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1. Konoma Black
2. Mene Bakor
3. Or Both Kone Do
4. Without Money, No Family

MOSLvol3This CD is the third volume of an anthology of traditional Sierra Leonean music produced by Luke Wassermann. It was recorded live in 2006 in the town of Tintafor, and captures the raw sound of Sorie Kondi as he would be heard on the streets of Freetown, playing his kondi through an distorted amplifier. Although perhaps not as groovy as his studio release, this recording highlights his creativity and ability to improvise and solo on the kondi. The CD also contains two bonus tracks from a studio session that left off of "Without Money, No Family." The 12-page booklet included in the package contains color photographs, song translations, biographical information, and a diagram of the kondi.

albumartworkThis album was recorded in April 2007 at Hot Plate Studio in Tintafor, almost a year after Pa Sorie's live performance there which became "The Music of Sierra Leone, Vol. 3." The idea for recording an album in the studio was proposed by Pa Sorie himself even though he had virtually no experience in a true "recording studio" environment. After some reluctance, Luke Wassermann agreed to build a temporary studio and produce the album for Pa Sorie. There were considerable challenges in the making of the album. For starters, Tintafor has no public electricity supply, so a 3000 watt generator had to be set up and continually refueled with gasoline, which cost US$4.50 per gallon. Noiseproofing in Sierra Leone is virtually impossible because of a lack of proper materials, so recording times had to be worked around everything from the flight schedule at the international airport, only 1 mile away, to the squawking of chickens. Because Pa Sorie is blind, and can't read or write, it wasn't possible to draw out a diagram of song structures, which in Pa Sorie's music are often assymetrical and not so easily grasped by the recording engineer who must organize all of the tracks on the computer. Everything had to be communicated verbally, and this too was a challenge because Pa Sorie does not speak English, which left Mr. Wassermann with the task of trying to communicate music concepts and technical terms like "overdub" in Krio, a language he only began to speak a few months earlier. But the two men learned to be patient, and laugh when the language barrier caused delays or misunderstandings. By the end of the sessions, each had developed massive respect and admiration for the other's abilities. The result was an album that stands to become the all-time favorite cassette of any poda-poda driver, and make a huge impact at the annual CSA Music Awards held at the National Stadium in Freetown.

1. Konoma Black
2. Mene Bakor
3. Or Both Kone Do
4. Without Money, No Family
1. Die Nor Afraid We
2. Lo We Come Together
3. Me Mama No De,
4. Nor Molest Me
5. We Nor Go Die
6. Wetin You Go Do
1. Die Nor Afraid We
2. Lo We Come Together
3. Me Mama No De,
4. Nor Molest Me
5. We Nor Go Die
6. Wetin You Go Do
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Music of Sierra Leone, Vol. 3

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Without Money, No Family

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