Thankful for Soe Jherwood for reminding me Nyege Nyege Tapes is on the ball, because their most recent release of Bamba Pana, Poaa, seizes the moment like law jaw. Almost in mid-air, the beat grabs you and twist around muscles from skin, levitating two-time; two-time levitation, when flesh rips from sinew, amid beat blunders of the right mix. Same way movement connects physically to the sound and practice of improvisation, Bamba Pana displays an understanding of DJ culture in the art of sound production, connecting the similar mediums as a playful frolic in Poaa.
Jumanne Ramadhani Zegge a.k.a. Bamba Pana is one of the core producers, alongside Jay Mitta and Sisso himself, of the Sisso studio - a central hub for MCs and producers of the Singeli scene in the Mburahati ghetto on the outskirts of Dar Es Salaam. Along with his peers, Bamba Pana uses a laptop and software to update the local, usually acoustic and instrumental style of Singeli, computerizing its hyper rhythms and zinging melodies for the needs of younger, contemporary crowds in an upfront, direct way that has translated far beyond its East African roots.