Drums of Burundi - Ensemble Folklorique Batimbo

(ARC Music / EUCD2053)

Anyone who was a fan of the Dandy Prince of Pop, Adam Ant, will already be aware of the fabulous, thunderous tribal beats and chants of the drummers of Burundi. It was these very drums that were the identifying sound, shaping most of Mr Ant's hits! Way back in the 80s, Adam and the Ants as well as Bow Wow Wow heavily sampled the enormous Burundi beats. The original source of this tribal rhythm was a recording of 25 drummers of the Ingoma tribe, Burundi. The recording was included in an album, 'Musique du Burundi', issued by the French Ocora label in 1968. During the early 70s, a British pop musician named Mike Steiphenson grafted an arrangement for guitars and keyboards onto the original recording from Burundi, and the result was 'Burundi Black', an album that sold more than 125,000 copies and made the British best-seller charts.

But back to the CD in question: the Burundi drumming and chants are being provided by Batimbo, a folk ensemble with an ancient lineage of drummers from Burundi. This ARC release features 12 traditional compositions, from songs sung at wedding ceremonies to a song instilling the qualities of a rather fine cow to songs praising the beauty and bounty of Burundi. An organic, raw joy!

Mayonga (clip)