Mimi

Mimi nakwanza kusema kiswahili

My swahili has been getting better. I guess I speak enough to lead people into thinking that I can understand them speaking normally. I know enough to be dangerous so to speak. Usually another way of saying that I don't really know squat but that I can sometimes make like I do. Actually, it's very cool. People really like and appreciate it if someone is trying to learn Swahili. Totally the opposite from my experience speaking portuguese where everybody wants to try their english out on you and automatically assumes that you don't speak portuguese. But then, I'm talking shit and just generalizing......yeye mzungu....anajua kiswahili?


BTB and friends listening to playback.

Home style reverb chamber...

Recorded the "reverb chamber" for the BTB choruses today. Sounds cool. Last night we recorded the vocals. They're super happy. I left them with a rough mix and the beat and chorus.

I went back to Akhenaton studio to give them a crash course in Reason. We crammed in front of the monitor on some salvaged 70's bar stools and squinted. The only light came from the vocal booth (covered in foam cushions grafitted with bikini'd women and tags and lyrics and whatnot) and it was dark and the mosquitos bit my feet. Just the basics - open a session, create a template, create a mixer, redrum machine, Dr. rex player, synth, sampler and effects. then I programmed a beat, made a bass line and a chop stylee reggae rhodes line and made some simple effects automation. They asked me to come back again and do a track for Muda Criss who is one of their family rappers. There was another guy who had come specifically to meet me and have the lesson. I didn't know him before. He has a small studio just outside of stone town. His main priority is to learn how to record live instruments. He invited me to come over later in the week. Afterwards everybody talked about the different things they wanted to learn and focus on and it gave me a lot of ideas as far as designing workshops and teaching people.

It's kind of crazy. The more I talk to people that are really interested and struggling to learn even the basics of digital audio recording and production, the more I realize how damn hard it is for someone in a place as "isolated" as Zanzibar. AND, how important it is to maintain, develop and sustain local culture and tradition. Modern taarab has become so incredibly popular as a result of the fact that there are very few experienced people and very few places to record live orchestras. That, and the fact that a keyboard is just plain way easier to deal with. It's also the reason why most of bongo flava sounds exactly the same.

there's gotta be a whole movement out there of people who are totally into international lounge casio cheese. I'd make a compilation if I could stomach listening to enough of it. But, I digress......

One of the guys watched me setup a compressor in the reason session and asked me if there were any presets for "hip hop kick drums." Fortunately in Reason it's a little bit more complicated (or at least circuitous) to save a compressor setting than just saving it as a patch. I told him that he should just pick one instrument, patch it into the compressor and play around with the sound until he was bored out of his head. Then put it on whatever setting he thought sounded the best. They are really interested in having higher quality mixes, but the standard for quality is not simply their own ears, but american hip hop (for the most part). i think it's great to listen to other music that is mixed well side by side with your own original music, but that is like mastering. The choice of kick drum shouldn't play into this. the kick drum simply IS and that's what you have to work with in the mix. The kick drum IS what it is because it was chosen for it's feeling and vibe. NOT because it's like 50 cent's kick drum or the rest of the bongo flava kicks.

But, then all of these judgements of mine are from a place divorced from economics. They also want to know how to get their music out to the public. They want to make money at it. If it doesn't fill the floor at Bhawani Hotel on saturday night, it ain't workin. Lovely, that there may or may not be some erudite music fan in Norway or Tokyo that appreciates their well chosen kick drum, but that ain't selling cassettes in Dar es Salaam. All of this actually makes me want to try and make a total pop song to make all the asses shake at Bhawani and all those discos witht he fucking smoke machines and cheesy lights and too drunk people. Just as a challenge.

Today, i also got a call from one mr Jhiko Manyika, who I had originally met at the music academy. he was here in Zanzibar to perform during the ZIFF. He said he liked my tracks (and especially the one with Xuman) and would like to work with me AND that he invited me to come and stay some days at his house in Bagamoyo. Well, damn! I'd been thinking about him as well and the possibility of doing just that and whatdya know? He was also pretty psyched to hear that Matona and I have been cooking up some sounds together too.

This week is looking pretty busy. I've got things lined up with Sweet Ray, Mjus, Matona and another rapper name MT AND tomorrow I'm picking up the vespa again to do some cruising. Pretty stoked about that.

Where I eat dinner.....Forodhani "Gardens"