Orchestra Africa Djembe / Planete Goree

[bubudi]

http://www.planetegoree.moonfruit.com/# ... 4517200546

[Michel]

Hi,

With the knowledge that the sabar is senegal's national percussion instrument you'd be easily mistaken when you are on Goree island (Dakar/Senegal): There it is the djembe! There is a fanatic djembe-community there. Another instrument you hear a lot is the square frame drum Asiko.
When I was living on Goree I was jamming with those guys. Africa djembe is the Goree djembe-group. Very nice guys, training hard, every day you hear them practising in the Centre Culturel or in the (former) gouvernor's palace. Especially on the last spot they also train with really great dancers.
So when you visit Goree (who doesn't, at least when you visit Dakar) in the afternoon they will play. Give them your support.
a better image of the group from the same website:
http://www.planetegoree.moonfruit.com/# ... 4528567740
Some of those guys also play in Groupe Kiss, the band of Kissima Diabaté.
Another great music instrument they developed into a high level of playing: the keskes
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t-HpUB-S ... re=related

I don't know how to create a direct link to the movies, so copy them in your browser.

Hit it!
Michiel

[bubudi]

nice one, michiel! when you stayed on goree did you see any female drummers? i've heard of this one lady, rokia daba fall, who plays djembe and she had to move to goree in order to be accepted as a djembe player. possibly she opened the doors for other women (although doudou ndiaye rose's many daughters, les rosettes as they call themselves, have already been doing this a long time with the sabar).

i posted a video with the same guys playing the siko drums, sometimes called asiko.

as far as i was aware the kash kash are a ghanaian instrument/toy. i haven't seen someone do the whole mouth organ thing with them before though

[bubudi]

also check out this one of the africa djembe juniors i posted a long time ago.

[Michel]

Thanks, Bubudi,

It is really nice to see people you know playing. I wasn't aware of the videos of them playing, but saw them there lots of times.

I heard of the woman, but didn't meet her. Se must be quite a legend.

I saw keskes from Ghana as well, I even saw iron balls to play with, but the little calebasses from Gorée are the best. They buy Ghanaian ones in Casamance, make new ropes in them, and make every tourist crazy with their play. It looks so easy! When you've seen them play you don't think it is a toy any more. I am trying to make the king of the keskes come over to the Netherlands to our workshop in August to let him give a workshop with it... (so that he can take thousand of them to our country and let him go back as a rich man....)

Michiel