Wan Fambul/One Family Benefit Album Artist Profile – Eccodek

Posted on April 5, 2012 by Hannah Ewing

This profile of Eccodek is the fourth entry in our new Artist Profile series, intended to introduce each contributing musician featured on the Wan Fambul/One Family benefit album. This compilation is available for a donation, with all proceeds going to the groundbreaking grassroots peacebuilding efforts of Fambul Tok in Sierra Leone.  Take a look at Tuesday’s profile of King Britt, and be sure to keep an eye out for our next post, Abjeez!

Eccodek’s remix of Bajah + The Dry Eye Crew’s “Wi Na Wan Fambul” is available as an exclusive download here.

Eccodek

Eccodek is Canadian producer, remixer and multi-instrumentalist, Andrew McPherson. But more than that, it is the tapestry of sound created when a producer working with inspired singers and gifted multi-instrumentalists from the four corners of the globe find a common love for dub, funk, jazz and cinematic electronics. Eccodek is the sound of cultures mingling, borders dissolving.  It is the sound of the dub chamber, the goatskin drum and decaying vintage synths.  It is the sound of Mali, Turkey, Fiji, Nigeria, India, Canada and beyond.

Eccodek’s albums More Africa In Us (2003), Voices Have Eyes (2005), Shivaboom (2008) and their latest Remixtasy (2011) are built on a foundation of global beats, soaring melodies and textured electronica that has firmly established the project as a leader on the global fusion stage.

Eccodek uses his music “in a kind of subversive way, but not in anyway manipulative or with a secret agenda.  Music IS a universal language, so I try to send a message of cultural inclusion, tolerance, multiculturalism and open mindedness by collaborating, fusing cultural traditions and opening ourselves to new musical vocabularies.  By doing so, [the music] sends a message of peace, harmony and borderlessness. My music isn’t about preaching a belief system, other than the one that can be found in the landscape of my recordings and remixes.  I welcome any and all collaborative instincts, if they serve the song, and hopefully others will pick up on that good intention.  When they feel that, I’d like to believe that social change happens each and every time [Eccodek] records are played, without people even realizing they’re contributing to that dialogue.”

For Eccodek, “the power of song is a potent thing.”  He explains: “I always say to people that when the grid shuts down and the basic human resources become scarce in times of natural disaster, war or any upheaval, we turn to song to raise our spirits and give us guidance.  We saw this in Nazi Germany, when they attempted to wipe out the cultural traditions and voices of the people, that the people find a way to express themselves that can never be suppressed.”

By representing and celebrating so many unrelated cultural traditions in his music, he feels the message sent out is a very clear one of ‘we are one’. “There is no hierarchy of style in my recordings, but more a fearlessness to weave in whatever sound or musical tradition that feels right.”

To learn more about Eccodek, visit his webpage.

Click here to learn more, sample or download Wan Fambul/One Family.

Bio compiled by Marshall Henry of Modiba Productions.

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Wan Fambul/One Family Benefit Album Artist Profile – King Britt

Posted on April 3, 2012 by Hannah Ewing

This profile of King Britt is the third entry in our new Artist Profile series, intended to introduce each contributing musician featured on the Wan Fambul/One Family benefit album. This compilation is available for a donation, with all proceeds going to the groundbreaking grassroots peacebuilding efforts of Fambul Tok in Sierra Leone.  Take a look at last Thursday’s profile of Bombino, and be sure to keep an eye out for our next post, Eccodek!

Wan Fambul/One Family features King Britt’s powerful remix of Bombino’s song  “Ahoulaguine Akaline,” available now as a free bonus download when you like Fambul Tok on Facebook.

King Britt

King by name, King by nature; King Britt is a truly pioneering musician who is widely recognized a member of the royal elite of the Dance Music world. Based in Philadelphia, King Britt has been breaking the traditional boundaries and forging a unique path as a producer, musician, DJ, label boss and media revolutionary for over 20 years.

King has always found a way to escape the strictures of any single category of music by working across genres such deep house, hip-hop, broken beat, nu-jazz, funk and afro-tech. Releasing his first record (E-Culture – ‘Tribal Confusion’) in 1990, King went on to tour worldwide with Digable Planets – the Grammy award winning hip-hop fusion band – whilst continuing to develop his love of Dance Music culture and laying the foundations for his prodigal solo career.

In 1994, alongside Josh Wink he launched Ovum Recordings and also formed Sylk130 – a collective of Philadelphia’s finest musical talent including Lady Alma, Alison Crockette and Ursula Rucker. He produced Sylk130′s first album (‘When The Funk Hits The Fan’), which went onto sell over 500,000 copies and essentially provided the blueprint for the Philly Neo-Soul resurgence.

In addition to these achievements, King is one of the world’s most respected remixers. He has added his unique touch to hugely diverse range of artists such from Miles Davis, The O’Jays and Curtis Mayfield through to Macy Gray, Solange, Femi Kuti and Everything But The Girl. King has also scored and underscored music for films, TV series and commercials. In 2007 he became the first DJ to be awarded the prestigious Pew Fellowship.  King is also a Creative Cultural Ambassador for his hometown of Philadelphia.

As a DJ, King Britt is hugely versatile – a chameleon behind the decks.  He has toured extensively across and throughout Europe, the U.S. and the Far East as well as rocking premier nightspots throughout the world.

Most recently King Britt has just released Yesterday’s Machine by Saturn Never Sleeps, a collaboration with science fiction singer Rucyl Mill. The Saturn Never Sleeps project which incorporates, primarily, a unique live show fusing audio and visuals into a thought provoking world of sight and sound, and is also an independent record label. King has also recently produced the new Bedouin Soundclash LP, a track for the new King Sunny Ade album and a number of remixes for the likes of Preservation Hall Jazz Ensemble featuring Mos Def, Glitch Mobb, Jay Haze and Dilouya.

While King does not consciously use his music to bring about social change, he instead feels “just the act of creating is a form of social change.  Music has been my vehicle to travel and be a storyteller through djing and performing… We see [conflict] daily in our own lives, close to us.  Everyone seems to either be at war with themselves or their environments.  Music seems to bring the people together for a purpose and allows interaction and reaction.”

When asked to define his political philosophy, Britt responded: “I really stopped thinking about politics in the structured sense and I try to think about frequency and resonating with people’s inner voice instead of the outer.  As soon as you begin to think in a structured political sense, you start to lose purity in purpose.”

Britt sees himself as “just a messenger that is a conduit for divine intervention…. I am sending sound from a higher place.  I think it is important for everyone to remain open, you will be surprised at what you will discover about yourself and others.”

To learn more about King Britt, visit his webpage.

Click here to learn more, sample or download Wan Fambul/One Family.

Bio compiled by Marshall Henry of Modiba Productions.

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Wan Fambul/One Family Benefit Album Artist Profile – Bombino

Posted on March 29, 2012 by Hannah Ewing

This profile of Bombino is the second entry in our new Artist Profile series, intended to introduce each contributing musician featured on the Wan Fambul/One Family benefit album. This compilation is available for a donation, with all proceeds going to the groundbreaking grassroots peacebuilding efforts of Fambul Tok in Sierra Leone.  Take a look at Tuesday’s profile of Bajah + The Dry Eye Crew, and be sure to look out for our next post, King Britt!

Wan Fambul/One Family features Bombino’s song  “Ahoulaguine Akaline.”  In addition, King Britt does a powerful remix of this track, available soon as a bonus feature when you like Fambul Tok on Facebook.

Bombino will be performing in Portland, ME at the University of Southern Maine’s Hannaford Hall on Wednesday, April 4. Representatives from Catalyst for Peace will be at the concert, and copies of the Wan Fambul/One Family benefit album will be available for donation. For more information and to purchase tickets, visit the concert’s event page.

Bombino

Omara “Bombino” Moctar is known as one of the greatest guitar players and performers in the Sahel and Sahara regions, where he has a wide following.  He was born in 1980 into a family of nomadic Tuareg herders living in the region of Agadez, Niger, at the edge of the Sahara.  Following the outbreak of the Tuareg Rebellion in 1990, Bombino, along with his father and grandmother, were forced to flee to neighboring Algeria for safety. By 1997, Bombino had returned to Agadez and began his life as a professional musician.

In 2007 tensions grew again in Niger and ultimately erupted into another Tuareg Rebellion. The government, hoping to thwart the rebellion in all its forms, banned guitars for the Tuareg, as the instrument was seen as a symbol of rebellion. Additionally, two of Bombino’s fellow musicians were executed, thus forcing him into exile.

While Bombino lived in exile in Burkina Faso, filmmaker Ron Wyman, having heard cassette recordings of his music, decided to track him down. Wyman encouraged Bombino to properly record his music. Bombino agreed, and the two of them produced an album together in Agadez. The recordings culminated in his album Agadez, released in April 2011 which debuted at the top of the iTunes World Chart.

In January 2010, Bombino was able to return to his home in Agadez.  To celebrate the end of the conflict, a large concert was organized at the base of the Grand Mosque in Agadez, having received the blessing of the Sultan. Bombino and his band played to over a thousand people at the concert, all dancing and celebrating the end of their struggle.

Bombino explains that Niger’s problems stem from “the arbitrary African borders drawn by the colonial countries at the end of the colonization period in the middle of the 20th century.”  These borders did not take into account different ethnic groups and there has been a constant struggle to achieve national unity within Niger.  Despite having the largest uranium supply in the world (located in the Tuareg’s Agadez region), Niger ranks 167th of 169 nations on the United Nation’s Human Development Index.  Bombino blames this in part on an unnecessary and expensive military convoy that is used to protect the transportation of the materials in the region.  Bombino identifies finding a way to share the profits from the sale of uranium and employing local residents in the mines (instead of hiring people from others areas) as extremely important issues within Niger.

For Bombino, music provides an opportunity “to speak about [the Tuareg’s] problems and propose solutions to resolve them according to what I see and what I have experienced…  I also sing about the war and its consequences on our life in order to contribute to the peace process.”  Bombino’s popularity is a source of pride for both the Tuaregs and the entire country, which Bombino thinks will eventually help the Tuareg community gain political power ­– and ultimately allow them to collaborate with the government and create solutions for the community’s problems (for example, limited water supplies, medical infrastructure and quality schools.)

Bombino explains that “The Tuareg music is like Tamasheq (our language) or Tifinagh (our alphabet) because they are the most important elements shared by the Tuareg in all countries.  They are our identity, [which creates] a strong link. Our music is the same because it brings all the Tuareg together. After the second rebellion in Niger, we played music at weddings for people of other ethnicities. All these peoples loved the music, they danced together and renewed their relations by accepting each other in spite of their differences.”

Bombino wants his audience to understand that “the desert is the most beautiful and peaceful place in the world.  I invite anyone to discover it.  [The Tuareg] are one of the most open cultures and we are ready to share it with the world through music.”

To learn more about Bombino visit his webpage.

Click here to learn more, sample or download Wan Fambul/One Family.

Bio compiled by Marshall Henry of Modiba Productions.

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Wan Fambul/One Family Benefit Album Artist Profile – Bajah + The Dry Eye Crew

Posted on March 27, 2012 by Hannah Ewing

This profile of Bajah + the Dry Eye Crew is the first entry in our new Artist Profile series, intended to introduce each contributing musician featured on the Wan Fambul/One Family benefit album. This compilation is available for a donation, with all proceeds going to the groundbreaking grassroots peacebuilding efforts of Fambul Tok in Sierra Leone.  Coming up next, Bombino!

Wan Fambul/One Family features two songs by Bajah + the Dry Eye Crew – “Wi Na Wan Fambul” (which also features Angie and Jocelia) and “Gun Thing.”  In addition, Eccodek does a powerful remix of “Wi Na Wan Fambul,” available as a bonus feature when you share about the album with others.

Bajah + the Dry Eye Crew

After packing the National Stadium for performances in their home country of Sierra Leone and contributing music to the Academy Award–nominated film Blood Diamond, African superstars Bajah + The Dry Eye Crew are poised to conquer the global airwaves with their upcoming international debut album and their unique sound, which blends the swagger and funk of hip-hop, the passion and energy of dancehall, and the socially conscious vibe of reggae. The group has generated so much buzz in the hip-hop world that major stars including ?uestlove and Black Thought of the Roots, Talib Kweli, K’Naan, Res, and El-P have contributed their vocal and/or production talents to the upcoming release, helmed by the production team Fyre Department (whose credits include 50 Cent, Snoop Dogg, GZA, Talib Kweli, Justin Timberlake). With this great collection of creatives, Bajah’s own star is rising as the Sean Paul of West Africa with the social conscience of Bob Marley and Fela Kuti.

So much more than just another hip-hop outfit, Bajah + The Dry Eye Crew have been likened to another band renowned internationally for speaking out against political and social injustices: U2. In Sierra Leone, now emerging from the throes of a brutal 10-year civil war, Bajah + The Dry Eye Crew are hailed as “the voice of the voiceless,” speaking truths on behalf of those people who have no political power, spreading messages of peace and reconciliation, outing corrupt politicians, and inspiring the disenfranchised youth to pursue their dreams. “We always speak about real stuff, like the suffering, what is going on,” says the group’s frontman, Bajah, “So most of the youth, the fans, are going crazy over it, because they think it’s the reality—that’s how it is. So they show mad love at times.”

Love is another theme of their music, and the joy and love their legions of fans have shown them comes through in their energetic, powerful live performances. The Crew—which consists of Bajah, A-Klazz, and Dovy Dovy in the U.S. and the Jungle Leaders (Funky Fred, Dell, and Sly) back in Sierra Leone—started writing, recording, and performing together in 2000, and quickly rose to the heights of fame in their home country, where everyone from young schoolchildren to village elders have come out to support Dry Eye’s music and message—often going to extremes to show these national heroes love and respect.

Bajah + The Dry Eye Crew see their music as a tool for helping to unify the divisions caused by the Civil War because it is a “way to tell stories, share history, unify people and help them focus on something positive.” Their goal is to “unify the masses, preach non-violence, and stand for change and development within Sierra Leone.”  They feel the most important issues Sierra Leone is currently dealing with are encouraging peaceful elections, building towards better infrastructure to develop their economy, education of the youth, health education and sanitation.  The songs “Ease di Tension,” “Salone,” and “Batta Dae Nak” (As The Beat Goes Down….) were written in anticipation of the upcoming national election to “encourage everyone to vote peacefully like one Family.”

The inaugural performance of Batta Dae Nak (titled on the album as “Wi Na Wan Fambul”) is featured in this behind-the-scenes look at the album, which also includeds Bajah’s inspiring reflections on the power of music to impel peace.

To learn more about Bajah + The Dry Eye Crew visit their webpage.

Click here to learn more, sample or download Wan Fambul/One Family.

Bio compiled by Marshall Henry of Modiba Productions.

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Fambul Tok Urges Government to Declare March 23rd National Reflection Day

Posted on March 26, 2012 by Solomon Yarjoh

Fambul Tok International – Sierra Leone has again called on the Government of Sierra Leone to declare March 23rd an annual day for national reflection.

Executive Director John Caulker addresses the press

Addressing a press conference on Thursday March 22, 2012 prior to the day’s commemoration, Fambul Tok Executive Director John Caulker, said that the clarion call to commemorate March 23rd had earlier been re-echoed by stakeholders who think that the government should set aside this day for Sierra Leoneans to reflect on what happened during the war and how they can work to forestall the recurrences of what most believe to be the saddest chapter in the history of the country.

“As we commemorate another anniversary on 23rd March, 2012, we urge Sierra Leoneans to reflect on what happened during the war. Why Sierra Leone went down that path of destruction,” says John Caulker.

“March 23rd is connected to every Sierra Leonean, either directly or indirectly as the rebel conflict in the country touched everyone irrespective of ethnic or political affiliations. Therefore, never again shall we take weapons against each other to destroy our beloved country. We should sit together, dialogue and put the sad chapter behind us,” the Executive Director emphasized.

Attendees of the press conference listen to John Caulker's remarks

Caulker explained that as Sierra Leoneans go to the polls on November 17, 2012 to vote for their councilors, council chairmen, parliamentarians and President for the next five years, Fambul Tok urges all Sierra Leoneans to exercise their franchise peacefully without violence.

“The 2012 elections are not far away; therefore we are calling on all Sierra Leoneans to make a commitment and ensure violent free elections. Let us see ourselves as brothers and sisters irrespective of our different political backgrounds (wi na wan fambul-we are one family),” he stressed.

He went on to tell journalists that violence is still happening, referencing the political violence that has been plaguing the country for the past couple of months. The issues that originally led the country to war are still around, Caulker observed, stating that March 23rd can be used to prevent recurrences of violence, noting that people can use this day to reflect as to what happened and also create space for wrongdoers to apologize to their victims.

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