Wiki
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Release Date
2 March 2006
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Length
13 tracks
After having traveled to Kenya to play with local musicians, and touring with US-based Counting Crows, with whom they released the song "Holiday in Spain" as a Dutch-English collab, BLØF decided to travel the world to find new inspiration in other countries and cultures. Their 2003, 2004 and 2005 travels resulted in the award-winning "Umoja" record release.
Each song on Umoja is infused with sounds from a different country and culture. International musicians and native instruments give each song its very own character.
The songs:
01 - "Binnestebuiten (Yele)", the first track on the album (translated as Inside Out), has been recorded in Nairobi, Kenya, and features the Orutu fiddle, Kenyan percussion and Swahili vocals by Harry Kimani.
02 - The second song "Mens" (Human) has been recorded in Antalya, Turkey. It includes typical Turkish instruments such as the Zurna flute and the Baglama strings. The song questions whether people are really free to 'just' live, to have the right, or must fight, to have a home.
03 - The third song, "Aanzoek zonder Ringen", has a beautifully crafted powerful arrangement that is emphasised by Japanese Kodo drums. It was recorded in Kodo Village, Sado Island, Japan.
04 - Next up is the song "Hemingway", which was recorded in Havana, Cuba. It's a heavily Spanish-infused song, with fantastic vocals and the beautiful strings of the Gustav Klimt Quartet.
05 - "Wennen aan September" is another collab with the Counting Crows and was recorded in New York, USA. It tells the story of lost love, longing to go back to better days, but knowing that 'the end of the year' is near.
06 - The sixt song is "Geen Tango". What better place to record than in Buenos Aires, Argentina? It includes the famous Bandoneon and piano and strings of the Orquesta Tipica Sans Souci.
07 - Track seven titled "Laag bij de Grond" has a distinct percussion throughout, and features the vocals of Femi Kuti and horns from musicians of Ikeja, Lagos. It's a protest song of sorts, explaining we all want to get higher up to get a better vantage point, instead of being forced to stay down.
08 - The love song "Herinnering aan Later", hinting at a distant love, and a feeling of reversed homesickness (in German: fernweh) is again a dual-language piece with a heavy Portuguese feeling with vocalist Cristina Branco and a Portuguese guitar played by Custodio Castelo.
09 - "Vreemde Wegen" was recorded in Celbridge, Ireland. A beautiful song about the certainty that even though you've traveled strange roads, your loved one will find you regardless where you are. The Uileann bagpipe, the Irish bouzouki, Bodhran drum and the Concertina give it that typical folky sound.
10 - The 10th song is "Donker Hart". Recorded in St. Petersburg, Russia, it features some very nice strings: cello, contrabass, violin. A bit of a dark song, hence the title Dark Heart.
11 - Wangdue Phodrang Dzong, Bhutan. That's where "Een manier om thuis te komen" was recorded. It features Bhutan vocals, cymbals, drums, Dranyen lute and Lingm flute. Fun fact: when BLØF played their music to the local audience it was the biggest ever to attend a concert in Bhutan.
12 - Song twelve is "De Hemel is de Aarde". A very poetic song, with the sounds of the didgeridoo, recorded in Adelaide River, Australia.
13 - The last song of the album was recorded in New Delhi, India. "Eén en Alleen" features the well-known Indian instruments Sitar strings, Tabla drums, Sarangi strings and Bansuri flute. It also includes the vocals of Dhroeh Nankoe.
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