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Search Results for: Africa
Malia The Energy That Allows The Blues To Have A Soul, A Voice
Malia (born in 1978) is a singer from Malawi. She has released seven studio albums. Her mother is Malawian and her father is from the United Kingdom. She moved to London in her teens.
After finishing school, Malia dedicated herself to music. She worked as a waitress while organizing a backing band, singing ballads and classic jazz in London bars and clubs.
During a visit to New York, she heard a pop-jazz track sung in French by vocalist Liane Foly, produced by André Manoukian. She contacted Manoukian to ask for his help, and they began working on her 2002 debut album, Yellow Daffodils. Although the release included English lyrics, it achieved recognition in France and Germany.
Her subsequent releases, Echoes of Dreams (2004) and Young Bones (2007), were highly acclaimed among jazz fans across Europe. Malia is known for her expressive voice. From the beginning, she found her way to the stage and her singing style flirted with sounds from the 1960s and 1970s.
Her role models include Billie Holiday, Sarah Vaughan, and Nina Simone. In 2013, she received the Echo Jazz Award for “International Female Vocalist of the Year.” She explored her African roots in the album Malawi Blues/Njira, released on MPS in 2016. In her 2018 release, Ripples (Echoes of Dreams), Malia offers another perspective on her previous album, Echoes of Dreams. Her latest release, The Garden of Eve, is dedicated to the blues.
“My heart beats for many things. I think that is because I come from a marriage of mixed heritage. I have never felt like I am one thing or the other; I am more of a fusion of both, and my music reflects that. I feel I am evolving as a human being, and although music is simply a medium for expression, I like the idea of resonating with it, if its rhythm suits me.
The blues has always been dear to my heart: it is a cathartic, precious, and profound experience, whether playing it or hearing it on the radio. When I first heard Billie Holiday sing ‘Blue Moon,’ I could feel it in every cell of my body.
She had a very powerful effect on me. Sentimental blues, originating in tragic situations, sometimes even reflecting my own experiences… No matter how bad family, friends, politics, lovers, governments, or society may be, they can never destroy the forces of good in this world.
And as time passes, I find more and more of the truth that is rooted in my soul. And I finally feel mature enough to understand this wonderful musical tradition, because the blues means life.”
And if the blues means life, Malia is the energy that allows the blues to have a soul, a voice. It has been a long time since a contemporary artist paid such a beautiful homage to the blues—a style that, in the year 2020, deserves to have the dust shaken off.
Marshall McLuhan’s once-futuristic idea of the “global village” became a reality long ago. Only now, in pop music, are we learning and experiencing, in many ways, what the legendary media theorist formulated in the early 60s. Thanks to digital technological advancements, most pop genres have acquired a global dimension.
Hip-hop, blues, and jazz are evolving into hundreds of regional variants, far from their original roots. Malia’s music can undoubtedly be considered an impressive testament to this worldwide fusion.
After moving from the southern African republic of Malawi to London at age fourteen, the singer spent her adolescence in the UK capital (Note: the “Big Apple” is the nickname for New York, which contradicts having spent her adolescence in London. The original text was left, but the inconsistent use of the term is corrected).
Malia recorded three albums in France with André Manoukian: Yellow Daffodils (2002), Echoes of Dreams (2004), and Young Bones (2007), all created in Manoukian’s Parisian studio.
In 2010, she met Swiss producer Boris Blank, who, since the 80s as part of the avant-garde duo Yello (The Race, Bostich) with Dieter Meyer, has garnered great success. In 2012, Malia released a tribute to Nina Simone, Black Orchid, which won that year’s ECHO Jazz Award. In 2014, Boris Blank produced the eleven electronic-style songs for her album Convergence.
Malia’s sixth studio album, Malawi Blues/Njira, sees her clear, incisive voice amplified again in a soul-jazz context. “An album I’ve always wanted to make… I feel like the time is right now… I wanted songs that reflected my consciousness and my ancestry,” she summarizes the essence of the ten tracks on Malawi Blues/Njira.
The album features thoughtful, mostly slow-tempo original tracks, with sparsely orchestrated piano, accompanied by guitar and percussion, including an almost minimalist version of the classic ‘Moon River.’ From the outset, with Malawi Blues/Njira, Malia recalls the sound of her childhood.
The local vibes of the Kwela and Kwasa-Kwasa traditions are felt not only in the moving “Love Is Holding Both Our Hands.” “I humbly consider it my duty to pass on the rich traditions and stories, just as my ancestors did, as my grandparents and parents did when we would sit around the fire in the evenings in Malawi, eating nsima with pumpkin leaves and peanut sauce.” Of course, that is only one aspect of her rich work.
Her songs are characterized by artistic experiences and experiments, an amalgam that has shaped Malia’s life and a lasting effect of her time in the London club scene, where she was able to sharpen her sense of rhythm in small bars in front of reduced audiences. Here, she could always adjust her sets live, night after night.
This musical diversity now benefits her, when, in Chipadzuwa (a southern African colloquial term for a beautiful woman), she alternates between the regional language, Chichewa, and the universal language, English, with a mellifluous ease.
With the support of the virtuoso pianist Alex Wilson, a sound that is both fresh and warm emerges. Malia has arrived in a global musical world for which she works and fights. “To all the silent warriors in this world,” Malia concludes, “Malawi Blues/Njira is for you!” (mps-music)
Malia – Malawi Blues / Njira (2016)
Tracks:
- Malawi Blues / Njira
- Love Is Holding Both Our Hands
- Chipadzuwa
- Let Me Breathe
- Disgrace
- The Seed
- Black Widow
- Moon River
- Friendship
- Wonder Of The World
- Let Me Breathe (bonus track)
Musicians:
- Malia (Vocals)
- Alex Wilson (Piano, Programming)
- Dimitris Christopoulos (Double Bass)
- Edwin Sanz (Drums, Percussion)
- Ahmed Fofana (Guitar on track #2, Instruments on track #9)
About Malawi, The Warm Heart of Africa
Malawi, known as the “Warm Heart of Africa” for the kindness of its people, is a landlocked country located in southeastern Africa. It is famous for its stunning natural landscapes, highlands, and, above all, the vast Lake Malawi, which covers approximately 20% of its territory.
Culture and History
- Culture: Malawi’s culture is rich and diverse, with various tribes such as the Maravi, Nyanja, and Tumbuka. Each contributes particular aspects to the traditional masks, dances, music, and clothing. The people are known for their friendly nature and relaxed pace of life.
- History: The territory was a British protectorate called Nyasaland until its independence on July 6, 1964. Subsequently, it became a one-party state under the authoritarian rule of Dr. Hastings Kamuzu Banda for decades, until the transition to a multiparty democracy in the 1990s.
Tourism and Nature The main tourist attraction is Lake Malawi, the third-largest lake in Africa, known for harboring more fish species than any other lake in the world, including about 1,000 species of cichlids. The country offers an authentic travel experience and is considered one of the safest countries in Africa for visitors.
🎤 Personal Data on Malia
- Birth Name: Not commonly used publicly; she is known simply as Malia.
- Year of Birth: 1978.
- Place of Birth: Malawi, East Africa.
- Nationality: Malawian and British (United Kingdom).
- Family Origin: Her mother is Malawian, and her father is from the United Kingdom.
- Musical Career: She was exiled with her family to London when she was a teenager (around age 14) due to political reasons. It was there that she discovered jazz and was inspired by singers like Billie Holiday, Sarah Vaughan, and Nina Simone.
- Genres: Jazz, Soul, Blues, Pop, with African influences.
- Recognition: She won the Echo Jazz Award for “International Female Vocalist of the Year” in 2013 in Germany.
- Notable Discography:
- Yellow Daffodils (2002) – Her debut album.
- Black Orchid (2012) – A tribute to Nina Simone.
- Malawi Blues/Njira (2016) – An album where she explores her African roots.
Collaboration:
6th International Kizomba Gala Hamburg
Europe / Germany / Hamburg
6th International Kizomba Gala Hamburg – Germany 13 – 16 Oct 2017
We invited you to be part to one of the oldest and Best Kizomba Festivals in Germany. They are pioneers of Kizomba in Germany. They have a tradition of inviting 1st class International Teachers and DJs. Just follow their history of the Artists they have invited the last years. They brought most of the Artists you see at current Festivals in Germany for the first time. That tell you about the quality of this event.
We believe in Quality not Quantity!
They have invited first class International Instructors to teach you the proper way of Dancing Kizomba, Zouk and other African Dance. There will be an intensive 3 days Workshop starting from 9pm Friday – 07:00 pm Sunday, which will end with a Party. The Party will be thrill with shows and animations from the international instructors.
Confirmed Artists
- Helio Santos (Lisbon/Cabo Verde)
- Tomas Keita (Barcelona/Guinea-Bissau)
- Mauro D One and Ana Rita (Lisbon /Angola)
- Lisandra Lopes (Lisbon/Cabo Verde)
- Hugues & Ailina (Haiti/ Paris)
- Abdel Zouk & Gabriella (Dusseldorf/Morroco/ Berlin/Curacao)
- Ben & Adama (Hamburg/ Ghana/Cameroon)
- Mattias & Kaou (Brussels / Morocco)
DJ’s
- DJ Ze Zom (Angola/Copenhagen)
- DJ Ben (Hamburg/Ghana)
- DJ Dos Anjos (Rotterdam/ Cabo Verde)
and more to come…
Photo by Kristi Fuoco. http://blog.young-germany.de/2012/12/hamburg-germany-top-ten -reasons-i-love-living-here/
See more information at this page: http://www.kizombagala.com/
2nd Edition Kizomba-Salsa-Schiff July 8. Mississippi Queen Dampfer.
For the second time in Hamburg we are going to have a KIZOMBA SHIP with Salsa, Bachata and Zouk shared on 3 Floors. We have been able to book the Mississippi Queen with selected DJs & Live act. Germany Hamburg Überseebrücke South-East Ponton 20459.
Spain is reborn in new Cuban music by Yalil Guerra
The immense Hispanic legacy is usually relegated to the background, while being a key part of our sound identity.
Image courtesy of RYCY Productions
By YALIL GUERRA
The birth of the Cuban nation, after gaining its independence from its former colonizer, Spain, marked a break that transcended political concerns and entered strongly in the cultural aspect. Cubans were “denaturalized” after the Treaty of Paris in 1898, leading to a profound metamorphosis of identity that was inevitably reflected in our music. Out of that process a fresh and powerful sound expression emerged: a vibrant fusion between European, African, and North American influences, something that had already begun in the 19th century but was driven by a growth music industry and the cultural magnet of its northern neighbor, the United States.
For years I have listened to, studied, and enjoyed Cuban popular music — both the old and contemporary— and what I notice is that most productions tend to highlight the folklore—especially the Afro-descendant roots and the imprint of jazz — while the immense Hispanic legacy is usually relegated to the background, while being a key part of our musical identity.
In Cuban music today, both on and off the island, the record business is committed to a modern and bold sound. Compositions explore contemporary harmonies, bitonality, and extended chords — resources that come from both classical music and jazz — entwined with surprising and refreshing harmonic cycles. In wind instruments, melodic lines and musical motifs reveal the virtuosity and creativity of a new generation of musicians and arrangers, who are raised in solid academic traditions but open to global influences. The percussion stands out for its polyrhythm and the number of sophisticated tutti that require a unique expertise, but the Spanish influence is quite absent or just present in the language.
In contrast, What caught my attention was the newest music of singer, composer, and multi-instrumentalist Alain Pérez on his new album Bingo, where Spain resonates powerfully and recognizably. I find this gesture very special, as it vindicates a Spanish legacy in Cuban music that is often forgotten or minimized. I also highlight the case of pianist and composer José (Pepe) Rivero and his new album Estampas y Raíces where he pays tribute to classical Spanish composers, mixing their works with his unique interpretive style, bringing it closer to the language of Cuban jazz that is so familiar to him.
What about the large mass of Cuban artists and musicians who do not pay homage to the mother country? It is that we lost our historical memory or has it been erased? Is the omission of certain elements of our Spanish traditions a symptom of what some call the “Spanish Black Legend,” a myth that has seeped into our musical history and present?
I remember when Juan Perón said:
“And through the figure and work of Cervantes, Argentina pays tribute to the mother country, fruitful, civilizing, eternal, and to all peoples who have emerged from its maternal womb.” “And through the figure and work of Cervantes, Argentina pays tribute to the mother country, fruitful, civilizing, eternal, and to all peoples who have emerged from her maternal womb.”
Cuba is no exception.
Over the years, in response to the previously exposed, I have tried to make Spain present in my work: incorporating harmonious colors, Andalusian cadences, and the Phrygian mode—so tied to the Iberian sound—creating compositions devoted specifically to Spanish culture, especially my new string quartet entitled “Noches de España”, following the line of our great composer Ernesto Lecuona, who knew how to bring to life both African and Spanish things. As for me, I seek to keep alive that heritage and project it onto 21st-century Cuban music, without forgetting our important African legacy.
Today, rescuing the Spanish heritage in Cuban music is not just an act of memory: it is also an opportunity to rediscover the richness of crossbreeding that continues to define who we are and how our history sounds. Contemporary Cuban music not only looks to the future: it sings to its African roots, but it also needs to reconnect with that other essential part of our identity. After all, we think, love, and communicate in Spanish. Every note, every guitar or lute that sounds, will evoke that heritage and bring us near to the fullness of what we are.
It does not matter the color our skin is, or whether our grandfather was from Asturias or the Congo: cultural fusion is what forged our identity and will remain the essence of Hispanic America. Mexican writer, philosopher, and politician José Vasconcelos said: “I am Hispanic, and nothing about Hispanic is alien to me.”
At this crucial time, Cuban music has the challenge—and the opportunity—to sing its entirety. And in doing so, it shows us that, beyond styles or labels, what unites us is the sound of a common history.
