Nyodema’s Gospel Sing for The Gambia

Posted on May 27, 2009 by Kathryn Burrington

Singing for The Gambia with Daniel Thomas

Nyodema’s Gospel Sing for The Gambia (Saturday 16th May, Bognor Regis, West Sussex) was a great success. Vocal coach, Daniel Thomas, former choir director of the London Community Gospel Choir, worked us hard so that by the end of the day we could perform four beautiful songs to an audience of friends and family. Everyone was amazed at how much had been achieved in just one day. Daniel’s reputation as one of the best vocal coaches in Europe is well justified. The day was great fun and inspirational and it was wonderful to see a group of people of all ages, most of whom had never meet before, come together and produce such wonderful music.

Proceeds from the day will go towards Nyodema’s on going work with health and education in The Gambia.

Gospel sing for The Gambia

Below are some comments from people who took part in the workshop:

“Amazing day, well planned and exciting. Musically inspirational, enjoyable, pitched at the level of those aged from twelve to sixty! A wonderful way to raise money for the charity, while the ‘choir’ went from nowhere to everywhere in 6 hours, and revelled in the successful performance at the end of the day.” Geraldine Allchurch, Head of Music, Bourne Community College (workshop participant)

“We both enjoyed the singing and it was obviously a success all round. … one lad brought tears to my eyes and made the hairs on the back of my neck curl…
… how wonderful it was for building a community spirit.“ Eileen (audience member)

“When I walked in and heard the ‘choir’ I was amazed at how wonderful it sounded. I didn’t want it to end.” Peter (audience member)

For more photos of the event see the Nyodema Flickr stream

For more information on Nyodema please visit the page on the main Gambia Experience site. Stay in touch for future events!

For more on Daniel Thomas please see the British Gospel Arts website.

Daniel Thomases latest release – Higher-High

Justin Adams’ and Juldeh Camara’s Tell No Lies

Posted on May 21, 2009 by Kathryn Burrington

The Justin Adams and Juldeh Camara Trio

Since their success at the 2008 Radio 3 World Music Awards for their initial collaboration “Soul Science”, British guitarist and producer Justin Adams and Gambian griot and virtuoso of the African riti (one stringed fiddle), Juldeh Camara, have moved on to produce a more confident album reflecting a deeper understanding of each others music. The new album Tell No Lies, was released on May 11th and is receiving excellent reviews across the board and the album is set to be another great success. Below are some useful links:

You can download a free mp3 of Kele Kele by Justin and Juldeh at the Real World Records Site.
An excellent review of the album at Times Online
Read a review of the album over on The Guardian website.
Juldeh Camara’s MySpace page, where you can hear some of his music.
A fascinating interview with the duo on the Dirty Linen blog, including details of their upcoming world tour.

The video below is for ‘Ya Ta Kaaya’ from Justin Adams and Juldeh Camara’s Soul Science.

From Raasay to The Gambia

Posted on May 15, 2009 by Matt Smith

Calum's Road - Raasay

Back in the late 1960s, Calum MacLeod tried to get funding to build a road to his remote crofters cottage in the northern part of the island of Raasay, a small island between the Isle of Skye and the west coast of Scotland. MacLeod’s aim with the road, besides easing access to his own property, was to encourage people to visit the wild beauty of the northern part of the island. When MacLeod was refused any fiscal help he decided to take the task on himself. The quixotic project took him over 20 arduous years to complete but eventually the road was completed.

MacLeod’s story came to the attention of author and journalist Roger Hutchinson, who after making several trips to Raasay and walking MacLeod’s road, decided to tell his story – Calum’s Road, a simple story of one man’s indomitable spirit set against a backdrop of the appalling history of the Highland clearances and the gradual depopulation of the island of Raasay, was a surprise hit, an inspiration to many.

Meanwhile, Stella Marsden – a pioneer of chimpanzee rehabilitation and the founder of the Chimpanzee Rehabilitation Trust had long dreamt of improving a stretch of road in her community near Kuntaur in a remote part of The Gambia. The road was used every day by women from local villages going out to the rice fields, it was also the route to the nearest secondary school for the children and the local health clinic. The road was frequently flooded and entire sections had been washed away during the yearly rainy season. Unfortunately, Stella was taken ill in 2007 and despite her best efforts at raising funds to rebuild the road the project was incomplete when she sadly passed away in 2008. Stella asked her sister Heather Armstrong to see the project through, a task she accepted.

The flooded road to Kuntaur in The Gambia

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Calum's Road, The Gambia

To bring the whole story full circle, Heather was passed Roger Hutchinson’s book by one Professor Max Murray, and the book has become something of a talisman for the project and indeed the road has come to be known as ‘Calum’s Road in The Gambia’ and it will be built, inspired by Calum and in memory of Stella.

It’s thought that the road will cost in the region of £130,000 – £150,000 to build, and there are already a number of great projects on the go to aid with the fundraising. One of the most fascinating is this project, currently simply called Calum’s Road which will involve a number of motorbike enthusiasts riding in January 2010 from the site of the original Calum’s Road on Raasay to the new Calum’s Road in the Gambia, travelling through the UK, France, Spain, Morocco, Western Sahara, Mauritania and Senegal. You’ll be able to follow the build up to the event and hopefully we’ll get some live reportage en route – you can also donate money to the project via the website. You can see a short film about the project on the BBC Northern Ireland site. It’s well worth a look.

If you want to get involved in any way then do get in touch with the Calum’s Road guys or simple contact Heather via The Gambia Horse and Donkey Trust; you can also donate at Heather’s Just Giving page.

Lastly, if you’re interested in Roger Hutchinson’s book then you get it at the usual places or there are some audio excerpts here

Bela Fleck traces the banjo’s roots in Africa

Posted on May 6, 2009 by Matt Smith

Bela Fleck in The Gambia

Bela Fleck has for many years been one of the world’s premier banjo players. In 2005 he decided to trace the banjo’s roots back to the heart of Africa – the instrument’s birthplace. It has long been thought that the banjo was introduced to the west by African slaves, who carried the instrument with them on their long tortuous journeys from the mainland. The Gambia was one of Fleck’s early stopping points where he played with a host of musicians – the results of which can be heard on the album he has recently released to celebrate his journey: Throw Down Your Heart.

There are a number of fascinating articles about Fleck’s journey, but two of the best are available at the BBC site (including a wonderful slide show of Sascha Paladino’s photographs and an audio commentary from Fleck himself) and over at Pop Matters. There is also a fantastic session at NPR featuring Fleck playing with the legendary Malian kora master, Toumani Diabate.

See also the short video below, showing a brief account of Fleck’s journey.