MUSIC OF SIERRA LEONE: VOLUME 5
Susu of Lungi
Released by earthcds partners.
Recorded by Luke Wassermann
Audio CD: 68 minutes - 11 tracks.
This CD is the fifth volume of an anthology of traditional Sierra Leonean music produced by Luke Wassermann. It was recorded live in 2006 in coastal area known as Lungi, and features a group of stellar Susu singers, balangi players and percussionists. The balangi is a xylophone with gourds mounted underneath the keys. The 12-page booklet included in the package contains color photographs, song translations, background information, and the story of the origin of the balangi, translated from a transcript of an oral rendition given by the most famous d'jalleba in Lungi. Some of the songs are about love, and other praise heroic or accomplished individuals. Two of the songs are instrumental-only with spectacular solos on the balangi.