Category: Multimedia

Rwanda’s electropop icon

If you love electropop and alternative beats, then you’ll surely love Rwandan artist Iyadede, aka That Girl from Africa. I particularly like The Love Mantra, a track from her digital album The Demo. Iyadede’s voice is strong, warm and versatile – MTV Iggy describes it best: “Drawing on vintage sounds from Rwanda, and the unfettered creativity of post-punk, she refreshes the smooth Afropean tradition of Sade and spikes it with the Day-Glo groove of Deee-Lite and Neh Neh Cherry. She sometimes touches on the gravity of Lauryn Hill or Nneka too — and, like them, she can drop a rap verse like it was a handkerchief.”

 

Guinea-Bissau’s songbird

Renowned Guinea-Bissauan singer Eneida Marta speaks and sings spectacularly in nine native languages – Fula, Biafada, Bijago, Mandjak, Mankanya, Futa Fula, Balanta, Papel and Mandinga. She is well known for infusing her roots into each song, from the lyrics to the language to the instruments. Marta uses traditional instruments like the tchifre cow horn, the onomatopoeic bumbulum tree trunk drum and the tina (made from a wine barrel cut in two, immersed in water and played only by women). She has released three albums to date.

 

War Witch

An Oscar nominee for Best Foreign Language Film in 2012, War Witch is the story of 12-year-old Komona who is abducted by African rebels and forced to fight in a civil war against her government. Her ability to see spirits/visions makes her the favourite of the main rebel leader and she decides to escape them. While war rages, love develops between Komona and her 15-year-old friend Magician. They try to flee to his uncle’s home but fate has other plans for her. Set in sub-Saharan Africa and filmed mainly in the Democratic Republic of Congo, director Kim Nguyen poignantly captures the stories of child soldiers and the horror of war.