Umoyo wa Muthempire (Live in the Temple)
1000HZ Records (50 mins)
For those in the Malawian countryside, the Tonga Boys from Mzuzu are a band from the big city and the group’s arrival to perform at Doctor Kanuska’s traditional temple caused a stir. There, the urban DIY sounds of the Tonga Boys met the singers and dancers of the temple’s congregation for a night of deep vimbuza (spirit possession healing music) mixed in with malipenga (military music from the Tonga Boy’s homeland of Nkhata Bay) and even a couple of stripped-back dancehall numbers.
There are real field recording vibes from this album. The way the sound bounces around the room, the gentle bubble of chatter and the excited electricity of this one-of-a-kind performance all strongly evoke a sense of place. It feels like you’re there and the intensity of the event is palpable.
In the temple, the music was all voice and percussion, but Polish producer Piotr Dang Cichocki adds an extra layer. The production elements – synthed bass and drums, samples – are surprisingly subtle for the size of their sound, often blending seamlessly into the percussion density and adding a complementary boom to the ngoma drums to ensure those transcendental chest cavity reverberations.
This is a unique mix of urban-rural, folk-dance-religious-party music with an acid twang. To be there live must have been unforgettable; this album is the next best thing.