A group of Baka Pygmies, are leaving their rainforest home to embark on their debut tour of the UK alongside the world-renowned band Baka Beyond. They arrive for the launch of their first album – the mezmerising ‘Gati Bongo’ – recorded under a giant tree on a mobile solar-powered studio and due to be released on 24th April.
Baka Gbine, a group of seven Baka musicians and dancers who have rarely been outside the Cameroonian rainforest before, have been a key influence in the music of Baka Beyond, a band which was formed in 1992 and are widely acclaimed for their high energy, multicultural live stage shows and world music recordings. This is a rare opportunity to catch these two incredible bands in a series of what promises to be unforgettable joint performances starting at Westonbirt Arboretum on 30th April
Inspirational music and dance
Baka Gbiné use guitars alongside traditional rainforest instruments to play with a distinct and irresistible musical style. Their first album Gati Bongo was written and recorded in the rainforests of Cameroon, drawing on the band members’ traditional and Congolese musical influences. It was the music of the Baka people that originally inspired members of Baka Beyond, leading to a 15-year collaboration, the creation of the charity Global Music Exchange (or as the Baka call it, “One Heart”) and now this historic joint tour. Baka Beyond band members hail from France, Cameroon, Senegal and the Congo, as well as Britain, melding the rhythms and melodies of Africa with Celtic traditions old and new.
Raising the ‘craic’
The Baka Pygmies are experts at raising what the Irish would call the ‘craic’ and what they call the ‘Spirit of the Forest’, so seeing Baka Gbiné perform live with Baka Beyond will be a life enhancing experience. Audiences will be treated to a musical journey encompassing uplifting and infectious song and dance, the magical ‘yelli’ singing of the Baka women, and Gallic songs from the Western Isles.
The ‘Spirit of the Forest’ – coming to a venue near you
Using a combination of light, sound, song and dance, Baka Beyond and the Baka musicians from Gbiné will transport you to the Heart of the Forest where music and magic, song and dance, merge together and the boundaries between performer and audience, and between very different cultures disappear, bringing the ‘Spirit of the Forest’ to life.
To download photographs or a copy of this press release, please click on: http://www.baka.co.uk/press For more general information, please go to www.bakabeyond.co.uk