ETRAN FINATAWA

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2 responses to “ETRAN FINATAWA”

1. 

   Karen Hansen

   Wednesday 30th May 2007

   DESERT RHYTHMS IN DORSET

   Last Saturday saw Evershot Village Hall transformed by the wonderful songs and rhythms performed by our guests from the West African Sahara, Etran Finatawa . The band arrived, safely chauffeured by Sarah Fox-Pitt, in the early afternoon to test the sounds and acoustics of our Dorset hall, where Richard Wildman and his young team had all the channels ready. We managed to communicate technical details by the splendid help of French speaking Rachel from Artsreach combined with a mixture of hand gestures and the customary ‘slightly louder English’.

   The instruments required a few local props such as water for the deep calabash drum and several bags of the gravel from my garden path as a substitute for Saharan sand for the tende drum. I still haven’t worked out whether this affects the sound or mainly acts as a weight on the drumming rig. Our guests brought a calm and relaxed attitude and we were able to enjoy a taste of their sweet desert tea. They – in turn – were quite impressed by the chicken and rice prepared by Andrew Whittle, which was served up later before the big dress up!

   The doors opened at 8pm and the lucky ticket holders filled the hall ready for the sounds and stunning appearance of Etran Finatawa. The performance was indeed a light from another world where the heat slows your pace and life’s rhythm might flow in smooth movements. The combination of beautiful voices and the exiting and seductive polyphony of drumbeats and clapping made for a very special evening of dance and absolute enjoyment.

   The interval brought a new angle to the range of temptations available in the bar and saw the front of the stage transformed into a beautifully laid out jewellery stall where people could speak and barter with the band members. Bammo the leadsinger, Badqui on the calabash drum and Manna on the water calabash, all three from the wodaabe tribe with Ghalitane on lead guitar, Alouss also on lead guitar and Zaid on the tende drum, who are tamashek people. It was a real treat to meet this group and may their great tour of Europe bring much enjoyment and happiness to all people.

   I will take this opportunity to apologise to the people who had a negative response to their request for tickets. You might be able to catch Etran Finatawa in Bath this coming weekend 2nd June.

   https://www.bathfringe.co.uk

2. 

   Gordon Langley

   Thursday 31st May 2007

   Here’s some poor quality pictures I took on the night, just amazing to hear this music so close to our homes but so far from theirs, what a treat!