Found Sound Nation is releasing a new album called OneBeat MixTape, which brings together virtuosic musicians from across the globe to make music. Afropop is proud to premiere the first video from the project for the song “Thum Nyatiti.”
The song melds traditional instrumentation with homemade synthesizers and other improvised instruments. Long-time Afropoppers might recognize Rapasa Otieno, a member of The Nile Project, who joined the group. In the video he is playing the nyatiti, a traditional Kenyan lyre. Mustelide and OMMA, from Belarus and Russia respectively, round out the song on vocals and electronics.
The video clip gives you an idea of how the album sounds, although since the larger group includes artists from Brazil, Morocco, more electronic musicians from Eastern Europe and elsewhere, it's only a partial indication of what you can expect to hear. If the goal of bringing together a bunch of musicians seems like it's going to produce sort of unspecific "world music," rest assured that, thanks to the number of experimental musicians or just the environment fostered, the results here are a bit more outre.
Producer Mustelide began experimenting with sampling Rapasa's traditional Kenyan Nyatiti while playing and singing on her newly acquired portable Octatrack recorder. "Thum Nyatiti" blends Mustelide's unwavering electro pop devotion with Rapasa's delicate and infectious African folk instrumentation. The two also found a kindred spirit in OMMA, Russian instrument designer and synth enthusiast who added her homemade Touch Me interface (which generates sound from everyday objects) into the mix, in the video. In just a few days they wrote and recorded "Thum Nyatiti", a unique electronic (electro pop) experimental song which echoes the surreal elements of nature and the diverse backgrounds of the artists.
The record is coming out this month and, if you're around, check out the group live:
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10/05/2018 - Creative Alliance, Baltimore, MD
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10/06/2018 - Eubie Blake Cultural Center, MD
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10/11/2018 - Bronx Museum, NY
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10/12/2018 - Queens Museum, Queens, NY
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10/13/2018 - Murmrr, Brooklyn, NY
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