Rise and Doug: Tanzwa Nekutambura(We've Suffered Enough)http://www.adastra-music.co.uk/html/101_artistInfo.php?id=70
Rise Kagona, founder member of the Bhundu Boys, and Doug Veitch, world music pioneer and celebrated exponent of Caledonian Cajun, have both disappeared off the radar a bit since their salad days in the mid to late 80's. In fact both have been through some pretty rough times, and Rise's story reads like a dramatically enhanced version of all the things that can go wrong in the world of rock'n'roll, with the added twist that he is an exile from his homeland - an exile he has chosen, I believe, but maybe as the least bad out of a poor set of options.
Whatever the reason, here he is, twenty years after he first landed in Britain, making a record in Edinburgh of African sounds, sung almost entirely in Shona. More than that he has reunited with the man who brought him here and has taught Doug Veitch enough Shona for them to be sharing the vocals as well as trading guitar licks. If ever there was an album of redemption songs, then here it is, and whatever the lyrical content of the songs, it is a testament to friendship, to hanging in there through the tough times, to the peace that comes from knowing that whatever else you have found your role in the world, and above all to the joy of making music.
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Painstakingly multi-tracking the vocals until Rise's rich,deep voice and Doug's lighter Scots-folk tenor become a veritable choir and backed up by the energetic percussion of Orphy Robinson and Nick Moore, the boys come up with an hour of rich music spread over ten songs, the mood varying from the melancholic soulfulness of Wafungeiko, through the joy of Ayo Makomo (celebrating being amongst the mountains, and containing, about eight minutes in, one of those moments of pure musical joy as the guitar lick returns after the circular playing has taken you deep into a trance), to the wondrous nine minute meditative journey of Hey Hey Hey, described as an "Instrumental with chants". And, just as a bit of seasoning, there's Doug Veitch's very Scots anti-love song, "You're The One", with Rise offering his comments in Shona in the background.
No pyrotechnics here, then, just a quiet sense of joy in helping each other make music, a music that can bring warmth, joy and peace into your life.
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