Pops Mahomed's new album, 'How Far Have We Come?' is based upon an amazing series of recordings with the Khoisan bushmen of the Kalahari. The album contains a lovely mix of traditional and contemporary music and was recorded over a three-day period in the Kalahari Desert using a temporary studio which was set up on the back of a 4x4 jeep. These recordings were then flown to London where Pops Mahomed completed the album in the company of such musicians as Andrew Missingham, Chris Bowden, Jessica Lauren and Yolanda Charles. The result is "a swirling tapestry of sound that one minute evokes the timeless world of rural Africa and the next a sweaty dance floor that could just as easily be in London as Johannesburg".

On this album, Mahomed has merged the musical textures and sounds of many traditional African instuments with some contemporary jazz, funk, dance and township influences. Mohamed mixed his vocals with those of the San people to create an album that is both fresh and other-wordly. The extensive booklet that accompanies this CD explains the thoughts and historical references that surround each song. Songs like 'Mbira Shuffle', 'Khoisan', 'Jimba, Jimba', 'The Spirit', and 'Quandodo', expose Mahomed's musical gift for arrangements and his unique ability to turn these previously unknown instruments and sounds into a hip, cool and thoroughly enjoyable musical feast.

Stephen "Sugar" Segerman

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