Kondi Band – We Famous (Strut Records, 2021)
“We Famous” is the superb new album from Kondi Band, a collaboration between Los Angeles-based producer Chief Boima, London electronic music artist Will LV and Sorie Kondi, a blind musician living in Freetown, Sierra Leone. Sorie is an engaging vocalist and skillful player of the the kondi, a thumb piano found in Sierra Leone. Sorie uses a custom-made 15-pin kondi.
Although the album begins with a traditional performance of vocals and kondi, quickly, electronic beats and atmospheres join in as the album turns into a captivating mix of Sierra Leonean roots, Afropop, dub, and various forms of masterfully-crafted electronic dance rhythms. The striking vocals feature traditional call and response singing intertwined with modern dubs and the Afropop style of guest vocalist, Sierra Leonean singer-songwriter Mariama Jalloh.
“We Famous” beautiful blends Sierra Leonean traditions and cutting edge electronica.
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