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CD Review
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World Rhythm, CD Review >>
Baka Beyond is the brainchild of British musicians Martin Cradick (Guitar, mandolin) and Su Hart (Vocal). Together they have carved out a unique music group that has truly put its message into reality. Both had an earnest interest in folk music of the British Isles and eventually began (separately as well as together) performing and busking throughout the world.
As husband and wife they ventured to Cameroon in 1992, where they met the Baka Pygmy hunter-gathers of the rain forest. The way the Baka people involved music in their day-to-day existence drew Martin and Su into joining in and then documenting the music. The seminal recordings of "Heart of the Forest" (field recordings of the Baka) and "Spirit of the Forest" (music inspired by and written with the Baka) was to "recreate the mood of the music sessions that took place many afternoons and most evenings in the forest" says Cradick.
"It was the amazing bird-like singing or yelli that first attracted me" says lead singer Su Hart. "The women get together before the dawn to sing, enchant the animals of the forest and ensure that the men's hunting will be successful. Song and dance are used by the Baka for healing, for rituals, for keeping the community together and also for pure fun." It is in that spirit that Baka Beyond exists.
They have been committed to paying royalties from the sales of the recordings to the Baka peoples. The Baka choose how to spend their earnings and so far that has included the first jungle nightclub built and owned by an indigenous group, the creation of an association to give them legal status in Cameroon, and a medical center using traditional remedies.
In between trips to Africa, Baka Beyond, the group has continued to gain members and have toured extensively and recording music in their homebase of Bath, in England. Band members hail from the likes of Brittany (Paddy Le Mercier -Violin & whistle), Cameroon (Bassist Sam Djengue), Senegal (Seckou Kieta (Kora & percussion), Sierra Leone (Ayodele Scott - sogo, djembe & ningnong - all African percussion instruments) Ghana (Nii Tahoe - Djembe & pablogo) and the U.K. (Vocalist & dancer Denise Rowe and Drummer Tim Robinson) further enhancing the Afro-Celtic connection.
Even within the seemingly disparate African societies it is the music that reveals similar threads. "It is amazing to see how connected we are," says Seckou Kieta, Senegalese kora maestro and percussion player. "We come from different cultures yet the Baka rhythms such as on "Boulez Boulez" are so similar to the Senegalese rhythms."
In January 2004 Martin Cradick brought a solar panel and battery along with some multi-tracking recording gear so they could record the Baka's music live. The result is "Rhythm Tree". It was recorded in The Music House. It is constructed entirely out of one big tree and is one the largest building for hundreds of miles around.
The track "Kobo" on Rhythm Tree was the first song to be recorded there. It highlights the yelli singing of the Baka women, Loni Jullienne and Mbelli. The rest of this album is a true collaboration.
"Sad among Strangers" is a traditional waulking song from the Western Isles of Scotland. It was this song (as well as others) that Su Hart would sing during fireside sessions with the Baka who joined in with percussion as well.
"Boulez Boulez" is a based on the rhythms used in yelli singing and features the Baka men, Pel Dieudonne and Mbeh Prosper on guitar and vocals. "Hush Hush" is written in 1856 by John Cameron of Scotland. It is about the land clearances in the Sottish Highlands and became relevant to the Baka who are losing their traditional hunting ground to modernization in the rainforest. When they built the Music House it was deemed a permanent structure which gave them land rights within Cameroon for the first time.
"La Londe" is tune learned from the Baka children and has become a favorite at Baka Beyond's live shows. It melts into a reel by violinist Paddy Le Mercier. The scales, melodies and rhythms from both Scotland and the Cameroon rainforest seemingly go hand-in-hand as "Shimina" clearly demonstrates.
Plans for 2006 include a tour of Great Britain with the Baka musicians joining in. The members of Baka Beyond and the Baka people themselves look to be continuing their personal and professional relationships in an inspiring manner. 02/02/06 >> go there
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