NPR Music Tiny Desk Concerts

The Good Ones (2024x3)

:

It is difficult to merely take in a performance by the Rwandan group known as The Good Ones. The pathos of the band and the country’s recent history permeates the duo’s existence and its music. Adrian Kazigira and Janvier Havugimana were taught music by the latter’s older brother, who then perished during the country’s brutal genocide. They formed a band as a way to process their nation’s trauma and also bring together Rwanda’s three tribes: Tutsi, Hutu, and Abatwa. From the start, the simple guitar fingerpicking style and very sparse rhythm guide the plaintive vocals into a trance-like meditation. The music is a fascinating mix of guitar strumming that combines the kind of cyclical song form you hear on the West African kora and vocal harmonizing common to many African musical traditions. The group’s origin story may be tragic, but The Good Ones’ determination to spread its musical message is an inspiration.