Chief Xian aTunde Adjuah
Bark Out Thunder Roar Out Lightning
2023 ROPEADOPE
Chief Adjuah aTunde Adjuah (formerly Christian Scott) released his long anticipated album, Bark Out Thunder Roar Out Lightning. A collection of spiritual sounds and cultural recordings, the album spotlights the chief’s creative capabilities and cultural roots. According to Chief Adjuah, the title track, as well as the album as a whole, are “built as a map to decolonize sound; to challenge previously held misconceptions about some cultures of music; to codify a new folkloric tradition and begin the work of creating a national set of rhythms”
The albums opener, Blood Calls Blood, begins in what could be compared to an eastern meets western dream-like melody, fusing world instruments with dissonant chords, swelling vocal harmonies, and rhythmic folk drive. What emerges from the start of the song is then sung with conviction as the lyrics ring, “Run no more, make no way. Won’t kneel down, no, to pray. Blood calls blood, make way.” Native drums and African tribal soul guides us to the albums following song, Trouble That Mornin’. In this one, strings can be heard in the mix, complementing the beauty of the song’s root sound.
One of the many breathtaking lyrics reads like poetry as Chief Xian aTunde Adjuah sings, “Jump over St. Louis Cemetery, bark out thunder roar out lightning. Kick over a tombstone, won’t hum bow, but’ll claim a fresh kill.” Fans of the Mardi Gras Indians’ music and culture will no doubt sing along to the record’s third track “ Xodokan Iko – Hu Na Ney”. In this rebirthed rendition, you will notice a familiar traditional New Orleans ‘Iko Iko’ motif. A call back to the famed track Jock-a-Mo, written in 1953 by James “Sugar Boy” Crawford, it has been interpreted down the years by many musicians, including the Dixie Cups, Warren Zevon, Dr John, and Ringo Starr. Chief Xian aTunde Adjuah, chieftain of the Xodokan Nation of the Maroon Tribes of New Orleans, incorporates indigenous instruments in this masterpiece, making use of his own ”Chief’s Bow” on the album. Like this latest release, his preceding album Ancestor Recall experimented with spiritual rhythms and African sound theory, drawing heavily from African and Native American traditional sounds. On American Masters, a PBS documentary, Chief said his music reminds him of the blues, and that jazz and blues are synonyms of each other. Which is a nuance found in rhythmic harmonies. The chief’s family influence and love can be heard in his art.
Author: Ryan McKern
