Various Artists / Pulse of Africa, the
Album: Pulse of Africa, the   Collection:World
Artist:Various Artists   Added:Jun 2004
Label:Arc Music Inc.  

A-File Activity
Add Date: 2004-10-11 Pull Date: 2004-12-13 Charts: Reggae/World
Week Ending: Dec 12 Nov 28 Nov 21 Nov 14 Nov 7 Oct 31 Oct 24 Oct 17
Airplays: 2 2 1 2 1 1 2 1

Recent Airplay
1. Dec 10, 2015: Clean Copper Radio Special Edition COP TALK
Gboko Lia Yayari Kpamo
4. Nov 27, 2004: Morning Glory
Wo Mawu
2. Dec 09, 2004: Sun in Libra, Moon in Pisces
Yolo Male
5. Nov 25, 2004: Sun in Libra, Moon in Pisces
Zima Gaza Koo
3. Dec 08, 2004: Sunshine ... on a Rainy Day
Nxai
6. Nov 15, 2004: Trip Over Zero
Baba

Album Review
David Shaw
Reviewed 2004-10-04
Coll: The Pulse of Africa ARC Music, 2004
Here the pulse is strong and rapid, a result of hours of dancing to this
engaging music. Five groups of master musicians play mostly drums from many
African countries’ culture and musical styles. Tradition and authenticity guide
the production, and the result is a sampling of rhythms from 30 of the 52 African
countries. The booklet has historical and cultural details for each track, and for a
bonus, there are pictures of many of the instruments used in the recording.
Faves: 1,2,4,7,8,10,11,17,18 (Dr D 09-04)
(All track titles and times on back of case)
1.Fast/med ,4 drums, shakers, bells and whistles, chants. Infectious beat ends suddenly
2 Slow/med, ‘wild pig’ drum, 4 or 5 others, bell and bush shakers. Grunts are cool!
3 Med, steady beat, 5 drums w. some random backgnd vox not a part of the performance
4 Slow; 5 drums, shakers, whistle, chants. Excellent interplay among the high and low drums
5 Med, 4 djembes+ bass drum, no vox or percussion. Trad Senegalese rhythm, lots of ‘talking’
6 Med, 7 drums, woodblock, shakers. Plenty talk, good pitch changes
7 Med, one two-sided drum plus multiple xylophones and thumb pianos. Unusual time signature
8 Med, ancient ‘bushman’ tune. 5 drums, lyre, flute, vox. Celebrates the oneness of all life
9 Med/slow, djembes, Zulu low drum, congas, bell, and shakers. A song of the magic chameleon
10 Med, Zulu bass drum, bush drums, bamboo flute, thumb piano and marimba. For all the birds
11 Med/fast, 3 drums, thumb piano, shakers, djembe phrases. Girls initiation ceremony
12 Slow, 2 drums, whistle, shaker. A typical Shangan dance rhythm for happy occasions
13 Med, a snake dance with women’s shouts. Venda big drum, carved from one piece of wood
14 Med/fast, 7 drums, shakers, and claves. A dance to celebrate girls’ initiation ceremony
15 Med/slow, a hunting dance. 3 bush drums, 2 bamboo flutes, whistle, shakers
16 Slow/med, 5 drums including a gangan (talking), Ken-Keni, and djembes. Dove song
17 Fast! 2 drums, sticks, shakers, thumb pianos, marimba. Honors the Mbum chief
18 Med, 40-gal drum, Zulu bass drum, djembes, bush drums, bamboo flute. Song of the beetle

Track Listing
 ArtistTrack Name
1. El Hadj Ensemble Wo Mawu
2. Ipelegeng Gruppe/African Works Ngungu
3. El Hadj Ensemble/African Works Eboka
4. El Hadj Ensemble Basoga Lusoga
5. El Hadj Ensemble Mala
6. El Hadj Ensemble Soului
7. African Works Gboko Lia Yayari Kpamo
8. Soweto Ensemble/African Works Nxai
9. Ipelegeng Group Unwabu
10. Soweto Ensemble/African Works Baba
11. African Works Zima Gaza Koo
12. El Hadj Ensemble Kekebu
13. Tirani Club Domba
14. El Hadj Ensemble/African Works Yolo Male
15. African Works Mabo
16. El Hadj Ensemble Eshe Eyele
17. African Works Zanga
18. Soweto Ensemble Ibhungane