Music of !Kung Bushmen of the Kalahari Desert, Africa

The !Kung (the ! is a click consonant made by clicking the tongue against the back of the roof of the mouth while making an O shape with the lips) are a San tribe that traditionally lived as nomadic hunter-gatherers in the Kalahari Desert in southern Africa. This album is a selection of field recordings made by John Phillipson of !Kung music for many different occasions. Included are solo instrumentals on a single-stringed bamboo fiddle and a type of thumb piano called a sitengena, along with a capella songs with clapping. Liner notes contain information on the !Kung and a brief account of Phillipson’s interactions with those who were recorded in this album.