Sing Out!

Just got back from three weeks in Africa and WOW it was great! In the Democratic Republic of the Congo we got to hear a lot of music in the churches and at events. They use talking drums and a sort of xylophone thing -- wish I knew the name -- and cowbells with sticks; and of course vocal music. It is quite fantastic to see and hear.

However, what most people like is more modern music. I had sort of a revelation when I realized I was sort of condescending in my views -- I wanted to keep the traditional music in a sort of musical zoo and not have these people exposed to world-wide influences.

Anyway, I heard a church band and choir that used what looked at first glace to be a cheap microphone, a guitar, bass and drums with a loudspeaker. Sounded pretty distorted with a lot of squealing. Well, then I got a closer look...all the instruments were made from scratch and the "electric" instruments and the mic were all wired with standard colored electrical wire into a metal box, which was then wired into the old fashioned loudspeaker (kind of like would have been on the top of trucks roaming neighborhoods with political announcements). The drum set was built entirely from local materials. (see photo)

Incredible ingenuity. I was very impressed. So much so that the band gave me a proposal for me to help them buy real equipment. Anyone wanting to contribute, just contact me. I'll probably scrape together some money to send them eventually.

We also heard an "African Jazz" band at a place called The Blue Room in Johannesburg, which was pretty good, and an African vocalist whose name I've forgotten, also good. It was a little weird that she sang the first part of her set to pre-recorded music. I don't think you'd ever see that at a premier club in the states.

Eileen