| King Marong & Afro Mandinko - Super Afro Mandinko |
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Independent artist release 
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King Marong & Afro Mandinko - Super Afro Mandinko Price in Australian dollars $25.00: / Unit Click on the Cart button to buy this CD now. VISA, Mastercard, American Express, Paypal accepted. Postage charges are calculated by the shopping cart.
They say you shouldn't judge a book by its cover, and I guess the same applies to CDs. However, I think I've found an exception to this rule. King Marong and Afro Mandinko's eponymous CD has a cover that is bright, clean and colourful; a perfect description of its contents. From the kora (a 21 string African harp) opening the first track to the melodica dying away to conclude the last, this is a quality CD; recorded and mixed brilliantly, and performed by a group of highly talented musicians -traditional West African music and instruments merge with Western and other influences in a seamless sonic fusion, bringing out the best of these diverse cultures. Afro Mandinko is an eight-piece band, a collaboration between King Marong, who hails from The Gambia but is now resident in Melbourne, and (mostly) Australian musicians. Between them, members of the band make use of about sixteen instruments in the construction of the twelve tracks. With percussion playing no small part on this CD, we hear djembe, doun doun, sabar, tam tam, congas and other percussion combined with keyboards, saxes and guitars, all sitting on a solid foundation of bass and drums. King Marong, a master of many African drumming styles, contributes percussion and delivers the lead vocals. He is supported by Bec Matthews (kora, trumpet and vocals), Prince Maikoos Havir (keyboards, melodica), Richmond Brain (guitars), David Joseph (kit, Conrad Henderson (bass), Paul Holleman (saxes) and Kuuka Acquah (vocals). Supplementing the collaboration on this occasion are guest vocalist Lamine Sonko, and multi-instrumentalist Martin Tucker, who, on this occasion, demonstrates his kora playing skills. This is a CD you can listen to on many levels. Give the volume knob a sharp twist to the right and you have an instant pulsing percussive party, where tribal African rhythms sit in a tight groove with funk and a couple of bursts of reggae. Turn the knob to the left, and the intricacies and subtleties of the arrangements and instruments become evident. At another level, the musical foundations of these tracks, once you listen below the surface of the Western influences, reveal a taste of the culture that forms their source, from songs of celebration to epic tales of heroic battles. This is the heritage that King Marong brings to this CD, a heritage born of his early life amongst the griots, the West African poets, praise singers, wandering musicians and bearers of oral history. - review by Mike Raine for indie-cds.comInformation from King Marong's website : personnel: - King Marong: Lead vox and percussion (djembe, Doun Doun, Sabar, Tam Tam, congas). Bec Matthews: Kora (21 string African harp), trumpet and vocals. Michael Havir: keys, melodica and effects. Richmond Brain: lead guitar, Oud, lap steel and effects. David Joseph: drumkit, hand percussion. Conrad Henderson: bass guitar. Paul Holleman: alto and soprano saxophone. Kuukua Acquah: vocals/dance Guest Artist Lamine Sonko: vocals King Marong - Gambian Master djembe drummer, percussionist, singer, composer, teacher and cultural ambassador.Born in Bakau in The Gambia King has been performing professionally since the age of 12. Developing his skills in his coastal fishing village where he grew up with the griots and international musicians who were his mentors for Senegambian drumming and cultural priorities. In his late teens he formed his band Kunta Kinteh and consequently travelled with it in The Gambia, Senegal and Europe. King has built an international reputation as a master of many African drumming styles on instruments such as the djembe, doundoun and sabar, teaching percussion to students from around the world. “With their tight world-roots rhythm section varying their approach from song to song and two koras in the mix, King Marong and Afro Mandinko have produced one of the best Australian-African CDs to date. Lucky Oceans, The Planet ABC Australia.”
MP3 samples:
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| Order Number |
KMAMCD2008
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| CD released |
2008
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| Artists website/bio etc |
www.mdiart.com or www.myspace.com/afromandinko
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| Track List | Bakoteh : Dowda Sane : Badi Leh : Kedo (part 1) : Kedo (part 2) : Nyiming Lufta : Apollo : Alayeh Kuwar Minke : Salia : Galio : Sayouma Joulet : Sayaleh |
| State | Victoria, Australia |
| Keywords | Afro Mandinko. King Marong, Gambian, percussionist, tuition |