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

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?

The Ohangla Session

Agnieszka — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 18:57:05 +0000

The recording session we did at the home place of Jack Nyadundo on the 11th march was the first reording for the barabara-project at all. you can see some pictures here.
Jack Nyadundo and his young band are playing a style called “Ohangla”. At the moment “Ohangla” is really the latest craze in Kisumu. It is played in all of the clubs. People dance a very hot style to the rythms and the kenyan women shake their “hips” in an uncredible flexible way: they can move their bumcheeks in every directions!
It was fun to meet Nyadundo and his band. Finally Sven had to play the main drum. Later on Nyadundo advised him to go round in circle while the rhythm had do go on. Sven failed and the crowd laughed lustily.
During the next days of our Nyanza trip together with Tabu, Patrick and George we realized that a certain kind of buoyant spirit is something that all of the people at the Nyanza region radiated even though most of them lived in an extremly poor backround.

Listen here to the track that Sven created based on the original recordings.

Ogoya Nengo Video

Agnieszka — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 21:21:51 +0000

Here come a fiew scenes from the session with Dodo player and singer Ogoya Nengo. It was a fun day with a lot of interesting and nice happenings such as praying, talking, eating and dancing with the people from Ogoya’s village. It ended up with a big party featuring Ogoya’s husband in a traditional dress…

Listen what Sven did with this material below.

Nyatiti Recording at Aluny Village

Agnieszka — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 08:45:47 +0000

March 11th was one of the most exciting days during our stay. In one day we met with Ogoya Nengo, Joseph Oganga, Owino Koyo and last but not least Okumo Korengo.
We came upon Korengo at Aluny Village, a very small dorp close to the village of Oganga.
Both Oganga and Korengo are fantastic Nyatiti players. At a first glance their way of playing sounds pretty the same but the longer you listen to their music the more you realize how different they play.

Korengo plays the Nyatiti much smoother than Oganga and his singing is much more relaxed and more laid back. I couldn´t say which style I prefer. May be you do.
On top of the recordings we did at Aluny Village, I played some brushgrooves on different sheets of paper and some heavy bass-like marimba ostinatos. I also recorded some string-like sounds at my piano using different ribbons and horsehair.
http://www.barabara.fm/videoblog/music/Nyatiti2.mp3 ^{Okumu Korengo}

Nyatiti Player Joseph Oganga

Agnieszka — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 20:45:26 +0000

A new video snippet of our visit at Joseph Oganga’s garden, where he played Nyatiti, an instrument which reminds of a guitar. A few days ago Sven posted a new adaption (see below) of the Nyatiti Player singing on top of his own performance. It was a very cool expirience for us, especially when we noticed that Joseph accentuates his play with sounds and facial expressions that are so different from the gestures of the western singers and musicians. Take a look by yourself:

Album Sessions No. 1

Agnieszka — Thu, 21 May 2009 17:33:52 +0000

10 days ago Sven began to work on the kenyan album. From today he will post some audio examples once a week. Hopefully these extracts give you an impression about the album process. Of course the mp3s are not perfectly worked up yet. They don´t represent any finished tracks.

Session No. 1:
First I began to work on the material we recorded on march 11th in a small village close to the Lake Victoria. An old man who is a singer and a percussionist played some of his favourite songs at one of these small huts with a corrugated iron roof.
On top of the drum groove he played for us, I recorded a straight offbeat brush pattern on a snare drumhead and two figures on my wooden bass drum.
http://www.barabara.fm/videoblog/music/oldman2.mp3 ^{Example No.1}
I am not so sure yet about the marimba rolls in the second verse. Also the vibes at the end of the mp3 is may be a little bit to cheesy but I think the groove works pretty well.

Here is the video Agnieszka made of this unique encounter:

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.

View big
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}

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.

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}

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}

Tonight: Sven Kacirek in Concert

monade — Sat, 07 Mar 2009 12:38:24 +0000

Tonight Sven will play one of the two upcoming concerts at the Goethe-Institut Nairobi. The second will be on April 4th, after the trips to Nyanza and to the Coast. We are looking forward to seeing how the people will react on it.

1st video recording: Sven preparing playbacks

monade — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 01:26:11 +0000

Here is the first session: preparing playbacks for the field and voice recordings in Kenya:

Sven prepairing playbacks for Kenya