Forget a typical recording studio. British group Baka Beyond produced its album, "Rhythm Tree," in the forests of southeast Cameroon in March this year with the indigenous Baka Pygmies.

Guitarist Martin Cradick founded the group in 1992 with his wife and lead vocalist, Su Hart, based on the music of the African tribe with whom he lived for six weeks in the early '90s.

In 2003, the band built a timber-framed house to use as a recording studio in the middle of Cameroon's forests.

"Although we were creating African beats, we didn't have any African musicians," Cradick says. "People were starting to say, 'What is this English player doing playing African music?'"

Today, the band boasts nine musicians from six countries: Great Britain, France, Cameroon, Senegal, Sierra Leone and Ghana. Its music draws on a mixture of influences from traditional Celtic and Gaelic melodies to African drumming.

The global group will perform at 2 p.m. Sunday at the Mount Hope Estate and Winery as part of the Summer Celtic Concert Series.

Q: How did you (Martin Cradick) hear about the Baka people?

A: I was watching a documentary program about them on television and how music fit into their everyday lives, but I never thought I would get a chance to visit. It was more like a dream I had. Through a series of coincidences, I became connected with the Pitts River Museum in Oxford [England] who send people on anthropology excursions. They ended up sponsoring our trip.

Q: Describe your daily life while living there.

A: We'd wake up and have boiled plants, play music, go off with the hunters and swim in rivers with the children. They are very hospitable and receptive people.

Q: What did you learn from them?

A: Music is about cooperation between the players. You can put in your part without being the center of attention.

Q: What makes your formula work?

A: It's just me playing music with my best mates. It was never about finding a certain influence and trying to incorporate it. It all happened naturally. Fate brought us together.

Q: Do people need to see you live to understand your music?

A: I think so. The history of Baka Beyond is based on the energy people put into it, so in the studio that doesn't necessarily come across. Dance is quite a big part of the live show, too.