Astro​-​Nubian Electronic Jaglara Dance Sounds from the Fashaga Underground.

In a disputed territory called Fashaga near the border of Sudan, Ethiopia and Eritrea lives a man whose name, Jaglara, translates as “Craziness.” Described in the liner notes to the new release Synthesized Sudan: Astro​-​Nubian Electronic Jaglara Dance Sounds from the Fashaga Underground as “a mysterious figure, a rather unknown quantity even in Sudan,” Jaglara is a spectral presence, beloved only in “the select few circles which have granted him cult status to perform at their humble gatherings or at street parties far from the gaze of the wider world.”

The sound he creates is so distinctive that it’s becoming known as Jaglara. The ears behind the New York label Ostinato were so beguiled by it that they traveled to the area to get the music onto tape. The sounds they gathered became Synthesized Sudan, which came out in late June. It’s a staff favorite, one that we included in some packages sent to members of our record club.

Here’s what “Craziness” produces.

To make the album, Ostinato producer Janto Koité tapped MIDI to combine a few Jaglara releases with field-recorded pieces drawn from live performances. Ostinato’s notes are incredibly illuminating:

Never without his trusty blue Yamaha keyboard, Jantra joins a wave of synthesizer maestros across Africa revolutionizing the electronic sound of the continent. His dexterous fingers and street side raves in his home town of Gedarif near the Sudan-Ethiopia border caught the attention of a less privileged segment of Sudanese society who became infatuated. But you wouldn’t stumble across one of his parties unless you knew where to look, and they take place where few ever care to look. 

The notes continue:

Jantra has no songs. He simply freestyles a combination of his melodies incessantly for hours on end, acting as a live producer and DJ for emphatic crowds in compact spaces, where the energy of his 155-168 BPM music is known to inspire the odd gunslinger to raise his pistol in the middle of the dance floor, ready to fire away a few shots into the air when the build up reaches climax. 

Ostinato’s track record is notable. Since its debut release in 2016, Tanbou Toujou Lou: Meringue, Kompa Kreyol, Vodou Jazz & Electric Folklore from Haiti 1960 – 1981, the label has issued essential, historically important collections including Sweet As Broken Dates: Lost Somali Tapes From The Horn Of Africa, Synthesize The Soul: Astro-Atlantic Hypnotica From The Cape Verde Islands 1973-1988 and Two Niles To Sing A Melody: The Violins & Synths Of Sudan, among others.

To see Jantra in action, check out this Reel (h/t ISC’s Tana Yonas). Explore Ostinato’s world here.