Dur-Dur Band – Dur-Dur of Somalia: Volume 1, Volume 2 (Analog Africa, 2018)
The Analog Africa label is well known for its remarkable collections of African recordings from across the African continent. This time, they focus on one of the greatest bands form 1980s Somalia: Dur-Dur Band.
Dur-Dur of Somalia: Volume 1, Volume 2 & Previously Unreleased Tracks contains alluring dance songs where Somali rhythms like banaadiri and dhaanto, were mixed with powerful funk, rock, disco, and reggae. The instrumentation includes great wah wah guitar, groovy electric organ and a powerful rhythm section along with highly charismatic singers.
Mogadishu-based Dur-Dur Band included band founder and keyboardist Isse Dahir, jazz-trained bassist Ujeeri, drummer Handal (Bakaka Band), Isse’s younger brothers Abukar Dahir Qassin on lead guitar, and Ahmed Dahir Qassin as permanent sound engineer. On their first two albums, Volume 1 and Volume 2, three different singers provided lead-vocal duties: Shimaali (Bakaka Band), Sahra Dawo (Waaberi Band) and Baastow (Waaberi Band).
The Analog Africa team located the music from various sources and the songs were remastered and housed is special packages: a double-CD and triple-LP with lengthy liner notes, including interviews with original band members.
Buy Dur-Dur of Somalia: Volume 1, Volume 2 in Europe
Buy Dur-Dur of Somalia: Volume 1, Volume 2 in the rest of the world
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.
