I'm delighted that attempts are being made to restore peace in Mali. The Dutch musician Laurens Joensen has embarked on a fantastic journey to support Malian musicians through benefit concerts, collecting guitars and other instruments which will be donated to the artists and a documentary featuring Malian musicians. The crowdfunded documentary is called Music for Mali and you can contribute here.
For background info. about the conflict in Mali and how culture and specially music(ians) have been affected, Freemuse has just published an extensive report written by Andy Morgan. The 64-page report can be downloaded here.
Speaking of peace, a couple of friends have recently returned to Somalia where the saints of doom are being dompted. The track below is for them as well as for anyone anywhere who is in a similar precarious situation.
Kooxda Halgan_Badbaado Guri Hooyo (1978) ("Safe Home")
And this one is whole-midfing-heartedly dedicated to the warlords in Somalia and everywhere else:
Horseed_Gabbalaa Iisoo Garguurtee (197x) ("The Sun/set is Crawling To Me")
Update: The project is fully crowd-funded. A lot of guitars and amplifiers are collected and will soon be shipped to Mali where the making of the documentary will start. An impression:
impression Music for Mali 'repairday' at MuzyQ from Murk-Jaep van der Schaaf on Vimeo.
Festivals in the Netherlands paid a special attention to Malian music and collected instruments, e.g. Festival Muziek op de Dommel in Eindhoven:
You can follow how the project is progressing on Facebook or via the newsletter
Update 2: Check also Sahel Calling, "an interactive, musical project to raise awareness about the refugees, internally-displaced persons and the people living in the conflict-affected areas of Mali and the Sahel".
For background info. about the conflict in Mali and how culture and specially music(ians) have been affected, Freemuse has just published an extensive report written by Andy Morgan. The 64-page report can be downloaded here.
Speaking of peace, a couple of friends have recently returned to Somalia where the saints of doom are being dompted. The track below is for them as well as for anyone anywhere who is in a similar precarious situation.
Kooxda Halgan_Badbaado Guri Hooyo (1978) ("Safe Home")
And this one is whole-midfing-heartedly dedicated to the warlords in Somalia and everywhere else:
Horseed_Gabbalaa Iisoo Garguurtee (197x) ("The Sun/set is Crawling To Me")
Update: The project is fully crowd-funded. A lot of guitars and amplifiers are collected and will soon be shipped to Mali where the making of the documentary will start. An impression:
impression Music for Mali 'repairday' at MuzyQ from Murk-Jaep van der Schaaf on Vimeo.
Festivals in the Netherlands paid a special attention to Malian music and collected instruments, e.g. Festival Muziek op de Dommel in Eindhoven:
You can follow how the project is progressing on Facebook or via the newsletter
Update 2: Check also Sahel Calling, "an interactive, musical project to raise awareness about the refugees, internally-displaced persons and the people living in the conflict-affected areas of Mali and the Sahel".
