Neuadd Ogwen Bethesda
22/06/2019
THE GARIFUNA COLLECTIVE
The Garifuna Collective push the boundaries of their dynamic, centuries-old musical traditions, breaking new ground with performances that show why UNESCO has proclaimed the language, dance, and music of the Garifuna people of Central America as a “Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity”.
Over a foundation of ancestral beats, the unmistakable and powerful sound of the two traditional Garifuna drums – the Primero and the Segunda – along with driving maracas, turtle shells, acoustic and electric guitars and swinging bass grooves blending with evocative melodies and powerful call and response vocals, these artists tell their stories through music and dance.
Garifuna culture was forged when slave ships carrying captured Africans wrecked off the Caribbean island of St Vincent in the 1600s. The survivors swam ashore, mixed with the island’s indigenous Arawak population and created a unique and resilient culture that continues to this day to evolve with its own distinctive language, customs and music.
GASPER NALI
Gasper, 35, lives a quite modest life in the small town of Nkhata Bay on the shores of northern Lake Malawi. In his younger years, he and his brothers would travel a bit with a family band in order to make money, but these days he lives alone in a small house in Nkhata Bay, mainly supporting himself by playing regular shows in town.
The instrument he’s playing is called a ‘Babatoni’, it’s a home made bass guitar, about 3 metres long, with one string and a cow skin drum as a resonating box.
He plays it with a stick and an empty bottle, and together with a cow skin bass drum and a great voice, he creates the most amazing and danceable original Afro Beats possible!
RACUBAH! DJ’s
£15
