After 40 years of writing and singing protest songs, General Paolino has had the honour of releasing South Sudan's first ever album.
As well as working with established African names such as desert rockers, Tinariwen, the Grammy-winning producer, Ian Brennan, has again shown a good ear for discovering new talent.
His Malawi Mouse Boys group captured an authentic gospel sound from a Malawian roadside and General Paolino, a blind guitarist from South Sudan, seems a perfect African incarnation of American country blues. General Paolino is not, as one might assume, a fusion of country music and blues music, but rather blues from rural, 'backcountry' communities across the southern Sudanese states.
Fingerpickin' good
Paolino's ease is reminiscent of the genre's elegant pioneer, Mississippi John Hurt. South Sudan Street Survivors is thus stylised by fast, incredibly dexterous finger picking, but done so with a naturalness that feels more laidback than frantic.
On some tracks he is backed by Mama Celina, a South Sudanese singer from the Madi people, who plays both the adungu harp and the somewhat rarer kerige, a two stringed instrument that uses a bowl as a resonator.
While John Hurt sung nostalgically about his life experiences on the Delta, Paolino's opener translates as "the mangoes we have are the best". In a similar theme, Paolino has generally taken a more active societal role throughout his 40 year career.
"I wrote protest songs during Sudan's civil war", he says. "Many people seemed to identify with what I was expressing, and many of the songs became popular. The revolutionary war has gone on for as long as I've been alive."
Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters
Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox
As Paolino remembers, his activism led to a flattering comparison, "The common association I have with Bob Marley is quite humbling", he admits. "I suppose when an artist has the courage or conviction to speak out in support of revolution, Marley is the gold standard. I did once record a version of 'No Woman, No Cry', but sadly it doesn't feature on South Sudan Street Survivors."
Nile Delta Blues
Whilst a blind man with an acoustic guitar will always conjure images of a Delta bluesman, Paolino has a clear understanding of his own musical origins. "I love America, but my music comes from my heart", he says.
"The Nile is the birthplace of the blues, maybe even the birthplace of all music. I speak more than five African languages. I have spent my whole life here. All of my inspiration comes from Africa. And, when your vision is impaired, you learn to listen very well. There are many blind musicians in South Sudan."
South Sudan Street Survivors has the honour of being the first album to be released from South Sudan. I ask General Paolino's opinion on the country's recent independence. He smiles and says, "Yes, It's a wonderful thing to finally be free. Thank God for that!"
South Sudan Street Survivors is released by Independent Records Ltd.
