This has to be the most deeply roots African music I have heard. It was very much a fusion of percussion and a chanting style of singing. No hint of bass or guitar as you would find with someone like Tinariwen. In some ways it reminded me of Native American music although the vibe was definitely desert camp fires. The music is Sudanese and Rango are an Egyptian-based band. The gig featured wall-to-wall audience involvement - basically you had to clap throughout and there was audience singing and dancing too. This all added to the feeling of being part of a desert ritual.
The gig started with a four older men on stage who waited while a women brought incense through the hall. She then joined them after a few tracks and I wa surprised when three more performers joined about half an hour into the gig. Pretty much everyone had a go at lead vocals but there was a backing vocal response thing most of the time which all the band contributed to. Most of the band were on percussion instruments which included one that you tied round your waist. It percussed according to how you moved your hips. The band leader played some instruments I had never seen before - a sort of triangular mandolin-sounding instrument and a big old marimba-style instrument as well.
This was another Centre Stage funded event - eight amazing musicians from Africa for a tenner within walking distance of the house. It seems way too cheap.
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