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\u201cHatred Drove Me From My Home\u201d was the first track I streamed from I\u2019ve Forgotten Now Who I Used to Be<\/em> (Six Degrees Records) and I was spellbound. This collection of field recordings documents the experiences of women in Ghana who have been forced to seek refuge in \u201cwitch camps<\/a>\u201d after being accused of witchcraft and driven from their homes. The music is like nothing I\u2019ve ever heard before, a first-hand account of the lives of those who have lost everything.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The voices are powerful and resonant, the instrumentation provided by whatever\u2019s at hand \u2014 tin cans, corn husks, a tea pot. There\u2019s no translation beyond the song titles, but it\u2019s not needed; the underlying emotion comes through clearly. \u201cI Was Accused,\u201d sung acapella, consists of a single, repeated phrase, anchoring the singer to her identity (though all the performers here are anonymous, to prevent backlash from their communities). The calm, quiet singer of \u201cEverywhere I Turn, There Is Pain\u201d is accompanied by the harsh clang, clang<\/em> of metal striking metal, as a bird chirps in the background. There\u2019s a sense of anger in \u201cThere Are No Promises in This World,\u201d and the heartbreak in the subdued voice singing \u201cLeft to Live Like an Animal.\u201d But there are also unexpected moments of joy, as in the boisterous \u201cLove\u201d and with its chorus of women whooping in delight. Born out of hardship and loss, this is music that is unforgettable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n