Alpha Oulare & Rootsmanding will perform at the 20th Alafia Africa Festival Hamburg on August 27th, 2022 — 2020 A/Ou portrait photograph

»The Hamburg Africa Festival is celebrating an anniversary: 20 years of Alafia — Happy Birthday, Congratulations, Bon Anniversaire!!!«

Participation / Contribution:

[Roots Manding drumming, dancing, acrobatics and singing group (click into for the original but very dark flyer motif at Mr. Sam Jarju’s Facebook profile that is good to know).]

»Rootsmanding Band
Samstag, 27. August 2022, 16.00 Uhr
Guinea etc., traditionelle Rhythmen aus Westafrika

[more info:]
Die Musiker der Rootsmandig Band stammen aus verschiedenen Ländern Westafrikas (Guinea-Conakry, Gambia, Elfenbeinküste u.a.) und bringen die traditionelle Kunst Westafrikas auf die Alafia-Bühne. Sie mischen traditionelle Percussionsrhythmen mit den Melodien der Kora, die im Zentrum ihrer Musik steht. Logisch: keine traditionelle Musik ohne Tanz. Doundoun und Djembe legen einen tollen Rhythmusteppich, zu dem neben dem Chorgesang die Klänge der Kora herrlich kontrastieren. Großes Kino.« (Festival homepagetranslation)

The Hamburg Africa festival’s finally announced musical program:

Friday, August 26th, 2022:

4:00pm Ouverture

4:30pm Simba Ci, Zimbabwe (Singer/Songwriter) — cf. official YouTube channel

5:00pm IYASA, Zimbabwe (Dance theater, children’s cultural caravan) — cf. official YouTube channel

6:00pm Nana Yeboah’s Highlife Express, Ghana (Highlife) — cf. YouTube channel of the artist

8:00pm Abdou Day, Madagascar (Reggae) — cf. official YouTube channel

Saturday, August 27th, 2022:

12:00am Manifestation

1:00pm Simba CI (second performance)

2:00pm Abdou Day (second performance)

3:30pm IYASA (second performance)

4:00pm Rootsmanding [PS 12-29-2022: click here for video excerpt!], Guinea etc. (traditional Rhythms from West-Africa) — here they are!

6:00pm Papito Chango’s Pi a Pa, Cuba (Music of the Santeria) — cf. official YouTube channel

8:00pm Les Quatro des Bakotessa, Kongo (Soukouss etc.) — cf. YouTube search results

Sunday, August 28th, 2022:

2:00pm Abdelhafid Catruat Band, Marokko etc. (Music from North-Africa) — cf. YouTube search results

4:00pm Rama N’Goni, Burkina Faso (Songs & Rhythms from Burkina Faso) — cf. official YouTube channel

6:00pm Habyba & Band, Ghana (New Pop from Ghana) — cf. official YouTube channel

 

HOPEFULLY no mishappings will occur and all logistics and transportation to and from Hamburg be fine!

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Year 2020 or earlier photograph of Alpha Oulare (from a series)

FOUND BY OCCASION IN THE INTERNET: »Djembe Kurse in Kreuzberg. Trommelunterricht: Seit Jahren unterrichte ich Interessierte in der Kunst, die Djembe zu spielen, und traditionelle westafrikanische Rhythmen. Ich beherrsche Instrumente wie Djembe, Balafon, Doundoun, Gongoma, Sangbar, Kenkeni und Maracas. Meine Kurse finden fortlaufend jeden Mittwoch in Kreuzberg statt. Weiteres erfahren Sie beim ersten Kontakt. Ich freue mich auf Ihr Kommen! Ich biete an: – Trommelunterricht Privatunterricht oder in der Gruppe – Anfänger bis Fortgeschrittene – repariere auch Trommeln – verkaufe Trommeln und Felle« (Musik-Anzeigen.com, 2020 (archived) — translation). The advertizement should meanwhile (still applicable!) relate though to Mr. Oulare’s family’s hometown Leipzig.

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ROOTSMANDING did not (!) perform at the Rudolstadt Festival in 2022 due to difficulties; review on African-music artists there

»Sie hat das nicht verdient, die westafrikanische Bechertrommel Djembe, die bei uns zu einem allüberall zu hörenden Esoterik-Instrument verkommen ist. Zuhause begleitet sie Tanzmusik ebenso wie Die Jalis, die zu Koraklängen ihre alten und aktuellen Geschichten erzählen. Daran knüpft Djembéfola Alpha Oularé aus Guinea mit seinem Ensemble an.« (She didn’t deserve it, the West African goblet drum Djembe, which has degenerated into an esoteric instrument that we can hear everywhere. At home she accompanies dance music as well as The Jalis, who tell their old and current stories to the sound of kora. Djembéfola Alpha Oularé from Guinea builds on this with his ensemble — this year’s Rudolstadt announcement for the ensemble is not a citation by Mrs. Claudia Kästner as stated at the festival website.)

As well the intended line-up »Alpha Oularé, Mohammed Sylla [!], Ocas Sylla [!], djembe, voc; Sam Jarju, kora, voc; Diehi Tanguy Franck, dundun, voc; [then apart:] Mario Wiedemann, sangban« could not attend the festivities due to logistical, personal and financial problems during the preparations; a travel and stay to/at Rudolstadt could not be realized. The ensemble, beside, had been enlisted only as part of the Street Music festival and, we must admit, not been considered as payed artists in this year’s festival program. Artists and audience regret, after year-long participation, not to have been able to meet each other; Alpha Oulare is very sorry about that and feels his reputation at Rudolstadt to have received damage.

Anyhow, here a list of this year’s other Africa-music performers at Rudolstadt for your review, they’re only three representatives:

Groupe RTD, Mélissa Laveaux and Ezé Wendtoin: beside the absent Rootsmanding the only other African musical artists at Rudolstadt in 2022 — could there be more next year?

Groupe RTD (Ensemble from Djibouti) — The Dancing Devils from Djibouti,

Mélissa Laveaux (Singer, Songwriter from Canada / Haiti) — official Google Inc. YouTube channel.

Ezé Wendtoin (Singer, Songwriter from Burkina Faso / Germany) — official Google Inc. YouTube channel.

Wonder how, that has been all, nothing more! We feel for this, that ROOTSMANDING seriously have been missing, looking forward to next year’s accreditation, respectfully, under ordinary conditions.

You can phone-call Mister Alpha Oulare on this…

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