travel
Posted by Mark Johnson, 7 days ago
When we think about the role of dreams in our lives, they serve as both the places we go when we shut our eyes as well as the hopes and aspirations we hold for the future of our loved ones and ourselves. Playing For Change began as a dream to create something that could be full of positivity and inspiration for the human race. We have found that music is the greatest tool on earth for us to achieve our dreams of a better world for everyone. The village of Kirina, Mali is the heart and soul of this dream and a place with music at its core.
It is an ancient village with about 1,000 people, all of whom are descendents of musicians, many of them over 75 generations of musicians. They have no electricity, but enough soul to brighten all of us as we share this journey together. It is also the home of the newest Playing For Change Music School. When they heard the Playing For Change crew was coming to visit them to discuss the idea for the new school, they told us they had dreamed we would come, and they are prepared to be a part of the next chapter of our life’s journey, and thus have titled the new school “The Playing For Life” Music school.
Last week we traveled with the Playing For Change team to Kirina with our brother andsoul mate Baaba Maal. He is a legendary singer in West Africa, and even he was humbled by the opportunity to visit the people of Kirina and meet the elders. He told us that he learned about Kirina growing up in school, but did not realize that it was a real place that still maintains their ancient traditions and culture. We traveled with 4 cars full of musicians and the Playing For Change Foundation crew and were greeted with open arms and songs from the villagers. We gave gifts to the elders and were granted permission for Baaba and friends to perform music for the village chief under the mango tree. I swear if ever humanity has shined a light it was on this day!! Baaba performed for all the people in Kirina and was joined by our friend and percussion master, Mohamadou Diabate. The elders from the village had donated land for us to build our new music school, and this day was an opportunity to celebrate the great future we all share together.
I ask everyone who believes in a better world for tomorrow to join us today to build our next great music and art school in the village of Kirina, Mali. Together, it is a dream that we can make come true, and we will always know that there is a place where music and inspiration are passed on from generation to generation for the betterment of all of humanity – Playing For Life!!!
news
Posted by Francois Viguie, 1 month ago
A day in Bamako,
Bamako, February 5, 2010, 33 degrees Celsius in the shade.
Rendezvous at noon with members of the group Tinariwen, former rebels of the Tuareg rebellion, who now preach peace through their music. They play tonight in Bamako and the idea is to take this opportunity to record them before their concert. We're in a neighborhood a few miles from the center of the capital and we need to quickly find a place to capture their music and their message. Ideally, it would be a garden with a little shade and a power outlet to connect to their amps. After a quick eye at the area, we decided to knock on the door of a local resident to ask if we can record the band in their yard. An old man welcomes us with open arms and therefore, in his small garden, we plant our cameras and microphones to record Tinariwen. After several hours of music in the shade of a mango tree, under the curious eye of neighborhood children who clap their hands to the sound of the haunting music of these men and women from the desert, Ibrahim gives us his impressions on the music's meaning to him. The idea that music is a perfect tool for sharing and a universal language emerges naturally in his testimony, joining once again, the point of view of many musicians we met around the world. "Our feeling is that music is the best tool to be able to communicate with the entire world and find solutions about our today's life".
Une journée à Bamako,
Bamako, 5 février 2010, 33 degrés à l'ombre. Rendez-vous à midi avec les membres du groupe Tinariwen, anciens rebelles de la révolte touareg, qui prêchent désormais la paix à travers leur musique. Ils jouent ce soir à Bamako et l'idée est de profiter de l'occasion pour les enregistrer avant leur concert. On est dans un quartier à quelques kilomètres du centre de la capitale et il faut qu'on trouve au plus vite un endroit pour pouvoir saisir leur musique et leur message. L'idéal, ça serait un jardin avec un peu d'ombre et une prise de courant pour pouvoir brancher leurs amplis. Après un repérage sommaire des lieux, on se décide à frapper à la porte d'un habitant du quartier pour lui demander si on peut enregistrer dans sa cour. Un vieil homme nous accueille à bras ouvert et c'est donc dans son petit jardin, devant chez lui, qu'on plante nos caméras et nos micros pour enregistrer Tinariwen. Après quelques heures de musique à l'ombre d'un manguier, sous l'œil curieux des enfants du quartier qui tapent dans leurs mains au son de la musique lancinante de ces hommes et ces femmes du désert, Ibrahim nous livre ses impressions sur le sens qu'a la musique à ses yeux. L'idée que la musique est un parfait outil de partage et un langage universel se dessine naturellement dans son témoignage qui rejoint ainsi, une fois encore, celui des musiciens des quatre coins du monde. "Nous pensons que la musique est le meilleur outil pour communiquer avec le monde entier et nous aider a trouver des solutions pour notre vie de tous les jours".
Un día en Bamako,
Bamako 5 de febrero del 2010, 33 grados a la sombra. Hemos quedado a las 12 del mediodía con los miembros del grupo Tinariwen, antiguos rebeldes de la revuelta Tuareg originarios de la ciudad de Tombuctú que predican la paz a través de la música. Tocan esta noche en Bamako y la idea es aprovechar la oportunidad para grabarlos antes del concierto. Estamos en un barrio a unos kilómetros de la Capital y necesitamos encontrar lo mas rápido posible un lugar para poder captar su música y su mensaje. Lo ideal sería un jardín con un poco de sombra y un enchufe para poder conectar los amplificadores. Después de una breve caminata de reconocimiento decidimos preguntar a un vecino si era posible grabar a la banda en el patio de su casa. Un hombre de unos 70 años nos recibe con los brazos abiertos y enseguida nos ponemos a armar el estudio delante de su casa. Después de un par de horas de música a la sombra de un árbol de mangos, con una audiencia de niños curiosos que marcan el ritmo con sus palmas, Ibrahim, el líder de la banda, nos transmite durante una entrevista su percepción del poder de la música: una herramienta esencial para la unión del ser humano. "Creemos que la música es la mejor herramienta para poder comunicarse con el mundo entero y encontrar soluciones para nuestra vida cotidiana".
With all the travel and excitement that the PFC Band and Crew enjoyed in the last three months of 2009, it was wonderful for us all to have a restful holiday break with our families. We are now all back in LA, and tomorrow is going to be our first meeting of the new year. We have a lot of exciting things to discuss, not least of which is "where to next!"
Thank you for all the love and support we have received from our community over the course of this journey. Whether we are home or abroad, it always means so much to us to read your feedback, comments, and emails. Please continue to keep them flowing in 2010, and we'll do the same with the music!
Peace and Love from Los Angeles!
Last night was a night to remember-- but of course we all knew it would be long before the show started. Beginning the moment we all hopped on the bus, everyone could barely contain their excitement. Sinamuva began a song as soon as the bus pulled away from our hotel, and they were quickly accompanied by an improvised percussion ensemble. Peter hopped down into the stair well and pounded on the side of the bus; Venkat began playing the ceiling with his knuckles; Mermans began to yell; People all around me began clapping; And before long half the bus was banging on something-- the rest of us were singing, laughing, or filming the fun.
The 20-minute bus ride began in the rain, but by the time we arrived, the sun had come out. As we pulled up, we noticed a rainbow arching down directly above the venue. We all thought it was a great omen for the show but Mark was quick to counter that if anything, that rainbow had shown up to recharge its energy at our show. And he was right...
The Caja Magica was packed to the gills (over 8,000 people were in attendance!), and by the end of the show it felt like the place was going to blow. The band put together a set list of 25 songs (our longest list to date, I believe), and performed for well over two hours. Guest artists Nena Daconte and Kiko Veneno joined the band for a number of songs, and were greeted by raucous applause. Even our own Enzo Buono hopped on stage to harmonize (and dance!) with Tula during Chanda Mama. The addition of Sinamuva to the band rounded out the sound beautifully, and brought our total musician count to nearly 20!
It was an amazing evening, and I want to thank everyone who was with us, both in body and in spirit. I would also like to thank Acciona and Ademas for making this event possible, and also our Tour Manager Erika Duffee, who has lead this group of Peace Soldiers across North America and Spain these past two months.
I'm on a plane bound for New York City (currently experiencing a fair bit of turbulence) as I write this, and it is a bittersweet moment for me. I'm heading home for the first time in a month, and am looking forward to seeing my family for the Holidays, yet at the same time I am leaving my other family behind. But I know before long we'll all be together, back on the road again. But for now...
Peace and Love from 30,000 feet!
With the arrival of Sinamuva, the South African choir from Umlazi, our band is now complete. Everyone was overjoyed as all the musicians met each other for the first time, and that energy spilled right over into today's rehearsal. The bus ride was one massive jam session, with the choir singing and the rest of the band playing improvised percussion ranging from hand claps to banging on the ceiling-- the ball bearing curtain rods even became a make-shift shaker! The energy of the whole group is off the charts and I know that tomorrow's show is going to be an unbelievable experience.
After rehearsal we all piled back into the bus and took over an Indian restaurant. The food was delicious and the company could not have been better. It feels like one big family vacation here in Madrid, and we're looking forward to sharing the experience with a few thousand more members of the PFC Family tomorrow night at La Caja Magica.
Peace and Love from Madrid!
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