Hi, nice to meet you !
Weekly new posts -mostly at the beginning of the week.
As a DJ I have worked professionally for nearly 35 years. As a producer I have recorded and released music for such labels as Go Bang, Aspro, R&S, Warner Music and Blue Note. As a collector I specialize in black music, dance music in its many styles and genres.
The collection of African music on Soul Safari’s pages has grown since my very first visit to South Africa 10 years ago. On my many travels throughout this magnificent country I have often discovered archives and long lost collections of beautiful music. Music that is so rare that little is known about its whereabouts since much of the original legacy had been erased from history.
My main interest in the popular and traditional music from South Africa and the sub-Sahara African region is based on beautiful memories of the past. Records from the period 1940-1990. I believe that the hunt for records in the wild is like hunting for big game in Africa. Although it is not that dangerous in realtime, it can be as exciting! In the end I believe that discovering truly great African music in all its forms and styles is the ultimate prey to the hunter, that is why this blog is called Soul Safari.
Eddy De Clercq@Soul Safari
Hello Eddy,
I am a huge fan of your blog, and I would love if you would consider reviewing an album I recorded on it. My name is Aaron Appleton and I am an ethnomusicologist/producer working in Africa, Central America and Southeast Asia. I have fallen in love with the beauty and honesty portrayed in the music of the developing world (especially in Africa), and have a very strong belief in the power of that music to not only positively transform people’s worldview but also to overcome poverty through job creation and income generation. I just released an album of a collection of binaural recordings I made between August 2006 and December 2006. It was recorded entirely on location in Uganda & Rwanda using churches, mud huts, bedrooms, town halls and the outdoors as the studio. You can listen to (stream), read about, view pictures of, and download all 16 songs at: http://ensigo.bandcamp.com.
Initially the album was used as benefit and academic project through the non-profit organization Food for The Hungry/Go ED. It was replicated and distributed to the musicians in the primary villages where the recordings were made (Piswa & Bukwa Uganda). The intended purpose of the album was to bring unity and reconciliation among the divided people groups of the communities where the recordings were made, to be used as source of income for the musicians recorded, and to help to document and preserve the traditional music of Uganda & Rwanda. But I am now releasing it to the public to be used as a way to raise funds for the non-profit organization Ensigo.
Thank you for the work you do, and your thoughtful consideration for reviewing the Ensigo: East Africa In Binaural album on your blog!
-Aaron
Hi Aaron,
I’m writing from Afropop Worldwide–a long-running African and Diaspora
music website, and radio show hosted by Georges Collinet.
I am writing to you to tell you about an info-rich new website we just
launched at http://www.afropop.org/hipdeep. More information can be found
in the below press release.
We at Afropop would greatly appreciate any help you could give us in
getting the word out about this new site. If you link to us and/or post
about this new site, we would be happy to link back to you from our blog
(http://www.afropop.org/banningsblog), and from the links section of our
main page.
To learn more about us, please read the below press release, explore the site,
and please feel free to contact us at any time with questions.
All Best,
Gabriel and the Afropop.org Team
info@afropop.org
Afropop’s New Hip Deep Website
Where Music Tells the Story of the World
Now available at http://www.afropop.org/hipdeep
Afropop Worldwide has released the Beta version of its media-rich new
website to the public, a bold step towards expanding the non-profit
organization’s mission of connecting Americans and the global on-line
community to Africa and the world through new digital and social
media. The website is dedicated to the humanities-themed series, Hip
Deep that is part of the Afropop Worldwide weekly radio series hosted
by Georges Collinet and distributed by Public Radio International to
over 110 stations in the U.S.
In 2004, with funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities,
Afropop Worldwide inaugurated a unique series of one-hour radio
programs that use music to reveal deep truths about Africa and its
worldwide diaspora. Created in collaboration with ground-breaking
scholars, Hip Deep programs explore history, faith, literature,
politics, ethnic identity and social evolution. From “The Musical
Legacy of Al-Andalus” to the “Liberation of the Drum in Cuba,” to the
rise of the Zulu nation in southern Africa, Hip Deep places music
center stage in crucial historical narratives, many of which have been
routinely overlooked in popular American media.
The Hip Deep idea worked from the start. The NEH has now funded the
series five times over the course of five highly competitive grant
rounds. This week, Afropop Worldwide unveils a state-of-the-art
website that pulls together nearly 60 hours of Hip Deep programming,
along with detailed text features, interviews, discographies, vivid
photography, and much more. Users can listen to any program in the
series, while browsing to related programs and materials, and engage
with Hip Deep fans around the world in commentary and dialogue. The
interface is clean, intuitive, responsive and visually rich. It
provides discussion space for each available element. Users can
easily share what interests them via links to a full complement of
social media, including Twitter, Facebook and MySpace. In short, no
other website, radio or television program today offers such an
extensive and accessible resource on the music and history of Africa
and its diaspora.
Afropop Worldwide Executive Producer Sean Barlow says “Feedback from
our listeners about Hip Deep programs has always been enthusiastic.
Now that all the programs are available in one attractive,
user-friendly environment, we are poised to bring this engaging,
humanities-rich content to new audiences and communities. Anyone who
experiences Hip Deep will soon discover that it is hip to be deep.”
“We’ve always been entertainers,” says veteran Afropop producer
Banning Eyre. “But Hip Deep lets us use that experiential
hook-singing, dancing, letting go–to take people to a place of
discovery. All these programs are really part of one interconnected
narrative-how the dissemination of African diaspora culture has shaped
the world we live in every day. You can’t help but be surprised, and
often blown away, by the revelations of Hip Deep.”
Tom Pryor, the Editor of Nat Geo Music (National Geographic’s world
music web site) says, “The Hip Deep site collects these documentaries
in a clean, easily searchable and media rich enviornment. Want to know
more about the role of music in shaping Hatian history and culture?
How about what Mardi Gras reveals about New Orleans’ ongoing recovery
from Katrina? Or how music helped lower the HIV/AIDs infection rate in
Uganda? All these topics and more can be found at the Hip Deep site,
where there’s enough fascinating material for serious African music
junkies and casual users alike to lose themselves for hours.”
Thomas C. Phelps, Director of the Division of Public Programs at the
National Endowment for the Humanities, says “Afropop Worldwide has
made significant strides with NEH support in recent years in
contextualizing and interpreting the importance of the music cultures
of Africa and the African diasposra for American audiences. The new
website has improved content and database management, user search
capabilities and interactivity, and a wealth of material developed for
nearly sixty shows with earlier NEH support. We, too, believe this
richer website will attract wider, more diverse audiences.”
Celebrated as a driver of innovation in public media, Public Radio
International was founded in 1983 to diversify and expand the content
available on public platforms, enabling U.S. listeners to “hear a
different voice™” and to connect with one another and the larger
world. PRI identifies critical but unmet content needs and partnering
with producers, stations, digital networks and funders to develop
multi-platform resources to meet those needs. PRI supports the
creation and distribution of content that would otherwise be
unavailable and that brings new voices, global journalism and cultural
perspectives to the American public. PRI content is available on
pri.org and via podcasts, and is broadcast on 832 public radio
stations. More than 13 million people access PRI content each week
through these sources.
Melinda Ward, PRI’s Senior VP for Content and Development Strategy,
says “Afropop Worldwide has earned a strong reputation for
entertaining and engaging our listeners with the dynamic world of
African and diaspora music. We are delighted that the new Hip Deep web
site takes that tradition in exciting new directions as listeners can
now easily find related Hip Deep programs and read illuminating
interviews and features that deepen their appreciation. We are proud
that Afropop Worldwide’s Hip Deep series is part of PRI’s portfolio of
programs that invite listeners to hear different voices with content
that provides unique perspectives on our interdependent world.”
Hip Deep programs draw on the work of over 75 leading scholars, some
from the world’s most prestigious universities, and others who have
spent their lives immersed in the music scenes we cover. Programs are
crafted by seven Afropop producers, including Afropop’s most
experienced creative team and the originators of Hip Deep, Sean
Barlow, Banning Eyre and Ned Sublette. Productions reflect the
experience and expertise of Afropop’s proven engineering team, led by
Michael Jones, web Project Director Matt Payne, and of course,
Afropop’s beloved host Georges Collinet, whose voice interweaves all
Hip Deep narratives. Launched in 1988, Afropop Worldwide was the
first nationally syndicated media showcase for contemporary African
music and has aired continuously since then. In addition to the U.S.,
the show airs in Europe and on U.N. peace keeping stations in Africa.
Christopher Dunn, Associate Professor of Brazilian Literary and
Cultural Studies at Tulane University and Hip Deep scholar says, “I
will use this resource, both as a fan of the show and as an educator.
You have provided incredibly rich, up-to-date source material that
will no doubt be useful for general audience enthusiasts as well as
specialized researchers of musical traditions of Africa and the
African Diaspora.”
The Hip Deep site was developed in collaboration with New York based
Larson Associates, which has built multi-media web applications for
Carnegie Hall, Nonesuch Records, and the City of San Francisco among
other clients. “We’re enormously proud to be associated with this
project,” says Larson Associates Principal Larry Larson. “The site has
gelled into a truly rich showpiece, finally revealing the true depth
of content that Afropop provides to web users around the world.”
Afropop Worldwide is an acclaimed nationally syndicated public radio
program hosted by Georges Collinet, afropop.org web site, weekly
e-Newsletter, archive of 25 years of research materials, web-based
video series, Afropop Hall of Fame honoring ceremony–all dedicated to
promoting recognition and enjoyment of the contemporary musical
cultures of Africa and the African Diaspora.
The National Endowment for the Humanities’ Division of Public Programs
provides opportunities for millions of Americans to engage in lifelong
learning through the exploration of significant humanities works,
ideas, and events. By encouraging applicants to envision new ways of
bridging the gap between the academy and the public, the division has
been able to fund a range of projects that reach widely throughout the
country and that engage diverse audiences. Through a variety of
formats-interpretation at historic sites, community projects,
television and radio productions, museum exhibitions, websites and
digital media, and other innovative programs-the division’s projects
offer people new perspectives on familiar topics and deepen public
understanding of the humanities.
Hi, nice to meet you !
Welcome to Soul Safari!
Hi Eddy,
Many Thanks for the wonderful memories.
Do you have anything on “Joy”? They seem to have been forgotten. I’ve tried to source their music but only “Paradise Road” is avaiable.
1978 Devil With Angel Eyes
1979 The Click Song
1980 Ain’t Gonna Stop… ‘Til I Get To The Top
1980 Paradise Road
1981 Love Chain Reaction
1982 State Of Independence
Thanks again,
William
hello William,
I have not heard of ‘Joy’. Maybe you can shine a light on the group and their albums.
Feel free to create a post on Soul Safari. Be my guest!
My readers and myself would like to read more about your interest.
thanks for the compliment, it’s always a pleasure sharing memories
Eddy@Soul Safari
eedeecee@gmail.com
wonderfull blog !
thank you very much
just a quick message to say hi and thanks for such a brilliant blog.
HI, thanks for a great blog with inspiring works for me as a south african graphic designer working for musicians! These are treasures. A great find.
Just discovered your blog and it’s fantastic! I’m looking forward to new posts in my inbox.
great! Thnx for the kind words
Thank you very much for posting Wanda Arletti. I wish I could have the whole LP! I am American but I am very interested in 50s, 60s and 70s (and some 80s) rock and roll from around the globe, especially in obscure corners of the world. I’ve been interested in South African mainstream pop for years and as an American it’s almost impossible for me to find out about the oldies from that country, much less get my hands on them! I’m particurlarly interested in English-speaking, Afrikaner, and Coloured artists from South Africa…the stuff you usually can’t find much info on. Your blog is very interesting but I wish you had more of the oldies.
(I’ve never been anywhere near Africa in my life…maybe one day!)
thanks Hilary for your comment. I share your interest in rare South African music -English speaking, Afrikaans, and coloured artists- and I am diggin’ deeper and deeper into the musical history of the country. I will be posting more of the oldies the coming months as I have discovered some really great titles. With more mp3-files as well.
I do hope that your travels will bring you to Africa and South Africa one day, it’s a mind-opener! and truly recommended to visit.