A Celebration of Afro-kiwi music
Dougal Records and Auckland City Creative Communities
present:
A Celebration of Afro-kiwi music
Gahu,
Kinka Drummers & Tariro Marimba Band
Aotea Markets,
Aotea Square Saturday November 6 12-2pm
Gahu - A combination of African and jazz musicians improvise over hypnotic cross rhythms. This is the basis of the polyrhythmic sound that is Gahu.
Performance highlights
for Gahu in 2004 have been:
The National Jazz Festival
in Tauranga, World Jazz Series @ the London Bar, Hamilton
Gardens Festival, Rotorua Streatfest, The first Ghana
Independence Day celebrations in New Zealand, Bay of Islands
Jazz & Blues Festival and The ‘Live in the Libraries’ series
for NZ Music Month. In 2003 Gahu played The Auckland
Festival, Grey Lynn Festival, Jazz on Ponsonby and the
K’Road Karnival.
The music of Kinka is an exciting and energetic event, bestowing performers and audience with strong feelings of well - being. Each drum in the ensemble holds a 'support' or 'answer' rhythm which combines with the other drum motifs producing an exciting music of rhythmic sophistication. Lead drummer Yaw (YB)Boateng directs the changing rhythms while improvising, singing and dancing.
Helen Clark speaking about the group at the “...very
first Ghana Day celebrations in New Zealand... I think that
what was happening on the stage there shows how special the
bringing of new ideas and new customs to New Zealand can
be.... what I love to see is people from different
backgrounds coming here, mixing with the locals and
producing new sights and sounds, I think that’s really
special and that’s going to be the New Zealand of the
future..”
Mt Albert Hall, Auckland March 7 2004
“Many
of the African poly-rhythms and chants with their percussive
energy were moulded into energetic dance movements by Yao
(sic) Boateng that defied easy description as dancing and
drumming united to become one. ..
It was difficult to
sit still with the infectious beat. See and hear them do not
miss.”
Andrew Buchanan-Smart Waikato Times Feb 2004