Buy anything from the World Music store and you can get the official CD from the Songlines Music Awards 2013 for just £1.99. Offer ends at 23:59 on Sunday, June 30. Learn more.
Buy anything from the World Music store and you can get the official CD from the Songlines Music Awards 2013 for just £1.99. Offer ends at 23:59 on Sunday, June 30. Learn more. |
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Product Description
Product Description
The Malawi Mouse Boys is a band of eight members - a group of young villagers who have been playing music together and writing songs since they were children. 'He is #1' is their first album – a collection of rootsy and authentic songs of faith and love, reminiscent of the rural, southern sounds of mid-20th century American gospel music. The album is produced by GRAMMY winning producer, Ian Brennan, and is released on IRL on Monday 28th May 2012. Landlocked Malawi is one of the poorest countries in the world and when not strumming on their rudimentary guitars made from recycled scrap-metal parts, these young musicians make a living selling the local delicacy - mice on sticks as snacks for passing travellers - hence their name. This is the first time their music has been out of Malawi (in fact the first ever release in the language of Chichewa outside Malawi) and the purity and earnestness of their voices is both enchanting and moving - as if these 14 songs have been discovered in a long lost time-capsule. Ian Brennan, producer of Tinariwen's recent GRAMMY winning album, 'Tassili', and three-time GRAMMY nominated, has worked with Ramblin' Jack Elliott, Kyp Malone & Tunde Adebimpe (TV on the Radio), Flea, Lucinda Williams, Jonathan Richman, Richard Thompson and more. For Brennan the experience of working with The Malawi Mouse Boys was extraordinary: "With vocal-powerhouse, Zondiwe Kachingwe, 22, playing Sam Cooke to 27 year-old Nelson Muligo's stonecold Keith Richards, the only real obstacle to catching lightning-in-a-bottle musically with these eight young men were the tiny spiders that kept crawling into the hard-drive and crashing the mobile system as I recorded on the clay-ground beside their hut." Line-up: Zondiwe Kachingwe (vocals), Alfred Gavana (vocals, guitar), Gerard Haju (drums), Laurence Mpombe (vocals), Austine Banda (guitar), Nelson Muligo (lead guitar, vocals), Jameson Lufeyo (vocals), Patrick Muhondo (bass, vocals).
Review
Before you balk at the name, check the back story. These eight friends have worked together since boyhood, crafting songs when business was slow. Their day jobs: selling mouse kebabs to passing traffic on Malawi’s roads, since food shortages have made field mice a delicacy.
But what about the music? He Is #1 has a refreshingly unencumbered sound, a lack of technological interference allowing the honesty and authenticity of the music to shine through.
When Kunvera opens, what you hear is what you get: an a cappella track steered by the pleasant tenor of Zondiwe Kachingwe, supported by a strong chorus of peers. Can’t say what the lyrics are about, other than that the title means “To Hear”, but one gets the sense we are dealing with something positive, as the voices work together to draw us upwards.
In contrast, Ndathamanga-Thamanga (“Going Here and There”) is led by the gruffer voice of one Jameson Lufeyo, whose style edges a little closer to that of Mahlathini, but the effect is somehow equally uplifting.
The disc’s title hints at the devotional focus of most of the songs, with Kunjoya Mwa Jesu imploring us to “Rejoice in the Lord” and Ndiwa Bwino telling us that “He is Good”, the latter delivered via broad vocal harmony, backed by a choppy rhythm guitar, and muffled, bouncing bass.
Mtsilikali (“Solider”) places some reggae undercurrents behind the constant references to “Jesu”, and Wabwino (“It’s Good”) is delightfully rough. Listen closely, and behind Gerard Haju’s wobbling lead you may hear the crows of a cockerel.
Parallels have been drawn with American gospel records of the 1930s and 40s, but there are also strong regional influences, as heard in the vocal harmony traditions of the Shona and Bantu, amongst others. Plenty of tracks are rough around the edges, which keeps everything a bit more real.
Producer Ian Brennan has already brought a tasteful ear to plenty of inspiring material, including Tinariwen’s Tassili album. Good on him for bringing the Malawi Mouse Boys to the attention of the wider world, as this one is definitely worth investigating.
--David Katz
Find more music at the BBC This link will take you off Amazon in a new window
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
By Titian30
Format:Audio CD|Amazon Verified Purchase
I first heard a track from He is #1 on BBC 6 Music, and was amazed and excited to hear music in Chichewa (the main language of Malawi) being played on the radio in the U.K. I was even more pleased to be able to buy the album on Amazon. The story of how the musicians were 'discovered' and helped to record the album is inspiring; I do hope that they are seeing the profits from the sale of the album. I admit that I would probably not buy an album with such a strong religious theme that was sung in English. However, I love the sound of the Chichewa language but only have limited understanding of it, so I love listening to and bopping along to the tunes on He is #1. My current favourite track is "Ndaimirila (Stand By)", mainly because it sounds so positive and has a great melody. I would recommend the album to people who like world music, undiscovered talent, and of course to anyone who has ever been to Malawi.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
Love it, love it, love it! What a joy to hear music in the raw - we get so little of it these days.
There is, however, always a pang of guilt when some innocent soul is catapulted into the global music scene; I hope Ian Brennan will work hard to take care of the boys. This could be a great opportunity for them & their community, but, if not properly handled, it could also be very destructive.
No doubt though, the music is simply wonderful. Do watch the Youtube clip - incredible talent & inventive instruments! [...]
There is, however, always a pang of guilt when some innocent soul is catapulted into the global music scene; I hope Ian Brennan will work hard to take care of the boys. This could be a great opportunity for them & their community, but, if not properly handled, it could also be very destructive.
No doubt though, the music is simply wonderful. Do watch the Youtube clip - incredible talent & inventive instruments! [...]
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
3.7 out of 5 stars
3 reviews
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Heard about it on The World - Great purchase!
12 Jun 2012
By Cailen Sniker
- Published on Amazon.com
I just heard about this album and group on PRI's The World today. I liked what I heard on the radio, so I figured it was worth it for $9. It's great! If you like very vocally-focused world music, particularly afro-inspired work, you'll probably love this album. I'd recommend it for anyone who likes Ladysmith Black Mambazo especially.
My only disappointment has been with the Amazon MP3 download, which has, so far, not been able to download to my computer and I can only play it on the Cloud Player. Hopefully this resolves itself soon.
My only disappointment has been with the Amazon MP3 download, which has, so far, not been able to download to my computer and I can only play it on the Cloud Player. Hopefully this resolves itself soon.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Unexpected delights from a surprising place
16 Jan 2013
By Say Hey Kid
- Published on Amazon.com
One of my top albums of 2012! San Francisco based producer Ian Brennan has made several trips to Africa looking for musical surprises. He found this one in the form of young men on the side of the road, selling a local delicacy: Roasted mice on sticks. Their music might seem a bit of a contrast to that set-up, but it's just as surprising, perhaps: sweet, earnest, Africanized Christian gospel. The voices are as natural and uncomplicated as their heartfelt praise for Jesus, accompanied by rustic guitar and, the real musical kicker, bass lines played on what almost sounds like a big rubber band. It's compelling stuff, almost enough to make me want to try one of those mice. Almost.
0 of 4 people found the following review helpful
1.0 out of 5 stars
Short change
4 Jan 2013
By Jovite
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Audio CD|Amazon Verified Purchase
Yes,you will be short change if you buy this cd.First thing you need to know it runs for about 30'.The songs are not that great unless you are in a "Christian mood"....And the singers sound really amateurish.This stuff does not belong on a cd....Hopefully the "wannabe "producers of this "thing"will take note....
›
Go to Amazon.com to see all 3 reviews
3.7 out of 5 stars
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