Instructional DVD by Epizo Bangoura

[michi]

I just bought this DVD at Epizo's camp last week. It's been out since mid-August.

Djembe Instruction Volume 2

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As you can see on the cover, rhythms are

• Yankadi Makouraou
• Mane
• Sofani
• Koukou
• Yole

You get Djembe accompaniments explained and broken down for Yankadi, Makourou, Mane, Sofani, and Koukou. Dundun parts are explained for these as well, except for Makourou. The Yole bonus track has no explanation of the parts.

The style of the DVD is very similar to the old VHS that Epizo made years ago (containing instruction for Yole and Zawuli). It's more chatty than the very compact reference-like style of Mamady's videos.

Each of the rhythms is also shown in a performance setting, with nice solos and breaks, so you can pick up quite a bit of stuff from those. Overall, the DVD is pitched at intermediate players.

Cheers,

Michi.

[bubudi]

good to see epizo put out an instructional, but most of those rhythms are already quite available on other instructionals. a clip of one of the performance sections/instruction would be nice. if i could make a request, it would be mane.

how much cultural background is epizo giving?

[Eason]

Thanks michi,
do you know how can I order it?

Eason

[michi]

do you know how can I order it?

Your best bet is to contact him at epizob@gmail.com or use the form on his website (Google translate will help).

Cheers,

Michi.

[michi]

a clip of one of the performance sections/instruction would be nice. if i could make a request, it would be mane.

Here is an excerpt from Mane:

how much cultural background is epizo giving?

Not that much. For Mane, he mentions that Mane is a women's dance that is part of Guinea Fare (Yoki). Mane is played inside Guinea Fare.

For Sofani, he mentions that some people call it Sofa, so he's obviously referring to the warrior rhythm. However, the rhythm is quite different from the version of Sofa I learned from Mamady, different enough to call it a different rhythm, I'd say. I'm not sure what the story is there. My web searches for Sofani turned up nothing significant as to its cultural info, and whether it is just a version of Sofa or a different rhythm.

There is no cultural background for the other rhythms.

Cheers,

Michi.

[bubudi]

i thought as much about the cultural info.

are you sure he's saying that mane is part of yoki? gine fare means woman's dance in susu, or a party for women where this dancing occurs. mane and yoki are both typical rhythms played on such an occasion. so while it's right to say that yoki is played in/part of a gine fare, that is not to say it's part of yoki

[michi]

Here are the exact words:

OK. What we are going to now for you is a song called Mane. Mane is women dance. All dance called Guinea Fare. Inside Guinea Fare, we do Mane.

Cheers,

Michi.

[bubudi]

yes, so he's saying that mane is played 'inside' the gine fare (women's dances). i don't think he meant any reference to yoki.

thanks for the clip!

here's the english contact form on his website.

[michi]

OK, so there seems to be a misunderstanding on my part here. When he mentioned Guinea Fare, I was thinking of the rhythm by that name, also known as Yoki. You are saying the he used Guinea Fare meaning "Women's dance", not referring to the rhythm by the same name?

Cheers,

Michi.

[bubudi]

michi, yes, that would be my interpretation unless i heard directly otherwise. it can be confusing because rhythms often don't have proper names, or in this case, the proper name is not used, but a more general name which can mean several things (woman's dance, a dance party for women...)