Rwandance
Berlin-based independent record label Shika Shika for "music without borders" recently released Hamburg multi-instrumentalist/sound-artist Andi Otto's third full-length "Rwandance", a joint project with Rwandan musician and dancer Evariste Karinganire. In 2018, the two first came together while working on a dance piece by Yolanda Gutiérrez, Jens Dietrich and Dorcy Rugamba, entitled "Planet Kigali", which you can watch in full here. The performance premiered at Hamburg's Kampnagel venue at the tailend of 2018, but inspired Otto and Karinganire to further explore the world of Rwandan music and intensify their collaboration.
“The idea was to first listen to a music archive of songs and instrumental recordings of instruments from Rwanda," Andi Otto explains. "Then I tried to transform this material into my own sound. I was mesmerised from the very first moment when I heard the beautiful language Kinyarwanda alongside these instruments like the Umuduri, a percussive bow instrument, and rhythmical structures, like the 5/4 and 3/4 feelings, which are the basis of many songs.” And so, the two set out to create, using Andi's machines and traditional Rwandan rhythms to process and forge organic tapestries, dialogue and harmony.
After previous releases on labels such as Multi Culti or Pingipung "Rwandance" sees Andi Otto venture even further out beyond the conventional 4/4 mould and create a downtempo electro-organic soundtrack to resituate Rwanda on the musical map. You can stream the full release and/or peep the futuristic trailer to "Planet Kigali" below.
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