Tembo Kia Ngoma
Red Tone Records (45 mins)
In the Bantu languages spoken throughout Central, Eastern and Southern Africa, ngoma represents an important part of musical and social culture. The literal translation is usually given as ‘drum’, but it more accurately refers to a unified concept of drum-dance-song-music. You can beat the ngoma, or sing it, or dance it, and in doing so, create ngoma. Ngoma is at once playing, moving and listening – it is by nature reciprocal and collaborative. Tembo Kia Ngoma explores the drum and its wider meanings in sound in an impressive and considered debut from Congolese-American artist Kiazi Malonga.
Read the full review over at The Quietus.