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Malia: Malawi Blues / Njira

 A l b u m   D e t a i l s


Label: Edel Records
Released: 2016.09.30
Time:
 52:07
Category: Afro-Cuban Jazz, Smooth Jazz
Producer(s): Malia
Rating:
Media type: CD
Web address: www.malia-music.de
Appears with:
Purchase date: 2016
Price in €: 1,00





 S o n g s ,   T r a c k s


[1] Malawi Blues / Njira (Malia/A.Wilson) - 5:43
[2] Love Is Holding Both Our Hands (Malia/A.Wilson) - 4:22
[3] Chipadzuwa (Malia/A.Wilson) - 4:39
[4] Let Me Breathe (Malia/A.Wilson) - 04:41
[5] Disgrace (Malia/A.Wilson) - 3:46
[6] The Seed (Malia/A.Wilson) - 4:24
[7] Black Widow (Malia/A.Wilson) - 5:00
[8] Moon River(H.Mancini/J.Mercer) 5:18
[9] Friendship (Malia) - 4:04
[10] Wonder Of The World (Malia/A.Wilson) - 5:40

 A r t i s t s ,   P e r s o n n e l


Malia - Vocals. Producer, Executive-Producer
 
Alex Wilson - Piano, Programming, Music Director
Dimitris Christopoulos - Double Bass
Edwin Sanz - Drums, Percussion
KR - Lacquer Cut
Ahmed Fofana - Guitar on [2], All Instruments on [9]
 
Nicolas Falque - Recording Engineer on [1-8,10]
Nigel Hilbourne - Recording Engineer on [9]
Pete Min - Mixing
Götz-Michael Rieth - Mastering
Büro Dirk Rudolph - Artwork
Mali Lazell - Photography

 C o m m e n t s ,   N o t e s


British jazz vocalist Malia was born into a family of mixed African and English heritage in the small East African country of Malawi, which borders Mozambique, Tanzania, and Zambia. Growing up with only the two local radio stations (one in the native tongue, the other in English) and her father's Beatles-heavy record collection, Malia was not exposed to a large variety of music. She did not develop the intense desire to sing and create music until her early teens, when for political reasons her family was forced to relocate to London. In this new land of plenty, Malia took great interest in the rich musical landscape that surrounded her, immersing herself in the dance-oriented new wave style that dominated the English music scene. Sarah Vaughan and Billie Holiday soon came into her world and transformed her life and world view, encountering influential black voices for the first time. She set her mind to becoming one of them one day. After finishing school Malia took work as a waitress while she organized a band to accompany her, singing ballads and jazz standards in bars and clubs around London. She came to a stylistic turning point in a New York café when she heard a pop-jazz track sung in French that had been produced by Berklee School of Music graduate Andre Manoukian. Malia was so entranced by the enticing mix of pop and jazz sensibilities that she contacted Manoukian to solicit his help. The pair fell in love with each other's musical ideas and potential, and set to work on Malia's debut album, Yellow Daffodils. Though the release features English lyrics, Malia gained enormous notoriety among French audiences. Her subsequent releases, Echoes of Dreams (2004) and Young Bones (2007), found favor among jazz fans across Europe thanks to Malia's unique, smoky vocal timbre and sensitive interpretation. Her records have climbed international soul and jazz charts as she maintains a busy touring schedule, appearing on some of the continent's most important stages.
 
 
 
Marshall McLuhan’s once futuristic idea of the ‘Global Village’ has long since become a reality. Only now in pop music are we in many ways learning and experiencing what the legendary media theorist had already formulated at the beginning of the 60s. Through digital technological advances, the majority of pop genres have acquired a worldwide, global dimension. Hip-hop, blues, and jazz are all evolving in hundreds of regional varieties, far from their original roots. The music of Malia can without a doubt be seen as impressive evidence of this worldwide fusion. Moving from the southern African republic of Malawi to London at the age of fourteen, the singer spent her teenage years in the Big Smoke. Malia has recorded three albums in France with Andre Manoukian: Yellow Daffodils (2002), Echoes of Dreams (2004), and Young Bones (2007) - all originating in Manoukian’s Paris studio.
 
In 2010 she got to know the Swiss producer Boris Blank, who, since the 80s as part of the  avant-garde duo Yello (‘The Race’, ‘Bostich’) with Dieter Meyer, has enjoyed great success.  In 2012, Malia published a tribute to Nina Simone, Black Orchid, which won that year’s  ECHO Jazz Award. In 2014, Boris Blank produced the eleven electronically shaped songs of  her album Convergence.
 
Malia’s sixth studio album, Malawi Blues/Njira, sees her clear, incisive voice again amplified in a soul-jazz context. ‘A record that I’ve long wanted to make… Right now the time feels right for this… I wanted songs that reflected my awareness and ancestry’, she sums up the vibe of the ten tracks on Malawi Blues/Njira. The album features thoughtful, mostly slow-paced originals, with sparingly orchestrated piano supported by guitar and percussion, amongst them an almost minimalistic cover version of the classic ‘Moon River’. Right from the outset, Malia with Malawi Blues/Njira looks back to the sound of her childhood.
Not only in the rousing ‘Love Is Holding Both Our Hands’ are the local vibes of the Kwela- and Kwasa-Kwasa traditions heard. ‘I consider it in all humility my duty to pass on the rich traditions and stories, in the same way my ancestors did, in the way my grandparents and parents did as we sat around the fire in the evenings in Malawi, eating nsima with pumpkin leaves and peanut sauce.
 
Of course that is just one aspect of her rich oeuvre. Her songs are characterised by artistic experiences and experiments, an amalgam that has shaped Malia’s life, and a lasting effect of her time on the club scene in London, where she was able to sharpen her sense of timing in small bars in front of small audiences. Here she was always able to adjust her sets live and directly, evening after evening. This musical diversity is now to her benefit, when, on ‘Chipadzuwa’ (a slang term in southern Africa for pretty woman), she switches between the regional language of Chichewa and the world language of English with mellifluous ease. With the support of the virtuoso pianist Alex Wilson, comes a sound that is cool and yet warm-hearted. Malia has arrived in a global musical world which she works and fights for. ‘To all the quiet warriors of this world’, concludes Malia, ‘Malawi Blues/Njira is for you!’
 
Copyright © 2016 deejay.de
 
 
 
Malias sechstes Studioalbum „Malawi Blues/Njira“ stellt ihre klare, prägnante Stimme nun wieder verstärkt in einen Souljazz-Kontext. „Eine Platte, die ich schon lange machen wollte. Jetzt erscheint mir die Zeit reif dafür. Ich wollte Songs, die mein Bewusstsein, meine Herkunft reflektieren“, fasst sie den Vibe der zehn Tracks auf „Malawi Blues/Njira“ zusammen. Es sind nachdenkliche, zumeist getragene Stücke, eher sparsam instrumentiert am Piano, unterstützt von Gitarre und Schlagwerk, darunter eine fast minimalistische Version des Klassikers „Moon River“. Direkt zum Einstieg blickt Malia mit „Malawi Blues/Njira“ zurück auf die Klänge ihrer Kindheit. 
 
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