MUSIC OF SIERRA LEONE: VOLUME 7
Folk Songs of Sherbro Island
Released by earthcds partners.
Recorded by Luke Wassermann
Audio CD: 61 minutes - 10 tracks.
This CD is the seventh volume of an anthology of traditional Sierra Leonean music produced by Luke Wassermann. It features the konigai and kowi-playing duo of Abdul Sheriff and Ansumama Fai performing a style of music called gbokindeh. These young men are folk singers who make their living through a residence on the M.B. Halala, a motor-powered wooden boat that takes passengers from mainland Sierra Leone to Sherbro Island. It was recorded in 2007 in Bonthe Town, a former British colonial settlement and the only major town on Sherbro Island. Sheriff sings in Mende, Krio, and Sherbro, while simultaneously strumming his hand-carved konigai (pictured on the front cover) and beating a large resonant box with the heel of his foot. Fai adds rhythmic fervor with the two-sided kowi drum and a tin pan. The 12-page booklet included in the package contains color photographs, translations of song lyrics, background information about Bonthe, and an interview transcript.