frankfurt minial stuff

raum musik welcomes kuyateh on their label

repress - without dl code - susso, aka bassist / producer huw bennett, creates music inspired by, and directly sampling, the magnificent sounds of the mandinka people, recorded during a recent trip to gambia. initially travelling with the aim of gaining perspective as a musician and to discover a new world of music first hand, huw found himself humbled by such a welcoming community of artists, mostly belonging to the celebrated susso and kuyateh griot families.
the tracks are composed entirely from original source material, field recordings and huw’s talents as a multi-instrumentalist, performing tuned percussion from the region including the mandinka balafon, kutiringding drum, aswell drawing on his skill as a professional upright / electric bassist. the music produced has a contemporary electronic sound, whilst still paying homage to a traditional gambian aesthetic. keira (meaning peace) guides the listener through huw’s journey up the river gambia, being welcomed into remote dusty villages, where your people are the most important thing in life

the new record follows 2013s at the back of beyond, which was warmly received creatively and commercially, and inspired ntjam to perform throughout holland and across europe. that was an album that was a part of me, and that needed to explore my poppy side, she says. im grounded in jazz and soul, and pop. but as a songwriter, i really needed to go through that album to learn how to play the guitar, to see and hear what kind of songs i would write, and also to put the guitar on the palette literally being able to pick the guitar up to write.
the vinyl lp comes housed in gatefold sleeve with download code included.