The Malawi Mouse Boys' main line of business is selling barbecued mice-on-a-stick to drivers on a desolate stretch of highway in the land-locked Malawi. Food scarcity has made field mice a delicacy and the eight-member band works around the clock to flag down motorists to try their roasted wares. When there aren't any cars or trucks, in their downtime, the Mouse Boys write and perform songs played on instruments made from scraps of wood and bits of metal. They've been doing this since they were kids.
Grammy award-winning producer Ian Brennan, who brought the Toureg "bluesmen" Tinariwen to the wider world, travelled more than 3,200km on the main highways and laterite tracks of the country. For two weeks he found no music and then out of nowhere, or rather as he puts it in the liner notes, just around the corner from the "Pack-and-Go" coffin shop (undertakers), on an isolated stretch of highway, he found the Mouse Boys strumming away on rudimentary guitars and home-made drum kits (hi-hat cymbals made from two bicycle cogs) and singing tight vocal harmonies.
Brennan field-recorded the Boys in Monkey Bay last year and the result was released on the IRL label early this year as He Is #1. I don't know of any other international releases of Malawian music, so maybe this is a first for the country.
The Malawi Mouse Boys perform mainly devotional music, or gospel music, and at first listen I was immediately taken back to those great US gospel groups of the 1930s and 40s, but that is a first impression. After listening for a while, it was clear to me that the southern African gospel and choral traditions _ from ethnic groups like the Shona and particularly South African gospel, such as mbube (made internationally famous by Ladysmith Black Mambazo) _ are far more influential. Given the use of simple home-made guitars, I think that in terms of their gospel style, the Mouse Boys are closer to early itinerant blues/gospel singers like Blind Blake than any of the larger groups from that time.
The album kicks off with a sublime a cappella track, Kunvera (To Hear), one of my favourites, sung movingly in the local Chichewa language by lead tenor Zondiwe Kachingwe and supported by lovely vocal harmonies. This track segues into a guitar-driven track, Ndinasangalala (I Was Happy), which starts off like a Pacific island gospel song before breaking out into a call and response between the singer and what sounds like kids from the local school.
There's more than a hint of reggae on songs like Ndaimirila (Stand By), the stepping Wabwino (It's Good) and the brilliant Mtsilikali (Soldier), sadly only one minute long, and the musicians may have been influenced by the popularity of African reggae musicians like the late Lucky Dube from neighbouring South Africa. But I think that some of these rhythms are actually from the folk and urban music traditions of the South African region. Some of the guitar work reminds me of the pre-World War II Zulu and Shona guitar players, who in turn inspired South African mbaqanga musicians like Marks Mankwane. You can hear the influence of mbaqanga-style South African music on Ndathamanga-Thamanga (Going Here And There), which features gruff-voiced Jameson Lufeyo doing his best to sound like the late great Simon Nkebinde.
The titles of the songs highlight the religious subject matter of band's music, such as Kunjoya Mwa Jesu (Rejoice In The Lord) and Cuyenda Ndi Jesu (Going With Jesus), and there is even a poem on religion, Poem About God. But I don't think the songs are designed to proselytise, they are expressions of joy and happiness. And the music is infectious.
Brennan, as with his other projects, has not encumbered the music with swathes of synthesisers or high-tech embellishments; he has kept the production simple and accessible, letting the music be presented as the band would perform it. I shall be playing some Mouse Boys music in my new World Beat radio show on Zudrangma Records' website, www.zudrangmarecords.com), due out today.
This is a wonderful and haunting album of home-made southern African gospel music, packed with great vocals, catchy guitars and an irresistible beat. I expect we'll be hearing a lot more from these purveyors of rodent cuisine. More information from www.irl.org.uk.
This column can be contacted at clewley.john@gmail.com.
