Dimanche à Poto Poto

In the Dioula language spoken in Bobo Dioulasso 'Poto Poto' means puddle, something hard to imagine as we pass the fiercely hot days of the dry season.  Poto Poto is also the name of the cabaret, an open air bar where people drink the millet beer called chapalo where I presently spend my Sundays accompanying Moussa  for his musical residency. 

From early morning to dusk, Moussa plays for a mixed crowd who come to drink a calabash or two of chapalo and exchange greetings and jokes, whilst a parade of itinerant traders of second hand clothes, kola nuts, plastic combs, and hard boiled eggs pass by.  Elegant ladies in tailored African prints sit on wobbly wooden benches alongside sinewy men in bizarrely assembled outfits such as a suit jacket two sizes too big, accessorised  with a pair of ski goggles, a juxtaposition of the second hand clothes known as 'au revoir france' which somehow they carry off with great style.

The new 500CFA note   

When Moussa plays with great virtuosity or plays a piece praising a person, ethnicity or profession present at Poto Poto, a patron may tip Moussa.   Sometimes it's just a few coins but occasionally a patron might dance towards Moussa ostentatiously waving a 1000CFA note before pasting it onto his perspiring forehead.  

However at the beginning of 2013 a new 500CFA note was introduced in Burkina, better for the patron who wants to show off with a tip, but not for the artists! 

Mixing the album!

Cycling into town this morning with the flow of women setting out hawking fruits from basins balanced high on their heads, buzzing mopeds, and school children in khaki school uniforms, I passed posters for our concert this Thursday stapled to the trunks of the mango trees which line the streets of Bobo Dioulasso.   

 We spent the day mixing the 12 original compositions we've recorded here in Bobo.  It has been a brilliant learning experience for us all during which we have shared some great jokes, and the special excitement and joy that only music brings.

Our engineer Herman, and executive producer, arranger and Bala Fola Moussa Pantio Diabaté!

ça va aller!

Bobo Dioulasso's l'école de musique  has been our home for the last week as we record the album.

Tomorrow we record the choir and will then begin mixing.

       Our engineer Monsieur Herman Ouattara.

Samadou recording his parts

We are also busy rehearsing for our concert this coming thursday at Samanke one of Bobo Dioulasso's hottest live music venues! 

Recording begins!

 After a week of intensive rehearsals here in Bobo Dioulasso, recording began yesterday!

 

La journée Internationale de la femme

The 8th of March is celebrated around the world as International Women's Day, and here in Burkina Faso la Journée internationale de la femme is a grand occasion! 

The theme chosen for 2013 is women's empowerment and economic participation, an urgent call that can be read on the specially produced cotton fabric which many women have had tailored to their own design and are proudly wearing today in the ochre coloured streets of Bobo Dioulasso.

The issue of gender equality is an important development issue here in the Sahel.  A less serious expression of today's fête is the tradition of men going to the market today to shop for the groceries.

Bon fête à tous!

FESPACO

Arriving in Ouagadougou last Friday there was a nonchalant air of excitement in the dusty crowded streets, as on Saturday the 23rd edition of FESPACO the Pan African Film Festival came to a close.  The coveted Etalon d'or de Yennenga trophy was won by Senegalese filmmaker Alain Gomis for his film Tey, Ajourd'hui

The Burkinabé capital Ouagadougou usually shortened simply to 'Ouaga', always seems to be in a state of being demolished and rebuilt.  In contrast Bobo Dioulasso from where I write now, changes little and as I cycle through the sun bleached streets, people call out to me from their chairs leaning against family compound walls, shops and stalls, in the same place I saw them 2 years ago.

So the work begins! We have been rehearsing every evening and begin recording in the studio next week.  I've been busy working with Moussa on a new arrangement of his composition Les Malfaiteurs, a song urging people to live honestly, including new words in Dioula, French and English.

Café concert at The Centre of African Studies

A few years ago I went to see a performance of Ghanaian drumming and dance at the Faculty of Music here in Cambridge.  I left inspired by the Ewe rhythms and dances performed that night, feeling like I'd travelled without leaving the concert hall.

So it was real buzz to perform and share what I have learnt from Moussa of the music of Burkina Faso at The Centre of African Studies this week.

Folignouma performed in the Arc Café for students and academic staff whose present lecture series focuses on West Africa.

 I spoke about my experiences studying music in Burkina Faso, of Moussa and our project, and the origins of the kamele n'goni which I will be exploring in a future post.

Thanks to the Centre of African Studies and the Arc Café, and to Chris, Makhou, and Ken for the sound.

  Photos by Shameela Beeloo

http://photographing.carbonmade.com/