A dear friend of mine was married last weekend in Montana. A couple days before the wedding I was surprised and pleased to learn that she and her fiance had chosen one of Playing For Change's songs to be featured at their wedding: The Omagh Community Youth Choir's version (arranged by Daryl Simpson) of Bono's original "Love Rescue Me." They asked me to sit in on a rehearsal the night before their wedding, where a band made up of the bride's closest friends and family was preparing their musical accompaniment for the ceremony. They had a copy of our "Songs Around the World" release, and after listening to the track through a couple times they asked me to talk about the significance of the song.
I explained the history of the choir-- that it was founded by Daryl Simpson shortly after a terrible bombing that took place in Omagh, Northern Ireland in 1998. He created the choir in an effort to bring peace and reconciliation to the community and to bring Catholic and Protestant young people together through music. His vision was so perfectly aligned with ours that as soon as we learned about his organization our crew began making plans to film and record the choir.
The healing and connective power of Music touches us all throughout our lives-- sometimes in ways so subtle that we barely take notice, and other times so profoundly that our life's path pivots on the spot, transposing itself into an entirely new key. The next day these thoughts played along in my subconscious as I joyously watched my friend exchange vows with her groom while music filled the air.
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PFC Foundation's newsest music school in Kirina, Mali: work in progress
Posted by Francois Viguie, 3 months ago
This entry is available in three languages: English / Español / Français (just scroll down!). For more information about the Playing For Change Foundation, check out: playingforchange.org
A few months ago, the Playing for Change Foundation started its third music school on the African continent. The school is located in the village of Kirina, 40 kilometers south from Bamako, Mali. Kirina is a griot village without any electricity network and a place where the inhabitants live in little houses with straw roofs made of bricks that have dried from the sun's heat. The Griots play an essential role in the Malian culture: they transmit the oral traditions trough music and poetry. It is now our third trip to Kirina, thanks to our great friend and musician, Mahamadou Diabaté, brother of one of the greatest Kora players in the planet, Toumani Diabaté.
The school is being built on land that was donated to us by the elders. The work started this week with the blessing and the active participation of the entire village. In order to put together this project, our philosophy is based on listening and involving the different components of the village (the elders, the youth, and the women). The school will help the people from Kirina to preserve and share their musical traditions which have been slowly disappearing. Beyond the music school, we are improving the access to drinking water for the villagers and another aspect of the project is the creation of a traditional instruments workshop. It is destined to perpetuate the tradition of handcrafted traditional instruments and at the same time bring income to the villagers with the sales of those instruments through our international networks.
We arrived almost a week ago in Mali and we're going to Kirina everyday to work on the project with the villagers, discuss ideas and build a better future together for the next generation. Today, all the youth of the village helped us transport thousands of bricks made by the villagers. It is so emotional to see how the people from Kirina, all ages, are getting involved in the project. Since the beginning of the process we wanted them to play an important role into the decisions linked to the project. To give an example, we consulted the inhabitants of Kirina for the architecture of the school. The Malian architect that we contracted went to Kirina to submit to the villagers and discuss with them the two options of school. The elders organized a meeting and decided which school they preferred. The sand we are using for the construction comes directly from the Niger river, located 4 km from the village. The sand is extracted manually, loaded on a small boat and then transported to the village. In about 3 weeks, the construction of the school should be finished and we hope it will open its doors by the end of September. We're counting on your support to help us to make that dream come true.
Español:
La Fundación Playing for Change inició hace unos meses el proyecto de su tercera escuela de música en el continente africano. La escuela que estamos construyendo se sitúa en el pueblo de Kirina, a unos 40 kilómetros de Bamako. Kirina es un pueblo "griot" sin electricidad donde sus habitantes viven en casitas con techo de paja, hechas con ladrillos secados al sol. Los griots juegan un papel determinante en la cultura en Mali: transmiten las tradiciones orales a través de la music a y de la poesía. Es ahora nuestro tercer viaje a Kirina, gracias a nuestro amigo griot y músico Mahamadou Diabaté, hermano del gran maestro de la Kora Toumani Diabaté.
La escuela se esta construyendo en una tierra que nos fue cedida por los jefes del pueblo. Las obras empezaron esta semana con la bendición y la participación de todo el pueblo. Para la realización del proyecto, pretendemos ante todo escuchar y involucrar los diferentes componentes de Kirina ( jefes, juventud, mujeres…). La escuela esta destinada a ayudar a la gente de Kirina a conservar y transmitir sus tradiciones musicales, que están desapareciendo poco a poco, según el testimonio de los ancianos. Mas allá de la escuela de música, estamos intentando mejorar el acceso al agua potable en el pueblo. Otro aspecto del proyecto es el taller de instrumentos tradicionales que estamos montando: se destinará a la fabricación de instrumentos tradicionales, aportando al mismo tiempo una fuente de ingresos al pueblo, gracias a la venta de los instrumentos a través de nuestras redes internacionales.
Hemos llegado a Mali hace una semana: cada día vamos a Kirina para trabajar sobre el proyecto con los habitantes, intercambiar ideas y construir juntos un futuro mejor para las nuevas generaciones de Kirina. Hoy, toda la juventud nos ayudó a transportar miles de ladrillos elaborados en el pueblo. Es una gran emoción de ver como los habitantes de Kirina, todas edades confundidas se involucran y creen en el proyecto. Desde el principio del proceso queremos que tengan un papel esencial en las decisiones. Para dar un ejemplo, el arquitecto que hemos contratado estuvo en Kirina para proponer y a los habitantes dos propuestas de escuelas y escuchar sus ideas. Los jefes del pueblo organizaron una asamblea y eligieron la escuela que preferían. La arena que estamos usando para la construcción de la escuela viene directamente del rió Níger, situado a unos 4 kilómetros del pueblo. La arena esa recogida manualmente, cargada en una lancha antes de ser transportada en el lugar de las obras. En unas tres semanas, la construcción de la escuela tendría que llegar a su fin y esperamos que podrá abrir sus puertas al final del mes de septiembre, para ayudar a la gente de Kirina a transmitir a las nuevas generaciones sus tradiciones musicales ancestrales. Contamos con su apoyo para que este sueño se convierta en una realidad.
Français:
La Fondation Playing for Change a entamé il y a quelques mois le projet de sa troisième école de musique sur le continent africain. Cette école que nous sommes en train de construire se situe dans le village de Kirina, à 40 km au sud de Bamako, au Mali. Kirina est un village de griots où il n'y a ni eau courante ni réseau électrique et où les habitants vivent dans des cases au toit de paille, faites de briques séchées au soleil. Les griots jouent un rôle fondamental dans la culture malienne: ils sont les garants de la transmission d'une culture ancestrale au travers de la musique et de la poésie. C'est aujourd'hui la troisième fois que nous nous rendons à Kirina, grâce à l'intermédiaire de notre ami griot et musicien Mahamadou Diabaté, frère du grand joueur de Kora, Toumani Diabaté.
L'école se trouve sur une terre qui nous a été cédée dans le village et les travaux ont commencé cette semaine avec la bénédiction et la participation active du village tout entier. Notre philosophie pour l'élaboration de ce projet est basée sur l'implication et l'écoute des différentes composantes du village. Cette école devra permettre aux habitants de Kirina de perpétuer et de transmettre aux nouvelles générations leurs traditions musicales qui, selon l'appréciation des anciens du village, sont en voie de disparition. Au-delà de l'école de musique en elle-même nous cherchons à améliorer l'accès à l'eau potable dans le village. Un autre aspect du projet est l'atelier d'instruments traditionnels que nous souhaitons mettre en place, afin que les gens de Kirina puissent perpétuer leurs traditions de fabrications d'instruments mandingues tout en profitant de notre réseau international pour pouvoir les vendre et apporter ainsi une source de revenus aux gens du village.
Nous sommes au Mali depuis quelques jours et nous nous rendons tous les jours à Kirina afin de travailler avec les gens du village à l'élaboration du projet, échanger des idées et construire ensemble un futur meilleur pour les nouvelles générations. Aujourd'hui toute la jeunesse nous a aidé à transporter des milliers de briques en ciment fabriquées sur place. C'est vraiment émouvant de voir à quel point les gens de Kirina s'impliquent dans le projet, tous ages confondus. Dès le début du processus nous avons fait en sorte qu'ils jouent un rôle dans les décisions relatives au projet. Par exemple nous avons consulté les habitants de Kirina sur l'architecture de l'école. L'architecte malien que nous avons engagé est parti à Kirina soumettre deux possibilités d'école et nous avons laissé les gens du village, réunis en assemblée pour l'occasion, choisir celle qui leur plaisait le plus. Le sable utilisé pour la construction vient du fleuve Niger, situé à environ 4 km du village: le sable est extrait manuellement puis chargé dans une pirogue avant d'être transporté sur le chantier. Dans quelques semaines, la construction de l'école devrait être terminée et nous espérons qu'elle pourra ouvrir ses portes dans les prochains mois et permettre aux habitants de Kirina de transmettre aux nouvelles générations leur culture musicale. Nous comptons sur votre support pour nous aider à faire de ce rêve une réalité.
I was in a Playing For Change Foundation board meeting when I got the message: "Jason and Mermans have landed-- they're in a hotel in Marina del Rey." The meeting had just adjourned, and I couldn't help but smile. The last time I had seen my friends was December in Madrid-- we had just concluded an unforgettable tour (almost thirty shows over the course of 6 weeks)-- and now here they were in LA! My brother and I drove straight from the meeting to their hotel; sheer joy as we hugged our hellos!
We headed back to our home in Venice and caught up. Before too long our conversation turned to the band's upcoming tour (which, or course is why Jason and Mermans were in town). My brother and I had just picked up an advance copy of the band's about-to-be-released live performance film, and we thought it would be fun to watch it together. Just as we popped in the DVD, Mark and Raan showed up-- perfect timing!
I could not have predicted the impact that pressing "PLAY" would have on me. I have been watching cuts of this film for the past six months. I knew every word that our band members were going to say, and every note that was going to be played. And yet as I watched Jason and Mermans watch themselves-- larger than life-- I was overcome.
The gravity of this project was hammered home for me. Years of traveling the world, meeting people who became my family; who opened their lives to our crew; who left their homes because they felt a connection to musicians across the planet; who created a band that connected the world... seeing the joy in their faces at the realization of a vision so powerful-- it left me speechless.
The group migrated to our backyard fire pit, and the evening was transformed into a campfire acoustic jam that beckoned the neighbors to come and join. I am so thankful to be a part of this project, and it is a true honor be able to contribute to its message being shared with the world. One Love!
We landed in Colombia about 11 days ago to create a new song involving musicians from different parts of the country. The idea of a song around Colombia came from our friend Fernando Vila who works for the non-profit foundation Americas Business Council (ABC), in order to unite the different cultures of Colombia trough music. The project was a double challenge for us: South America was still a land that we never explored and we had to create a song around Colombia in less than ten days!
We started our journey in Cartagena, on the Caribbean coast. We couldn't have imagined a better place to start. The song we picked is a well-known Colombian tune called "La Tierra del Olvido" by Carlos Vives. The idea was to create an organic version of the song based on the union of different traditional instruments, rhythms and cultures. We started the process recording percussions, gaitas (traditional Colombian flutes), an accordion, and a guitar. After just one day of intense recordings we all had the strange sensation of feeling as if we had been in Cartagena for a week already.
Our second day in Colombia, we went to Palenque de San Basilio, a village two hours from Cartagena founded by fugitive slaves about three hundred years ago… A unique corner of Africa in South America. The people from Palenque knew how to preserve their roots and their music trough the years. There is also an undeniable and curious Cuban spirit in the music they play. Meeting the people from Palenque was a dream come true for all of us, an unbelievable human and musical experience. In 2005, UNESCO proclaimed Palenque "Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity". In Palenque we recorded two bands at the same time: "Las Alegres Ambulancias" and "Sexteto Tabalá". They layed down a perfect groove to the track and sang the song all together. Four generations of the Batata's family where playing at the same time. That was just magic! I'll never forget that handsome little kid playing the "tambora" (traditional bass drum) perfectly with his father, while his mother and grandmother were singing the song.
After only two days in Colombia we already had more than 20 musicians on our version of "La Tierra del olvido"! Then we flew to Bogota to record a symphonic orchestra that consisted of 37 kids. Totó la Momposina then played a version of her song "Los sabores del Porro" and added her spirit to our song around Colombia. Every day was a new experiment of connection and fusion between different musical styles, cultures and situations. Beyond the recording of the new song, trough the amazing work and the love of the people we met there, we had the chance to extend the PFC family in South America. On April 7th, a video of this song around Colombia will be presented in Medellín during the World Economic forum on Latin America to represent the healing power of music. We hope the example of different cultures connected and united together trough music will contribute to convey human values into the world of those that governs us, in order to help change this world for a better place for everybody.
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A day in Bamako / Une journée à Bamako / Un dÃa en Bamako
Posted by Francois Viguie, 7 months 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".
