This month saw the release of the new album from Ifriqiyya Electrique – Laylet el Booree which fuses the rhythms and invocations of the ancient Saharan Banga ritual with an electrical storm of contemporary sonics both grips and awakens. The Banga is a key annual event in the lives of the black communities of the oasis towns of southern Tunisia, descendants of the Hausa slaves transported from sub-Saharan Africa. It is a ritual of adorcism not of exorcism: of accommodating the possessing spirit rather than expelling it.
I watched them performing live at WOMAD in 2017, behind them was a screen projection of a road trip to a ritual…it was both mesmerising and disorientating, the singers were looking skywards like they were summoning down spirits…in fact, it was so immersive to watch that I had to look away a few times to re-ground and remind myself I was at a festival…it was trip. Go and explore!
Watch their new video for Mashee Kooka:
If you’ve not heard the first album then be sure to check out the bundle offers on Bandcamp here: https://ifriqiyya-electrique.bandcamp.com/album/laylet-el-booree