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 composed timeless ballads shaped by the distinctive melodies and harmonies of his Damara and Sotho heritage. Across these 20 tracks, he accompanies himself on guitar in intimate field and studio recordings made by SWABC in 1981.
The recordings remained largely forgotten in Namibian radio archives and had never previously received a commercial release. Molatzi's songs were consciously censored and damaged because their messages displeased South Africa's apartheid regime, leaving this body of work as a rare surviving document of an obscured cultural period. The album restores his music to public view while preserving the directness of his performances and the social circumstances from which the songs emerged.
Released by Cree Records in cooperation 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 project documents Namibia's historic pop underground and represents the first official album assembled from master recordings by Namibian musicians of this previously undiscovered era. The artwork is by Namibian artist John Muafangejo.
This one-CD edition is housed in an environmentally conscious six-page Digisleeve and includes a 32-page illustrated booklet. Thorsten Schütte's liner notes recount his ultimately successful search for Ben Molatzi, their subsequent meetings, and Molatzi's detailed reflections on his life, songs, and the conditions in his country. The booklet 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
- I Am A Damara Child
- Boys Call And Propose The Girls
- Don't Just Drink
- This Is
Additional Details
Label: Cree Records
Genre: World
Language: English
Run Time: 49:08 mins
Region: 0
Release Date: 10/11/19
UPC: 5397102012327