Donna Africa

"The Last Caravan" passed through Milan in May 1995. It was a celebration of the meeting of European and African cultures where writers, film makers, musicians and fashion designers from fifteen African states came to introduce the Italian public to their craft. It was in this context that the first music festival took place, bringing women, predominantly from North and West African states, together on the stage. These wonderful gatherings were documented on a CD.
The great success of the first rendezvous prompted the Italian promoters once again to invite female African musicians to participate in a workshop as part of the African Film Festival in Milan in March 1997. As a result of this cooperation, a number of wonderful concerts were staged and a CD was produced.

The album "DONNA AFRICA" represents a musical synopsis of both these events.

This music´s roots undoubtedly lie in the classical and early music of Arab North African tradition. What is special, however, is the various ways in which the musicians, through their style of playing, form a bridge between the traditional and the modern.
In her performance of "Samarcande", for instance, the Tunisian oud player, Mouna Amari, combines the traditional instruments oud, qanun, tabla and kora with the double bass in a most unusual way. In "Adœp-Shukran", in addition to the oud and qanun, Yinka Davies arranges for the tabla and gatham, which lend an Indian flavour to her typical Yoruba songs. Florida Uwera, a Ugandan princess, sees herself as custodian of the original and classical music, which is a legacy of her genocide-scarred country. This close attachment is also expressed in her recent arrangements.
musicians are, without exception, more than just masters of their instruments, developing the feminine side of their culture both as instrumentalists and composers. In this way they establish their standing in an otherwise male-dominated continent and demonstrate an exciting development in the meeting of diverse musical cultures.

No current news, please come back later.

Demos from the CD "Donna Africa"

 

1999

Donna Africa (1999, Peregrina Music PM50151)

Donna Africa

Donna Africa

Donna Africa

Donna Africa

Donna Africa

No concerts and workshops planned for the moment.

"The female musicians who can be heard on the exciting audiophile sampler come from North and West Africa. the sounds of the Arabian Zither, Qanum ore the Lute-like Oud combinewith the voices and the tones of numerous instruments."
(AUDIOlive)

Samarcande	RealPlayer MP3	ISDN ISDN	28.8 28.8
Cabra Canella	RealPlayer MP3	ISDN ISDN	28.8 28.8
Musy Kam	RealPlayer MP3	ISDN ISDN	28.8 28.8