Iftin Band - 70's Somalia Afro Groove

This incredible recording was made available courtesy of John at Likembe. Thanks for all of your hard work and dedication unearthing great music!

From Likembe ...

I've said this before, but I'll repeat it: The coolest blog out there is Frank Soulpusher's Voodoo Funk. Frank travels throughout West Africa digging up old obscure soul and funk records by local musicians. He posts mixes of his discoveries that usually have me dropping my jaw in wonderment. . . Whaaaa?

Of course, West Africa wasn't the only place that was obsessed with American-style R&B. Every African country had its own practitioners, some of them quite original. Ethiopia in particular created its own fusion of soul and traditional music that has drawn international acclaim.

Twenty years ago I thought that Somalia was immune to the funk virus. There was one recording of Somali music on the market, Original Music's Jaamila (OMA 107, 1987), recordings of oud, flute and voice that were interesting but not especially funky. Somali friends loaned me static-filled cassettes of artists like Sahra Axmed and others that were in a similar vein. There was a wildly-popular genre of home-made cassettes of recitations of Somali poetry. I began to wonder if there even was such a thing as modern Somali music at all.

Then my friend Ali handed me a cassette, an over-the-counter Sanyo stamped "Iftin." No case, no track listing; Ali couldn't even tell me anything about the group Iftin. He thought they may have been from northern Somalia, possibly from Djibouti or the Somali-speaking part of Ethiopia. But they definitely made modern Somali music.

Since this was first posted, we have heard from a Mr. Saanag, who provides much valuable information on Iftin. He writes:

Iftin ("Sunshine") was a big hit in Somalia in the 70's and 80's. Initially, they made theaters & schools "unsafe" with their brand of (slow) dance music and later discotheques & marriage ceremonies were conquered. It's one of the bands initiated by the Ministry of Education and Culture and they were based in Mogadishu, the Somali capital, where most of the band members originally came from. The lead singer with the "Woweeee!" hair is a Somali of Yemenite origins (does his Yemeni ancestry shed a little light on your remark?). He's called Shimaali and some of his solo efforts are on YouTube.Before I gave the tape back to Ali I dubbed it onto a 10-inch tape reel at WYMS-FM, where I used to do my radio program "African Beat." When I stopped doing the show in 2001 I had no way to listen to it, until now. I recently rented a reel-to-reel tape deck and have digitized it, so now I can give it to you!

The "cassette cover" is an elaborate hoax. The picture on the front is taken from an album by Orlando Owoh from Nigeria, also taken from Likembe blog

01 - Iftin Band - Gabar ii Noqee (Be my wife) (5:54)

02 - Iftin Band - Codkeennii Kala Halow (Our voices have lost each other) (3:55)

03 - Iftin Band - Haka Yeelin Nacabkeenna (Don't heed our enemies) (5:53)

04 - Iftin Band - Lamahuraan (Love is Indespensable) (5:18)

05 - Iftin Band - Weynoow (My Great love) (8:57)

06 - Iftin Band - Jacayl Iima Roona (Love is not right for me) (8:49)

07 - Iftin Band - Hir Aanii Dhowyen ma Halabsado (Longing to bridge the big distance) (4:41)

08 - Iftin Band - Caashaqa Maxay Baray? (Why get acquainted with love?) (6:35)

09 - Iftin Band - Baddaa Doon Baa Maraysoo (A fragile boat is rocking on that ocean) (7:23)