WHO?
Ablaye, Djiby, Pape, Goundo, Cheikh
WHERE?
Bonn, Germany
WHAT?
"I love how you play. So alive. And your clothes... I couldn't take my eyes off them the whole night. I think they are a festival of colors and forms!"
HOW did they react?
They laughed. They'd heard it before. And said "Yeah, yeah, thank you!"
HOW did I feel?
Overwhelmed:
The same night that Nils played his sax solo at the big band concert (see post number 10) a bunch of African musicians performed with the band, too. These people didn't just play a concert, they hosted a party. Moving, chatting, flirting with the audience. They screamed and bobbed. They turned the stage into a dance floor. I saw fingers hopping from string to string, hands caressing drums at one moment and hitting them hard the next. Voices howled and syllables rolled through mouths that were wide open, laughing. The music sounded exotic to my ears; Still even I could tell these players were virtuosi.
With all that changing of tunes and movements went one continuous frame: Their dresses. They paid a visual string to the ongoing action. I'd never seen anything like them before. Neither the put together of materials (satin, gold and plastic) nor a single color shining the way they all did. It was a visual feast. Purple dots, golden lines, pompous jewelry. And the way these clothes were cut! Huge and spacious. Their look made me want to grab a pen and tell stories about kings and queens from far away...
I was stunned.
All those impressions, that whole night was a present.
Complimenting felt like celebrating with them rather than telling them something new. It was marvellous- just like the whole night.
ANYTHING ELSE (thoughts on the project, changes, observations?)?
Indeed! I will record a video for that soon.
Ablaye, Djiby, Pape, Goundo, Cheikh
WHERE?
Bonn, Germany
WHAT?
"I love how you play. So alive. And your clothes... I couldn't take my eyes off them the whole night. I think they are a festival of colors and forms!"
HOW did they react?
They laughed. They'd heard it before. And said "Yeah, yeah, thank you!"
HOW did I feel?
Overwhelmed:
The same night that Nils played his sax solo at the big band concert (see post number 10) a bunch of African musicians performed with the band, too. These people didn't just play a concert, they hosted a party. Moving, chatting, flirting with the audience. They screamed and bobbed. They turned the stage into a dance floor. I saw fingers hopping from string to string, hands caressing drums at one moment and hitting them hard the next. Voices howled and syllables rolled through mouths that were wide open, laughing. The music sounded exotic to my ears; Still even I could tell these players were virtuosi.
With all that changing of tunes and movements went one continuous frame: Their dresses. They paid a visual string to the ongoing action. I'd never seen anything like them before. Neither the put together of materials (satin, gold and plastic) nor a single color shining the way they all did. It was a visual feast. Purple dots, golden lines, pompous jewelry. And the way these clothes were cut! Huge and spacious. Their look made me want to grab a pen and tell stories about kings and queens from far away...
I was stunned.
All those impressions, that whole night was a present.
Complimenting felt like celebrating with them rather than telling them something new. It was marvellous- just like the whole night.
ANYTHING ELSE (thoughts on the project, changes, observations?)?
Indeed! I will record a video for that soon.