artists who inspire me
Every year, we try to host an artist or two from Guinea, to show us their unbelievable talents. This year is an exciting one for me because we are hosting Naby Bangoura, who will share his amazing dancing with us. Naby is a Guinean dancer who started dancing professionally with Les Merveilles de Guinée when he was 15. He now lives in Berkeley, San Fran and teaches at the immensely-popular Camp Fareta in California. Mark your calendars for November 14 as you will not want to miss his vibrant and exciting workshop!
Inviting these artists is always a special time for me, especially when I get to host one of my good friends, Bassidi Koné. I met him 3 years ago in Witta, through an old roommate. We clicked immediately and organised a few drum workshops and did a small show at the Upfront Club in Maleny. It was his first gig in Australia. He played the most incredible djembe and balaphon and had the audience eating out of his hand. I thought to myself, ‘Wow, this guy just blew my mind… I have to go study with him.” Six months later, I arrived in Bamako, Mali. I arrived at night and the very next day I started as a student at Maison de Jeunes de Bamako (Home of the youths of Bamako). Bassidi and his group Bwazan, took me under their wing and we hung out and trained every day.
At Maison de Jeunes de Bamako, there were other drumming groups, karate, basketball, hip hop, a hostel and restaurant and all sorts of youth activities that took place there under the mango and coconut trees.
Within the first half an hour of playing, my hands were splitting. The days that followed were a mixture of training and exploring, my mind is filled with memories of learning the balaphon, the intense dry heat, African colours, textures and smells of dust and burning rubbish, exploring the land with Bassidi, eating with my hands and together out of one big bowl, rice and sauce, delicious! I felt at home when I was drumming and playing music, but it was also the first time travelling after I had started my own family and there were times of unexpected home sickness… next time they will have to join me!
We played music every day. I did an hour of lessons on djembe, balaphon and dundun respectively. It was intense, challenging and super rewarding. Intense because Bassidi and his group are such talented and disciplined artists and nothing goes past their ears. They listened to everything I played and each new thing had to be mastered before we would move to the next. Challenging because it was my first time learning balaphon and the phrasing and placement felt so unnatural. Sometimes I would literally feel dizzy from trying to let my preconceptions go and just play what I heard. It was so frustrating at times but I made it through and totally fell in love with the balaphon. It was super rewarding because playing every day, I could really see my playing and understanding of the music gain some serious momentum.
Bassidi’s humorous, generous and gentle nature off stage is juxtaposed by his passion, fire and power on stage. It’s like there is nothing he can’t play on stage and nothing will stop him playing and making music off stage. The whole group’s dedication to playing and making music is inspirational. There are constant hardships they have to go through to live and yet they are all there, every day, training together, making music and perfecting their art. They have created three albums together and for me that says a lot. For any group that is a huge accomplishment and they have done it under much more challenging conditions than most.
The month flew and at the end, I didn’t want to leave… I could have stayed a year. I come from a big family – one of seven children – and Bassidi and his group were so welcoming and looked after me like family, which made the goodbye a tough one.
When these artists visit us, it’s like having Africa come to me. It’s a vivid reminder of the culture and also how much more there is to learn! The conversations while driving, performing and playing, it’s like going on another study tour… each time I gain another insight first-hand and that is priceless.
Here are some links you can listen to:
Have a look at this clip of Bassidi Kone and Bwazan rehearsing at Maison de Jeunes, Bamako.
