Intercultural Musical Fusion for a Sizzling Performance
Thursday, 18 April 2013 Written by Meron Abraha
Most of us know what KKK stands for, but at the musical concert in Cinema Roma last week these letters evoked a whole lot new meaning: Kunama, Kojack and Kandia.
It’s true the announcer did come up with the most bizarre, but nonetheless appropriate, association of the three initials.
Back to the three K’s. The first of course pertains to the Kunama cultural performance, presented by musical wonders Hayle Nati and Meryam Shawish and the Gash Barka Cultural Troupe. The second is a great guitarist from Congo (DRC) and Kandia is a Kora player from Guinea Conakry.
The mix of the three K’s worked well to deliver a stupendous performance.
Just like mentioned in one of the concert’s promotional posters, Kojack and Kandia do not know each other. They first came to Asmara in 2012 but with different bands. Kandia came in February when he played the Kora for Tiken Jah Fakoly. Kojack came in October accompanying Elie Kamano from Guinea Conakry and Maryse Ngalula from Congo Kinshasa for their concert in Asmara.
Kojack and Kandia both fell in love with Asmara that they didn’t hesitate to come back and perform together with Eritreans when the Alliance Française of Asmara extended them an invitation. The result was the big gig at Cinema Roma on April 9, 2013. They had also presented a show in Barentu on Sunday April 7.
In the words of Ms. Cecile Antonietti, the Director of Alliance Française:
“Eritrea unites these artists here and that’s why we have called this concert MADE IN ERITREA.”
“We chose Gash Barka because we didn’t want to remain confined to Asmara when it comes to musical concerts,” said Ms. Antonietti.
Explaining that the Alliance Française (AF) supports the cultural exchanges, she went on saying that this show served two purposes: let the Barentu population discover some new music on one hand and allowing the foreign musicians discover in return Gash Barka’s rich culture and traditions, because they will after all be spokespersons.
The concert is part of “a cycle of musical encounters called “ENSEMBLE” (French for together).” In fact, the AF had collaborations with the Anseba region earlier this year when Comorian singer Maalesh gave a workshop to young and promising Eritrean singers, and later gave a concert all together.
And this time around Kandia, Kojack, Kizano (drums) and Gregory (base guitar) have spent 3 days in Barentu, working with Hayle, Meryam and the Gash Barka Cultural Troupe.
“Kunama is one of the many colorful cultures in Eritrea and we thought giving it extra flavor by fusing it with a variety of African beats. Moreover, Gash Barka music is closer to the Sub-Saharan traditional music,” Ms. Cecile pointed out.
“The fusion between Kandia’s Kora and Hayle Nati’s Abangala simply had a magical effect,” she said.
When compared with the dances and the dancing arts of the other Eritrean ethnic groups, many will surely agree that Kunama folklore is probably the most varied and complicated in its performance.
Kunama way of dancing has its own particular rhythm and carefully coordinated stepping variations, involving feet-beatings to the rhythm of the dance as well as of the song.
I have always been fascinated by the way of dancing of the Kunama. By “way of dancing” I am referring to the beating of their bead-strung legs, particularly of those of the male dancers, in sync with the rhythm of the music.
I have read somewhere that women are solely responsible for beating drums and that singing too was usually a women's prerogative, but that during some dances, well-known male singers would take over from the women thus giving and bringing into a dance a particular flavor.
And I witnessed this first hand at the concert. At the huge drums were women, who, to the surprise of all of us viewers, kept beating with both hands for an unfathomable length of time. The lead singers were Meryam Shawish, the Shingrwa star known for her very high-pitched voice, and Hayle Nati, a well-known Kunama vocalist and Abangala (a banjo-like instrument) player. With their upbeat music, both artists delivered a bouncy performance to the roaring applause of the packed hall of Cinema Roma.
The dancers and singers of the Gash Barka Cultural Troupe also wowed the audience that evening. Dressed in bright clothes, and the funny-looking stray hats on the top of their heads, the men danced and beat their feet on the stage – so hard that at one time they looked like they would fall right through.
On stage that night Kojack and Kandia also sang, proving that their vocal talents also equaled their skill for their instruments. Highly energetic and passionate, both performed to an otherwise not so enthusiastic audience – well not as enthusiastic as an audience should be anyways (dancing and jumping on their feet is what is implied here).
Many a time, guest artists have voiced dissatisfaction at the fact that Eritreans are not the loud or cheering type when it comes to live performances, and particularly those featuring foreign musicians.
Nonetheless, the performance earned admiration by the audience, and people were particularly impressed by the way Kojack played his guitar. The kora also had an interesting local touch and provided an opportunity for breathtaking jams with the guitarist and the singers.
Delivering her opening remarks just before the concert, Ms. Cecile said:
“This is one of the most exciting projects I have ever worked on. It was the first time for the Alliance to work in Barentu and I hope it’s not the last. Barentu was very warm, but the welcome was even warmer.”
The concert was sponsored by the Alliance Française of Asmara in collaboration with the National Union of Eritrean Youth and Students (NUEYS), the Gash Barka Administration and the PFDJ Bureau of Cultural Affairs.
Last Updated (Thursday, 18 April 2013 15:26)
Received on Thu Apr 18 2013 - 21:43:08 EDT
