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So Kalmery

So kalmery was born in 1955 in the region of Bukavu, near Lake Kivu in the east of former Zaïre. His father, musician, played the accordion, the trumpet and the guitar in the local brass band  and the organ on Sundays at church. So sung from a very early age in choirs with the other children and accompanied his older brothers when they played brakka in the Sunday orchestres. He was only nine years old when he started composing his first songs.

In 1966, his father died, during the anti-Lumumbist repression. So accompanied his family to Lusaka (Zambie). Singer in a choir, he was hired by a local orchestra leader, who kidnapped him and brought him on tour in Burundi and Kenya. A year later, So finally managed to escape and began to travel all over Africa.

Taking a walk in Nairobi, he bumped in EMI’s H.Q and presented his demos, even if recording an album remained an inaccessible dream. However, EMI decided to produce « Vedette mambo », So was 16 years old. Thanks to this first production, he was finally able to get access to professional equipment and began a real carreer.

In 1982, after a tour in Belgium, he went to Paris and settled there. He formed his group, Ujamaa (family in swahili) and recorded two self-produced albums : « Ujamaa » and « So & Ujamaa ».

In 1987, So opened for Paco de Lucia and John MacLaughlin at the Albert Hall in London and sat on stage  with them for a couple of songs.

In 1989, he recorded « So » for CBS France. Restless traveller, So shared his time between London and Paris.

In 1993, So wondered about the real place of musicians in the society. He realized the difficulties for African people to adapt to the continent’s evolution and tried to give his music an educational dimension.

In 1995 he recorded his album « Rasmi » and opened for Ben Harper in Europe.

The Album 
So kalmery, the travelling-poet, comes back in France with his last album « Bendera » (‘Pygmalion / m10), a tribute to Brakka music. Accompanied by some great musicians (Paco Séry, Loy Ehrich, Linley Marthe..), he celebrates the roots of music and Africa with eight compositions inspired by love, egality and mysticism.

In « Bendera », So encourages African people to be independant. He warns them against political leaders in « Africa » : a good leader does not confuse his personal ambition and his National duty. He insists on egality in « Every body » and denounces exploitation in « DM crazy ».  So praises the spirit in « Isfet », « Imane » and « Hotep » (peace).

The Musicians 
So Kalmery has gathered some of the greatest world-music musicians, whose stories are linked to Africa : Paco séry on drums (Zawinul Syndicate) Loy Ehrlich on keyboard (Salif Keita and Touré kunda), Linley marthe on bass (Cheb Mami), Louis Winsberg on guitar, Frédéric Schmidely on saxophones and Myriam Betty on backing vocals. 

The Brakka 
Brakka is the music of origins and the origins of music. It is universal. It tells us a forgotten secret. It speaks to us about who we are. BRAKKA is the echo of our past, it the song of Mother Earth and of Africa, birthplace of humankind. It is the tempo of life, the rythm of the cosmos. It is the bearer of the future. BRAKKA is beyond frontiers, beyond differences. It transcends body and mind in a holy union called harmony.

BRAKKA is music and dance in one.
BRAKKA is a source of regeneration.
BRA,     Beginning.
KA,       Infinity. »

So Kalmery.



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So Kalmery

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