Ufulu 1991-1997
1000HZ (54 mins)
In urgent need of a bucketful of wholesome joy with none of the risks of eternal damnation? Katawa Singers have you covered.
The group, from Mzuzu in Malawi, changed the face of gospel in their country. Their tight harmonies are based in the tradition of the East African church choir, but they stand out for two reasons: their use of sounds from the region’s three main cultural groups (the Tonga, the Ngoni and the Tumbuka); and the all-pervading Yamaha keyboards which provide cheap-and-cheerful synth backdrops to it all.
Although the songs speak of piety, prayer, self-control and asceticism, the musical settings exude an unbridled happiness with a minimal amount of schmaltz. Even their take on ‘Kum-ba-yah’ raises the song from its usual dread-inducing campfire dirge into an earnestly cheerful and hallelujah-filled grin-along.
This compilation spans Katawa Singers’ first seven albums and from the sounds of it, the tracks have been taken from copies of copies of cassette tapes. The sound quality is therefore rather poor, even cutting out abruptly on the last track, and the distortion and fuzziness across all the tracks toe the line between endearing and frustrating. If you can get over that though, there’s a lot to love in this music, be that God or otherwise.