tibetan singer/songwriter Techung plays traditional Tibetan instruments and prayers for the Dalai Lama on instrumental tracks and Roop Verma offers an inspired “Alap,” along with other gorgeous tracks. In “Bassant Blue,” and “Jog Jazz,” the New Delhi-based ensemble called Yoginis’ deep thoughtful drones were produced by Seattle-based composer Yogi McCaw. Also noteworthy, Lama Tsering Wangdu Rinpoche had me in tears with his delivery of “Lady of Great Bliss.”

Along with many of the musical tracks offered on this special CD, the listener can also enjoy hearing the words of His Holiness which helps to bring his message of “hope” home. I highly recommend this album for anyone interested in world music and a follower of the Dalai Lama’s journey throughout the world and hopefully back into his homeland someday soon. whiteswanrecords.com .

The universal language of music is most beautifully presented in the soundtrack to the documentary film Dalai Lama Renaissance.

I love the way different genres of music have been brought together and flow from the soothing sounds of nature, to the words of the Dalai Lama and back into the music. Traditional instruments blend with modern and though each musical experience is unique on its own, together the Tibetan, Indian, Sufi, Jazz and Afro- Cuban take one on an introspective journey evoking a soothing, calming and wholly delightful listening experience.

I will be looking out for other productions by Limitless Sky Records.

A documentary film soundtrack, produced by Michel Tyabji and Rosa Costanza Tyabji. This is much more than a soundtrack of the film reviewed above. It is an eclectic remix of quotations by the Dalai Lama and narrations by Harrison Ford interspersed with a dynamic fusion of Tibetan, Indian, Sufi, Jazz and Afro- Cuban music. Featured musicians include Michel Tyabji, Tibetan recording artist Techung, Henry Medicine Bear Reid, Roop Verma, Persian vocalist Heyraneh, Lama Tsering Wangdu Rinpoche, Ralph “Kito” Rodriguez and several others. As with the film, this soundtrack is a unique journey that embodies the universal wisdom His Holiness personifies.

The theme of the DLR film "to open our hearts" is expanded upon with CD in the language of music that accompanies one on the single most important and personally difficult journey of our life experience... it creates an atmosphere of relaxation without and within the space that we occupy in time and encourages each heart to unfold at its own pace as gold nuggets of ancient wisdom are echoed in perfect placement and pitch. Music for hearts in search of insight and inner peace will absorb much from this
CD and in turn will reflect the beauty of a peaceful heart to the world outside.

Some of the best mixture of transcendental Tibetan tracks with funky bass driven tunes and a soulful narration by Harrison Ford.

We received the disk today and I've been listening to it on the big system. It sounds absolutely stunning. Flawless audio. And a beautiful production. It takes one through an entire journey via a series of upliftments, like gentle waves in the ocean but without any hint of the undercurrents of fear which arise from one's respect for the might and depth of the sea. Instead, the music, rhythms, sounds and voices wash over, around and through me like pleasant electromagnetic undulations.

Michel, every minute devoted to the production of this album has been worth it.

Adil, the jacket design and artwork are brilliant, perfectly complementing the treasure they enclose.

Congratulations guys, you have a winner.

Issue Date: December 5 - 11, 2003

The spiritually charged music of Zimbabwe’s Shona people has inspired a worldwide cult following. Recordings of the mbira, a 22-iron-pronged hand piano, circulate among the faithful but rarely make it into record stores. This one, coming from a new label specializing in Tanzanian music, stands out from the pack. Tirikoti is a phenomenon, in part because he uses a range of mbiras in different tunings to expand the instrument’s sonic range and in part because he plays with amazing speed and precision. Not that this is chops music — the magic comes from a hypnotic alchemy of interaction among musicians. On these seven tracks, Tirikoti and his nephew create a virtual village using overdubbing to build a complex mesh of mbira lines and rich choral passages of call-and-response with independent voices cutting across the harmonies. On "Usaore Moyo (Don’t Lose Heart)," the effect is joyous and bubbly; "Chinembiri Chii (What Is Popular?)" has a pulsing downbeat and mournful vocals. The layering results in occasional rhythmic looseness, but for the most part, the sound is natural, and crisply recorded to do justice to details. Another plus is the lyrics (well translated in the notes), which provide genuine insight into Shona culture.

The worldwide mbira community--those tuned into the lore of the sacred, Shona hand piano--have been buzzing for years about this prodigal musician. But it took a visit to Tanzania with his nephew to actually get Garikayi Tirikoti on record for the general public. Garikayi has a full ensemble in Harare, which we will someday hear from. In the meantime, this session he made for Limitless Sky in Tanzania is a tantalizing introduction.

Garikayi is a phenomenon, in part because he uses a range of mbiras in different tunings to expand the instrument's sonic range, and in part because he plays with amazing speed and precision. Not that this is chops music. Rather, the magic comes from a hypnotic alchemy of interaction among musicians. On these seven tracks, Tirikoti and his nephew create a virtual village using overdubbing to build a complex mesh of mbira lines and rich choral passages of call-and-response with independent voices cutting across the harmonies.

On "Usaore Moyo (Don't Lose Heart)" the effect is joyous and bubbly; on "Chinembiri Chii (What is Popular?)," a pulsing downbeat and achingly mournful vocals. "Kugara Hunzwara (Stay Together in Understanding)" features an unusual, broken rhythm on the hosho (shaker percussion). "Maidei," a love song, has a sweet hook and may be the catchiest track here. The layering technique results in occasional rhythmic looseness, but for the most part, the sound is surprisingly natural, and crisply recorded to do justice to details. Another plus is the lyrics, well translated in the notes, which provide genuine insight into Shona culture.

Maidei - Garikayi Tirikoti
Mbira/Kalimba music from the heart of Africa - Tirikoti is genius

Pros
Amazing instrumentation, passionate spiritual flow - not to be missed

Cons
None I am aware of

The Bottom Line
The music of priests and wizards, Tirikoti has been captured playing the Zebra keys, and crossing over as well.

Full Review

Magic in the aire

When Heart sang about a magic man, they probably did not have Garikayi Tirikoti in mind, but they should have. A small part of the volume that is Africa has been captured for the world to hear, and it is with finger harps/pianos.

Sparks fly from his fingertips

What is the Mbira, the Kalimbra? It is a finely tuned piano, formed of well-worked metal rods laid into woodwork. Sometimes they use gourds to give resonance and volume (home made amps). The Mbira is the base for a spiritual body of music from Zimbabwe – specifically that of the Shona people. Tirikoti has broken ground and crossed barriers within the sometimes-eerie world of this music. The music carries with it spiritual power, some say that there can be a very fine line between musician and wizard – maybe that is true everywhere.

In a recent interview with his producer Michele Tyabji, he explained that Tirikoti’s family is responsible for the care and nurturing of what they call the Zebra tuning of the Mbira. Tirikoti further stepped into new musical worlds by making Mbira that are tuned to bridge the gaps between the Mbira and Kalimbra of varying African tribes and clans. He has written music for an orchestra of finger piano, unlike anything ever attempted.

Maybe there is a lot of magic involved in joining people together musically, of crossing boundaries and life long feelings. The music will make you relax, it will make your heart rejoice.

Feel the Flow

The music flows, typically starting with a gentle finger pattern – played with many fingers and thumbs. Then slowly many kinds of percussion add along, differing drums and shakers and bells. The music begins to form itself into a chant, or a dance – and then the voices layer in.

The percussion patterns are incredibly complex, with movements and changes that sometimes repeat and sometimes don’t. The Mbira is a constant flow under and around the percussion.

Some high, some low – much of Tirikoti’s chant is his own voice. The finger harps make such happy rhythm. And then a chorus is joined in, making the chant – staying always within the powerfully loose confines of the flow. The music can feel chaotic if you thrive on pattern-based songs and strict form. Then as you discern the patterns, you can feel the fact that this music is very formal within’ it’s properly defined quadrants. The strictures being that you flow, that you make the noise joyful, that you play from your spirit.

The Songs Themselves

1 - Usaore Moyo
2 - Kugara Hunzwara
3 - Chinembiri Chii?
4 – Mai Dei
5 – Chavechinyakare
6 – Sarirambi
7 - Chengeto

And In the End

Listen with the ears of your spirit, this is not music for the faint hearted. You have to be ready to move with the currents of the water, to float with the leaves as they sail about and to burn inside. This is the music of Mother Africa, and it has been designed to reach into your very spirit and inspire you to feel God flowing through the sounds. As you listen, you become a part of the consciousness, of the flow – of all that life has for us… one series of notes at a time.

Consumer Guide
by Robert Christgau
Eating Again
June 2nd, 2003 2:30

NDALA KASHEBA Yellow Card
(Limitless Sky)

Congo-born in Tanzania, he's what guitar paradise is made of even though that heavenly collection passed him by. Definitive is the 12-string acoustic he cradles in both photos. Sustaining is gentle singer Baziano Bweti, who died in 2002 preaching AIDS education. Of good cheer are King Malou's perky alto themes on "Massamba" and the super-collectible "Kokolay." Also nice are the clicks, the claps, the coro. You believe in staying positive? East African soukous is still writing the book. A MINUS

Congo
Congolese rumba, one of Africa's most immediately beguiling and longest-lived styles, repatriates Afro-Cuban rumba back to Africa, smoothing out the vocals and layering on the guitar lines. Sam Mangwana, who has been performing for 40 years, goes international on "Cantos de Esperança" (Sono/Next Music), a largely acoustic album that juxtaposes modern soukous with more old-fashioned Cuban music and songs that draw on the Afro-Portuguese Angolan semba.

Ndala Kasheba, a Congolese guitarist who settled in Tanzania, is nowhere near as slick as Mr. Mangwana. But the band he leads on "Yellow Card" (Limitless Sky/Stern's) is bursting with life. His 12-string guitar and an infusion of East African rhythms give Mr. Kasheba's soukous a special heft that doesn't make it any less luminous.

The music of 'Yellow Card' is a collection of Ndala Kasheba's classic songs from throughout his music career. The title track is a reference to the AIDS epidemic. In the '80s, Kasheba had a lull in his musical career, and people began to say, "Oh, he's finished. The man is finished." He was actually pronounced dead by the media of Tanzania, twice. They said he died of AIDS, and really, all he had done was take a trip back to the Congo to see his family. He came back, and he's sitting at a bar and hears on the radio that he's dead. This really affected him, because if he's hearing that, his family, his children, his best friends --everybody is hearing this. So he wrote this song saying, "God has issued the world a yellow card (a warning in a soccer match). AIDS is a warning to the world. We must take our lives seriously now."

Ndala Kasheba
Yellow Card
Limitless Sky Records, 2002

Ndala Kasheba, Yellow Card

Yellow Card, is the first album released by Tanzanian guitarist/songwriter, Ndala Kasheba, in the United States. Released by Limitless Sky Records in 2002, Yellow Card is a great introduction to East African popular music. A veteran of the East African music scene, Ndala Kasheba has been an important force in Tanzania since the 1970's when he first immigrated to Dar Es Salaam from the Congo. He is known for his flashiness, very much a Congolese trait. For example, he dons a Mexican sombrero hat both on stage and off. The East African rumba is smooth and best known for the soaring paired guitars that ride on top of virtually every song. Yellow Card works in this style, the perfect album for upbeat dancing and having fun.

One aspect of this music which immediately strikes you is the sense of happiness and joy conveyed through the lyrical guitar and bouncy bass lines. Like most popular music, Kasheba takes his music from the language of his people. Since the days of revered socialist president, Julius Nyerere, the common language spoken throughout Tanzania is Kiswahili. As this reviewer can attest from personal experience, Kiswahili is a beautifully lyrical language, which is bright and sunny, very much a reflection of the climate of East Africa. In addition to Kiswahili, Kasheba speaks numerous other African languages, English and French. His repertoire includes many diverse influences, spanning through both African and Western genres. [This is most clearly reflected in his songs like "Kadi Ya Njano" (which means Yellow Card) and in "Kokolay," the first track of the album.] Ndala is accompanied by his big band consisting of lead, electric and rhythm guitars, alto and tenor saxes, ranging from two to four vocalists, drum set and conga's.

"Kokolay" is a driving introduction to the album. It starts with an acoustic guitar strumming chords which are reminiscent of Jimi Hendrix or Bob Dylan, then segways into a joyful bass line accompanied by the tenor and alto horns. Kasheba's lead vocals are backed by the rich vocal triads who respond in the common African call and response dialogue. The second track, "Marinella" is similar in style to "Kokolay," with the intertwined three part harmonies backing two lead singers singing the same falsetto line. "Kadi ya Njano" (or Yellow Card) is the third track which involves a bit of controversy. In his long lived career, Ndala has become a celebrity of sorts in Tanzania. He is the sponsor of several daily household items like laundry detergent. Part of the success that he has achieved has led him to be the subject of occaisional slanderous and false rumors which have spread through the Tanzanian press. One particularly fraudulent rumor mentioned that Ndala had died, many of his friends thought it was true, and he had to work hard to convince everybody that he, in fact, was still alive. "Yellow Card" refers to the warning card a soccer player gets in a match when he has committed a foul. Here Ndala is warning the press and anyone who might want to slander him again.

All of the tracks on this album are well crafted and lively. With the exception of "Yellow Card", they all are upbeat and joyful in the dancing style. The groove moves quickly,a trademark of the 4/4 rhythmic cycle, and you get the sense that you are walking along with a bounce in your step. Check out tracks "Mpaka Manga" and "Sung'ula Weba," for their flowing vocal passages. "Massamba" and "Umbeya" are great for their bass lines and horn sections. If you want to get a flavor for Ndala's masterful guitar playing, check out "Dezo Dezo," and "Nimlilie Nani?" Both of these songs feature the high register guitar solo so familiar to East Africa.

When visiting one of the countries of East Africa, you will hear music like Ndala Kasheba's in nightclubs, bars, but also on a daily basis walking through the marketplace and business districts. Store owners will often place stereo speakers outside their stores playing music from Eastern and Southern Africa to attract customers. This is one feature of marketplaces which add to the excitement and delirium already so present amidst the endless transactions taking place. Whatever state you may find yourself in the marketplace, the sounds of the lead guitar soaring through the high register make a unique and lasting impression. In its wide range of distribution throughout region, Ndala's music is an ideal way to become familiar with a very popular East African sensibility.

Contributed by: Andrew Harms for www.afropop.org

Ndala Kasheba
Yellow Card

Limitless Sky

Yellow Card is the perfect panacea for all that ails ya. Congolese guitar "Maestro," Ndala Kasheba serves up a perfectly delicious serving of soukous that will leave a gulf-wide grin on your face. The swirling guitar melodies leave you mesmerized; the creeping bass lines claw into your hip bones and will not let go until everyone is dancing; and the vocals feel like pure joy (only because I don't understand the lyrics). Soukous is one of those rare forms of music that will always leave you smiling. It showers even the darkest room with an infectious joy that, like Mobutu, is damned near impossible to resist. Kasheba is the perfect example to the pure bliss this music spreads. His music is captivating and so full of verve and spirit, one can easily get lost within his beautiful sound. This disc lifts the spirit and leaves it floating in the enriching ether of optimism and promise.

Limitless Sky Records: http://www.limitlesssky.net

Bill Campbell

INK 19 – March 19

REVIEWS

NDALA KASHEBA Yellow Card
Limitless Sky

Famous in Tanzania for his voice and 12-string guitar, expatriate Congolese musician Kasheba, brings a touch of the rumba to East Africa, letting the sounds mix and create and very spicy stew. Backed by a full band, with several singers, and horns on some tracks, the sound is full, and quite joyous. A very adept guitarist, Kasheba might be one of the very few African 12-string players, his Congolese leads (often on 6-string) fluent over the East African rhythms, making for a marvelous pan-African collaboration that works well.

Ndala Kasheba is best known for his joyful soukous inflected music, that is, the bouncy, rippling dance music of Congo, his original home. What sets him apart is his delightful twelve string guitar playing, which quite literally doubles the pleasure. His music is well known in Africa, and word has it that if one journeys through a Tanzanian market, one¹s ears will be filled with the maestro¹s music. But in "Refugees" we find Kasheba in a more reflective mood, musing on the hardships of dislocation, and the need for a better future. He passed away in 2004, so this video has used scraps of performances woven into a collage to convey this lovely song.

The Maestro Ndala Kasheba is considered to be amongst the greatest guitarists and composers. This work features his unique 12 string acoustic guitar performance of fantastically lush African world fusion music.

Various Artists
New African Composers Limitless Sky

It's always great to hear African music recorded in Africa, rather than Paris, London or North America. This is the result of three years worth of work at a studio in Dar Es Salaam set up by an American couple, Michel & Rose Tyabji, with the help of the Tanzanian Ministry of Culture. And this is a community-oriented studio, recording established musicians and up and comers of the Dar Es Salaam scene made possible by the cooperation of the government. There is a balance between clear, subtly effected production and booty shaking rhythms that only a few African artists have been able to achieve since the onslaught of synths in the ’80s. There has been a conscious decision to go with a natural sound and feel throughout these recordings, but also to create modern music using the full capabilities of multi-tracked recording. While individual parts of songs may sound a little hesitant, the grooves are never in doubt. Bands like Yekete Beat and Achigo are time-tested, rumba-spiked crowd pleasers and each of their outstanding tracks feature funky, insistent drumming. Other songs feature instrumental virtuosi — acoustic guitar ace Ndala Kasheba (who has a full-length CD of his own out on the same label) and mbira master Garikayi Tirikoti both showcase considerable talents. Tirikoti's eight-mbira orchestra is a wonder to listen to — nothing but the characteristic metallic rods producing a wide range of frequencies, harmonies and kick-ass rhythms. This is a fine sampler of artists that undoubtedly will each release solid discs of their own. Watch out for this label in the months to come!

Entertainment & the Arts: Sunday, June 15, 2003

CD Reviews
Afro-pop's rolling rhythms hard to resist for summer

By Paul de Barros
Seattle Times jazz critic

"Yellow Card" Ndala Kasheba (Limitless Sky)

Michel and Rosa Tyabji started recording East and South African pop musicians in 1998, at Makuti Studio, in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Last year, they moved to Seattle and started releasing the fruits of their labors on their Limitless Sky label. Ndala Kasheba's wonderful "Yellow Card" is their first effort.

Kasheba is a Congolese musician who moved to Dar es Salaam in 1972, where he had a hit with "Monica." Kasheba plays in the soukous style, complete with rolling electric-guitar lines and call-and-answer vocals, but adds his rich, rubber-bandy 12-string guitar to the mix. Electric bass also gets turned up a little, and is a trifle harder-edged than in most soukous.

Kasheba's infectious, husky voice is hard to resist as he praises the lovely "Marinella" or shouts "Kokolay" (cheers!) in words you may not understand, but with emotions that you will.

"New African ComposersVol. 1" Various Artists (Limitless Sky)

This compilation features a dozen selections by five Limitless Sky artists, including four of the best tracks from Kasheba's "Yellow Card"; three by the Yekete Beat Band; two by Garikayi Tirikoti; two by the Achigo Band; and one from Delphin Mununga.

Yekete is dark and driving, with an Afro-beat horn section; Tirikoti leads a joyous, eight-piece mbira (thumb piano) orchestra, whose rolling rhythms and huge, marimba-like sound will be familiar to fans of local Zimbabwean marimba orchestras.

The Achigo Band, with lyrical lead singer Nguza Viking, Kasheba's main rival in Dar es Salaam for years, creates a rivery sound with guitars and synthesizers on "WaTanzania Watu wa Amani" and that hot little jazz band feel only Africans can conjure with horns, on "Tebo." Vocalist Mununga contributes a churchy a cappella piece.

Paul de Barros: 206-464-3247 or pdebarros@seattletimes.com



Copyright © 2003 The Seattle Times Company

Various Artists
New African Composers: Vol.1
Limitless Sky Records, 2002


This is a CD with a story behind it; in short, it's the first compilation from a new label focusing mostly on contemporary music in Tanzania. Before they started releasing albums as Limitless Sky in 2002, Michel and Rosa Tyabji spent three years in Tanzania, researching, traveling, and recording, mostly in their own studio in Dar Es Salaam. Now based in Seattle, they are unpacking their treasures, and the first results are very promising.

The four Tanzanian acts (and one Zimbabwean) gloriously sampled here are not exactly "new." Guitarist and singer Ndala Kasheba first came to Tanzania with a band from Congo in 1964, and he's been active on the scene ever since. Achigo Band used to be Orchestra Marquis, champions of Swahili dance music during the days when Radio Tanzania was the only recording company in town. The lively, percussion-driven pop act Yekete Beat Band formed in the Arusha region of Tanzania in 1989, and singer Delphin Mununga was brought to Dar from Lubumbashi, Congo, by Ndala Kasheba in the 1980s. As for the one Zimbabwean here, mbira maestro Garikayi Tirikoti has been developing his unique take on the ancient Shona musical art, and his unusual 8-piece group, for over thirty years.

But if these acts are not strictly new, they have never been released internationally, and when you hear these 12 tracks, you'll likely agree that it's high time. Yekete Beat Band offers a boisterous blast of bass, hand percussion, growly, cycling guitars, horns and vocals. The group favors forest rhythms--mostly variants on 12/8 time--poignant vocals and short, eloquent guitar breaks. Of the three fine tracks here, the taut, concise "Ngoma" (sampled for this review) is especially good. Achigo Band features a big, lush vocal sound, strongly reminiscent of the more choral Congolese pop music. They do play rumba, as on "Tebo," but their tour de force here is a rolling, nine-minute, 12/8 extravaganza called "Watanzania Watu Wa Amani."

Ndala Kasheba's music also bears the stamp of his Congolese roots. With his booming tenor voice and big band ambiance, one inevitably thinks of Franco in his prime. But Kasheba has a number of distinguishing qualities in his Swahili rumba sound, most notably his use of an electrified, 12-string acoustic guitar, which he overdubs to create a gorgeous, chiming ambiance. "Kokolay" is especially winning with a bass-driven riff that won't quit, a killer call-and-response vocal hook, and Kasheba's deep, commanding voice at the center of a tuneful sax section eruptions, and the pulsing jangle of those 12-string guitars. We get just a taste of Delphin Mununga with a pretty acapella piece called "Kilimanjaro," but this compilation will leave any fan of classic African dance pop panting for more from the Limitless Sky vault. (So far, just one other title, Ndala Kasheba's Yellow Card has been released.)

Garikayi Tirikoti's three mbira pieces round this set out with satisfying variety. Among the things that set Tirikoti apart from other mbira artists is the way he combines mbiras using different tunings to create a rich, almost orchestral sound. His use of many voices to create thick vocal textures is also distinctive. "Kugara Hunzwara," a sublime, 11-minute variant on the mbira traditional song "Nhema Musasa" will satisfy even the fussiest mbira music connoisseur.

All this music is well recorded and mixed, with no drum machines or synthesizers to spoil the mood. If Limitless Sky proves as good at marketing music as they are at finding and producing it, we can look forward to lots more from one of the bravest and most promising new labels focusing on Afropop to appear in years.

Music > Media > Thought Music > Reviews February 2003
Music Reviews

New African Composers Volume 1
Limitless Sky

Africa is a continent of over fifty independent nations, with thousands of languages and immeasurable cultural traditions, thus precluding any systematic or comprehensive codification of its people's cultural expressions. New African Composers, however, proffers an exceptional overview of some the continent's variegated musical traditions, without trying to be all-inclusive or overly ambitious, as it draws only from the sounds of Zimbabwe and Tanzania.

The styles on this album are diverse, ranging from the pulsating drum patterns of Yekete Beat Band's "Madoya" to the calypso feel of Achigo Band's "WaTanzania Watu wa Amani" to the mesmerizing a cappella of Delphin Mununga's "Kilimanjaro." Like Delphin Mununga, Garikayi Tirikoti proves that the voice is as powerful as the reverberation of the bass drum. While it is not likely that the listener will understand the lyrics that flow from the speakers, the language of polyrhythm and syncopation transcend the impositions of any systematized lexicon. It is music that exudes a profound spirituality, a resistance to colonialism's lasting grip and a remembrance of one's ancestors, all set to a contagious and intricate rhythmic beat.

New African Composers is an essential listen for anyone interested in the origins of so much of this world's music, from ska and jazz to salsa and merengue. It is simultaneously a history lesson and a glance into the future evolution of what has become generically known as "world" music. It is certainly a must for those who appreciate the syncopated beats of hip-hop, or the free-verse improvisation of jazz.

Various Artists - New African Composers, Vol. 1
Limitless Sky

Compilation of mostly Tanzanian-based acts, with one from Zimbabwe (Garikayi Tirikoti), mostly unknown names who deserve wider recognition. Ndala Kasheba is the old master, but plenty of the younger ones have stunning talent. One of the few African countries not to have received much exposure, it's obvious Zimbabwe has a lot to offer the world.

Tibetan Spell, by Jonathan Chen

His soaring vocals are like waves lapping against the seashore, gently beckoning the listener to get lost in the music.

The man with the spellbinding voice is Tibetan singer-songwriter Tashi Dhondup Sharzur, better known as Techung.

The prominent musician, living in the San Francisco Bay area, has been hailed by many as being one of the most important keepers of Tibetan music traditions.

Techung, who recently performed at the Penang World Music Festival 2008, enthralled the crowd with his swinging tunes and energetic jigs.

Catching up with the man after his set, Techung displayed no airs despite being the winner of the Best Asian Album, "Techung" at the JPF Awards 2006 in Los Angeles. The award came from one of America’s largest grassroots music groups (www.jpfolks.com).

As he sipped his coffee, I found Techung incredibly humble for such an accomplished musician who is fluent in many instruments including the Flute, Piwang (Tibetan violin) and Damyen (Tibetan lute).

Born in Tibet, Techung migrated to India to escape the unrest in his homeland before settling in the US.

“I want my renditions of Tibetan music to be as pure as possible, but I grew up in India so there are certain influences here and there in my music. His band is “kind of new”, he adds. Band members are Ralph “Kito” Rodriguez on bass, Michel Tyabji on drums and percussion and Brian Valisco on keyboards. “We only got together two months ago in Los Angeles, and now we are here,” he says with a smile.

“I’m thankful that I have highly skilled musicians to work with and, on top of that, we are all good friends. The band displayed lots of maturity and control during their performance, constantly working as a team to give Techung a solid backing, not once wanting to step into the limelight.
The band was formed when Techung met Tyabji on the set for the film "Dalai Lama Renaissance", which stars the Dalai Lama himself and Harrison Ford. “Techung is one of the most featured musicians in the film”, Tyabji recalls, “and we liked each others music. So we started to work on musical collaborations”.

Much of Techung's music deals with what he holds dear to his heart, including issues pertaining to the environment, the condition of Mother Earth and the fight for freedom for his Tibetan countrymen.
“I am always thinking of the situation in Tibet, therefore I find myself writing songs dedicated to my brothers, urging them to work for freedom as it will not be handed to them on a plate”, Techung says. “Even the Dalai Lama has stated that now is a time of survival and that if Tibetan culture is not preserved now, it will soon be lost forever.”

Techung has taken it upon himself to work towards reviving traditional Tibetan art forms. “One of my missions is to revitalize traditional Tibetan music in my homeland because we are swamped with Indian and Western musical influences. “Our music needs to be saved but it is also meant to be enjoyed by many. It is encouraging that our music has received some support in my homeland.”
Techung has written a song entitled Nyingtop, meaning courage, which he performed in Penang. “I wrote the song when I saw my people in exile. I saw them so lost, so this song is an encouragement for them.”

Of the band’s future, Techung says there is more touring in Asia and in the US this year.

By Jonathan Chen
sunpeople@nstp.com.my