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The Rhine-Maas delta is not exactly known as a hotspot of exuberant Afrooriented
grooves. However, in Mdungu (‘band of brothers’) The Netherlands boast
an infectious Afro band of multi-cultural origin. “Some people find it odd to hear a
bunch of whiteys playing African grooves”, says bandleader Thijs van Milligem.
By Alfred Bos
“Mainly, our music originates from being frank about African styles”, says Van
Milligem. “In Africa, music is tied to a particular culture or region. We, the band,
lack that kind of background. We don’t play authentic music from Africa, we try
to evoke the emotions and are inspired by its beats and its harmonies. African
musicians don’t play the type of music we perform, which is a blend of various
styles from Western Africa. We add our Western European roots. Music is emotion
and that’s what we render. Rules can and may be broken.”
Saxplayer Thijs van Milligem heard music from Africa via radio in the mid-‘90s and
got hooked. In 2003, he decided to try his luck and start an Afro band with local
(Dutch and non-Dutch) musicians. The nonet (nine-piece band) numbers players
from diverging backgrounds, including a former grunge guitarist, a saxplayer
who doubles in an Amsterdam klezmer band, a percussionist from Spain and a
percussionist from Gambia, Ebou Gaye Mada. He is the only Mdungu member who
hails from the Dark Continent.
Van Tilligem: “Most of us had never played any music from Africa and we are not
influenced by African musicians. And some of us still don’t listen to African music.
If all of us would be hooked, we’d be some kind of cover band, something I try to
avoid. We’ve developed our distinct style.”
Album or quits
It took the band six years to come up with their debut album. Afro What!? was
released in May 2009 by Zimbraz, a label of Music And Words; it is available all over
Europe. “At first, we were not particularly acquainted with the style”, Van Tilligem
explains. “When you do a jazz album with jazz players, you give them sheet music
and off you go. That’s not how it worked for us; it took some time to get a feel for
the music. We had to develop our Mdungu sound.”
Afro What!? was produced by the band and mixed by Justin Adams, producer of
Tuareg band Timariwen and Robert Plant, among others. “I like the rawness of his
sound”, Van Tilligem says. “Most world music sounds very produced, even slick. We
recorded the songs in the same arrangements as we do them live; basically, it’s a
live album with a studio sound. Afro What!? reflects our sound on stage and that’s
the way we wanted it. The follow-up album could turn out to be rather different.”
The album met with mere positive reviews, Van Tilligem has yet to read a negative
one. “At first, we were surprised by the sound of the album, which turned out to
be rather good. Subsequently, the reviews were rather good! That was a bit of a
surprise. We had to make an album, to keep the band in a healthy state. It was an
album or quits. The album has helped to professionalize the band as well. We had
a great Summer of 2009 and did a lot of festivals.”
The obvious next step is playing abroad. The band has been networking at Womax
Fest, the world music business fair in Copenhagen, and has set up a foundation in
order to get tour support. Mdungu is programmed for Noorderslag 2010, their first
appearance at the festival.
Saturday 16 January @ Heineken Foyer, 01:45 - 02:30
www.mdungu.com
www.myspace.com/mdungu