"Tembo Kia Ngoma"
Kiazi Malonga
West coast Congolese sensation Kiazi Malonga released his debut album "Tembo Kia Ngoma" on March 5. The album pays tribute to Malonga's late parents, including world renowned ambassador of central African dance and Malonga's father, Malonga Casquelourd.
"Tembo Kia Ngoma" translates from Kikongo to English to mean "the wind of the drum." Malonga, who also grew up in the inner city says, "Tembo (being wind) can also refer to the vibration of the sound waves that hit you often when a car with an amazing stereo system pulls up alongside you." The Ngoma, a traditional drum from sub-Saharan Africa, is the primary instrument showcased throughout the album.
With "Tembo Kia Ngoma," Malonga aims to elevate the platform with which Congolese traditional music is listened to and appreciated. Malonga concludes, "It's a first step in my contribution to sharing the beautiful culture that I am a part of...Congolese Culture."
"Cavalcade"
black midi
Rough Trade
black midi are proud to release their dynamic, hellacious and inventive new album, "Cavalcade," on May 28. The album scales beautiful new heights, pulling widely from a plethora of genres and influences, reaching ever upwards from an already lofty base of early achievements.
With this album, there was a "yearning" to be more considered and record something that was more harmonically interesting and challenging. "It's easy to get wrapped up in the improvisation myth of divine intervention, that if a song doesn't happen in the room naturally without it being guided by someone specifically, when we're all just feeling the vibe, then it's not proper and it's not pure," says Greep. "That's kind of a dangerous thing because you end up never trying something different, or you just abandon an idea if it doesn't work at first because you're always waiting for that thing to arrive perfect."
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This spot will continue to be filled by news and reviews of new albums, both local and national. Send information about your new releases to Jocelyn Murphy at [email protected].
