BaraBara.fm [v.3] - A Journey into the Sound of Kenya » Nairobi

Arriving at Nairobi

Agnieszka — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 08:35:41 +0000

If you arrive at Nairobi it always takes some time to feel comfortable. After taking a cab at the airport you usually stuck in a bumper-to-bumper traffic jam.
2 hours and 10 miles later a crowd of honking cars is waiting for you at Tom Mboya street.
Especially if you come from Kisumu – this very relaxed city of the Nyanza region- it ´s a big changeover to leave the airplane and to throw oneself into the fray of Nairobi.
The following musical extract gives you an impression about this atmosphere.
For the music I used two small traditional drums, I played with a side-stick, a small kenyan shaker, an old kalimba which I bought at Kariokor market and a Marimba.
http://www.barabara.fm/videoblog/music/nairobi-bounce.mp3 ^Nairobi

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.

Arrival at Goethe-Institut Nairobi

monade — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 12:12:44 +0000

The 1st working day @ Goethe-Institut right in the centre of Nairobi. A lot of huge business buildings, shopping malls, small shops and restaurants make you first feel, like in many other metropolitan cities.

At the Goethe-Institut we meet the very nice people working here: Marie, Katharina, Barbara, Irene, Peter, Anne, Julia, Patrick, James, Judy, Esther and Johannes. Today there are many excellent german speeking Africans at the Institut: German teachers from South Africa to Camerun, from Mozambique to Cote d’Ivoire who are having a teachers training seminar.
We had lunch with Johannes at a Swahili restaurant called the Kingfisher (Koinange Street) and one of these excellent coffees at Java, a local coffee house where the busy CBD crowd hangs out. Sven spent the afternoon at the National Theatre and met some of the local musicians. We stay for supper at the terrace of Kengeles (also Koinange Street) and call it a day.