This is a really interesting new compilation from Ostinato Records.
"When Somalia collapsed into civil war in the early 1990s, singer Khadija Jijo Jeesto faced the same perilous crossroads as countless others. Determined to escape violence, she entrusted smugglers to ferry her across the Gulf of Aden to Yemen and on to Saudi Arabia. Twice deported, including once to Ethiopia, Khadija persisted. In 1993, funded by Mogadishu’s legendary Waaberi Band, she boarded a cargo ship as a stowaway, beginning the third of four attempts to build a life abroad.
... hypnotic, 808-driven songs rooted in Banaadiri culture (the cosmopolitan sound of Mogadishu, shaped by centuries of Indian Ocean trade with the Arabian peninsula, Persia, India, and China) and infused with Bantu rhythms. Unable to transport guitars and brass through warzones and smuggling routes, the group turned to synths, drum machines, and early computer software. The recordings reveal what happened when Somalia’s rich music scene was forced underground and scattered across a vast diaspora."
Khadija Jiijo Jeesto -
808 Xamar: Exiled Digital Somali Sounds from 1990s Saudi Arabia
Ostinato Records
808 Xamar: Exiled Digital Somali Sounds from 1990s Saudi Arabia (Bandcamp Exclusive), by Khadija Jiijo Jeesto
6 track album
