mm where do i begin?!
probably Argentina..
In December I was fortunate to spend just over a couple of weeks in La Plata, near Buenos Aires in Argentina. Whilst the contrast in weather from London was awesome and I could have stayed by the pool the whole time, we (myself and a few fellow Masters students from Guildhall) were there to immerse ourselves in music (and a little bit of dancing!).. Candombe, Tango and Argentinian Folklore music were the flavour of our days, from early in the morning, until late evening. Our Argentinian teachers and collaborators were fantastic people, musicians and souls to have around day and night.
First stop was Candombe, a ceremonial gathering of sorts, with music (primarily drumming) and dance. In Argentina today, the rhythms of Candombe stem from traditions in Uraguay. Below are the three base rhythms & variations (and names of the drums), Clave, Chico and Piano, that make up Candombe, which gets incredibly fast and complicated with experience and improvisation...
Here's a few pics & videos of our teachers and us absorbed in Candombe..
After learning the ins and outs of Candombe over a number of intense days playing (and taping the blisters from our fingers down!), we embarked on a venture into the public to show of our stuff..
 |
| our meeting place where the fire below was.. |
 |
| heating the skins of the drums before playing.. |
 |
| and the walk to prepare... |
 |
| where are we going? |
 |
| nearly 2 hours walking, 10 blocks (slowly!), all the while, playing.. |
 |
| amazingly powerful feeling, so loud.. |
unfortunately i cannot upload a video of this, as there's a limit of 100mg... ouch!! sorry! sounded amazing though...
then came the tango and folklore.. music and dancing! I loved learning the tango music, so particular in articulation.. the influence will certainly come out in my future writings... look out!!!
 |
| Keeping the locals on their toes during my tango lesson.. yes, that's me :) |
 |
| and time out bike riding to the crystal tree (only 2 left in South America!) |
 |
| oops someone had a puncture.. |
 |
| meantime we're in the background having an afternoon beer.. |
 |
| couldn't resist this one.. he he he! |
and i've been involved in some music and theatre workshops, dance improvisation sessions and also been to see lots of shows.. London Jazz Festival: Neil Crowley Trio at The Barbican, some good ol rock n' roll at Macbeth in Hoxton, the Dan Wood Trio playing Thelonious Monk at the Servant Jazz Quarters, Orchestra Elastique at Cafe Oto in Dalston, the fabulous Manu Delago (Bjork's percussionist, on Hang) in 'Living Room' at Rich Mix in Shoreditch.. and the list goes on...
The day of
Manu Delago's gig with Living Room, he and Austrian woodwind player Christoph Pepe Auer came to run a session at Guildhall. They're fantastic and well rounded musicians and I highly recommend checking out their projects, all of them (!)..their
youtube clips are great too..
Just after new year's I embarked on a canal cruise with some great friends who own a narrow boat and moor it just outside London, to the West in the beautiful countrside. We went along for the ride (almost 9 hours it took), travelling down the canal from Camden, through the locks, eventually stopping in the countryside to breathe in the fresh air. then.. back to london smog on a train :(
 |
| Little Venice |
And of course it snowed for a week or more. my toes have finally thawed out!! It was quite delightful to see the snow.. watch the snowmen being built.. experience a quieter London.. and giggle at people trying to walk on slippery surfaces and fall flat on the ground laughing...
 |
| my street.. |
 |
| my morning view on my way out.. |
 |
| me and my snowman.. |
 |
| me and my instruments.. |
OK. I think it's over and out from me for now.. next up is a music exchange with the Palestinian musicians we worked with in October... from
Beit AlMusica Conservatoire in Shefa’amr and The Edward Said National Conservatory of Music in Ramallah.. but we're visiting them!!! Stay tuned for more in a month or so.. :)
