SCI-CULTURA » music

Stocktown Africa

sci-culturist — Wed, 05 May 2010 06:29:36 +0000

Stocktown Africa is a documentary portrait about the lively,creative and social contemporary culture blossoming in Africa’s big cities today. Stocktown Africa will bring you face to face with the new urban Africa, where fashion creators, mobile phone journalists, cultural entrepreneurs, music producers and guerilla filmmakers define what it is to be young, talented and passionate in Africas 21st century.

I’ve watched the trailer a few times already and can’t wait to see it in full. (ht @gkofiannan)

Check out their page on FB.

Zanzibar::Sauti za Busara Festival

sci-culturist — Sun, 21 Feb 2010 13:02:17 +0000

I am beaming on the inside (and outside), having freshly returned from the outstanding Sauti za Busara Festival (translates to “Sounds of Wisdom”) held in the atmospheric Old Fort of Stone Town, under the star-filled skies, which means I have crossed off one of the things to do before I die off my list. Save of course, seeing Bi Kidude live on stage. The story goes that she was coerced into performing at an official event in Dar es Salaam on the same night that Tausi Women’s Taarab, of which she is lead vocalist for, performed. The ladies, however, did a fantastic job despite Bi Kidude’s palpable absence.

Tausi Women’s Taarab © photo by yours truly

It is impossible to do the festival justice in a blog post, but I highly recommend it to those able to make it to this wonderful part of the world that is infused with such delights for the senses. The boundless variety is the strength of this festival, with performers abounding from all corners of the African continent, representing a plethora of genres to suit a wide degree of aural sensibilities. From the gentle rhythmic soothingly hypnotic as ocean waves sounds of taarab, to the spiritually inspired and lively Thandiswa to the energetic head nodding, body shaking afro-rocking kora sounds of Ba Cissoko and so much more. Many artists stood out for carving their own niche, such as Makadem’s ohangla and Maia von Lekow’s afro-jazzy tunes. In addition to the musicians I have previously listened to or seen live, the festival introduced me to the colourful pelvic gyrating Jimmy Omonga (DRC), enchanting Del & Diho (Mayotte), Massar Egbari (Egypt), Malick Pathé Sow (Senegal), jazzy Debo Band (Ethiopia), b-boy hip hop meets afro-fusion Simba & Brown Band (Mozambique).

Jimmy Omonga (DRC) © photo by yours truly

A wonderful thing that emerged through the course of the festival is that it was not simply for expats, but as the days progresssed I estimated the locals to be more in number than the “foreigners”.

Simba & Borwn Band © photo by yours truly

More Sauti za Busara images, which speak more than words, on my Flickr.

House of the Holy Afro

sci-culturist — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 09:17:24 +0000

© Arts Project Australia

This avant-garde ‘temple of the modern African groove’ is a South African music production by Third World Bunfight featuring DJ Dino Moran, which has been on tour and soon heading to London’s Rich Mix theatre (5th – 8^th August 2009) caught my eye as I am interested in the transition from African traditional religions/spiritual belief systems to the Abrahamic religions (Christianity and Islam) across the African continent.

The production described as Afro-kitsch, represents a fusion of traditional and urban, township gospel and house beats, slam-poetry and Afro-pop is posed as a riot for the senses. In other words, it’s a club night performance.

In shamanistic ceremonies in rural villages in South Africa, ancestral spirits are summoned and revered with songs that arise from dreams. In the churches of townships, soaring gospel songs lead people into states of spiritual communion and trance.

Performed by seven singer-dancers, House of the Holy Afro weaves these melodies together with driving house beats, taking you on an unforgettable trip through the rhythms of 21^st century Africa.

My prediction: with a witty, playful, metaphorical title like that, not to mention rave reviews, tickets will sell.

Kenya::Fashion for Peace

sci-culturist — Sun, 19 Apr 2009 10:31:17 +0000

The Festival for African Fashion and Arts (FAFA) was born out of a tragedy; the post-election blood spillage that took a grip on Kenya in December 2007 / January 2008. Despite this, FAFA takes a positive approach to building the future, whilst honouring the need to heal the wounds of the past which continue to haunt the nation.

As the name suggests, FAFA is not limited to Kenyan borders, and seeks to use fashion and the arts as a tool to build bridges between people and bring awareness to fair trade and support for talented African designers to get their creations in global markets.

Given its success last year, Fashion for Peace 2009 is set to take place on 25 April 2009 in Nairobi National Park.

FAFA aims to change perceptions of other communities one mind at a time by exploring and bridging cultures through fashion, art and music.

FAFA’s founding principles:

There is unity in diversity

Positive change comes when we stop focusing on the negative and encourage the inspiring and the positive

Africa deserves to have a light shone on the talent and creative energy which exists on the continent

Designer Pathe’O from Côte d’Ivoire in foreground at Fashion for Peace 2008, Nairobi ÓFAFA

The fashion show will be supported by other creative events such as musical performances as well as a Designer Master classes which will provide an exchange forum to look at innovative ways of developing African fashion and having it further penetrate worldwide markets.

Funds raised support the Alternatives to Violence Project, building non-violence skills and helping people process recent events in affected communities around Kenya.

Designer Master Class starts on Thursday 23rd April, 6.30pm at the Goethe Institute, Nairobi. Panelists include Kofi Ansah (Ghanaian designer, selling haute couture worldwide), Joan Karanja (CEO COFTA – African fair trade association) and Muchiri Wahome (MD Deacons, retailer of Woolworths, Truworths, Mr Price).

Topic: “Make Trade Fair” in relation to the fashion industry.

Source: FAFA website

Afro-Peruvian Sounds

sci-culturist — Sat, 04 Apr 2009 17:05:12 +0000

I recently heard about the Peruvian band Novalima through the BBC World Service, which made sitting in Nairobi’s infamous bumper-to-bumper traffic, I daresay, a pleasant experience. Novalima do not claim African ancestry, however, they have an appreciation and hold great value of the sounds and rhythms exported to Latin America by African slaves brought over by the Spanish and Portuguese, which they cover to create a new sound, in the spirit of promoting the place of Black Peruvians in society and making a stance against racial inequality in Peru by reminding Peruvians their ties with Africa. Afro-Peruvians may make up a tiny 3% of Peru’s population, however, in musical festivals and the like, the huge impact of these distinct sounds is apparent.

Novalima’s co-founder Carlos Li-Carillo says:

Most of the traditional music here, except for the Andean music, has African influence. In the coast, we have the valse, the creole valse, and the marinera. Now marinera is used for military bands and stuff. But it’s all started with African styles.

I am not a Latin America expert, but this is likely a familiar scenario across Latin America, with the well known example of Rio de Janeiro’s annual carnival.

Although the history of the birth of Afro-Peruvian music resonates with that of other parts of Latin America, Afro-Peruvians have a distinct repertoire of instruments and unique dance. Because musical instruments amongst slaves were forbidden, thought to be due to their powerful impact and trance-like states the audiences fell into (which was also related to their Spiritual practice) and their possible use as communication aides between slaves, the ingenious and creative use of objects such as the quijada de burro (a dried up donkey’s jawbone with knocked out teeth, used as a scraper) or cajon (a large wooden box used as a drum) were used, creating a new generation of instruments and ensuing sounds that were adopted in a new culture of the slaves’ descendants. Read more here.

Back to Novalima – the title of their latest and 3rd album Coba Coba, is an Afro-Peruvian expression which is used to spur on a musician in the middle of a great solo (much like the Spanish olé!).

The first line of a song written decades ago, ‘Liberta’, is Negro sera presidente… (A black man will be president…) was a song of hope for freedom for Black Peruvians, and was recently brought back from the archives with President Barack Obama’s win. Despite the disparities in racial geography, culture and politics in USA, it is nevertheless a source of inspiration for many in Latin America. And beyond. Source

Novalima on MySpace

Check out this tune by Novalima on Cerulean’s love of music

Things That Make You Go Hmm…Exhibit B

sci-culturist — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 22:21:47 +0000

I’m back! Thanks for checking back in.

I thought it would be good to come back with some lively afrobeat from the inimitable Black President.

Food for thought that traverses many layers:

GENTLEMAN

04:40

I no be gentleman at all o

I be Africa man, original

07:19

He go sweat all over

He go faint right down

He go smell like shhh*t

He go piss for bodi he no go know

LADY

0:55

If you call a woman African woman no ‘gree

She go say, she go say I be lady o

1:48

She go say market woman na woman

Update 30/11/2008: I’m still processing this, but it’s interesting to observe the perceptions of and baggage the labels “gentleman”, “lady” and “woman” carried in post-colonial Nigeria by the elite; the men wanting to regarded as gentlemen in the (inappropriate) way that they dressed – deducibly like Englishmen, despite the hot sun; the females regarding the term “woman” to be reserved for the lower social classes who work in the market because “lady” was perceptively superior to “woman”. I wonder if this is simply because lady is the counterpart to gentleman or if it’s also connected to Lady, the title of nobility (wife of a Lord) given the colonial history. Why would the term which depicts an adult female (woman) be a derogatory term? I’d be interested to know what you think.

Fe-la-bration Time C’Mon!*

sci-culturist — Sun, 12 Oct 2008 23:20:09 +0000

If there’s a time to be in Naija, it would be during the annual celebration of the late Fela Anikulapo Kuti’s life, due to peak on 18th October. This year he would have been 70. Imagine that. Femi and Seun are guaranteed to be in Lagos celebrating their father’s life alongside a distinguished list of other African musician bigwigs such as Baaba Maal, Amadou and Mariam, Tony Allen. Apparently the African and British gathering of musicians who are doing this for love not money, under the collaboration ‘Africa Express’ will then head out to an equally spontaneous jam in London, minus Femi.

I was intrigued to find out that Africa Express is Bob Geldof’s brainchild, as penance for his sins and the (deserved) gra-gra he got for snubbing African artists at Live 8 (2005).

Source

Update: Correction – Africa Express was conceived by Damon Albarn and not Bob Geldof – Source.

See: Africa Express (a lovely welcome by Salif Keita)

There’ll be other Felabration happenings besides live gigs. Anyone who dey London wey wan come, click for details: Fela Kuti 70 at Cargo

This is an afrobeat extraveganza celebrating Fela Kuti’s birthday – he would have been 70. Although many people know Fela’s recording from the 1980′s and beyond, this night is about Fela at his funkiest – the 1970′s.

There will also be an exclusive exhibition showing 70 (keeping with the theme) original Fela Kuti vinyls, as well as never-before-seen photographs and some Fela inspired art.

I leave you with one of my Fela favourites: Lady

If you call a woman African woman no go ‘gree
She go say I be lady o

She go say him equal to man
She go say him get power like man
She go say anything man do himself fit do
She go wan make you open door for am

[The best bit]
I never tell you finish
I never tell you finish

==
* To the tune of Celebration by Kool and The Gang

Things that make you go hmmm…Exhibit A

sci-culturist — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 20:38:32 +0000

I was on iTunes when I was struck by the Confrontation album cover. I love Kehinde Wiley’s work, but clearly Bob was wayyy ahead of his time (although this album was released posthumously in 1983, 2 years after his death).

Feel the Beat

sci-culturist — Sun, 14 Sep 2008 11:49:03 +0000

The sabar dance from Senegal which has traditionally been a female dance and an overt expression of female sexuality (notably paradoxically in an Islamic country) to a cacophony of uplifting, energising sabar drum beats has evolved into multiple forms through its organic transformation by men into a dance for them as well, and now features in music videos and contemporary African dance schools. Here’s an informative excerpt from anthropologist Sophie Schouwenaar‘s thesis (via Roots & Wings Movement). The actual sabar dancing doesn’t start until 03:53 but it’s well worth the wait and meanwhile gives background on the dance, drums and community.

It reminded me (in a round about way) of an article I saw on the Boboraba (Djoula for ‘big bottom’) dance craze in Côte d’Ivoire , which as the name suggests is in praise of a large derriere and reportedly created business in the cosmetic industry by targeting gullible women. An elaborate account on the female posterior in popular culture, inspired by the same article is available on T’ings n’ Times. But just so you know what I am referring to, here’s the Boboraba music video by DJ Mix and DJ Eloh. For me, it’s reminiscent of ndombolo from the Democratic Republic of Congo. As you can probably already guess, it’s not safe for work (NSFW).

Western Sahara Blues::Tiris

sci-culturist — Sat, 13 Sep 2008 21:05:50 +0000

Tiris are certainly doing their bit for putting Western Sahara on the map. Metaphorically speaking, of course. Singing in Hassaniya, their sound is distinctive and carries unmistakably Arab and even Spanish flamenco influences – a reflection of Western Sahara’s colonial history. Listening to this fills me with a formidable sense of awe at what an incredibly diverse continent Africa is and as much as I am one who has previously casually thrown in the label ‘African’ in conversation, it really doesn’t tell you much. If anything at all, apart from point to a geographical terrain. Regardless, I feel a sense of something that feels like pride to be a part of this ‘undefinable’ rich mix without breaking it down into microcosms. I digress.

Surprisingly, Tiris haven’t yet made it to YouTube (I checked), but have performed at various locales including my dream destination, the Festival au Desert in Mali. You can listen to samples of Tiris’ delightful debut album, Sandtracks via Sandblast, a not-for-profit organisation that promotes artists from Western Sahara to bring their cause for self-determination to the global centre stage. More samples here. I particularly love the throaty haunting call at the intro of El Leil, El Leil (The Night).