The Istanbul-based blog Undomondo has these kinds words to say about Dununya:
For more, click here.
The Restless and Real praises Kakande's Dununya in their post Dununya transports Guinean Mande out west:
So, listening to Dununya will save you money— you don't need to spend as much money at your local bar... but we encourage you to support your local businesses, whatever they are.
With an onslaught of negative news articles coming out about the Michigan economy, I thought it would be nice to share something positive, and to give credit where it's due. Jumbie partner Terry Herald has been doing amazing work writing for film scores. Here's an excerpt from "Scoring Michigan's New Film Industry":
"It looks very promising," says Terry Herald, a composer who also
teaches film music history at Oakland University. Much of Herald's work
has been with local projects, including the soundtrack for the
documentary, Journey to Justice, produced locally by Steve Palackdharry and distributed in Europe.
For more, click here.
It has been a couple years since Életfa released our CD Gyökereink (Our Roots), so we appreciate that the Bluesmen's World(Music) just blogged about it. I'd like to return the favor, so here is the link to the article. To keep up to date on the Bluesmen's World blog, click here.
Our dear friends at the Hajdu-Nemeth blog covered the Életfa tour of Los Angeles, with lots of lovely pictures. Here are the links:
Enjoy!
Last night was a great night. The NY Phil finally had a chance to play with Életfa, and they did good.
It was a groundbreaking way to look at the life and music of Brahms, and I am floating on air to have a chance to be part of such a historic (if that's the best word) performances right here in New York City.
The program delved into the story of the "other" Brahms- not the venerated bearded old man, but a younger composer and his influences. I had always assumed that he wrote those Hungarian Dances because Hungary was some alien, exotic land. But I never considered this: Brahms was born in 1833, and so the Hungarian revolution of 1848 came at a very formative age for him. A flood of refugees exposed him to the music, and even more importantly, his career got started by touring with a Hungarian violinist, Eduard Remenyi.
That's all well and good, but what about Alec Baldwin?
Okay, okay, I was pretty star-struck by Alec Baldwin as well. I was curious if he would be a prima donna, or if he would be some jokester. At our rehearsal with the NY Phil, he was extremely professional, and the writer/producer of the show, Joe Horowitz, gave him very direct criticism. He wrote his notes and we worked very efficiently.
The script included a VERY scratchy recording of Brahms made in 1889. It was barely audible, and it evoked snickers during the rehearsal. Alec asked if he could come up with some line, and Joe was fine with it. During the performance, the audience struggled to decipher the hiss with some music buried, and Alec said "Ahh, they don't make them like that any more." He hit the spot exactly.
To tell the truth, Alec Baldwin was only a small part of the experience. Standing between the cello and viola section was a thrill for me, and one memorable moment was when the two sections were exchanging plucked phrases. Everyone was great- the orchestra was personally very warm and supportive. The conductor, Daniel Boico, was warm and really enjoyed what he was doing. As he said to us in passing, "If you're not having fun, why do it?"
Ultimately, the stars of the show for me were my bandmates in Életfa. Alex Fedoriouk played cimbalom, and he's one of my musical heroes. When we got on stage, I realized it was just another stage, and we needed to do what we do best: Enjoy ourselves. I was so glad when we started playing and Ildiko (our lead violin) broke out in one of her radiant smiles. Playing with Életfa is one of my greatest joys imaginable.
When we got back to our room, we not only had some home-made palinka, but the Phil left a bottle of Veuve Clicquot champagne. What a classy operation.
Breaking news: WNYC's New Sounds just release the results of its listeners poll of the best albums of 2008. Kakande's Dununya got on the list of the top ten!
A friend of mine told me about an African music website and radio station, and I'm really enjoying it, so please visit panafricanallstars.com. It's well designed, and here's a blurb from the site:
Their website plays African music 24 hours a day, and you can listen to it by clicking the link below:
Kakande's Dununya was listed as one of the top 10 African albums of 2008!
See Impose magazine and the Afrobeat blog.
The multi-talented Lopa Kothari will spread the Jumbie juju to the world... twice. On Boxing Day (December 26) she will start off her show with Nina Kaba from Kakande's CD Dununya.
She will play Mahala á la Mandingo by Dallam-Douogu on January 2, 2009.
Visit Lopa's myspace page here.
Afropop Worldwide now broadcast six nights a week
Monday through Saturday 11 PM on Radio New York 91.5 FM!
Great news! The producers and staff and Board of Afropop Worldwide are thrilled to announce that starting tonight, you can hear Afropop Worldwide hosted by the one and only Georges Collinet six nights a week Monday through Saturdays at 11 pm on Radio New York 91.5 FM! Whenever you want, you can hear the music and stories of Africa, the Caribbean, the Middle East and of course New York City. The program features visits to the world’s great musical cities, artist interviews, album premieres, concert highlights, and historically based Hip Deep profiles.
You can find out more on www.afropop.org where you can also sign up for our free weekly Afropop e-Newsletter loaded with features, CD reviews, chances to win free CDs and tickets to area concerts, and our popular weekly Afropop calendar of events. And to find out more about Radio New York 91.5 FM, you can visit www.nyc.gov/radio.
Upcoming programs:
July 7……....“Afropop Vignettes: Guitar Heroes”The World Music News Wire reports on Kakande's Dununya:
Not many musicians can claim an 800-year musical legacy as balafon master Famoro Dioubate can. From one of the most prestigious families of griots (musician/storytellers) in Guinea, Dioubate is a guardian of traditions dating back to the 13th century in the ancient Mandé Empire. Named for his small ancestral village, Dioubate’s ensemble Kakande is an extension of the musical lineage that he knew back home. Kakande’s new album Dununya, on Jumbie Records bridges this near millennial tradition to modern audiences.
As legend holds, the balafon (xylophone) appeared magically in the forest almost a thousand years ago where it was discovered and guarded jealously by mighty sorcerer-king Sumanguru Kante. Eventually it was re-conquered by the founder of the Mandé Empire, Sundiata Keita, who bequeathed it to his griot, Bala Fasseke Kouyate to play and protect.
For more, click here.
Hungarians take over New Brunswick, NJ on the first Saturday of every June. This year brought yet another new crop of young dancers and musicians... it brought outrageously hot weather... and hot weather will do nothing to slow down Hungarian dance fanatics.
Here's a peek at the festivities by some of our great friends:
Photos by Lili Erdely:
Photos by Marta Fodor:Életfa leading the way
The newest cimbalom master in New Jersey
Here are some videos:
youtube.com/tothpiroska
Our intrepid kontra player Aron Székely has posted new videos of Metró Hungarian folk. This is from our recording session in Brooklyn at Pete Fand's new studio:
For more, click here
http://youtube.com/watch?v=-6j2Ute3vf8
and
Our new and newly renamed Hungarian folk band Metro Folk is not used to playing on Saturday morning. But the timing wasn't the only thing out of the ordinary for when we played at the Four Seasons restaurant in Midtown Manhattan. We played at the request of my old friend Spencer Tunick who was doing an art installation that consisted of photographing a hundred or so naked volunteers.
The photo above has been taken from Eater.com, and you can see the original context at
Four Seasons Gone Wild: Spencer Tunick Stops in for Lunch. Please don't watch this if you are offended by the naked body.
You can find more news coverage from the NY Post here. ABC News also published this video, which includes some of the funniest blurring of private parts that I have ever seen.
There have been many articles written about the Saakumu Dance Troupe tour. Here are links galore:
I've been dying to hear about the Saakumu Dance Troupe tour. This is the first time Bernard Woma's Ghana-based group has visited the United States- congrats!
A blogger named Deier has written this about Bernard:
The leader of this group is my dear friend, professor, and peer, Bernard Woma who is my Ghana-father. Without him my experience possibly could've been as memorable but not quite as much enjoyable. He makes things happen. Upon returning to my school, I visited the International Education Chairperson and with her help, and the help of Bernard, I organized my next trip to Ghana however this time I wouldn't be traveling solo. Following an academic year of not only schooling, but budgeting, financing, advertising, trip planning, leading, and following, I led a group of 13 students and one 70 yr old woman to Ghana in 2007 for 26 days. My intentions were not only to return to a place that I had grown to love so much that previous year, but to share with others the wonderful things I had experienced. Most importantly, this included my love for the people.
For more, click here.
Also, UticaOD.com has posted videos and photos of the recent Saakumu show. For more, click "Students get into beat of African culture." Here's some screen grabs from their video:
The ...Na Hungarian folk group has been all around town these days, and here are some videos that capture the funky Hungarian vibe.
Banjo Jim's:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wGT0Y2f2oIc
Vox Pop with Kata singing:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LDxm2xEKTIQ
And if that isn't enough to satisfy your Hungarian folk music video needs, you can go here:
http://www.cafetv.ro/kategoriak/nepmuveszet
Dununya keeps getting radio play. WMHB played us this week and last. And Spin the Globe has us at #4:
