iTunes


"Listening to them is like dropping the needle on a Victrola record." -Mitch Teich, Arizona Public Radio

---

Sankofa Strings came into being as a result of the first Black Banjo Gathering held in Boone, NC in April of 2005. Sule Greg Wilson and Dom Flemons flew in from Arizona, and when they hooked up with Rhiannon Giddens, they knew great music was to be made. Two months later, they played their first gigs and as they say, "the rest was history."

Four months later, after moving from AZ to NC, Dom joined Rhiannon and NC native Justin Robinson to form the Carolina Chocolate Drops, another proud exponent of the Black String Band Revival.

The term "Colored Aristocracy" goes back to at least the 1850's, in the title of a book on the Black elite of St. Louis, MO. In 1899, the phrase became the title of a cakewalk number. In 1936, the Rich family recorded their now-famous string band tune of the same name. The tune goes back to days of hardship, pride in ourselves and hope for better times to come.

This album draws upon the string and vocal traditions of the Americas, Africa and Europe: string band standards, blues, hokum tunes and anonymous folk songs slide next to new interpretations of Afro-Pop, sea shanties and Celtic ballads.

Track Listing: 1/Viper Mad 2/Colored Aristocracy 3/Walk Right In 4/Likes Likker Better than Me 5/Little Sadie 6/Black-Eyed Blues 7/Another Man Done Gone 8/Johnny Too Bad 9/Banjo-Pickin'Girl 10/Cluck Ol'Hen 11/Banjo Dreams 12/Jalidong 13/Black Eyed Daisy