“The Soundthread and Santuri collaboration led to Iganga, about 4 hours drive from the Ugandan capital Kampala. Iganga is a small village found just off one of the main roads running through the country. These roads act as the main archeries of life where the power lines keep the hustle and bustle of business and social activity close to the noisy, dusty highways. Iganga is where, along with a handful of other villages, you can find the Embaire Xylophone instrument. It’s made of various sized slabs of wood, from the huge low notes to smaller high end pieces – 32 notes in all. A pit is dug into the ground that acts as a resonator, adding yet more depth and tonality to the sound. It needs up to 9 people to play, and once heard, it’s hard to forget. The first impression to the untrained outsider, the individual players seem to be working in unconnected rhythms and time signatures, a riot of noise and energy. After a while you stop trying to figure it out and feel the unique richness of the whole – a trance inducing, mesmeric noise that binds the community together around various ceremonies and gatherings. The sessions go on for hours and the acoustic pieces will be concentrated into a form suitable for vinyl release at the end of 2016.”
Santuri’s Embaire Umeme is a remix package from another planet set to take the clubs by storm this autumn. It features the re-recorded and rearranged compositions of Uganda’s Mugwisa International Xylophone Group. The record was assisted by Santuri Safari—a music collective that supports the East African underground electronic music scene – and the release represents a beautiful fusion of ambient Ugandan music and upbeat house.
It was released earlier this month on On The Corner Records as a limited edition 12” vinyl with a knockout, strictly limited artworked sleeve from Victoria Topping. The artists behind the remixes include Sam Jones of Soundthread, Ishmael and Alejandro Mosso. Each track offers an inspired re-articulation of acoustic recording sessions taken in Uganda whilst maintaining the true essence of the Embaire xylophone and its hypnotic, cyclical nature.
Listen to the E.P. here: