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Various artists: Africatown, AL: Ancestor Sounds review – music that defies the darkest of pasts
From blues to industrial and rap, these extraordinary recordings showcase the community of descendants of the last slavers’ ship to the US
In charge are Italian-Rwandan filmmaker Marilena Umuhoza Delli and her husband, Grammy-winning producer Ian Brennan (Tinariwen, Zomba Prison Project, and, intriguingly, the live shows of good friend John Waters). Different horns – the bright wails of saxophones – accompany another’s memories of segregation in Black Part of Town, while unsettling metallic grooves spin behind the astonishing, female-led Haunted By Her Capture. Run, If You Can (Don’t Go Down that Road)Also present are spoken-word and rap recalling the mid-20th century griot energy of the Last Poets and Gil Scott Heron, plus sped-up vocals, computer startup tones and Einstürzende Neubauten levels of industrial noise, suggesting the discombobulation and horror that progress can bring.
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