reunion island tour
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by congastu » Wed Apr 12, 2006 7:04 pm
hi all
bit of time on me hands and new technology, so just thought id share some pictures.
in dec 05, i took five drummers from my band, beatlife,
to take part in the reunion isles abolition of slavery festival. we also had 2 singers and 3 dancers and combined samba funk and reggae with street dance and r n b style vocals.
for those whove never heard of it [and i hadnt before going!] reunion is a island east of madagascar in the indian ocean. its a french province to this day, based on the fact there was no indigineous poplation prior to the europeans bringing slaves there to work on the sugar cane. this was followed by low paid workers from asia meaning today its one of the most culturally mixed places youll ever see. ive been lucky to live in both west africa as a kid and france as a young man, and its got a bit of both, without really being similar to either. In fact, although ive not yet been to the carribean, it felt really similar in history and identity.
we worked with a local group, kozman tidalon, to produce three types of show- a parade, a morengue [where djembes and dunduns, newly popular in reunion thanks in part to the likes of mamady keita, support a creole dance ritual almost identical to capoeira] and a "spectacle" where we combined all our art forms together. we also performed our own show as did kozman. their music is called maloya and is played on roule, a powerful bass drum which is basically a cut rum barrel with a cowskin, sate [a metal sheet playing cascara style parts], cayennes which are shakers played almost identically to the brazilian patangome and a log drum. most maloya rhythms are in 6/8, although there is one very similar to maracatu and are in praise of the ancestors. maloya gathering are like raves- loads of rum and people going into trance, which is called "mongo". Apologies to any maloya fans for above spellings, ive just done it phonetically!
bit of time on me hands and new technology, so just thought id share some pictures.
in dec 05, i took five drummers from my band, beatlife,
to take part in the reunion isles abolition of slavery festival. we also had 2 singers and 3 dancers and combined samba funk and reggae with street dance and r n b style vocals.
for those whove never heard of it [and i hadnt before going!] reunion is a island east of madagascar in the indian ocean. its a french province to this day, based on the fact there was no indigineous poplation prior to the europeans bringing slaves there to work on the sugar cane. this was followed by low paid workers from asia meaning today its one of the most culturally mixed places youll ever see. ive been lucky to live in both west africa as a kid and france as a young man, and its got a bit of both, without really being similar to either. In fact, although ive not yet been to the carribean, it felt really similar in history and identity.
we worked with a local group, kozman tidalon, to produce three types of show- a parade, a morengue [where djembes and dunduns, newly popular in reunion thanks in part to the likes of mamady keita, support a creole dance ritual almost identical to capoeira] and a "spectacle" where we combined all our art forms together. we also performed our own show as did kozman. their music is called maloya and is played on roule, a powerful bass drum which is basically a cut rum barrel with a cowskin, sate [a metal sheet playing cascara style parts], cayennes which are shakers played almost identically to the brazilian patangome and a log drum. most maloya rhythms are in 6/8, although there is one very similar to maracatu and are in praise of the ancestors. maloya gathering are like raves- loads of rum and people going into trance, which is called "mongo". Apologies to any maloya fans for above spellings, ive just done it phonetically!
- congastu
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by congastu » Wed Apr 12, 2006 7:13 pm
practising morengue in the park. the pit area is used specifically for dancing/fighting
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by congastu » Wed Apr 12, 2006 7:19 pm
jonathan, kozmans lead man, shows his moves
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by congastu » Wed Apr 12, 2006 7:22 pm
going into capoeira mode- the lads are hoping to go brazil soon to do exchanges but maintain their style was developed independantly.
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by congastu » Wed Apr 12, 2006 7:28 pm
tomas and cedrique touch shoulders, an integral part of the ritual leading to the simulated combat. later in the week we played at a real contest, and both these guys, who were really gentle and down to earth, walked away with trophies in ruthless style, one by knockout! at that event, there was two rounds- first combat, then acrobatic skills. if its a tie after it goes to a drum off, with the best drummer going through!!
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by onile » Wed Apr 12, 2006 7:51 pm
Alafia Abure congastu!
Wow! the pics are fantastic!
I've witnessed Capoeria performances before, and have much respect for the combatants and drummers!
I really enjoyed the acrobatic feats they performed, incredible!
Are you amongst the drummers? or are you a practioner of the art?
Many blessings!
Onile!
Wow! the pics are fantastic!
I've witnessed Capoeria performances before, and have much respect for the combatants and drummers!
I really enjoyed the acrobatic feats they performed, incredible!
Are you amongst the drummers? or are you a practioner of the art?
Many blessings!
Onile!
Que Nsambi les acutare pa' siempre!
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by congastu » Wed Apr 12, 2006 8:15 pm
the lads jetlagged but getting practise in! the two guys next to me are on placement with beatlife from tocar rufar in portugal. A big part of the beatlife orchestra is the youth side, we have up to 100 kids performing regularly, some as young as 7 and playing to a great standard, and it fries my brain keeping track of them plus admin, plus making sure i pay my musos, and keeping parents, teachers, sponsors happy. Rui junior who runs tocar has a team of thousands so fair play to the man!!
other friends of ours are meninos do morumbi in sao paulo, they do amazing work with the youth over there and the quality of the orchestra is second to none. If you go to their website, you can download scores of all their drum compositions- great tambourim, caixa, surdo and timbau lines. But if you do PLEASE get the album as well, it all goes to a good cause.
Meninos also have a great group in oldham- free workshops and excellent tutors from brazil and the uk, go to http://www.visitoldham for details.
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other friends of ours are meninos do morumbi in sao paulo, they do amazing work with the youth over there and the quality of the orchestra is second to none. If you go to their website, you can download scores of all their drum compositions- great tambourim, caixa, surdo and timbau lines. But if you do PLEASE get the album as well, it all goes to a good cause.
Meninos also have a great group in oldham- free workshops and excellent tutors from brazil and the uk, go to http://www.visitoldham for details.
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by congastu » Wed Apr 12, 2006 8:42 pm
jamming in the park with a reunion samba band! the kid on surdo is 7 years old, plays all the instruments like a monster!
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by congastu » Wed Apr 12, 2006 8:45 pm
me and jonathan sparring! this guys amazing- all singing, dancing, drumming, fighting and smiles [except when he was laying into his band!]
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by congastu » Wed Apr 12, 2006 8:52 pm
the guy in the middle here is jean luc, ex morengue champion. his two sons are now in kozman. Jean lucs now got a samosa stall at the market in st. joseph, if youre ever there, get some! fantastic samosas, all flavours and a great family. jean pierre on the left is the manager of kozman- we had a arguments, and a lot of drinks!
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by congastu » Wed Apr 12, 2006 8:58 pm
two of the teachers/performers in beatlife- al, whos like a brother on surdo and mick g [legend of the scouse underground] on snare. Micks one of the nicest guys youll ever meet, hes also famous for always playing with a roll up in corner of his mouth!
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by congastu » Wed Apr 12, 2006 9:17 pm
jamming with kozman. they re using their trad setup, the roules right in the middle
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