Land of Anaka

Geoffrey Oryema is a Ugandan now living in France. He was forced to flee Uganda after his father (a cabinet minister) was murdered by the armed forces of dictator Idi Amin in 1977. When he moved to France in the 80's, his love of music and his persistence in his art earned him a deal with Real World. He was paired off with Brian Eno.

The album is largely in Geoffrey's native languages of Swahili and Acoli (pronounced Acholi, and it's acholi quite an interesting language) though there are a couple of songs in English/songs interspersed with English. A collection of songs of based on African folklore and childhood memories, it really is quite gorgeous.

Anaka is the place Geoffrey's father was born, and where he was also laid to rest. The lyrics echo a time lost and the heartache the destruction in the 70's caused.

In this land of Anaka,

we had hope in Obiga,

we had hopes, we had dreams,

dreams of a clear green land.

In place of the family house,

dead sand, dead sand