Item: MAVRI ELLADA
Rating: 8
Author: guardian

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MAVRI ELLADA by Negros Tou Moria reviewed by guardian — 8.0/10 | Wavelength | Wavelength

a rebetiko rap riposte to Greek social division

Since releasing his debut mixtape in 2012, NTM (real name Kofi Ansong) has pioneered what he calls trabetiko, mixing the Greek working-class folk music of rebetiko with trap. NTM raps about being a second-generation Greek born to Ghanaian parents while adorned in traditional clothing such as tsarouchia pom-pom shoes and a fustanella skirt.

NTM downplays the folk references in favour of a more wide-ranging sound on his latest album, Mavri Ellada (Black Greece). His earlier releases had a melodic lilt; he’s now shifted to a gravelly baritone, growling through everything from G-funk on Euthinofovos to Afrobeats on An Einai Dinaton and dancefloor synths on PragmatiKotita. His vocal dexterity is impressive: he slows his flow for the laid-back groove of Euthinofovos while skipping ahead of the beat on the thumping kicks of PragmatiKotita.

NTM comes into his own when he employs his bass tone over that signature trabetiko sound. Oneiro samples a 50s Greek film soundtrack over a gut-punching beat as he raps venomously about being stopped and searched, while the title track pairs a trilling rebetiko bouzouki melody with rumbling sub-bass as he reflects on the country’s economic need for immigration and the political hatred of it. Armed with this darker, more mature voice, NTM tackles bleak issues with indefatigable energy: a forceful statement.

Portuguese producer Jonathan Uliel Saldanha and Ugandan trumpeter Florence Nandawula return with their second album as HHY and the Kampala Unit, Turbo Meltdown (Nyege Nyege). Filled with apocalyptic synth sounds and shuddering percussion, the duo soundtrack dark dancefloor moments, peaking on the syncopated east African polyrhythms and horn fanfares of Neon Veil Collapse. Stella Chronopoulou’s fifth album as Σtella, Adagio (Sub Pop), sees the vocalist singing in her native tongue of Greek for the first time, producing a beautifully wistful cover of the 1969 Greek new wave track Ta Vimata and an earthy funk call-and-response on Omorfo Mou. Running at under 30 minutes, the nine-track record plays out a brief but beguiling new chapter. Featuring a blazing Amharic-langauge cover of Black Sabbath’s War Pigs, four-piece Ukandanz’s latest album Evil Plan (Compagnie 4000) is brash and uncompromising, traversing metal, prog and jazz fusion, all anchored in Ethiopian singer Asnaké Gèbrèyès’s acrobatic vocals.

As far-right political parties have risen in Greece in recent years, young artists from Athens’ migrant communities have been using hip-hop to channel their anger. Rappers such as Kareem Kalokoh and his ATH Kids collective rap (in English) about racism over thunderous trap beats, while Greek-Nigerian artist Moose pays homage to the often-maligned immigrant suburb of Kypseli. Negros Tou Moria, meanwhile, has developed his own Greek-language genre. Since releasing his debut mixtape in 2012, NTM (real name Kofi Ansong) has pioneered what he calls trabetiko, mixing the Greek working-class folk music of rebetiko with trap. NTM raps about being a second-generation Greek born to Ghanaian parents while adorned in traditional clothing such as tsarouchia pom-pom shoes and a fustanella skirt. NTM downplays the folk references in favour of a more wide-ranging sound on his latest album, Mavri Ellada (Black Greece). His earlier releases had a melodic lilt; he’s now shifted to a gravelly baritone, growling through everything from G-funk on Euthinofovos to Afrobeats on An Einai Dinaton and dancefloor synths on PragmatiKotita. His vocal dexterity is impressive: he slows his flow for the laid-back groove of Euthinofovos while skipping ahead of the beat on the thumping kicks of PragmatiKotita. NTM comes into his own when he employs his bass tone over that signature trabetiko sound. Oneiro samples a 50s Greek film soundtrack over a gut-punching beat as he raps venomously about being stopped and searched, while the title track pairs a trilling rebetiko bouzouki melody with rumbling sub-bass as he reflects on the country’s economic need for immigration and the political hatred of it. Armed with this darker, more mature voice, NTM tackles bleak issues with indefatigable energy: a forceful statement. Portuguese producer Jonathan Uliel Saldanha and Ugandan trumpeter Florence Nandawula return with their second album as HHY and the Kampala Unit, Turbo Meltdown (Nyege Nyege). Filled with apocalyptic synth sounds and shuddering percussion, the duo soundtrack dark dancefloor moments, peaking on the syncopated east African polyrhythms and horn fanfares of Neon Veil Collapse. Stella Chronopoulou’s fifth album as Σtella, Adagio (Sub Pop), sees the vocalist singing in her native tongue of Greek for the first time, producing a beautifully wistful cover of the 1969 Greek new wave track Ta Vimata and an earthy funk call-and-response on Omorfo Mou. Running at under 30 minutes, the nine-track record plays out a brief but beguiling new chapter. Featuring a blazing Amharic-langauge cover of Black Sabbath’s War Pigs, four-piece Ukandanz’s latest album Evil Plan (Compagnie 4000) is brash and uncompromising, traversing metal, prog and jazz fusion, all anchored in Ethiopian singer Asnaké Gèbrèyès’s acrobatic vocals.