"Nowhere Else To Go" - Michael Mountain

Michael Mountain
Nowhere Else To Go - Album Cover

Songs

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"This album is traditional, yet something fresh, and far from contemporary European one drop or dirty Jamaican dancehall." 12 Feb 2015 Unitedreggae

The album ‘Nowhere Else To Go’ is a Malawian old school, low-key kind of reggae, still vibrant and full of life. Michael’s singing takes centre stage in front of a band that produces an organic and sometimes almost fragile vibe. It was mainly recorded in a studio on the shores of Lake Malawi, where Michael’s soulful voice was backed up by a crew of fantastic musicians from the Nkhata-Bay area. A few overdubs, some finishing touches and the mixing was done in Sweden and the result of this collaboration is something quite special.

Michael Mountain, the composer and singer, is a multifaceted man. He is a small-scale tobacco and maize farmer, a community organiser, a reflective thinker, a prolific songwriter and a charismatic artist. On one hand he is deeply rooted in the spirituality of the Rastafari movement, on the other, immersed in the local politics of being chief of a small village. Raised and educated in Zambia, Michael now lives the humble lifestyle common to most people in rural Malawi with his wife and two young children. The front porch of their small house is his favourite place. From there he can clearly see life from a different point of view and put these reflections into song.

The album tells unique stories from the hills and villages of northern Malawi. The music affirms it’s roots in Jamaica as well as being deeply ingrained with the African soil from which it grew. The lyrics often depict African real-life with its tales of hardships and of love, but Michael also writes passionately about social issues and about the mystical.


Album Credits:

All songs written by: Michael Mountain. Recorded & Mixed by Mattias Stålnacke at Moto Wambili Studios, Nkhata Bay, Malawi, and TCIM studios & Studion som Gud glömde, Malmö, Sweden. Cover design by Mattias Stålnacke. Cover photos by Jeandre Pieterse & Mattias Stålnacke.


Musicians:

Michael Mountain: lead vocals, acoustic guitar. Aloys “Johnny Handsome”: drum kit, percussion. Michael “Liberator”: bass guitar. Mattias Stålnacke: electric & acoustic guitars, keyboards, percussion. Alva Gustafsson & Tove Mattisson: main backing vocals. Danny Kalima, Neil Nayar, Ben Evolent, Nina Christensen, Victor Håkansson, Claes Persson, Birgitta Stålnacke-Persson, and more: additional vocals & misc.