Dorothee Munyaneza
Dorothee Munyaneza (Luminary Records LUM001, 2010)
The name may not sound familiar, but fans of Afro Celt Sound System will recognize her passionate voice from the album “Volume 5 – Anatomic“. Dorothee Munyaneza’s debut album is a collection of 14 pieces sung in her native Rwandan language as well as a DVD. Afro Celt’s Martin Russell is heavily involved as a musician and producer and this is the first release on the new Luminary Records label.
The music is a mix of laid back soul, pop and some world music elements. The lyrics reflect Dorothee Munyaneza’s social conscience, focusing on themes sucvh as Rwandan reconciliation, oppression, and AIDs.
The musicians who participated in the recordings include Tim Stone (acoustic and electric guitars), Richard Marcangelo (drums and percussion), Kaz Kasozi (bass guitar), Andrew Cronshaw (zither, marovantele, ba-wu and jawharps), Nasher (additional guitars), Faith Tatou (backing vocals), Philip Achille (chromatic harmonica on “Godeliva” and “Iteka”), Simon Fielder (didjeridu on “Akaririmbo”), Martin O’Neill (bodhran on “One Minute”) and Antonia Russell (backing vocal on “Njyenyine”).
Dorothee Munyaneza participated on the soundtrack of the 2004 feature film “Hotel Rwanda“. Her ensuing collaboration with Afro Celt Sound System as a guest singer on their 2005 Real World Records release, “Volume 5 – Anatomic” gave her worldwide exposure.
The innovative two-disc set features 5.1 surround versions in MLP high-resolution, dts 96/24 and Dolby Digital, Stereo LPCM and a dvd-rom folder containing every song as a 320kbps mp3, each with artwork derived from the DVD’s trackslides. All images are included as desktop wallpaper. The DVD-A offers a bonus track and a credits movie which is presented over a specially-commissioned remix of the opening song. The DVD artwork and photography is by Dorothee Munyaneza’s sister, Faith Tatou.
Dorothee Munyaneza’s debut album is a mesmerizing performance by a beautiful and passionate young Rwandan voice.
Buy the album:
- In Europe: Dorothee Munyaneza.
Author: Angel Romero
Angel Romero y Ruiz has dedicated his life to musical exploration. His efforts included the creation of two online portals, worldmusiccentral.org and musicasdelmundo.com. In addition, Angel is the co-founder of the Transglobal World Music Chart, a panel of world music DJs and writers that celebrates global sounds. Furthermore, he delved into the record business, producing world music studio albums and compilations. His works have appeared on Alula Records, Ellipsis Arts, Indígena Records and Music of the World.
