Georgia Anne Muldrow
Umsindo
Known for her eclectic beat production and experimental yet addictive voice, echoing lyrics about space, spirit and unity, Georgia Anne Muldrow gives us her first solo project since 2006’s Olesi: Fragments of an Earth. It is one in which she calls a dedication to the ancestors and embodied in the 24 track LP Umsindo‘ (zulu for sound).
Upon pressing play, it is quickly noticed that there is something different about this album. As ‘My name is Africa” plays there are African drums and a native tongue heard over the traditional Georgia Anne self-created and off-beat production. It seems overwhelming in an already overwhelming Georgia Anne universe. But be easy, Georgia Anne hasn’t gone any where, at least not all of her. Low and Funky Bootsy Collins-esque tunes like ‘Seminole Unity Chant’ and ‘Daises’ remind you of this. But soon it becomes redundant funk as in ‘Sermonette’, ‘Fonky Day’ and ‘Slice It’.
There is no doubt that her lyrics are filled with inspirational clarity such as in ‘Generation Your Got It’. Her voice shines and sparks in slow and minimalist tunes like ‘Idlozi’, ‘Okra’ and ‘Roses’, where the harmonies are perfection and her voice takes center stage.
She gives us more of what we’re used to in old fashion Muldrow’s inventive beat and melody in ‘John De Conqueror’ and ‘Kids’. But there is a lot on this album, 24 tracks to be exact. And with half of them slice material, Georgia’s flaw is not necessarily the LP’s difference from her other albums, but the inability to pick and choice which consist sound she really wanted to share.
[...] black woman with this kind of strength and vision. It’s true that albums like King’s Ballad and Umsindo (Someothaship Records, 2009) are self-produced, self-written and self-performed – slightly [...]