Biama

This Garifuna group is based at the Lebeha Drumming Center in Hopkins Village, Belize, which opened in 2003 with the aim of preserving Garifuna culture. Biama finds the drum-and-vocal collective recording in an authentic sonic sphere, microphones up close to capture the full range of bass skins (segunda), shakers, clavés, turtle-shells and group singing. It seems as if all the elements possess some kind of buzzing distortion, from metal resonators to drumskin attachments, heightening the ritual and propulsive trance of these short pieces.

There are three core percussionists (Jabbar Lambey, Warren Martinez, Clayton Williams) and a guesting Marcela Torres, but the group sounds much bigger. There's an intricate cross-patterning, as the lead voice is joined by a chorus within this uncompromising drum monomania. The tuning of each drum creates a surprisingly melodic nature in the resonances, as the smaller skins (primero) provide embellishing rolls. There are no voices on the hardcore ‘Punta’, while ‘Yugadan (Hopkins)’ has lightness and space, with a wider bass boom. Most of these tracks are very danceable. ‘Gadurutina (I Have Enemies)’ has the best vocals, roused and slightly unhinged. Is it the imagination, or is there a trace amount of AutoTune on the vocals of ‘Maya Hatina (They Can't Bake Cassava)’? Or is it simply natural vibrato?