Radio Zodiak by Owls Are Not
The intercontinental group Owls Are Not, bringing together musicians from Poland, Malawi, and Tanzania, presents their latest album "Radio Zodiak" - a record that evolves from their surreal, dystopian experiments toward more cohesive yet spacey songwriting, enriched with dadaistic sound collages. "Radio Zodiak" offers a unique sonic proposition that blends elements of East African IDM, prog, traditional ngoma drumming, avantpop, 90s-style electronica, ngoni vocal hymns, trip-hop, and art punk. The result is a very particular version of global / goth / afro / pop.
In contrast to their previous, mostly instrumental albums, "Radio Zodiak" centers around vocalized songs that tackle diverse subject matter. Tracks "Tiye (Let's Go)" and "Tikondwere (Celebrate)" explore themes of hope and community spirit, while "Ndili Ngati Nkhwazi (I am like an Eagle)" and "Emergency" address freedom of movement and global migration exclusions - the latter alluding to helping people trapped on migration routes.
"To the Planetarium" draws from Walter Benjamin's poetic prose, quoting: "The ancients' intercourse with the cosmos had been different: the ecstatic trance. For it is in this experience alone that we gain certain knowledge of what is nearest to us and what is remotest to us, and never of one without the other." "House of the Witch" poetically presents an African perspective on witchcraft that profoundly differs from the romanticized Western view. Particularly notable is "Messiah Nisan Farber," recounting the story of a teenage revolutionary from pre-war Białystok whose kamikaze attack on violent tsarist militia made him a martyr icon of early 20th century anarchists, while “Mino Valkyrias” samples both Richard Wagner’s operas and West-African street music.
The album was recorded in studios across Warsaw (Poland), Mzuzu (Malawi), and Dar Es Salaam (Tanzania) by an ensemble of musicians: Piotr Dang Cichocki, Happy Mphande, Piotr Mazurek (who rejoins the band after a 10-year hiatus), Lilian Yohana, William JahFace Mkolongo, and Dumis9ne I.
Tracklist
| 1. | Tiye (Let's Go) | |
| 2. | Digital Church | |
| 3. | Emergency | |
| 4. | House of the Witch | |
| 5. | Zero Miles | |
| 6. | To the Planetarium | |
| 7. | Radio Zodiak | |
| 8. | Ndili Ngati Nkhwazi (I Am Like an Eagle) | 5:12 |
| 9. | Fully Extended | 1:01 |
| 10. | Mino Valkyrias | |
| 11. | That Money | |
| 12. | Messiah Nisan Faber (I. 1902, II 1904, III 1934) | |
| 13. | 2027 Glowing | |
| 14. | Tikondwere (Celebrate) | 3:53 |
Credits
Mastering: Michał Kupicz
Graphic design: Dang Thuy Duong (based on the image of Trifid Nebula in Sagittarius)
transcription from chiTumbuka: Hlalisa Sanga
