Description
No Way To Go presents the first official album release drawn from master recordings by Namibian singer, songwriter, and guitarist Ben "Tukumazan" Molatzi. A self-taught musician from Tsumeb, Namibia, Molatzi lived from 1954 to 2016 and wrote timeless ballads shaped by the distinctive melodies and harmonies of his Damara and Sotho heritage. On these intimate field and studio recordings, made by SWABC in 1981, he accompanies himself on guitar across a 16-track program with a total playing time of approximately 39 minutes and 20 seconds.
The recordings had remained in obscurity within Namibian radio archives and had never previously been commercially released. Molatzi's songs were consciously censored and damaged because their messages displeased South Africa's apartheid regime, making this collection both a musical document and a surviving record of the social conditions under which he worked. The performances preserve the directness of his songwriting while restoring material from a cultural era that had long gone unrecognized outside Namibia.
Released by Cree Records in co-production with Stolen Moments and the Namibian Broadcasting Corporation, No Way To Go accompanies the exhibition Stolen Moments - Namibian Music History Untold, presented at London's Brunei Gallery through September 21, 2019. The exhibition documents the Namibian pop underground of the period, while this release represents the first official album assembled from master recordings by Namibian musicians from that previously undiscovered cultural epoch. The artwork is by local artist John Muafangejo.
This edition is pressed on high-quality 180-gram vinyl and limited to 1,000 copies. It includes a 16-page booklet featuring Thorsten Schütte's account of his ultimately successful search for Ben Molatzi, their later meetings, and Molatzi's detailed reflections on his life, his songs, and the circumstances in his country. The booklet also reproduces the lyrics in their original tribal language alongside English translations.
Track Listing
- Our Land Damaraland
- Honey Harvest
- What Have I Done
- Lit He Fire
- Mother's Daughter, Forgive
- Why Does The Woman
- Damara Girl
- D:R:M:D
- Ben's Whistling Song
- All Of Us
- Damara People
- Do You Love Me'
- Sister Nama
- Rise Damara Child
- Wipe Off Tears
- Bazumi Whistle Piece
Additional Details
Label: Cree Records
Genre: World
Language: English
Run Time: 39:20 mins
Region: 0
Release Date: 10/11/19
UPC: 5397102012198