What happens when a West African band from London meets a band from the Colombian Pacific coast? In this case, it results in an explosion of sounds, influences, percussion, and vocals, which works fantastically. The Baliyama Project is a London-based group founded by Camara Onono, whose mother is Nigerian and father is Senegalese. It blends Mandingo influences, jazz, and Afrobeat from Nigeria.
The Discos Pacificos All Stars are Afro-Colombians members of various groups from the Pacific coast of that country: Bejuca, Semblanzas del Rio Gupi, and Agrupacion Changó, who modernize a traditional percussive music based on the marimba and a strong vocal presence.
From this transcontinental encounter emerged Calima, an album whose title evokes a meteorological phenomenon, a sandy wind from the Sahara desert that reaches the Canary Islands of Spain at certain times of the year.
Now you’re more knowledgeable, aren’t you? Me too!
In six pieces, Calima perfectly executes this blend of two African cultures, or perhaps more, since the Baliyama Project is already a mix of different African cultures. Hearing the marimba, kora, and djembe converse like thieves at a fair, as well as the multiple percussions and Spanish chants fusing, it comforts us in these times when the world can seem dark.
It’s music that’s both danceable and intelligent, and exciting, I might add.
Long live Africa and all its countries! Let’s hope for the day when this continent will be as prosperous as its musical creation.
