TIME Magazine has released its list of the top 10 best albums of the year that has been 2021 and The Hands of Time from Weedie Braimah has made the cut. Coming in at number 8 on a list that includes albums by Kanye West and Miranda Lambert, many parts of the album were recorded in New Orleans at The Parlor Studio and at 3116 St. Claude Avenue, at Artisound Productions.
TIME writes: “The percussionist Braimah draws a link between West African drumming traditions and newer strains of Black American music—including hip-hop, funk, jazz and fusion—on this astonishingly diverse yet cohesive album.” A djembe master from Ghana with a classic jazz drummer mother, Braimah enlisted the help of Trombone Shorty, Christian Scott aTunde , Cory Henry, Tarriona ‘Tank” Ball. While many parts were recorded at Studio Bogolan in Bamako, Mali and at Egrem Studios in Havana, Cuba, New Orleans portions were recorded at the St. Claude studio under the engineering supervision of Keenan McRae and at The Parlor Studio under the supervision of Reginald Nicholas, Jr.
Earlier this year, in an interview with Bandcamp, Braimah stated: “There was a time when the drum wasn’t segregated. Let me say that again: There was a time when the drum wasn’t segregated. We, in this world in the West, segregated the instruments. We segregated the drums so bad that now cats be like, ‘Yeah, man I’m the drummer, and he’s the percussionist.’ With the exception of two places in America, you won’t hear that: New Orleans and D.C. And the reason why I say that is [in D.C.], you’re dealing with go-go music, and New Orleans you just deal with as a whole: The second line music, Black Indian music, the bamboula, funk itself, a rhythm called the Kalinda, you’re dealing with Congo Square, the Afro-Haitian culture that’s there—Afro-Cuban culture, Afro-Indian culture. You’re dealing with all of these folkloric and Afro-diasporic cultures inside of New Orleans, [which means] you can’t take Africa out of New Orleans if you tried.”
McRae, who was getting .wav files from France, Cuba, and all over the world says, “It’s one of the biggest blessings honestly….sharing it with different people and learning from different people’s perspectives. The job of having to really put this together and finalize it was such an honor, especially with this caliber of musicianship. I think I’ve grown and learned so much just doing this record and having this experience. I couldn’t have asked God for anything better.”
To purchase and stream The Hands of Time, visit Bandcamp here.
Read article in TIME that mentions Braimah here.
