
The experiences that are spoken about in the haunting “Bamako” are enough to chill anyone to their core. As in “Bamako,” “Lejam” paints the picture of the trials and tribulations of the African immigration experience. Just as intense as the words that Iduma chooses to speak are the harmonies which Serpa uses, not shying away from dissonance, but rather immersing the words in it to capture the severity of these events. Moroccan-based Cameroonian poet Onesiphore Nembe recites a poem on the piece called “The Poet” and the melancholic reflections of the piece come across despite the difference in language. “God’s Time” has a melodic figure repeated in the piano that permeates the piece and undergoes a slight metamorphosis before returning to its original form.
The sounds are very Schoenberg-esque and the tune is an earworm that puts the listener in a trance. “Kidira” tells the story of a police experience that could be transplanted to America and the narrative would not need to change and it would be all too real. While I have given a prequel to almost all of the thirteen compositions that make up this suite I don’t want to give too much away… as always!
I want you to enjoy the thrill of listening to this amazing tapestry of speech and sound and feel its effects– and I have no doubt you will!! Serpa and Iduma are award-winning critically acclaimed artists in their own artistic disciplines and it is a pleasure to behold the magnificence of the work they have created. It resonates on a level that goes beyond admiration of the aesthetic of the art of itself, but rather one must marvel at how it penetrates the soul of the human being and calls upon us to reflect upon the world in which we live.