Wafir

Wafir Shekeldin Gibril is an incredibly talented multi-instrumentalist musician from Sudan who is currently based in Spain. He is a master of the accordion, the oud, and the violin and creates compositions based on the Nile's river culture. He was born in Kordofan in central Sudan and studied music at the Superior Conservatory in the country's capital, Khartoum. His first forays into playing the accordion on a professional level led him to playing with the bands of prominent musicians such as Almubarak Abdul Aziz, Mohammad Al Amin and Abdul Karm Al Kably.
Wafir is known for his reputation as being an easy collaborator, and his extensive work with different musicians is a testament to that. He once was a key member of the group Radio Tarifa, a Spanish-based ensemble with Arab, jazz and classical influences. He also used to head the group Kambala -- an ensemble showcasing popular and traditional Sudanese music – that produced the album "Salamat Khartoum" in 1996. Wafir also has collaborated with his sister Rasha on her CD "Rasha - Sudaniyat," which was produced in 1997. Currently, Wafir is a member of La Banda Negra, a Madrid-based band.
Wafir's roots are with the Nubians of the Sudan, which is often reflected in his music. He notes in his CD liner notes: "One of the greatest African civilizations was created on the riverbanks of the Nile from its agriculture, natives and nomads. It was a culture that strove against Pharaonic Egypt in power and wisdom, when Europe was still walking in loin cloths, and through whose mysterious corners we were transported by Sudanese rhythms from Wafir."

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-- by Fanan Chiahemen
-- Edited by Pianki

Discography

Album: Nilo Azul
Label: Nube Negra
Year: 2002

The Musicians Of The Nile - Timeless and Modern

Since its inception more than 25 years ago in the Egyptian city of Luxor, the musical group The Musicians of the Nile, have been creating music and performing all over the world and sharing the vocal traditions of Egyptian gypsy clans and families.

The Musicians of the Nile shot to fame after ethno-musicologist Alain Weber was introduced to them. Weber in 1975 signed on as manager for the group and helped it complete a European tour. The group has played in such cities as Paris, New York, Berlin, Stockholm, London and Montreal. The musicians also have performed at the at 1991's Gypsy Festival of Florence and 1995's Gypsy Festival of Lucerne, as well as at the original WOMAD in 1983, a performance that helped bring about a collaboration on Peter Gabriel’s “Passion” album.

The Musicians of the Nile depict the nomadic existence through their music, which they create using traditional instruments. For example, on their last album, “Charcoal Gypsies,” the musicians use the traditional Egyptian oboe known as the mizmar; the arghul, or the Egyptian double clarinet; the tablah; and the tabl baladi, the double-membraned drum.

The members of Musicians of the Nile have included descendants of the famous Mataqil clan of musicians who originally are from Sudan and who for more than 40 years have been joining forces with gypsy families that specialise in singing.

The Musicians of the Nile include Metqal Qenawi Metqal, Shamandi Tewfiq Metqal and Yussef Bakash. Metqal, the lead singer of the band spent his formative years in the gypsy neighbourhood of Abu Djud in the village of Kanak. He showed exceptional musical talent at a young age and his music soon became very popular in the Arab world. He leads the group on the Rababah, an instrument made with strings of horsehair and a sound-box made of coconut shells and fish skin which creates waves of eerily, mystical violin-like sounds. Shamandi Tewfiq Metqal derives his technique from traditional singing with its epic, poetic forms that are morally inspired. His songs such as “Ya Farawle” and “El Balass” were hits with children and used for traditional baladi dance numbers. Metqal also is featured on the Nubian CD compilation, Salamat, which was released in November 1995.

- Written By Fanen Chiahemen

- Edited By Pianki

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Discography:

Album: From Luxor to Isna
Label: Virgin Records
Year: 1989

Album: Charcoal Gypsies
Label: Real World
Year: 1997

Album: Ensemble Mizmar Baladi
Label: Ocora
Year: 2001

Album: Down By The River
Label: Long Distance
Year: 2006

Upcoming Schedule Changes

We will be changing the schedules of our playlists in order to offer our listeners more flexible programming that will better showcase the music that we play. Please be aware of upcoming schedule changes this weekend. Thank you for listening to Kemet Music Radio

Guinea C - Emerging Band from Guinea (Conakry)

The members of the band Guinea C may come from varied backgrounds – members include a dance teacher, a former football player, an avid cook and four kin of a famous griot family – but they all share a deep love for their native country. So much so that they named their band after it, and the "C' stands for Conakry which was added to further distinguish it from its neighbour Guinea Bissau. That is not to say that they have overlooked the support they have gained in their adopted country of Gambia. Formed in 2004, their first album, Bakadaji, released in 2007 is named for the hotel that they call their home base and where they often rehearse their songs. It was with the help of the manager of Hotel Bakadaji, along with some tourist friends, that Guinea C was able to produce its first album, recorded by Wole Rendall at AFG studio, in the Gambian city of Serrekunda.

The band since 2004 had been playing in hotels, restaurants and bars in Gambia. Still, the members of Guinea C remain loyal their roots. They have painted their musical instruments in the same colours of the Guinean flag: red, yellow and green. All the instruments the band uses are traditional Guinean instruments, all of which are made by the band members themselves. The instruments they use include the bolong bata, a 3-4 stringed instrument, with a base of two half calabashes fastened together, the upper-half covered in goat hair; the bongo, a form of thumb piano, also made of calabash; the casnete; the percussion instruments the kirinn, the dun dum; the balafon, which is a xylophone made of wood; and the Guinean drum.

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Discography

Album: Bakadaji
Label: Guinea C
Year: 2007

--Fanen Chiahemen

Kemet Music Radio Web Launch

The time's come to announce that the Kemet Music Radio Website has been launched. It's actually been online for a couple of days now, for quality testing purposes, and I have to say that it not only functions well, but that it looks great. Now, our internet radio station finally has an online presence. Have a look at the site and if you have a moment, give us some feedback. There are plenty of great articles to read and, of course, you can also access the music and the schdule from our website.

We've added plenty of new material, a little bit of everything - gnawa, capoeira, wassoulou, m'balax, reggae, Afro-Caribbean music and much more. Stay tuned, as there are a plethora of new, exciting musical tracks on the way.
Things... may heat up around here.

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Pianki

KMR Music Updates

Ok...we've added 60+ tracks as we countdown towards the upcoming launch of our website. These tracks include: an interesting collaboration between South African Xosa and Cuban musicians on an album called Fidel Mpondo, as well as incredible drum tracks from across the African continent, new songs by musical artists like Hukwe Zawose, Abdel Gadir Salim, Guinea C, Adame Drame, Musicians of the Nile, Les Merveilles D'Afrique, Bingui Jaa Jammy, Aminata Kamissoko, Grupo Afro Boricua and many more.

Stay tuned for plenty of new music on the way from across Africa, as well as the Caribbean and South America. It will definitely be worth the wait.


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More Music Updates

Some very nice tracks have been added to the "Fusion Mix" playlist. As usual, an eclectic mix of African music from across Africa, the Caribbean and the Americas. This latest mix includes a range of music that includes Trinidadian Steel Pan, Brazilian Bossa-Reggae, and Nubian grooves from Egypt and Sudan.


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