African Linx One Day Festival 2010 at Cropredy

What a brilliant time we had on Saturday. The weather had been really crap for the two days before and really cold so I was keeping everything crossed for a good day.

We’ve been organising this for weeks and you always get that last minute butterflies in the stomach feeling just before a big event hoping it will all go to plan. On the Friday Peter went over to Cropredy with the van to start decorating the stage and doing another ton of things that had to be done. I stayed home to rehearse as I was playing a set on Saturday night with Paddy (keyboards) and Lee (bass). It was great fun practicing – Paddy knows most of my stuff from when I lived in Bristol but Lee had played none of it before so had to learn seven songs in two short practices!

On Saturday morning the grandchildren woke us up bright and early (eeek) and went off with Leah to run a stall at the morning Table top sale and after another quick run through the set we also set off for Cropredy.

Much cake was made and sold! The sun came out!! Everyone had a great time!!!!

The afternoon programme started explosively with a great drum and dance set from Africa Junction from High Wycombe, followed (late due to awful traffic problems) by the marvellous Rachel Gittus with Tim West. Then I was also involved playing sabar with our drumming group Sankofa. An eight piece ukulele band from Essex called The D’Ukes played next and they were brilliant.

The next set was a magical performance from Diabel Cissokho on Kora with virtuoso guitarist Ramon Goose featuring guest artists Solomelo Sowe and Vieux Bakayoko.

The afternoon session was rounded off with a set of reggae and dancehall from Oxford-based band Jamatone who got everyone dancing to keep warm in the cold sunshine!

The evening session kicked off with a stirring set from Miranda La Mutanta accompanied by the Scapegoat, Barney Newman singing the blues, Chandra Moon (little old me) and finally a rocking set from Tommy Allen and Johny Hewitt singing “American Blues”. We all danced our heads off in the pub till midnight.

Believe it or not, we had a drumming workshop on the Sunday afternoon and I don’t know how I got through it with a hangover from hell!!

We actually raised £1,000 for Kartong Festival which will go a long way in The Gambia so it was all worthwhile.

Back From Gambia and The Casamance

I’m back in the UK after a great trip to the Gambia and the Casamance region of Senegal helping organise two music festivals.

The first festival was in Kartong where for the first time we managed to get the local organising committee to do most of the pre-planning and organising themselves – this will eventually mean the festival will be able to go ahead without us – essential if it’s survive into the future.

Fatou Jatta at West Coast Radio Promoting Kartong Festival

The second festival at Dombondir was amazing – it was inspired three years ago by the Kartong Festival and the local people work very cooperatively to make it happen and despite a few setbacks it went well in the end. There was a great wrestling championship as well as local cultural music and dance troupes.

Wrestling at Dombondir

There’s so much I could write about my experiences there but I just don’t know where to start really! I always feel so at home there and the friendships I’ve developed over the years there feel as deep as any in the UK – although we only get to meet for a few short weeks of the year.

I spent many hours playing my flute with my friend Moriba and I’m going to compile a CD of Kora and Flute music over the next few months and put it up on www.myspace.com/moribakuyateh.

There are loads more photos on my Facebook here: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=203171&id=637503707&l=f8cc8285b4

Cracked Ribs

Well on the weekend we helped arrange a party at Cropredy instead of the scheduled African Linx mini-festival we’d intended to do as there wasn’t enough time or money for that.

Poor Peter was hitching up the electric mains when he somehow fell backwards on to the path and landed on his back on a big earthenware flower pot and cracked a few ribs. We spent the afternoon in casualty and in the evening he sat dosed up with drugs to the eyeballs to watch the entertainment instead of joining in.

I’m now trying to get him to rest for a few days while the ribs heal up – not easy as he’s a very active guy!

We played a set of sabar drumming and I sang a few songs as well but my fingers were so cold I could hardly play the guitar and I was glad when they put the reggae music on!

Back in the UK!

Well hello again – I’m back in the UK again for three weeks then back to the Gambia for the actual festival and the following week another festival at Dombondir in the Casamance. Unfortunately there are political problems in that region so that could affect our plans. We’d hoped to visit Guinea Bassau but they’ve just assassinated their president in a military coup so we’ll probably do a trip within Gambia or Northern Senegal instead.

I stayed with my daughter last night and it’s just lovely to see them and my little grand daughter again. Tomorrow I’m off to Suffolk for 10 days sabar drumming with Modou Diouf – he flew out from Gambia the day before me.

I’m missing P like crazy already – he’s stayed behind to carry on organising things for the festival but it’s the first time we’ve been apart for ages now.

Anyway – I’ll post up some photos of a recent amazing event we went to at a school in Bakaote where a well known artist called Jalex performed for the children. It was extraordinary – you’d never see anything like it in a European school – the sound system was ear bleedingly loud, the teachers were controlling the children with sticks and the kids were going crazy for the music! We’re hoping he’ll play at Kartong.

Visit of the President Of Burundi!

Well what excitement! We discovered that the President of Burundi (His Excellency Pierre Nkurunziza) was going to visit Sandele Lodge – just up the road from where we are staying. We found some excuse to go round there and managed to catch all the action.

A lot of pomp and ceremony, drumming, dancing and excitement all round as he visited the eco-tourist site – this area is designated as protected from modern development.

There are a few more pictures on my FACEBOOK (click)

I’m not sure if I’ll get back to the internet before my brief return to the UK from Mar 4th – 25th but if not I’ll post again from there.

Hope this finds you all well – bye for now.

Hopi Ear Candles, Visions and Fiery Hoop!

Where to start? I had an amazing experience at the End of The Road Festival that I want to write about – but it’s weird! Maybe you’ll think I’ve gone mad or been on too much whacky backy but anyway………………..

Maybe I’ll start by saying I’ve remixed the new track Fiery Hoop for you to listen to on www.myspace.com/chandramoonsmusic which is a lot better than the first one. It was really hard work in the studio today as the computer kept misbehaving and it all took twice as long as it should but we got there in the end. My producer’s away for a couple of weeks now so I’m having a break from recording and going to focus on playing live as I have a couple of gigs over the next few weeks and I need to practice!

Anyway – back to the weird experience – I think I’ll write this as if it were a journey as that’s what it felt like. I’ll set the scene……. I was at the festival and there was a beautiful healing area in a field within the main site. There were many alternative practitioners doing all kinds of therapies such as Indian Head massage, Reiki, Chakra balancing (? don’t ask me?), deep tissue massage etc etc and including Hopi Ear candles. Because of all the drumming and music I listen to I suffer a bit with tinnitus and I thought the ear candles might help and I’d also been told they’re very relaxing during the treatment. He lay me on my side in the lovely tent which had Indian drapes all round, incense burning etc and placed the first candle in my left ear and lit it………………..

……….peace and quiet, the slight sound of fizzing as the flame flickered, the breeze sighing outside sounding muffled, faint tinkling of piano keys and female voices singing. My eyes are shut and I focus inside on the quiet space in my head………..and suddenly before me I see the profile of a native American Indian with two feathers pointing down at the base of his skull. Very proud he was gazing into the middle distance – a completely benign presence. The image faded and a stag materialised silhouetted against dark branches and foliage. As I watched the stag I realised I could no longer distinguish the Indian from the stag and that they had become one, waves of purple light were pulsing in my head – simply beautiful ……… my awareness came back into the tent as the first candle had burned down. I turned over for the second candle no longer expecting any further visions and at first I was aware again only of the ambient sounds in the distance – laughing voices of people passing by, the sound check on the nearest stage penetrating into my space. Then suddenly I saw the eye of the stag looking at me – and I knew that the Indian was gazing at me directly through the eye of the stag – again waves of purple light and peacefulness until the second candle had burned down………………

Of course, I told the therapist what I had experienced and amazingly it turns out he is a shamanic practitioner and his “guide” is an Indian called Two Feathers who represents the stag!! I couldn’t believe that somehow I had picked up on his energy so powerfully that it had actually manifested as a powerful and bright image!

I really can’t say what I think this was – I don’t know if I actually believe in spirit guides and that that guide somehow was communing with me or whether I psychically picked up on the image channeled through the therapist. I have no idea but it was a completely real and amazing experience which left me feeling elated and full of well-being.

I sense a song coming on from this but I don’t suppose it will make any sense to anyone ……… what do you think? Have you experienced any weird visions like this? I must ask Woman of Feathers.

Anyway – I hope you like the track – bye for now.