David Dalle
Thursday August 13th, 2020 with David Dalle
Fantastic new Ethiopian/Tuareg collaboration, the first ever international release of music from Djibouti, Saharan WhatsApp vol. 7, new music from Sam Shalabi, Nargile Mehtiyeva and more.

We begin today with two fantastic and unique releases from Africa: "Afropentatonism" by Alhousseini Anivolla & Girum Mezmur and "The Dancing Devils Of Djibouti" by Groupe RTD. The former is unique because it is the first collaborative recording (that I know of) between a Nigerien Tuareg musician and an Ethiopian musician, the latter because it is the first international release by a group from Djibouti. Alhousseini Anivolla and Girum Mezmur are both guitarists. Anivolla has played with Tinirawen and his own group Etran Finatawa and others; Mezmur has played with many bands based in Addis. They met at a festival in Europe in 2005 but this is their first recording together. "Afropentatonism" was recorded live in concert in Nairobi in 2019. Their group is rounded out with Ethiopian musicians; Habtamu Yeshambel on masinko (one-stringed Ethiopian violin), Anteneh Teklemariam on the krar (five-stringed bass-like lyre) and Ayele Mamo on mandolin with percussionist Misale Legesse. Alhousseini Anivolla may be the only Tuareg but his Tamashek vocals and guitar more than balance the sound. A wonderful album! "The Dancing Devils Of Djibouti" is the first international release from Djibouti, brought to us by the amazing small outfit Ostinato Records. This is also Ostinato's first studio recording and is the first of several releases planned from Djibouti. Djibouti is a single party state and all cultural groups are strictly controlled by the goverment. Groupe RTD is the official band of the Radiodiffusion-Television Djibouti. However, this does not mean the country is culturally poor. With its location on the coast of the Horn of Africa, Djibouti has always been a major transportation and cultural crossroads. Though it has the smallest population in mainland Africa (under a million) mostly comprised of Somali and Afar ethnicities, the music shows influence from Bollywood, from American Jazz and Funk, Reggae, as well as Somali traditions. The band is led by saxophonist Mohamed Abdi Alto (Alto added to his legal name due to his virtuosity on the alto sax), Abdirazak Hagi Sufi on guitar, singers Asma Omar, Hassan Omar Houssein, and Guessod Abdo Hamargod, synth player Moussa Aden Ainan, bassist Abdo Houssein Handeh, drummer Omar Farah Houssein, and dumbek player Salem Mohamed Ahmed. We will also hear the latest installment of Sahel Sounds Saharan WhatsApp. Every month in 2020 Sahel Sounds will be releasing an EP from a musical group in the Sahel. It will be recorded by the group on cellphones and transmitted over Whatsapp where it will be available for only one month on Sahel Sounds. Volume 7 features Andal Sukabe, the first Wodaabe-led modern band all from a family based in Niamey, Niger. It will only be available for a couple more weeks: https://sahelsounds.bandcamp.com/album/music-from-saharan-whatsapp-07