Examples | Napoli | Other Mediterranean | Communitas
Examples | Napoli | Other Mediterranean | Communitas
"Contaminazione" and Musical Hybridity
The Neapolitan groups Almamegretta, Bisca, and 99 Posse have made the most of blending local, ancient traditions with contemporary international styles.
Napoli remains a strategic port for the U.S. military and, as a result, local musicians have first-hand contact with and long standing appreciation for African American, as well as Latino, music and cultural expression.
The region of Campania where Napoli is located is a hot bed of tammuriata, the North African-derived musical genre played on several large tambourines and other percussion instruments. Tammuriata is associated with religious trance music throughout the Mediterranean since antiquity.
This dance music forms the basis of numerous kick-ass tunes, from Bisca's "Tammuriata del lavoro nero" (The Tammuriata of the Underground Economy") and 99 Posse's "Napoli," a scathing report of the city's woes. But one of the best examples of this hybrid sound is Almamegretta's brilliantly simple "'O Cielo pe' Cuscino" (The Sky for a Pillow).
The tune begins with the basic tammuriata rhythm which is quickly taken up by a funky trap drum and electric bass. This seamless instrumental shift is followed immediately by the voice of folk singer Giovanni Pirozzi sampled from a field recording by ethnomusicologist Roberto De Simone. Pirozzi lets loose in the strident but impassioned singing style known as "fronne 'e limone" (lemon branch), closely related to Arab vocal technique and rooted in ancient prisoners' chants. Raiss's whispered rap speaks directly to Pirozzi and pays homage to this Campanian peasant's poetic power to imagine an alternative world, where a pillow is made from the sky, a mattress from a stone.
Why this updated roots music has not been picked up world beat aficionados is incomprehensible.
Examples | Napoli | Other Mediterranean | Communitas
HOME