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Interview
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Mohammed Alidu’s life began in Ghana, but he has been far and wide with his talking drum, while never losing sight of his roots. On Land of Fire, the new long player by Mohammed Alidu and the Bizung Family, Alidu blends traditional drum playing with personal rhythms and a talented group of musicians to create a melange of Afro-pop, the variety of which is indicative of his journeys from Madagascar to the U.K. to Boulder, Colorado, where he is currently located.
The album starts with “Zomnilanisala,” a funk-tinged banger with thumping bass lines and an otherworldly drum lead-in, held together with a catchy hook. “Land of Fire” is a salsa love poem to Alidu’s homeland, with simple but heartfelt invitations to see Africa as he sees it. “Salame” slows it down with arpeggiated guitars, but “Baby You Know” brings the funk back with horn stabs and an optimistic chorus. “Chaskalanga” is driven by the talking drum Alidu plays so well, taking a few bars in the middle for a blazing drum solo, but the real skill is in keeping the complex rhythm on point for the entire song. For syncopation with almost a reggae flavor, look no further than “On Y Va.” The plaintive, easy horn in “Only Love” could have been pulled off of a Joni Mitchell tune, and “Take A Look” has such intricate polyrhythms I think I need a slide rule to figure out the time signature. “Nantoo” is a sprawling epic; interspersed with jungle sounds, this song features the drum more prominently, becoming as much of a voice as Alidu’s chants. In the interview below, we can hear more from Alidu directly.
What inspires you most?
Music.
Do you make any other kinds of art, or are you a drum specialist?
I’m really a drum specialist, but making drums could be considered art since the carving on some drums is a creative process and fixing them makes you connect more because it allows you to tune it to the sounds you’d like to hear.
What do you think your most powerful musical collaboration has been?
Playing with Adzido Dance Company in London—it’s a memory that comes back to me often and reminds me of the powerful connection between drumming and dance. Each person has a very important role, and playing those huge drums in Buckingham Palace, wow. Such an amazing feeling.
Apart from the musicians you have worked with, do you have any aspirations to collaborate with anyone, i.e. “I’d really like to work with Bono from U2″ or something like that? It could be musicians that are not so well-known and in mainstream pop culture, too.
Willie Nelson!!! Keb’ Mo, and Nina Simone if she were still alive.
Are there other Ghanian musicians listeners in the U.S. should be watching out for?
Kojo Antwi and Rocky Dawuni.
It’s obvious from your press kit that you feel a real kinship with your collaborator Matt Wasowski. Why do you think you work together so well, or is it just one of those magical, unexplainable connections?
Matt is very open-minded in music; in terms of understanding the rhythm of me, we have a similar approach and it really is one of those magical connections. Everything is just so easy and simple; he can finish a musical idea that I start and it will be exactly what I envisioned.
What is your role in the Playing For Change Foundation?
I am the Artistic Director for the Bizung School of Music and Dance in Tamale, Ghana. The school is built on my family’s property but so many people in the community donated their hard work to the actual construction of the school, and now 150 children are attending classes there. The Foundation funds the school, and right now we teach the traditional music of Northern Ghana but have plans to incorporate other instruments and styles of music.
Where do you see yourself in one year? Ten years?
I see myself in this world doing what I love: bringing happiness into people’s hearts. In ten years, my goodness, I don’t know, it’s all about hoping to see the day after tomorrow.
09/01/10
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