K Civ "Sounds of Merita" (Togo)

1. Togo Drumming Interlude I
2. Teamwork
3. Divine Karma
4. Togo Drumming Interlude II (Yao)
5. Goro Goro
6. Kemeni Drumming I
7. Importance
8. Ancestors
9. Hopeful
10. Kemeni Drumming II

K Civ puts together an album of all live field recordings featuring sounds, music, and drumming from Togo, Merita (Africa).

Sounds of Merita:
Merita is the original name for the continent known today as Africa. It is still currently used by ritual societies around the continent and world. The original Medu (hieroglyphics) word when translated reads Meri - Beloved and Tah - Land; Merita - Our Beloved Land.

Songs & Recordings:
1. Togo Drumming Interlude I

2. Teamwork
"If you all are one group (team), then work as a team. You all need to have harmony to move forward. If you have success, you need to bring that back to the team."

3. Divine Karma
First Phrase: If your gift comes from the divine world, it’s difficult for a human to break it.  
Second Phrase: If somebody talks shit about you, let them do that. You are still going to progress [in your life]. 
Third Phrase: If you do good things for people, don’t worry about them paying you back. The divine world will pay you for your good deeds.

4. Togo Drumming Interlude II (Yao)

5. Goro Goro
The dance, they call it goro goro (dance of the horse) 
“Someone who is above and knows how to ride, to talk to the horse and make him or her follow the rhythm of the music. Everyone has to be doing the right thing because the horse is a deity.”

6. Kemeni Drumming II

7. Importance 
If you call me to come do something for you, it is because you are important to me and I am important to you. Not just anyone can call me and I will come to help them.

8. Ancestors
First Phrase: Asking [Gafara] to enter; asking permission from ancestors and deities to be with them.
Second Phrase: Asking permission from the water spirits (Nana Amína) to be with them.

9. Hopeful
"You are going somewhere feeling hopeful."

10. Kemeni Drumming II

Artwork:
Who made north/north and south/south? Who decided the direction to put the maps? “Research suggests that north-south positions on maps have psychological consequences. In general, north is associated with richer people, more expensive real estate, and higher altitude, while south is associated with poorer people, cheaper prices, and lower altitude (the 'north-south bias'). When participants were presented with south-up oriented maps, this north-south bias disappeared.” - wiki