Tag: West-African Musical Instruments

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 homepage — translation)

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!

*

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.

*

Offer: West-African Musical Instruments as Tools of Trade — you can contact Mister Alpha Oulare to purchase these quality items manufactured by African musicians!

Übersetzen in deutsche Sprache · ou Traduire en Français ?

MERCATORY OFFER: These are photographs from the Rehearsal and Workshop rooms of Alpha Oulare and his musical colleagues at the Hupfeld Center area in Leipzig (district Leipzig / Böhlitz-Ehrenberg, D-04157, Ludwig-Hupfeld-Straße 16, building entrance C; the building complex is guarded by security corporations), no concrete online shop… If certain instruments awake your interest, if you have been searching for the approbiate musical device for long and to find here, if you wish musical demonstrations, need help on repair and further modifications as tuning and enhancement / decoration you can contact Alpha Oulare directly to make an appointment into a concrete meeting at this place… Have a look into this living collection (technical note: images might possibly load slowly here at first if not having been cached yet):

Djembé drums from West Africa
These Djembé drums sound good!
They here stand alike eight men.
On top here Kalimba / Kalebasse drum.
Doundoun, Sangba, Tenkenin, tools…
Bolong 4-string harp, in goat fur.
Kora, N’Goni and Bolong harps, more…
All instruments are handled carfully!
Shakers / Shereke, tools…
Not for sale: Awesome Tapes from Africa.
A view through our window…
Occasional here also recordings…
(Visual impressions)

A few more images shall follow. The Balafon, so it is said by musical West-African legends, has not been invented / first-made by Man himself, it is of supernatural origin… Underneath its wooden and tuned sound bars lay resonating jugs of clay each to create this fascinating rich sounds. A short audio sample recording of Alpha playing the balafon next:

(Note: Alpha Oulare is demonstrating the African Balafon in free improvisation. He points out not to be a very skillful player himself (yet), rather still student at this particular instrument. It’s a life-long learning. You hear a plain cellphone recording with added reverbation/hall effect, sounding as if from far away…)
Alpha Oulare playing the Balafon, in picture two Kalebasses.
The Balafon owns a special bag for rest and transportation.
During his Percussion Workshops Alpha Oulare mostly plays the Djembé drum with his students, partly also Doundoun and Sangba, Tinkening. (All photographs having been taken on Saturday, June 25th, 2022, in place.)

Contact Mister Alpha Oulare to test-play and and purchase these original, traditioally manufactured West-African musical instruments, each item is unique and sounds authentically good:

Go back

Message has been sent!

You can call Alpha Oulare also directly so in this issue. Click here to dial his number!

LAST NOT LEAST WORD ON PRICES: Prices. These are fair and not too expensive, no amoral profit shall be made, but the African manufacturers and importing trading/messaging helpers find their acknowledgement. We regard it to be a better solution to obtain and purchase these instruments from first hand other than as from musical stores and major Internet distributors, cheapest used defect items of unkown origin, or non-african forgeries and replicas, or so-called special editions of drums at over-sized pricing… You will always also find help and advise in/on maintaining the instrument healthy and in good sounding shape, loving it as musical friend and partner.

Alpha Oulare on the phone. He is always friendly, and kind to all customers and musical students.

*

[Please apologize and hopefully be able to ignore the following advertizement selected and inserted by the WordPress Internet service provider; we can not control forced advertizement in this cost-free website hosting contract (but the pages should, therefor, remain stable in future times too).]


*

Useful hints and disclaimer

Edit

This Website is still under construction, details of content might change or become added / corrected in future — please visit us therefore again!

TECHNIQUE: This website is realized by help of costless WordPress service, and intended to last stable in their accessibility, appearance and messages to readers, viewers and listeners in all world. It has been composed on a personal-computer device with large display resolution. Embedded elements as Video, Audio or extensive Graphic files might take a longer time to load and prepare, depending on the computer calculation speed and circumstances.

*

PREVIEW / REVIEW

The first public announcement and invitation for 2023 dated back March 24th, 2022

It currently appears, as if the announced Music Workshop Journey to Guinea Conakry / Isle of Roume could take place a few months later that year 2023, in Autumn. Updates of the invitation will follow…

*

June 25th, 2022, afternoon at the Hupfeld Center Rehearsal and Workshop Room

NOT UNIMPORTANT : Musical instruments as Djembé drums, D(o)und(o)uns of several sizes up to the great-sounding Balafon, more, Shakers and string instruments as Kora, N’Goni and Bolong, each with supply can be test-played at and purchased from Alpha Oulare(‘s) as well — you will find detailed catalog images and information on pricing for instruments handcrafted by African musicians here in soon future… POST SCRIPTUM: Meanwhile these statements have been added to this website, in first revision. Look here, please also forward as link: tinyurl.com/aotrade. We thank you!

*

ALWAYS IMPORTANT AND TO CONSIDER : REALIZE : Support of Development Aid for Guinea are another concern of Mister Alpha Oulare. Contact him directly to find understanding of his ideas on international economic exchange, so in textile industry to establish manufacturing in country, entrepreneurship in this strengthening the Guinean social system and young adults and families in need.



Sewing technologies and more for textiles and clothing for Guinean collaboratives and entrepreneurs, skill training and human-sustainable-fair production? Container shipping to Guinea Conakry – administrative financial support, logistics, trade goods, technology and wares? Know how? — More on all of this here soon…

*

June 25th, 2022, afternoon at the Hupfeld Center Rehearsal and Workshop Room

These eight of currently 16 Djembé drums sound authentical and good! Many more and more different musical instruments from West-Africa are offered; they can be ordered, manufactured, modified or repaired, tuned by experienced African musicians at fair prices — ask for details and costs! Interested persons are invited to try out instruments in place.


*

More, further notes on the website completition shall follow here in future… Please visit these pages again! We thank you for your interest and kind consideration, any support. Be blessed!

*