Extra Golden Ok-Oyot System
It would be easy to dismiss this collaboration between Washington, DC indie rockers Golden and […]
It would be easy to dismiss this collaboration between Washington, DC indie rockers Golden and Kenyan musician Otieno Jagwosi as overly academic world music. It was, after all, brought about by Golden member Ian Egleston’s doctoral research into benga, a dance-y, electric guitar-driven Kenyan folk music. It’s worthwhile to resist such a dismissal, however: The collaboration produced some very lively and unique-sounding tracks. While a pair of songs that the Golden boys penned before the trip (“It‘s Not Easy,” “Tussin‘ and Fightin‘”) sound like standard boogie rock tunes, the points where the two groups meet each other half way (“Ok-Oyot System,” “Ilando Gima Onge”) are musically challenging and resonate with rich, emotional overtones.