Secular Music from Uganda presents music from the early 1950s, and is dominated by the versatility of traditional instruments from the area, notably thumb piano, xylophone, horizontal harp, horns and others. A large number of ethnic groups are included on this collection, thereby providing a broad rather than detailed level of musical investigation.
The complex nature of Uganda's traditional music is demonstrated. The numerous likembe songs provide a good deal of pleasure with their intertwining and interlocking rhythms. The singing in some of these songs is reminiscent of their mbira cousins of southern Africa, complete with yodeling. The extreme yodeling of the choruses on tracks 8 and 9 are very interesting - vaguely reminiscent of the Bayaka people of the rainforests of central Africa. The horn or xylophone ensembles for which Uganda is famed are not represented particularly well, but the array of inclusion compensates for this loss.
