Ownership by Mthakathi
With the release of his ground-breaking debut solo album "Ownership," Safro-Rock singer / songwriter / guitarist / producer Ema (a.k.a Mthakathi) expands the afro-fusion movement decidedly and unabashedly rock-wards.
Ownership is a fiery 12 song, multi-culti mashup of finely crafted rock, vibrant African infusions & magnetic story-telling. Ema's thought-provoking lyrics and dynamic voice are girded on each track by striking ethno-sonic landscapes packed with South African voices, dizzying percussion beds, searing guitar solos and soaring sax rides.
Ema's reputation as an innovative song-smith, an arresting guitarist and an engaging performer who puts on spectacular multi-culti live shows, leaves little doubt that he is indeed the magic man: Mthakathi
Tracklist
| 1. | Interim Man | 7:14 |
| 2. | Jozi | 4:31 |
| 3. | Regina | 5:30 |
| 4. | Windy Day | 6:45 |
| 5. | Flat Earth | 3:48 |
| 6. | Ramboda | 3:12 |
| 7. | Ache | 4:58 |
| 8. | Everything That's Broken | 5:08 |
| 9. | Los Rancheros | 5:46 |
| 10. | For a Whistle | 4:49 |
| 11. | When the King Leaves | 6:33 |
| 12. | A Million Years | 8:52 |
Credits
words and music > ema
published by umthakathi music (bmi) c&p 2008
produced by ema
engineered and mixed by ema
additional engineering by h.t. eggers
recorded at ikhaya studios, ridgewood, nj. usa
and
kalamazoo studios, johannesburg, south africa
additional recording at howard-up-there studio, marshall, va. usa
mastered at gateway mastering by adam ayan
coordination and planning in johannesburg - pops mohamed and khaya mahlangu
down-to-the-wire coordination of ekurhuleni choir girls session - ralf schmitt
horn arrangement assistance and coordination for new jersey sessions - barry olsen
pops mohamed appears courtesy of kalamazoo records
emma eggers appears courtesy of her dad
"welcome song" (traditional mi'kmaq) used by permission - kenneth little hawk publishing (bmi) and transhumance music (bmi)
creative input, technical assistance and honest feedback - david pitman, h.t. eggers and mike shupp
business - patricia preztunik and david pitman
legal - jonathan peck and terry hogan
graphic design - karen schulz
front cover photo - mark lewis
back cover and insde jacket photo> rich rozycki
booklet photography - ema, lynn spinnato, rich rozycki, patricia preztunik, ken (that's "s" as in "sugar") shulack and stafford smith
design concept - karen schulz and ema
samples used under the terms of the creative commons sampling plus 1.0 license - creativecommons.org/licenses/sampling+/1.0/
train23.wav - www.freesound.org/samplesViewSingle.php?id=19807 author: LG
Gare de triage - Limoges (87) - France (2002) -1.mp3 - www.freesound.org/samplesViewSingle.php?id=7514 author: ingeos
21-donetsk-train-station-nigh-random-announcements.wav
www.freesound.org/samplesViewSingle.php?id=11700 author: bram
trainwhistle SBB Re 420 euroblues.wav www.freesound.org/samplesViewSingle.php?id=20065author: euroblues
there were numerous unavoidable obstacles that helped to ensure that this album didn't get made "too hastily"; scheduling conflicts proved to be a particularly challenging one. but in spite of that, every single musician who came on board, from san francisco to soweto, very generously (and patiently) worked around the difficulties to show up and lend their talent, skill and spirit to the project with a magical enthusiasm, and for that i'd like to express my great respect and undying gratitude to (alphabetically):
ashish joshi, bakithi kumalo, barry olsen, brahim fribgane, chris dawson, emma eggers, faith kekana, george farmer, ian herman, joe cardello, jon walsh, khaya mahlangu, kris jefferson, little hawk, mar gueye, mcoy mrubata, michael rennie, nery arevalo, nosiphiwo magqabi, peter brainen, pops mohamed, presilla majodina, ralph schmitt, raul rothblatt, seipati masango, sepenati magqabi, stella khumalo, sydney mavundla and tiye giraud.
ngiyabonga nonke nina. niyimbawulayami.
thanks for support, encouragement, love and friendship - basil, thomas, beeker, joey, chris, homeboy, pops (ishmaelo! ghooi mealies!), lauren shapiro (hi noo!), barry crystal, ralph warnock, marshall hughey, webo, the ekurhuleni youth choir, lehlohonolo "lucky" litelu (ukuphi 'mfowethu?) joe kane at bang music and of course my mom and dad - diane and fred.
special thanks - thuli dumakude (ngemphela uyosisiwami), mfaz'omnyama khumalo (in memorium), nganani beck, welcome msomi, lar gratz (for starting me out on the right path)
and herb smith for teaching me how to be a musician.
but most of all,
to z - without whom, none of this, from the very start, could have ever taken place. you are my best friend and my true love.
(p.s. i don't suppose this will substitute for a brownstone in manhattan or a villa in cap d'antibe will it?
c & p 2008 ema. all rights reserved
manufactured and distributed by anthr-o-tone records TM "the WORLD ROCKs!"
fbi anti-piracy warning: unauthorized copying is punishable under federal law
artist's polite plea: please don't pirate this music; all of us who made this album depend on the income from both
physical sales and digital downloads in order to feed our families and continue to make a living as artists. thanks.
License
All rights reserved.Tags
WORLD MUSIC ON JET FUEL! Singer/songwriter/guitarist/producer Mthakathi (pronounced m-TAA-gaa-tee) takes the rock/world fusion movement into the realm of Safro-Rock. His music, drawn from a lifelong immersion in South African culture, is a fiery mutli-culti rock mashup with a dose of world world elements.
An innovative songsmith and arresting performer, Mthakathi is the definitive "Safro" rocker