The Banjo Bands of Malawi Online now

The Banjo Bands of Malawi
DOWNLOAD ONLY. Banjos have been used in southern Africa for a long time. Factory-manufactured American banjos were introduced in the 1920s and 30s, but in the mid 1960s such instruments disappeared. In the late 1970s young boys with homemade banjos were increasingly seen at street corners, on country roads and around towns. They began to construct their own banjos and guitars, percussive devices as well as a huge bass banjo/guitar, usually with a single string, played with stick or a bottle as a slider. This is a vibrant culture. Their repertoire is a creative mix of personal compositions in the style of current media transmitted music, from chimurenga to reggae etc., but usually much more complex. They continually invent or discover new terrain in acoustics and performance technique. This collection presents a variety of audio-visual field recordings filmed by renowned Malawian cultural anthropologist Moya A. Malamusi. Also includes a PDF booklet with biographical material about the musicians as well as historical information and a discussion of the banjo in Malawian culture. 78 min.