TE-KWARO ALANGO-EKUKA, by Ekuka Morris Sirikiti

TE-KWARO ALANGO-EKUKA

by Ekuka Morris Sirikiti

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Record/Vinyl + Digital Album
200 Copies only. Printed on reverse board Sleeve

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Download available in 24-bit/44.1kHz.

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Three Classic Traditional Music LP's from three different corners of Uganda.

Ekuka Morris Sirikiti - TE-KWARO ALANGO-EKUKA LP
Nakibembe Embaire Group LP
Buganda Royal Music Revival LP

Includes unlimited streaming of TE-KWARO ALANGO-EKUKA via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
Download available in 24-bit/44.1kHz.

ships out within 5 days

Purchasable with gift card

€49 EUR or more

1.	MITO MON OMEGU 04:03	buy track
2.	AKEMU MEDE IPWODO DAKO 03:21	buy track
3.	KWALO JAMI AMON TOO 03:53	buy track
4.	ICO AWILO KOTI ME KWALO ORANGA 03:47	buy track
5.	TEC ME OT JOK 04:11	buy track
6.	PE IYEL CWARI ABONGO BAL 05:28	buy track
7.	ONYO OCOLO 02:46	buy track
8.	NYEGENYEGE OYOMO YII JO 03:24	buy track
9.	OPWODO DAKO PI KUNYU OMOGO 04:55	buy track
10.	CIL PACO 03:29	buy track

about

The first studio album from lukeme maestro and legendary Langi griot Ekuka Morris Sirikiti, 'TE-KWARO ALANGO-EKUKU' is an emotional and historical milestone. In 2018, Nyege Nyege Tapes combed through the artist's work forensically on 'Ekuka', picking out the finest examples of his sound from recordings made by keen-eared listeners who caught his performances on Ugandan radio. Ekuka had never kept any of these tracks; living frugally in Lira, Northern Uganda, he doesn't even own a device to listen to the music. So when he eventually heard the anthology, it triggered an epiphany. The songs - recorded between 1978 and 2003 - brought memories flooding back; some of his bandmates have long since passed away, and Ekuka was suddenly reminded of old friendships and long-forgotten life events.

Following this revelation, and for the first time in his life, Ekuka finally stepped into a proper studio, spending two weeks re-discovering and re-recording his old songs. These new versions capture the artist's virtuosity in microscopic detail: the characteristic rattling sound of his lukeme, an ancient African thumb piano, takes pride of place, but his assertive, agile voice also sounds as if it's been unlocked. On previous recordings, his words were often obscured by saturation, distortion and radio static, and here they're presented with startling clarity as he deconstructs social issues, telling winding, poetic (and often humorous) stories in the griot tradition. Sparse polyrhythmic percussion rattles against the euphoric rhythmelodic thumb piano tones, while Ekuka's voice anchors the music in the daily realities of Northern Uganda.

On the opening track 'MITO MON OMEGU', Ekuka stacks quivering lukeme phrases into a tense rhythmic foundation, dancing around the buzzing notes with clipped, casual rhymes that untangle the stresses and strains of romancing a brother's wife. And he travels further into the moral grey zone on 'ICO AWILO KOTI ME KWALO ORANGA', telling the tale of a man who buys a coat to steal beans over an irregular, woody rhythmic knock. The album's de-facto single 'TEC ME OT JOK' is about local witch doctors, and is the first song Ekuka has accompanied with a video. Colorful and cinematic, it juxtaposes footage of his performance - showcasing his lukeme playing in vivid detail - with local dances and narrative snippets that dramatize the interplay between a medicine man and his community.

Eukua is an endlessly inquisitive presence, mixing public service announcements ('ONYO OCOLO' is about paying taxes, while 'CIL PACO' details personal hygiene) with questions about village morals, like on 'OPWODO DAKO PI KUNYU OMOGO' when he recounts an incident when a woman is beaten for harvesting cassava. Everything's presented with an invitation to dance and to reflect, delivered with pathos and mischievous charm by an artist who's seen life's full spectrum in intimate detail.

Video for Tec Me Ot Jok youtu.be/_pP-yThlFdQ

credits

released August 9, 2024

Photography by Masaka Masaka
Artwork by Marc TSQ
Mixed and Mastered by Declared Sound
Recorded by Declared Sound at Villa Nyege

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Nyege Nyege Tapes Kampala, Uganda

Nyege Nyege Tapes is a Kampala based label exploring, producing and releasing outsider music from around the region and beyond.

We fulfill orders twice weekly, so most items will be shipped out within 3-5 days of your order being placed, with tracking provided automatically. We ship all records in whiplash mailers with extra cardboard protection.

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