Saccades cover
Released

Several of Nyege Nyege’s releases are the result of heavily collaborative processes during or following residencies. Saccades is one such record, and is a testament to what can happen when two completely disparate musical words meet on an equal footing. Ugandan rigi rigi player Ocen James had already featured on some of the label’s electro-acholi releases, but the meeting with British producer Rian Treanor takes them both on an entirely different journey, one that maintains an organic core despite its complex electronic framework. Treanor created an instrument that would simulate the sounds and scales of other traditional Ugandan instruments, and he and James improvised over a bed of electronic and acoustic soundscapes. While keeping a foot in their own respective worlds, Treanor and James explore the unfamiliar together. In “Rigi Rigi” or “Agoya,” both killer club tracks, you can clearly hear traditional Acholi music, while things get a little more experimental elsewhere. An interesting listen from start to finish.

Megan Iacobini de Fazio

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