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

Matondoni Video

Agnieszka — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 17:00:49 +0000

Here comes a new video about the recordings we did on march 25th in Matondoni, this small island close to Lamu.
The music of the traditional Kaswida group was so different from everything else, we had seen the days before.
At least ten male singers of three different generations sang a fiew melodies over and over while the rhythm group played and hammered continuously a very monoton and ruminant beat.
The slow and coordinated movements of the old men and young boys were graceful and full of inner fragility. A lot of children were playing around us and the veiled women regarded the dance from the background. While we sweat at 35 °C.
Listen to the version, Sven created based on the Matondoni Recordings.
And here is the corresponding video track:

How do you like it?

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Lamu 2nd Version

Agnieszka — Sun, 13 Dec 2009 21:38:13 +0000

This is a new version of the Lamu- flute track. I recorded some kind of solo handdrums in the middle part of the song. Though the track sounds different from the extracts I have already posted, I hope, that you gonna like it.
http://www.barabara.fm/videoblog/music/floetenstuck13-12-9.mp3 ^{Lamu 2nd version}

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Lamu

Agnieszka — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 23:15:31 +0000

On march 22nd I recorded a flute player in Lamu . Last week I played some simple beats on two different tamobourin drums, which I bought in Kenya, on top of the original recordings.
Yesterday I added a soft brush pattern and two other percussive elements.
This is a first extract:
http://www.barabara.fm/videoblog/music/floetenstuck1-12-9.mp3 ^Lamu

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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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