In the past decade, we have seen plenty of African music come to Indian shores. Vieux Farka Touré, Songhoy Blues and Seun Kuti (the son of Afrobeat pioneer Fela Kuti) are just a few names who have performed to local audiences.
Meanwhile, Indian (and Indian-origin) musicians have been picking up African beats, sampling instruments, and promoting music from the continent. Take, for instance, New Delhi-based band, The 4AF, which comprises entirely of Congolese musicians, or Bengaluru’s hip-hop circuit, which now has a Nigerian rapper named Mikki Jags. Recently, AR Rahman used a kora , a West African string harp, for the background score of director Rajiv Menon’s upcoming film , Sarvam Thaala Mayam. This World Music Day, as we celebrate the melodies that unite us, here are five musicians bringing Africa into their fold:
Candice Pillay
With Indian roots and a South African upbringing, the hip-hop artist’s big moment came in 2015, when she sang in rap grandmaster Dr. Dre’s album, Compton . Previously, she had been co-writing songs fo₹ 3,500r the likes of Rihanna and Christina Aguilera. In an interview with Toronto Paradise about her influences, she said, “I’m Indian, so mixing the African and Indian rhythms and drums together is very close to R&B and hip-hop. A lot of my melodies are very Indian and you wouldn’t think that because they’re under a heavy 808, but I try to access all those cultures that I grew up on. I guess it’s working!”
Our pick: ‘Go Getta’ from The Mood Kill
Sarathy Korw ar
Sarathy Korwar
Sarathy Korwar
For his 2016 album Day to Day , this US-born, London-based composer, percussionist and improviser fused jazz and electronic music with recordings he took of the Siddi tribe in Gujarat — descendents of African Bantu migrants — showcasing the community’s Indo-African heritage. “These collaborations bring folk music to an audience that [may not] have heard it otherwise,” Korwar mentioned in an earlier interview.
Our pick: ‘Bismillah’ from Day to Day
Luna Toke
When Goa-based producer and DJ Sachin Shetty, who goes by the name Luna Toke, released his debut EP, Wandering, last year, he tagged it as world music, because that was how he was first exposed to African melodies. With Wandering, Shetty aimed for a lo-fi, “ethnic” sound, gathering samples from the internet, as well as recording instruments (like the hangdrum). He says about the allure of African music, “Anything that comes from a strong cultural connection, and as politically incorrect as this might sound, is more than ‘white’ music, has a deeper emotional meaning for me.”
Our pick: ‘Simian Groove’ from Wandering
Rahul Guha Roy
Musician Rahul Guha Roy
Musician Rahul Guha Roy
The Shillong-bred, Kolkata-based singer-songwriter is one of the most distinct voices in Indian rock, even if his band, Cassini’s Division, has never been given its due. In his 2016 live album Portraiture — released and recorded by Amuze Records — Roy travels from American folk to Indonesian and Vietnamese folk and lands up with a high-energy Swahili number that is probably inspired by the time he spent growing up in Tanzania.
Our pick: ‘Ina Kupenda Sana’ from Portraiture
Zokhuma
Mumbai-based producer Arman Menzies followed his career as a rock and metal guitarist with a solo electronic project, Zokhuma . Around the same time that he started, Afro music made a re-emergence in the global dance music scene, and Menzies was soon discovering obscure melodies via blogs like Awesome Tapes from Africa. Even though his two EPs, Tomorrow Will Be Better and Hearts + Fields , only feature a subtle influence of African percussion, most of Zokhuma ’s performances often lean on African music that has been remixed or edited. He says, “They just put a nice dancing beat on it and pump up the bassline. African music is so naturally rhythmic and catchy, you can’t not dance to it.”
Our pick: ‘Hearts+Fields’ EP
