John Ondolo – Hypnotic Guitar of John Ondolo (2022) [Official Digital Download 24bit/44,1kHz]

John Ondolo – Hypnotic Guitar of John Ondolo (2022)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/44,1 kHz | Time – 33:15 minutes | 151 MB | Genre: Folk, World
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Digital Booklet, Front Cover | © Mississippi Records

Droning, open-tune guitar masterpieces from an unsung hero of East African music.

John Ondolo spent his life traveling between Tanzania, where he was born, and Kenya, where he recorded a string of singles for independent labels in the late 1950s and early 60s. Unlike most guitarists from the region, Ondolo used open tuning (a favorite of American blues guitarists), creating a hypnotic drone over which he laid down endless rhythmic variations on his main themes. Inspired by the exploding pop music scene in Nairobi, the newest rock and roll imports from the US, and the Abakuria tribal music of his youth, Ondolo transposed traditional instruments and rhythms to his guitar, playing it more like a traditional harp at times, and inventing a sound totally unique in the recorded history of African guitar.

This album brings together John Ondolo’s rare early 78rpm recordings in the first-ever overview of this innovative but overlooked artist. The music traces Ondolo’s creative output, from the resonant acoustic guitar masterpiece Tumshukuru Mungu to the relentless guitar and flute (!) interplay of Kenya Style to his later electric guitar, bass, and drum recordings with the Jolly Trio, all tied together by Ondolo’s unique rhythmic sense and vocal style.

The breadth and variety of Ondolo’s recordings may be a result of his sporadic recording history. Unlike more famous artists, Ondolo wasn’t sucked into the Nairobi nightlife scene of the early 60s, instead traveling from his farm in the foothills of Kilimanjaro on occasion to record. An outsider and devout Catholic whose music was sometimes at odds with the style of the times, he later left music entirely, shifting to film and driving a mobile cinema van for the Tanzanian government, introducing socialist and Pan-African films to the countryside. An accident in his mobile cinema led to the loss of his left arm and the end of his musical career. He died in 2008 in Dar Es Salaam, leaving behind two wives and 11 children.

Tracklist:

01. John Ondolo – Tumshukuru Mungu (02:50)
02. John Ondolo – Siri Ya Vijana (02:38)
03. John Ondolo – Wazazi Musilie (02:58)
04. John Ondolo – Yunie Mpenzi We (02:59)
05. John Ondolo – Olalekanga (02:51)
06. John Ondolo – Ukiwa Na Bwana Bibi (02:49)
07. John Ondolo – Kenya Twist (02:47)
08. John Ondolo – Safari Ya Kilimanjaro (02:52)
09. John Ondolo – Kenya Style (02:38)
10. John Ondolo – Haukutoka Binguni (02:33)
11. John Ondolo – Tucheze Selele (02:45)
12. John Ondolo – Kwela Wangu (02:29)

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