BaraBara.fm - A Journey into the Sound of Kenya » Pictures

Pictures put in on New Year’s Eve to remember the folks in africa

Agnieszka — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 15:25:07 +0000

Journey in the Nyanza region on March 11th, where we met with the nyatiti player Okumo Korengo :

The People at Ogoya Nengo’s Village:

Best wishes for the new year 2010 to all of you !!

Magnetizing Shakers in Kwale

monade — Sat, 28 Mar 2009 14:09:08 +0000

Again we had to get up very early in the morning. We went to a very small village, very close to Kwale . We met with a traditional sengenya group. One of the most important instruments of Sengeya groups is the kayamba, which is a kind of big shaker. Using your thumbs you hit the instrument hard to create strong sounds on top of the conventional shaker sound. It is amazing to listen to eight kayamba players who are all playing the same score over and over again and again.

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The instruments that were used by the ensemble are very similar to the ones, the band of Mbui and Mbutch used on March 22nd. For example both groups played very melodic rhythms on a 4-piece drumkit but the sengenya group in Kwale played everything much slower and much more relaxed. In comparison to this band the orchestra of Mbui was really a “high-energy-senenya group”. http://www.barabara.fm/videoblog/music/28-3Kwale1.mp3 ^{chapao drums}
In the last weeks many of the recording sessions have corresponded to the same sample. First of all the band played about three or four songs they had prepared for the session. Of course some of these introductory songs were really great but all of the meetings and recording sessions became even more interesting after the first part was done. It was very interesting to see how different bands reacted to some of Sven´s requests to play a song in a different way, in a different tempo or without one of these time keeping instruments.
From this point the exchange was always more intense and in our opinion many of the results were very unique.
In Kwale Sven had a talk about the meaning and the sense of some of the traditional songs and finally an old woman began to sing a song that she usually saves for funerals and other truly sad situations. It only took a few seconds for to be accompanied by 6 other women.
http://www.barabara.fm/videoblog/music/28-3Kwale2.mp3 ^{funeral song}

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islamic encounters in Lamu

monade — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 21:43:23 +0000

We began the day with a boat trip to the other side of the Lamu Island: MatondoniIt took us half an hour during which we could see the beach for miles and in the background green trees everywhere we looked. At Matondoni we met with a traditional Kaswida group. Again one of the musicians was hammering endlessly on a metal plate but everything else was much different from what we had previously seen: First of all the group was made up of three tambourine players. Secondly they used a flute that produced a clear Arabic sound and on top of that many old and also very young singers sang different polyphonic melodies that also had a strong Arabic influence. Listen to some extracts of the Kaswida group of Lamu.
http://barabara.fm/videoblog/music/25-3tambourin.mp3 ^{Tambourin section of Matondoni}
http://barabara.fm/videoblog/music/25-3floete.mp3 ^{traditional flute player}
In the afternoon we took time out at the wonderful Indian Ocean and continued our research in Lamu town thereafter. Lamu celebrates Allah’s birthday these days, so we went to the biggest mosque in town: the Riadh mosque and found the place in front prepared for a celebration. There was a contest of Kaswida groups from different villages of Lamu. A Kaswida group consists of a dancing group of white appareled men and a music group. The performance was so impressive and the congregated crowd impressed. It would take hours to describe all of our impressions. Such a show and celebration lasts at least until dawn.

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Farewell and departure to a different world

monade — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 18:18:45 +0000

Before we had to go to Malindi airport we took a cab to the small Takaye Village where we had spent a few days before. We said “Kwaheri” to everybody and gave them a small present: A small barrel organ playing a song called “Reperbahn nachts um halb eins”. The people of the small village loved it and finally everybody was singing his own version of that famous sailor song from Hamburg. A propos: the white stuff out of the yellow can is the popular coconut tree schnapps…

Long Version of the Reeperbahn session (14.6 MB, 7:30 min)

After having a fun farewell at Takaye Village we flew to Lamu. This time the plane didn´t look that old and dilapidated like on Friday and contrary to our first flight we didn´t lose any fuel and actually arrived at destination! The airport looks like a toy airport. Like at the airport in Malindi, inside the terminal building stands a big red balance with a clock-face where the luggage was weighed. Everything happens here manually: flight tickets are raised by hand; the luggage is loaded manually and subsequently loaded back to the passengers waiting around the luggage van.

To reach Lamu one has first to cross the river by boat. On arriving on the island the first view you get is one of a pretty Italian fishing village: blue-green seawater, many fishing boats around and houses right beside the sea..

But the closer you come the more you realize: this is something completely different. The Arabic influence in the music that fills the streets is unmistakable. The majority of the people at Lamu are Muslim. You see veiled women and men with skirts walking down the streets, donkey riders and camels carying loads. The music at Lamu is much different from everything we have already listened to and you can listen to the muezzin five times a day.

http://www.barabara.fm/videoblog/music/26-3muezzin.mp3 ^{Muezzin in Lamu}

After check-in at the Sunsail Hotel right beside the sea, we take a walk through the gradually darkening town.

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Busy Days in Malindi

monade — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 08:25:01 +0000

Between April and October the Galana River is home to many crocodiles and hippos. In March the weather is far too dry to attract even a few of these pretty dangerous animals. Therefore we could take a dugout canoe without fear and embark on a journey to a very small village very close to the river. Besides Raymond, two of his relatives, joined us on our way to the village and it was fun to share our boat with these people. They were singing during the whole journey….

http://www.barabara.fm/videoblog/music/23-03kanufahrt.mp3 ^{Singing on a boat trip}

From the riverbanks it was a long walk in the midday sun and took a bit of time bevor we were bided welcome.
At the village we met with some people who were playing a style called “Gonda”. Gonda music is based on strong rhythms. There is always one person hammering on a metal plate like crazy to give a clear and loud beat to all of the other musicians. Three of the drummers are playing very complex unison phrases while at least 8 women are singing to this very loud and very strong rhythm.
We did some fantastic audio and video recordings at this magical scene and had great views at this outlying place.
Later on we were invited to sit down under the usual phenomenal big tree to relax and have some talks with the people and to eat “Ugali”, a white pulp made out of water and maize. Ugali is the dietary staple of the Kenyan majority. Like all Kenyan dishes, ugali is eaten by hand.

http://www.barabara.fm/videoblog/music/23-3trommelvoice.mp3 ^{rythm section}

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Mbui, Mbutch and Tempa

monade — Sun, 22 Mar 2009 21:55:35 +0000

In the morning Sven went to a very small church at Takaye Village to attend a divine service. Sven is pagan and usually he doesn´t go to church. This morning he just wanted to get some impressions about the music that is been played at an east African liturgy but unpredictably he was a big attraction of this Sunday morning. First of all, the preacher asked Sven to talk about himself and where he was from and what he was doing in Kenya. Then the preacher advised one of his assistants to sit next to Sven to translate the whole sermon from Kisuaheli to English. Unfortunately Sven had slept for less than 4 hours the night before and he couldn´t avoid falling asleep momentarily… After more than two hours of preaching the liturgy was at long last finished.

In the afternoon we went to a funeral. Three days earlier an old man who lived in the neighboring village had passed away and Raymond had to pay a short visit. He invited us to accompany him and so we had the chance to spend an hour on a traditional African funeral which lasts 4 days. At first sight it looked as if it was a public festival. Loud music was played, sweets and beer was sold and there were at least 300 people around, some of them dancing, some talking to the neighbours and also some crying as the coffin was lowered into the earth…

In the evening we met with Mbuch a friend of Marie and were invited to come to Mbuis place who has been his teacher in percussion. He is studying traditional music and takes courses at a kind of training camp for musicians. They get up at the latest at 5 O’clock in the morning to work first on their physical fitness. They run about 14 kilometers and pump iron… Later on they begin to practice the many traditional instruments. After smoking some Ganja in the afternoon they keep on playing until they go to bed around 10 O’clock.
It was the first time to record some musicians of our generation who played traditional instruments. They had a modern approach to several traditional rhythms but it was still very well connected to the roots of the older generation.

After the recordings we all just sat down to drink some bottles of cold Tusker and played until night. All these of these musicians were very open minded and warmhearted. Agnieszka had some good conversations with Tempa about the development possibilities in the slums of Nairobi as well as the meaning of hope, help and support in this context for Africans in general. Tempa who has been playing in a band with Mbui and Mbuch has found his destiny in being a development helper in the slums of Nairobi as he told Agnieszka. And Mbui, our host, opened a cultural center in Malindi which takes in musicians and dancers in the form of a camp. All together they coming up with and exchanging ideas – like establishing a tree nursery to keep the camp and the idea alive.
It was a great pleasure to spend this afternoon with Mbuch, Mbui, Tempa and their friends.
Listen to some extracts of their wonderful music.
http://www.barabara.fm/videoblog/music/22-3mbuivoices.mp3 ^{vocal session at Mbui’s place}
http://www.barabara.fm/videoblog/music/22-3letztertake.mp3 ^{last take sengenya music}

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1st tour finished

monade — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 20:32:33 +0000

A short review of the 9 days trip to the western side of Kenya:
We travelled from the border to Uganda in the northern part of Nyanza to the adjacent country in the south which is Tanzania.
It was great to see the landscape during the drives, the different people walking along the road and small markets in between which are located among the many small townships around. The colorfulness of all of them is impressive. You see women with beautiful suits wearing big bags or cans on their heads gracefully and lightly. Students of different schools are wearing matching school uniforms. Cows and coats graze on the edge of the roads and of course taxi drivers, shop keepers and many others engaged with their own private businesses.
As already mentioned in earlier posting we met many interesting, warmhearted musicians and made a lot of recordings and video shootings which have still to be reviewed.
In the evening we took a cab to Kisumu Airport to go back to Nairobi by plane.

http://www.barabara.fm/videoblog/music/17-3Flugzeug.mp3 ^{after the landing}

The main city of Kenya bid us welcome with one of these incessant traffic jams. Unfortunately Nairobi does not have a subway. Therefore the whole city is a never ending jam between 7.00 – 9.00 in the morning and 5 and 8 in the evening. After all the air was definitely better at Kisumu

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atmo recordings and a jam session

monade — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 21:50:02 +0000

Our last day at Kisumu: In the morning Sven went for a walk to the center of Kisumu and recorded some of the atmosphere and soundscapes.
http://barabara.fm/videoblog/music/16-3-Atmo-Kisumu.mp3 ^{Atmo Kisumu}
In the evening some young guys invited us to join a small jam session at Kiboko Beach. A very nice guy called Erartus, who is a singer, a guitar player and a Nyatiti player, Agnieszka and Sven took a Tuc-Tuc to Kiboko Beach. A Tuc-Tuc is the main cab at Kisumu; it has three wheels and makes a hell of a noise…. Listen to our Tuc-Tuc-Ride to Kiboko Beach.
http://barabara.fm/videoblog/music/16-3-TucTuc.mp3 ^Tuc-Tuc
At Kiboko we played some music with two acoustic guitars, a melodika, and some small percussion instruments while the crickets played there own music a stone´s throw away from us.
http://barabara.fm/videoblog/music/16-3-Kibokosession.mp3 ^{Kiboko Session}

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well deserved break

monade — Sun, 15 Mar 2009 17:59:34 +0000

After 5 exciting days at the countryside of Nyanza we now have the time to review the results. We sat down at the swimming pool of Kisumu Hotel to listen to all of the recordings Sven did and to arrange and edit all of the foto and film material. That’s a nice
way of working!

At three o’clock we took a well deserved break and decided to take a closer look at Lake Victoria, which is only a few minutes away from the Kisumu Hotel where we are staying. In front of the hotel you can see several men with bicycles hanging around. We asked two of them to take us to the lake. This was our first ride on a bicycle taxi, which is a common transportation vehicle in Kisumu. You can see women with heavy shopping bags or men coming back from work on the bycicle racks. The drivers pedal like mad getting them up the hill, for only 20 shilling (which is about 20 Cents).
So we arrived at Kiboko Beach and paid of course much more just to overcome our quiter dash of exploitation. The Lake Victoria area is a wonderful place to relax. We sat down under a huge palm and ordered two of these delicious Kenyan mango juices.
Later on we met some children playing there. They were singing wonderful children’s songs and of course Sven asked them if he could record their singing. Instead of paying a fee we offered sweets which were well received by these four cute children.
Listen to the song a 5 years old girl from Kisumu sang to us:

http://barabara.fm/videoblog/music/15-3-5_years_old-Girl.mp3 ^{Children’s song}

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a short night

monade — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 18:45:16 +0000

The last evening was very nice, but the night was definitely too short.
We were on the road to South Nyanza in the late evening. It was very dark and nothing was to be seen, so Agnieszka asked our companions: “I wonder how the people find home?” and scored a coup. They all doubled up laughing for ages and mentioned the joke on the next day again and again.
After quite a long drive on a road that was not really drivable (just barabara!) we arrived at Sero. There it turned out, that the hotel we had in mind was fully booked – and notabene it was quite late and we were in the middle of nowhere, at least in our perception. So we decided first to have a beer, while Sven and Tabu went to another place to figure out another possibility to stay overnight. A beer succeeded a beer and we talked about everything under the sun. The discussion went from politics in general to Kenya’s president Kibaki and his wife, to the capabilities of women in leadership, to the loss of culture in the younger generation and many other topics. It was so inspiring and warmhearted at the same time.

Finally we found a very cheap hotel in the already mentioned middle of nowhere. The rooms were simple but clean. At two o clock in the night it began to rain. The rain pattered on our corrugated iron roof so loudly, that we thought the Armageddon is drawing near.

At three o clock the rain stopped and we felt asleep again. Just under two hours later the owner of the hotel began to do his morning routine and the laundry just beside our room. And at half past five somebody started to listen to some Ohangla music at full volume….

After breakfast and tons of coffee we met with Onguko. Many years ago Onguko was one of the best and highly esteemed drummers of the whole Nyanza region but alcohol made a human wreck out of him. He was trembling the whole time. Finally Onguko sang two of his favourite traditional songs.

http://barabara.fm/videoblog/music/onguko_voice_130309.mp3^Onguko

Onguko has never played on an album so far. The recording we did today is his first recording that will be published.

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Dancing Neighbors [V.2]

monade — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 20:14:19 +0000

Today we went on a two-day-trip (see pictures on the left) to the south of Lake Victoria. In the late afternoon we arrived at Rongo Village, a small township. There we met with a traditional Bul-Ensemble. It took less than fifteen minutes until the whole neighborhood joined the session.
The ensemble played great but it was even better to see how more than 5 old women began to dance to the music that has been played in the red dust of Rongo Village.

http://www.barabara.fm/videoblog/music/village_crazyman_120309.mp3 ^{Sound of Rongo Village}

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Kisumu countryside sessions

monade — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 21:15:34 +0000

What a day! Tabu, George, Patrick, Joseph, Agnieszka and Sven went to the country side of Kenya, very close to the Lake Victoria. Joseph is working on a research project about the history and the developement of Ohangla while Patrick is working on a film documentary about the same style.

First we met with a Nyatiti player called Joseph Oganga and everybody was truly fascinated by his playing and also by his personality. Listen to a short extract of the music, Oganda played for us.

http://barabara.fm/videoblog/music/nyatiti_oganga_110309.mp3 ^{Joseph Oganda}

Later on Oganda joined us to visit one of his good friends at Aluny Village, who is also a great Nyatiti player. His name is Okumo Korengo. Sven asked him if he could play an instrumental nyatiti-take. After the recording Sven asked him to sing to of what he had just played. He was very confused because he had never recorded an overdub before…. But it was really great!

Then we all made a short stop at the home place of the grandmother of Barack Obama. Strange place. A lot of people around her tried to make some pictures or tried to talk to for at least a minute.

In the evening we went to the home place of Ogoya. Ogoya is an 80 years old Dodo-singer. She has performed in Brazil and in France.
The act of welcoming of Ogoya and her neighborhood was amazing. Everybody was dancing, singing or playing an instrument. It was simply a huge African party.
After the welcome ceremony we were invited to Ogaya´s hut to pray.
Then we did several recordings. And all of the recordings are great! First Ogoya sang acappella.

http://www.barabara.fm/videoblog/music/ogoya_110309.mp3 ^{Ogoya Solo}

Then she was accompanied by four ladies who were all about 80 years old.
After the recordings Ogoya invited us for dinner. We ate traditional Kenyan food and drank Coca Cola…..

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1st recording at Kisumu

monade — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 18:27:42 +0000

Today we went to the home place of Jack Nyadundo (see pictures on the left) which is in the hills very close to Kisumu. Jack Nyadundo is one of the pioneeers of Ohangla, a kenyan music style that is mostly be played by a percussion band, a keyboard player and a singer. Currently Ohangla is the big thing at all of the hip clubs of Kisumu.

Listen to the music:
http://barabara.fm/videoblog/music/jack_100309.mp3 ^{Jack Nyadundo & his band}

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work and dancing in Nairobi

monade — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 20:01:55 +0000

Sven has set up his equipment at the auditorium and is rehearsing for the concert. He has already met with a young Nyatiti player from Nairobi called Ratai and finally Sven and Ratai did the first recording for the barabara-project.

http://barabara.fm/videoblog/music/ratai_060309.mp3 ^{First Recording/Ratai}

I was busy working on the barabara-website. Now we are all going to the finissage of an exhibition that took place at the Goethe-Institut: ‘It’s a pity that we only exist in the future’. Our friend DJ Andi Teichmann came from Berlin to play one of his amazing sets at the opening.
The party is taking place at a bar close to the institute, a publication accompanying the exhibition will be launched, djs are going to play music, I’m curious to see how and where the people party.

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