BAKA BEYOND
Sing The World Awake
For more than three decades, guitarist Martin Cradick and vocalist Su Hart have built Baka Beyond around their enduring relationship with the Baka people of Cameroon’s rainforest. On Sing the World Awake, that connection is audible not only in the field recordings, polyphonic vocals and intricate rhythms woven through the album, but in its emotional core. This is fusion with history, trust and genuine human warmth behind it.
Just as importantly, the partnership extends beyond the recording studio. Through their Global Music Exchange charity, Cradick and Hart have worked to ensure that the community whose songs and philosophy helped inspire the band continues to benefit from the music’s international reach. That commitment gives Baka Beyond’s work a depth rarely found in more casual cross-cultural collaborations.
Arriving after a substantial gap, Sing the World Awake is no nostalgic retread. Cradick’s guitar and Hart’s expressive vocals remain central, but the record opens outward through an international ensemble. Alongside the rainforest recordings, bright harmonies ride muscular grooves; violin lines add a Celtic lift to the African rhythmic foundations; and guest singers move fluidly between non-vocal singing traditions, English lyrics, Baka-language material and Irish Gaelic.
Across almost an hour, the mood shifts between celebration and elegy without losing its sense of cohesion. The title track and “Dance the Dawn” are illuminated by the voices of Baka women and the distinctive polyphonic yodelling of Yeli singing. “Deep Forest” reaches back to earlier recordings through the voice of Loni Julienne, while “We Miss You” and “Mostly Water” turn toward remembrance, honouring departed friends, relatives and earlier generations of singers.
Elsewhere, “Nanjinga’s Song” pairs a Baka-inspired guitar figure with a sumptuous full-band arrangement. The cross-pollination continues on the Gaelic-inflected “Mostly Molly”, one of the clearest examples of the album’s ability to let contrasting traditions converse rather than compete.
Sing the World Awake preserves continuity with Baka Beyond’s earlier releases while still exploring new pathways. More than a simple blend of styles, it feels like a meeting of musical lives: vibrant, generous and grounded in shared humanity. This is world music in the truest sense—open-hearted, borderless and alive.
The FNW verdict is that this is a richly textured and uplifting return that rewards both attentive listening and joyful surrender to the groove.
Sing The World Awake